Millwood Lake's 2 foot drawdown ended September 30 and is now slightly above normal conservation pool currently 259.5 ft-msl; and the discharge around 3700 CFS in Little River according to the USACE. The tailwater below the dam and gates, as of Monday is around 227 ft-msl. Be sure and check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on our website helpful link page, or at the US Army Corps of Engineers website for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels, especially during drawdown conditions.


USE EXTREME CAUTION IN THE UPPER END OF THE BOAT LANE FROM THE HIGH LINE TO THE LITTLE GAS LINE CUTOFF AND WATCH FOR MISSING OR DAMAGED TELEPHONE POLE LANE MARKERS and NUMEROUS RIVER BUOYS are MISSING along Little River from Paraloma Trail to main lake clear-cut.


USACE recently replaced 19 missing buoy markers on Little River from Yarborough Point to Paraloma Trail, USE CAUTION where river buoys are still missing.


NO-WAKE ZONES are in effect at White Cliffs Campground on Little River.


Surface temps as of Monday, are ranging near 77ºF early to 80ºF range later under full sun, depending on location. Continue to use caution in navigation on Little River and Millwood watching for stumps, random broken, or floating timber while the planned, two foot drawdown remains in effect. Clarity consistent from last week, improving daily.


More stain increased with current in Little River over the past week, and Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility is moderate stain, ranging approx 3-5 inches. Little River's visibility ranges 5-6 inches with heavy to moderate stain, depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity currently ranging approx 10-12 inches depth of visibility 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 Trey Shelton 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 Millwood Project information line at 888-697-9830 or the US Army Corps of Engineers' main number to verify another Corp of Engineers project is open, at 877-444-6777. Call the Millwood State Park at 870-898-2800. Call the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for an officer, biologist, or to report AGFC regulation violation at 800-482-9262. Also reach the US Corps of Engineers at 870-898-3343 for more information about drawdown conditions, Millwood Lake project work, or to report/inquire regarding safety or navigation hazards directly to the US Army Corps of Engineers Tri Lakes Project Office at Millwood.

The Details:


Largemouth Bass: The Largemouth Bass continue improving their feeding binges, and over the past few days with cooler temps during early morning, the overall surface activity improved in the pads and on shallow flats adjacent to creek channel swings. Bass were moving in an out of lily pad stands and blowing up with an improved consistency on Bass Assassin Shads on light wire Owner hook, Chrome Johnson Spoons with a 3" curly tail grub in pearl, white, or snow storm trailer. This shallow, lily pad bite can break into a frenzy in several different areas at the same time. 2 anglers caught over 20 Bass on Bass Assassins and Spoons in short order a few days ago where the bass were breaking on shad chasing them into the lily pads and blowing up. The Largemouths are following these schools of shad and chasing them at the surface again with improved consistency over the past week. Squarebill crankbaits like the Echo 1.75 in shad patterns and Ghost Minnow. The Bomber Fat Free Frys that run 4-5' deep are also catching these schooled up Bass. We caught several doubles simultaneously the other day with shallow Little John cranks and Bass Assassins and Squarebills, in fact several times we doubled up, catching 2 Bass on a single crankbait happened more than once, see photos attached! Yum Tip Toads have been getting good reactions over the past few weeks. We have been dipping the feet of the Tip Toad in JJ's Magic chartreuse dipping dye for a trigger/splash of color for a different appearance. Good lily pad stands remain in Mud Lake and Horseshoe Lake and where a creek channel is close by to the deeper creek bends with lily pads, have held good chunky bass willing to blow up, chasing shad in the lily pads, and exploding on a Bass Assassin or Frog or a weedless spoon on these cooler mornings over the past week.


Over the past week, the schooling Bass are back surface breaking in the oxbows again, Horseshoe and McGuire Lake, a couple of best areas on these mostly adolescents and juvenile Bass. Clear Baby Torpedoes, chrome black back Cordell Crazy Shads, Heddon Spit'n Image, and Rat-l-Trap Stuttersteps are working again on the early morning breaking yearling schooling Bass when surface breaking. Mostly, juvenile Bass, were randomly breaking for 30-60 seconds at a time, early just after dawn in the backs of several oxbows up Little River. When the Bass are not surface breaking, you can still locate the large schools on your electronics. These large schools of juveniles and adolescent Largemouths, when not surface feeding on shad, can still be caught randomly using Bomber Fat Free Shads and Fat Free Frys, in Tennessee Shad or Citrus Shad colors, along with jigging a Cordell hammered spoons, tail spinner Rat-L-Traps, and a 3/4oz War Eagle Underspins using a 3-4" pearl or white grub trailer.


RatLTrap MR-6 medium diving cranks in Millwood Magic, Threadfin Shad, or Louisiana Shad colors and Bomber Fat Free Shads and Frys have been getting reactions over the past several weeks, on the fringes of large schools of juvenile Black and White Bass chasing Shad in the mouths of creek dumps into Little River and in the oxbows. Several anglers hooked into a nice mixed school of Largemouth and White Bass over the past couple weeks by trolling crankbaits and spoons in McGuire Lake and Horseshoe Lake oxbows, up Little River. Trolling medium to medium-deep, crankbaits from 6-12 feet deep, continue to be a good method to locate large, mixed-bag schools of Black and White Bass, this time of year in the oxbows and in Little River or Saline River for the ganged-up Bass following Shad. Once you locate a large blob or school of shad on your electronics, that is a good place to begin slow trolling crankbaits from 30-40 yards behind the boat. Most of these schooled up Bass are suspending under the Shad from 12-15 feet deep.


