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

This week’s weather was a little chilly, but for the most part plenty of sun. Lake is now in the low 50’s with the sun warming a few degrees during the day. Pool level is at 654.85 this week, ½ foot above normal pool, which is great for this time of year. Lake clarity is still at 15 to 16 feet with some color in the backs of the creeks. 

Crappie were not as active this week but a few were being caught in 25 – 35 feet around brush piles and docks with crappie minnows or shad colored crappie tubes.

Lake Rating: Bass continue to move shallower, crappie are feeding on small shad around brush piles and walleye are reacting to spoons so this weeks rating is good (and getting better).

Largemouth bass are moving shallower (12 to 15 feet) and around docks, in the back of the creek arms and main lake cuts and coves on blow downs. They are not yet up on the banks. Fish spinnerbaits or Bandit crankbaits for the shallower fish. Fish Spider Jigs for the largemouth that are staying deep off the drop offs on secondary points. 

Smallmouth bass are also moving shallower up on to pea rock points and chunk rock channel swings. Both largemouth and smallmouth are foraging on crawdads filling up for the winter. Spider Jigs and tubes are working well if the wind is down. On windy days throw Wiggle Warts or Bandit crankbaits in crawdad colors. Carolina rigged Brush Hogs and finesse worms or football jigs will trigger the deeper 3 – 4 pound smallies. 

Kentucky bass are also foraging on crawdads getting ready for winter and have moved shallower. They are in the back of the pockets and cuts, at the back of the creeks or along the bluff walls. Tube baits and Spider Jigs are the best baits on the shallow Kentuckys. Drop shot rigs with 4" finesse worms and silver or white spoons are working the best on the Kentuckys under the shad.

Walleye have not moved as shallow as the bass and are still sitting in 20 to 40 feet of water. The bite has picked up on spoons fished vertically over their heads and ball jigs with a 2 – 3 " shiner as bait. The long liners are picking up a few on Reef Runners and Shad Raps. The crawler bite is not doing as well this week as the lure bite.

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Trout fishing on the White River has been good on Power Bait in yellow and pink. Buoyant Spoons, Colorado spoons and Little Cleos have been working when the generation is on. The fly fishermen have done well on olive Woolly Buggers, scuds, egg patterns and San Juan worms. Browns are being caught on Suspending Rogues, Flat Fish and nightcrawlers.

}><(((º> Millwood Lake Fishing Report 11/29/04 <º)))><{

Millwood Lake Guide Service reports water temps 60º-65º ; 5 inches above normal pool, increase in stain and current. Release rate at dam: all 13 gates, release = 13,793CFS.

Largemouth bass are fair to good during the heat of the day, on Rat-L-Traps in chrome, and white or light colored shad patterns or gold on cloudy days, 10" Berkley power worms in blue fleck, pumpkinseed/black jigs, and medium diving cranks. Black buzz baits remain taking some decent size keepers in the 16" to 18" class, in Little River, on points of creek channels dumping into the river. This pattern has remained fairly constant over the last few weeks. Schooling activity has diminished in last few days with the drop in surface temperatures. The jig bite is definitely improved in the last week, with the drop in water temps. An eight pounder and several 4 pound class bass were caught and released on last Friday, in the river, near mouth of Jack's Isle, on the pumpkinseed jig.

War Eagle Spinnerbaits in white/chart, firecracker, or spot remover color patterns in the lily pads and grass along edges of Little River are catching fair size bass. The smaller Rat-L-Traps are taking better quantities of all sizes of bass, but the larger 3/4 size Traps are definitely catching the larger fish. When you see shad busting to the surface, lightly pitch in a small 1/4oz War Eagle spinnerbait in firecracker, spot remover, or a white/chart Rocket Shad and just "Let It Rip" back through the remaining vegetation. Many of the strikes are occurring just as the spinnerbait rips free of the grass. With the cooler days and nights, surface temps in the last week have dropped again slightly, this week. The larger fish continue hitting the larger 3/4 oz Rat-L-Traps. Medium to deep diving crankbaits like the Excalibur Fat Free Shad, Bandit or Bagley B3's in brown craw/orange belly are beginning to work better as well, for the larger bass. In addition, a smoke or watermelon w/ chart tip, colored Southern Pro Fat Butt Tube pitched into the edges of the dying lily pads, grass and on base of cypress trees are catching decent bass in those areas.

Recent rain and 6" rise on the lake with reduced water visibility this week has slowed the Crappie bite over last 2 weeks. A few crappie were biting live shiners and jigs along the river over planted brush piles between Yarborough point and Bee Lake entrance on north side of the river in 10-13 feet depths.

Blue Catfish remain good in Little River on trot lines, using cut shad or chicken livers, in the outside river bends between Snake Creek and Jack's Isle, set approx 10-13' deep.

}><(((º> Millwood Lake & River Conditions Report <º)))><{


For those fishing the river and below the spillway, as of Monday, November 29, with recent deluge of rain, the lake level remains up to 6 inches above normal conservation pool, and lake elevation is 259.6, and steady, with 13,793CFS being released at the dam. As of Monday, all 13 gates are open this week, 10 gates at 3 feet each, and 3 gates at 2 feet each. Water clarity in the river, has remained with heavy stain the last week. River visibility and clarity is approximately 2-4 inches. Clarity is somewhat worse on the main lake, due to high winds and current toward the dam. Northeastern sector of the lake remains muddy with increased current and muddy water in the Saline River.

The upriver oxbows such as McGuire, Horseshoe, Mud Lake, Cemetery Slough, etc, away from the current in Little River still have much better water visibility, estimated at approx 3-4 feet in places. Current in Little River is increased again this week. Water temperatures have also dropped in the last week, and range approx 60ºF early to 65ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake, wind and sunlight penetrations.