Wet a hook this winter

Lake Hamilton, southwest Arkansas locales offer good cold-weather fishing

By Jim Harris

Arkansas Wildlife Editor

Millwood Lake

Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said Millwood Lake continues on a slow rise. The lake Saturday was at 259.15 feet msl and rising, and clarity has improved. Millwood Lake tailwater elevation was near 224 feet msl with gate discharge at the dam around 1,140 CFS in Little River, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

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 were stable this week, ranging in 50-55 degrees depending on location.

Lots of Little River buoy markers along the main lake channel MAY HAVE MOVED with recent gate changes at the Millwood Dam and high wind. Use caution in navigation on main lake river channels where river buoys may be out of channel from recent high winds.

The Millwood State Park Marina has closed for the winter season. Millwood State Park is open for camping, and the State Park office can be reached at 870-898-2800 for availability or more information. Corps of Engineers Campgrounds are open for camping. Call (877) 4446777 for more information. Mike offered this breakdown for fishing specifics this week on Millwood:

• Largemouth bass reactions slowed over the past week. The best feeding cycles shifted over the past few weeks to mid-day and afternoon. Threadfin shad

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are still roaming in and out of the shallow flats with any remaining lily pads, other times over drops from 9 feet to around 15 feet of depth. The black bass are continually roaming and following the huge pods of threadfin shad in the oxbows along Little River and in mouths of the creeks that dump into the river. Shad have been randomly surface-breaking when the bass are pushing the huge schools and pods of shad to surface. Watch for egrets and herons feeding on the shad. Bass will continue to be roaming with the cooler water temperatures, following the shad schools on primary and secondary points and into the creek channels.

We found several schools of 2- to 4-pound largemouths staging on points, and a few decent bass were already deep into the creek channels where the shad began moving into the backs of several creeks.

Their feeding cycles seem to fluctuate wildly over the past several weeks.

Mike added, Over the past couple weeks, we have noticed huge schools of shad staging on creek channel points and creek mouths, and over the last few days began moving deeper into creeks that junction Little River and the oxbows. Watch your electronics for huge shad pods ranging 6-14 feet deep on primary or secondary points. The screen will go completely solid mass

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when you locate the shad schools. Bass are holding near and underneath these huge shad schools. Some days, with lots of wind gusts, the shad will drop vertically into the 10-15 foot depths, and the surface activity will diminish.

Other days, it s like the bass are flipping a switch on and off again when it s time to feed. The feeding binges can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes, and they flip the switch off again. Snake Creek, Hurricane Creek, White Cliffs Creek, and all the way up to Brown’s Slough have been holding shad schools over the past several weeks.

The best reactions over the past couple weeks continue to be on custom-painted Little John Crankbaits, Bomber Flat-A’s, Fat Free Guppy’s in Tennessee Shad or Citrus Shad and Bill Lewis Lure’s MR-6 Crankbaits in Millwood Magic, Ghost Shad, Chrome/Blue (sunny days) and Splatterback colors.

H& H Spinnerbaits in yellow/ black, white/green or white/chartreuse are getting a few good reactions on flats with the remaining lily pads. Rat-L-Traps in quarter- ounce-size Spin Traps and half-ounce Traps in Millwood Magic, Chrome/Blue Back and Chartreuse Silver Shad continue to catch random fish that are roaming and following the shad schools over the past couple weeks. When fishing the points dumping into Little River, the Rat-L-Trap 1-Knockers in three-quarter-ounce size will get down deeper on the points with stumps present, and drop off into the river with a different vibration and presentation than the smaller Rat-LTraps, and connect with larger schools. One point may hold all largemouth bass, the next point may hold all white bass. Both species are following the shad all along Little River and they are staging on the points, with some of the largemouth pulling into the creek channels where deep access to the river, stumps and points are attracting the shad.

• White bass continue roaming all along Little River, and have heavily schooled up all along Little River for several weeks now, They re found from White Cliffs campground all the way up to U.S.

Highway 71 bridge, and where the Cossatot River intersects and dumps into Little River. Hammered Cordell Chrome Spoons with a red bucktail, Rocket Shads, Fat Free Shads in Tennessee Shad and Citrus Shad, half-ounce Rat-LTraps, Bill Lewis’ MR-6 Crankbaits, and Spin Traps in Chrome/Blue, Millwood Magic, Tennessee Shad and Threadfin Shad colors all have been working catching whites over the past several weeks.

Watch your electronics for the mass of shad and whites from 12 to 22 feet of depth between White Cliffs Campground and Cemetery Slough along the river.

• Catfish improved over the past week with an increase in current along Little River, and normal pool being reached on Millwood. Trotlines, yoyos and limblines were working over the past week, with best results on chicken livers, cut buffalo, cut shad and homemade blood dough. Trotlines seemed to be working best along Little River, set 14to 18-feet depth.

Lake Erling

Lake Erling Guide Service (870-904-8546) reports that the lake is still a little dingy and is low by 7Ω-8 feet. The lake has been in a partial drawdown for several weeks.

Crappie continue to produce an excellent bite.

Hand-tied jigs and BoneHead plastics are working best. Black bass are fair in the afternoons.

Catfishing are still excellent on any kind of bait. No reports on bream.

Lake Columbia

Curtis Willingham at River Rat Bait in Camden (870231-3831) made his way down to Lake Columbia for some crappie fishing this week. He reported Wednesday afternoon that crappie are good on minnows and jigs in the early morning.

Visit www.littlemissouriflyfishing. com for a daily update on fishing conditions on Lake Columbia, Lake Greeson or the Lake Greeson Tailwater

DeGray Lake

As of Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake s elevation was 396.30 feet msl (full pool: 408.00 feet msl).

Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips (501844-5418) says crappie are moving into their winter pattern. Fish with live bait or jigs over brushpiles near deep water channels.

White Oak Lake

Curtis Willingham at River Rat Bait in Camden (870231-3831) reported Wednesday afternoon that crappie are good on minnows and jigs in the early morning on White Oak Lake.