BEAVER LAKE
Night time is the right time to catch black bass.
John Newlun at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said bass fishing is good at night with spinner baits or plastic worms in dark colors. A good spinner bait color is black with some blue or red in the skirt.
Anglers report fair bass fishing with top-water lures the first hour of daylight. After sunrise, black bass can be caught with a finesse worm on a drop-shot rig 15 to 20 feet deep. Try the ends of bluffs or humps.
Striped bass are biting the first two hours of daylight on top-water lures, shad or brood minnows. Anglers report catching only a few stripers, but they’re big ones.
For crappie, try brush piles or the shade of docks 10 to 25 feet deep. Catfish are biting liver or worms.
Mike Whitehouse at Hickory Creek Marina said crappie can be caught on the south end of the lake with a spider rig or by trolling crank baits. Flats are the best areas to fish.
Spider riggers are using minnows 10 to 20 feet deep. Trollers are using crank baits that dive 12 to 15 feet deep.
Black bass fishing is fair at night on deep-diving crank baits or dark-colored spinner baits.
BEAVER TAILWATER
Tom Steinke at the Beaver Dam Store said trout are biting Power Bait in bright colors. Add a waxworm to the hook for best results.
The top lures are countdown Rapalas and small spoons. Fly fishermen are catching trout with nymphs, midges and pheasant-tails.
LAKE FAYETTEVILLE
Angela Perea at the lake office said catfish are biting worms or nightcrawlers. Use crickets for bluegill and spinner baits for black bass. Crappie fishing is slow, but a few are coming in on small jigs.
LAKE SEQUOYAH
Mike McBride at the lake bait shop said catfish are biting worms, liver or shad. Black bass are biting top-water lures or spinner baits early. Bluegill are biting crickets or worms five feet deep or less.
SWEPCO LAKE
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting soft-plastic lures two to 20 feet deep. Try top-water lures at sunrise and sunset.
ILLINOIS RIVER
Stroud recommends using small tube baits or plastic lizards for black bass.
BELLA VISTA
Justin McClelland at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said black bass fishing is fair at all Bella Vista lakes 15 to 20 feet deep on large plastic worms fished on a Carolina rig. Jigs and big crank baits work best for night fishing.
Catfish are biting fair on shrimp or nightcrawlers.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports good fishing for crappie on Grand Lake with minnows or jigs 10 feet deep around docks and brush. Blue and channel catfish are fair on shad at 15-45 feet deep in the main lake and around rocks.
TABLE ROCK LAKE
The Missouri Department of Conservation reports fair fishing for black bass on deep diving crank baits 15 feet deep around docks and shelf rock. Bluegill fishing is good with worms around docks and timber. Catfish are biting well on stink bait and cut bait.