Fishing report brought to you by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission for September 1st, 2011. For North and Northeast Arkansas….
Northeast Arkansas
Lake Poinsett State Park said the lake looks good. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are good. Bass are good on redworms and jigs.
Crown Lake
Boxhound Marina (870-670-4496) said the water is about one foot low and is clear. Bream are biting well on redworms and crickets. Bass are biting well on red shad and tequila sunrise worms fished around humps and ledges in 15 to 20 feet of water. Catfishing is good on nightcrawlers and chicken livers.
Lake Frierson
Lake Frierson State Park said the water is low and murky. Bream are biting well on nightcrawlers and crickets. Catfishing is good on chicken liver and goldfish.
Local angler Kenneth Boling said blue catfish are being caught well during the day from the pier on chicken livers and stinkbait.
Spring River
Mark Crawford with Spring River Flies and Guides said water levels are at 340 cfs at the spring and water clarity is clear. Over the last few weeks a lot of brown and cutthroat trout are being caught. Browns and cutthroats are more likely to take dry flies and more natural imitations. Hot flies over the last few weeks have been Mark’s PFDs and hornets. During the heat of the day, the fishing slows. Trout Magnets in red and purple haze colors are hot, with pink producing well during slower times. Smallmouth and largemouth are hitting well during early morning and late evening hours.
North Arkansas
White River
Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said the water is high and clear, with six to eight generators running. Some mornings saw only three generators online. Trout fishing is the best there’s been in a long while. Rainbow trout are excellent on Power Worms with shrimp or trout worms added to the hook. Brown trout are close to the narrows at Tucker and are excellent on white jigs, Rapalas and Rogues from sunup to about 2 p.m.
Randy Oliver at www.randyoliverguide.com (901-832-1903) said five generators are running in the mornings, and five to eight generators running in the afternoons. Black/gold and rainbow colored no. 7 Countdown Rapalas have worked well in the mornings.
Guide Davy Wotton said fishing is as good as it gets using many methods from deep dead drifting nymphs, dry flies with hoppers and wet and soft hackles, depending on where you are fishing. White River is currently seeing generation 24/7 from lower flows early on to high flows later in the day. The river is generally very clean. The White is good all the way down to Sylamore. We are also seeing many good browns averaging 15 to 20 inches long.
Jim Brentlinger at Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said generation has been consistently high. Trout are biting steadily on Countdown Rapalas. One-quarter-ounce Zig Jigs will work as well, but they are difficult to fish in the heavy current. Any place on the river where the water slows will hold fish. There are a lot of smallmouth, but they are difficult to catch with the heavy flow. Large spinnerbaits cast to the bank and slow rolled back to the boat will produce fish; just be patient and keep casting.
Buffalo River
Just Fishing Guides said the water levels are: Ponca – 1.38 feet and 3.2 cfs; Pruitt – 3.30 feet and 5.1 cfs; Tyler Bend – 3.68 feet and 80 cfs; Buffalo Point – 2.52 feet and 137. The entire river is very low and wading or dragging a canoe is the only way to fish except in the Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point areas. Water temperatures are ranging from 78-88 degrees. Smaller fish have been the rule. The river flows are very low and care should be taken to not spook fish. Spin fisherman are doing good bottom bouncing tubes, lizards and brush hogs in watermelon/red and green pumpkin. For fly fishing, try crazy dads, rabbit tail sliders, woolly buggers, Clouser minnows and Shenks white streamers on both floating and sink-tip lines. Â
Crooked Creek
Just Fishing Guides said the gauge at Kelly’s Slab is reading 9.39 ft. and 4.3 cfs. The creek is really low for floating, but fishing is excellent for wading. Spin fishing with soft plastics and 1/16-oz. jigs will consistently catch good numbers of fish. Topwater lures are working well also and some days will catch just as many as bottom bouncing plastics. 4-inch lizards, 3-inch tubes and brush hogs in watermelon, watermelon/red and green pumpkin are working well. Try Tiny Torpedoes and small buzzbaits for topwater action. For fly fishers use Clousers, zonkers, crazy dads, near nuff sculpins, poppers, sliders and hopper patterns.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 669.24 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 654 MSL).
Mike Worley’s Guide Service said walleye, bass and bluegills are all biting well on several techniques. Bottom bouncers with spinners and nightcrawlers are working well in 25 to 35 feet of water. Trolling crank baits like Fat Free Shads, 600 Reef Runners and No. 9 Shad Raps are catching walleye and bass near points in 15 to 25 feet of water. Jigging spoons are working well on points and brush piles in 25 to 35 feet of water. Some launch ramps now have parking lots that are usable and most of the launch ramps should be in pretty good shape for Labor Day weekend.
Bull Shoals Tailwater
Just Fishing Guides said water releases are continuous at 10,000 cfs with releases ramping up to 18,500 cfs for about 10-12 hours. Drift fishing has been very good with sink-tips and medium size streamers with good numbers of rainbows and browns. Hopper patterns are doing very well also and, of course, nymphing with scud, sow bug, caddis and worm patterns. Minnow crankbaits in black/gold and black/blue are working along with brown trout-colored jointed minnows. In-line spinners like Rooster Tails and Mepps are also picking up fish.
Lake Norfork
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 560.46 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool: Sept.-April – 552 MSL, April-Sept. – 554 MSL).
101 Grocery and Bait had no report.
Blackburn Resort said surface temperature is 85 degrees and dropping slowly. Stripers are moving deeper to about 80 feet, and can be caught on a spoon or trolling with a downrigger. Crappie and bass are moving to the brush piles around 29 feet deep and can also be caught with a spoon or with minnows.
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort said bass, walleye, crappie and bluegill seem to be down 20 to 30 feet on the bottom. I have been finding lots of baitfish hovering in the 20 to 30 foot range and when I find the bait usually I mark a lot of fish. This is also telling me that the thermocline is dropping. I am still noticing increased numbers of black bass breaking the surface at sunrise. Yesterday I actually saw a huge area of water just start to boil. There were big fish coming totally out of the water. Normally you don’t see this type of topwater action this time of year, but the fishing this year has been a little different than usual. Catfish are being caught on trotlines using live bait and also on rod and reels using chicken livers.
Guide Steve Olomon said the lake level is 9 feet above normal pool and the water temp is in the mid-80s. Look for stripers suspended down at least 60 feet on the lower end of the lake. Whatever you use for bait, live or artificial, you need to get your bait down to the fish. Bass are hitting topwater early. Watch for them chasing bait to the surface on points and in some pockets. Also try a jig in green pumpkin or peanut butter and jelly in 15-30 feet on flats and long tapering points.