Cody Smith

The fishing is really picking up down here in a Hurry! The walleyes and the smallies have been hit and miss with the best location's being on the windy points and bluffs in 22 - 30 feet of water with wood and rock. The walleyes on the flats are cruising with bait and suspended about 7 feet off the bottom in 40 feet of water. Now the hybrids are pumping pretty good early in the mornings from daybreak up until 9 or 10 o'clock then back down but still tracking the bait. What part of the lake are you going to be on while your here?

Greers Ferry is currently a foot below normal pool and slowly falling with short daily water releases from the corp. The bite on most species is picking up with Hybrids, Kentucky's and catfish being the best bite for now. We are also picking up a few walleye's mixed in most days as well. Water surface temps are starting out around 78.5 degrees and peaking during the afternoons around 82 degrees. When the surface temperatures drop another 5 degrees we will see all game fish make a very big surge in feeding activity and start to push towards the backs of the creeks and pockets. The best bite for the Kentucky's has been in 22 - 32 feet of water still on the drop shot,shaky head and live crawler. The fish are really piled into specific areas, meaning if you catch one you really need to slow down and concentrate on picking them off one at a time. During the last few days it has not been uncommon to catch 10 - 15 spot's in on location within a very small area. Some really nice 2 and 3lbers are coming in every trip out and are a blast to catch because of the high action level. In these same location's we have been coming across some smallies with a few being in the 2lb. range but no biguns to boast about. Look for Sheer drops of bluff points and banks with Huge Boulder rock, find one of these locals and you will be in the fish. Some small wolf packs of large mouth's have pushed into pockets and creeks that are harboring bait. Look for brush piles in 7 - 10 feet of water just off of secondary points and primary turns in the main channel for success. Flukes, Pop-R's, Swim Bait's, jerk bait's, Jig's and C-rigs should be considered depending on structure present. Not all pockets, creeks and trib's are holding bait right now and the ones without the shad should be avoided. The hybrids are continuing to wreck the bait fish in the morning hours up to about 10 am. After the hot morning bite the action slows and it's time to pursue our other game fish. Huge schools of bait are cruising from the 1 foot zone out to 20 feet deep in water as deep as 180 feet. Just last week we where on top of a huge school that literally caused my Lowrance to read a false bottom of 22 feet deep for an extended period of time. When I say there is a lot of bait available I mean it! Big in-line spinners, flukes and spoons are number one when fishing for this species. The majority of the catfish we are catching are coming out of small flats just off the main channel in 4 - 18 feet of water with the nose stuck on the bottom. live crawlers and minnows fished on an 1/8 oz. lead head are catching double digits everyday. If you have any question's regarding our area please drop me a line or give me a call and I will get back with you as soon as I'm off the water, Good Fishing~

