The sun will cook you. Sweat will gush from your pores. You’ll feel like you’re going to die from heat stroke — and if you’re not careful, you could. But if you want to nail some trophy sportfish this summer, pack your shorts, ice down some brewskies and head for one of these sweltering Natural State destinations where summer fishing sizzles.
Mississippi River Monsters
It’s August, near midnight. Bill Peace and I are fishing from a sandbar on the Mississippi River in eastern Arkansas.
We’ve cut forked sticks for rod props. After baiting our hooks, we cast the rigs into a deep hole, then lay the poles with their tips in the forks. The reels are placed in free-spool so if something sizable strikes, the combos won’t be yanked into the river. There are lots of “somethings sizable” in this reach of the river near its confluence with the White, but so far, we’ve only caught some 3- to 5-pound channel cats. We hope for something better, and Bill’s about to get it.
He’s squatted in shallow water, sloshing water on his face to cool off, when the clicker on his reel sounds. Bill grabs the pole, sets the hook and the fish at the other end of his line quickly forces him into knee-deep water. Bill mutters something obscene as line peels off his reel in hard jerks that make the rod jump. But cursing the cat only seems to infuriate it. “It’s gonna go!” Bill shouts. Then, KERPOW! The line reaches its end and breaks with the sound of a rifle shot. “That was a good ’un,” Bill says.
Good ’un, indeed. I often wonder if that fish might have been one of the 100-pounders the Mississippi has become known for. The biggest so far reported in Arkansas waters is a former all-tackle world-record blue cat caught at West Memphis on Aug. 3, 2001. That leviathan pulled the scales to 116 pounds, 12 ounces. Several other blues exceeding 100 pounds have been caught in the Mississippi, too.
Enormous flatheads also swim in the river between Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. My friend Matt Bingham of Memphis provided proof when he caught a 77.7-pound flathead near Tunica, Mississippi, (just a stone’s throw from Arkansas) that established a new Mississippi state record.
If you, too, have dreams of catching giant catfish, then the Mighty Mississippi must be on your “go-before-you-die” list. No body of water in North America has this river’s potential for producing supersize catfish.
Want a guide? James Patterson of Mississippi River Guide Service is the best. Call (901) 383-8674 or visit bigcatfishing.com.
Beaver Lake Stripers
In August, when the rest of the state is sweltering, deep valleys in the Ozark Mountains remain coolest near dawn, making dog-days fishing trips more tolerable. Such was the case on the 28,000-acre Beaver Lake near Rogers, when my son Josh and I arrived to fish with guide Brad Wiegmann of Springdale. Our targets were the lake’s big striped bass. Beaver often gives up 25- to 40-pounders. Josh wanted a chance at one.
Brad has been guiding on this Northwest Arkansas reservoir for decades and knows the ways of the lake’s huge stripers. In summer, often as not, he’ll “walk the dog” with a Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper to nab Beaver Lake stripers at night.
“This lure has a weighted tail and can be cast far, even into the wind,” he said. “I usually fish it around points running into the main lake. Because most other anglers have left, these points are undisturbed, and the stripers feel secure feeding there.”
Josh and I were there for a daytime fishing trip, so Wiegmann used another method to find and hook stripers. First, he used a cast net to catch a dozen live gizzard shad. Then the shad were hooked on rigs beneath planer boards. Several rods can be used this way, with each rig kept well apart from others to avoid tangling. The planer boards run on top on both sides of the boat as you troll slowly through hot spots where stripers lurk.
This is a passive way of fishing — kick back in your seat; then watch and wait. And while Josh would have much rather been chunking and winding a lure, he didn’t have to endure the slow-paced trolling long before a big striper ended it.
“Fish on!” Brad shouted. Josh grabbed the rod, set the hook and was obviously pleased when the powerful fish made a drag-burning run.
The big striper was determined to throw the hook. Josh was equally determined to land the striper. This made for an exciting battle, which raged several minutes before Josh brought the 28-pound fish close enough for Brad to net.
As they posed for a photo, Brad patted Josh on the back, congratulating him on a job well done.
“Not bad for your first striper,” Brad said, smiling. “Want to quit or keep fishing?”
Josh laughed and put another shad on the hook.
Guided fishing is available through Brad Wiegmann’s Guide Service. Call (479) 756-5279 or visit bradwiegmann.com.
Lake Ouachita’s Hot-Weather Hawgs
When I fish on Lake Ouachita with Chris Elder of Mount Ida, I have come to expect good things. Elder always catches trophy specimens of whatever species we’re fishing for.
When I joined Chris and our friend Jeff Samsel of Clarksville, Georgia, for a midsummer bassing trip a few years ago, however, I figured Chris would have a hard time finding actively feeding largemouths in the tepid water. When we left the ramp at dawn, it was already so hot you could have made stir-fry on the boat deck.
I should have had more faith in Chris. Within minutes, he had us drifting over a submerged hump encircled with weeds.
“They’re here,” he said. “Let’s just hope they’re hungry.”
Jeff was already fishing a topwater plug. A 5-pound-plus largemouth couldn’t resist. When it nailed the lure, it was like someone pulled the plug on the lake.
“I hope this is a sign of things to come,” said Chris, as he netted Jeff’s bass. Turns out it was. Chris caught the next bass, which was bigger than Jeff’s by 2 or 3 pounds, then three more just slightly smaller. I caught a pair of 2-pounders, and Jeff landed several more in the 1- to 4-pound class.
When action tapered off at midmorning, Chris positioned his boat over another hump, and we lowered live crawfish to the bottom. Each tail-hooked bait was weighted with a split shot, and each barely touched bottom before a nice spotted bass struck. For a solid hour, we caught one spotted bass and then another, as quick as we could bait our hooks. We caught dozens up to 4 pounds.
This big blue impoundment sprawls across 40,000 acres of the Ouachita Valley west of Hot Springs, the lake’s clear waters bristling with largemouth and spotted bass. Stockings of smallmouth bass have made that species available, too. Bass fishing is excellent year-round, even during the hottest days of summer.
Numerous trophy-class largemouths are caught by visiting anglers. If you’re savvy to the largemouths’ ways, there’s a distinct possibility of catching a 7- or 8-pounder. Ten-pound largemouths aren’t common but do surface occasionally.
The folks at Mountain Harbor Resort near Joplin, Arkansas, have been catering to Ouachita anglers for more than 50 years. They can help you with everything you need, included guided fishing. Call (870) 867-2191 or visit www.mountainharborresort.com.