• Millwood Lake Fishing Report - AR

    Millwood Lake Guide Service
    (870) 772-6840 http://www.millwoodguideservice.com/index.html MillwoodLakeGSvc@aol.com
  • Millwood Lake Guide Service has been featured numerous times on the popular TV show Fishing Country with Charlie Pack. We guide for Largemouth bass, White bass, Kentucky bass, and Crappie. Since 1990, Millwood Lake Guide Service has supported and worked with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and The US Army Corps of Engineers regularly, Catch and Release Foundation, Black Bass Federation and Restoration Projects

  • Millwood Lake Fishing Report - AR

    The Overall Picture:

    As of Monday, 06 April, lake level remains 3.7 inches above normal conservation pool and falling. There is reduced current of Little River with the gates releasing around 3,917 CFS Monday. Water temps rose over the past week. Navigation is considered cautious for Little River, as of Monday. Several river buoy markers are missing in Little River with current.

    Surface temps as of Monday, are ranging approx 62ºF early to 71ºF range, depending on location, wind, and sun.

    Lake level is currently is 259.51 ft-msl, with heavy increased river current. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. Discharge rate near 3,900 CFS as of Monday. Tailwater level 230.11 and falling. Clarity and visibility is improved, most areas of the lake are normal stain. Saline River and Cottonshed areas still muddy inflows.

    As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 8-10 inches. Entire lake is stained, but Cottonshed, Okay, and east to Saratoga from Saline River inflow remains muddy. Little River's visibility ranges 6-9 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarities still stained in places, continues to improve, ranging approx 15-20 inches depth of visibility more or less, depending on location. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds, rain, thunderstorms, or increased current.

    The Details:

    Largemouth Bass: the Bass activity levels improved again over the past week with increased day time high temps. Bass are staging and spawing area beds are being seen, some already in spawn mode, over the past week with improved surface temperatures. Male and female bass have been noted on beds, coming off beds, or building beds in shallow flats, just are hard to locate with the stained water conditions.

    Bass are at their most aggressive during the warmest time of the day, typically 11am-3pm, a slow moving, Rat-L-Trap, 5" Bass Assassin Shads, frogs, chatterbaits, and plastic lizards. Over the past week, bass energy levels continued to improved, and were good on a variety of lures presented slow and methodical. Chatterbait in black / blue combination, swimming jigs in white, magnum size lizards in black, blue, or purple, and slow moving Rat-L-Traps were taking a male and females running in and out of spawning areas and in creek channels and ditches. Best color of Rat-L-Traps over the past few weeks has been working in creek channels and adjacent flats next to stumps, from 1-5 feet of depth are Red Chrome and 'Lectric Red on full sun days, and Red Zombie Shad or Red Shad or white and Millwood Magic, on cloudy days.

    Clearest water you can find, seems to be their preferred hang out in protected coves and pockets along the main lake. Crankbaits, swimming jigs, or soft plastic swim baits, and chatterbaits moved erratic; stop and go, around isolated cover, stumps and vegetation, were the best bets to draw reactions and get bit, but most active during the warmest period of the high sun over the past week.

    War Eagle Spinnerbaits white/chartreuse continue to catch 2-3 pound Largemouths, on warm days in stained water around cypress trees, dead lily pad stems, and grass.

    5" Bass Assassin Shads in Salt-n-Pepper Silver Phantom in clearer water, and Chartreuse Pepper Shad in stained water are catching 3-6 pound Largemouths, male and female moving in and out of the spawning areas using a light wire Rig-N Hook. Swimming a Bang Die Dapper in Houdini or Grey Ghost on a swim bait hook are taking nice 3-4 pound Largemouths around shallow bedding areas. Jingle Bugs in black/blue tail, pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail, or Okeechobee Craw are working around wood and stumps and standing timber in bedding areas and on beds if you can see them in the stained water.

    Warrior Baits Buzz Frogs are catching shallow males from 2-4 pounds in 1-2 feet of water around wood and grass patches. Rig your frogs with a 3/0 or 4/0 wide body Rig-n-hook or double upturned frog hook, and throw into the heaviest slop you can find. Bass we found ready to eat these frogs were jumping completely out of the water and crashing on the frogs to stun them, making a small circle and coming back on it to **** it under. We caught several in this manner over the past week on shallow flats with lots of vegetation. Hesitation is the key, until you feel the bass pull bait and line from you before setting the hook, to ensure good catch and hook-up ratios.

    White Bass: Whites, which were located upriver above highway 71 bridge between Cossatot inflow ditch and Patterson Shoals for the past few weeks are about to wrap up their annual spawning run upriver, and have begun to scatter in large schools. Crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps in white and chrome were taking fair numbers and sizes of Whites over the past several weeks.

    Crappie: continue improving close to cypress trees on hair jigs, tiny tubes, and shiners from 4-9 feet deep.

    Cats: no report this week on blues or other cats.

    }><(((º> Lake Level & River Conditions Report <º)))><{


    Surface temps as of Monday, 06 Apr currently range 62ºF to 71ºF later in the day under full sun.

    As of Monday, Millwood elevation is approx 3.7 inches above normal conservation pool and falling. There is reduced current in Little River with the gates releasing around 3900 CFS on Monday. Water temps improved over the past week. Navigation in Little River considered cautious. There are a few river buoys missing in Little River.

    Lake level dropped and currently is 259.51 mfsl. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. Discharge rate around 3900 CFS. Tailwater level at 230.11 ft-msl as of Monday and dropping below the spillway.

    Clarity and visibility in most areas on main lake and Little River continues to improve, stained mostly lake wide, however, east side near Saline inflow to Okay and Cottonshed, is muddy from river inflow. As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 8-10 inches. Little River's visibility ranges 6-9 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity has began to improve, away from current, ranging approx 15-20 inches depth of visibility as of Monday, depending on location. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds, rain, or thunderstorms.
    To volunteer for one of the cleanup dates or ramp and USACE park information, contact Tony Porter at the Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office. To receive project updates, daily lake level information updates, gate release flows, tailwater information, park and campground information, or volunteer, call the US Army Corps of Engrs toll-free information line at 888-697-9830 or the US Army Corps of Engineers' main number to verify another Corps of Engrs project is open, at 877-444-6777.

    Wear your Life Jacket and kill switch!! If you are suddenly or unexpectedly thrown from your boat, it could be your only chance of survival. Use caution navigating Little River in low light conditions, SLOW DOWN, and pass friendly to other boaters! As always, careful watch for any random floaters and debris in Little River's current, and wearing your PFD and kill switch is a requirement!

    Visit with us on our website, YouTube, and on Facebook, for the most current Millwood Lake fishing and water conditions 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, Arkansas.com and tons more great fishing stuff....

    'Til next week, boat safely, be courteous, wear your life jacket, kill switch, & we'll see you on the lake........

    MS
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