Catfish No Report

Crappie No Report

Stripers No Report

Largemouth Bass No Report

White Bass No Report

October 31, 2005
Cooler than normal fall weather has been with us all week. Fog and temperatures in the mid 30’s in the morning, warming to the lower 60’s throughout the day has been the norm this week. Lake level is at 646.22, 8 feet below normal pool, but we need a wet fall and winter to bring the pool level back up. Water temperature has dropped to 65.4 degrees and even cooler in the mornings with the low night time temperatures. With the weather change the lake has started to flip or turn over and the process should be completed early this week. Lead Hill area and above turned last week and the good fall bite should start up in the next week or so. As for the rest of the lake we will have to wait out the time needed to stabilize the lake before we see the fall bite come into play. 

Crappie are back on the brush piles and are holding close to the bottom. Best baits remain to be crappie minnows with a slip bobber or Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows., The bite will remain slow for at least another week, so jump around from brush pile to brush pile and catch one here and there.

Largemouth bass remain slow but that is mainly due to the lake turn over, feeding patterns fall off for a week or so. A few buck bass can be caught in the back of the creeks on the banks but the keeper largemouth aren’t there. Key in on secondary points halfway back into the creeks for the keeper largemouth. Spider jigs, Carolina rigs with lizards or baby brush hogs or slow rolling spinner baits will trigger a few bites. 

Smallmouth bass have gone deep and are staging deep in 36 to 40 feet of water off elongated points or points with deep drop offs on one side or the other. Spider jigs or football jigs seem to be the best baits at this time. You need to play with colors and trailer combinations. They seem to change almost every day. 

Kentucky bass are also deep traveling with their food source (shad). Spoons and drop shot rig are the key techniques under the shad. Football jigs also started to work this last week outside of round points and in the middle of small cuts. Best depth was 38 to 43 feet.

Walleye are scattered this week because we have been catching walleye in 12 to 20 feet of water on spinner baits while bass fishing and the walleye anglers are catching fish on bottom bouncers in 30 feet of water using crawler harnesses, spooning in 40 to 55 feet of water, and trollers with lead core are catching walleye in 36 to 42 feet of water with Glass Shad, Hot’N Tots and Reef Runners.

Fishing for trout on the White River has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow and white and Sunrise. With generation the Buoyant Spoons, Panther Martin’s, and Blue Fox are the bait of choice. The fly fishermen did well on olive Woolly Bugger, olive scud, Zebra Midges and San Juan worms. The Brown trout are being caught on, Countdowns, nightcrawlers and Rogues.

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 11/01/05 <º)))><{

Largemouth (Black) Bass 4-6 pounds are fair to good on 1/4 to 3/4oz Rat-L-Traps in white; chrome/black or blue, Zoom Horney Toads, Southern Pro Fat butt tubes, buzz baits, and War Eagle spinner baits in spot remover color in Little River. Yearling bass are excellent and are schooling in creeks and the oxbows up Little River. White Heddon Dying Flutters; clear Baby Torpedoes; and Johnson spoons, are catching the scholars from surface to 6 feet deep the last few weeks. 5" Bass Assassin Shads and the Johnson spoons with white grub trailers, are taking good size bass in the pads and vegetation.

White bass are still randomly schooling in Little River near Hwy 71 bridge and Cossatot inflow ditch, and are hitting 1/4 to 1/2 oz Rat-L-Traps in chrome/chartreuse, and rocket shads. Throw the Rat-L-Traps or Rocket Shads all around the edges of those bait schools, it's a great time to take kids fishing.

Kentuckys (Spotted Bass) are good up to 2-1/2 pounds along the river on the smaller spinner baits, live shiners, and rocket shads around laydowns and brush piles in close proximity to Crappies.

Crappie are fair to good, suspended, 6-10 feet deep. Best on white & chartreuse grubs or jigs, and shiners, in contact with planted brush piles and tops. The best bite has shifted to later in the day.

Channel Cats are still biting fair to good, on chicken livers and cut shad along Little River on trot lines 10-15 feet deep, and under cypress trees on yo-yos using live shiners, 8-9 feet deep.

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

Water clarity reduced, in Little River and is approx 8-10". Clarity on the main lake reduced as well, due to all the high winds in last few days, at approx 4-6". North eastern sector of the lake around OK Landing, is heavy stain. Saline River clarity heavy stain.

The upriver oxbows away from any current in Little River, still have much better water visibility, estimated at approx 4-6 feet in places. Water temperatures have decreased in the last week and range approx 64ºF early to 70ºF later in the day, depending on area of the lake and wind and sun.

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!!

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.