Fishing report
Lake Ouachita
Todd Gadberry, Mountain Harbor Resort harbor master, reports that black bass are still fair. Spotted bass ( Kentucky bass) are still schooled up chasing baitfish. Try a small
3/8-ounce spoon in submerged schools.
Stripers are still good. These fish are being caught on live bait.
Crappie are fair. Try a small jig or minnow near brush in 15
25 feet of water.
No report on walleye, bream or catfish.
The water ranges from 58-62 degrees, and the lake is lightly stained at 578.13 feet msl.
DeGray Lake
Local angler Charles Abernathy reported that water temperature is around 55 degrees and water level is still low, at 398.60 feet msl. Water clarity mid- lake is good. It’s slightly more stained toward Point Cedar.
Crappie fishing has been good and is steadily picking up. Fish can be caught from the spillway area to Cox Creek. Good schools of fish are collected on deep timber reaching
20 feet or shallower from the surface. Side scan is very helpful in finding which stick of timber they are on. You can also find fish on brush/structure near channels, although the fish on brush seem to go quiet quicker. Most of the brush on this lake has some pressure. Your odds are better if you stay off the brush to prevent spooking them. Use a slow presentation. Baby shad style 2-inch bait profiles, Mr. Crappie Slab Slangers in monkey milk/natural colors will work. White/chartreuse work well, too. Two-inch or smaller mariabou jigs work very well. Sometimes the smaller the better.
Lake Catherine
Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, reports that water temperature below the dam is 48 degrees with clear conditions in the tailrace.
Both lakes Hamilton and Catherine have been drawn down 5 feet. This drawdown will remain in place until March 1, when the refilling process is scheduled to begin. Numerous underwater hazards are now visible in the tailrace due to the low water conditions and boaters and wade fishermen alike should use caution when navigating the area.
Entergy has lowered Lake Catherine another 2 feet in order to do repairs on Remmel Dam. This work is expected to take until around Christmas to complete. The lack of water in the tailrace has made navigation to the dam and powerhouse area nearly impossible. Extreme caution should be used by boaters during this time.
Rainbow trout are highly scattered now from the bridge to the dam, which is normal for the early part of the fall season. Decent numbers of fish have been caught by fly-fishermen that are now able to access areas that hold fish. Egg patterns in orange or yellow have accounted for several limits of quality rainbows presented under a strike indicator. Micro- jigs in black or white have also worked well when used in the same manner. Boaters trolling shallow-running crankbaits that imitate shad or crayfish have taken numbers of trout during times of generation. The majority of trout are in the 11- to-12- inch class and are full-bodied. Bank fishermen are also catching trout on PowerBaits and nightcrawlers cut in half used under a bobber or just off the bottom with a marshmallow floater.
Schools of white bass are inhabiting the tailrace and feeding on threadfin shad. Topwater action has been observed in the early morning below the bridge.
Walleye still remain in the tailrace and can be caught on minnows tightlined in deep water just past the bridge. The deepest areas consistently hold walleye that live and feed in the tailrace.
No striper activity has been reported this week, but these predator fish migrate in and out of the area frequently.
Lake Hamilton
Greeson Marine reports Lake Hamilton’s water levels down near 5 feet from normal pool and water clarity up to 8 feet. Water temps throughout the lake hover around 50 degrees.
We have had a very mild winter so far and the patterns that we as fisherman would like to see are still in development and transition. Bass are fair throughout the lake on black- and- blue patterned jigs like the Slycked Back-Hammer Slammer ( football, finesse or brush) dragged through brush or skipped under deeper wooden posted docks at depths from
15-25 feet deep. Spotted bass can be caught pretty well all over the lake on rocky shoals and gravely banks with Wiggle Warts and craw-colored shallow and mid- running crank baits and the ol’ reliable Ned rig in watermelon seed or craw with a short hop retrieve and also fished on the vertical drop or down the face of piers and pilings.
There are some nice sheer rock faces into deeper water around Hamilton and they are perfect locations to break out the deep- running suspending jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits in shad patterns or FireTiger.
Bream and bluegill are still biting nicely on worms at 15-25 feet near or under docks. Use a slip-cork setup and have fun!
Crappie are hit and miss. The best bite coincides with the full moon phases, for sure! Crappie can be caught very early in the mornings at 15 feet over brush piles in 20-35 feet of water. Live minnows work best but they have been known to take some pearl- and pink-colored jigs.
Stripers should be building up near the Arkansas Highway
7 south bridge in the deeper water.
No report on catfish.