NWA Fishing Report

BEAVER LAKE

Striped bass are going for live bait.

Jon Conklin, fishing guide, recommends trolling for stripers between Prairie Creek and Rocky Branch parks. Shad or brood minnows are the best bait. Look for schools of shad with a boat’s depth finder and fish around the school. Stripers should be following the shad.

Crappie are scattered. Some are shallow and other suspended 15 feet deep over deeper water. For black bass, fish flooded bushes close to shore. Plastic worms, spinner baits, swim baits or soft plastic jerk baits such as a Zoom Fluke are good lure choices.

The walleye spawn is nearly over. Conklin and his customers are catching mostly post-spawn walleye. White bass fishing is hit or miss in the White and War Eagle tributaries. It’s good one day, tough the next. Use minnows or lures that imitate them. Average surface water temperature is in the lower 60s.

Southtown Sporting Goods in Fayetteville reports that the crappie spawn is close at hand. Use minnows or jigs around brush and stick-ups from one to 10 feet deep. There is a lot of floating debris in the lake so boaters should use cation.

BEAVER TAILWATER

Guide Austin Kennedy reports trout fishing is good with prepared trout baits such as Berkley Power Bait or Pautzke Fire Bait fished on light tackle. Walleye are scattered throughout the tailwater. The bite is best between the towns of Beaver and Holiday Island. Use plastic grubs or troll with crank baits. Lures with some chartreuse in the color scheme are good to use.

LAKE FAYETTEVILLE

Lake Fayetteville Marina reports good bluegill fishing with crickets or worms. Crappie are biting jigs more than minnows. Most black bass lures are working for largemouth bass.

LAKE SEQUOYAH

Angler Mike McBride said crappie are biting well on minnows or jigs fished close to shore. Try spinner baits or plastic worms for black bass. Catfish are biting liver.

BELLA VISTA

Chip Wiseman at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said bluegill and redear sunfish are biting crickets or worms on any Bella Vista Lake. Catfish are biting all kinds of catfish bait. Black bass are beginning to spawn. Male bass are moving into shallow water, but catching them may be tough. Try soft plastics or other bass lures.

Please note that fishing in Bella Vista is open only to POA members and their guests.

SILOAM, CRYSTAL LAKES

Kenny Stroud in Siloam springs recommends fishing for crappie with minnows or jigs.

SWEPCO LAKE

Stroud said crappie are biting minnows or jigs. Fish along the dam or along the east bank between the warm-water discharge and the buoys north of the discharge. Use any kind of soft plastic lure to catch largemouth bass.

EASTERN OKLAHOMA

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports good fishing at Grand Lake and Lake Eucha for largemouth bass. Use Alabama rigs or plastic worms around structure. Crappie are biting well on jigs or minnows around brush or docks. Catfish are biting well on cut bait or shad.

At Lake Tenkiller, black bass fishing is good with crank baits, spinner baits or jig and pigs around structure. White bass fishing is fair with Alabama rigs, crank baits or jigs in creek channels.

TABLE ROCK LAKE

Focused Fishing guide service said black bass are biting swim baits fished along gravel- rock banks. Try plastic worms, tube baits or Ned rigs on the outside of flooded bushes. Spinner baits or chatter baits are worth a try on breezy days.