Fishing Report For Lake Hamilton, AR

Current Report: Fair To Good

FALL. In late Fall, stripers return to deeper water. Early in the day wipers chase bait shallow, and feed aggressively, making for excellent fishing. They are following schools of bait, which are hanging out in 30 to 40 feet of water. Popular areas include the deeper coves near Mountain Harbor, around the Garvan Woodland Gardens dock shoreline, and mid-lake open-water above or nearby deeper channels and structure. Look for ledges and structure nearby deeper river channels, and fish them thoroughly. Most any lure that resembles shad will catch striped bass at this time of year. Late Fall will find most of the stripers in 30 to 50 feet of water. Tailwaters from the Lake Ouachita Dam hold healthy concentrations of fish.

WINTER. In Winter, stripers again hang out in deeper water and feed close to the bottom, often as deep as 80 feet. Warm, sunny afternoons occasionally draw stripers shallower, to around 20 or 40 feet deep as they feed on roaming schools of threadfin shad and gizzard shad. The main lake basin, along deep channels is holding schools of stripers, especially in the section of lake around the dam. Locate schools of bait, then look for stripers close by. Fish finders, and forward facing sonar, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Nice stripers are caught while drift fishing with live bait or cut bait. Spoons, blade baits, and heavy hair jigs are also effective this time of year. Due to the stripers slower metabolism this time of year, anglers are triggering more strikes by working baits more slowly.

SPRING. Spring is the best time of year for striper fishing on Lake Hamilton, as these aggressive fish are ready for the spawn and feeding ferociously. This is the time of year to head for the tail waters of the Lake Ouachita Dam, where the stripers gather due their natural instinct to go up river to spawn. Water temperatures are return to the mid 60's, and that's ideal for the stripers to spawn. In Spring, work the upper end of the lake, and the backs of coves, where there is inflowing water. If they spawn, this is where they will lay eggs in the moving water. They also move into transition zones on the main lake, in 10 to 35 feet of water, feeding on baitfish which are moving toward the shallows. Expect to locate them on mid-depth ledges, flats or points.

SUMMER. As soon as Summer arrives, stripers head for the main lake ledges and river channel drop-offs. These stripers hang out in deeper water during the heat of the day, 30 to 90 feet deep. Much of the time they are holding over deeper, open water. Morning often draws the stripers shallower, so look for them around the 10-foot range as they feed on roaming schools of baitfish. Being successful at fishing for stripers in Summer is a matter of locating schools of bait, and the wolf packs of stripers are likely to be nearby. Later in Fall, expect to locate schools 40 to 80 feet deep. Fish finders, and sonar electronics, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Nice stripers are being caught while trolling or drift fishing. Spoons, blade baits, crankbaits, live bait and cut bait are all effective here.

Current Report: Good

FALL. Now that late Fall taking over, bass are moving out of shallow coves and shallow bays, following schools of baitfish back into 15 to 20 feet of water. Currently jerkbaits, drop shots, slow-rolled spinnerbaits, artificial worms, spoons and jigs are catching most of the bass. Later in Fall, as deeper water cools, bait and bass move out to ledges, channel edges, points and humps where flutter spoons, jigs and drop shots are often good choices in 10 to 25 feet of water.

WINTER. Winter will isolate largemouth around slightly deeper structure, flats, points and creek channels. They can be found from 8 to 25 feet deep, around main-lake channel edges, rock piles, stump fields and brush piles. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring. Slow presentations are key to getting bites. On warmer days, especially during late afternoons, bass may move shallower to feed.

SPRING. Like in most lakes, the bass spawn in Spring at Lake Hamilton. Coves and pockets with cover in shallow water are their preferred areas to build a nest. Once water temperatures rise into the low 60's, largemouth will move from deep wintering holes, to shallower water nearby spawning areas. Anglers report good topwater action from mid Spring through Summer, especially early in the morning, and on cloudy days. Vibrating jigs, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits typically get bites just away from the shoreline. At this time they are feeding aggressively in about 2 to 12 feet of water, and preparing for the spawn. Once water warms into the mid to high 60's, they will move into 2 to 5 feet of water, and create nests, then lay their eggs. Immediately afterwards, females move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After the spawn, locals report catching nice fish on the outside corners of these pockets, as the males also move to slightly deeper water, around 8 to 20 feet deep. Deep-diving crankbaits, vibrating jigs, plastic worms, jigs, worms, and swimbaits catch bass during this period.

SUMMER. Water temperatures will warm considerably in Summer. Bass will feed shallow, early and late in the day, where they will be caught in 6 to 20 feet of water, on square-bill crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Wacky-rigged stick worms always catch finicky bass when the bite is slow. Largemouth bass here feed on shad, herring, small sunfish and crawfish. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, channel edges, and ledges 20 to 25 feet deep. Some of the best reports seem to be from anglers fishing around deeper docks, submerged brush on reefs, deep grass edges, and along river channel shoulders.

Current Report: Good

Crappie fishing tournaments on Lake Hamilton are held each year, with much success. The lake is loaded with fat, healthy crappie - all competing with each other for food.

FALL. Baitfish, are moving off shallow flats, and out of coves and bays. They are feeding heavily in preparation for the cold Winter, in 8 to 20 feet of water. Minnows, hair jigs, and crappie jigs, are good options during this feeding marathon. Late fall starts the migration deeper, toward winter holding areas, for both crappie and baitfish. Small flutter spoons, fished in 15 to 20 feet of water, are a good option during this transition. Good results are coming around points, creek channels, and brush piles.

WINTER. Once the shallows start cooling rapidly, crappie will migrate to deeper holding areas, mostly off shore. At this time they are typically caught using a very slow presentation, in 10 to 25 feet of water. Most are caught around deep brush piles, creek channel bends, submerged timber, and main-lake structure. If they are suspending in open water, they often relate to some cover, or structure change, directly below them. During warming trends, especially warm afternoons, they are drawn into 8 to 15 feet of water to feed.

SPRING. In early Spring, crappie begin staging in 6 to 12 feet of water, just outside spawning bays and shallow flats. Spring is prime time to be on the water, as both black crappie and white crappie have moved shallow to spawn. At that time, they are typically caught in 2 to 8 feet of water. Vegetation, docks, brush and wood are where most anglers catch crappie using small crappie jigs or live minnows. After the spawn, crappie typically move outside the spawning area and hold on cover close by, in 12 to 20 feet of water. Once they move deep, anglers report success using fish finders and forward facing sonar to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover. Light tackle, with 4 lb to 8 lb line, is a popular choice.

SUMMER. Water temperatures get quite warm, and crappie fishing is usually pretty good. They feed in 8 to 15 feet of water early and late in the day, until the hot Summer sun causes them to retreat to depths of 15 to 25 feet. Also, a few have embedded in the shade of slightly shallower vegetation. This is a good time to focus around brush piles, standing timber, deep lay downs, bridge pilings and deeper docks. Anglers are also locating schools of crappie hanging over deep structure and around creek channel edges, using fish-finder electronics.