Two different approaches to take when gone fishin’

Fishing usually takes two forms — action you apply to a lure or bait and still fishing.

Most of the time, when we go after bass, we apply movement to a lure. But when we seek bream, crappie or catfish, the lure or bait is usually still, and we expect the fish to come to it. Trout fishing is a mix — you can move a lure or fly, and you can let the bait set still.

Water cools in the fall, like at present, and fish movements slow down. This means our action with moving lures and baits should slow as well.

If we are dangling a worm or a minnow, we don’t have to do anything. The fish will find that bait by sight or smell whether the water is 80 degrees or 60 degrees.

Crappie fishing with jigs? Most of the action is with the jig falling slowly through the water. We let it fall, remain at the desired depth for a while then raise and move it. The speed of the action isn’t a factor.

One technique for both crappie and bream that is often overlooked is lure fishing. Small and very small lures like Crick-Hoppers and little Beetle Spins can be excellent for crappie and bream – at times. Cooler water means we need to slow down these small lures.

Bass fishing is where the slow versus fast goes along with the cool versus warm water.

A competent bass fisherman, and this doesn’t mean only a top tournament professional, can work a spinner bait so slowly that the blades barely turn yet the lure holds its level in the water. This is a fish catching stratagem.

So is the action of retrieving a crank bait slowly but with enough movement to keep it at the desired depth rather than floating up to the surface. Here is another fish catching ploy.

Plastic worms or similar items? You let them fall, pause then lift and let fall again. Do it more slowly in cool water.

LAKE CONWAY

Rick Bates at Bates Field and Stream said the water has good clarity and is at normal level. Bream are fairly slow, but some are being caught close to the bottom. Crappie are biting well on minnows near the mouths of creeks. Bass and catfish are slow.    

LITTLE RED RIVER

Billy Lindsey at Lindsey’s Resort said the clarity is about 85 percent and the river is flowing with one generator on almost all the time. Trout fishing is excellent on wax worms and Little Cleo spoons. 

GREERS FERRY LAKE

Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the water level is rising with all the rain. The surface temperature is in the high 60s to low 70s. Hybrid bass and white bass are scattered and chasing shad. The cloudy, rainy, windless days have kept the action very slow. They should get back to schooling if the sun breaks free and we get a little breeze. Find the schools on your fish finder and drop a spoon or in-line spinner to them. The smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass bite is off as well. Spinner baits, Rat-L-Traps and crank baits fished shallow are taking the occasional bass. Some deeper fish are still being caught on football head jigs and Carolina-rigged Senkos. No report on crappie or catfish. Bream are biting crickets and crawlers in shallow water around cover. Walleye are fair on spoons and in-line spinners fished in 35 to 45 feet of water near the bottom. The rain has driven the shad deeper and scattered them. 

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.

LAKE OVERCUP

Overcup Landing said the water is high, clear and 58 to 60 degrees. Bream fishing is fairly slow. Crappie fishing is good on white shiners and minnows. Bass are fair on soft-plastic worms and spinner baits fished around brush. Catfishing is fair on cut bait and live minnows.  

BREWER LAKE

Overcup Landing said the water is clear and high. Crappie are biting well on black and chartreuse jigs and minnows fished in brush. Bass are fair on buzz baits and topwater lures. Catfishing is good on cut bait and live minnows.  

LAKE MAUMELLE

Roger Nesuda at Jolly Roger’s Marina said the water is 0.6 feet above the spillway and has flooded all the water willows. Largemouth bass are biting well in 15 feet of water on tubes, spinner baits and crank baits. Kentucky bass are biting well on tubes and jigs fished 15 to 20 feet deep. White bass are fair and are schooling around the east end of the lake on CC spoons and Rogues. Crappie are being caught about 15 to 20 feet deep on minnows and 1/32-ounce jigs. Bream are biting well around rocky structure 10 to 20 feet deep, but the bite is slowing for the year. Some saugeye are being caught 10 to 15 feet deep on trolled jigs and Rogues. Catfishing is good on minnows, worms and prepared bait in 8 to 15 feet of water.

ARKANSAS RIVER

Charlie Hoke at Charlie’s Hidden Harbor in Oppelo said the river flow is dropping, but still too fast for boats to be out on the main river. Catfishing behind jetties with whole shad is working well. Stripers are being caught at the tips of jetties and below dams 9 and 10 on live bream and shad floated 6 to 12 feet under a balloon. Black bass are fair on fire tiger crank baits in Coppers Gap, Flagg Lake Cutoff and the Petit Jean River.

In the Little Rock area, Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said the river is flowing too fast for fishing anywhere on the main channel. In the Little Maumelle River, crappie are biting well on yo-yos baited with shiners. Bass are biting well on spinner baits and top-water lures. Catfishing is good on chicken hearts and cut bait.   

LAKE MONTICELLO

Fishing guide Greg Gulledge of MonticelloBigBass.com said the surface temperature is cooling a little every day, and there are bass in the shallows around the lily pads. Yum Dingers and slowly fished Flukes are working in the skinny water. Jig-head worms are catching fish here and there on the lake. There are still bites to be had in the deeper water around 8 to 12 feet on worms and crank baits. The lake level has been fluctuating with the recent rains, but the water is as clear as usual. The schooling is not happening like it should be for this time of year. Topwater fishing should improve during the next week or two as the water continues to cool. 

WHITE RIVER

John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide Service said high lake levels and cooler nights have had a dramatic effect on the fishing. Steady around-the-clock generation has been the norm, with slightly higher flows in the afternoon. There has been little wadable water. Fishing in the catch and release section below Bull Shoals Dam is excellent. When we had muddy conditions downstream following the heavy rains, this was the only clear water around and it received some significant pressure. The hot flies have been brightly colored San Juan worms (cerise, hot fluorescent pink and red) and egg patterns (orange and peach). White marabou jigs accounted for some good fish. There was also some nice topwater action with Chernobyl ants. The stretch from Wildcat Shoals to Cotter has fished well. The moderate flows have been perfect for drift fishing. The hot flies have been San Juan worms and Y2Ks. There also has been a bit of grasshopper action, especially on windy days. Rim Shoals has been red hot. The go-to flies have been Y2Ks and cerise San Juan worms. Other flies, specifically black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads and small pheasant tails accounted for some good fish.