Sports Recreation Are there big bass in Lake Bella Vista?
When people think of big bass and Bella Vista, Loch Lomond and Lake Windsor immediately come to mind. Maybe Lake Avalon makes the list.
The lake that would never come to mind — never — is Lake Bella Vista, a now-drained lake that’s awaiting a new dam.
But the lack of a proper lake didn’t stop Bentonville resident Charles Fowler from wetting his line there on Aug. 6.
That day, on his first cast, using a buzzbait, Fowler hooked a fish.
“I’ve caught many black bass of good size at this location,” Fowler said, “but that was the first 5-pounder.”
His favorite lures are buzzbaits, but others fishing Lake Bella Vista (which is inside Bentonville city limits and is one of that city’s parks) have success using dark, plastic worms. Fowler said a surprising number of people still fish the lake, mostly teenagers and children.
“The lake was washed out about four years ago during a flood, leaving not much to catch there,” Fowler said. “But this year the fish are back and many have good size.”
Asked how the fish tasted, Folwer quickly answered, “I always catch and release.”
Meaning that the big bass may still be in the lake, waiting to make another angler’s day.