Weekly Fishing Report – Dec. 21

Lou Gabric of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort said fish are moving to their winter patterns and locations. The lake has cooled to the mid 50s, which will make the fish more sluggish. With cold, clear water, switch to clear, green or vanishing lines in 8- to 10-pound test for stripers and 4-pound test for everything else. You need to slow your retrieval methods and presentations whether you are vertical jigging or casting. Largemouth and spotted bass have moved closer to the shoreline, and a few have been caught on jerk baits and crawdad-colored Wiggle Warts, but most of the bigger fish have come from vertical jigging in 35-42 feet of water. The 1-ounce spoon seems to be working the best at the 40 feet level, but I have been using the ¼-ounce more and more lately. The bass have also moved into and around brush piles. I have caught most fish off of bluff lines that have a secondary point (small cuts in the bluff line forming points), or at the end of the bluff line where a cove or creek begins. The big crappie are moving into brush in 30-40 feet of water. They may be suspended over the brush or inside of the brush. A lot of times, it depends on the time of day and whether or not the sun is shining brightly. I have caught most of my fish vertical jigging with a small spoon around brush in 40 feet of water. Small grubs tipped with a small minnow, as well as minnows on a slip bobber will work. We will start to see bigger schools of crappie in the brush. You still will need to work several brush piles, because the fish get spooked after a few are caught. Walleye have also moved into shallow water areas, especially early mornings and late evenings. Vertical jigging has worked for me, but slow trolling a crawler harness will also do the trick. You will find walleye in the same areas as the crappie. It will not be long until the walleye start their spawn. If you like fishing for walleye, up north around the Arkansas-Missouri border is a great place to fish for pre-spawn and spawning fish.

Jason Piper of JT’s Crappie Guide Service (479-640-3980) said bass can be caught by fishing a crawdad-patterned medium-diving crankbait parallel to rocky banks with timber in 15 to 25 feet of water. On slow days, pull a drop-shot finesse worm through pole timber along rocky to bluff wall banks. Ventris, Rambo, both Clifty arms and the White River arm have all been good places to find bass. Crappie have been holding close to brush piles and pole timber close to drop offs in 15 to 35 feet of water early in the day and on overcast days. A tube or a live minnow on a 1/32-oz. jighead, fished along the pile or timber has been most effective. The best action has been on sunny afternoons were the fish become more active and begin to suspend just under the surface under docks, in log jams up in the river arms and along bluffs under over hangs and between pole timber and the bluff line. Cast an Arkie Sexy Shad on a 1/32-oz. jighead at these fish and let it fall slowly down to them. White River upstream from War Eagle Marina, Monte-Ne, Horseshoe Bend and Eden Bluff have all been good places to find crappie. White bass have been suspending in main lake coves and adjacent points along the channel. Once a school is located, ½-oz. jigging spoons have been working well. Locate the schools by slow trolling medium- to deep-diving crankbaits along the creek channel drop offs. Coose Hollow, Ventris, Blackburn, Monte-Ne and Prairie Creek have all been good places to find whites. Catfishing has been best after dark using nightcrawlers or chicken liver. Ark. Highway 12 Bridge, Hickory Creek and Horseshoe Bend have all been good places to fish.

Local angler and guide Jessie James (870-355-7800) filed no report.

Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service aid it’s a great time of year to take a kid fishing. Some of the best fishing of the entire year continues right now. The lake level is slightly above normal conservation pool and steady. There remains consistent slow current in the river. Largemouth bass continue feeding best at mid-morning through mid-afternoon for the past several weeks. Little River’s oxbows over the past week have improved water clarity. Surface water temperatures dropped to 54-59 degrees, depending on rain, wind, incoming fresh water, location, and time of day. Discharge rate as of Monday with 1 gate open at 0.4′, a total discharge of 173 CFS. The tailwater level as of Monday was 223.70 msl. As of Monday on main lake structure, clarity & visibility ranges 10-15 inches in the River depending on location. Largemouth bass continue to be excellent through mid-afternoon on many techniques and lures. Bomber and XCalibur Crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, jigging spoons and Brush Hogs are working most of the day. Cotton Cordell, Kastmaster, or Johnson Splinter spoons, Little Cleos, Little Georges, and Rocket Shads will get continue to catch a lot of fish when the fish are surface breaking in the river and oxbows. Largemouths, Spotted Bass, and Whites continue to school in groups together, and continue following shad pods in Little River’s oxbows and in Little River itself. Points are still producing best in Little River, while pockets, coves and creek dumps are providing good action in the oxbows. Yum 10-inch worms in peanut butter and jelly or black are working on cypress knees 2-5 feet from the base of the trees. Jumbo magnum gitzits and magnum tube baits in smoke/black/red, green pumpkin, or black/blue are catching bass on stumps near drop-offs in 8-10 feet of water and creek channels. Rat-L-Traps in Diamond Shad, Toledo Gold, and Red Chrome patterns are working in Little River as well as shallow creeks and ditches or depressions deflecting on stumps (adjacent to flats) in the later morning hours when fish are not in full blown schooling activity. White bass continue roaming and schooling in Little River, Horseshoe, and McGuire oxbows in large schools over the past few weeks chasing shad. These schools continue to group tighter and more organized efforts are being noted herding large pods of threadfin shad with the cooling surface temperatures. The whites can be found slow-trolling shad-colored crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps in Little River and in the oxbows. Rooster Tails in red and white continue getting good responses from the white bass along stick-ups and stumps along Little River. Almost any creek dump and points into Little River were holding groups of various sized white bass. Crappie continue improving over the past few weeks with these cooling weather fronts and dropping surface temps. White, chartreuse and pink/white Blakemore roadrunners continue catching some nice slabs. Minnows and jigs are beginning to take some of the vertical stacking crappie as well. Target planted brush piles in 14-16 feet out of current along Little River for best action as the Crappie are beginning to stack vertically around this brush with the continued reduction in water temps. The cooler overnight lows continue grouping the Crappie tighter to cover. No report on catfish.

West-Central Arkansas

Drawdown Update: Entergy Arkansas says winter drawdowns of 5 feet on Hamilton and 3 feet on Catherine will be maintained until March 2013. Water released at the dams will be used to generate hydroelectric power. The annual drawdowns help with shoreline maintenance and inspection, and are part of a plan to help control nuisance aquatic vegetation. Entergy Arkansas coordinates the annual winter drawdown with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

For weekly flow releases from Carpenter Dam, visit www.entergy.com/hydro.

Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, said reports that water temperature directly below Carpenter Dam is 55 degrees with clear conditions in the tailrace. Entergy has been scheduling short releases daily to maintain lake levels. Rainbow trout fishing is very good with quality limits of trout caught daily. Bank fishermen targeting areas close to shoals and exposed rocks have quickly taken limits of rainbows on wax worms presented under a bobber or just off the bottom with a marshmallow floater. Crickets or redworms also work very well hooked in this manner as hungry trout compete for food in these areas. Fly fishermen casting olive-colored woolly buggers with a strike indicator are having success in areas of current when the turbines are not running. Micro-jigs in white or black will work equally well along with egg patterns in orange. Spin fishermen are doing well on Super Dupers in silver and Rooster Tails in brown. The key to successful artificial approaches like these center on finding current flow and being patient. Trolling shallow-running crankbaits against the current is a proven technique in catching the largest rainbow trout every year. Large trout feed heavily on threadfin shad and generally search for the largest meal available for the least effort. Hybrid and striper fishing is hit and miss. These fish move into the tailrace and feed heavily and often leave the areas for days at a time until they resume feeding. Wherever the shad schools migrate – you will find these fish close by. When topwater activity is viewed fishermen should cast Alabama rigs into the frenzy and hold on tight. Brood or gizzard shad are the best live bait presentations and should be used under a balloon rig. White ¼-ounce jigs were responsible for several 20-pound plus stripers last year below the bridge when no surface action was occurring. A few small male walleye were caught this past week in the shoals on silver jigging spoons cast and retrieved normally. These fish will spawn in February.

Drawdown Update: Entergy Arkansas says winter drawdowns began Nov. 3. Lake Hamilton will drop 5 feet and Lake Catherine will drop 3 feet. Water released at the dams will be used to generate hydroelectric power. Both lakes will return to their normal summertime levels in March 2013. The annual drawdowns help with shoreline maintenance and inspection, and are part of a plan to help control nuisance aquatic vegetation. Entergy Arkansas coordinates the annual winter drawdown with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Lucky Landing (479-641-7615) said fishing has picked up this month at Lake Atkins. Some really nice slab crappie were caught over the weekend. They’re still catching lots of small crappie, but those 21/2 pounders are being caught now. Also bream and redear are being caught daily. Catfish are doing good on trotlines. The water is clear but still about 3 feet lower than normal. Surface water temperature is about 56 degrees. Bass fishing is slow.

South-Central Arkansas

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Bass Team reports that water temperature in the mid-50s on the main channel and within Lake Langhofer. There is no current in main channel. Visibility is about 1 foot. Largemouth are relating to rock points and biting fairly well on slow-moving medium-diving crankbaits in shad colors, and on black/blue jigs. The bite has been picking up later in the day as the water warms.