Arkansas Fishing Reports - April 19, 2006
(Reports
are from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)
New
Lure Lesson: One of the most talked about lures for bass anglers this
season has been the chatterbait or Rite Bite Shakey
Hooker. These lures are a combination of a jig and a crankbait that
seems to drive active fish wild. For many years, anglers have cast
swimming jigs and cranked them back to the boat while shaking their rod
to impart action to the lure. The crankbait-style blade to the Shakey
Hooker puts out vibration and action better than any angler can produce
on his or her own. All you have to do is cast out the lure, let it fall
a few feet and begin a steady retrieve over grass and brush. Much like
a spinnerbait, the hits you get will be sudden and violent. Many fish
hook themselves on the hit.
White River: Gaston's White River Resort said
there were two days of minimal generation last week. One unit was
on for several hours Monday and Wednesday. The lake level is still
climbing, and we received some more rain to help. Fishing has been
excellent using white or yellow PowerBait with a wax worm on a No. 6
hook. If you prefer artificials, there are several Mepps lures in
No. 7 or 9 sizes that work well. Also, any type of white or silver
spoon, such as the Little Cleo, Rooster Tail, and Krocodile lures
spoon, is excellent. Fly fishermen are enjoying the spring hatches
of midges and caddis, and using sow bugs with much success. A No.
10 bead-head olive woolly bugger has been the best-selling fly all week.
McLellan’s Fly Shop said with all of the low water, the White River
has had a spectacular caddis hatch so far this spring. Early in
the morning, when few adult caddis are present, nymph fishing the shoal
areas with a Z-Wing Caddis, Graphic Caddis or Caddis Larva can be very
productive. As the hatch progresses and the caddis pupae swim
toward the surface, swinging a soft hackle like the Submarine Soft
Hackle, Swing Caddis or Swing Nymph through the riffles can be very
productive. Of course, when you see caddis in the air and trout
rising to the surface, it’s time to switch to a caddis dry fly like the
Elk Hair Caddis, E-Z Caddis, Candy Caddis or the new, ultra-realistic
Web Wing Caddis and cast to the risers.
Wilderness Trail said fishing for trout on the White River has
been good. With low or no generation, Berkley Power Eggs in yellow and
Sunrise or Rainbow nuggets have worked well along with red worms. With
generation, the Buoyant Spoons, Little Cleos, Panther Martin’s and
Countdown Rapalas are the baits of choice. The fly anglers have done
extremely well with little generation on olive woolly buggers, zebra
midges, pheasant tails and hare’s ears. Brown trout are being caught on
Countdowns, Flat Fish, suspending Rogues and nightcrawlers.
North Fork River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said one generator has been coming online
usually between five and six in the morning, but then only running for
a couple hours, then coming online again in the evening. However,
there has still been plenty of low water during the middle of the day
to provide some very productive wade fishing. On the upper river, the
usual McLellan’s Hunchback Scuds and Woven Sow Bugs are still hooking
plenty of trout, but on the lower river, it’s time to switch to caddis
patterns like the Z-Wing Caddis and the Graphic Caddis, which have
hooked tons of trout over the past week. Also, as more and more
adults start to hatch in the late afternoon/evening, be sure to have
plenty of Elk Hair Caddis and Web-Wing Caddis for some fun dry fly
action. During a caddis hatch is also a good time to swing soft hackles
across the river. New soft hackle patterns like the Swing Caddis, Swing
Nymph, Submarine Soft hackle, and Wired Red Ass have all been hooking
plenty of trout this spring.
Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said trout are biting well on pink and
chartreuse PowerEggs, Little Cleos and Bouyant Spoons.
Gene’s Trout Dock said the water is very clear, with one generator
running in the morning, turning off by the afternoon and cranking up
again at night. Rainbow trout are biting very well on corn. Many 2- to
3-pound fish are being caught and released. Quite a few large browns (5
to 6 pounds) have been caught on corn, nightcrawlers, yellow Power Eggs
and crayfish. The biggest trout have come from crayfish tails. Fly
anglers are doing well on black and green woolly buggers, sow bugs,
scuds and glo balls.
Bull Shoals
Lake: As of Tuesday,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 647.65
feet MSL.
Wilderness Trail said the
main lake temperature is 59.8 with 60’s in almost every creek and
pocket throughout the lake. We are in the middle of pollen season and
everything is turning green – your car, your boat and even the lake,
which will dissolve the pollen and change the clarity of water, which
is now at about 18 feet. Crappie have moved inside the brush piles onto
the banks and around docks that have brush. In the upper part of
the lake the crappie are spawning and chartreuse or pink crappie tubes
have been the key baits. Mid and lower lake are just about to spawn, so
fish the banks with Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows or a small grub.
Live bait anglers can fish with crappie minnows on 4-pound-test line
and a small split shot up on the banks and have some great action. Bass
are in the pre-spawn pattern. During this period the males are moving
into spawning areas looking for potential bedding areas and the females
are waiting for the males to come and take them to the beds. It can
take up to four weeks before all of the bass have spawned out.
Largemouth bass are halfway to the back of the creeks, pockets and
coves throughout the lake. There are largemouth on beds in the upper
part of the lake (above Lead Head Hill and the upper part of the
Theodosia arm) but in the rest of the lake, the largemouth are getting
ready to spawn. Best baits are lizards, centipedes, Senkos and trick
worms fished on a split shot rig or a Mojo rig. Fish rigs from the
banks out to 20 feet of water. Smallmouth bass spawn on ledges and pea
rock flats and are now staging on the transition areas close to where
they are going to spawn. All the conditions are right for the smallies
to bed up this week. Best baits are tubes (appleseed and cinnamon
purple) and spider jigs in brown or gourd green. Kentucky bass are
right in line with the smallies but they spawn on chunk rock ledges and
banks out on the main lake and in the creek arms. Staging areas are
points or cuts along the banks. Best baits are lizards,
centipedes, Fish Doctors and spider jigs or tubes. Walleye are spawned
out in the upper lake areas and close to being through with their spawn
throughout the rest of the lake. The daytime bite is still on the slow
side but the night bite has been increasing the last few days. Channel
swings and points have been the key structure to fish at night with
X-raps, suspending Rogues, Lucky Craft 78’s and Husky Jerks. Color of
baits doesn’t seem to be real important except those baits that have
orange bellies seem to be catching the nicer walleye.
Sugar Loaf Harbor said the lake is still low, but the clarity is
excellent. Crappie are close to the banks and minnows and jigs are
working well. Some days have been hit-or-miss. Black bass are biting
well on spinnerbaits and watermelon/red hula grubs and green pumpkin
lizards.
Lake Norfork: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 543.94 feet MSL.
Cranfield
Junction Quik Stop said the lake is clear and about 12 feet low. Bream
are biting well on worms and crickets. Crappie are biting well on
crappie minnows, and Bobby Garland’s Swimming Minnow in the Big
Norfork. Walleye and stripers are biting well on Smithwick Rattlin’
Rogues, Reef Runners and Lucky Craft crankbaits trolled slowly along
main lake flats. Black bass are in spawning mode and are biting well on
crankbaits, Zoom lizards and Eakin’s Jigs fished in their beds.
Ron & Debbie
Gamble,
Owners/Operators
Cotter Trout Dock
P.O. Box 96
Cotter, Arkansas 72626
Toll
Free: 800-447-7538 Local: 870-435-6525
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