Crappie poor 

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

Largemouth Bass good using crankbaits and fish slow 

White Bass No Report

WALLEYE SEMINAR
MARCH 5th and 6th
DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER JANUARY 1ST
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}><(((º> Millwood Lake Fishing Report 1/24/05 <º)))><{

Millwood Lake Guide Service reports water temps 43º-47º ; approx 11 inches above normal pool, moderate stain, heavy current. Release rate at dam as of Monday: all 13 gates open at 4 feet, and release = 18,622 CFS.

Largemouth bass are fair to good on black/blue or green pumpkin jigs with pork trailers 4 to 6 feet deep and 1-3 feet away from base of cypress trees. Black bass are good on swimming white Lead head jigs with spilt milk grub trailers on first drop along the Little River, or white/orange and chart spinnerbaits through any vegetation such as coontail or hydrilla, in 6-8 foot depths. 10" power worms in blue fleck are working and taking keepers around 3 pounds each, in the last few days. Hammered CC Spoons with white/red bucktails jigged in 12-15 feet depths of Little River are locating some nice bass north of Outlaw Trail boat run. High wind and cold fronts have kept a lot of fishermen off the main lake and seeking shelter from the wind in coves and creek channels along and dumping into Little River.

Tubes, gitzits and Brush Hogs are catching decent size bass in the on stumps along the edges of the river in 8-10 feet depths and in backs of creeks on base of cypress trees on sunny or warmer days. Along the river, back off the edges of the river bank to where you find stumps and timber in approx 8-12 feet depths is where we have been finding the better bite, more aggressive bass. Carolina rigs in these areas of the river seem to be working better in the last week. Best colors for tubes or brush hogs in the past week seem to be black/red flake, smoke/chart tail, or blackberry or chartreuse pepper.

Heavy, 5/8 oz or 3/4 oz War Eagle Spinnerbaits in spot remover color patterns in the remaining vegetation & dead lily pads are taking fair keepers on shallow flats close to the river and deeper water. Tip: use a large # 7 thumping Colorado blade in gold to attract their attention on sunny days or muddy water. The larger bass remain slightly deeper in the creeks, and closer to the deeper haunts of the river drops at the creek mouths or points, dumping into Little River. Heavy 3/4 to 1oz size Rat-L-Traps in diamond dust colors, fished in creek mouths and across deep points, between Hurricane Creek and Jack's Isle along Little River are working when fished very slow and methodical.

**Tip: put a rattle on your jigs or inside tubes in this muddy water, it draws their listening ear to investigate the noise. Also use a garlic or anise fish scent to mask your human scent, and the fish will hold the bait longer, or swim with it. We sometimes put a small piece of sponge saturated in fish attractant into the tube behind the rattle to hold it inside, and to ooze a scent trail, and to mask human scent.

Average 2-3 pound sized bass remain fair to good, during the heat of the day, on 1/2 and 3/4 oz sized Rat-L-Traps in red chrome, gold Tennessee shad, or bleeding gold shiner. Shallow to medium diving red, brown, orange crankbaits like the Bandit brown back/orange belly craw patterns, deflecting off stumps, continue working on points and creek channels .

This time of year can be feast or famine for large bass. One day the ambient temperature will be 25º and freezing your line guides on your rod and the wind blowing 30mph and muddies up the entire lake. Few bites. Next day sun is out and high is near 65º, water clearing and shallow areas warming, cant get a hook in the water quick enough, and good, decent bass bites on every pitch with a tube or 10" power worm. Sharp hooks in soft plastic or crankbaits, are a must for those slow and deliberate (few) bites! Also, slowing the crankbait retrieve to a mere crawl seems to have the best results in this colder water climate.

Sharpen those hooks, get out there & deliberately slow down the retrieve, purposely deflect cranks off stumps, and HANG ON! This time of year can also yield the trophy Largemouth of a lifetime, full of roe and just waiting on warmer temperatures to move shallow!

Few Crappie fishermen on the lake this week, but report improvement since water began clearing and lake falling last week back toward normal pool. Catches were reported fair to good on live shiners over planted brush piles in 15-19 feet depths along Little River.

Blue Catfish remain fair to good in Little River on trot lines, on chicken hearts/livers, large earthworms, shiners and cut shad, with the increase in current. The outside river bends around Snake Creek, and #3-#4 mile marker in Little River, set approx 15-20 feet deep, seem to be best locations in last few days.

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

For those fishing the river and below the spillway, as of Monday, January 24, with recent 2 foot rise, and increase from incoming water, the lake level has maxed out, and began falling again to almost 11 inches above normal conservation pool, and is moderate stain, muddy in areas, and increased current. The lake elevation is 260.08, and falling, with 18,622CFS being released at the dam. As of Monday, all 13 gates are open this week, at 4 feet each. Water clarity in the river, has improved last week, to approx 6-7". Clarity is somewhat worse on the main lake due to increase in heavy current, due to high winds and current toward the dam. Northeastern sector of the lake around Cottenshed and OK Landing remains extremely muddy with increased current and muddy water in the Saline River. Creeks and sloughs of Little River have begun clearing now with the lake falling.

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 2-3 feet in places. Current in Little River is increased again this week. Water temperatures have stabilized in the last week due to above normal ambient temperatures, and range approx 43ºF early to 47ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake, wind and sunlight penetrations.

Be advised the US Army 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, and several washed through the Hole-in-the-Wall cut and are up on the bank.

HAZARDOUS NAVIGATION NOTE:

With the increase in current in the river, and floating debris from the recent 3 foot rise, many logs and submerged hazards are floating down Little River. 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.