Spring fishing stays hot

Arkansas anglers making more nice catches as weather warms

By Jim Harris

Arkansas Wildlife Editor

The receny Spring break week, coupled with warmer weather (and once the tornadoes cleared out), got a lot of anglers and families out on the water for some good times. Sydney Orr of Hope journeyed to Rim Shoals on the White River to catch a 21-inch brown trout (top left), while Adam Anderson and his son also were enjoying spring break on the White River with some nice, memorable catches near Cotter Trout Dock (top right). Thanks for sending us your photos.

As the fishing picks up around Arkansas, we're starting to receive photo submissions of great catches around The Natural State, and we encourage them. Please, send and we'll publish. Some folks use askagfc@agfc.ar.gov to get a photo over to the report; or you can send them directly to the editor of the page at jim.harris@agfc.ar.gov.

Our mailbox is open; share your good times with us.

Fishing Reports

This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing report for the week of April 5, 2021. If there is a body of water you would like included in this report, please email jim.harris@agfc.ar.gov with information on possible sources for reports about that lake or river.

Reports are updated weekly, although some reports might be published for two weeks if updates are not received promptly or if reporters say conditions haven’t changed. Contact the reporter for the lake or stream you plan to fish for current news. Note: msl = mean sea level; cfs = cubic feet per second. All Corps of Engineers lake and river readings were taken at 9 a.m. the day of publication (April 3). Buy an Arkansas Fishing License online at www.agfc.com. Your purchase of a Fishing License helps support the AGFC’s work in maintaining the fishing resources throughout the state.

Northeast Arkansas

•

— Shelly Jeffrey at Lake Charles State Park (870-878-6595) said water is warming up and fish are biting at Lake Charles. Surface temperature Monday morning was 60 degrees. The water is high and murky. Crappie are fair. Try minnows, jigs and worms, and focus your bait around brushpiles, stumps and rocky points.

Black bass are good. Best bet is using plastic worms.

Look around the brush.

Catfishing is good using worms, blood bait, stink bait or chicken liver. Two weeks ago they had a 48pound flathead catfish caught on a crappie jig by Frank Bradley. No reports on white bass or bream.

• Lake Poinsett — Seth Boone, the superintendent at the Lake Poinsett State Park visitor center (870578-2064), says Lake Poinsett is filling up right now. The gate at the dam at Lake Poinsett was closed on Dec. 1, following the completion of a renovation, allowing the lake to begin refilling with rainwater.

The lake, at Lake Poinsett State Park, has been undergoing a three-year renovation with a new water control structure, more than 10,000 linear feet of shoreline work, more than 100 habitat structures placed on the lakebed, and nearly 100 trees anchored for fish habitat with more anchoring in the plans as the lake begins to refill.

When the lake has enough water for stocking, channel catfish will be stocked to give anglers target fish to seek, while prey fish such as shiners and shad will be stocked. After the prey fish have established a base over the next year or so, predator fish such as largemouth bass and crappie will then be stocked.

• Crown Lake — Boxhound Marina (870670-4496) reports that the lake is slightly cloudy and the surface temperature Wednesday afternoon was 50 degrees. The lake is high by about 8 inches.

Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Bass are good on crankbaits and jerkbaits. No reports on catfish or bream.

• Spring River — Mark Crawford with Spring River Flies and Guides (870-955-8300) said water levels at the spring are at 450 cfs (350 cfs is average), and that's up about a

See FISH, page A9 FISH

From page A8

foot. Water clarity has been a heavy green tint this week. Much better from the last few weeks. Extra care wading should be taken with the flows up.

Fishing has been really good. Trout have been hitting white steamers and eggs. This week it has been all about getting down to the fish. A little extra weight can go a long way.

Hot pink and orange Trout Magnets have been producing well. Just make sure to run the float up high enough so the Trout Magnet is just off the bottom of the river. Increased stocking over the last month has been great.

Average size of 12 inches makes for some really strong fish right off. The strong river only adds weight. It doesn't hurt to use heavier tippet to handle the fish; 3x/6lb test works well.

Check out springriverfliesandguides. com for Mark’s blog for daily updates on river conditions. Be safe!

John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said the Spring River is fishing well. This is a great place to wade fish when they are running water on the White and North Fork rivers. Be sure to 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 (size 10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (size 10) and Y2Ks (size 10).

•

The Army Corps of Engineers reported Thursday that the White River stage at Batesville was at 11.12 feet, nearly 4 feet below the flood stage of 15.0 feet. The Newport stage was at 23.33, about 3 feet below flood stage of 26.0 feet.

The stage at Augusta is still very high at 31.79 feet, more than 5 feet above flood stage of 26.0 feet.

Triangle Sports (870-7937122) said the water has cleared and is at a normal level. Walleye reports have come in, with anglers reporting a fair bite using jigs, minnows and crankbaits. Bass are fair; try plastics, jigs and Baby Brush Hogs. No other reports.

Southeast Arkansas

• Arkansas River (Pine Bluff Pool) — The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Bass Fishing Team had no new reports.

• Cane Creek Lake — Jeff Shell, superintendent at Cane Creek State Park, said Cane Creek Lake water temperatures are running in the mid-50s. Water clarity is starting to improve after last week’s rains and visibility is around 1 foot.

Crappie fishing is starting to pick up. Reports are coming in that they can be found at a depth of around 3-4 feet and are being caught on minnows. Bass are falling into a spring pattern and can be found fishing around structure.

Catfish are being caught on trotlines and limblines using large minnows and various attractant baits such as chicken liver.

• Lake Chicot — Brian Whitson, park interpreter at Lake Chicot State Park (870-265-5480), had no report.

• Lake Monticello — The lake is undergoing a repair to the dam by the City of Monticello and the AGFC is making improvements to the fish habitat while the lake is currently drawn down for the dam work.

East Arkansas

• White River — Clarendon Area: The Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday reported the Clarendon gauge at 28.21 feet, more than 2 foot above flood stage of 26.00 feet.

• East Lake — Dale Bumper White River NWR: The latest data from the AGFC (501-978-7345) reports that channel cats and flatheads were biting fair on limblines and trotlines baited with cutbait and skipjack, poor on crawdads. Water was cloudy to muddy. No other species caught, other than gar on the limblines.

• Horseshoe Lake — Kent Williams of Oxbow Guide Service (870-278-7978) says crappie fishing has been tough as the crappie have scattered with the recent rise in water temperature. Crappie are still being caught in the deep water. Look at 10-12 feet depth. The fishing is slow for bass. A few catfish are being caught shallow.

• Cook’s Lake — The AGFC’s Wil Hafner at Cook’s Lake Conservation Education Center (870241-3373) reports that Cooks Lake was set to reopen for youth and mobility-impaired fishing Wednesday, March 3, but the parking lot is flooded and the White River at Clarendon remains over flood stage. Check in with the Education Center to see when it reopens, when water has receded. In the meantime, Wil urges anglers wanting to fish in the area to check out AGFC lakes such as Lake Des Arc or Marion McCollum Lake Greenlee (Brinkley) for some fastpaced fishing action. In both lakes, several species of sunfish have moved shallow on the rip rap, creating fun bank fishing opportunities for families.

The fish are small but a piece of nightcrawler 14 inches under a cork can produce large smiles.

• Bear Creek Lake — Not much going on at Bear Creek or Storm Creek Lake. Tyler Ball, park ranger at Mississippi River State Park (870-295-4040), had no recent reports.