Arkansas Fishing Report
Millwood Lake Sponsored by
| Date | 25-Apr-24 | |
| Water Condition | ||
| Water Temperature |
| Conditions
: Millwood Lake: - Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said Millwood is back on a rise. Lake elevation is near 6 inches above normal pool, at 259.73 feet msl, and rising; Millwood Lake Dam is currently releasing about 870 cfs and tailwater is holding at 225 feet msl and steady.
Check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on the guide services website linked above, or the Army Corps of Engineers website linked above under Millwood Lake, for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels. Watch for random floaters and broken timber during any navigation on Little River and Millwood Lake with discharge rates and fluctuations in high flow conditions in Little River, and anytime high gate discharge conditions exist. Surface temperature is stable, ranging 67 degrees early to 73 degrees later in the day along Little River, depending on location and the time of day. Clarity along Little River improved drastically this week with near normal pool elevation. Normal stain in most locations; some areas further up Little River being heaviest, with river clarity ranging 5-8 inches visibility depending on location. Clarity of oxbows will vary widely from heavy stained to fair visibility from 10-20 inches, and we observed around 2 feet visibility in a few wind- and current-protected areas like McGuire Oxbow, away from river current depending on location. Further up Little River near White Cliffs and Wilton Landing has heavier stain and higher current rates. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds, gate discharge, rain,or thunderstorms. Up Little River from White Cliffs to Cossatot inflow at Wilton Landing remains more stained, with more current. * Largemouth bass have been consistent with last week; little has changed this week. Several large female bass between 6-9 pounds each recently were caught and released, including in local tournaments on Millwood Lake. The males and females continue moving in and around bedding areas and guarding beds with fry, near 1-5 feet on flats near grass, cypress trees and buckbrush. Best activity is being seen in afternoons near creek channel swings and vertical structure, where flats of 1-6 feet deep are holding fresh lily pad blooms and vegetation. Bass Assassin 5-inch Shads, plastic lizards, Brush Hogs, tubes and spinnerbaits continue to draw reactions from 12- to 16-inch bass from 2- to 6-feet depths. Bill Lewis Crankbaits like the MR-6, Echo 1.75 and SB-57 MDJ Crankbaits were all getting random reaction bites over the past few weeks from these active roaming bass (and white bass, too) in the deeper sections of creek channels or drops from the flats into 8-12 feet of structure, and on primary points with stumps present. Targeting these areas, the best responses are during the heat of the day, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. We caught good numbers of males and females from 3-6 pounds each over the past two weeks on Bass Assassin 5-inch Shads, lizards and spinnerbaits in the shallow lily pads, grass and buckbrush. The largemouths reaction bites continue to be much more reliable in the oxbows of McGuire, Horseshoe, Mud and Clear lakes where the water clarity is drastically better, water temps are warmer, and away from river current. Beavers, creature baits and baby Brush Hogs have been taking some decent 14- to 17-inch males roaming flats in the clearer water sections of the oxbows, away from river current. With the water temp continuing to warm into the upper 60s the males are being seen guarding fry on beds. Where you find shallow 5-8 foot depth flats with stumps and vegetation like fresh lily pad blooms, you can find a few decent 2- to 3-pound male bass roaming on warm afternoons, if near to a quick creek bend drop into 8-12 feet structure. South Hickory Golf Course area pockets are warming up as well and gave up some nice 16- to 19-inch, 3- and 4-pounders over the past couple of weeks. We got several good reactions from 3- to 5-pound bass over the past week or so,= with chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and lizards around cypress tree knees. Best reaction colors of Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits toward cruising bass have been the Millwood Mayhem Bream, Firetiger and black/blue. Best depth zones to target are cypress tree knees from 6-10 feet, with 12-15 feet of depth nearby. Lizards (6-8 inches) in black neon, blackberry, pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail and Junebug have been picking up some cruising bass near stumps on 5- to 7-feet drops near 10 feet deep structure. * The whites continue breaking into various schools moving back down Little River and staging at the mouths of oxbows and creek dumps. Over the past couple of weeks the white bass have begun to scatter and move back down Little River from the spawning pockets and rocks near Patterson Shoals above U.S. Highway 71. Good numbers of 2- to 3-pound whites can still be caught as they break into various schools migrating back down the river near Browns Slough and Blacks Branch and Highway 71 bridge. Heavy-thumping three-quarter-ounce and 1-ounce Rat-L-Traps in Millwood Magic, chrome or Splatterback colors, and Fat Free Shads and Fingerlings or Bill Lewis MR-6 Crankbaits in Tennessee Shad, cranked very slowly and deliberately behind points along Little River, caught some decent whites over the past rew weeks from 7-12 feet deep. A chrome three-quarter-ounce Cordell Hammered Spoon with a red/white hair bucktail vertical-jigged behind primary points near the bottom, where stumps were located on the backside of points, were connecting with a few nice-sized whites over the past several weeks. Swimming a hair jig with a heavy thumping tail swimbait trailer picked up a few in 10-14 feet swimming and dropping the bait. * The crappie bite has improved over the past few weeks with water clarity improving in many locations. One day its on fire, and the next day they run from a minnow on Livescope! Our planted brush piles in Pugh Slough, Horseshoe, Bee Lake and Millwood State Park continue to hold nice 12- to 15-inch crappie, and gave up some nice 2-pound slabs over the past couple of weeks. The xrappie are best using minnows one day and jigs the next, or jigs tipped with a minnow, in planted brush piles in 10-16 feet of water. Best color jig over the past week has been Monkey Milk one day and Electric Chicken the next, while smoke-colored grubs with a chartreuse tip tail on a light wire jig head would pick up a few extra bites. * Catfish improved over the past week on trotlines and limblines. Best reactions, when we spoke with a couple of catfishermen along Little River, came on Kings Punch Bait and giant redworms. One guy said he always uses chicken livers or gizzards, and had a few blues and channel cats in the 5- to 7-pound category to prove his method. They were running trotlines along Little River in the 14-16 foot depth zones. * No reports on bream. Reported by: Arkansas F&G |
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| About: -
Millwood Lake is renowned for its fishing, with much of its more than 29,000 acres
being flooded timber that provides exceptional cover for its wide variety of
fish, including largemouth and spotted bass, crappie, white bass, striped bass,
channel and flathead catfish and bluegills. Boat lanes lead the way through the
timbered waters, and there are 5,000 acres of open water near the dam. Each
year, the lake hosts numerous bass fishing tournaments and
fishing derbies held by local and out-of-state organizations.
Located on the lake's southeast shore, Millwood State Park offers a full service marina and boat dock, 117 campsites, and hiking and biking trails. Corps of Engineers' recreational areas on the lake offer 230 campsites, picnic areas, boat launching ramps and group picnic shelters available by reservation. Location: Millwood Dam is located on the Little River 16 river miles upstream from its confluence with the Red River. It is about seven miles east of Ashdown, Arkansas. |
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