Beaver Lake: Black bass are biting crank baits and spinner baits in the cooling water.
John Newlun at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said the best bass fishing is from Hickory Creek park upstream into the White and War Eagle tributaries. Spinner baits and square-billed crank baits are both working in shallow water. An Alabama rig is also worth a try, Newlun said.
Deeper bass can be caught with small plastic worms on a drop-shot rig 10 to 25 feet deep.
Striped bass are migrating upstream into the Monte Ne and Hickory Creek areas, but can also be caught in the area of Point 5 and Point 6. The early-week cold front slowed the fishing, but a few have been caught on shad and brood minnows 10 to 20 feet deep.
White bass and hybrid stripers are biting jigging spoons near the islands north of the Arkansas 12 bridge.
Average water temperature at Beaver is 57 to 59 degrees.
Jason Piper at J.T. Crappie Guide Services said crappie are suspended above brush piles and next to pole timberclose to a channel in 20 to 45 feet of water. Fish from the bottom up with curly-tail grubs. Effective colors are black/chartreuse, yellow/white or electric chicken.
Good areas to fish include Pine Creek, Monte Ne, Horseshoe Bend and Avoca Hollow.
Garland Villines at Hickory Creek Marina said crappie are biting tube jigs around brush 20 feet deep. Good colors are a black or red body and chartreuse tail.
Black bass are biting spinner baits and crank baits.
White River below Beaver Dam: Nancy Rose at the Beaver Dam Store said trout are biting white or orange Power Bait. Tip the bait with a waxworm if the catching is slow.
Good lures include small spoons and micro jigs.
Black or olive woolly buggers are good flies to try.
Midges or sowbugs are also good.
Lake Fayetteville: Dolly Black at Lake Fayetteville boat dock said black bass are biting spinner baits. A fisherman this week caught and released15 bass he caught with spinner baits. No report on any other species.
Lake Sequoyah: Mike McBride at Lake Sequoyah bait shop said this week’s cold front has slowed the fishing.
Crappie fishing is fair on some days. Try jigs or minnows 4 to 10 feet deep.
Swepco Lake: Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass fishing is good with green-colored plastic worms or white Zoom Flukes 2 to 20 feet deep. All areas of the lake are good.
Illinois River: Stroud recommends using a marabou jig and pig for black bass. Fish along bluffs and in deep holes.
Bella Vista: Harvey Horne at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said black bass canbe caught at all Bella Vista lakes in a variety of ways.
Try crawdad-colored crank baits or shad-colored jerk baits. Alabama rigs are working around docks.
Bluegill are biting crickets or worms at all Bella Vista lakes 12 feet deep around brush.
Trout at Lake Brittany are biting spoons or Power Bait.
Upper Table Rock Lake: J.D. Fletcher at Eagle Rock, Mo., recommends using spinner baits or plastic worms for black bass along rocky main-channel shorelines.
Eastern Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair crappie fishing at Lake Eucha on minnows or jigs 14 to 16 feet deep around brush.
Largemouth bass are fair on crank baits.
No report from Grand Lake.
Outdoor, Pages 6 on 11/21/2013