Hello folks! At the time of this forecast Greers Ferry is hovering around normal pool of 461.3 ft above msl. Surface temperatures on the lake are ranging from 84 - 88 degrees depending on time of day and location on the reservoir. August brought heavy lake traffic with the school kids getting in a few last trips to the water before starting back full time. Overall we had slightly above normal rainfall and below normal average temperatures for the month. Look for the wet weather to continue into the fall with the current El Nino weather pattern we are experiencing. Another factor to consider this month is tropical storms and hurricanes always bring us some rain during a typical September. The reservoir can rise multiple feet per day with above average rain and thunderstorms during this month. I look for this September to be a great start to an awesome fall of fishing here on Greers Ferry. Water temperatures and bait fish locations this month will rule the roost. We will start the month with water surface temperatures in the mid 80's with lower water temperatures into the mid to upper 70's by the last couple of weeks during September. Once water surface temperatures reach that 78 degree mark there will be an extremely good bite on all species. The Largemouth bass population will start to push into creeks and pockets off of the main lake during this month. Look along timber edges on flats with small to medium size rock, old roadbeds and secondary points in the 6 - 14 feet zone. We are starting to see some really nice 2 - 4 lber's showing up in these location's already. These fish are coming in fresh to these areas that have not been widely used since mid to late spring. These locations are now harboring bait and a bit more dissolved oxygen with the cooling water. The early morning top water bite has been really good all summer and will only get better this month. Stick with your top waters early and late, transition with your swim baits and small profile crank baits at opportune times and during the middle portion of the days go deep with your offering. If live bait is not an option a few lures to keep on hand this month will be Strike King Bitsy Bug's (1/Oz.) paired with a Net Bait Paca Chunk trailer, medium profile swim baits, Large Pop-R's in natural colors, shaky head rigged finesse worms and Carolina rigged french fries or fish Dr.'s. Our small mouth and spotted bass here on Greers will still be a tad deeper than there cousin's the largemouth this month. Look for these fish to be really relating to wind blown points and bluffs that are holding the majority of our thread fin shad population. Early morning and later in the evenings the fish will school up pretty tight, baby flukes and Pop-R type baits will get a better bite than walk the dog type baits like the sammy or spook when considering top water presentations. The bitsy but and shaky head will be top producers this month while the fish are deeper and holding tighter to structure during the peak of the day. Fish thorough and slow to maximize your bites in one location. If there is moderate to heavy wind blowing in on one of these key areas a drop shot rig with a live crawler or finesse worm can not be beat. Now for our toothy friend the walleye; they will be on the move this month. If we get cooler than normal water temperatures the bite will pick up fast as they will be feeding up before the winter months. Look for here today, gone tomorrow type scenarios with our eyes. Depths of 22 - 34 feet will be the major target zone. Location's to note when pursuing this specie are bluffy points with both rock and wood. Longer gravel points with chunk rock that leads into a main channel location and sharp channel swings along bluff lines in major creeks and on the main lake. A whole night crawler fished on a bottom bouncer rig or lead head jig will get the most attention near structure. When you come across suspended fish, custom made spoons (Fred's Fish Dinner Lures (501) 362-5303) will shine. The hybrids and white bass have been somewhat troublesome this summer. There is a lot of bait scattered throughout the reservoir and you never quite know which school they are going to work on. Early mornings and late evenings have been and will continue to be the best time to pursue the active schools until later into October and November when these fish typically put on a predictable show throughout the day. Large Fish Dinner Lure custom 1/2 oz. in-line spinners and spoons are tops when pursuing these fish. The large in-line spinners are very effective because of the range you can cover with them. Long cast are a must, stay off the top of the schools and you will have a much more positive day on the water. Catfish are a plenty right now in Greers Ferry. Night Crawlers, Prepared baits, Liver and whole sun fish are the top choices when pursuing our whiskered friends. Trot-lines along creek channels, Jugs in the 15 - 22 feet range on flats and the inside portion of main lake points are holding eating size fish. As we get closer to fall and cooler temperatures take over there will be an even bigger surge of feeding activity. The larger trophy size blues are going to be deep, 55 - 75 feet of water in main channel turns with standing timber will produce some monsters in the lb. + class. Our Bluegill are holding in the deeper water of the bays and pockets just off the main lake. Depth's of 18 - 26 feet are holding the large gill's. Red wigglers and half night crawlers on a 1/8 oz. lead head jig will get the stringer weighted down. With average rain, temperatures and condition's September will be a great time to be on the water. There will be a lot less recreational traffic this month and the fishing will be heating up as the temperatures recede. Good luck out there and I will see you on the water <;><. If you have any question's about this report or would like to book a day on the water with myself, please contact me via e-mail or phone at:smittyc888@hotmail.com or (501) 691-5701, Fishing Greers Ferry Lake and The Little Red River, Cody S. Smith

X 2 Some really great gear, you can't go wrong with the pro qualifier or the 100 mph, Keeps me dry~

