THE MURKY DEPTHS : NWA Fishing Report
Posted on Friday, February 15, 2008
Water temps range from 38 degrees on Table Rock Lake near Holiday Island to 45 degrees on parts of Beaver Lake. In other words, it’s cold and neither fish nor fishermen seemed too thrilled about it. Trout and / or crappie seem to be an angler’s best bet as cold front after cold front invades our area. Beaver Lake
Southtown Sporting Goods — Larry Aggus says crappie fishing is the bright spot this week. Brush in the river arms is the target area and red / chartreuse jigs or minnows are the top baits. One angler broke his crappie pole when a 17-pound striper took hold. Bass fishing is slow but the jerkbait bite should really come on. Anglers are trying finesse baits in deep water right now.
Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers — Aaron Jolliff reports more of the same. Water temps are very cold but bass might bite a jerkbait fished extremely slow. Tubes are best for crappie.
Hickory Creek Marina — Bill Pope reports bass biting jerkbaits, crankbaits and Flukes as anglers take advantage of the shad die-off. With all the dead and stressed shad sinking to the bottom, catfishing is definitely picking up. Stripers are scattered and deep near the channels. Crappie are tight to brush. Beaver Tailwaters — Beaver Dam Store reports good trout action on night crawlers, with some 20-inch browns being reported near the dam. Wax worms and Power Bait (green, lemon-lime, white ) are also working. The best lures are micro jigs (olive, ginger, brown ), Rapalas (rainbow, fluorescent orange ) and buoyant spoons (watermelon, red / gold ). The top flies are blue midges, zebra midges (black / silver ) and soft hackles.
Bella Vista Lakes — Nick Gann at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bentonville reports good trout action at Lake Brittany on Little Cleos and Power Bait. On the other lakes, bass action is fair on jerkbaits, jig-and-pigs and slow-rolled spinnerbaits.
SWEPCO Lake — Nick Gann says fishing’s about the same. Carolina-rigged plastics are best for bass.
Lake Fayetteville — Jim Black reports slow fishing and few folks out.
Lake Sequoyah — Jackie Smith says an angler could probably catch some crappie if they tried but very few folks are coming out.
Upper Table Rock Lake — J. D. Fletcher suggests anglers troll long points with Model-A Bombers or similar deepbilled crankbaits. Crappie can be caught in the mouth of coves on minnows or jigs. White bass and walleye are scarce right now.
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