FISHING REPORT

LAKE OUACHITA

Todd Gadberry, Mountain Harbor Resort harbor master, reports black bass are very good. Jighead/Texas-rigged Brush Hog and floating worm bite is working. Try pockets

2-10 feet deep and work them slow.

Walleye are still fair and being caught on Shad Raps and jerkbaits over points on the river channels.

Stripers are still excellent. These fish are being caught on live bait and Alabama rigs.

Bream are still fair and picking up on worms and crickets.

Crappie are very good. Try a small jig or minnow near brush in 12-20 feet of water.

Catfish are good and being caught on limblines and trotlines with live or cut bait.

The water ranges from 5862 degrees, and the lake is clearing at 577.88 feet msl.

DEGRAY LAKE

Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service said the big male crappie are scattered in the banks making spawning beds while the females are maturing their roe between staging brushpiles and the banks. Ample number of smaller crappie can be caught on brushpiles fished 6-8 feet deep.

LAKE CATHERINE

Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, reports that water temperature below Carpenter Dam is

54 degrees with stained conditions in the tailrace.

Entergy has issued a 12hour flow pattern this week to start Friday at 10 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. The weekly generation schedule is posted on the Entergy website each Wednesday afternoon, and anyone planning on using the Carpenter Dam tailrace is advised to check out the report.

Thousands of rainbow trout are present and feeding on injured threadfin shad drawn through the dam from Lake Hamilton. Because of the huge influx of prey items, these fish are harder to catch and patience must be used for success. Trout are extremely difficult to catch in muddy water, and the refilling process shut down the bite for weeks. Local guides are still experiencing low catch rates of trout. It may take until the first couple of weeks in April for the effects of the lake being refilled to fade. Fly-fishermen can still wade to areas that hold numbers of trout and should use a fly that imitates something other than a shad. Worm imitations, such as the San Juan worm in red or hot pink, can produce good catches of rainbow trout in current or slackwater conditions. Woolly Buggers in green or black are a time-honored fly that will produce results casted with a strike indicator. Egg pattern flies in orange or white have drawn strikes from finicky trout stuffed from feeding on threadfin shad. Bank anglers have a chance at catching limits of fish by using PowerBait and redworms fished just off the bottom with a marshmallow floater. Much larger trout were released in March below area dams with spring officially underway.

The walleye spawn is in full swing and has not been adversely affected by water levels or clarity. Anglers can catch these fish by trolling shallow-running crankbaits against the current effectively now because lake levels are back to normal. Tipping a jighead with a live minnow over and around sandbars and rock structure is another proven technique to catch spawning walleye.

White bass have migrated into the tailrace and are being caught on small jigs and minnows fished under a bobber. Anglers need to concentrate their efforts below the bridge in the main channel.

The crappie spawn has gotten off to a slow start this season, but small catches have been reported this past week in the fast-flowing waters below Carpenter Dam. The white bass and crappie are crowded close together in the tailrace with both species caught over sandbars and rock structure. A small minnow fished under a bobber has been the most effective method used in the early morning before the turbines come on. Larger females will migrate into the area as the males have been present to prepare the spawning beds.

LAKE HAMILTON

Greeson Marine reports water levels at normal pool and water temperature ranging about 55 degrees in the north end of the lake to 64 degrees in the southern end. Water clarity is fair at 3 feet or less.

Bass are blasting a floating worm right now! Bubblegum or orange should be the color selection. Many bigger fish have spawned already, but there are a ton of fish in Hamilton, so don’t get down about it. Rocky points and docks sitting in 5-15 feet of water are the hot spots that are often overlooked. Jigs and Carolina rigs can also produce fish.

Perch jerking has been excellent lately! A worm and a hook on deeper docks and bridge piers will provide a ton of fun right now, and some good quality fish are the majority of those caught.

We have been seeing many noodles out on the lake over the last few weeks in the main channels and major creek tributaries. Catfish has no report but the noodles give it away.

Crappie are doing very well over sunken structure and brush tops in 20-45 feet of water. A live minnow cannot be beat at the moment.