BEAVER LAKE
Striped bass are following schools of threadfin shad into the back of creek arms. James Whittle at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said major creek arms from Prairie Creek south into the White and War Eagle tributaries are good places to fish. Use top-water lures for surfacing stripers or fish deeper with shad or brood minnows. Crappie are biting 10 to 15 feet deep on minnow or jigs around docks and submerged timber. Black bass are hitting Alabama rigs, jig and pigs and crawdad-colored crank baits. Average water temperature is 48 to 52 degrees. Mike Whitehouse at Hickory Creek Marina said striper fishing is good in the Hickory Creek area. Shad or brood minnows are working. Crappie are biting Bobby Garland Baby Shads around docks and timber. Electric chicken is the best color.
BEAVER TAILWATER
Lisa Mullins at Beaver Dam Store said a good way to catch trout is with a Power Bait and waxworm combination. The top lures are small spoons in gold-red or gold-silver. Good flies to try include midges, pheasant tails, Copper Johns, San Juan worms and hare’s ears.
LAKE FAYETTEVILLE
David Powell at the lake office said a few crappie are being caught with jigs. Start fishing on the bottom and work up until the right depth is found. All other species are slow. There is little fishing activity, he said. Average water temperature is 49 degrees.
LAKE SEQUOYAH
Mike McBride at the lake bait shop said crappie are biting jigs or minnows eight feet deep. Fishing is slow for everything else.
SWEPCO LAKE
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting Zoom Flukes, top-water lures, Rat-L-Traps and plastic worms.
ILLINOIS RIVER
Stroud said black bass are biting jerk baits or small jig and pigs. Eastern Oklahoma The best lures for black bass at Lake Eucha are jerk baits, jig and pigs or Alabama rigs, Stroud said.
BELLA VISTA
Nick Gann at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said trout at Lake Brittany are biting Power Bait or small spoons. Black bass are biting swim baits or jig and pigs at all Bella Vista lakes.
TABLE ROCK LAKE
Focused Fishing guide service said black bass are biting plastic worms on a drop-shot rig 25 to 55 feet deep along points on the lower end of the lake. Jig and pigs are working along ledge-rock banks. Spinner baits are working for shallower bass. Try a War Eagle spinner bait in white-chartreuse, mouse, or spot remover colors. Fish 10 feet or shallower along banks that transition from big rock to gravel.