Regional Fishing Reports
FISHING REPORTS (cont.)
rain. Some exciting fishing news for the upcoming weekend can be found in this week's reports, besides all that fun crappie talk from DeGray. Read on below for this week's Fishing Reports…
Lake Erling — Lake Erling Guide Service (870-904-8546) reported that lake clarity is clear, while the the water level is low (water is being released from the lake). Crappie fishing is good. The fish are 10 feet deep. Minnows and jigs were working, along with hand-tied jigs and Bonehead Tackle Jigs in gray/silver and pink/silver colors). Catfishing is excellent on anything and everything, they report.
Erling has a nice population of channel, blue and very large flathead catfish, per recent AGFC fish sampling.
Lake Greeson — Visit www.littlemissouriflyfishing. com for a daily update on fishing conditions.
As of Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at Narrows Dam was 544.00 feet msl (full pool: 548.00 feet msl).
DeGray Lake — John Duncan of yoyoguideservice. com at iron mountain marina says the lake level is up and water temperature is back up to 86.
“The bite has slowed down but still catching some nice fish,” he said. “Lots of smaller crappie in brushpiles in the 22- to 12-foot depth range. A few larger ones will be caught mixed in with the small ones.
Most of the piles have groups of smaller fish on the top, such as bream, Kentucky bass and 8- to 9-inch crappie. Most of the bigger ones we are catching are near the bottom.”
“We are having less action on casting jigs. Drop-shotting for us is producing the biggest and most crappie.
It’s been my experience that when the water temperature reach 86 or above, the crappie bite slows on brushpile fishing.”
“Bream still biting, but the bed fishing is in the rears compared to a couple of weeks ago. People are still noodling for catfish.
“Well, with the bad news comes some good news.
Surface activity is on the upswing. On Tuesday I saw whites on the surface at Cedar Point and hybrids around Goat Island.
Topwaters like Zara Spook, Whopper Plopper, and a popper/chugger bait are good. Looks like early morning runs and chasing the schoolers is the best action.”
Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service (501-844-5418) said Monday, “It’s truly amazing, but I’m still catching ample numbers of crappie 8-12 feet deep in 15-24 feet of water on live bait.”
“However, not all the brushpiles are holding crappie and it’s getting thinner each day. So, in transition, I’m seeing some surface activity from the spotted bass and I’m still watching for the whites and hybrids to start breaking and doing their morning feed.”
White Oak Lake Area — Curtis Willingham of River Rat Bait (870-231-3831) said that the water is finally out of flood stage and at a normal level. The water is a little muddy, but is at a normal level (out flood stage). Bream are good on worms and crickets.
Crappie are fair in the Ouachita River lakes on minnows and jigs. Black bass are fair with the bite being a little sporadic.
Catfish are good; use shad, live bait or bream.
Lake Atkins — Donald Ramirez at Lucky Landing (479-641-7615) said the lake is clear and the water is low. Bream continue to bite fairly well, though this week’s bite fell back to good from last week s excellent action. Redworms and crickets are the usual go-tos. Crappie aren’t to be seen, though. Bass are fair.
THe best way to catch them this week was to fish deep with a 10- to 12-inch worm, or throw a spinnerbait. Catfish were not biting.
Lake Catherine — Shane Goodner, owner of Catch ‘em All Guide Service, reports that water temperature below the dam is 58 degrees with clear conditions in the tailrace.
Entergy is currently scheduling generation from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day starting today and continuing through Thursday, July 8. This schedule is posted weekly on the Entergy website for public viewing normally on Wednesday evening. Now that Lake Ouachita has been lowered several feet below flood pool, weekly flows from area dams are now at a level where fishing and boating are now safe to continue. Rainbow trout fishing below Carpenter Dam is very slow as the season was marred by flooding. The past three years have been adversely affected by high water as trout despise muddy conditions. Summer water temperatures of late June and early July mark the end of the trout season on Lake Catherine until the AGFC stocking program begins again in mid-November.
Catfish have been caught below the bridge in the main channel on cut bait and live minnows as these fish are nearing the end of their spawning cycle. The majority of fish caught have been in the 4- to 8-pound range. Blue catfish are the dominant species in the tailrace area. White bass have been observed breaking in the early morning hours chasing threadfin shad. Casting spinnerbaits and jigs in 3/4-ounce weights has been the best presentation to catch these fish the past several weeks.
Hybrid bass school alongside white bass and are being caught on the same techniques. Trolling shallow- running crankbaits against the current has been productive catching white bass and hybrids, as well as walleye in the 3-pound class. Walleye thrive in the tailrace in the summer months as these fish prefer colder water temperatures than other area game fish.
The summer months will be dominated by these fish species with migration in and out of the tailrace a weekly event.
Always wear a life jacket when on the water and continue to follow park rules and regulations.
Lake Nimrod — Andrews Bait Shop and More (479-272-4025) said Wednesday afternoon that Nimrod remains clear and is now at a normal level. Bream are good on redworms, crickets and nightcrawlers. Crappie are good, with the catching coming in 4-5 feet of water on minnows and jigs.
Black bass are good, mostly hitting spinnerbaits.
Catfishing os good; they can be caught on noodles as well as trotlines using live bait or cut shad.
