Quillback

No cave paintings of pizza either. Can you imagine how harsh life was without pizza?

They are all the sterile version.

Good deal! Fishing is always fun. Bunch of people out on the lakes too during the week. I don't know if anyone works anymore.

That's what it was - too much "grass". They over stocked, I don't know what formula they used, but it was way too many. I used to fish 1/4oz Kastmasters over the grass this time of year, and on a good morning would catch 20-30 bass in the 1-4 lb. range. That's gone - you have to work hard to catch 2 or 3 bass now. I thought I would never say this, but right now Beaver Lake fishes better than the BV lakes.

I can understand that. They need to remove the grassies, the lakes, manager stocked way too many grassies in Loch Lomond and they totally decimated the fishing in that lake. So now they need to be removed. Outside of dynamite, bow fishing is one of the most efficient ways to remove them.

I remember reading that one of the hairiest Coast Guard jobs is being on a rescue boat that patrols the Columbia Bar.

In case anyone is interested: Grass Carp Tournament The Bella Vista Fly Tyers will be sponsoring a Grass Carp tournament on October 11, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The tournament is open to the general public. Registration is open to the first 50 teams that sign up. To register or if you have any questions, please contact Max Scholfield HERE. First place is $2,000, and the first seven teams win a monetary prize. Carp can be taken by any means, although bowfishing is likely to be the most efficient. This special event is to remove as many grass carp as possible. This will allow native vegetation to repopulate our lakes, providing nursery habitat for our game fish.

Caught this on the interwebz. Makes me a bit homesick for the Pacific Northwest. Outdoors | Late-September salmon fishing tales on the Columbia river Blame my late start to the fall salmon season on high water temperature and late-arriving fish. Waiting for the river to cool down and salmon passage counts to build, I spent September afternoons floating on an air mattress in our backyard swimming pool. Pandora streamed uplifting music from my I-phone: Texas Blues; CS&N, Quicksilver Messenger Service. I'd let the sun's radiant energy penetrate my arthritic bones and daydream about past trips for upriver bright Chinook salmon. In one treasured remembrance, a good friend shared salmon were being caught be anglers who flat-lined pink Wee Warts near Beverly Bridge. Having little success with more traditional offerings at the time, I followed up his advice. The image of a tiny pink "wart" clenched in the hooked jaw of the 20-pound salmon has stuck with me for over 20 years. It was the last day of Labor Day weekend. Nothing better to do than go fishing, I hauled my boat to the Wanapum launch. Back-trolling a sardine-wrapped Kwikfish off a 6-ounce lead ball in the middle of the channel led to me boating a pair of 18-pound salmon. Turned out one of two boats in the vicinity held a good friend. When I later inquired how his day went, he replied, "We didn't get any but we saw a guy land two." "That guy was me," I said. I reflected on a late-September afternoon near Taylor Flats where everywhere we looked, salmon rolled and splashed as if in a mad rush to reach upriver spawning grounds. And yes, all three of us limited out. All on the same lucky, battle-scarred K-16 "Double Trouble" Kwikfish. When fishing is slow, the eyes of my fellow anglers light up, their speech quickens, and they wave their arms for emphasis. Stan reminds me of the time when "thirty- and forty-pound salmon" were common. Bob, during a year when he had only one day to give because of a compressed work schedule, recalls catching two salmon in his first hour of fishing. Then there's Geoff, who took a friend bass fishing near the mouth of the Yakima River. On a whim, he put out a line for salmon and pulled in a mint-bright 15-pounder. Repeated stories rarely fade from memory. Reading through well-worn pages of my journals reminds of trips taken with dearly departed friends. Sharing these tales elevates my spirit and, for a brief moment in time, brings former fishing buddies back to life. On one fog-shrouded frosty morning, I served as net man for two salmon that Andy (aka Leroy) caught flat-lining a brand-new purple-and-chartreuse Wiggle-Wart. Disconsolate over my poor luck, I cast to the Hanford shoreline with a no. 5 gold Mepps spinner and hooked a big salmon. Thirty minutes later, I filled my tag with another salmon that struck the same lucky spinner. There's a 60-foot hole off the mouth of Crab Creek where three of us fished from BT's boat on my 50 th birthday. Suspended targets showed on his sonar, so we anchored and dropped Kwikfish off a pair of downriggers to mid-depth. Our rod tips pulsed in a gentle current. Blue skies overhead. Not a whisper of wind. Nobody could sum up a great day on the water like BT. According to his version of the day, we experienced 14 gnashes, 9 takedowns, 7 fish brought to the net, and 6 fish kept. Before "Seedy" passed into the light, we often teamed up to fish for salmon out of my boat. Who can forget the year when one million fall Chinook salmon steamrolled up the Columbia River? On this memorable fall season, Seedy and I backtrolled golf ball-size roe during a steady drizzle. Action was fierce. One takedown after another preceded wild times with the net. After we both reached our 6-fish limit, I told him "We will never have another day like this." One enduring personal memory spurs me to fire up my 115-horsepower Yamaha and motor upriver to where sand dunes populate the Hanford shoreline. The date was October 17 and the peak of the upriver bright run had long passed. Wispy clouds. Distant chortle of sandhill cranes. Fishing solo, I landed three Chinook salmon between 15 and 20-pounds. All three late- run fish exhibited silver flanks and orange flesh. The comforting chirp of crickets in the night air. Hillsides filled with the golden glow of blooming rabbitbrush. Morning dew. The gathering of migrating ducks and geese. Reflecting on these orderly signs of autumn, the odds are good you will find me on the Reach trying for one more last Chinook salmon. Dennis Dauble is the award-winning author of "Fishes of the Columbia Basin," three collections of short stories about fishing, a fishing memoir, and a recent book about 19 years of cabin life titled, "A Rustic Cabin." He can be contacted via his website, DennisDaubleBooks.com.