Hey folks, Greers is currently at 462.00 feet and on the fall. We experienced over 12"'s of rain during the month of July which ended up as the wettest on record. The lake still refused to get above a foot high with all the rain. We had water releases from the dam the helped keep the stage close to pool or slightly above. Water surface temps are ranging from 85 - 89 degrees depending on time of day and location on the reservoir. Thread fin Shad, Shad and More Shad..... Basically the key to success right now all over the lake. If you have got the bait, you have got all types of game fish in and around your area. We have been catching some really nice walleye's mixed in with the hybrids as of late. Best I can figure is most of the eye's are coming in from open water with the bait. We have been catching them with a variety of tactics; spoon's, harness rigs, c-rigs, drop shot's and the old stand by lead head and crawler. Depth's that are holding the greatest numbers have been in the 25 - 37 foot zone depending on location. Our hybrids have been a little tuff during the day but early morning's and late evenings are starting to shine. They have finally bunched up pretty good and when they are going you have a chance to boat a whole load of them. Custom Large in-line spinners,(Fish Dinner Lures, FRED, 501-362-5303) can not be beat when the fish are surfacing. We have been catching our bigger fish much deeper while presenting 1/2 oz. spoons to cruising fish in the 40 foot range over 80+ feet of water. Main Lake Channel swings and minor creek channel turns in the pockets are holding most of the hybrids and whites we are catching during the day. Our smallies are really relating to smaller rock piles that are located on large chunk and boulder rock at bluff ends and longer points with sheer drops into the main channel. Finesse worms and smaller jigs like the Strike King Bitsy bug are catching these fish. Stick to natural colors and smaller profile trailers with solid paddles that create a swimming action like the rage craw to prevent short strikes. There are also some good fish schooling on bait early and late in these location's. Pop-R's, spooks and baby flukes are killer when you have got actively schooling fish. The largemouth are stuck on long tapering points at the roll offs and relating to any cover available on these location's. It can be rock, wood, gravel, or just a mixed bottom. Depths have been as little as 16 feet all the way out to 28 feet depending on the point. There are some smaller fish shallower but the majority of the larger fish are deep and holding tight to the bottom. Crawlers, Finesse Worms, Jigs and c-rigs are boating fish with the smaller profile bait's collectively getting more bites. The crawler is still number one when it comes to numbers and size. Use live bait if you have the option right now. Our catfish population is finishing up the last spawning phase of the summer. With that being said you can catch them shallow just inside pockets and creek mouths up on the flats and top of points with sand and gravel mixed over a hard bottom. Crawlers fished on an 1/8oz. lead (6- 15 feet) head jig are producing the whiskered fish in my boat. Some location's are better than others and we have not been waiting around on the fish, they are either there and ready to eat or not. If we give it 15 min. or so and no action I'm off to another location when trying to catch these fish. School is going to be starting back up over the next couple of weeks and lake traffic will be starting to wind back down for the summer. With us being just a month away from Labor Day, I can hardly wait to have this lake to myself again. Good Luck and please contact me if you have any question's about our area or would like to book a day on the water~<;><

Hello there ladies and gentleman, Greers Ferry is currently slightly above normal pool at the time of this report. We had heavy rains and cooler weather move into the area over the last couple of weeks of July. This was welcomed by fish and fisherman alike. We had really high water temperatures up into the low 90's the second week of July and they have now retreated back into the middle 80's. Look for temperatures to rise again if we have a string of warmer (hot) days. August marks the beginning of the end for our warming weather. Almanac's point to August the 16th as the time as temperature reversal. We will hit our peak average temperature by this date and then it's on to cooling weather and water and on to better fishing. However, I can't complain as this summer has fished as good or better than any other for myself on this body of water. The walleye bite is on and off with the weather. Some days are producing decent numbers while others not so much. Most of the walleye population is holding in 28 - 36 feet of water. The actively feeding eyes are coming out of 18 - 24 feet of water before they retreat back out to greater depths. Small thread fin shad and some larger gizzard shad are number one on there diet right now, in turn the fish are moving around a lot. We have been connecting with them while dragging bottom bouncer style rigs and the trusty lead head jig and crawler set up. Look for the bite to get better as we get deeper into the fall season. When the bait starts moving to the back's of the pockets and creeks look for these fish to move with them. During this month focus on select main lake points with good structure that holds bait along with main lake humps, islands and rock piles to hold the majority of fish. Our hybrid population is so disorganized this year, really it's kind of strange them not all working together like they typically do this time of year. Instead of having 2 or 3 large wads of fish....we are dealing with 8 - 12 smaller schools and they are constantly on the move. Once they come up you have to get on them fast in order to boat some active fish and then keep moving and try to stay with them while they cruise. We have had the best luck casting big in-line spinners (custom made local baits) and covering Masses of water to stay in the action. Check out Golden Outdoors (www.goldenoutdoors.net) in Heber Springs for the best selection of this type of tackle. During this month the old bucket mouth's are feeding at opportune time's throughout the day and should continue. They have been providing some decent action in depth's of 26 - 34 feet on slow roll off style point's and ledges that are really close to flat's that top out in 6- 12 feet of water. With cooler night's like we have had the last week of July look for them to get shallow in a hurry if the water starts going the other way. We are still sometime from them pushing in the creeks and pockets but they will get up in that thermocline and feed heavy if and when the bait is there. C-Rigs, Shakey Heads, Jigs and cranks will all produce this month along with live bait option's. The live bait will out produce artificial until we get closer to fall. Our smallies have been and will continue to be scattered this month. Some of the fish are and will be on big rock location's adjacent to the channel and main lake point's while others are settled and staged along steeper bluffs and really free ranging along with the bait. We have caught our bronze backs in 80 feet of water and 8 feet of water. Look for September and October to come on fire if you want to catch a trophy smallie. Kentucky (spotted) bass are a guide's dream fish. They bite hard, feed aggressively and are almost always willing to bite. We have done really well this past month with the spot's and I look to continue into August with a dependable bite from my most dependable game fish. Drop Shot rigs with a whole night crawler or a light lead head and crawler set-up will almost always guarantee you some fish in the boat. Timber lines located along deeper breaks and ledges are holding the majority of these fish with main lake humps and rocks coming in a near second place. Look at depths of 18 - 32 feet deep in the water column and let light penetration and current condition's dictate where you start. Good Luck out there this August and Get ready because fall is right around the corner and it's going to be a great bite~ <;><

