East Arkansas Fishing Reports

Cooler temps and waters should bring more bites

Lou Gabric, who runs Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake, says that, slowly but surely, striped bass are being to show up. Heavy rains a week ago pushed some stripers back into the major creeks that had cooler flowing water. But, as the main lakes like Norfork begin to cool (and cool air like Tuesday’s should help), the stripers will move into the main portions and onto deep flats. Norfork, Beaver and many other lakes should see a big change in striper activity soon, if they haven’t already. Or just follow Lou where he goes to find them.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of other good reports, including even more good news about crappie picking up, as well as some excellent news about black bass moving into shallower waters.

There’s not a lot that will match the fun of catching a brown trout in the Arkansas trout streams. Jim McDaniel, caught this nice brown a week ago using a Shadow Rap on the White River.

There are plenty of opportunities still to catch brown and rainbow trout, and maybe a cutthroat, brook or one of those rare golden trout that have been popping up this year thanks to some AGFC stocking.

Remember that even if you’re wade fishing and moving around, you will want to start watching out for the “redds,” the areas in the shoals of the streams where brown trouts begin to spawn and lay their eggs. Disturbing those redds can hurt the brown trout hatch, something we definitely want to avoid so there are many more browns like this one to be caught in the days ahead.

The German brown trout is native to Europe, but it’s found in the tailwaters of Beaver, Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry dams. The spawn typically starts during fall and winter.

“The AGFC Trout Management Program recommends anglers be mindful of spawning activity during this time of the year and to be careful when wade fishing to avoid trampling over redds,” says Christy Graham, the AGFC trout program coordinator. “Anglers should also be aware that there are some seasonal regulations in effect that coincide with the brown trout spawning season on both the White and Little Red rivers.”

So, how do you spot a redd? Graham says it’s fairly easy. They appear as clean, oval patchs of small to medium-sized gravel and are typically 2-3 feet in diameter. The gravel in them is typically lighter- colored than surrounding gravel. There may be a small depression or mound where gravel has been excavated and deposited over the eggs.

Fishing the trout spawn can produce some exciting action because extremely large brown trout tend to show themselves a bit more and becomd more agressive during this time.

An offshoot of the brown trout spawn is that rainbow and cutthroats often produce some exception fishing on egg patterns and corn during this period because of their tendency to capitalize on brown trout eggs that become dislodged from the nests and float downstream.

The main thing for anglers to concentrate on is to lessen the damage they might do to the brown trout’s redds during this time of year. Use the best possible catch-and-releases practices particularly during the spawn, as trout are guarding their redds. Avoiding “snagging” the fish at this time of year with a hard jerk to set the hook, and use barbless hooks to minimize damage to the fish’s mouth and land the fish as quickly as possible. Wet your hands to land the fish and minimize the amount of time it stays out of the water, so that it may return to its redd as soon as possible. Visit www.agfc.com/ en/fishing/sportfish/trout for more information about trout fishing in Arkansas.