Fishing Tip:  With the cold weather moving in, hypothermia should be a concern for many fishermen. One way to avoid hypothermia is to be prepared. During cold weather, be sure to pack plenty of towels and a change of clothes. The towels and clothing will enable you to dry-off quickly after an accidental swim.

Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said the lake is muddy, and the gates are open. Bream fishing is fair using wax worms, crickets and regular worms. Crappie fishing is fair using minnows and jigs.

Little Red River: Lindsey's Rainbow Resort said the generation has been pretty heavy. With the high water, some good action has been seen trolling with Countdown Rapalas or Shad Raps and drift fishing with a Glo Worm and Power Egg combination or a Glo Worm and salmon egg combination.

Greers Ferry: Shiloh Marina said the lake clarity is poor, and the lake is about 3 feet above normal pool. Crappie fishing is fair from 20- to 35-feet deep using small jigs over brush piles and stumps. Catfishing is good using chicken liver, jugs and lines. Hybrids are schooling and being caught on spoons and medium-sized lures.

Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said the lake is clear but high. Bream are scarce, but some are being taken. Crappie fishing is good using pink minnows and chartreuse jigs. Some bass are being taken around the spillways and culverts.

Beaverfork Lake: Wooster Grocery said the lake is high, and the rain has been keeping many fishermen off the lake.

Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the river clarity is poor, and the river is low. Bream are biting fair about 3-feet deep using wax worms under some cover. Crappie fishing is excellent from 3- to 12-feet deep using minnows and jigs under some cover. Bass fishing is fair using spinner baits under some cover. Catfishing is good on the main channel.

Arkansas River: Charley’s Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said the flow from Lock no. 9 is 83.10 cubic feet per second with headwater at 284.65 and tailwater at 275.96. Catfishing is strong below the dam using whole shad. Also, try catching some nice blue cats, 10- to 16-pound range, around the Petit Jean River. On the inside bends of the river, anchor on the edge of the bank, and cast into water 20- to 30-feet deep. Kentucky bass are on the backside of the jetties. Try using firetiger deep-diving crankbaits in 6 to 10 feet of water. White bass are chasing shad in the backwaters. Try using a white Roostertail from 3 p.m. to dark.

Murray Lock and Dam (below): Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said catfishing is excellent using stink bait, chicken liver and large minnows.

White River: Gaston's White River Resort said the river is high; there have been seven units running around the clock. Trout fishing is doing really well using night crawlers, Smithwick Rogues and egg patterns. The egg patterns are working well for both the fly-fishermen and the spin-fishermen.

Bull Shoals Tailwaters: McLellan’s Fly Shop said there have been three to six units running most of the day, which is providing few wade-fishing opportunities.  However, fly-fishing from a boat has been very good lately in the various shoals of the upper river, especially using sow bugs, scuds, Unreal Eggs, Golden Eggs and San Juan Worms. Some very large trout have been hooked lately. The best flies have been:  Zebra and Black/Olive Rubber-leg Copper John (sizes 14 to 18), McLellan’s Woven V-Rib Sowbug (sizes 14 to 16), McLellan’s Hunchback Scud Tan, Olive and Gray (sizes 14 to 16), Red Fox Squirrel Nymph (sizes 12 to 16), Little Brown Bug (sizes 14 to 16), March Brown Spider (sizes 12 to 14), Red Ass (size 16), Partridge & Herl (size 16), Rag Sculpin (size 6), Golden Eggs (size 16), Unreal Eggs (size 12) and Platte River Special (size 4).