Hello there folks, Warm, Dry and a foot and a half high here at Greers with surface water temps back down to the 86 - 88 degree mark. Action on most trips has been steady for over a couple of weeks now. We went through a little lull getting into the full summertime grind, now we are in the dead middle of it and fishing is consistent. I have been running 90% of my trips out of the north end of the lake and fishing has been much more predictable up there than down here on my home Peter Creek end. Catch rates have been anywhere from 20 - 60+ fish depending on the day. There is definitely a curve that one must conquer in order to be successfull. Generally we can make this happen within a few hours, I encourage all skill types to come and wet a hook, once you understand the method you will be boating plenty of fish. Kentucky's have been by far our most aggressive fish along with some huge Bluegill's in the 9" - 11" class. However, we have been catching a few walleye's, hybrids, LM, SM, and several Catfish on most trip's out depending on method used and fish the client's would like to target. The Hybrid fishing has been up and down like a roller coaster, With some mornings being absolutely amazing with fish activity and other's not so much as a tail breaking the surface. Large in-line spinners have been key in catching these fish as they are traveling a lot of water and not really being predictable and staying in a certain area. Our walleye population is settling into the summer pattern with a few fish still up relatively shallow in as little as 18 feet of water and as deep as 41 feet of water. Thorough is a must when pursuing these fish. Large Crawlers on an 1/8 oz. lead head are still catching my fish. The spoon bite should be picking up here sometime soon in the 29 - 32 foot mark on the flats in deeper water and pockets. The small mouth I have been catching are hanging tight to the steeper points, bluff ends and channel swing bluffs that are holding shad. Most all of the SM's we have seen have been gorged on Thread fin shad in the 2" - 3" size. Spooks, Chuggers, Jerk bait's and Flukes will catch the suspended schooling fish early and late. The Large mouth's have been very unpredictable with some days feeding heavy and other's not so much. 22 - 24 feet of water with some type of brush is holding the largest of the green fish. We have caught several in the 4lb. class over the last few weeks. Good fish but you have to work for them.... Please let me know if you have any question's or would like to book a date, I have been extremely busy as of late so Please Call me with any request <;><

