NWA Fishing Report

Beaver Lake: White bass are surfacing in the evening, reports James Whittle at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers.

The best area to look for surfacing whites is from Horseshoe Bend park to Rocky Branch park. Use small top-water lures, spoons or jigs to catch them.

Crappie are biting jigs or minnows 20 to 25 feet deep from Horseshoe Bend park to Point 12.

For black bass, try top-water lures at dawn and plastic worms or jigs 10 to 20 feet deep later in the day.

Steve McClelland at Hickory Creek Marina said crappie fishing is tough. Try using minnows or jigs 15 feet or shallower in the shade of docks. Or, troll with Bandit 300 crank baits.

Catfishing is tough. A few have been caught on jug lines baited with sunfish.

Beaver tailwater: Nancy Rose at the Beaver Dam Store said the top flies for trout are black/silver or red/silver midges or olive-colored woolly buggers.

Effective lures include small brown jigs or gold/nickel Colorado spoons.

Power Bait tipped with a waxworm is working.

Lake Fayetteville: Dolly Black at Lake Fayetteville boat dock said black bass are biting plastic worms in dark colors. Bluegill are biting crickets or worms 10 feet deep or shallower. Try liver, nightcrawlers or stink bait for catfish.

Lake Sequoyah: Mike McBride at Lake Sequoyah bait shop said catfish are biting sunfish, shad or liver. Bluegill are biting worms shallow to deep.

Crappie are biting minnows or jigs 8 to 12 feet deep. Black bass are biting spinner baits and plastic worms.

Lake Elmdale: Lucky Key at Duck Camp Fishing Retreat said crappie are biting minnows 7 feet deep. Timothy Kerry of Springdale used green/yellow jigs to catch several crappie on July 15.

For black bass, fish a red/black spinner bait just below the surface around isolated grass beds. Ty Huntley of Springdale used a Rat-L-Trap to catch a 5.2-pound largemouth bass this week.

Siloam Springs Lake: Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting top-water lures early and plastic worms later in the day.

Illinois River: Stroud recommends using small tube baits, grubs or Rooster Tails to catch black bass.

Bella Vista: Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista reports catfish are biting shrimp or nightcrawlers. Black bass are biting soft plastics or jigs 12 to 15 feet deep. Bluegill are biting crickets or worms 8 to 14 feet deep.

Eastern Oklahoma: Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs reports largemouth bass are biting top-water lures at dawn and dusk. Try plastic worms or deep-diving crank baits later in the day.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair largemouth bass fishing at Grand Lake with crank baits or jigs around points. Catfish are fair on cut bait or shad along flats.

-- Compiled by Flip Putthoff

Outdoors on 07/24/2014

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