North Fork River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said during the week, generation has been running pretty much all day, but on the weekend, the generators have been shut off.  Scuds, sow bugs and midges have been producing plenty of strikes. Several big browns are in the Norfork right now, and they are in spawning mode. Below spawning shoals, Golden Eggs and McLellan’s Tan Hunchback Scuds are starting to produce several hookups. The water is still stained from Norfork Lake turning over, and the dissolved oxygen levels are still low.  So, be sure to spend even more time than usual reviving trout before releasing them. The best flies have been:  McLellan’s Hunchback Scud Tan, Olive and Gray (sizes 14 to 16), Morgan’s Midge (sizes 22 to 24), Rojo Midge (size 22), Yong Special (sizes 20 to 22), Zebra Jujubee Midge (sizes 20 to 24), Mercury Black Beauty (sizes 20 to 22), Gray Mercury Midge (sizes 20 to 22), WD-50 (sizes 20 to 22), McLellan’s Woven Sow Bug (sizes 14 to 16), Golden Egg (size 16), Unreal Eggs (size 12), Mercury Brassie (sizes 18 to 20), Mercury Blood Midge (sizes 20 to 22), Platte River Special (size 4) and San Juan Worm (size 16).

Bull Shoals Lake: Wilderness Trail said this week's weather was a little chilly, but for the most part; there was plenty of sun. The lake is now in the low 50's with the sun warming the water a few degrees during the day. Pool level is at 654.85 this week, ½-foot above normal pool, which is great for this time of year. Lake clarity is still at 15 to 16 feet with some color in the backs of the creeks. Crappie were not as active this week, but a few were being caught in 25 to 35 feet of water around brush piles and docks. Try using crappie minnows or shad-colored crappie tubes. Largemouth bass are moving shallower (12 to 15 feet) and are around docks in the back of the creek arms and at main lake cuts and coves on blow downs. They are not yet up on the banks. Fish spinner baits or Bandit crankbaits for the shallower fish. Fish Spider Jigs for the largemouth that are staying deep off the drop offs near secondary points. Smallmouth bass are also moving shallower up on to pea rock points and chunk rock channel swings. Spider Jigs and tubes are working well when the wind is down. On windy days, throw Wiggle Warts or Bandit crankbaits in crawdad colors. Carolina-rigged Brush Hogs and finesse worms or football jigs will trigger the deeper 3- to 4-pound smallies. Kentucky bass are also foraging on crawdads getting ready for winter, and they have moved shallower. They are in the back of the pockets and cuts, at the back of the creeks or along the bluff walls. Tube baits and Spider Jigs are the best baits on the shallow Kentuckies. Drop shot rigs with 4-inch finesse worms and silver or white spoons are working on the Kentuckies under shad. Walleye have not moved as shallow as the bass and are still sitting in 20 to 40 feet of water. The bite has picked up on spoons fished vertically over their heads and ball jigs with a 2- to 3-inch shiner as bait. The long liners are picking up a few on Reef Runners and Shad Raps. Trout fishing on the White River has been good on Power Bait in yellow and pink. Buoyant Spoons, Colorado spoons and Little Cleos have been working when the generation is on. The fly-fishermen have done well on olive Woolly Buggers, scuds, egg patterns and San Juan Worms. Browns are being caught on Suspending Rogues, Flatfish and night crawlers. Lead Hill Boat Dock said the lake is dingy, and the lake level is 1-foot above normal pool. Crappie fishing is fair to good about 20-feet deep using minnows and jigs over brush piles. Bass fishing is fair to good at 35-feet deep using CC Spoons.