Little Sugar here in Bella Vista was the same color after the rain.

5.95 is biggest so far.

No more flying turkeys, but the festival still goes on. Yellville Turkey Trot | October 10 & 11, 2025

Looks like they opened the spillway at Beaver a bit, plus generation.

Muskrat love - Phhhttt. Puppy love rocks!

Very nice!

I'll let you know if I see them on top. I think I have your cell # somewhere. This cool weather they could start anytime. I was out three weeks ago and had a couple of what I believe were small stripers blow up on top waters that were with some schooling bass. There were probably 8-10 boats that day either trolling or pulling shad for stripers in the dam area which is a lot for September. The fall fish are always tougher to get even when they are blowing up than spring fish. May through June is the best time. But as you have found out it can be on one day and off the next. But oif the stripers are not cooperating, there's some good at times smallmouth fishing in the lower lake.

Beaver is up about 2 feet. I would like to get to the lower end of Beaver and fish a couple of coves where the water is coming in. Just don't have time today or tomorrow. Targeting getting out Friday. It is getting close to the time when a fall top water striper bite will start.

Round 2 moved south of us. Looks like the AR river valley got pounded. Beaver has come up two feet.

Never trapped one, but supposedly are easy to trap. I have a large Havaheart type trap and that would work. Bait with carrots.

To catch a Neosho strain bass. Rare Neosho Bass draws Anglers to Northeast Oklahoma

Don't need any more here. Local creek, Little Sugar, is just about out of its banks. Angry red color to boot.

Good to hear the number of shorts, bodes well for next year. I don't chase the eyes, but my accidental catches of them this year were definitely down from last year. Best wishes on the knee replacement, had mine done about 10 years ago, so glad I did, I have put a lot of miles on my fake knee.

Raining hard this AM. The really heavy stuff is supposed to roll in this afternoon. This is like a spring storm system.

Can't say that I blame you. Going to be a few boats on the lake this weekend.

Results from Crooked Creek Sampling According to early summer electrofishing surveys, Crooked Creek remains a premier Smallmouth Bass fishery in Arkansas. Numerous Smallmouth Bass were observed between 14 and 17 inches, with 41% of sampled fish exceeding 14 inches. The largest fish captured measured nearly 18 inches and was 8 years old. By collecting age data from a subsample of captured fish, biologists can estimate the population's growth rate. Smallmouth Bass collected from Crooked Creek in 2025 ranged from one to nine years old, which is typical for stream-dwelling Smallmouth Bass in Arkansas. Growth analysis revealed that these fish take just under five years on average to reach 14 inches. This growth rate, combined with relative abundance estimates, indicates a healthy and well-balanced population in the creek. Age data also provides insights into mortality and harvest rates. Moderate harvesting within a population can enhance fish growth by decreasing competition for food and space. However, excessive harvesting can lead to population depletion. On the other hand, insufficient harvesting may lead to overcrowding, resulting in stunted or slow growth. The 2025 sampling revealed relatively low mortality rates for Crooked Creek Smallmouth Bass. Additionally, a 2019-2020 angler reward-tag study showed very low harvest rates, with the majority of fish dying from natural causes rather than angling. Compared to previous studies on Crooked Creek, current growth and mortality rates closely match those recorded in 2009, indicating that growth and mortality have been fairly stable over the last 16 years. While growth rates have increased slightly since 1993, mortality rates have decreased significantly. This is likely due to reduced harvest rates in 2009-2025 compared to the 1990s. By analyzing growth and mortality rates, biologists can evaluate and establish effective harvest regulations. Crooked Creek is currently managed under a 14-inch minimum length limit and a daily creel limit of two fish, with the exception of the Fred Berry Nature Center catch-and-release area (see fishing regulations). Recent research shows these regulations are working well to prevent overharvest while still promoting healthy fish growth. Biologists have routinely sampled Crooked Creek using electrofishing equipment since the 1980s and will continue monitoring the population to ensure this incredible Smallmouth Bass fishery remains available for future generations. For more information on recent Crooked Creek research, we encourage you to check out this recent publication on fishing effort and harvest of Smallmouth Bass in Crooked Creek. Twitter Facebook Instagram Fishbrain