Fishing Reports News

Northwest Alaska fishing report
Beaver Lake: Students and teachers looking for a last fishing fling before school starts might consider going for crappie on the upstream end of Beaver Lake.

Jason Wedel at Hickory Creek Marina said anglers are catching crappie with minnows and by trolling. He advised working a minnow or trolling a shad-colored crank bait 12 to 15 feet deep over 20 feet of water.

Catfish are biting sunfish 15 to 18 feet deep along mud flats. Try drift fishing or jug fishing.

Most black bass fishing is taking place at night on black spinner baits and plastic worms, Wedel said.

Luci Johnson at Hawg Country Bait and Tackle in Rogers said she and her husband, Chris, caught four walleye while trolling crank baits Saturday at Eden’s Bluff.

Two of the walleye were keepers that hit black and chrome crank baits that ran 12 to 14 feet deep. They trolled the lures right along the bluff face.

Black bass were fond of chartreuse crank baits trolled in the same area.

Johnson said customers report catching schooling white bass in the Monte Ne area.

Aaron Jolliff at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said catfishing is good from shore with shrimp or cut shad.

Black bass fishing is slow. Top-water lures are working best fished early and into midday.

Try finesse worms and small jigs in brush piles for daytime and nighttime bass fishing.

White River below Beaver Dam: Lisa Mullins at the Beaver Dam Store said all methods are working for trout.

Bait fishermen are doing well with yellow or white Power Bait tipped with a waxworm. Night fishing for brown trout is good with nightcrawlers injected with air.

Spin fishermen are catching trout with size 5 or 7 floating jointed Rapalas in the brown trout color. Gold and red Buoyant Spoons are working well, Mullins said.

Olive micro jigs tipped with a waxworm are effective as well. Mullins reminds anglers using the jig-bait combo to debarb the hook since the rig utilizes bait. All bait fishing below Beaver Dam must be done with a single barbless hook.

Fly fishermen are lobbing tan scuds. A black woolly bugger with a blue head has been effective in the evenings.

Power generation has been taking place late in the afternoon, Mullins said.

Lake Fayetteville: Jim Black at Lake Fayetteville boat dock reports little fishing activity.

Anglers headed to the lake this weekend should try top-water lures early or small jigs for bluegill.

Lake Sequoyah: The start of the school year means few people are fishing, according to Jackie Smith at Lake Sequoyah boat dock.

Bluegill fishing is fair with crickets. Black bass and catfish are hitting crank baits.

The lake is clear and 2 feet below normal, Smith said.

Bella Vista: Blaine Fowler at Loch Lomond Marina said redear fishing is good. Customers renting a pontoon boat Tuesday caught 25 good-sized redear on worms.

Black bass are “hit and miss,” Fowler said. He recommends a jig tipped with a Chomper 10 to 20 feet deep.

Prairie Grove Lake: Lake manager Paula Keen said action was good on crappie, largemouth bass and redear last weekend.

Rawleigh and Patricia Hill and Keshon Salley caught 60 redeare with crickets. Gred and Barbara Gaulin used crickets to catch 60 redear. Jim and Ann Logue landed 20 crappie and 10 redear with jigs.

Les Burlinson and John Jones used jigs to catch 75 crappie over two days. Chip and Cynthia Bowlin caught four bass to 4 pounds on plastic worms.

The lake is open Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. No gasoline engines are allowed on the lake.

SWEPCO Lake: Kenny Stroud at the Siloam Springs Wal-Mart said catfish are biting at night along the dam. The top baits are liver and cut shad or cut sunfish.

Siloam Springs City Lake: Stroud said black bass are biting in the evenings on black and blue plastic worms.

Illinois River: Stroud said catfish are biting Beejay’s stink bait in the deep holes. Smallmouth bass are hitting green tube baits and black buzz baits.

Upper Table Rock Lake: J.D. Fletcher said a few bass have been caught with top-water lures early. Later in the day, target long points with plastic worms or crawling grubs 20 feet deep.

Crappie are biting small tube jigs 15 feet deep near timber. Fletcher said a variety of colors will work, but he prefers chartreuse.

Catfishermen are running trotlines and baiting up with live sunfish or goldfish for flatheads. Bait with liver or stink bait for channel catfish.

No action is reported on white bass or walleye.

Eastern Oklahoma: Kenny Stroud at the Siloam Springs Wal-Mart said black bass fishing is slow at W.R. Holway Reservoir near Locust Grove. Stroud fished five hours and caught five bass at night last weekend.

He recommends a small plastic worm or crawling grub 20 to 35 feet deep. The best fishing is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports Grand Lake is fishing well for white bass with spoons and spinners around shad schools.

At Lake Tenkiller, crappie fishing is fair around docks with minnows 10 to 20 feet deep. Catfish are biting stink bait 17 to 21 feet deep off points.

Bluegill fishing is good around docks on jigs tipped with a piece of worm.