NWA FISHING REPORT

Beaver Lake: Black bass fishing is good with crank baits and jerk baits.

Garland Villines at Hickory Creek Marina said water temperatures is in the low 40s has started a thread fin-shad kill on the south end of the lake. That has triggered good bass fishing with shad-colored jerk baits, Villines said.

Crappie are biting jigs worked around brush in the Horseshoe Bend area 13 to 16 feet deep.

Stripers are scattered in the Point 12 area and are biting shad or brood minnows.

John Hodge at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said black bass fishing is excellent. Work crawdad-colored crank baits or shad-colored jerk baits around points.

The technique works to catch an occasional walleye, Hodge said.

Crappie fishing is good 2 to 10 feet deep around brush piles or standing timber.

Good areas to fish include the White or War Eagle river arms, Hickory Creek and Horseshoe Bend, Hodge said.

Average water temperature is 42 to 46 degrees.

Jason Piper at J.T. Crappie Guide Services said crappie can be caught on warm sunny afternoons by fishing a tube jig or curly-tail grub. Fish 4 feet deep in water that is at least 15 feet deep around community docks or along bluffs.

If fish don’t bite, try tipping the jig or grub with a small minnow.

Good areas to fish include the White River arm, Eden’s Bluff and Horseshoe Bend.

White River below Beaver Dam: Lisa Mullins at the Beaver Dam Store said the top flies for trout in flowing water are peach-colored eggs and San Juan worms.

In deeper water try olive woolly buggers, midges or an olive/red Little Lucy.

Good lure choices include a size 9 floating Rapala, Colorado spoon or an olive or ginger microjig.

The top bait is a nightcrawler injected with air.

A combination of chartreuse and orange Power Bait is working. Mullins recommends tipping the Power Bait with a waxworm.

Lakes Fayetteville, Sequoyah: Both lakes are closed and will reopen Tuesday.

Lake Elmdale: Lucky Key at Duck Camp Fishing Retreat said black bass fishing is slow. Try working a jig and pig slowly. A brown or green jig is a good color.

Swepco Lake: Kenny Stroud at BW Outdoors in Siloam Springs said a variety of soft plastics are working 1 to 20 feet deep.

Bella Vista: Harvey Horne at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bell Vista said black bass are biting crank baits, jerk baits, dropshot rigs or Alabama rigs at all Bella Vista lakes.

A few crappie are being caught at Loch Loomed on jigs or minnows 25 to 30 feet deep, but fishing is slow.

Trout fishing is good at Lake Brittany with Power Bait or spoons. Three trout over 5 pounds have been caught in recent weeks, Horne said.

Upper Table Rock Lake: J.D. Flatter at Eagle Rock Mo., said black bass can be caught with crawdad-colored crank baits or a jig and pig along rocky main-channel shorelines.

Eastern Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair black bass fishing at Grand Lake with plastic worms or crank baits.

Crappie at Lake Eucha are fair 14 feet deep with minnows or jigs. The lake is 13 feet low.

Outdoor, Pages 7 on 01/10/2013

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