Beaver Lake
Crappie can be caught shallow and deep.
Larry Walker at Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers said crappie fishing is good from Rocky Branch park upstream into the headwaters of the lake. Minnows and jigs are both working.
Anglers report catching crappie as deep as 20 feet around brush piles, or shallower five to 10 feet deep. Most people are fishing shallow, he said. Lots of limits are being caught. The daily limit at Beaver is 15 crappie, and they must be 10 inches or longer to keep.
Effective lures for black bass include crank baits and all types of soft plastic baits. Some surfacing bass are hitting top-water lures. Try jerk baits or crank baits for walleye. Average surface water temperature is in the upper 50s.
Mike Whitehouse at Hickory Creek Marina said crappie fishing is good on the south end of the lake. The largest crappie are six to nine feet deep, with smaller crappie in shallower water. Use minnows or jigs.
White bass fishing is good in the White and War Eagle rivers.
Beaver tailwater
Natalie Howe at Beaver Dam Store said Power Bait is the top bait for trout. In the lure category, try small jigs, small spoons and countdown Rapalas. Flood gates at the dam are closed, so there is less high and fast water.
Fly fish with midges or nymphs in low water. Use streamers in high water.
Lake Fayetteville
Dave Powell at the lake office said crappie fishing is good around the public fishing dock and out on the lake. Minnows are working best four to six feet deep.
Use crickets or worms to catch bluegill. Black bass will bite almost any lure.
Lake Sequoyah
Mike Carver at the lake office said crappie are biting well three to five feet deep on minnows or jigs.
Black bass are close to shore. Try Zoom Flukes or plastic worms. Bluegill are biting worms. Fish during the evening for catfish with stink bait or liver.
Bella Vista
Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista reports black bass are biting Alabama rigs and jerk baits. Square-bill crank baits may work as bass move shallower.
Try for trout at Lake Brittany with Power Bait or small spoons.
Swepco Lake
Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass are biting a variety of soft plastic lures. Rig them Carolina or Texas style.
Illinois River
Stroud said black bass are biting grubs, tube baits and spinner baits.
Eastern Oklahoma
Crappie are biting minnows or jigs at Lake Eucha 10 feet deep, Stroud said.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports good crappie fishing at Grand Lake on jigs or minnows. White bass fishing is good in the Spring and Neosho river tributaries with spoons or jigs. Paddlefish snagging is good in the tributaries as well.
Table Rock Lake
Focused Fishing guide service said black bass fishing is good. Work gravel points and pockets 10 feet deep or less water with a jig and pig, shad-colored swim bait or Ned rig.
Try spinner baits around lay-down trees along wind-blown banks.
Sports on 04/16/2019