Fishing

BASTROP: Water lightly stained. Black bass are fair on minnows and watermelon red soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are very good on live bait, frozen shrimp, and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.

BELTON: Water clear; 70 degrees; 2.04’ low. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits and minnows. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on minnows and white riversides under lights at night. Crappie are good on minnows and white riversides. Channel and blue catfish are good on hot dogs, shrimp, Spam, and frozen shad. Yellow catfish are good on juglines baited with live perch.

BROWNWOOD: Water stained; 70 degrees; 4.99’ low. Black bass are excellent on Grande Bass Rattle Snakes, Bass Hogg spinnerbaits, and craw colored crankbaits in 4 – 5 feet. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are excellent on Li’l Fishies, small Rat-L-Traps, and shad colored crankbaits. Crappie are excellent on Li’l Fishies and tube jigs along shorelines in the Pecan Bayou and Mountain View areas, and along the 279 bridge in 1 – 3 feet. Channel catfish are good in baited holes in 5 – 10 feet. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines baited with perch.

BUCHANAN: Water murky; 69 degrees; 10.02’ low. Black bass are good on Daiquiri Skip-N-Pop topwaters, Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps, and weightless wacky rigged green pumpkin Whacky Sticks with chartreuse tails along break lines of creek bluffs early in 4 – 12 feet, and areas with submerged brush in pockets of creeks. Striped bass are good on topwaters and Rat-L-Traps from Flag Island to Black Rock on the surface at first light in 20 - 30 feet, jigging white Curb's bucktail jigs, and drifting live bait through schools. White bass are slow to fair trolling Shad Raps and jigging Pirk Minnows and Tiny Traps over rock piles in 20 – 30 feet. Crappie are fair on minnows and Curb's crappie jigs. Channel catfish are good on live bait and cut bait. Yellow and blue catfish are good on juglines and trotlines baited with live bait.

CANYON LAKE: Water murky; 67 degrees; 0.83’ high. Black bass are good on Texas rigged watermelon red Whacky Sticks, JDC Skip-N-Pop topwaters, and pumpkin ¼oz. Curb's Erratic jigs in 6 – 12 feet along bluff ledges. Striped bass are slow to fair trolling Gizz 4 crankbaits and vertically jigging white Curb's striper jigs. White bass are fair on Road Runners upriver in 4 – 8 feet. Smallmouth bass are good on root beer JDC curl tail grubs/craws, smoke/red tubes, and silver flake Whacky Sticks on ball jigheads along main lake points and ledges in 10 – 15 feet. Crappie are fair to good on Curb's crappie jigs and live minnows around submerged brush piles along break lines. Channel catfish are fair in the upper end of the lake. Yellow and blue catfish are fair on juglines and trotlines in creeks.

COLEMAN: Water murky; 69 degrees; 8.19’ low. Black bass are good on watermelon red soft plastic lizards, crankbaits, and electric blue worms. Hybrid striper are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel catfish are fair on live bait. Yellow catfish are slow.

ARKANSAS FISHING REPORTS

Lake Conway:

Bates Field and Stream said the water is high due to all the rain but has remained fairly clear. Bream are biting well on crickets and minnows in shallow water. Bass are fair on grubs and plastic worms. Catfishing is good on large minnows and small bream. If you get a crappie to bite, it will be on minnows and jigs.

Little Red River:

the water is fairly clear and low. Generators are running in the afternoon. Trout fishing is good on wax worms and power bait. Trout have also been biting jigs and nightcrawlers.

Greers Ferry:

had no report.

Harris Brake Lake:

the lake is at its normal water level. Bream have been biting well on worms, and crappie are biting fairly well on jigs. Bass have been a hit and miss over the past few days, but your best bet for catching one is with a jig. Catfish have begun to move up and bite mostly on nightcrawlers and minnows.

fishing has been rather slow. There has been some bream and catfish activity.

Lake Overcup:

bass are biting around the banks on black plastic worms. Crappie can be found in 12 to 15 feet of water using tube jigs fished 4 to 5 feet deep. Bream are biting well on crickets and redworms fished around the docks and just off the bank. Catfish are a little slow, but some have been caught with trotlines and jugs using bream and cut bait.

Brewer Lake:

bass fishing has been fair on pig and jig and plastic worms. Crappie are biting on small minnows and white/chartreuse jigs fished in brush piles. Catfish are fair on trotlines using cut skip jack and bream for bait.

Lake Maumelle:

the water is barely above the spillway and the temperature is about 70 degrees. Fishing on Lake Maumelle has been very good over the past few days. Black bass are biting well on plastic worms, spinnerbaits, Rogues and jerkbaits. They are usually in 4 to 10 feet of water around edges of grass, or just off the points in the afternoon. Whites are biting well on crappie jigs, Rooster Tails and minnows. Most have been caught on the North Shore or near the spillway area. Crappie are biting on jigs, minnows and shad-colored grubs in 3 to 15 feet of water. Bream fishing has been excellent. They are hitting crickets and worms in both deep and shallow water. There has been a number of blue catfish caught on trotlines using cut shad and prepared bait. If you’re fishing for saugeye, try trolling around the points using Rogues, minnows and small crappie jigs.

Lake Valencia:

no report.

Sunset Lake:

the water is murky and at normal level. Bream fishing is excellent on crickets in 4 to 6 feet of water. Crappie are biting fairly well on Tennessee shad grubs, and can be located in brush piles in 10 to 12 feet of water. Bass are biting well on top-water lures. Catfishing is excellent with chicken liver and Magic Bait in 4 to 5 feet of water.

Saline River Access in Benton:

the river is clear and at normal level. Bream are biting excellently on crickets, and are found best in calm water at 4 to 5 feet deep. Bass are biting excellently on white buzzbaits and 4-inch green pumpkin lizards. Catfishing is good with chicken liver and Magic Bait in 4 to 5 feet of water. Crappie are poor but have been biting lemon meringue grubs in the brush piles.

Arkansas River at Morrilton:

(Updated 5/12/2010) catfishing is good on whole shad around the jetties and below dams 9 and 10. Black bass are biting well in 3 to 10 feet of water on black/red flake tubes fished around wood cover. Kentucky bass are biting well around rocks in 6 to 10 feet of water on crayfish-colored jigs. White bass are fair at the mouth of Point Remove Creek, Cypress Creek and the Petit Jean River. Pearl-colored Sassy Shads and Wiggle Warts are working well early and late. Bream are biting fairly well on crickets in backwater areas.