Beaver Lake: Southtown Sporting Goods said the lake is dingy and high. Bream fishing is fair using worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is fair trolling with crank baits or live bait. Bass fishing is fair in shallow water using spinner baits, jigs or plastics. Whites, stripers, and hybrids are biting well on crankbaits, jigs and live bait. Hickory Creek Marina said the lake has risen 1 foot, and the water is off-colored. Given the current weather, a clear pattern for bass has not been apparent. Spinner baits and crankbaits on the flats and spoons deep are producing fish. Given the water rise, water temperature and color, the flats are warmer than the deeper water on sunny days. As fish acclimate to the current lake level, try fishing shallow. Some stripers are in the rivers, but they are scattered and in short supply. The water temperature has been around 52.6 degrees, which is in the proper range for the activity. Also, the current in the upper lake should have triggered additional migrants. Observation from the dock continues to produce reports of quite a few surfacing fish. Trolling with crankbaits has had some success. Try looking in every major channel bend south of the Hwy 12 Bridge that is near an adjacent flat. Scattered fish are usually the big ones. Early and late look on the flats, and fish deep in middle of the day. Crappie fishing is on the poor side of fair. They are difficult to find in consistent concentrations. Others seemed to find fish in brush piles. Most fishermen are doing better with minnows fished from 12- to 20-feet deep. Whites have been moving day to day. Water intake, Piney Creek, Point 12, Kelly Creek, Sidewalk Hole, Wooley's Island are a few places to look. Early and late, look for surface activity, and use anything white or yellow that is about 1 ½-inches long. Jigging spoons (1- to ¾ -ounce ) are producing in the channels. The incidental catch of catfish continues to be awesome. The major fish are being caught around schools of shad. Jigging spoons are the most popular. The bluff line at Hickory Creek continues to produce large fish. Large minnows have the producing fish. A slip bopper with minnow at 30 feet was the most popular terminal tackle. Most of these fish are over 20 pounds. The bream have moved deep.

Lake Fayetteville: Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock said the lake is clear and at normal pool. Catfishing is fair from 12- to 20-feet deep using chicken liver.

Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the lake conditions are good. A few crappie have been picked up using small green-and-yellow tube jigs. A few bass have been taken using spinner baits and jig ‘n’ frog combinations. Some large blue cats have been taken using shad. One fisherman caught a 45-pound blue and a 32-pound blue.

Lake Charles: Powhatan Landing said a 43-pound flathead was taken and a few crappie are being picked up.

Lake Enterprise: Fred's Sport Shop said the lake is fairly clear, but it is still high. Fishermen have been taking some small crappie, which leads locals to believe that the spring spawn will be very productive.

Millwood Lake: Millwood Lake Guide Service said the water temperature ranges from 60- to 65-degrees. Largemouth bass are fair to good during the heat of the day; try using chrome-and-gold Rat-L-Traps, white or light-colored shad patterns on cloudy days, 10-inch Berkley Power Worms in blue fleck, pumpkinseed-and-black jigs or medium-diving cranks. Black buzzbaits are still taking some keepers in the 16- to 18-inch class in Little River, on points of creek channels dumping into the river. This pattern has remained fairly constant over the last few weeks. Schooling activity has diminished in last few days with the drop in surface temperatures. The jig bite has definitely improved in the last week. An 8-pounder and several 4-pound class bass were caught and released in the river near the mouth of Jack's Isle; these fish were biting on a pumpkinseed jig. Some fair size bass have been taken in the lily pads and grass along edges of Little River; try using War Eagle spinner baits in white-and-chartreuse, firecracker or spot remover. The smaller Rat-L-Traps are taking better quantities of all sizes of bass, but the larger ¾-ounce size Traps are definitely catching the larger fish. When you see shad busting to the surface lightly pitch in a small ¼-ounce War Eagle spinner bait in firecracker, spot remover or a white-and-chartreuse Rocket Shad and rip it back through the remaining vegetation. Many of the strikes are occurring just as the spinner bait rips free of the grass. Medium to deep-diving crankbaits like the Excalibur Fat Free Shad, Bandit or Bagley B3's in brown craw with an orange belly are beginning to work better for the larger bass. In addition, a smoke-colored or watermelon with a chartreuse tip Southern Pro Fat Butt Tube pitched into the edges of the dying lily pads, grass and at the base of cypress trees are catching decent bass in those areas. Recent rain and a 6-inch rise on the lake has slowed the Crappie bite over last two weeks. A few crappie were biting live shiners and jigs along the river over planted brush piles between Yarborough point and Bee Lake entrance on north side of the river in 10 to 13 feet depths. Catfish remain good in Little River on trotlines, using cut shad or chicken livers, in the outside river bends between between Snake Creek and Jack's Isle. Set your lines at depth ranging from 10 to 13 feet.

