Fall Fishing Fun!

The bite is ( almost) on across Arkansas waterways

Arkansas Wildlife Editor Millwood Lake is renown for its largemouth bass, but lately — perhaps due to the 2-foot drawdown the Army Corps of Engineers has instituted there for repairs and other infrastructure work — the bass bite has fallen off this week. But it’s been a good time recently for an improving crappie bite as the water cools. Trey Griffin from East Texas (right) took advantage of the crappie activity to catch some nice slabs, including one that topped 15 inches long. He was fishing with Millwood Lake Guide Service’s “crappie guru,” Mackey Harvin. Millwood guide Mike Siefert, in his notes in this week’s Fishing Report, points out that crappie improved there over the past couple of weeks. Best reactions have been on Southern Pro Tubes and minnows in planted brushpiles in the oxbows up Little River, as well as on the main lake, in 9-12 feet depth. Vertical-jigging seemed to work best this week. Best reaction time shifted to mid-morning for crappie, and the best Southern Pro Tubes have been the Little Hustler in the 1.5, and the Pro Series Little Hustler in the pumpkinseed/ chartreuse, orange core/chartreuse pepper, Tennessee Shiner and Blue Shiner.

October is a great time to catch a few crappie all around Arkansas, as we move out of the summer pattern and into fall as the water temps drop, getting the crappie to move up shallower (and hungrier).

Bream are still biting in some spots, as you’ll see in the report, but they’re also appearing to be done for the year at other locales.

Stripers are hit and miss in a lot of big lakes, and walleye have a similar pattern.

Bass are eager to bite in more of the lakes in north Arkansas, it appears, but as guide Tommy Cauley at Greers Ferry Lake says in his report, the great fall bite is probably just two weeks from starting throughoutthe state. Get the full rundown below:

• Millwood Lake — The Army Corps of Engineers at Millwood Lake began a 2-foot drawdown of Millwood Lake Sept. 15, and it is expected to run through Oct. 18, dependent on rainfall and concrete repair. Use extreme caution while navigating the lake during the drawdown, as stumps and obstacles will be near or at surface pool. Boat lanes on open water may be dry ground or mere inches in depth with stumps and hazards in some places.

Drawdown work includes boat ramp repair near Beards Bluff, shoreline abatement/erosion replacement, and other related maintenance. For more information, call the Army Corps of Engineers Tri- Lakes office at 870-8983343.

Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said that as of Tuesday, Millwood Lake was still 25 inches below normal conservation pool, as the 2foot lake drawdown continued until contractors for the Army Corps of Engineers complete concrete work.

The lake Tuesday was at 257.1 feet msl and stable; Little River water clarity has heavy stain with current. The oxbows’ clarity improved, light stain with pollen and surface film.

Millwood Lake tailwater elevation was near 226 feet msl with gate discharge at the dam around 1,507 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 Army Corps of Engineers website, for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels. Use extreme

Continued on Page 9 FISHING REPORT (cont.)

caution during this period and anytime high gate discharge conditions exist, watching for random broken, or floating timber in Little River are in effect.

Lots of Little River buoy markers along the main lake channel may have moved with recent gate changes at the Millwood Dam and river buoys may be out of channel from recent high winds.

Surface temps rose slightly this week, ranging 75-83 degrees depending on location. River clarity ranges 35 inches visibility depending on location. Clarity and visibility of oxbows is 1220 inches depending on location. Further up Little River near White Cliffs and Wilton Landing has heavier stain conditions. Clarity at Saratoga and Okay areas has improved drastically.

Numerous areas on Millwood Lake are fully choked with alligatorweed mats, and are inaccessible for navigation or fishing.

The Corps was able to conduct an alligatorweed beetle release a few weeks ago and are monitoring.

As for the fishing specifics:

• Over the past couple weeks, the largemouth bass have been slow to fair for any topwater bites. For several weeks ago, along points and ditches connecting Little River, oxbows and backflows, Mike and his guides found various largemouth and Kentucky bass randomly schooling at daybreak in the oxbows up Little River for a few hours in early mornings, but topwater action slowed down again this week.

When good schools were surface-breaking for several weeks ago, they were getting decent reactions using the Bill Lewis Stuttersteps, Cordell Boy Howdy’s, Clear Baby Torpedoes, Heddon Dying Flutters and Cordell Crazy Shads in chrome/black back. Blowup reactions slowed also in the lily pads, but were good on plastic frogs in June Bug, white or pumpkinseed/pearl belly near pads with timber and stumps until just recently.

The schooling bass were chasing large pods of threadfin shad to the surface and blowing them out of the water at daylight in the oxbows near vertical structure where the flats drop off into 8-15 feet of depth until the past couple weeks and that schooling activity has ceased again.

