Striped bass fishing is good one day, poor the next, said fishing guide Jon Conklin.

The best method is to troll for stripers with live bait such as brood minnows or shad. Other species will also take this bait, not just stripers.

Crappie are scattered over all areas of the lake and will take minnows or jigs. Trolling with crank baits over flats and in creek arms is another good way to catch crappie. Catfish are moving into shallow water to spawn and will bite a variety of catfish baits. Try nightcrawlers, stink bait or liver to target channel catfish. Go with small sunfish or minnows to catch flathead catfish.

Bluegill are in spawning mode and can be caught with worms or crickets. Average surface water temperature is in the mid-70s.

Southtown Sporting Goods in Fayetteville reports good bluegill fishing with worms or crickets. Crappie have spawned and the fishing is fair with minnows or jigs. Spider rigs are also working for crappie. Black bass are biting top-water lures, plastic worms rigged wacky style or on a drop-shot rig.

Guide Austin Kennedy reports good trout fishing with various colors of Pautzke Fire Bait early and small spoons later in the day. The Spider Creek area has been fishing well lately. White bass and walleye have moved downstream to the Holiday Island area. Try bouncing live minnows near the bottom along points and humps.

David Powell at the lake office said black bass fishing is good with swim baits. Bluegill fishing is good with crickets or worms. Crappie are suspended 12 feet deep over deeper water. Curly-tail jigs are good to use.

Catfish are spawning along the dam riprap and biting a variety of catfish baits such as nightcrawlers or stink bait. They may also bite plastic worms or plastic craws, Powell said.

Mike Carver at the lake bait shop said catfish are biting well on nightcrawlers. Try for black bass with plastic worms, spinner baits or top-water lures. Crappie can be caught 10 feet deep with jigs or minnows. Worms are the best bait for bluegill. Fish shallow water near the shore.

Chip Wiseman at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said crappie are 12 to 15 feet deep around brush. Try minnows or jigs at any Bella Vista lake. Good black bass lures include plastic worms and top-water lures. Go with worms or crickets for bluegill. Catfish are biting a variety of catfish baits. Fishing for catfish should improve as the lakes get warmer.

Please note that fishing in Bella Vista is open only to POA members and their guests.

Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs said black bass fishing is good with all types of soft plastic lures. Top-water lures, swim baits and square-billed crank baits are good to use.

Stroud recommends using tube baits or grubs for black bass.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports good black bass fishing at Grand Lake and Lake Tenkiller on crank baits, plastic worms, top-water lures and Alabama rigs. Blue catfish are biting cut bait or live bait. Crappie fishing is good on minnows or jigs around docks and structures.

At Lake Eucha, largemouth bass are biting fair on Alabama rigs, crank baits, spinner baits and top-water lures around points, structure and docks. Channel catfish are biting fair on liver, cut bait or stink bait on flats, coves and the main lake.

Focused Fishing Guide service reports good fishing for black bass lake-wide. Top-water lures are working early around docks and gravel points in shallow water.

Pee wee football jigs or plastic worms are good for targeting smallmouth bass. Try flipping a jig and pig around bushes in the James River arm.

-- Compiled by Flip Putthoff

Print Headline: NWA fishing report

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