Catfish No Report

Crappie No Report

Stripers No Report

Largemouth Bass No Report

White Bass No Report

Spring is blooming – trees, wildflowers and there is green pollen all over everything, but Mother Nature hit us with another severe cold front over the weekend; high winds and temperature dipped in the 30’s. Lake temperature dropped from 63 degrees on the main lake to 59 degrees by Sunday morning. Pool level this week has remained stable and is at 655.15. 

White Bass are in their run throughout the lake, the best bite is in the afternoon from about 3 p.m. until sundown. Best baits are the old standby – roadrunner – and small spoons such as Little Cleo’s. Other baits worth trying are Swimming Minnows, Pointer 78’s, Cotton Cordell Tiny Spot Minnows and crappie spinnerbaits. Crappie were on the banks headed to their spawning areas in the back of the cuts and pockets. The cold front pulled them off the banks into 12 to 16 feet of water. Crappie minnows are your best bet until the shallows warm up again.

Largemouth are in full spawn and they are bedding in 6 to 8 feet of water this year. The post spawners are out away from the beds at the first drop off and around secondary points that are present in their spawning area. Carolina or Mojo rigs with lizards or finesse worms are working well along with tubes and Spider Jigs. Bandit and Wiggle Wart crankbaits are also triggering some nice largemouth on windy days. 

Smallmouth bass are in post spawn. Every day the bite gets better and better around points and transition areas along "do nothing" banks. A number of baits are starting to catch smallies, which is normal when they come off spawn. Lizards, brush hogs and centipedes are the best plastics. Wiggle Warts, Bandits and Bill Norman DLN’s are the best crankbaits. Spider Jigs and tubes are my choice this time of year.

Kentucky bass are almost done spawning and most of them are in post spawn. They are starting to chase shad again and roaming the chunk rock banks and points looking for crawdads. Mojo rigs with Fish Doctors or centipedes are turning on. Tubes and Spider Jigs are fooling the crawdad feeders and Fluke’s or Sinko’s are working on the Kentuckys traveling with the shad. As the lake warms back up there should be some good top water action on Pop R’s, Spit’N Images and Spook Jrs.

Walleye are finally on the feed. They have not moved outside of 30 feet as yet, so trollers are having "so-so" success at this time. Shiners on a split-shot and bottom bouncers with crawler harnesses are the go to technique around points. The hot bite is at night from 9 to midnight casting X-Raps and Suspending Rogues around points in the creeks or on the main lake. Nice limits were caught almost every night last week. The PWT Walleye Tour will be held May 11 through 13. The walleye pros and co-anglers should find the walleye bite excellent. Weigh-ins will be held at Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock all three days.

Lake Rating: Walleye are finally coming around, Whites are in spawn, Crappie are close to spawn and bass can be found in and around almost every cut or pocket. This week, because of the water surface cool down, we will rate the lake Good.

Fishing for trout on the White River has been good this past week. Generation has been pretty steady so the Berkley Power Egg bite has not been used much but when able yellow and pink have done well. With generation the Buoyant spoons, Little Cleo’s, Blue Fox and Krocodiles are the bait of choice. The fly fisherman has done well on Olive Woolly Bugger, midges and scuds when they are able to fish. The Brown trout are being caught on Shad Raps, Suspending Rogues and nightcrawlers.

Remember to keep only what you can eat and release the rest for another day. Rick Culver of Wilderness Trail does the research for this report and the writing of this report.

}><(((º> Millwood Lake Fishing Report 4/25/05 <º)))><{

Water temps 69º-77º ; 2.5 inches above normal, falling, & visibility= 8-12".

Largemouth Bass are very consistent, and remain excellent on red chrome Rat-L-Traps, soft plastic 5" Bass Assassin jerk baits, buzz baits, brush hogs, & lizards. Most of the bigger female Largemouth Bass are post-spawn, and have pulled back to deeper water from the beds. In addition, most post-spawn Black bass remain fair to good on Carolina rigs with Zoom lizards in green pumpkin or pumpkinseed and Lake Fork Fries in watermelon red along Little River. Many bass from 3 - 5 pounds, have been caught on Bass Assassins & buzz baits in the last few days, but the "big" bite is tough and random. Medium running cranks such as the Fat Free Shads, Cordell Big O's, and Norman Deep Little N's have somewhat turned a good bite occasionally, but not very consistent.

