Northeast Arkansas _shing report

Northeast Arkansas _shing report

Lake Poinsett State Park said the word is plenty of catfish are being caught, and people are reporting catching loads of bream, too. No word on any bass success, but while Lake Poinsett is known for its crappie, the bass are there. On Saturday, May 21, the lake will hold its annual Kids Fishing Derby from 8 a.m. to noon, with AGFC personnel providing catchable- size catfish and netting them for the children ages 12 and under to catch and keep. Prizes and drawings will also be part of the event. The park boat launch will be blocked off during the contest.

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Crown Lake (updated 5-18-2016)

Boxhound Marina (870670-4496) reported the water was stained with a surface temperature of 72 degrees and the level normal earlier this week. Crappie fishing was good in 15-20 feet of water using minnows and jigs. Bream fishing was good close to the surface with redworms and crickets. Topwater lures were working best in shallow water for bass, and the fishing was fair. Catfishing was good, primarily with chicken liver.

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Spring River (updated 5-18-2016)

Mark Crawford with Spring River Flies and Guides said water levels are running at 444 cfs at the spring and water clarity has been poor. Not much to write about over the last week. Heavy rains have had the river murky all week. Conditions should change at any time. Stay tuned to Mark’s Blog on springriverfliesandguides.c om for daily updates.

(updated 5-18-2016) John Berry in Cotter said the fishing is better with canoe season over. This is a great place to wade fish when they are running water on the White and Norfork rivers. Be sure to wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot flies have been olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash (size 10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (size 10) and Y2Ks (size 10).

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White River near Newark (updated 5-11-2016)

Triangle Sports (870-7937122) said the water was running clear and high, about 6.8 -7 feet, and the water temperature was in the low 60s. Bream fishing was fair around the creeks with crickets. Crappie were working the creeks and were fair with minnows. By fishing the mouth of the creeks or the river, fishermen using soft plastic baits were having a fair time of the bass. Walleye fishing was poor. Overall, it was a slow week with few catches.

Lake Poinsett (updated 5-18-2016)