Over the past three weeks, anywhere the creek mouths dump into Little River near Snake Creek, Jacks’ Isle and White Cliffs Creek, the Kentucky bass were stacked up inside the main creek channels, just out of river current, and were hitting hammered chrome Cordell Spoons with white/red bucktail, custompainted Little John Cranks and Fat Free Shads, and behind points extending into Little River above Jack’s Isle. Vertical-jigging of the spoons near standing timber and stumps that had been working for some 2to 3-pound largemouth and white bass have been slow this week.

• Bream were fair at Millwood State Park and Jack’s Isle over the past 2-3 weeks on grasshoppers, redworms and crickets.

• White bass disappeared over the past week.

Johnson Beetle Spins, hammered Cordell Chrome Spoons with a red bucktail, Rocket Shads, three-quarter- ounce 1-knocker Rat-LTraps and Little Cleo’s were all randomly catching whites over the last several weeks in McGuire and Horseshoe Lake oxbows, but slowed again this week.

• Crappie improved over the past couple of weeks.

Best reaction have been on FISHING REPORT (cont.)

Southern Pro Tubes and minnows in planted brushpiles in the oxbows up Little River, and on the main lake, from 9-12 feet of depth. Vertical-jigging seemed to work best for the tubes and minnows this week. Best reaction time shifted to mid-morning for crappie, and best Southern Pro Tubes have been the Little Hustler in the 1.5, and the Pro Series Little Hustler in the pumpkinseed/ chartreuse, chartreuse pepper, and Blue Shiner.

* No report over the past week for catfish. Blues and channel cats up to around 3-4 pounds were good and more active two weeks ago than they were this week.

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Guide Mike Winkler, operating Little Red River Guide Service (501-6909166, 501-507-3688), says the generation schedule on the Little Red River has been consistent with the Southwestern Power Administration (swpa.com) and the Army Corps of Engineers running 2-4 hours a day on weekdays, usually starting around 3 p.m. and concluding at 6 p.m. The weekend’s generation schedule has been minimal, creating excellent wading opportunities for the entire river. Nymphing a two-fly rig with a midge dropper has been effective.

Sowbugs, pheasant tails and hare’s ear nymphs fished alone or with a midge dropper have been productive, along with egg patterns.

Try fishing the deep holes and oxygenated shoals. If you like stripping streamer patterns, try Woolly Buggers, small bunny leech and Cracklebacks. They all have been producing.

Lowell Myers of Sore Lip’em All Guide Service (501-230-0730) said the Little Red is receiving 1-3 hours of afternoon generation on weekdays with less on weekends. “We seem to be settling into a fall generation pattern. Midges, pheasant tails, hare’s ear and Woolly Buggers are recommended for fly-fishing. For Trout Magnet fishing try pink and white-colored bodies on chartreuse or gold jigheads.” Always check before heading to the Little Red River by calling the Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District water data system (501-362-5150) for Greers Ferry Dam water release information or check the Corps of Engineers website (swl-wc.usace.army.mil) for real-time water release and the Southwestern Power Administration website (swpa.gov) to see forecasted generation schedule.

Fish ’N Stuff (501-8345733) in Sherwood said water is running later in the afternoon and is clear.

Trout are good on Marabou Jigs in olive color, along with sixteenth-ounce Rooster Tails and No. 5 and No. 10 Rapala Countdowns working best.

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— Tommy Cauley of Fishfinder Guide Service (501-940-1318) said the water level at Greers Ferry Lake is at 457.62 feet msl and falling with generation. It is 4.42 feet below normal pool for this time of year (462.04 feet msl). The water temperature varies from low 70s to low 80s.

As it’s cooling, a lot of shad are moving, so the fish are moving as well.

Black bass — some are super shallow, some are roaming, some are on structure; a variety of baits working from A-7. There’s not a lot of pressure on them, so you can practice techniques you don’t understand or know and master them for later: topwater, mid-level out to 60 feet, all species eating pretty well with the best to come with cooler weather in couple of weeks.

Crappie can still be caught several ways: trolling, jigging or casting; find the shad, the pole timber is holding lots of fish. Bream are shallow out to 25 feet eating drop-shot crickets or crawlers pretty well. Flies working as well. Catfish, it seems maybe hot dogs are working better than live bait now all over lake and rivers. Walleye, some are on structure in 18-60 feet and some are roaming with other schooling fish; drag a drop-shot with crawlers or fish crankbaits or spoons on main lake or secondary points for best results.

Hybrid and white bass are eating on and off all day and night; spoon and inline spinners working from the surface down to 55 feet.

Fish ’N Stuff (501-8345733) in Sherwood said bass are good on spinnerbaits in the buckbrush on the main lake, and are also good in the backwater creeks using a three-eighthounce