Spring's white-hot white bass action

LITTLE ROCK — The date is March 23. My son Zach and I are fishing with our friend Brad Wiegmann, a fishing guide on Beaver Lake near Springdale. The weatherman had forecast warm weather for our visit, but when we launched Brad's boat, the temperature was barely above freezing. Brad shared some warm clothes, but Zach and I still shivered in the cold.

On a day like that, I think there's only one thing that will get an angler really warm again, and that's a hard-fighting fish on your line. Fortunately for us, that was about to happen. As we motored into a cove, we saw a swirl on the surface. Shad jumped from the water as some unseen predator began feeding. More swirls appeared and more and more.

Brad and Zach grabbed rods and started casting jigging spoons while I watched. Brad was coaching Zach.

"You want to give the spoon a lift-anddrop action," Brad said. "When the spoon falls, it flutters down like a dead shad and :" Wham! Brad's rod bent as a fish hit the spoon. Then wham! again. Zach's rod bowed up, too.

If my son ever had a bigger smile, I don't remember it. The white bass he fought gave him a run for his money, but the fish didn't stand a chance against a teenager who'd been patient too long. Zach swung it into the boat just as Brad did the same with his. Both fish were 2-pounders.

More fish now were surfacing around us. Zach and Brad started casting again, and soon each had another nice white bass. More casts, more white bass, more smiles.

The fish-a-minute action lasted two hours, with several nice hybrid stripers thrown in the mix. Zach and I departed Beaver Lake with glad hearts. We were happy our long, cold day on the water hadn't been unproductive. With Brad's help, each of uscaught several dozen nice white bass.

Action like this is typical on Beaver Lake and its tributaries each spring. The same is true on other Natural State waters as well. During their spawning season in March and April, white bass gather in huge numbers in and around streams that feed our major impoundments, and if you're there when it happens, you can enjoy some incredible fishing. Here are several places you should try this season.

BEAVER LAKE

Many anglers consider Beaver Lake near Rogers our state's No. 1 white bass hot spot. This 28,220-acre Corps of Engineers impoundment has many large creek and river tributaries where white bass congregate to spawn, and a forage base of shad keeps them healthy and abundant year-round.

The lake is fed by one fork of the White River that goes south and east as far as Crosses, Delaney and St. Paul.

The West Fork of the White ranges southwest as far away as Winslow, West Fork and Greenland, while the Middle Fork travels northwesterly about halfway between and paralleling Arkansas Highway 16 and U.S. Highway 71.

These three forks add up to many miles of prime water where you can always find springtime action.

War Eagle Creek, the fourth-largest tributary, flows in from the east side of the lake. In this stream, whites can travel only as far as the dam at War Eagle Mill, where they congregate in huge numbers to create an excellent fishing site.

You'll find spawning whites well into April in all these waters. Working jigging spoons in areas where schools of shad are running is a sure way to take them.

LAKE NORFORK

Though best known for its top-notch largemouth, crappie and striper fishing, this 22,000-acre Corps of Engineers impoundment in Baxter and Fulton countiesserves up excellent white bass fishing as well. Small horsehead-spinners like the Road Runner are popular with local anglers fishing Brushy Creek, Big Creek, Diamond Creek, Tracy Cove, Bennett's Creek and other tributary areas. During the spring spawning run, it's not unusual to catch 50 to 100 whites in a half-day of fishing, including many in the 2- to 3-pound range.

GREERS FERRY LAKE

All feeder streams of Greers Ferry are attractive to spawning-run white bass. Peter Creek, which enters the lake from the northeast a few miles uplake from the dam, is one of the most popular white bass hot spots and sometimes produces fish in the 3- to 4-pound range. The four forks of the Little Red River above the lake - Devil's, Archey's, Middle and South forks - also offer opportunities for catching lots of jumbo whites during the spawn.

Whites and hybrid stripers move up the tributaries at the same time, and the same tactics usually result in mixed stringers. Ultralight tackle is OK for whites, but if you use it, you could lose any sizable hybrid that might come along. Good lure choices for both species include 1/4-oz. jigheads with 3-inch grubs, 1/4-oz. Rat-L-Traps or 2-inch crankbaits in shad colors.

LAKE HAMILTON

This 7,200 -acre Entergy lake on the Ouachita River at Hot Springs offers excellent fishing for these scrappy sportfish. In March, white bass congregate in the basins of Little Mazarn, Big Mazarn, Glazypeau, Kelly and Hot Springs creeks, awaiting the water temperature that will send them swarming up the streams to spawn in mid-April. The anglers swarm with them. Banks are lined with fishermen, and limit catches are common.

Most white bass anglers must pursue their quarry from boats, however, because most shoreline property on Hamilton is privately owned. Tandem-rigged jigs, smallspoons, crankbaits and live minnows are among the most popular white bass enticements.

LAKE MAUMELLE

Lake Maumelle is an 8,900-acre water supply lake owned by Little Rock Waterworks. Located just a few miles west of Little Rock off Arkansas Highway 10, the lake is extremely popular with white bass anglers. When the whites are ready to start their spawning runs in mid- to late March, the question starts making the rounds in fishing circles throughout town: "Are the white running on Maumelle yet?"

Most spawning activity is concentrated at the west end of the lake where the Big Maumelle River flows in. Anglers gather on the lower 10 miles of river, some fishing from boats, others from the banks. Night fishing seems to be most productive, especially when casting small spoons, spinners and live minnows. Fishermen often have a hard time finding a good spot to fish, because people are crowded shoulder to shoulder on the more easily accessible stretches of river. Most will agree, however, that the possibility of catching several 2- to 3-pound whites per night makes any extra effort worthwhile.

LAKE GREESON

Lake Greeson is a 7,260-acre Corps of Engineers impoundment just north of Murfreesboro and west of Kirby. White bass here run upstream into the Little Missouri River to spawn. During the run, anglers line both sides of the river for the one-half to three-fourths of a mile above the Highway 70 bridge. Some fish from boats as far upriver as they can go. Good action is also found in the long lake fingers reaching up into the many feeder creeks.

These are just a few of the many hot spots where you can catch Arkansas white bass by the hundreds this spring. For additional information, visit the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission's Web site, www.agfc.com.

Tri-Lakes, Pages 139 on 04/12/2009