Lake Columbia: Steve's Marine said the crappie bite is improving.

Lake Erling: Steve's Marine said crappie fishing has picked up since last week.

Arkansas River: Tackle Box said the river is high. Bream fishing is fair. Bass are being picked up using spinner baits and crankbaits. Catfishing is good using cut shad below the dam. Cross Creek said the river is still high. Catfish are biting well on fresh cut bait. Crappie are biting well in the Clear Creek area. Try fishing for crappie in deep water.

Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said the river is clear, but the level is normal. Bream are biting fair on night crawlers fished 6-feet deep. Crappie fishing is fair using minnows and jigs. Bass fishing is fair using minnows, jigs and spinner baits. Catfishing is fair using cut bait and minnows.

Lake Ouachita: Mountain Harbor Resort said the water temperature varies from 50- to 58-degrees. The water is stained, and the lake level is 580.36 feet. Largemouth bass are good and these fish are still schooling and can be caught with Roostertails, Zara Spooks and Super Flukes. Try main lake points and creek channels for the best results. 

Walleye are still slow to fair with reports of these fish being caught over or near large river channel points. Jigging spoons or jigs tipped with minnows are the most effective.  Try water depths of 18 to 30 feet. Stripers are still excellent on live bait, hair jigs or top-water Super Spook Jr's. These fish are still located around main points and rock bluffs near or in the river channels. Bream are slow on crickets and worms. Try water depths of 10 to 20 feet. Crappie are very good and being caught over brush piles and moss flats using feather jigs, 2-inch grubs and minnows. Try main lake points and large moss flats 10- to 25-feet deep. The best colors are still white, silver and Tennessee shad. Catfish are slow and still being caught with night crawlers, stink bait, hot dogs and live minnows. Cross Creek said the bass are biting well on crankbaits.

Lake Catherine: Dozhier’s Bait Shop and Rainbow Landing said with Lake Ouachita still 5-feet above normal pool, there is one gate open on Carpenter Dam in an effort to lower the lake. Stripers are moving toward this running water and feeding on shad. Catfish action is good using live crawfish, whole dead shad or large shiners. The fish are moving along the main channel and toward the dam. Crappie are becoming active and holding off downed timber. Small shiners fished 6- to 8-feet deep are working. Bass are going for live crawfish, Carolina-rigged lizards and spinner baits. Walleye are hitting deep-running crankbaits.

Lake Hamilton: Dozhier’s Bait Shop and Rainbow Landing said bass are hitting live crawfish, spinner baits and jigs worked around rocky points and drop offs into to deep water. Crappie are holding off established brush piles, and they are hitting small shiners fished 10- to 12-feet deep. Catfish are hitting live crawfish, whole dead shad and large shiners 6- to 8-feet deep with some good action on trotlines.

Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing the lake is clear but high. Bream are biting well on wax worms fished off the bank. Crappie fishing is fair about 15-feet deep using minnows by the dam. Bass fishing is fair about 6-feet deep using minnows over brush piles. Catfishing is good using big bass minnows.

Lake Nimrod: Lake Nimrod Bait ‘n’ More II said the lake is high. However, crappie fishing is good using minnows. Catfishing is also good.

Midway Lake: Ed’s Boat Camp said the lake is clear, and the level is normal. Bream are biting fair. Crappie fishing is good about 18-inches deep using minnows over stumps or brush piles. Bass fishing is good using spinner baits and minnows around the cypress trees.

Bear Creek Lake: Arkansas Outdoors said the lake clarity is good, and the level is normal. Some crappie are being taken trolling.

Mississippi River: Arkansas Outdoors said the river is high and still rising.

Lower St. Francis River: Arkansas Outdoors said the river is still high and on the rise.