Anglers deal with temperature fluctuations

Hot and cold snaps make for hit- or- miss fishing this spring

Arkansas Wildlife Editor Before this latest, surprising winter-like dip of temperatures around The Natural State beginning early Tuesday, crappie were pretty much in spawning mode through the region and being caught in shallow water. Donna Currington enjoyed the great crappie bite being seen on Lake Ouachita when she caught these big fish (see page 9) on April 11.

But that drop of air temperature into the 30s overnight (though the afternoons warmed up nicely) probably shook up the fish as much as it did the anglers, who didn't venture out in the usual spots earlier this week, we were told. The ones who did found crappie easing back deeper, and bass confused as well. At Lake Maumelle, we were told, there were no crappie caught in the past few days after anglers enjoyed an excellent bite last week.

This was somewhat true from one end of the state to the other, apparently — the fish were hard to reach. We did hear from some spots that although the crappie moved deeper, they were still willing to bite if anglers were willing to give it a try.

Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service (501-844-5418) said he has been fishing both DeGray and Ouachita lakes, and the crappie are doing great on jigs and minnows on staging brushpiles fished 8 feet deep.

The cooler mornings haven’t slowed them down. “We are in the middle of the spawn, so some are nearly done while others are just getting started,” he said. Andrews Bait Shop and More reported an excellent crappie bite at Lake Nimrod.

Get the full rundown on these fishing hole favorites more in this week's Fishing Reports:

Lake Ouachita

As of Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at

Continued on Page 9 FISHING (cont.)

Blakely Dam was 576.65 feet msl (full pool: 578.00 feet msl).

Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service (501-844-5418) said he has been fishing both Ouachita and DeGray Lake, and he’s find a similar pattern: The crappie are great on jigs and minnows on staging brushpiles fished 8 feet deep. The cooler mornings haven’t slowed the crappie. “We are in the middle of the spawn, so some are near done while others are just getting started,” he said.

Todd Gadberry at Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa (870-8672191/800-832-2276 out of state) reports that black bass are very good.

Jighead/Texas-rigged Brush Hog and floating worm bite is working and the topwater bite is picking up, too.

Try pockets 2-10 feet deep and work them slow.

Walleye are good and being caught on Shad Raps and jerkbaits over points on the river channels. Stripers are very good. These fish are being caught on topwater C-10 redfins and jerkbaits. Bream are still good and can be caught on worms and crickets.

Crappie are good. Try a small jig or minnow fished near brush in 8-15 feet of water. Catfish are very good and are being caught on limblines and trotlines with live or cut bait. The lake clarity is clearing and the surface water temperature is ranging 62-66 degrees. Lake level is 576.63. Call the Mountain Harbor fishing guides (Mike Wurm, 501-6227717, or Chris Darby, 870867-7822) for more information.

WestRock Landing in Roland (501-658-5598) said there have not been many reports on the white bass or crappie in the last few days. It's been slow out there due to the change in weather. Water temperature is ranging 62-64 degrees.

The largemouth bass bite is good. Some can be found in the grass on the shoreline and around the grass in 8-12 feet biting a variety of lures. Try using jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and swimbaits. Tuesday night's tournament saw the team of Dustin Crow and Matt France haul in five bass worth 12.76 pounds, while Frank Ramey and Doug Rich caught the Big Bass of 4.14 pounds and had 11.09 pounds total on the stringer. The Kentucky/spotted bass bite is fair. Some reports have them being found shallow or near drop-offs and rocky banks. Try using jigs.

White bass are fair. Reports of the white bass being found mixed in with the crappie. Try using swimbaits, Rat-L-Traps and minnows. Crappie are fair with no reports in recent days.

Crappier were spawning earlier in the week and they should still be shallow, but also around 8-10 feet depth. Try using jigs and minnows. Bream are good.

Some are reporting finding them in 12-16 feet, while others say 26-28 feet off the bottom. Use crickets or

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worms. Catfishing is still slow, with no reports coming in this week. But see if they'll take chicken liver, worms or crawfish.

