NWA fishing report

Fishing on the lake at sunset. Fishing tile / Getty Images
Fishing on the lake at sunset. Fishing tile / Getty Images

Beaver Lake

Stars come out at night and so do the black bass.

Southtown Sporting Goods in Fayetteville said black bass are biting fair at night on spinner baits and plastic worms. Dark colors work best.

Striped bass fishing is best on the far north end of the lake, from Point 5 to Beaver Dam. Try brood minnows 20 to 40 feet deep.

Jon Conklin, fishing guide, reports walleye are biting nightcrawler rigs 25 feet deep along points and flats. Striped bass fishing is good one day, fair the next. Troll with brood minnows or umbrella rigs.

Try trolling for crappie with crank baits that run 15 feet deep. Flats close to the main channel are good areas for trolling. Trolling along bluff walls is another option. An occasional catfish may also bite trolled crank baits. Average surface water temperature is in the upper 80s.

Beaver tailwater

Beaver Dam Store reports good fishing for trout with Power Bait in bright colors. Nightcrawlers are the best live bait.

Small 1/16th-ounce jigs work well for trout. Olive is a good color, or olive with orange or black in the color pattern may work. For fly fishing try size 16 midges in black or copper.

Power generation has been from mid to late morning and continues through the day. Conditions are good for wade fishing in the morning, then drift fishing in a boat during generation.

Lake Fayetteville

David Powell at the lake office recommends fishing for bluegill with crickets or worms. Catfish are biting stink bait. Try plastic worms for catfish. Dark colors are good.

Lake Sequoyah

Angler Mike McBride recommends fishing for catfish. Rain has improved the fishing. August is the best month to catch big flathead catfish, he said. Use small sunfish or brood minnows to target flatheads. Channel catfish should bite well on liver or cut bait.

Try for black bass early with top-water lures. Use worms or crickets for bluegill. The lake is open from sunrise to sunset.

Bella Vista

Nick Gann at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said catfish are biting well on nightcrawlers or worms. Bluegill fishing is good 15 to 20 feet deep with worms or crickets. Black bass fishing is best at night with spinner baits or chatter baits in dark colors. Try plastic worms for daytime bass fishing.

Please note that fishing in Bella Vista is open only to POA members and their guests.

Swepco Lake

Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs recommends fishing for black bass at night with 10-inch plastic worms in dark colors worked 15 to 20 feet deep. Fish near the dam where the water is coolest.

Illinois River

Stroud recommends fishing for black bass with tube baits or 4-inch plastic lizards. Buzz baits or small crank baits may work.

Eastern Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports largemouth bass fishing is fair at Grand Lake with crank baits, spinner baits and top-water lures around bush, rocks and docks. Crappie are biting fair on minnows near the dam around brush. Blue catfish are biting cut bait or stink bait near the dam.

Lake Tenkiller is fishing fair for black bass with Zoom Flukes, plastic worms, top-water lures or spinner baits worked around brush, rocks and along points. Crappie are biting fair on hair jigs around brush. Bluegill are biting well on worms.

At Lake Eucha, black bass fishing is fair with crank baits, top-water lures, plastic worms or spinner baits worked around points and rocky shorelines. Catfish are biting fair on liver, stink bait, cut bait or hot dog chunks in rocky areas. Crappie fishing is slow.

Table Rock Lake

Focused Fishing Guide service reports black bass are biting plastic worms on a drop-shot rig early in the shade of docks 20 feet deep. Try a nightcrawler on a drop-shot rig to target walleye and catfish.

Drop-shot rigs are also working over the tops of trees 20 to 30 feet deep over deeper water. Swim baits fished 20 feet deep are worth a try.

-- Compiled by Flip Putthoff


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