Beaver Lake

Try the Beaver Dam area for striped bass.

Jon Conklin, fishing guide, said stripers have been caught near the dam on brood minnows, shad or sunfish.

Try for walleye along humps and flats on the main lake from Prairie Creek to Beaver Dam. Nightcrawler or brood minnows are the best bait. Fish for crappie 15 feet deep with minnows or jigs around brush. Catfish are biting all types of catfish bait. Black bass fishing is slow. Average surface water temperature is in the mid-70s.

Southtown Sporting Goods in Fayetteville reports bluegill fishing is fair with crickets or worms. Channel catfish are baiting fair on liver or worms.

Beaver tailwater

Austin Kennedy, fishing guide, reports trout are biting prepared trout baits such as Pautzke Fire Bait or Power Bait. Small spoons are good to use on sunny days. Fishing deep water is best.

Generation at Beaver Dam usually starts around 2 p.m. creating good wade-fishing conditions much of the day.

Lake Fayetteville

The lake office staff reports good fishing for black bass with plastic worms and top-water frogs. Bluegill are biting well on worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is slow.

Lake Sequoyah

Angler Mike McBride said black bass fishing is good on a variety of lures. Crappie fishing has improved as the water cools. Try minnows or jigs.

Bella Vista

Robbie Towner at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista said bluegill are biting crickets or worms on the smaller Bella Vista lakes. Black bass are biting plastic worms or jig and pigs in shallow water, but fishing is tough. Try for catfish with liver or nightcrawlers.

Please note that fishing in Bella Vista is open only to POA members and their guests.

Swepco Lake

Kenny Stroud in Siloam Springs recommends fishing for black bass with any soft-plastic lure such as plastic worms or lizards. Dark colors are best. Ned rigs are also working.

Illinois River

Stroud said black bass are biting tube baits, Rooster tails, 4-inch lizards and small buzz baits.

Eastern Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reports largemouth bass fishing is fair at Grand Lake with crank baits and spinner baits around brush and docks.

Crappie are biting fair on jigs or minnows around brush and docks. Blue catfish are biting liver, cut bait or shrimp.

Lake Tenkiller black bass are biting fair on plastic worms, spinner baits and top-water lures around brush, rocks and along points. Try for crappie with minnows or tube jigs.

At Lake Eucha, fish for black bass with jerk baits, lipless crank baits, plastic worms, top-water lures or jig and pigs. Channel catfish are biting fair on liver.

Table Rock Lake

Focused Fishing Guide service reports good black bass fishing with top-water lures cast very close to shore along ledge-rock banks. Watch for schooling bass on the surface in open water. Cast a top-water lure or swim bait into the school. Plastic worms on a drop-shot rig are working 28 to 30 feet deep along gravel point or above tree tops.

— Compiled by Flip Putthoff