Fishing by Season

Take a fishing tour of Arkansas in April or May, when you can enjoy spring bass fishing on lakes across the state, such as Beaver, Greers Ferry, Chicot, Millwood, Monticello and Dunn. For excellent spring walleye fishing, try hot-spot waters like Greers Ferry, Norfork, Catherine and Greeson lakes or the Eleven Point, Kings, Current, Saline and Little Missouri rivers.

Stripers usually hit top-water baits in April and May. Hybrid stripers and white bass gorge on shad in early spring offering a couple weeks of frenzied fun. To capitalize on the spring spawn try feeder streams of the large lakes. Four of Hot Springs' diamond lakes - Catherine, Hamilton, Ouachita and DeGray - offer good bass fishing in April.

April brings spawning crappie at locations like Lake Dardanelle and Lake Chicot. In May, bluegills are on their beds. Or, try your luck for world-class spring walleye fishing in May at Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs.

The fishing fury caused by freshly stocked rainbow trout eager to bite on a dangling hook make the White River the perfect destination for spring trout fishing. Or, enjoy the dogwoods blooming around Beaver Lake during great spring bass fishing. This lake contains smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and striper bass, not to mention plentiful supplies of crappie, bream, white bass, channel and spoonbill catfish.

Looking for a summer fishing spot in Arkansas? Fill your stringer with bream and bass on Millwood Lake or chase catfish on hot summer nights on the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. If you’re looking for a fight, bowfin (a.k.a. grinnel) are especially active in warm months in the rivers and oxbow lakes, bayous and swamps of eastern and southern Arkansas, and they can add some action to the middle of your day when panfishing tapers off.

Summer bass fishing in Arkansas is hard to beat, whether you’re chasing largemouth, smallmouth or white bass. When the weather heats up, look for bass around shaded cover, deeper structure and moving water—points, drop-offs, brush, current breaks and where cooler water flows into rivers and reservoirs. Topwater lures, soft plastics, jigs and crankbaits can all shine in summer, especially early and late in the day or when bass are schooling near the surface on big lakes like Beaver Lake and other major reservoirs across the state. 

Enjoy summer walleye fishing in Arkansas with minnows, jigs, crankbaits and spoons. During the warm months, target walleye in shallow to moderate depths, especially over gravel or rocky bottoms and around points and humps.

Crooked Creek is a classic Arkansas smallmouth bass stream, as are the Caddo River, upper Cossatot River and the Buffalo National River. These clear, cool streams are perfect for combining summer smallmouth fishing with a refreshing swim on a hot Arkansas day.

Early fall bass fishing cranks up as fish move from deep, cool water into shallower areas that start to cool with the onset of autumn. While it's the same move they make in the spring to spawn, in the fall bass are in search of food, often chasing bait along creek channels, flats and main-lake points.

Striped bass fishing can be excellent, especially in September, as stripers follow bait and shad near the surface. Flathead catfish action often peaks in October and November, when these big fish feed heavily to fatten up for winter.

Enjoy relaxed float fishing on Arkansas streams framed by gorgeous fall color as the weather cools and crowds thin. November is a great time to float on the upper Ouachita River and cast for blue ribbon smallmouths.  

Want to go winter trout fishing? Bundle up and head for water. November is a great time to fish for trout, particularly on the White River below Bull Shoals and Norfork dams, where brown trout make their spawning runs. Note, some sections of trout waters are designated as seasonal catch-and-release areas during spawning seasons.

Or, look for blue catfish on the Mississippi River. Find winter panfish in dam tailwaters of the Arkansas River and deep, clear Greers Ferry Lake is a great place to try for lunker walleye in the cold months. Winter crappie fishing begins in mid-February. Look for crappie in shoreline shallows of oxbows like Midway Lake. Most other lakes don't warm up enough for the crappie to turn on until mid-March.

Heading out for winter bass? On the smallmouth streams of the Ozarks and Ouachitas, dedicated anglers fish year-round, and winter can be an excellent time to float when water levels are right and the rivers are quieter. With the right flows and weather, you can plan floats that last a few hours or stretch into multi-day trips, and a canoe lets you slide into deep holes, ledges, and mid-river structure that hold bass in the cold months.