Hello All, the summer's heat has definitely arrived. Days in the upper 90's and heat index's in the 100's have been the norm so far early into this summer. These warm day time temperatures and warmer night's have sky rocketed the water surface temperatures to the mid to upper 80's. Typically we do not see these number's until the latter part of July and into August, not so for 2009. Fishing has been really well overall with a few tuff day's in between. However, even on the hardest of days we have managed to put decent numbers of fish in the boat. Greers Ferry is still slightly above normal summer pool of 461.4 feet and on the fall back to normal summer levels. June started out extremely wet and provided a lot of places for bait fish to hide and survive. After the past two springs of copious amounts of rain, this reservoir is quickly turning into a premier fishing destination. Last month I had the privilege of fishing with Bill Burnett of Big River Marine, (870)732-9300, we had a great day on the water boating Cat's, Walleye's, Largemouth, Small mouth and a few spot's. A great trip out and even better company on the water. The walleye bite has pulled off slightly since May, however eye's are still being boated every trip out and providing good solid action for those that choose to pursue this tasty fish. Like all great fishing trips that end with a story we had a couple of eye's hooked up this month that where easily in the 15lb class but where unsuccessfully in getting them to the boat. Folk's, there is definitely another world record fish spending it's days in our fine reservoir. Your best bet for catching these fish is to keep it simple, key in on channel swing areas with rock and wood cover in 18 - 32 feet of water. Rig a night crawler on an 1/8 oz. lead head and fish it thorough on the bottom in these key areas. The hybrids and White's are starting to school pretty good with all of the bait out on main lake areas. Fishing for the ones that are on the surface providing some of the best action all year. Flukes, Pop-R's, Chug Bugs, Spooks and alike will get a voracious strike from the frenzied fish. During the day when the sun is higher in the sky use your electronics to find pods of these fish suspended in open water. Once located drop a Cotton Cordell spoon to them and hang on for some great fun and excitement. Most all of the bass in the lake are making there way to there summer haunts feeding at select times of the day and taking advantage of an easy meal passing by them. C-rig's, Shakey Heads, Jigs, and spoons will provide the best action when presented on main lake points and ledges just off the main channel. If your looking for some good action and don't want to load the tackle bag up, keep it simple and go after them with a simple lead head jig with a whole crawler or large shiner. These fish will simply demolish this live bait offering. Look for the end of this month to provide some excellent night fishing, the night bite will only improve as the water temperature rise. August and September are by far the best month's to hit the water at night. If you choose to fish during this time, please make sure all your boat lights are working and you have an anchor light on at all times. A great spot to look for when fishing at night for all of our game fish are under lighted boat docks and marina location's. The light's from above will draw the bugs, inturn this will draw the bait and the game fish will show up. Good Luck out there and be safe. If you have any question's or would like to book a date on the water, shoot me an email (smittyc888@hotmail.com) or give me a call anytime at 501.691.5701,

Greers Ferry Reservoir is currently at 468.4 feet and on the fall. The corp is managing to lower the lake even with recent heavy rains. The bite on all species is still going relatively well with water temps into the low 80's. Our thermocline is starting to develop and this will position our game fish in relation to the cooler water layer. We are still consistent with the walleye bite as some days are better than others but eyes are being boated every trip out. The last week or so has been up and down with fish numbers and keeper fish in the boat. Some of our better fish have come unbuttoned before making it to the net but I guess that's what keeps us coming back. Recent trips have given up 10 - 40 fish all taken on crawlers in the 10 - 32 foot mark depending on species. Some nice cat's, bluegill's, kentucky's, smallies and largemouth are staging on the points and are feeding heavy some days and other's not so much. During the down day's we have been covering a lot of water and picking up the takers and moving on not spending to much time in one area when the bite backs off. We are running 6 - 10 location's and hitting the better areas multiple times during a trip to keep the action going. The hybrids have just not taken off like they should have by now, I guess they are following suit with the pattern throughout this spring, 3 weeks behind schedule in comparison to previous years. I still am awaiting a feeding surge among these fish before the real heat of summer set's in. Please contact me via email or phone if you have any question's regarding the lake or river and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm off the water~

Greers Ferry is currently at 469.48 ft and rising after yesterday's rainfall totaling close to 2.75 inch's. I would suspect the lake to level back off once it reaches 471.??. The corp. of engineers has not been able to lower the lake after May's rain event's because of down stream flooding that has finally receded. Look for heavy generation periods in a day or two in an effort to get the lake down to normal pool of 461.3 ft.The bite on all species has continued strong into the first few days of this month with very few exception's. Since the first week of May the walleye's have been feeding aggressively with most days seeing 10 - 20 eyes brought to the boat. Not all of these are keeper fish though, 21 - 25 inch Slot fish and beautiful smaller 10 inches have accompanied the eating size fish of 17 - 19 7/8" fish. The walleyes are really feeding heavy on large gizzard shad and 3 -4 inch bluegill's. The best bite has come in 12 - 26 foot of water in mixed rock location's. Brush piles on the main lake are producing alot of the bites with creek arms coming in a very distant second. Large minnows or Whole Crawlers on a Lead head jig fished slowly around these prime location's are producing the fish. The small mouth bite is going good as well, lot's of fish in the 12 - 17 inch range are being boated daily with a few fish in the 19 - 21 inch class showing up occasionally. C-Rigs and Shakey heads are catching the majority when it comes to artificial. Points, secondary points and Channel swings in deeper water of 18 - 32 feet are holding the majority of these bronze fish. Crayfish is there main deal right now. All the crayfish I have seen have really bright orange and brown configuration and depending on depth the claws are tipped with Blue or bright Red colors, keep this in mind when focusing on the smallies. The Spotted Bass are moving around in larger schools and focusing on shad and crayfish. The largest concentration's of Kentucky's have been found suspended in 35 - 40 feet of water around pole timber located on channel swings really close to shore. When not considering live bait as an option focus on Cranks and Spoons to get the job done. Our catfish population will be spawning this week and into next. This will mark the first wave of the catfish spawn and the bite is getting better everyday. We have been boating 4 - 8 of these fish while targeting other species. Look at the larger flats on the lake and back in some of the pockets when pursuing our whiskered friends. Live sunfish, shiners and crawlers will produce best in depths of 8 - 18 feet. The majority of the crappies are suspending in 10 - 18 feet of water over depths as deep as 110 feet. 2" tube jigs, small minnows and smaller swim baits will produce when you locate a school. Look for these fish to continue pushing deeper as the water temps warm and the days continue to get longer. Have a Great time out there and I'll See ya on the water~

