Crappie very good using minnows

Stripers are deep using umbrella rigs and deep cranks and live shad

Largemouth Bass good using spinner baits and plastics 

White Bass No Report

November 1, 2004

We have had a crazy week for this time of year. Temperatures jumped into the 80’s with some warm rain, you would think it was late summer instead of fall. Here’s one for you! The lake temperature has gone from 63 degrees to 60 – 69 degrees; something is wrong with this picture and the game fish are very confused. With the rain this last week the lake level rose to 651.08 up ½ foot from last week and we are 3 feet below normal pool. Water clarity also took a hit, with run off and high winds we now have 12 feet of visibility. Crappie stayed active throughout the week around the brush piles and the deep edge of the underwater stump fields. Crappie minnows are still a good bet but a few other baits are triggering the bigger crappie. They are Swimming Minnows, crappie tubes in pink or brown and small ¼ ounce spoons.

Largemouth bass are in on the banks today then gone tomorrow, they’re moving in and out like a bouncing ball. Start your day off in the banks of the creeks and pockets with spinnerbaits or buzzbaits to see they they’re up. If they’re up you can work the shallow pattern all day. If not, look for blow downs or docks and flip pig & jigs. Another pattern is deep water drop off points, fish these areas with football jigs in 35 – 50 feet of water. 

Smallmouth bass for some reason are holding on flats and pea rock do-nothing points. There’s not many crawdads on that type of structure so we don’t know what they are doing up there. Best bite has been in the morning up until noon or so. Spider Tubes, Mojo rigs with centipedes and finesse worms and crankbaits, Wiggle Warts and Bandit. Work from the bank out to 40 feet of water because the smallies are also moving in and out like the largemouth. 

Kentucky bass are a little easier to find as they are traveling with the shad, so find the shad and you find the Kentuckys. Now – getting them to bite is another story. Spoons in silver or white is the best at this time. Bink’s makes a spoon with a blue back that’s very hot at this time. Some Kentuckys can be found away from the shad around deep brush piles on channel swings. Best baits in these areas are crankbaits (Bandits or Bill Norman DLNs), Mojo rigged finesse worms or Fish Doctors and Spider Jigs.

Walleye are still doing their thing at night feeding on crawdads, shad and perch. Suspending Rogues, silver/ blue back, silver/black back and clown have been the key baits and colors. Work from the bank out to about 20 feet of water, that’s their feeding range. During the day the walleye are moving out on the points suspending 18 – 30 feet down over 40 – 60 feet of water. Long liners are now pulling shallower baits such as Rogues, Hot-N-Tots, Reef Runners, Little Rippers and Wally divers that will stay over the top of the suspended walleyes.

The PWT will return to Bull Shoals on May 11 through 13, 2005 and entry blanks for amateurs are now available. The can be ordered by phone from PWT at 218-824-2542, or by downloading them from the PWT web site at www.professionalwalleyetrail.com. They are now available at Wilderness Trail. The PWT is a Pro-Am and this past June one-third of the field consisted of local anglers. The week of November 8th, the Bull Shoals PWT tournament from June 2004 can be seen on The Outdoor Channel, Monday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday 3:30 p.m. and Friday 11 p.m.

Trout fishing on the White River has been good on Power Bait in yellow, orange and white and Belgian red worms. Buoyant Spoons, Little Cleos, and Rooster Tails have been working when the generation is on. The fly fishermen have done well on olive Woolly Buggers, sow bugs, egg pattern in peach and San Juan worms. Browns are being caught on Countdowns, Flat Fish and nightcrawlers.

}><(((º> Millwood Lake Fishing Report 11/01/04 <º)))><{

Millwood Lake Guide Service reports water temps 69º-74º ; 5.3 inches above normal pool, reduced stain, & on a steady rising trend.

Largemouth bass are fair to good on Rat-L-Traps in white shad, bull bream, or smoky shad colors. Watermelon Red lizards and JoBass rigs are taking some decent size keepers up Little River, in the clearer oxbows. The schooling bass continue chasing shad and are improving with the cooler surface temps. Catches of 30 to 50 bass per outing has been common in the last few weeks as the fall weather temperature & water cools. This is an excellent time, probably the best opportunity of the entire year, to take a youngster fishing for a few hours. The action can be fast and furious, now and for the next few weeks, catching numbers of juvenile bass, in a relatively short outing. Youngsters just want to catch "something/anything", and this time of year fishing with an authoritative figure in their lives, can get kids hooked on fishing for their entire lifetime ( I remember it sure did it for me, fishing this time of year with my Dad ! :) .

