Big Bass Being Pulled out of Millwood Lake

The spring fishing is heating up across the Natural State

Arkansas Wildlife Editor The angle used in the photo (right) of a Little Rock-area angler named Darrin, who was fishing with guide Mike Siefert, tends to make one think he might have a double-digit-pound bass in his hands. Alas, it was “only” 4 1/2 to 5 pounds of largemouth. Oh well. (Just kidding, of course). But Siefert tells us that anglers are catching upwards of 10-11 pounders in Millwood these days as the water warms up and the bass do, too. Brad and Dad Chronister from central Arkansas hauled in a largemouth that was 5 to 5 1/2 pounds, according to Siefert (see page 9).

We're hearing good reports of walleye, white bass and stripers in northern Arkansas and crappie are at or near the spawning time in many locales, including Greers Ferry Lake.

Later this week, we’ll hear from one of our favorite spots, as Cane Creek Lake State Park lets us in on the scoop down there near Star City: Crappie fishing is starting to pick up. Reports are coming in that they can be found at a depth of aroun 3-4 feet and are being caught on minnows.

Bass are falling into a spring pattern and can be found fishing around structure. Catfish are also always a fun target there.

Our reporters from the Little Rock pool of the Arkansas River also note the hot crappie bite in some areas, just watch the flow conditions (they're down significantly from last week, which is good).

Lake Hamilton is a hot spot right now; read up on that in Greeson Marine's report.

And for you folks who like a nice paddling adventure with some fishing thrown in, Loy Lewis has begun filing new reports from War Eagle Outfitters in northwest Arkansas.

There's plenty going on, and we can always hope that this week was the last bit of winter we'll see for a while. Check out a few of this week's reports below.

• Millwood Lake — Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said that as of Tuesday, Millwood Lake clarity has worsened from recent thunderstorms, and is about 8 inches above normal conservation pool and falling; oxbows' water clarity is stained, Little River has increased stain from current. Millwood Lake pool elevation on Tuesday was 259.9 feet msl with gate discharge at the dam around 16,200 cfs in Little River, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The tailwater below the dam and gates is around 244 feet msl and falling with discharge.

Check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on the guide service’s website linked above, or at the US Army Corps of Engineers website, for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels.

Surface temps remained stable this week, ranging 59-67 degrees depending on location. Continue to use caution in navigation on Little River and Millwood, watching for random broken or floating timber in Little River. Lots of Little River buoy markers have been replaced along the main lake channel. Use extreme caution in navigation on the main lake. Current along Little River increased this week with discharge release at the dam, and river clarity ranges 3-5 inches visibility depending on location.

Clarity and visibility of oxbows is 10-18 inches depending on location.

Further up Little River has heavier stain conditions.

As for fishing details: Largemouth bass: Bass have been in a full-blown spawning mode for the past two-to-three weeks on Millwood. Numerous bass beds continue being seen with pre-spawn females staging and spawning.

Largemouth bass were improved a little more this week with warmer daytime highs and warm southern winds. Brazalo Spinnerbaits in white/chartreuse, Millwood Mayhem Bream and Spot Remover caught decent bass this week, and Chatterbaits picked up some healthy 3-to 5-pound largemouths this week. “Most bass we are finding continue randomly roaming shallow on full sun and bright skies in the 3- to 6-foot depths of

Continued on Page 9 LAKE MILLWOOD (cont.)

flats adjacent to deeper drops into 7-10 feet depth ranges,” Siefert says. “The best period this week are during the late morning.

Anywhere a creek channel runs near spawning flats with vertical structure nearby, where stumps and creek mouths drop, have held some decent-sized bass over the past few weeks.

Several largemouth bass over 10 pounds each have been weighed in over the past two weeks.”

Bass Assassin Shads continue to draw good reactions this week, with Salt and Pepper Silver Phantom, Pumpkinseed and Grey Ghost being the best colors. Best colors of Bugs and Beavers for the past couple of weeks have been Black Neon, Grasshopper, Blackberry and Pearl Bream. Custom-poured Senkos are working on stumps and cypress trees in 3-8 feet depth of water.

