Beaver Lake Arkansas

[acesinthehole]

I'm heading down to Beaver Lake in May and was wondering if any one has fished that lake or a lake similar to that down there in that area. I was looking for advice or tips that would make the trip more enjoyable. I'm trying to target any bass

Thanks

[SimilarIsland]

Haven't fished it, but it sure is one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen - deep & clear.

I hear Stripers are very good there and that it has a good population of Smallies.

[lunkerhunter]

I fished there from shore a few times and once with a guide. With the guide, we launched from AR E-12 bridge and headed 20 mins south to Pleasure Heights. I noticed there were about 5-7 other boats/guides in the same area. We trolled shinners for stripers/hybrids and casted silver spoons for whitebass. We caught a bunch of whitebass and a few stripers/hybrids. The whitebass there are really nice sized, not small pan fish looking like the ones we have here. We managed to boat a 10 pound stripper, but that's small compared to their standards.

My tip to you is to do your research, talk to the locals and if all else fails....follow the crowd. Good Luck!!!

[acesinthehole]

I would like to try for a few whitebass or strippers but mainly will try to target largemouth and smallies

[SimilarIsland]

Beaver is a High Def lake on my Navionics South chip if you can get your hands on one.

[acesinthehole]

Yep once we decided to go that was one of the first things I bought. I have never fished a lake of that type.

[gurkster]

I have fished that lake in the past, as well as Norfork which is further down on the white river. I have fished Arkansas for several years, however, not the past few (I have kids now). These resevoirs are huge, clear and deep. In fact my buddies are down there now - I can post a report on how they did and what they used.

I was a bit lost about how to fish it at first, but let the water temps tell you what to do. We used to go in early April so the water was a bit cooler. Head into the back bays and shallows (warmer water) and try there. Also the points of the bays off the main lake channel and around islands and sand bars. All were good to us over the years.

The local guides (I never used one, but talked to a few) all use live shad for bass, we were all artificial. We use jig/pig, carolina rigged lizards and senkos for a slower presentation. They all worked at times. If fish are active, crankbaits and spinnerbaits worked well.

Chartruse and then more natural colors worked well for me, the lakes are very clear. I will report more when I hear from my buddies.

As others have said, there is a good chance that you will get into the white bass, lots of fun as they hit hard, fight hard, and once you find them there are usually more around. We used roadrunners and smaller inline spinners for them. Also no one fishes walleyes down there - all bass and catfish. Each year I went I would spend a day or so and try for them and usually found them. Also the crappies are big if you get into them - lots of options. Stippers too, planner boards and balloons with live shad. You need to get your bait away from the boat as they are very skiddish fish.

For me it is just the size of the body of water makes it so hard to figure things out. You can not fish the lake in a week, not even a good part of it. Most lakes I fish here I can cover in a day.

Have fun it is nice down there.

[acesinthehole]

Thanks gurkster, I would love to hear about your buddys trip and if they the largies are spawing yet and things like that.

[dfv87]

Gurkster,

Not to contradict you but Beaver has a massive Walleye stocking plan underway right now.

Stripers (hybrids I believe) are quite the worthy foe also. Live shad (big ones) with balloon "bobbers" is quite a unique way fish. Big Bait=Big fish concept...

[gurkster]

No problem - glad to hear they are stocking them. My only point was there are many species of fish to go after down there, including walleye. In general the guides and locals are after the Bass and Catfish, and the walleye isn't as popular vs here in MN Bass fishing has a growing following but the Walleye is still King.

[gurkster]

FYI - My buddies just got back from Ark. They had a decent trip, they caught fish all days, nothing to great, better numbers than fish size though.

Water temp was high 50's/Low 60's. Crappies were full of eggs and on the brush piles, close to spawning. Crappies were caught on pink jig heads with shad colored bodies and chartreuse roadrunners. The Bass still had eggs in them too. Hula Grubs (crayfish type jig/plastic) were best, some on shad raps (shad color) also worked. A lot of smaller bass were caught. They did get a few nicer ones, largest LM was 4 lbs. Largest striper was 5 lbs (on live shad), largest SM was 3.5 lbs. A few walleye were also caught, but not targeted. I think they got them on crappie minnows while crappie fishing and then on shad raps while casting for bass.

Remember they were fishing last week so things may be changing. Have fun, and let us know how you do.

Gurkster.

[acesinthehole]

gurkster, thanks for all the detailed info. I will be heading down there next wednesday so I'm sure it will change a little but a heads up always helps get going in the right direction with limited time. Thanks again and will post result when I returned.