• 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

    As of Monday, Millwood Lake remains approx 12 inches above normal conservation pool, near 260.2 ft-msl; and the discharge around 17,000 CFS in Little River according to the USACE. The tailwater below the dam and gates, as of Monday is around 243 ft-msl with discharge at the gates & dam. 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 high flow river conditions.



    Use extreme caution in Little River navigation this week where logs and debris fields are present in the high river flow current conditions this week.

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

    25 more river buoys are in process to complete marking Little River from mile marker 2 through mile 9.

    NO-WAKE ZONES are in effect and marked with no-wake river buoys at White Cliffs Campground boat ramp on Little River.

    Surface temps as of Monday, are ranging near 50ºF early to 54ºF 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 in Little River are in effect. Clarity continues improving in the oxbows with the river receding. Little River is heavy stain, moderate current, and with random broken timber and debris.

    Stain increased again with recent thunderstorms and wind, increased current in Little River over the past few days, and Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility is heavy stain, ranging approx 3-5 inches. Little River's visibility ranges 2-3 inches with current and muddy in many locations. The oxbow's clarity currently improving, ranging approx 10-20 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: This most unseasonably warm week with the lake getting closer to normal pool have the Largemouth Bass back on the hunt. Rat-L-Traps, Chatterbaits, and Spinnerbaits are working again, mainly on roaming and moving up shallow, feeding Bass. RatLTrap MR-6, Echo 1.75, and Little John cranks, have improved again and getting decent responses over the past few days. Anywhere a creek channel is close by to the deeper creek bends or vertical structure and drops into the oxbows, where stumps and creek mouths drop, have held some decent sized bass over the past several weeks and they are moving shallow on these warm February afternoons. The best responses from Largemouth Bass, were during the heat of the afternoon, best from 12pm-3pm. The Largemouths were much more reliable in the oxbows of McGuire and Horseshoe Lakes where the water clarity was drastically better, water temps were warmer, and calm/no river current were present. Bream colored squarebill crankbaits, Little John Custom painted crankbaits in bream and shad patterns, along with Baby Brush Hogs were taking some decent 14-17" Largemouth Bass over the past few days in the clearer water sections of the Oxbows up Little River where clarity was best away from River Current.

    Best reactions have been hitting on RatLTraps & MR-6 or Echo 1.75 medium diving cranks in Ghost Minnow, Red Chrome, Red Shad, Lectric Red, and Craw colors over the past several weeks, and the best activity for the past couple weeks in McGuire Lake and Horseshoe Lake oxbows, up Little River had the most dependable bite. Majority of these roaming Bass were suspending near vertical structure for many hours of the day, and turn on like a light switch for a few hours under the warmest 2-3 hours of daylight, from 5-9 feet depth with 12-48 feet of depth nearby. Custom painted crankbaits in craw patterns, and Brazalo Chatterbaits in Millwood Mayhem Bream, Texas Craw, and Blue Violet using a black frog plastic trailer were catching roaming Largemouth Bass on sunny afternoons up on flats adjacent to vertical drops, in dead lily pad stems from 2-4 pounds each.

    Cordell or Kastmaster spoons, were connecting with vertical suspended Bass from 10-15 feet, where the water clarity was much better away from muddy current and high flow in Little River.

    White Bass: Whites have been roaming up Little River and the oxbows, and staging in preparation for a spawning run, along creek mouths in junctions with the river. Heavy thumping 3/4 and 1 oz Rat-L-Traps in Millwood Magic, chrome, or Splatterback colors, cranked very slow and deep behind primary or secondary points caught some decent Whites over the past week from 12-16 feet deep. A chrome 3/4oz Cordell hammered spoon with a red/white hair bucktail vertical jigging behind primary points near the bottom where stumps were located on the backside of points, were connecting with a few nice sized 2-3 pound Whites again this week. Just out of the current were where the White Bass have been staging, in creek mouths and hammering Tennessee Shad squarebill crankbaits and RatLTraps.

    Most of the White Bass remain staging along Little River, stacked up behind points, just out of current, from 12-15 feet deep were most reliable locations. Medium running Fat Free Guppy cranks in Tennessee Shad or Citrus Shad were picking up a few Whites that were near the top of school of the same suspended Whites. With the unseasonably warm water temps we are seeing, the White Bass are roaming Little River in preparation for a final blast run up to US Highway 71 and Patterson Shoals for annual spawning in a few weeks if nothing changes, and water temps stay in the 50ºF range. White Bass were found again this week between Wilton Landing and entrance to McGuire Lake along Little River where points intersect with creek mouths dumping into the river, although the water was muddy and had lots of current. If these water temperatures stay in the mid 50's again for another week, the White Bass Spawning Run is about to be ON. See photo attached.

    Spotted Bass/Kentuckies: No Report.

    Crappie: Improved in the oxbows where the clarity is improved near standing timber. Vertical jigging Blakemore Roadrunners, 1/8 oz hair jigs, Southern Pro Little Hustler tubes in Smoke Shiner or Golden Shiner were getting bit from 12-16' deep on standing timber. Minnows were working where the water clarity was best. We even picked up a few Crappie on 1/4oz RatLTrap-Spin Traps near Cypress trees recently (photo attached).

    Cats: Have been very consistent over the past few weeks with the increased current along Little River. 3-4 pound Channel Cats have been biting chicken gizzards & hearts, Punch baits, and ivory soap over the last week on trot lines from 9-12 feet of depth in current.



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


    Millwood Lake is now approx 1 foot above normal conservation pool with heavy current in Little River due to recent thunderstorms, currently near 260.2 ft-msl; and the discharge around 17,000 CFS in Little River according to the USACE. The tailwater below the dam and gates, as of Monday is around 243 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 high current release rates at the Millwood Dam.

    Navigation is cautioned this week again, as Little River current condition has high discharge rates and use caution in Little River navigation where logs and debris fields are present in the high river flow current conditions, watching for broken timber, random limbs and floaters.

    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 along Little River. Use caution in Little River where buoys are yet to be replaced, 25 more river buoy markers are in process to be replaced.

    Unseaslonably warm weather over the past couple weeks have surface temps as of Monday, ranging in the 50ºF early to 54ºF late in the day, 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 in Little River is muddy with high flow rates. As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 3-5 inches. Little River's visibility with current, is improving, the river clarity ranges 2-3 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity currently ranging approx 10-15 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. The oxbows are better near the back, and Little River with high discharge rates and current is muddy. Use extreme caution navigating Little River.

    Be sure to note, NO WAKE ZONE marked and in affect on Little River at White Cliffs Campground, is 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!!



    'Get The Net.............

    Mike Siefert
    Owner/Operator
    www.MillwoodGuideService.com
    P.O.Box 4957
    Texarkana, AR/TX/USA 75505-4957
    Shop: 870-772-6840


    "Your fun we take seriously, so you don't have to!"

    """"""""GOFISH""""<º)))><{{"""""""""""

    [IMG]file:///C:\Users\MOA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\cl ip_image002.jpg[/IMG]
    "Some Photos courtesy, Jason Sealock"
    Thanks for your interest in
    Millwood Lake Guide Service ~ Arkansas' Best Bass Fishing!


    """"""""GOFISH""""<º)))><{{"""""""""""

    Come see what all the excitement's about! Southwest Arkansas' best bassin' getaway! Watch our videos on Youtube and FaceBook by searching keywords: Millwood Lake Guide Service!!


    30+ years in the professional guide business on Millwood Lake since 1990, and over 5 million Florida Bass stocked by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission! Let us help YOU, GET OUT THERE!
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