The hybrid and white bass continue to school all over the lake at times and can be caught in Cove Creek,

Black bass have moved a little shallower with the cooler nights, but the most are still being caught around 25-to 40-feet deep with the Kentuckies deeper at 50 to 65 feet.

The catfishing is still excellent all over the lake.

The crappie have moved shallow also and can be caught as shallow as 8-feet deep over brush piles and suspended on bluffs and standing timber

Catfish No Report

Crappie No Report

Stripers No Report

Largemouth Bass No Report

White Bass No Report

ANGLER'S EDGE 3RD ANNUAL TEAM BASS TOURNAMENT

OCTOBER 15-16, 2005

Entry Fee $200.00 plus $20.00 Big Bass (100% payback - optional)

Each team will receive 2 Free Falcon Rods and a Free Buffet Dinner at Mario's

Entry forms can be picked up at Wilderness Trail - Entry fees can be paid at Wilderness Trail also

For more Information call us at 870-445-2703

August 29, 2005

We did not have much of a change in this week’s weather pattern, except for a few pop up storms that dropped about 1" of rain, otherwise the daytime temperatures stayed n the 90’s with 70’s at night. Lake temperature came down a little and is at 85.6 degrees in most areas. Lake level this week is 649.26, five feet below normal pool. Compared to Norfork Lake (9.5 feet low) and Table Rock Lake (8.4 feet low), Bull Shoals is in pretty good shape for as hot as this summer has been. The thermocline dropped a foot this week, which puts it at 31 feet and if you think that is shallow, you are right. 

Crappie remain slow and in deep water. Points and pole trees along the cliffs are good holding areas. Crappie minnows are the best bait fished on a colored jig head (red or chartreuse). Catfish were very active this week in main lake pockets and coves. Best baits have been chicken liver, Magic Bait, nightcrawlers and frozen shad.

Largemouth bass have slowed down in the mornings and the top water bite has become a real hit and miss situation. Secondary points in the creeks and main lake points are your best bet. Fish these areas with Jig and Pigs, tubes or Carolina rigged finesse worms or brush hogs. Most of the largemouth are holding close to the thermocline at 30 to 31 feet. 

Smallmouth bass are also using points and this week we saw some action with the smallies pushing shad to the surface in the mornings. Zara Spooks, Chug Bugs and buzz baits trigger some nice fish during early morning frenzy feeding. Spider Jigs, tubes and drop shot 4" worms are working in 30 feet of water around points during the day. Best bite is early morning and from 2 p.m. until dark. 

Kentucky bass are still hard to find as they are traveling with the shad, which they have done all summer. Every once in a while you will see a school of frenzy feeding on top but its not a pattern you can count on. Best baits on top have been clear Pop R’s or Chug Bugs and Zara Spook Jrs. Spoons and drop shot rigs are working the best on the Kentuckys under the shad. Check the ends of the bluff walls and over the channels in the creek arms for schools.

Walleye must love the heat because the best bite is in the middle of the afternoon. A number of baits and techniques are catching keeper walleye in 30 to 32 feet of water along the elongated points and main lake transition banks. Some of the techniques and baits are crawler harnesses or leech harnesses with bottom bouncers, long lining with Reef Runners, long lining with lead core line and blue Glass Shad, vertically spooning with ¾ to 1 oz white or gray spoons and dragging a shiner on a split shot rig.

NIGHT TIME UPDATE: The bite is picking up on the bluff walls and on the channel swing ends. Best baits continue to be Texas rigged worms (8 to 10") in red shad or cherry seed colors, pigs and jigs in brown/orange or blue/black colors.

LAKE RATING: This week the bite has been tough, except for the walleye. The rating is Fair.

Fishing for trout on the White River has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow, pink and orange and Belgium red worms. 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, soft hackles, and olive scuds and sow bugs. The Brown trout are being caught on Countdowns, Flat Fish 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 8/29/05 <º)))><{

Largemouth bass are good, up to 6 pounds each, and remain best early and late on Pop R's or Ken Pops in Gold-orange/black back w/ feather-tails and Cordell Crazy Shads in chrome/black. Zoom Horney Toads, Turbo Shads, or Bass Assassin Shads in Crown Ice, white, Silver Mullet, or Crystal Shad colors are still working in the pad edges along Little River. Twitch Assassins in Alewife, Smoke Pepper Shad, or Chartreuse Diamond are working well, as are Johnson gold or silver spoons with spilt-milk white grub trailers in back of pad fields, 3-6' depths, along stumps and grass. Smith wick Rouges in baby bass/orange belly or gold/black back, over 10 to 12 feet depths along the Little River, are taking nice size bass late in the afternoons after the direct sun fades. Baby Brush Hogs and lizards in cherry seed or watermelon-red are still taking some smaller bass on stumps in creek channels. Yearling bass, 1-2 pounds each, were schooling in Mud and McGuire Lakes at daybreak this past week and hitting Cordell Crazy Shads, Zara Puppies, and buzz baits in firecracker color. 2 fishermen boated over 40 in less than an hour. Jig bite is beginning to improve & stronger in last few weeks, using Texas Craw color, black and blue, or pumpkin-watermelon-rind colors, with Hog Craw trailers in pumpkinseed or black.

Crappie remain best early in the mornings, on 1/16oz jigs with smoke colored grubs early, 12 to 17 feet deep in contact with planted brush piles and tops. The best bite remains 6am to 10am, and very few Crappie fishermen out after 9-10am.

Channel (Blue) Catfish bite remains fair, on cut shad, on yo-yos or trot lines under cypress trees around Jack's Isle and Clear Lake, and trot lines in Little River set at 15-20 feet depths. The best yo-yo bite remains at night on live shiners, in 9-14 feet depths.

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

For those fishing the river and below the spillway, as of Sunday, August 28, the lake level is approx 1.6 inches above normal conservation pool. Current is decreased in Little River due to change discharge at the dam. The lake elevation is 259.34. The lake is expected to rise this week with the recent regional rains in southwest Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Gate change increases later in the week, would be expected if Little River sees additional rise.

Release at the dam is approx 172CFS with 1 gate open at 0.4 foot. Open gate is number 1. Water clarity in the river is approx 12-18". Clarity on the main lake approx 10+". North eastern sector of the lake around OK Landing, improving stain. Saline River clarity improving.

The upriver oxbows such as McGuire, Horseshoe, Mud Lake, Cemetery Slough, etc, away from any current in Little River, still have much better water visibility, estimated at approx 3-4 feet in places. Water temperatures have increased in the last 2 weeks and range approx 85ºF early to 89ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake and wind.

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!!