Arkansas Lakes Fishing Report

Lake - Bull Shoals 11/14/06

Report#1
Dam area to Lead Hill: Early and late in the day the topwater bite continues to be awesome; Sammys, Spooks and Redfins have all been producing a mixed bag of Largemouth, Spotted and Smallmouth bass. Watch for surface activity to clue you in where the fish are feeding, keep a topwater handy throughout the day as Spotted bass have been chasing shad all day long. Once the sun comes up move out off the end of long tapering pea gravel or mixed rock and gravel points as deep as 40’ deep and throw Jewel football and spider jigs in PB&J or watermelon / purple flash with 4” Chompers’ jig trailers. Maintain bottom contact throughout your retrieve and pay close attention whenever you run the bait into wood or rock cover. Largemouth are moving toward the backs of the major creek arms and can be caught holding tight to wood or rock cover with an Eakins’ jig and craw combo or Texas rigged Chompers’ Ultra tubes.

Lead Hill to Power site: The topwater bite is excellent above Lead Hill as well; early and late the surface activity will tell you where the fish are chasing shad and can be caught on a variety of topwater baits. Once the sun comes up look toward main lake pockets and bluff ends to hold both Spotted and Smallmouth bass; an Eakins’ jig in brown or Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw as a trailer has been the best bait, work it slowly from the bank all the way out to 25’ deep. Pay close attention to any wood cover in these areas, isolated wood has been holding some really big fish this fall. Toward the backs of creeks look for schools of shad being followed by largemouth from the mouth of the creeks to the flats in the backs. Throw War Eagle spinnerbaits and buzzbaits close to wood cover where the shad are present, try to run the baits into the cover to draw reaction strikes for bass suspended in the and around the cover.

Report #2

Cold fronts keep moving through at least twice a week dropping rain and dropping the temperatures. This last week we had two days where the temperature was in the 70’s but by the weekend some we were back into the mid-50’s with 30’s for the lows at night. Lake level this week is at 647.38, 6 3/4 feet below normal pool. For this time of the year that is about normal. The lake temperature is still in the upper 50’s (59.3), which will be falling with the cool night time temperature projected for this week. Lake clarity is now at 14 feet and it is that time of the year to downsize your line to 4 or 6 pound, which will increase your bite chances.

Crappie were active this week back around the brush piles holding between 18 to 24 feet down. Crappie minnows are a good search bait but artificial baits are working the best. Crappie tubes, jigs and Bobby Garland Swimming minnows worked slowly up and down through the zone have been the ticket. The afternoon bite has been producing the better crappie; not numbers, but 1 1/2 to 2 pound fish.

Largemouth bass are just starting to cruise the banks and reposition themselves for their fall pattern feed. With the wind throw Wiggle Warts and spinnerbaits around main lake and creek secondary points that have step down ledges. On low wind conditions fish docks, blow downs and large chunk rock structure for ambushing largemouth.

Brush hogs and jigs are your best baits. Smallmouth bass have been moving in throughout the week schooling up along banks that have deep water out in front of a transition area; an area where the chunk rock stops and the pea rock starts. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits work well on windy days and tubes or Spider jigs are the best under low wind conditions.

Kentucky bass have also moved closer to the banks and bluff points this week. They are not on reaction baits like the largemouth and smallmouth when the wind is up but you can get bit on football jigs up against the end of the bluff walls. Zoom finesse worms and baby brush hogs are working on the channel swings on light wind days fished on a split shot or Mojo rig.

The upper part of the lake is ahead of the mid-lake down to the dam area and the fish are already into their fall bite above Lead Hill.

Walleye have also moved to a new zone. They are now in 30 to 36 feet of water in the creeks and off main lake points. There is also a night bite on main lake points with suspended rogues and X-rays if you can dress warm enough. Long liners are now pulling Reef Runners, Glass Shad Raps and Bill Norman 22’s and having some success in the new zone. Here again, like the crappie, the afternoon bite seems to be better than in the morning.