Various Zoom Lizards and Brush Hogs are working well on Millwood. Best working colors in the last week include: cinnamon-raisin, black and blue, blueberry, big texan; all are catching nice bass from 3-6 pounds each. Carolina rigging these baits along the river around stumps in 9-12 feet, seem to be working better in the last week. The Crankbaits in brown craw w/orange belly and red chrome Rat-L-Traps (sunny days) are working equally in these same areas, around hydrilla, coontail, and stumps in creek mouths and on points in the river. Best reaction bite is slow and deliberate. Work the cranks and Traps very slow to antagonize the bigger bass. Work the lizards and brush hogs through and into, any hole or opening, in existing vegetation mats, and allow to fall on slack line in 5-8' depth areas.

The larger female bass have began moving back to deeper water, coming off the beds from the last 2 weeks. Males are still relatively shallow, a few are still guarding beds and chasing predators and baitfish. Over the last 2-3 weeks, the surface temperatures have risen to upper 60º and mid 70º range during the heat of the day. We are catching a few post-spawn females on the Rat-L-Traps and Carolina rigs just out in the next deeper water drops, close to creek mouth dumps into the river, or the next deeper drop of 5-8' in the backwater areas close to the nesting and bedding areas where there are stumps located. Twitch worms, trick worms, and wacky style "T" worms are taking a few decent fish, rigged weightless in water depths of 1-4 feet.

Crappie also continue to transition back to deeper water, with some finishing up on the beds.

Other Crappie are on beds in shallow flats close to cypress trees and laydowns. We noted an additional improvement in the Crappie bite just 2 weeks ago, since the water began clearing. With the increase in surface temps, the Crappie had begun the annual spawn. Nice slab catches have been taken on live shiners and jigs in last few weeks, in 2-5 feet depths along Little River and its oxbows, but most of the larger fish have completed their spawns.

Spotted Gar have been noted cruising in shallow water areas of 1-3 feet, in back of Horseshoe Lake, McGuire, Mud Lake, Little River flats next to Hurricane Creek, and other oxbows of Little River in the last week. Several huge gar, up to 8 or 12 pounds each, have been noted extremely shallow, considering spawning activities. This is an excellent time for bow fishermen to take some nice size Gar OUT of Millwood!!!

White Bass have been caught in the last few weeks around mouth of Cossotot River, on points extending into Little River, bar pits, and further up toward Patterson Shoal areas. These White Bass between 2 and 4 pounds each, are hitting Little Cleos, Little Georges, Rooster Tails, Chuck-N-Spins, & Tiny Trap Rat-L-Traps (1/8oz), all in chrome/blue or red color patterns. Excellent time to take a kid fishing for the whites!

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

Use EXTREME caution navigating Little River in low light conditions, and SLOW DOWN! Careful watch for floaters and debris in Little River's current, and wearing your PFD is a requirement!!

For those fishing the river and below the spillway, as of Monday, April 24, the lake level has fallen from the last week. Currently, the lake is approx 2.5 inches above normal conservation pool, with stain improving, still muddy in main lake areas such as Saline River inflow, Paraloma Pockets, etc., due to high winds and rains. Areas around Cottenshed or Saline River, are muddy, and current is reduced in Little River. The lake elevation is 259.41, and falling. Water clarity in the river is approx 8-12". Clarity is much worse on the main lake. North eastern sector of the lake around OK Landing and Mine Creek remains muddy, as well as in the Saline River. Creeks and sloughs of Little River are beginning to clear with increase in current release and with the lake falling back to normal pool.

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 3-5 feet in places. Water temperatures have increased in the last 2 weeks due to warmer ambient temperatures, and range approx 69ºF early to 77ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake, wind, and sunlight penetrations.

Millwood Guide Service and all the Millwood anglers, would like to take this opportunity to thank the US Army Corps of Engineers for their dedication to continual improvement in the navigability and maintenance of Millwood Lake, continually fighting mother nature and the rising and falling level due to influx of run off from area lakes and rivers, and rain.

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, this time of year, hypothermia can set in as little as 5 minutes in 60º water, and your life preserver can potentially be your only hope to survive, so PUT IT ON!