Spotlight on West-Central Arkansas

The fish are biting as weather warms

AGFC Communications

• Lake Atkins — Donald Ramirez, owner of Lucky Landing (479-641-7615) on the southeastern end of the lake, said the lake clarity is cloudy and the level is high. Black bass are good.

Bass minnows and swimbaits are among the most successful baits the past week. No reports on bream, crappie or catfish.

• Lake Catherine — Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, reports that water temperature below the dam is 58 degrees with clear conditions in the tailrace.

Entergy has held off on generation the past week until noon so anglers could have the opportunity to fish. Dangerous flows have been the norm for months, making the area unsafe for boating and useless for angling. A new generation schedule is posted each Wednesday and the public should check on lake conditions each week before attempting to navigate the lake. Rainbow trout fishing has improved greatly in the last several days, with limits being caught by boat and bank fisherman alike.

Numbers of catches are low, but the size of trout ranges 12-17 inches. These fish are healthy and colorful as the water temperature rises into the high 50s.

The majority of trout are being caught on redworms or waxworms fished just of the bottom with a marshmallow floater.

• Lake Dardanelle — Jason Baumgartner, park aquarist at Lake Dardanelle State Park (479-890-7495), said that rain and storms move through the area Tuesday; leading up to that they had several mild days of sunshine.

As for fishing, water temperature continue to be favorable for spawn of several of our fish species.

Look for crappie near the tributaries and creeks. “We are finding bream in shallow areas,” Jason says.

“The catfish are biting on shad. No reports on bass. I continued to find mayfly nymphs in the rip-rap along the bank. Now is a great time to get out there and try to catch some crappie, catfish or bass.”

Lake Dardanelle State Park continues to comply with state and federal recommendations for social distancing to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Reservations for the use of the tournament fishing facility have been canceled through May 31.

Tournament participants are advised to contact their tournament event directors for details specific to their tournament.

• Lake Nimrod — Andrews Bait Shop and More reports that conditions and fishing remain about the same as last week. The lake clarity is murky and the level remains high. Bream are good, and in the past two weeks have been bedding on the points in shallow water. Use worms or crickets. Crappie are fair and it appears they are spawning.

Anglers are catching them in 3-5 feet depth in and under trees. Minnows, or jigs in black/chartreuse and red/chartreuse are working best. Catfish are good and being caught on limblines with goldfish.

• Lake Ouachita — Todd Gadberry at Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa (870-867-2191/800-832-2276 out of state) reports that black bass are still very good. Topwater baits and jighead worms are producing very good stringers. Walleye are still very good, too. Jerkbaits and small spinners tipped with a crawler are working best right now. Stripers are good. These fish are being caught on topwater C-10 Redfins and live bait on the central part of the lake.

Bream are still excellent with crickets or PowerBait in 5-15 feet of water.

Crappie are good. Try a small jig or minnow near brush in 15-25 feet of water. Catfish are good and are being caught with trotline and jugs. Cut bait and live bait are working best.

Photo courtesy of AGFC