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Spotlight on Millwood Lake, Southwest Arkansas

Spotlight on Millwood Lake, Southwest Arkansas

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Head to the lowerleft corner of the state for some great fishing

Arkansas Wildlife Editor Millwood Lake remains a hot spot, both in terms of the weather and the fishing. In his report filed on Wednesday, Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said that as of Tuesday the lake was near normal, 2 inches above conservation pool.

Discharge was around 1,300 cfs in Little River, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The tailwater below the dam and gates as of Monday remains around 226 feet msl and stable with discharge. Check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on the guide service’s website linked above, or at the Army Corps of Engineers website, for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels.

Surface temps stable this week, ranging 85-90 degrees. Clarity in the oxbows is improved. Little River is normal stain this week, with few random broken timber. Clarity is consistent in the back of the oxbows, with improving stain this week. Clarity and visibility along Little River at 10-15 inches. The oxbow's clarity is moderate stain, ranging 18-25 inches depth of visibility depending on location; several oxbow lakes continue improving clarity.

As for fishing details:

Largemouth bass: Have been in their typical summer habits and haunts for last few weeks. Early morning continues to be key for the best bite of the day. Cypress trees and knees near lily pads on shallow flats are drawing topwater blowups early, using black/blue or bleeding avocado buzzbaits, Bass Assassin Shads, soft plastic frogs and Stuttersteps in the oxbows.

Best activity period remains from dawn to around 9 a.m.

Over the past couple weeks, most largemouths actively feed at night and at early daybreak for a few hours in the oxbows of McGuire, Mud and Horseshoe lakes.

Stuttersteps and shallow square-bill cranks in Millwood Magic have drawn random reactions over the past couple weeks. Bill Lewis Lures' SB-57 and Echo 1.75 crankbait square-bills in Ghost Minnow, Bluegill and Sneaky Shad continue getting good responses as the sun rises and the bass transition to vertical structure after 9-10 a.m. Target vertical drops near 3- to 6-feet deep flats that transition into 12-14 feet structure.

Bass Assassin Shads and soft plastic frogs continue drawing random reactions at dawn, from 5-8 feet of depth around stumps, lily pads and cypress knees.

Best colors of Assassins over the past few weeks continue to be the Salt-NPepper Silver Phantom, Grey Ghost and Panhandle Moon. Bulky 10-inch Power Worms were getting fair responses over the past week and best colors have been the June bug/red, blue fleck and black grape.

Texas-rigged Senkos, Trick Worms and Salty Rat Tails continue working near cypress trees and knees, drawing a fair response from lethargic bass from 8-12 feet deep. Best colors have been the watermelon candy, Blue Ice and June bug/blue tail.

White Bass: Vertical jigging War Eagle Underspins and Kastmaster spoons were connecting with some nice 2- to 3-pounders over the past few weeks in Little River between Jack's Isle and Hurricane creek.

Additionally, white bass were observed pushing shad to the surface and breaking in McGuire and Horseshoe oxbows at dawn on cloudy mornings a week ago. Clear Baby Torpedoes, chrome Dying Flutters and Rat-L-Traps in Millwood Magic or Splatter-back colors, with Spin Traps in chrome/blue back, were catching these random surface breakers last week.

Crappie: Best bite has been early for the past 3-4 weeks. Minnows and jigs have been working away from current and flow of Little River, in any clearer water sections of the oxbows and Millwood State Park, and near Okay Landing and Cottonshed areas near cypress trees from 3-5 feet deep and planted brush piles from 8-10 feet of depth. The crappie responses are most consistent with minnows.

Millwood State Park continues seeing good activity in the pockets and coves near cypress trees and grass from 6-12 feet of depth.

Saratoga and Beards Bluff areas continue to be good areas, giving up some nice healthy 2- to 3-pounders.

* Catfish: Fairly consistent over the past few weeks on trotlines and yo-yos in Little River. Cut shad or buffalo, goldfish (available at Millwood State Park Marina), spoiled chicken hearts and gizzards, or Punch Baits were working well for 2- to 4-pound blues and channel cats on yo-yos hung from cypress trees 3-8 feet deep in Mud, Horseshoe, and McGuire oxbows up Little River.

In other waters of Southwest Arkansas:

Lake Greeson — Few reports but anglers can visit www.littlemissouriflyflishing. com for a daily update on fishing conditions. As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 543.08 feet msl (normal pool: 548.00 feet msl).

DeGray Lake — John Duncan of yoyoguideservice. com at Iron Mountain Marina said, “Summer is in full swing now! Lots of warm water now. Water temperature is in the high 80s. Water is clear and clean.

“It’s that time of year when things go into the slowmotion mode. Crappie are holding close to the cover and the bite is slow. Real slow. There are lots of bream in the cover with the crappie, so you get quite a few bites that are bream when you are crappie fishing. The thermacline is from 30 feet mid-lake to 20 feet in some of the shallower areas. Jigs or minnows, it doesn’t matter, still a tough bite. Drop-shotting for bream or crappie is a good way to get some action if you are weedless.

If you have Livescope, the brushpiles light up like a Christmas tree. But it’s bream, bass and crappie.

White bass are surfacing mid-lake in the late morning. Hybrids are being taken on live bait, spoons, crankbaits, trolling and topwaters. Just look for the cluster of boats. Whopper Plopper and Pistol mMinnows are good baits for topwater. I feel this is the pattern we will be living with till a weather change. Be safe and remember social distancing.”

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