Heavy thumper tail swimbaits and Beavers on a Jackhammer Chatterbait in Spot Remover or Blue Glimmer are working, and Zoom Trick Worms in black/blue, Blue Ice and Purple Smoke are catching bass. Bulky lizards in Blackberry, Blue Bayou, black/blue tail and Watermelon Candy continue taking a few good bass on flooded cypress trees and stumps, and along vegetation lines in ditches, creeks and flats from 3-8 feet deep. Those bass were exploring new bed making locations near flooded timber and cypress trees.

White bass: Continue moving a little further upriver between Cemetery Slough and U.S. Highway 71 at Wilton Landing along Little River this week.

Numerous anglers are connecting with white bass in the 3-pound class along the river on Rocket Shads, Little Georges, Chuck'n Spins, Rooster Tails, spoons and crankbaits. The white bass have begun their annual spawning run up Little River over the past week and are staging and moving up Little River to headwaters for the spawn.

Crappie: Have been much improved this week on minnows and jigs in Mud and McGuire oxbow lakes up Little River. Crappie are holding in 8-9 feet depth this week and have not yet pulled up to spawn, but are staging to move shallow over the next week or so.

Catfish: They continue to bite consistently in Horseshoe and Mud oxbows up Little River on yo-yos, and limblines in the oxbows, using King's Punch Bait, chicken livers, gizzards and hot dogs.

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— Capt.

Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service (501-844-5418) 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.

Local angler Charles Abernathy says the water is warming up quickly and this is the moment that most everyone has been waiting for. Best places to start searching for spawning crappie are small protected pockets along the main river channel and main creek channels. Take one of those 2-inch grubs/Baby Shads and start chunking shallow pulling it back very slow. Fishing shallow is also a good time to use a float. This really allows you to slow your bait down and will help you be more successful.

Cover some ground. When you pick one up, slow down and fish the area thoroughly. Also keep an eye on that staging brush that is shallow in the middle of those pockets (less than 10 feet). Some fish will use this brush coming in and out. Also, you have to remember all fish don’t spawn at the same time and they all don’t do it in the same place. Some fish will even spawn in the tops of shallow timbers that are unseen under the surface.

You can fish brush this time of year and not even hit the bank and still be successful (I call it fishing conservatively. You’re not as likely to get skunked, but on the other hand you may not fill your lunch box, either). Just because your neighbor says they caught some up shallow and they tell you “man, they are shallow”, that LAKE MILLWOOD (cont.)

doesn’t mean all of them are shallow. You still need to monitor that brush in 5-10 feet. If you have forward- looking sonar, you need to watch the open water in those spots, too.

Fishing for spawning crappie can sometimes be feast or famine depending on if you find where they are socializing. You can use that forward-looking sonar to find them in 2 feet of water. It’s harder to see but it can be done with the right settings. If you go back and review some locations in my winter reports and find the shallows in those areas you will find spawning crappie.

Lennox, Cox Creek, Point Cedar, Shouse Ford and Brushy are all good starting spots. Pick one of these areas and spend the entire day fishing the area thoroughly and you will find spawning crappie.

“I get quite a few emails and I enjoy reading/responding to every one of them. Thank you so much for reading these and thanks to everyone for letting me know. As always, feel free to reach out at c.abernathy32@gmail.com for more info. •

— Curtis Willingham of River Rat Bait (870-231-3831) said water clarity remains muddy and the level is high. Bream are fair on worms and crickets.

Crappie are fair using minnows, jigs and shiners.

Bass are good on spinnerbaits and soft plastics.

Catfish are fair; use worms.

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Ramirez at Lucky Landing (479-641-7615) said no anglers had been out lately as the conditions on Lake Atkins had been too windy and c choppy, so he had no catch reports. The lake clarity is clear and the level is high. When the conditions were right a couple of weeks ago, the crappie were good for anglers using either minnows or Bobby Garland Jigs. Bass were good on plastic worms in size 10 or 12.

Catfish were biting on worms and hot dogs at that time.

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— 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 12-hour 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. Both lakes Hamilton and Catherine are now refilled to normal summertime pools and will remain at these levels until mid-November. 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. Flyfishermen 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 timehonored 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.

Always wear a life jacket when on the water and wear a mask and observe social distancing when encountering others.

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— Charles Morrison at Classic Catch Guide Service (479-647-9945) said water temperature in the main river is around 56 degrees warming to 58. Some backwater pockets are reaching the mid-60s. River is muddy and a little high but the Corps of Engineers has been dropping it. Some of the bays are beginning to clear, and creeks are beginning to clear. Bass have been good on spinnerbaits.