Fishing report
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Outdoors/230408/
Northwest & North-Central Arkansas BEAVER Southtown Sporting Goods said the water is stained and about 8 feet above normal level. Bream are good on crickets. Crappie are fair in 15-20 feet of water on jigs. Bass are good on jigs and deep-diving crank baits. White bass are good in the midlake area. J. T. ’s Crappie Guide Service said bass have are good on Carolina rigs fished around main-lake points and humps. Best colors are watermelonred and pumpkinseed. Spinner baits fished along flooded trees have also been effective. Crappie are good in the midlake area on Shineee Hineee jigs. Docks, timber, bluffs and floating debris in the backs of deep coves are prime areas. The fish have been suspended just off the bottom. White bass and walleye are fair at night around Horseshoe Bend along the bluffs. Best tactic is to set out lights and fish minnows 10-30 feet deep. Stripers are fair around point 4 on umbrella rigs trolled 20-30 feet deep. Bream are good on worms and crickets around docks and in rocky areas. Catfish are good, particularly under the Arkansas 12 bridge, where anglers fishing from shore are scoring with worms or livers.
Hook, Line & Sinker said bass remain fair in flooded trees, bushes and grass. Productive lures include spinner baits, topwaters, finesse worms or jigs and Carolina-rigged soft plastics. Topwater action is fair early and late on the lower end of the lake and in other areas where the water is sufficiently clear. Crappie remain scattered and fair on minnows, jigs and trolled crank baits. Stripers are fair from the Clifty area to the dam on big topwaters, live shad and umbrella rigs. Fair catches of white bass, crappie and a few walleye are being made at night under lights on live minnows or small shad. Catfish are good on cut bait, livers and other traditional catfish baits. Bream are good on crickets and worms.
Hickory Creek Marina said crappie are fair, best by trolling with black-chartreuse Bandit crank baits. There’s some schooling action with black, spotted (Kentucky ) and white bass early mornings and late evenings, when fair catches are being made on small topwaters or spoons. Catfish remain good on livers, stink bait, small bream and goldfish. Walleye are fair, best near rocky points on nightcrawlers. Bream are good in the shallows on crickets and worms. BEAVER TAILWATERS No report. BELLA VISTA LAKES Hook, Line & Sinker said bass remain in a summer pattern and are fair in daytime hours on finesse worms and jigs worked from the banks out to 20 feet deep. There’s also some fair action on topwaters early and late in the day. Bass are good at night, with some big ones continuing to be taken from Loch Lomond. Jigs, Texasrigged plastic worms and crank baits are the lures of choice. Crappie and catfish are slow but bream are good on crickets and worms. BULL SHOALS Bull Shoals Boat Dock said the lake remains extremely high at 692. 0 feet. There’s some typical summertime topwater action with bass in early morning and late evening hours. Productive lures include Flukes and Zara Spooks. Otherwise, best bass action is in the same hours and at night on jig-andfrog combos worked along bluffs. A few bass continue to be caught on Rogue, Rebel or X-Rap stick baits and spinner baits fished near the banks; on tubes worked at various depths; on live minnows or nightcrawlers; on white Road Runners fished 10-20 feet deep over flooded brush; on drop-shot rigs; and by flipping jigs or tossing weightless plastic worms around shallow brush. White bass are fair at night under lights and a few are being caught by trolling minnow-imitating lures 18-26 feet deep during daytime hours. Walleye are moving deeper and being caught 18-40 feet deep on nightcrawlers and by trolling Reef Runners or Wally Divers at depths of 20-35 feet. Crappie remains slow, but catfish are good on trotlines or limb lines rigged with small bream, shrimp, livers or stink bait. Bream are fair in the shallows on worms and crickets. BULL SHOALS TAILWATERS Berry Brothers Guides said water releases from Bull Shoals Dam remain consistently strong but trout action is excellent, particularly in the catchand-release areas. Hot flies are San Juan Worms (tan, orange or red ) and brightly colored marabou jigs. Jigs have the added advantage of riding hook point up, making them virtually weedless. Another hot spot is Rim Shoals, where anglers are scoring with egg patterns in bright colors and San Juan Worms. Those fishing just outside the catch-and-release areas are making good catches by using black Zebra Midges with Copper Johns as droppers. Action is extremely good in the Red Bud area on brightly colored marabou jigs.
