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Largemouth Bass:   The past week has seen bass slightly improved in feeding activity with unseasonably warm day time highs, in spite of the muddy water.  The best bite over the past few weeks began shifting to mid-day.  Now that the lake level is just slightly below pool elevation, the bass are concentrating at creek mouth junctions, creek channels, and primary points with stumps exposed, associated with sweeping bends of Little River.

 

The best bass bite over the past few weeks continues to be a reaction bite on crankbaits, Rouges and suspending hard jerk baits, or slow rolling heavy spinnerbaits.  Slow moving, large 3/4-ounce Rat-L-Traps, Cordell Big O or XCalibur Fat Free Shad Crank baits are still working to locate 15-17" class bass, but the key word remains VERY SLOW for a solid keeper bass bite.  Carolina Rigs were improving along the washouts and creek channel mouths intersecting with Little River and taking some keeper sized bass from 16-19".  Since the lake level has risen slightly to just below normal level, bass are again relating to the creek junctions, creek mouths, creek channels, and points along the river.  Crankbaits are still best bet for finding a few keeper size bass, and are improved over the past week with the lake level rise.

 

The best Rat-L-Trap or crankbait colors over the past week with the muddy conditions, are red coach dog, red chrome, Millwood Magic, brown craw/orange belly, or white and citrus shad.

 

Slow rolling, 3/4 ounce heavy spinner baits (chartreuse / white or spot remover colors) are the best options for spinnerbaits in the muddy water, with heavy thumping and slow rolling #7 Colorado blades, along flooded creek channel swings and stumps.  The clearest water areas available, typically up river oxbows, away from the current of Little River during warmer, sunny days when bass maybe roaming shallow, during the mid day, in warming shallow flats adjacent to deep creek channels is the best areas to search for active bass.  "Dead Sticking" soft plastic Bass Assassin Shads, and slow moving suspending Rouges and hard jerk baits, continue working randomly for Bass, near remaining dead lily pad stems, hydrilla, and pondweed, continue working, where the vegetations are growing in close proximity. 

 

Shallow to medium running depth crankbaits like the Cordell Big O, or Fat Free Shads in white shad pattern in the clearest water, and Bandit cranks in brown back/orange belly craw were taking some keeper size bass heavier stained water.  

 

Magnum gitzits & flipping tubes like the 3-4" Southern Pro Flipping Tubes continue working in remaining flooded grass and stumps over the past week.  Best colors we have observed working for tubes and gitzits were pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail, black/blue tail, or black neon, during the past week. **TIP: Load your tube or gitzits with loud rattles in this off colored to muddy water!!

 

Flipping stumps, cypress trees, and laydown tree trunks near deep water at creek mouths and deeper sections of creek channel swings, are the best bets with tubes or jigs.  The jig bite, continues to improve on cypress trees, knees, stumps and laydowns and best reaction colors over the past 2 weeks continue to be Texas Craw, black/blue, or pumpkinseed/chartreuse colors.  These are taking a few keeper size bass in the 3-4 lb class.    

 

White Bass:  White bass are scattered and slow... Not many White Bass fishermen out. 

 

Crappie:  are beginning to improve, but the muddy current in Little River has them deep and out of the main river channel.  The upriver, oxbow bite along Little River away from current, for Crappie, is the best location over planted brush, for the past couple weeks.  A few more Crappie fishermen were out over the past week, we noticed with the improved weather conditions.  Crappie were suspending in planted brush 12-16' deep and best on live shiners.  A few prespawn Crappie were caught on Blakemore Roadrunners around base of cypress trees in 8-12 feet.

 

Channel Cats:  Channel Cats are loving the current in Little River. Blues and Channel cats are biting good with the increased current along Little River and best on cut shad, Charlie and home-made dough balls, by either tight-lining, trot-lines, along the increased current in Little River between Jack's Isle and Mud Lake or on yo-yo's hung from cypress trees in the oxbows over 9-12' depths. 

 

Don't forget, be courteous, and respect the other guy's right to use the lake too.  Release those big bass to spawn and fight again, and take home those little 16"ers to fry up!  Use caution in low light conditions, and wear your flotation device!  If you are suddenly thrown from your boat, or knocked unconscious, your life preserver can potentially be your only hope to survive. 

 

Visit us on the web for the most current Millwood Lake fishing report, updated weekly.  See some great catch and release photos, sponsor links, tons of great information and resources on the lake available to you, along with excellent related direct links to Arkansas' State Parks, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Black Bass Program, The US Army Corps of Engineers, and Arkansas.com.