NWA FISHING REPORT
Beaver Lake
Southtown Sporting Goods in Fayetteville reports catfish are biting well on trotlines or limb lines baited with liver, nightcrawlers or stink bait. Liver is the best bait for rod and reel catfishing.
Fishing is good for white bass at night using fishing lights. Lower a minnow or threadfin shad into the beam when bait fish start schooling around the light. Bridge pilings and bluffs are good places to fish.
Bluegill fishing is fair with worms or crickets. Crappie are biting fair for anglers trolling crank baits or using a spider rig. The best black bass fishing is at night or very early. Top-water lures may work from first light to sunrise. Plastic worms, spinner baits, deepdiving crank baits or jig and pigs are good to use after sunrise.
Jon Conklin, fishing guide, said striped bass fishing is best at night or early. Shad or brood minnows are the best bait. Striper fishing is best on the north half of the lake. Average surface water temperature is in the upper 80s.
Beaver tailwater
Austin Kennedy, fishing guide, reports good trout fishing with prepared trout bait such as Pautzke Fire Bait used on light tackle. Deep water in the Spider Creek area has been productive.
Power generation starts at late morning or early afternoon and continues through the day. Conditions are good for wade fishing in the morning, then drift fishing in a boat during generation.
Walleye and white bass can be caught in the Holiday Island area. Work minnows near the bottom along points and humps.
Lake Fayetteville
David Powell at the lake office said bluegill fishing is good. Use a 1/64-ounce jig tipped with a piece of nightcrawler, not the whole nightcrawler. Go with a Ned rig to catch black bass. Crappie fishing is slow, but a few are being caught with minnows or jigs at varied depths.
Lake Sequoyah
Toby Carroll at the lake bait shop said catfish are biting well in shallow water on liver, nightcrawlers and stink bait. Try for black bass early with top-water lures, spinner baits or plastic worms.
Bella Vista
Chip Wiseman at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said catfish are biting well at all Bella Vista lakes. Nightcrawlers, liver, stink bait or any type of catfish bait should work.
Try for black bass with top-water lures from first light to sunrise. After sunrise, fish 15 feet deep with a plastic worm or jig and pig. Crappie fishing is slow. Wiseman recommends trying for crappie at Lake Ann with jigs or minnows.
Fishing in Bella Vista is open only to POA members and their guests.
Swepco Lake
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass fishing is good with all types of soft plastic lures. A plastic worm on a drop-shot rig works well. Deep-diving crank baits are another option for bass. Try top-water lures before sunrise.
Illinois River
Stroud said black bass fishing is good with tube baits, 4-inch plastic lizards or other creature baits. A Tiny Torpedo is a good top-water lure.
Eastern Oklahoma
Stroud recommends fishing for black bass at Lake Eucha by flipping a jig and pig or plastic worm around cover. Try top-water lures early. Go with big plastic worms for bass fishing at night.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair fishing for largemouth bass at Grand Lake with Alabama ridge, crank baits and plastic worms in rocky areas and near docks. Crappie are biting well on jigs or minnows around docks. Blue catfish are biting well on stink bait, or cut bait.
At Lake Tenkiller, spotted bass and largemouth bass are biting fair on crank baits, spinner baits and top-water lures around brush and along points. White bass fishing is good in creek channels on Alabama rigs and crank baits.
Table Rock Lake
Focused Fishing Guide service reports black bass can be caught early on top-water lures, but the bite is hit or miss.
The best tactic is with a plastic worm on a drop-shot rig fished near the ends
of community docks where the water is 25 feet deep. A drop-shot rig is also good to use 30 feet deep above tree tops.