breeves2245

Ok, ya'll got me thinking now. I'm know I'm on the wrong forum for this question, but here goes anyway. If my goal is to have a two day get away and camp/fish maybe I should consider something closer to Eagle Rock as rps mentioned. I have to have a second boat in storage near by. My bass boat will stay home for these trips. Not going to buy a second bass boat and keep it in storage, so thinking an inexpensive 14' Jon rigged up will do me fine. Question - I choose the White because I know it's calm enough for a 14' Jon. How far up toward Table Rock should I consider if I don't want to get into "big water"?. I don't want anything to do with 1-2 foot waves and more in a Jon boat. Early morning topwater bass fishing is by far my preferred fishing. Thanks for the feedback.

I posted this on the FB Beaver Lake page but I really don't like using it, so I'll try here too. I know this ain't Beaver Lake but figured there would be some good advice anyway. I like to fish the White below Beaver a few times a year. Don't care for the 50 min drive from Bella Vista and I'd like to stay a couple of days in my camper. Before I have taken my camper to Prairie Creek and then back home to get my boat. Not too bad as it's a 40 min drive each way. So I started getting it in my head I could buy a 14' Jon boat with a 9.9 and keep it in storage close to either Housman or Holiday Island and go fetch that for the trip after I drop my camper. I'd probably go more often if this idea pans out like I got it in my head. Plus, the Jon would be better on the river than my Lund 1775 Renegade with a 90 hp. Checked Google Maps and will check again for boat storage at either location. Fishing for SM, LM bass, Walleye or whatever. Would Holiday Island be a better choice for camping/launching? I ain't real keen on that Housman launch site.

Thought ya'll may have some interest in this article. https://talkbusiness.net/2024/10/dallas-asset-management-firm-buys-prairie-creek-marina-for-30-million/

Thanks for the report. I was just thinking, do I want to drag out of bed early and hit Beaver for the outside chance of some striper/LM topwater. We are past the summer solstice as of Jun 20. So the 4:30 wake up call will start to push back. If I can't hit the water at first light, I just don't go. I'll keep hitting Loch LoMond in BV (five minute drive) for the early LM topwater bite. Yeah I get some dinks, but lately been getting the one off 3 lb +.

I itching to go. Bringing my camper/boat to Hickory Creek for four days next week. Hope I can report success similar to yours! May have to substitute LM for SM on the lower end.

Same here. Something just doesn't feel right targeting bass on beds. Kinda the same back in the day squirrel hunting, if the squirrel makes it back to the nest for safety, good on him.

Sounds like this trip will make it into the top ten trips for the year. Very nice outing, numbers and size sure makes for a great day. I need to toughen up or get better winter gear. Maybe I need to do both to get on the lake with a north wind and cold temps.

I tried out this boat trailer dolly but it didn't quite work as well as I hoped for my situation. Just want to give it away to someone that could use it. It's brand new, so let me know if any one wants it or knows someone that could use it. Don't want to post on Facebook and go through all the knucklehead responses I'd have to deal with. I live in Bella Vista. I can meet someone at a spot, or they can come pick it up. https://www.vevor.com/trailer-dolly-c_11310/vevor-adjustable-trailer-dolly-1000lbs-tongue-weight-capacity-carbon-steel-trailer-mover-with-19-26-adjustable-height-2-ball-16-pneumatic-tires-universal-wheel-for-moving-rv-trailer-p_010928358953

Really appreciate the detailed response. I'm a swim bait fan for sure, the detail you posted really helps. I guess I have to force myself to hit Indian Creek more often. The gin clear water just puts my confidence factor at about zero. Maybe that is why I feel more comfortable at the upper end with less clarity. I have one spinning outfit rigged with the braid/flouro, I need to setup a couple more and give it the ole college try. My camping dates at Hickory Creek are just to hit the upper end, like you mentioned motoring to the lower end would be too much of a haul. I would just drive from the house to the upper end. I've never tried to target stripers on top water, just beat the bank for large mouth. It does sound like fun. Thanks for the feedback.

Every year I tell myself I'm going to take full advantage of the spring fishing out of War Eagle and the White. I've dabbed some but still have not hit it with a real effort. Got a campsite at Hickory Creek first week of May and another first week of June. So I'll have my camper and boat there for an easy setup to hit it each morning/afternoon. Add to that, I can drive anywhere to a Beaver launch from Bella Vista. I want to target the most active species. Walleye, largemouth/smallmouth bass or white bass. Not too interested in crappie. I need advice on timing and species. Like Feb - Walleye, Mar - white bass or whatever. Back in the rivers or where they merge into the lake, etc. When the higher temps hit in July forward, I'll go back to my bank beating with the topwaters for bass.

Thanks for the report. This coming week the temps are tolerable for me, so I need to get after it while I can.

