Catfish No Report

Crappie No Report

Stripers No Report

Largemouth Bass No Report

White Bass No Report

Smallmouth bass are hitting green pumpkin and watermelon soft plastics fished on the bottom around chunk rock. Rebel Crawdad crankbaits are also taking quite a few on gravel shoals next to deep water. Several anglers have reported catching more than 50 bass per day. 

Largemouth bass are doing well on soft plastics on the lower river. As with smallmouth, use green pumpkin or watermelon in clear water and darker colors in stained water.

Rock bass are starting to make nests and can be taken on grubs and small crankbaits. Look for shallow gravel drops adjacent to deep banks. 

Catfish can be caught on night crawlers and liver fished around deep boulders.

TUESDAY NIGHT OPEN TOURNAMENTS

SPONSORED BY R & H MARINE

$25.00 PER TEAM WITH $5.00 GOING TO BIG BASS POT

Rules and information available at R & H Marine and Wilderness Trail

Hot – that is all there is to say about last week’s weather – daytime temperatures in the 90’s with lots of humidity. The warm weather pushed the lake temperature up to 81.3 degrees, that is bath water temperature. There was a little rain that came in over the weekend, which we really needed. Lake level is at 652.94, 1 ½ feet below normal pool. Lake clarity slipped a little this week and is at 14 feet throughout most of the lake. There are two thermoclines that have developed with the hot weather. One is at 22 to 23 feet and the other is at 37 feet. Most of the game fish are in the first thermocline holding around the 25 foot area and moving to the points and banks to feed. 

Crappie are back on the crappie cribs and around the points out in front of the cuts in the creeks. Best bait has been crappie minnows or small shiners and Swimming Minnows in Blue Thunder or smoke colors. 

Catfish must like the heat because they are really feeding well at night. Best locations have been halfway back in the creeks and main lake coves. Magic Bait, hog dogs and chicken livers are your best baits.

Largemouth bass are feeding early in the morning and throughout the night, the daytime bite is very spotty. Top water with Zara Spook Jrs, buzz baits and Lucky Craft Sammy’s will create some nice action in the mornings. During the day fish Carolina rigs with trick worms or brush hogs around secondary points. Also work the shade around docks with tubes and jigs. 

Smallmouth bass have switched off the shad and are feeding primarily on crawdads. Transition banks and chunk rock points are where most of the smallies are foraging for food. Spider Jigs, tubes and a Mojo rig with finesse baits are your best bet. Try some Pop R’s or Chug Bugs early in the morning for smallies that are roaming the shallows. 

Kentucky Bass are with the shad just like they have been for the last few weeks. Cliff walls, channel swing ends and cuts that have some brush in them are the best areas to look for schools of Kentuckys. Drop shot rigs have picked up this week using Swimming Minnows, tiny brush hogs and drop shot worms fished under the balls of shad. Other baits that worked this week were tubes, Spider Jigs and centipedes.

Walleye remain shallow for this time of year. We are finding them from the bank out to 25 feet of water around points and along banks that have ledges. A number of techniques are catching walleye at this time – here are a few. Jig and worm or leech, split shot with worm or leech, worm or leech harnesses with bottom bouncers, Glass Shad and trolling Reef Runners. As long as we have a thermocline in the 20+ foot range and the shad stay in that zone, I believe the walleye will stay shallow.

NIGHT TIME UPDATE: The bite picks up around sundown on chunk rock banks, then later the brush piles turn on. Pig and jigs and Texas rigged worms are working the best.

LAKE RATING: Bass, crappie, catfish and walleye are somewhat active. This week’s rating is GOOD.

Fishing for trout on the White River has picked up this past week. The Berkley Power Egg bite has been good in yellow, white and orange, or Berkley Nuggets in Orange. With generation the Buoyant Spoons, Super Dupers, and Little Cleo’s are the bait of choice. The fly fishermen did well on Olive Woolly Bugger, tungsten bead head midges, sow bugs and San Juan worms. The Brown trout are being caught on Suspending Rogues, Countdowns 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 6/6/05 <º)))><{

Water temps 75º-85º ; approx 2 inches above normal, & falling.

Largemouth Bass remain good on Buzz Baits in white & bubble gum skirt colors or bleeding white with a little chartreuse for color in the normal Millwood stain water. White Jigs with pearl or milky white grub trailers are taking good keepers in the river ledge wash outs, or outside river bends where stumps range from 8-10 feet depths along Little River. In addition, Black bass remain good on Carolina rigged Zoom lizards in pumpkinseed/chart tail, or watermelon red, and Bass Assassin Shads, along Little River. Early and late in the day, bass are still feeding and chasing shad near top water. Zara Spook Jrs, Zara Puppies, and Spit'N Image Jrs, in shad patterns, along with white Rat-L-Traps are catching these bass. During heat of the day, the heavier 1oz size Rat-L-Traps in gold or white or various shad patterns fished deep drops and cuts of Little River, along with medium runner Bandit crankbaits or Excalibur Fat Free Shads are taking various larger bass.

Spotted (Kentuckys) and White Bass remain fair to good, hitting the smaller 1/4oz Rat-L-Traps in white, or white and chartreuse rocket shads, Little Georges and Rooster Tail spinners.

Crappie have transitioned back to deeper water. Crappie fishermen report fair to good catches over brush piles between 9-12 feet depths. Few catches in shallow water around cypress trees in last couple weeks between 4-6 feet deep on jigs and shiners, but the fish in those locations are smaller.

Bream remain in spawn mode, and are fair on crickets and red worms.

Spotted Gar and very large Carp remain in shallow water areas of 1-3 feet, in back of oxbows of Little River in the last week and around Jack's Isle's connection to Little River. Several huge gar and carp, up to 10 or 20 pounds each, have been noted extremely shallow, and are spawning. This is an excellent time for bow fishermen to take some nice size Gar and Carp OUT of Millwood!!!

Blue (Channel) Catfish are fair to good, up to 9 lbs each, on Yo-Yos are still taking good blue catfish at night, underneath cypress trees in sloughs adjacent to Little River, Horseshoe Lake and in Mud Lake oxbow areas, in 7-12 feet depths using cut shiners, spoiled chicken livers, and cut shad.

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

Thank you to the US Army Corps of Engineers and AG&FC personnel who are currently in process of evaluating the increase and spread of various vegetation species on Little River and Millwood Lake. A recommendation & report is pending, on potential control measures which would be the most physical effective manner of the vegetation growth explosion in all the creeks, oxbows, Little River and the main lake; as well as which methods could be the most cost effective to maintain.

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 Saturday, June 4 the lake level has fallen approx 2" from last week. Currently, the lake is approx 2 inches above normal conservation pool and falling. Current is slightly increased in Little River due to increased discharge at the dam. The lake elevation is 259.33. Release at the dam is 1965CFS with 5 gates open at 1 foot each. Water clarity in the river is approx 10-15". Clarity on the main lake approx 6-9". North eastern sector of the lake around OK Landing, Shaw Branch and Mine Creek has moderate, but improving stain. Saline River clarity improving to 6-7". Creeks and sloughs of Little River are beginning to clear.

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 4-6 feet in places. Water temperatures have increased in the last 2 weeks due to warmer ambient temperatures, and range approx 75ºF early to 85ºF 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, your life preserver can potentially be your only hope to survive, so PUT IT ON!