BEAVER LAKE
Striped bass are migrating to the south end of the lake. Mike Whitehouse at Hickory Creek Marina said stripers can be seen surfacing in the Hickory Creek area, but are proving difficult to catch. Anglers are trying brood minnows and top-water lures. Crappie fishing is good on the south half of the lake. Use minnows or jigs 15 feet deep around brush piles and submerged timber. Limits of 15 crappie have been caught. Crappie at Beaver must be 10 inches or longer to keep. Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers reports good crappie fishing around brush piles submerged by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in the Prairie Creek and Horseshoe Bend areas. Minnows or jigs are working. Black bass fishing is slow. Try plastic worms and other types of soft plastic lures.
BEAVER TAILWATER
Lisa Mullins at Beaver Dam Store said trout fishing is good. Game and Fish stocked larger trout than usual the last round of stocking. Fly fishermen report good numbers of trout on pheasant tails, midges and hare’s ears. Copper Johns and San Juan worms are worth a try. Bait fishermen are doing best drift-fishing from a boat with a Power Bait-waxworm combination. The top lures are small spoons in red and gold or silver and gold.
LAKE FAYETTEVILLE
Al Perea at the lake office said fishing is slow for all species. A few crappie are being caught with minnows or jigs.
LAKE SEQUOYAH
Mike McBride at the lake bait shop said crappie fishing is fair with minnows or jigs six feet deep. Use jig and pigs or plastic worms for black bass. Catfish are biting small sunfish, goldfish or liver.
SWEPCO LAKE
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting plastic worms, top-water lures or square-billed crank baits.
ILLINOIS RIVER
Stroud recommends using tube baits or jig and pigs for black bass.
BELLA VISTA
Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista reports all fishing is slow. Try for black bass with square-billed crank baits or buzz baits at any Bella Vista lake. For trout at Lake Brittany, use small red-gold spoons or Power Bait in bright colors.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair fishing for catfish at Fort Gibson Lake with goldfish or live shad. All other fishing is slow.
TABLE ROCK LAKE
Peter Wenners at Pete’s Professional Guide Service said black bass fishing remains tough. Try a plastic worm on a drop-shot rig or a jerk bait along main lake points with submerged timber.