Heber Springs #23! Not shabby~~~~<><

Good Luck and you guys are going to hit it just right..... Fishing has been and will continue to be good over the next couple of weeks. We have been catching the stew out of just about all species with the exception of the hybrids, they have been hit and miss but I look for the next week or so to really get going strong

Greers Ferry Lake is currently well above normal pool and the fishing could not be better for this time of year, well anytime of the year really. We saw and incredible bite take place for all species during May and I look forward to the action continuing throughout this month well into the first couple of weeks of July. Limit's of Walleye's, White's, Spotted Bass, Smallie's, Hybrid Stripers where all boated during last month on full and half day trips. Incredible action was seen with the exception of a few limited days where we where dealing with water coming up 1 - 3 feet almost over night. Even on the down trips we put double digits in the boat and everyone was happy! During June look for the morning and evening bite to be spectacular. Water temps towards the end of May are ranging in the uppper 60's to mid 70's. These are early may type numbers and will do nothing but keep the fish happy and encourage a feeding binge. As the water temperatures slowly climb this month into the low 80's look for the bite to spupress a tad but the bite to stay consistant. All of the spawning activity on our game fish will be concluded with the exception of our catfish and bluegill population's. We will now see our summer pattern start to take affect. General location's to start your search will be bluff ends, long gravel and rock points and deeper flats with standing timber to name a few. Look at depths of 14 - 32 feet adjacent to the main river channel to be prime time during this month for all species. Now let's talk Hybrids, This month will have a remarkable hybrid striper bite. You will be able to catch them schooled up and feeding heavily before the real heat of summer arrives. Cotton Cordell Spoons and alike will produce best to suspended fish that are tracking and moving with the bait. We should have another terrific year with our threadfin shad. Add just a touch of Spike It die to your Chrome C & C spoon to imitate the light hue of chartreuse that outlines this baitfish. It will make a difference. Once the fish are on top you can catch them on a variety of lures which include Spooks, Chuggers, Pencil Poppers and soft plastics rigged weightless wacky or texas style. The largest of the hybrid population's will be relating to the bait out in depths of 60 - 120 feet of water holding in the 30 - 40 feet zone. They will work together to push the bait up against sharp bluff walls or on shallower points where it can turn into an all out frenzy. If you get on them good a 50 fish evening or morning of 2 - 10lbers will not be uncommon. Oh yeah, don't over look the lead head and crawler or minnow fished down through the schools as well. These fish will eat those crawlers any chance they get! On to the Walleyes, the May bite was better than any month so far this year. Fish where schooled up and limit's got to be almost common place on most trips, this is good news. By far the best way to produce was and will be an 1/8oz. Jig tipped with a whole crawler fished ever so slowly on the bottom. Look at main lake flats, points and channel swings with gravel and wood to be number one haunts for these fish. Concentrate your efforts in the 12 - 30 foot range with amount of daylight really dictating what range to start in. More sun equals more penetration and deeper fish, less sun just the opposite. I am expecting this awesome bite to extend into this month and look for it to be one of the best summers as of yet! Well, with summer in mind we can't forget about our spotted bass population's eithier. They are going to be going deep and coming up shallower to feed on the bait fish that are abounding here on our crystal clear reservoir. Look for these fish to be schooled up on steep bluffs and at the ends of points and adjacent to deep water ledges. The drop shot and shakey head will be number one when pursuing these fish with the jigging spoon coming in a close third. Depths of 20 - 45 feet will hold these fish as long as there is bait present. Sharp Bluff Points and main lake ledges should be your primary location. If we get some more rain and the lake starts to come up again, take a look at all the inflow areas and the spot's will push in to take advantage of an easy meal. Once the current slows and the runoff goes away the Kentucky's will leave these areas with the water. Our Bronze Backs are going to be a target species this month as well, concentrate on those 45 degree banks with gravel and small rock. The smallie's will be schooling on bait right beside the Hybrids in most location's. Again, points and main channel swings in low light areas will have the best topwater bite for our smallmouth. When they are not schooling you can catch them on Strike King Bitsy Bug or Shakey head presentation fished in 16 - 24 feet of water around mixed rock and don't forget our bluff's eithier. If you can locate small rock piles at the base of sheer bluffs you have found a smallie hideout. If any of you have any question's regarding our area or are wanting to book a trip please contact me and I will get back to you as soon as I'm off the water. Have a safe time on the water and take a kid fishing!

