Duke 59

private docks are permitted, but have to be approved by Corps. of Engineers.

Does anyone know about a boat that burnt yesterday at the end of the Avoca arm? It was late afternoon yesterday. I saw the smoke from our house, but was too far away to get much detail. The boat was up against shore and they put the fire out with one of the fire and rescue boats. I don't know how it happened and hope no one was injured. They just now loaded the boat on a trailer and pulled it out. With my binoculars I could see that it looks like a pretty large fiberglass speed boat with an inboard motor. The entire interior of the hull was black and burnt. Praying for no one hurt.

I have never ventured south of the 12 bridge, this is my first year here and have only fished the prairie creek area and the islands. I plan on maybe going as far as horseshoe unless I get lucky and find some stripers that keep me busy before i get that far. I was wondering if there are any stretches that I should be careful since the water level is getting lower? Are there areas that are full of submerged timber? Would you just follow the channel or would you go back into some of the coves or arms? Any help would be appreciated....at least I'm excited to see a new part of the lake. Thanks, greg

I definitely did not see any shad shallow. In fact even when i was marking some fish, they didn't seem to be on bait. I guess I was just looking at the wrong places.

Went out today from noon to 5 hoping to find some stripers in the prairie creek area. Started off bad as I was going to get some gas at the marina....but didn't realize it was closed. I think the sign on the door said it was closed for the holidays from Dec 22 to Jan 8th. I have a hard time understanding how they can be closed for that long. There are hundred of boat owners renting slips from them, there is a lot of traffic using the boat ramp, yet they close. I know I just moved here this year, so I'm still learning how things work, but it seems to me that the marina is there to serve this public lake and should have an obligation to have some open hours. I thought I had enough gas to go where I planned, so I started out and went over to Coose. Made it all the way to the back of the arm...didn't see any fish on the graph, no bait balls and no birds. When I got to the back I did see another boat waving at me. I went over and they were having battery problems and needed a tow. I gladly pulled them back to the prairie creek boat ramp....definitely would want help if I needed it. Now my gas level is getting lower so I headed over to the islands and again saw very little activity on the graph, so headed back home. Water temps were around 42 in the shallow areas in the back of Avoca, Prairie Creek and Coose....in open deep water it was around 45/46. I did mark quite a few bass or crappie around the marina. Great weather and time on the lake.....just no fish.....and I didn't run out of gas....but will if I go out again. Greg

This is my first winter here on beaver and need advice. The last time I was out was about 3 weeks ago. I was fishing for stripers and was able to find some in the prairie creek area, up some of the arms. Now that it is much colder, do I need to move further south...below the bridge, or am I ok staying here closer to the marina. such as coose or prairie creek arms? Probably will try going out on friday, if the forecast holds. Thanks, greg

Thanks guys for all the advice....I caught my first striper today.....not real big, but 22 inches

Ok, thanks for the help so far, but here is another question. I went out this morning and went to all the spots I have been marking fish this past week and today not so much. There was no top water activity and not as much bait present. I did mark some fish in a few spots, but they did not look like there were very active. I went ahead and tried fishing those spots. The tight line set up with the egg sinker worked fine and I know I can control it and it's depth. I caught two largemouth bass....both just under 15 inches. One my second rod, I tried to free line and only had the hook. I let out line and the brooder took it away....my question is how is that set up supposed to be working? Does the brooder usually try to go to the bottom or stay on top or anywhere in between. What is better or different about doing the free line instead of the tight line with sinker? I did catch another largemouth on this rod as well. I'm going back out late this afternoon and try again. Thanks, greg

This is my first fall on the lake and I bought my first brooder minnows tonight. Tomorrow will by my first try with them. One way I have read about is to free line....I am assuming that means to hook the brooder without any weights and cast them out behind the boat....letting the minnow go where they want. Another method is to try to target the minnow to a specific depth if you see the stripers holding at a certain depth. My question is how do you connect the weight to the line and how much weight is needed? I know drifting is one approach...but can you also use your trolling motor to move around with the lines out? Any other suggestions would be appreciated....I'm really excited to try this out and tomorrow looks to be a nice day. Thanks, Greg

This is my first year on Beaver Lake and was wondering when would you normally see stripers moving back to the prairie creek area? Will they stay in the prairie creek area most of the winter, or will they continue to migrate further down river?

I don't live around here, but I am currently visiting to look at some land to possibly build a house and then move here. My question is if the weather has been cold enough yet in order to control the chiggers out in the woods. This summer when I was last here, if I didn't have a lot of bug spray on, I would be eaten alive. What do you think.....heavy bug spray or not? Thanks for any input

I am looking at some property with a dock and wonder how low the lake has gone in the past? I went to the Corps of Engineers website and I found lake level data that goes back to 2010, but not further. With those years is shows it got down to around 1108 in 2012 and 2013. I want to know how low it could go so I know how it will affect this dock location. Thanks for any help, Greg

My wife and I are considering moving to beaver lake and building on the lake. I have found a potential lot and was wondering what everyone thought of it's location for year round fishing. I have read many of the reports and documents F&F has posted that describes the migration of species throughout the year. I know the stripers will travel all the way from the dam to down below in the river sections...but if I didn't what to only chase stripers could I find other species year round close to the lot? This lot is located about 1.25 miles south of the 12 bridge. What would my fishing prospects be throughout the year if I didn't travel more than say 5 miles in either direction? Thanks for everyone's help. I love the sharing on this site, and if we do move to the lake I hope to be able to share what I find. Thanks, greg

We have been at the lake for several days now and the family is having a great time, but I have a question. I took the small grandkids out this morning andcaught a bunch of small bluegills. They had fun and I kept 10 of them to use tomorrow for stripers. I'm wondering what type of location I should try them at and best technique? We are staying close to point #4. Should I be trying points or back in coves? Thanks for any help.

I'm getting excited about the June trip. If one of the places we try is Fishtrap (it is real close to where we are staying) and we try for stripers.....how would you suggest we fish? Should we try to find some shad and fish live bait or would we do any good with artificial?