During schooling periods, black bass, spotted bass and white bass are not that hard to find up and down Little River, and are excellent on 1/4oz to 3/4oz Rat-L-Traps in chrome/black back or white glitter and various shad patterns; white Rocket Shads, and chrome Johnson spoons with white grub trailers in the lily pads along edges of Little River. Schooling activities have remained constant over the last week. With the cooler days and nights, surface temps in the last week have dropped just slightly, this week. The larger fish are hitting the larger 3/4 oz Rat-L-Traps since it is typically fished slower & deeper, underneath the breaking 1-2 pound juvenile bass. In addition, if you can get a 1/2oz to 3/4oz hammered spoon, through the schoolers, be ready for the big bite just underneath the schooling bass. Tip: put on a white bucktail on the business end of the spoon. Medium to deep diving crankbaits are working better this week as well, for the larger bass, by working underneath the schools of smaller bass.

White Bass are sometimes found schooling along and with the Black Bass and have been caught in the same schools as the blacks, but the Whites are still preferring the smaller crank baits like Speed Traps, Hot Lips, Smithwick Rouges, or small Bomber model "A" cranks, and Chuck-n-spins or white rocket shads, over the top water baits. Catches of 25-50 per afternoon of blacks, spots, hybrids and whites mixed in the schools, between 1-3 pounds have been common in the last few weeks.

Carolina Rigs using 8" magnum lizards in june bug or red bug in the heavier stained areas of the river and watermelon or watermelon/red in the clearer areas, 5" Bass Assassin Shads, or Fork French Fries in watermelon/red, are catching keepers along Little River, at the 2-4' foot drop zones, creek mouths, points, and wash outs. Speed Traps or Hot Lips Crankbaits in pearl belly/blue back or white/blue back are catching keeper bass along lily pad line edges in Little River. The crank bait bite has improved again over the last week, taking better quality bass, again, than last week. Don't be surprised if you pick up a few whites or hybrids with the cranks in the same areas along Little River, as well. Bass Assassin 5" shads, continue catching decent bass in the lily pads, coontail moss and hydrilla. In addition, 10-12" power worms in black, blue fleck and june bug, are beginning to catch a few good keeper largemouth's again.

Crappie bite improved this week due to improved water temps and clarity conditions on main lake. Several good limits of Crappie were taken on Little River in the last few days with the cooler mornings and lower surface temps. Try white/chart jigs, Mizmo crappie tubes, or shiners in 10-13 feet depth planted brush piles along the river both sides of where North and South Hickory enters Little River, also between #3 and #4 mile marker in the cuts of the river bank's outside bends. Look for the huge bait schools on your graph in 10-13 feet depths, over planted brush piles.

Blue Catfish are still hitting very good on chicken liver, earthworms, and cut bait, on trot lines in the outside river bends between #4 and #6 mile marker, and between Yarborough Point and Jack's Isle, set approx 12-15' deep.

Long nose Gar are still relatively shallow in the backs of the creeks and feeding. There are some excellent bow-fishing opportunities on Millwood at present. Huge Gar, well in excess of 10-15 pounds each, are in water less than 3 feet in depth, cruising the shallows and feeding on shad, and other baitfish.

Large Bream are biting crickets and night crawlers off the banks at the State Park banks and the marina, very well.

}><(((º> Lake Fishing Conditions Report<º)))><{

Be advised the USA Corps of Engineers recently replaced many of the missing river buoys in Little River, although there are still some stretches along the river that are still being worked on. We have seen several of the buoys washed up onto the south bank, between Pugh Slough and Jack's Isle.

The lake level has risen approximately 2", this past week and as of Monday November 1, is approximately 5.3 inches above normal conservation pool at 259.64, and rising, with 2330CFS being released at the dam, there are 6 gates set at 1 foot each. Water clarity in the river, has much improved within the last week. Visibility is approximately 10-13 inches. Clarity is somewhat better in Little River, than the main lake, due to the bank protection from the high winds.

The upriver oxbows such as McGuire, Horseshoe, Mud Lake, Cemetery Slough, etc, still have much better water visibility, estimated approximately 4-8 feet in places. Current in Little River is increased just slightly this week. Water temperatures have stabilized in the last week, and range approx 69ºF early to 74ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake, wind and sunlight penetrations.

Use EXTREME caution while navigating Little River in low light conditions, and SLOW DOWN! Careful watch for floaters and debris in Little River's current is a requirement. Keep in mind there are a few sections of Little River, where the river buoys have moved out of position or have disappeared, although the USACE is working to get all these buoys replaced as soon as possible, and are working on the navigation daily.

Don't forget, be safe, and respect the other guy's right to use the lake too. Release those big bass to spawn and fight again, and take home those little 16"ers to fry up! Use caution in low light conditions, wear your Life Preserver and SUNSCREEN! If you are suddenly thrown from your boat, or knocked unconscious, your life preserver can potentially be your only hope to survive, so PUT IT ON!