Hello Guys and Gals! Greers Ferry is currently 10 feet above normal summer pool which is 461.4 ft. The corp of engineers is letting water clear out down stream before they start releasing our water around the clock. This is good news for both fish and fisherman on both side of the dam. Most all species are finishing there spawn and are starting to feed at opportune times on the loads of bait fish scattered around the lake. During the last couple of weeks the bite has come on and stayed strong with most all species. Water temperatures over the last week have dropped 6 - 10 degrees depending on location. The mornings have started slower and have definitely not been as good as the evenings, although there is a relatively good top water bite on smallies and largemouth for the first couple of hours if these are the fish your pursuing. Target them early with soft plastic frogs like the ribbit or horny toad fished relatively fast in and around flooded bushes and submerged cover adjacent to deeper water. We have had some good blow ups and some really nice fish boated using this method. Spooks and Chug bugs are also producing some fish during these times with spooks producing better on less windy mornings and the chuggers if you got some good ripple. The swim bait bite is OK, not exactly on fire but you can catch some fish on it. Hybrids and some smallies seem to prefer the swimmer better than the large mouth and spots. I have been contacting my spotted bass in 16 - 26 feet of water off of pea gravel banks, bluff ends and points. C-Rigs and Finesse Worms dragged around in these location's have been picking up the deeper of the Kentucky's that are out on the main lake. There are still a good portion of them up feeder creeks and river arms. You can really catch several at a time up the arms right now in very shallow water, they are using the current to position themselves at ambush locations and feeding on most anything that comes by. If you push the arms, ditches and creeks you will catch the largest concentration's of Kentucky's there. The Hybrids are starting to venture out to typical main lake location's. Both early morning and late evening have been the most dependable action for this species. Some are still up the arms and on shallow flats with the majority feeding sub-surface 95% of the time. We have been catching them on 1/8oz. lead heads with crawlers pretty consistently, just not huge numbers yet. In another 2 weeks this will change and the spoon and top water bite will explode. Look for the last week of this month and the first couple of weeks of June to be tremendous fishing for these bull dogs. Our walleye's are on FIRE right now. We have been boating limit's on just about every trip out and catching them anywhere from 6 - 28 feet deep all depending on light penetration, wind and bait. By far the lead head and crawler is out producing any other form of tackle right now. You can catch a few trolling or casting cranks, dragging bottom bouncers with harness and slowly walking a grub but you can't beat casting a crawler. Small rock and gravel banks that have a 45 degree pitch are holding some eyes along with flat's just off the main channel and points with deeper water and timber are key areas. You really need to be about 2 or 3 cast from the new bank in that 14 - 28 foot zone to catch them consistently. Be patient and if you locate one fish in that small area SLOWLY work it over and you will fire up the school and come home with a delicious meal or two. This year I have seen some of the Biggest Bluegill's to date. I mean gills in the 1lb. class are showing up everyday. These tasty little guys are holding and schooling in the 13 foot range on the outside edge of all the new cover. The smaller ones are in the bush's with the larger gill's hanging on isolated bush's that are submerged by a couple of feet of water. Again, lead head jigs and half a crawler are the ticket. I guess you could catch them on a variety of bait's but if it ain't broke don't fix it! Good Luck out there and I can't emphasize enough NOW IS THE TIME TO BE ON THE WATER, with the holiday coming in this weekend keep you eye out for reckless boaters and try to be patient with those that are not on the water with the exception of a couple of times a year. Be Safe and keep your hook wet! If you have any question's about booking a date or need information about our area give me a call or shoot me an email. I've got a date this evening so I'll keep you posted!

