BEAVER LAKE
Striped bass fishing is excellent on the south end of Beaver Lake.
Mike Whitehouse at Hickory Creek Marina said good numbers of stripers are being caught with brood minnows near Point 12. A party from Kansas caught and released up to 40 stripers per day, he said. Most weighed in the teens, but they caught stripers to 30 pounds, Whitehouse said. They also caught a 30-pound blue catfish.
James Whittle at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said black bass fishing is best on the south half of the lake. The top lures are spinner baits, crank baits and Alabama rigs.
Crappie can be caught by trolling Flicker Shad or Bandit 300 crank baits. Or, use minnows or jigs 12 feet deep around brush. Fishing is best on the south half of the lake, Whittle said.
Striped bass are biting from Prairie Creek park downstream to Rocky Branch park on brood minnows fished 2 to 20 feet deep. Keep a top-water ready for surfacing stripers, Whittle advised.
Average water temperature is 59 to 62 degrees.
BEAVER TAILWATER
Lisa Mullins at Beaver Dam Store said trout fishing is good with Power Bait in bright colors. Tip the bait with a waxworm for best results. The top lures are small jigs and small spoons. Red/gold or silver/gold are good spoon colors. Best flies are egg patterns, midges and nymphs.
LAKE FAYETTEVILLE
Dolly Black at the lake boat dock said to try liver or nightcrawlers for catfish. Go with crickets or worms for bluegill.
LAKE SEQUOYAH
Mike McBride at the lake bait shop said catfish are biting shad or liver. All over species are slow.
SWEPCO LAKE
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting a variety of lures that imitate shad. Good lures include swim baits or Rat-L-Traps. Top water lures in shad colors are also working.
SILOAM SPRINGS LAKE
Stroud said crappie are biting minnows or marabou jigs. Black/chartreuse is a good jig color.
BELLA VISTA
Justin McClelland at Hook, Line and Sinker said black bass are biting jig and pigs 8 to 12 feet deep on all lakes. Bluegill are biting crickets or worms 6 to 12 feet deep.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports fair largemouth bass fishing at Lake Hudson on spinner baits, crank baits and jerk baits. Crappie fishing is fair with minnows 8 to 12 feet deep around timber. Catfish are biting cut bait or liver 7 to 13 feet deep.
TABLE ROCK LAKE
Peter Wenners at Pete's Professional Guide Service recommends fishing in the backs of creek arms with spinner baits or square-billed crank baits. Try a small plastic worm on a drop-shot rig on long gravel points 35 to 45 feet deep.
--Compiled by Flip Putthoff
Sports on 12/01/2015