I sure understand the trek Champ188. In my early teens my fishing buddies and I would go to extreme measures to fish a back section of the local reservoir (Sheldon Reservoir) outside the Houston area. Whole reservoir was muddy except the back portion. It was like a different lake. But it was off limits since the state biologist were doing studies of some sort of the other. Anyway, we'd ride our bikes to a close by location, drop them in the weeds, wade neck deep before sunrise across a small channel to get to the promised land of clearer water. Never mind those pesky cotton mouths and alligators. And there were plentiful! We were always on the alert for the biologist to run us off. As soon as we heard the outboard crank up, we hid in the shore weeds. I cringe just thinking about it today. No amount of money would get me to do that again.

Curiosity got the best of me. Took a drive from Bella Vista to Rocky Branch boat launch this morning. Wanted to motor around Van Hollow and Rambo Creek arm to check them out. Was a bit disappointed with the two boat ramps. Kinda steep and parking not the best. I think I'm spoiled with Prairie Creek. Anyway, Van Hollow was interesting. Lots of trees and some areas it went from 4' to 100' in a short distance. Rambo Creek Arm didn't quite have as many trees and not quite as extreme in changes in depth. It was a fun trip to just check out the drive and overall situation. No fishing, I was just boating around. I want to like Indian Creek but don't care for the drive with the curvy road after you leave Hwy 62 and the intimidating clear water. Conclusion - I'll stick to Prairie Creek and be thankful I have such a nice facility as the closest option.

Most were right on the money. Some were 10-20 ft off. The brush piles were fairly large.

To say I'm not a technical angler is an understatement by a large margin. Based on advice from this forum I did go to the AGFC website and get the fish attractor download for Beaver Lake. Took the SD card to the Humminbird and loaded it up. Only caught a few small ones this morning, but it was a hoot to locate a few of the waypoints where I was fishing around the islands at Prairie Creek. Maybe next time they will hold some fish. The process worked very well and I wasn't having to constantly stare at the fish finder, just glance from time to time to see the distance from boat to waypoint. Something new for the ol bank beater!

Enjoyed reading the report. Thanks for taking to time to post it.

Those both look like a lot of fun on topwater. Is that brown fish as big as it looks? I'm spending a couple days at the Lost Bridge North campground and see if I can do any good. I'll have to dodge some thunderstorms here and there, but so be it.

I just dropped my travel trailer at Lost Bridge North campground. Going to hang out there on Quillback creek, I mean Indian Creek, for a few days and see if I can do any good. Mainly seeking LM and SM bass but I won't complain if I hook up one of the drag screamers!

After spending most of Wednesday breaking in the new boat motor I got to fish this morning. Started down the right side of Avoca Hollow chunking the ol' popper. Overcast and about 55 degrees. WT 60. Got about ten total. Nothing big but several in the 2lb range. Plenty of fun there. More LM this time than spotted on the last trip. Only hit a few dinks when I switched to the paddle tale toward the end. Started at 6:15, had enough by 9:45. A tournament angler I could never be! Saw quite a few beds, only a couple seemed to be occupied.

Thanks for the feedback. I shot Greg an email, so we'll see if he's up to teach a topwater plugger some new techniques!

I did just that when I was at Prairie Creek two weeks ago. HLS in Rogers. Guy at the counter didn't have any to suggest which I thought was odd. Back several years ago I did hire Brad Wiegmann on an electronics only guide trip. Maybe I'll look him up again. I really like pulling the travel trailer and boat to Prairie Creek. I get to fish am/pm for several days in a row!

Or maybe just watch this YouTube. I have Googled for Beaver Lake fishing and have a couple of YouTubers I watch. This one is a bit different for sure. I was going to watch it out of curiosity and was surprised it was for Beaver Lake.

Since my new mission in life is to get well acquainted with Beaver Lake in the Prairie Creek area I keep having the idea of hiring a "teaching guide" for a trip or three. I've been bass fishing since I was 7 yrs old, so it ain't like I need to learn the very basics. But there is a lot of water in that lake, and if I had some half a strategy to eliminate water it would be very helpful. Like fish this area in Apr/May with these types of lures, here in Jun/Jul, etc. Yeah I know I can get all this info by surfing various online sites (like this one!) but being in a boat and actually looking at the coves, flats, whatever is more effective for me. Seems most Beaver guides are striper guides. Anyone know of a good bass guide? Could care less about catching fish, more of an educational tour of the area maybe from Prairie Creek to Ford's Creek or so. Traveling this Saturday to Kansas City to pickup my new Lund 1775 Renegade, so pretty pumped about getting that new rig out there.

Anyone know if the Ventris Public Use Area has changed in the last few years? I remember trying that launch (if you can call it a launch ramp) 10 yrs ago or so. Very long washboard gravel road and no dock.

Took the camper out to the campground Tue/Wed and then back to the house (Bella Vista) for the boat. Tried Coose Hollow on day one and then Prairie Creek arm day two. Beating the bank as I tend to do with a topwater popper and then Tiny Torpedo. Midmorning tried a paddle tail, spinnerbait and DT6 crank bait off the bank a bit. Just ten or so small spots and one largemouth. I blame the high pressure system coming in instead of my below average fishing skills.