War Eagle Underspins, Heddon Rattling Sonar, or Heddon Gay Blade will be able to cast and reach any surface breaking Bass that may randomly appear.


Over the past several weeks, 1-2 pound Spotted Bass, with a few White Bass in the mix, schooled up and hitting jigging spoons in Little River behind primary points, on the fringes of current from 6-9am and the bite shuts off almost like a light switch. We are vertical jigging chrome, and hammered Cordell, or Kastmaster, and Johnson 1/2-3/4oz jigging spoons in chrome/blue, chrome/chartreuse, or solid chrome and War Eagle Underspins. The Bass seem to prefer the jigging spoon and Underspins, behind points and just out of the slow river current, where stumps are in 8-12 feet of depth on backside of the points. The War Eagle Underspins in white or Smokey Joe colors are working in the same manner, using a 3" white grub single tail trailer.


In addition, we are still vertical jigging a Cordell Gay Blade, Heddon Rattling Sonar Flash, or a RatLTrap Spin Trap when the bite slows. Seems like lately, the rattling blade baits will wake them up if the bite tapers off and by changing from a jigging spoon to a Rattling Sonar Flash or Tail Spin RatLTrap, we sometimes will pick up another few bites in the same location with the same schools of mixed up Largemouth, Spots, and Whites. We assume that all 3 Bass species are feeding on the same school of threadfin shad, and were working in harmony to keep them corralled behind the point, and out of the current of Little River, making it easier on the entire school to feed without chasing the shad very far.


White Bass: Whites continue roaming and schooling up with juvenile Largemouths and Spotted Bass following shad in Little River at creek dumps and the oxbows at dawn, most surface breaking diminished over the past couple weeks in Horseshoe and McGuire Lakes in the oxbows up Little River. Bomber Fat Free Shads, Fingerlings, and Fat Free Guppy cranks in Tennessee Shad or Citrus Shad were catching a mixed bag of Bass following schools of shad along both sides of points extending into Little River with stumps present. Best colors were the Citrus Shad, Tennessee Shad, and Louisiana Shad colors over the past couple weeks. Some mouths of creek dumps held very large schools of Whites and Kentucky Bass over the past several weeks along the river.


Spotted Bass/Kentuckies: For several weeks, juvenile and adolescent Kentucky Bass have been roaming and schooled up with the Largemouths and White Bass chasing Shad. Spin-tail Rat-L-Traps, Bomber Fat Free Frys, and Fat Free Shads in Citrus Shad or Tennessee Shad colors were catching some Spotted bass from 1-2 pounds over the past couple weeks, near creek mouth junctions and points extending into the river.


Crappie: The best thing we can figure is, the Crappie scattered over the past week with the increased current in Little River and increase in off color, increased water stain. Blakemore Roadrunners in white, white/chartreuse, or blue/chartreuse and minnows and white and blue jigs were getting bit a couple weeks ago by vertical jigging near standing timber in Horseshoe.


Cats: Improved over the past week with the increased current in Little River. Hanging yoyo's in Little River from cypress trees using hot dogs and blood bait were working over the last week.






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




Millwood's 2' Drawdown was complete 30 September. Millwood Lake is now slightly above normal conservation pool currently 259.5 ft-msl; and the discharge around 3700 CFS in Little River according to the USACE. The tailwater below the dam and gates, as of Monday is around 227 ft-msl. Be sure and check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on our website helpful link page, or at the US Army Corps of Engineers website for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels, especially during drawdown conditions.


USE CAUTION IN THE UPPER END OF THE BOAT LANE FROM THE HIGH LINE TO THE LITTLE GAS LINE CUTOFF AND WATCH FOR MISSING OR DAMAGED TELEPHONE POLE LANE MARKERS and NUMBERS of MISSING RIVER BUOYS ARE STILL ABSENT FROM YARBOROUGH TO TO THE CLEARCUT ON OPEN WATER!


USACE recently replaced 19 river buoy markers from Yarborough Point to Paraloma Trail. Use caution in Little River where buoys are yet to be replaced.


Surface temps as of Monday, are ranging in the 77ºF early to 80ºF range, depending on location.


Wear your life jacket and kill switch and watch for obstructions, floaters, broken limbs, logs, and debris along Little River during navigation. NO-WAKE ZONES are in effect at White Cliffs Campground on Little River.

Clarity and visibility moderate stain, but muddy further up river. As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 3-5 inches. Little River's visibility is more stained further up river, but improving down to the main lake, the river clarity ranges 5-6 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity currently ranging approx 10-12 inches depth of visibility depending on location. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds, rain, or thunderstorms.

Be sure to note, NO WAKE ZONE in affect on Little River at White Cliffs Campground, being enforced by AGFC.


To volunteer for one of the cleanup dates or ramp and USACE park information, contact Trey Shelton 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 AGFC Florida Bass Stocking Program photos, The US Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas.com and tons more great fishing stuff....


Use extreme caution in navigation, wear your life jacket and let us know how we can help you GET OUT THERE!!