Cooler, wetter weather may put fish in fall patterns

Can you remember the last time we had water conditions like this in mid-September? Plenty of water. Excessive water. Flood warnings at a time of the year when we commonly gripe about drought.

Fishing is being affected, of course. The abundant water comes with drop in temperatures. True, the water temperature changes slowly compared to air temperatures, but we’ve had a cooler than normal stretch for a number of days now.

A guess, and that is all it is, says that fish may move into fall patterns earlier than usual. This means they may pull away from hangouts like close to stumps and under fallen logs to get nearer creek channels and drop-offs.

It’s a time of transition. That should tell us to go out with an assortment of strategies. Bass fishing? Think of soft plastics of a couple of times, crank baits, spinner baits – well, most anything. Topwater lures may not be effective, and as soon as we think that, somebody will catch an 8-pounder at Lake Conway on a Zara Spook.

LAKE CONWAY

Rick Bates at Bates Field and Stream said bream are biting well on worms and crickets in shallow water around the banks. Crappie are biting well on medium-sized pink minnows at the mouths of creeks. Bass fishing is slow. Catfishing is good on trotlines baited with goldfish, minnows and green sunfish. 

LITTLE RED RIVER

Billy Lindsey at Lindsey’s Resort said the water is clear and the river is running with one unit turning on about 3 p.m. most days and running for a few hours. Trout fishing is good on yellow Power Bait, wax worms and marshmallows and on pink and yellow Trout Magnets.  

GREERS FERRY LAKE

Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the water level is rising and the surface temperature is falling. Crappie are biting well around the pole timber in 15 feet of water. Minnows and jigs are working well. Hybrid bass and white bass are schooling around the lake. Smaller fish are surface feeding, but some schools of large fish can be found on top as well. Usually, you can catch bigger fish under the small ones with spoons, hair jigs and in-line spinners. For surface feeders, use top-water baits or swim a grub. Black bass are schooling all over the lake as well. Try top-water baits, spoons and jig-head worms around schooling fish. Small crank baits, flukes and spinner baits fished around shallow brush are working well. In deeper water, Texas-rigged worms, Carolina-rigged lizards and football head jigs are working in 15 to 25 feet. Bream are biting well on just about anything from hot dogs on down. Walleye are fair on crawlers in 12 to 23 feet of water. The best bite is under the hybrids and white bass on spoons.

HARRIS BRAKE LAKE

Coffee Creek Landing said few people are fishing because the lake is being drawn down and will remain so until Dec. 12. 

Greer’s Sporting Goods said there’s been some crappie activity with white stingers but overall fishing is slower than normal.

LAKE OVERCUP

Lakeview Landing said bream are biting fairly well on worms and crickets. Crappie are biting well on pearl-colored Crappie Stingers and minnows. Bass are fair on   and topwater lures. Catfishing is good on trotlines baited with minnows and goldfish.  

Overcup Landing said the water is high, murky and at 82 degrees. Bream are fair on worms and crickets. Crappie are biting well on brown, chartreuse and white and salt and pepper jigs in 5 feet of water. Bass are biting well on spinner baits and worms along the edges of the bank. Catfishing is good on bream and shrimp. 

BREWER LAKE

Overcup Landing said the water is clear and the surface temperature ranges from 82 to 85 degrees. Crappie are fair on white and chartreuse jigs and small minnows fished around brush. Bass are biting well on spinner baits and Shad Raps. Catfishing is good on live bream and cut shad. 

LAKE MAUMELLE

Roger Nesuda at Jolly Roger’s Marina said the water is 1.6 feet below the spillway. Largemouth bass are biting well on Gitzits, spinner baits and jigs in 15 to 20 feet of water during early morning and evening hours. Spotted bass are mixed in with the largemouth and are hitting the same lures. White bass are fair; some are schooling around the east end of the lake. CC spoons, Rogues and clear Near Nuthins are working fairly well. Crappie are biting well on minnows and 1/32-ounce jigs in 19 to 25 feet of water. Bream are excellent on worms and crickets fished in 10 to 20 feet of water on rocks and the breakwater at the marina. Saugeye are fair on Rogues and jigs trolled 10 to 15 feet deep. Catfishing is good on minnows, worms and prepared bait 8 to 15 feet deep. 

ARKANSAS RIVER

Charlie Hoke at Charlie’s Hidden Harbor in Oppelo said the flow is back up with all the recent rain. Catfishing is still good below Locks 9 and 10 and behind jetties on whole shad. Black bas are biting fairly well on drop-shot rigs, soft-plastic crayfish lures, buzzing toads and Rat-L-Traps in backwater areas. Spotted bass are holding behind jetties and are biting fairly well on finesse worms and spinner baits. White bass are schooling around Cypress Creek, Point Remove Creek and Flagg Lake Cutoff. Bream are fair on crickets around grass. Striped bas are holding around the generator on Lock 9 and are biting well on live shad fished in 4 to 6 feet of water. 

In the Little Rock area, Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said bream are biting fairly well on crickets around lily pads in the Little Maumelle and Maumelle River arms. Crappie are fair on live minnows around cypress knees in the Maumelle, Little Maumelle and in Palarm Creek. Bass are fair to good on top-water lures and spinner baits in the backwaters. Catfishing is good on trotlines baited with cut bait and green sunfish. 

WHITE RIVER

John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide Service said the pattern has been for no generation in the morning and occasionally no generation at night. The 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. It got a bit crowded over the weekend. 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.