On May 1, Lake Maumelle will play host to the first Bit's Big Bass Tournament.

The two-person fishing tournament has a five-fish limit, and a qualifying bass must be at least 12 inches in length. First place will win $2,000 and the Big Bass will be worth $500.

Second place among teams will win $1,250. All proceeds wil benefit childhood cancer research through the Innovative Theapeutics Department at Arkansas Children's Hospital. This tournament can also be used by high school anglers as an Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation official qualifying event for the AGFF's Commissioners' Cup.

As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake s elevation was 406.04 feet msl (full pool: 408.00 feet msl).

Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips Guide Service (501-844-5418) said he has been fishing both DeGray and Ouachita, and the crappie are doing great on jigs and minnows on staging brushpiles fished 8 feet deep. The cooler mornings haven’t slowed them down. “We are in the middle of the spawn, so some are nearly done while others are just getting started,” he said.

John Duncan of yoyoguideservice. com at Iron Mountain Marina said, “Springtime is here.

Weather changes daily.

Water level is 405.76 feet msl. Water temperature is mid-60s depending on where you fish”.

“Crappie fishing has been pretty good all around.

Many are being caught in shallows throwing jigs outside the brushline. Pink heads or chartreuse are my favorite 1/8-ounce or 1/16-

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ounce colors from Tennessee Shad, Monkey Milk are among the favorites. Minnows and pole fishing are always a staple. The bite is moving east toward midlake as the water temperature warms up. The fish I am catching are off the brushpiles still.

It seems to me that the brushpiles I am getting the most action out of are the thick cover brushpiles vs.

piles that are bare and laydowns. What we do is cast jigs over the piles and let them fall to the appropriate level and slowly retrieve after we catch what we can throwing jigs. We then move in with minnows and fish. The fish are suspended over the tops of the piles anywhere from 20 feet water level to 30 feet.

Usually the fish are around 10-12 feet.”

“Local crappie angler Charles Abernathy says, “I got a chance to get on the water for a couple of hours before dark (Wednesday).

The water temperature up around Lennox Marcus area was at 64 degrees. It was a dark, dreary evening but the fish were biting fair enough. I was looking at timber in the middle of spawning pockets, scanning open water in the mouths of those pockets and also looked at some shallow brush (8 feet or less) and all seemed to be able to produce some fish.” “Up until this point, I haven’t been seeing any consistent size in the brush until yesterday. The water was fairly clean after the rain there and Monkey Milk with an orange head seemed to be what they wanted that evening. I did try some other colors but they seemed to have their minds made up pretty good.”

“At Lennox some of the females still had eggs, but a lot didn’t. If you like fishing the shoreline you still have some time (but this magical moment will be gone as quickly as it arrived). Also, there’s a mob of hybrids in the Lennox area going on a rampage. They weren’t popping, but they are easily spotted cruising with your side scan and they were as rambunctious as ever.”

“I get lots of emails and I enjoy reading/responding to every one of them.

Thank you so much for reading these and thanks to everyone for letting me know. As always, feel free to reach out at c.abernathy32@ gmail.com for more info. I have a YouTube channel where I share some fishing content and will be posting this brief trip from Wednesday within a day or two. Watch for it. Good luck out there and be safe and be nice.

Hearing of a lot of fish being caught right now. Get out there and enjoy it because we will all have our swimsuits on before you know it.”

As of Saturday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 345.62 feet msl (normal pool: 342.0 feet msl).

Andrews Bait Shop and More (479-272-4025) said the lake is clear and has a surface water temperature of 61-64 degrees. Water level is normal. Bream are starting to move up and the bite is good. Use redworms and crickets. Crappie are excellent. They’re being caught on the shoreline in the brush. Try a black/chartreuse jig or a Beaver Bottom Jig for best results.

Also use minnows. Black bass are good. A spinnerbait is the way to fish them now; try a War Eagle white spinner with a gold willow leaf. Also a finesse worm is a good choice. Catfishing is good using skipjack, cut shad, minnows or salties.