Just a quick note here folks, I had 2 guys (Chuck Merril from OA with his buddy John) for a half day afternoon trip yesterday and we absolutely smoked the fish! We kept 10 walleye's (caught 12 and lost 2 at the boat), 6 kentuckies and 2 nice hybrids! The eye's where and have been schooled up pretty good, Caught 7 on one location, 3 on the next and 1 on the last location of the day. We targeted the Dam and Peter Creek area with crawlers in 12 - 24 feet of water with rock and wood. Alot of the bass are pretty scattered with this additional 10 feet of water we currently have in the lake but if you keep your hook wet you can boat a mess. The Hybrids seem to be really on the move getting into what is going to be a hot pre-summer bite. Some of the hybrids and whites are still up the creeks but are still to scattered to focus and target specifically. Now, if the eyes are what your after now is the time to be on the water~I'll be back with a more detailed report towards the end of the week.

The eugene bend is my primary fluoro knot because under pressure it does not cut into itself like the others. I have yet to have a knot failure using this knot with fluoro unlike all the rest. I'm sure it works well with mono but I use the palomar or the IC b/c of sheer breaking strength. The palomar is by far the strongest knot when it comes to mono because you end up with 2 main lines att. to the eyelet.

http://www.flyfisherman.com/skills/lkknots/index15.html

Mono~Improved Clinch and the Palomar Fluoro~ Eugene Bend

Hello all, for those that did not know my trolling motor cables went out and i have been anxiously awaiting on the new set and they came in yesterday. After a brief installation period I hit the water with high hopes. Greers Ferry is currently at 468.1 ft above msl and rising after recent rains. We got close to another inch and a half of rain last night. It seems we are back to another high water spawn which is good for both fish and fisherman. I would suspect the lake to come up an additional 1.5 feet with this latest rain event. Water temperatures are ranging in the mid to upper 60's on the south end of the lake and main basin, the warmest I found yesterday was 69.6 degrees during the afternoon. These warmer temps really get those fish going and this area is also the location holding the majority of the black bass that are feeding and participating. Yesterday we saw a few walleye's show there heads as well. They are where they have been for the last 3 weeks. It seems the water rising has not affected them at all. Main Lake Points and transition banks, gravel with 6 - 18 feet of water and bait fish are holding some eyes. Live crawlers, Minnows or artificial are all working when coupled with light line and a slow presentation. The smallies have kinda backed off since the spawn and will be turning the corner here within the next couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong we are still seeing them show up just not in the numbers of a week or two ago. We did boat a really nice 3lb SM yesterday on a jig. With the high water we are experiencing look for main lake ledges with brush and timber to be a favorite smallie hideout. Use natural colors such as green pumpkin, pumpkin seed, watermelon, camo, pb and j, and so on. The water is back in and on top of most of the bush's around the lake and in select location's are absolutely loaded with bream and shad. This is where you want to be folks for all species, around the bait! I will be back out today looking for the white's and hybrids while also putting my hands on a few smallies and largemouth for coming trips in the next week. As always I will report what I find and don't let the high water discourage you, it's a blessing we got the water when we did!

nice report Mike, I hope all is well with your DR. report. My cable's for my trolling motor are coming in from Mercury this morning, I have been out of commission for 6 days now and I am about to go crazy.

Peter Creek is my Home Area of the Lake, I know it well... Most of the eye's are out in the main lake portion rather than up the creek. However, In the past couple of weeks we have pulled a few slot fish out of the far reaches but the best bite right now is on 45 degree transition banks and points, both secondary and main lake. Some of the Hybrids are still running the arm with the white's but will soon be retreating back out to the deeper river channel and main lake channel swing location's. Good Luck and please let us know how you do, Hope this Helps~

Creeks, Rivers and runoffs are gonna be stained up pretty bad but should not hamper the fishing. Lake is up about a foot right now and rain depending will probably rise another foot or so before we are said and done. Don't let it discourage you from getting out there~ My trolling motor steering cables went out and Mercury can't get me a set before next Tuesday so I'm out of pocket until then.... Catch them all for me Sat.~ The Bass and Crappies are doing there thing pretty good right now. The stained and rising water should help the bass out from the pressure and give them a little cushion. That is the one's that have not been found yet~ Let us know how it goes~