Sportsman’s White River Resort said trout are excellent, best on jigs and countdown Rapalas. Power Bait and pink or red 3-inch Power Worms also are working well. Fly anglers are scoring on Glo Eggs and San Juan Worms. KINGS RIVER The river was at 3. 5 feet on the gauge at Berryville on Wednesday and is expected to drop to 3. 0 over the weekend, creating good floating conditions. Guide J. D. Fletcher said bass remain good on tubes in shades of brown or green and Rebel crawfish crank baits. LAKE FAYETTEVILLE Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock said water conditions are normal with surface temperatures in the high 70 s. Bream are good on crickets. Crappie are fair on minnows fished 12-15 feet deep. Bass are good on plastic worms. Catfish are fair on minnows and chicken livers. LAKE FORT SMITH No report. NORFORK 101 Grocery and Bait said bream are excellent on crickets, redworms and nightcrawlers. Stripers are good on live shiners or small shad. They also are hitting artificial baits fished 20-30 feet deep. White bass are fair on small in-line spinners. Walleye and smallmouth bass are good. Largemouth are fair. Catfish are good. Crappie are slow. NORFORK TAILWATERS Berry Brothers Guides said action is excellent during low-water periods. Anglers are scoring with black Zebra Nymphs, olive scuds and black Norfork Beadheads, all in size 18. Other top patterns include olive Woolly Bugger, partridge-and-orange soft hackles, and worm brown San Juan Worms. Sparse sulphur hatches are occurring in morning hours, and the fly of choice in those areas is the greenbutt soft hackle. On Dry Run Creek, which is reserved for anglers age 16 and under or handicapped anglers, trophy trout are going for various sow bug patterns in size 14. SEQUOYAH Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the water is clear and about 6 inches above normal level. Bream are good around treetops on crickets and worms. Crappie are good in 4-10 feet of water on minnows, jigs and Road Runners. Bass are good around any structure on spinner baits, plastic worms and plugs. Catfish are fair in the main channel about 20 feet deep on livers, shad and cut bait. TABLE ROCK Guide J. D. Fletcher said the lake remains extremely high. The water has normal clarity and surface temperatures are around 80 in most areas. Largemouth bass continue to be caught just inside and outside lines of flooded trees on jigs, plastic worms and tubes. Mixed catches of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted (Kentucky ) bass are being made off points on topwaters, jigs, grubs, Carolina rigs and football jigs. White bass are surfacing in some areas and are fair on small topwaters and other shad-imitating lures. A few crappie are being caught on minnows and jigs worked 8-12 feet deep, but the fish are remain difficult to locate. Catfish are good on limb lines baited with small bream. Bream are good in the shallows on crickets and worms. TANEYCOMO OzarkAnglers. com said trout action is fair and consistent. The water remains high because of constant generation from Table Rock Dam and recent rains. Trout are best from Cooper Creek downlake, where fair catches are being made by drifting with Power Bait in white, yellow or pink. Casting with Spin-a-Lure or Little Cleo spoons also is producing some fish. There’s some action with both brown and rainbow trout on white jigs throughout the lake, including just below the dam. CATHERINE Catch’em All Guide Service said trout remain slow, although a few good-sized fish are being caught on nightcrawlers and redworms. White bass are only fair in the tailrace on live minnows floated under a bobber. Stripers are beginning to show up below the dam and are going for big topwaters including Super Spooks and C-10 Redfins.
Diamondhead Marina said water conditions are normal. Bream are good on crickets. Crappie are good on minnows. Bass are excellent along shorelines on plastic worms and spinner baits. Catfish are good on a variety of baits. DARDANELLE Lake Dardanelle State Park said the water is high and muddy and a small-craft advisory remains in effect. Surface temperatures are in the low 80 s. Bream are good on worms, crickets and mayflies. Crappie are fair on minnows and small jigs. Bass are fair on darkcolored crank baits, spinner baits and Texas-rigged worms. Best action is early and late in the day around grass beds. Catfish are good on cut shad, nightcrawlers and prepared baits.
Murphy’s Sporting Goods said the water is muddy and high. Bream are good on crickets and worms. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Bass fare good on crank baits and plastic worms. Catfish are good on stink bait HINKLE Bill’s Bait Shop said water conditions are normal. Bream are fair on crickets. Crappie are fair in deep water on minnows and jigs. Catfish are excellent on worms and livers. OUACHITA Mountain Harbor Marina said the lake is about 2 feet high and clear with surface temperatures of 80-86 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged plastic worms, shaky-head worms and black spinner baits. Drop-shot rigs are working well on spotted (Kentucky ) bass near river channel bends and dropoffs. Walleye are good on spoons fished over mainlake points with brush. Stripers are fair on live bait. Bream are excellent on crickets or worms in 18-25 feet of water. Crappie are good over grass and brush. Catfish are excellent on cut bait and live bait on jug lines and trotlines. OZARK POOL Lakeside Food Mart said the water is murky and high. Bream are fair in the backwaters on crickets and worms. Bass are fair on spinner baits. Catfish are good on cut bait and chicken livers. hotspot THIS WEEK: Bull Shoals Tailwaters Trout are excellent on a variety of flies, lures and
baits.