Fishing report: Some notions aren’t always as they originally appear

Sometimes we get notions on our head about a fishing topic, and it turns out to be false, incomplete or misleading.

A couple of times lately in a conversation on crappie fishing, somebody has told of catching nice crappie far back in a creek. We did not doubt the story either time. The person telling it was reliable, yes, even for a fisherman.

Crappie, most of us believe, are fish of the open water and not of ponds unless someone has put them there. That does happen. A fisherman with a pond or access to a pond catches a few crappie in, say, Lake Conway and takes them to the pond for future use.

Fisheries biologists tell us that crappie need space, that they don’t do well in small ponds. And you can count on somebody stepping up and saying, “Hey, last week I caught a 2-pound crappie in Farmer Brown’s pond.”

Brock Creek Lake is a small watershed impoundment in the Ozark National Forest north of Jerusalem. We have fished it a half-dozen times with modest success. But once we caught a good crappie, maybe pound and a quarter, on a live red worm. So we asked a Forest Service Fellow who works the area. Nope, no crappie in Brock Creek Lake, he told us.

We didn’t argue the point.

Just the other day a friend told of catching “good” crappie so far up a creek that he had to work his flatbottom boat over snags and downed logs to get to the spot.

LAKE CONWAY

Rick Bates at Bates Field and Stream said the water is clear, for Conway. Bream are biting well on worms and crickets fished under a cork near brush and stumps. Catfishing is good on trotlines baited with green sunfish. Rod and reel anglers are also catching catfish on chicken livers, nightcrawlers and shrimp. 

LITTLE RED RIVER

Billy Lindsey at Lindsey’s Resort said the water is clear and generators have been running in the afternoon except Tuesday, when they ran during the morning. Trout fishing has been good on yellow Power Bait and corn. Pink Trout Magnets, rainbow Rapala Floating Minnows and marabou jigs have been working for spin fishermen. 

GREERS FERRY LAKE

Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the water level and water temperature are both falling. Many black bass are moving shallow. The shallow fish are biting well on jigs and top-water lures, while those holding deeper are still biting well on football head jigs, Texas-rigged worms and Carolina-rigged lizards. Walleye should be getting better with the colder weather; try dragging nightcrawlers in 23 to 27 feet of water or troll crank baits for the suspended fish. During the first few cold fronts, it will be tough on the bite but it should get better very soon. Bream are eating crawlers and crickets anywhere from the bank to about 24 feet deep. Try tightlining a worm in deeper water instead of messing with a slip cork or bobber. Catfishing is still good; try jugs set at 15 to 20 feet deep over 30 to 40 feet of water on the sides of channels. Bream, soap and just about any prepared bait will work. Hybrid bass and white bass are still schooling quite a bit, but the most consistent bite is deeper on points and structure with spoons and in-line spinners. The night bite is fading, but the daytime bite should get better every day. 

HARRIS BRAKE LAKE

Coffee Creek Landing said no one is fishing because the lake is being drawn down and will remain so until Dec. 12. 

LAKE OVERCUP

Lakeview Landing said the water clarity is good and water level is normal. Bream are biting well on crickets. Crappie are fair on minnows and black/blue jigs fished in deep water. Bass are biting well. Catfishing is good on goldfish.  

Overcup Landing said the water is clear and 85 degrees. Bream are fair on crickets. Crappie are biting well on minnows and brown or salt/pepper jigs in 10 to 12 feet of water. Bass are biting well on 6-inch soft-plastic worms fished around grass. Catfishing is good on live bream and shad. 

BREWER LAKE

Overcup Landing said the water is clear and 85 degrees. Bream are fair on crickets and worms. Crappie are biting well on minnows fished around brush. Bass are biting well on crank baits. Catfishing is good on live bream.   

ARKANSAS RIVER

Charlie Hoke at Charlie’s Hidden Harbor in Oppelo said catfishing is excellent in 15 to 35 feet of water on whole shad. Stripers are biting well below the dam late in the evenings when the generators are turning. Most are being caught about 6 feet deep on shad drifted under a float. White bass are biting well around sand bars in the mornings; pearl-colored Model A’s are working the best. Black bass are biting fairly well around wood and grass early in the morning. Buzz baits are working around the cover early, then Pearl-colored Rapala crank baits and   are working around jetties. Bream are biting well on the back side of jetties on Mepps spinners in black. Crappie are fair on minnows fished next to wood cover in 10 to 15 feet of water out of any current.

In the Little Rock area, Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said bream are biting well on crickets in the Little Maumelle River, but biting better on red worms in the Maumelle River and Palarm Creek. Crappie are slow everywhere. Bass are slow. Catfishing is good on large shad, minnows and nightcrawlers. 

WHITE RIVER

John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide Service said flows have been moderate in the afternoon during peak power demand. This created some excellent conditions for wade fishing.  The fishing in the catch and release section below Bull Shoals Dam has been particularly good for the last week. Midge patterns have been the ticket on lower flows. The hot flies have been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Later in the day, when we get heavier flows, the most effective technique has been to fish brightly colored San Juan worms (cerise, hot pink and red) and egg patterns (orange) below strike indicators. The Narrows has fished well this past week. The hot fly was the black zebra midge but the olive woolly bugger came in a close second. Wildcat Shoals has been another hot spot. While the black zebra midges have been the go to nymph, the hot flies have been the partridge and orange soft hackle and the green butt. 

Dan’s turkey tail emerger was also effective. Rim Shoals has been red hot. There were several days with wadable water. The water was gin clear and 6X tippet was the key to success. The hot fly has been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead in size sixteen. Other flies, specifically red San Juan worms and grasshoppers accounted for some large fish. On some days there were moderate flows that were very productive. Here again the zebra midge and the grasshopper were the most effective flies.