Cast on in, the water’s fine!

Temperatures are ‘just right’ for fishing this week

By JIM HARRIS

jim.harris@agfc.ar.gov

Of course, Mother Nature could change all this, as she is wont to do in Arkansas and with a cold front expected to pass through the state on Saturday (bringing storms again), but our contributors to the Weekly Fishing Report indicate that water temperature throughout the state is prime for fishing as well as for the crappie and bass spawns that, if they haven’t started yet in your area, will be underway soon enough. Temps are hitting the mid- to high 60s from one end of the state to the other. The fish know it and are responding in kind, they say.

Look at that monster largemouth bass (see photo), a 12-pound, 4-ounce specimen, that was caught by Logan Cernosek, a 15-year-old ninth-grader at Pocahontas, in a Randolph County Lake on April 2. Logan reported that he and his friend Landon Gibson were fishing for crappie with a 4-pound test line when he thought he’d hooked on a log. Instead, this was a live one that he eventually pulled in and weighed on a portable scale before releasing.

Our bass sources tell us 12-pound largemouths are pretty much unicorns up in Randolph County, but now we know there’s one and it’s back in the water for catching again.

We checked in on Thursday with several spots around Central Arkansas, and they all seemed to indicate that the fishing is superb, from Lake Ouachita to the Little Maumelle River to the Arkansas River to Lake Conway. Great trout fishing conditions still exist in north Arkansas, according to reports, while the big lakes like Bull Shoals, Norfork, Beaver and Greers Ferry are being rapidly brought down to regular pool level by the Army Corps of Engineers, while fish have found some new spots to hide out in the expanded water acreage of late.

Check out what our reporters have to offer in your neck of the woods:

Lake Charles

Shelly Jeffrey at Lake Charles State Park (870878-6595) said crappie and bream were biting earlier in the week, but fishing slowed down this past weekend.

Crappie overall have been good on minnows as well as jigs in all colors. They are relating to the brush piles, stumps and rocky points. Catfish continue to bite well. Try worms, blood bait, stink bait and chicken liver on lines.

There has been fair bass fishing of late, but Shelly had no specifics beyond that.

The surface temperature on Sunday had worked its way past the 60-degree mark, coming in at 63.5 degrees (nearly 11 degrees above the previous Sunday). Water clarity is the usual murky. The water level has dropped to normal level for the first time in a few weeks.

Anglers who follow the “moon times” should pencil in April 17-23 as the best days this month to fish Lake Charles, she said.

Lake Poinsett

Seth Boone, the superintendent at Lake Poinsett State Park, said Lake Poinsett is kicking on all cylinders. The bream are biting on worms and Bream Killers.

“We haven’t heard a lot of reports on catfish,” Seth said, “but I bet they would bite all right in the evenings on live or stink bait.”

Crappie, while catch-andrelease only, have been tearing up pink and chartreuse jigs. Bass are doing well on crankbaits and shallow-water baits.

Crown Lake

Boxhound Marina (870670-4496) has seen some activity with bass being caught in good numbers and are reported to be healthy “and chunky.” They are using a variety of baits, but it tends to lean toward crankbaits or jigs. No bass are on top yet, but they are moving into shallower areas. They’ve seen some crappie anglers out. The water level is normal and the clarity is dingy.

Spring River

Mark Crawford with springriverfliesandguides. com (870-955-8300) said the Spring has been running at 560 cfs (well above the 350 average), and water clarity is stained a cloudy green. There has been a lot of rain over the last month to say the least. The river is up over a foot, making for tougher wading, but with the stocking increased through March and the bad weather, the rainbows have had a chance to build up and have been fun to catch. Really nice sizes, too! And high water is always a good time to chase browns.

With the flow stronger than normal, extra weight is a must to get down. Sink tips or long leaders and split shot will get the fish that are holding the bottom. Olive Woollies, egg patterns and big nymphs with a lot of weight have been working great. A few browns and smallmouth bass have been caught and released that have been heavy fish. Streamer action for the browns and deep slow presentations for the smallies work great when they are on the bite.

The campgrounds have all opened and are getting ready for the summer season. This is a great time to fish the campgrounds before school lets out for the summer. A person could have the river to oneself. The campgrounds have easier wading in most areas and that’s a good thing with the higher water flows.

At times the river has had too much rain and turned muddy. Stay tuned to our blog page on our website at springriverfliesandguides. com for the latest river conditions and what the fish are hitting. It takes a lot of rain to flood the river, but it can flood with heavy prolonged rains. Be safe during nasty weather and keep on high ground.

Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery should open this spring after a full renovation. “We are very excited to have the new hatchery completed. Jim Hinkle stocks all of the trout streams in Arkansas and this new hatchery will be a huge asset to our area. Able to raise rainbows and brown trout, it may even be used to raise tiger trout in the future. Gonna be cool! To help support our river, all of us at Spring River Flies and Guides practice catch and release. The hatchery rainbow trout raised at Hinkle fish hatchery are strong and beautiful. We like to watch them grow,” he said.

Mark adds, “Be safe wading. This is the time to buy that new wading staff. We all need one.”

John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said the water level on the Spring River is fishable. “This is a great place to wade fish when they are running water on the White and North Fork rivers,” he says. Wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot flies have been olive Woolly Buggers with a bit of flash, cerise and hot pink San Juan worms and Y2Ks.

Plan a weekend fishing trip and bring home a trophy catch like this one!

Photo courtesy of AGFC