Greers Ferry June Forecast 2010

[Cody Smith]

Hello Summertime on Greers Ferry Lake! With the Memorial Day holiday upon us it looks like summer is officially here! Although the solstice doesn't happen for another couple of weeks water temperatures and the electric bill are reflecting a change in the weather pattern. Lake levels are beginning the month a few feet above normal pool which is a direct result from recent rains. Water surface temperatures are ranging in the mid to upper 70's and will make there way to the 80 degree mark by the end of the month. Overall June should fish very well with early mornings and late evenings being the very best time to be on the water. During this month we will see a large portion of our bait fish population's begin to get organized out on the main lake and start making there push deeper in the column as surface temperatures rise. Game fish will be following them from the shallows and setting up at greater depths.

June marks a transition period for our walleye population. As water temperatures increase, feeding times for our "eyes" tends to decrease. Look for our walleyes to start sliding out to greater depths and suspending with bait fish. They will still feed on our bluegills and sunfish however, they will really start to key in on our thread fin shad population. This means relying on your electronics and staying with the schools of bait in order to locate your wally's. During this month look for them below schools of Hybrids and Kentucky's along with Gravel and chunk rock points, small flats adjacent to deeper water and off shore humps with some type of cover. A great way to catch a mess this month will be with a half to one ounce spoon vertically fished under balls of bait. Keep it natural with colors, Fish Dinner Spoons are one of my favorites and can be picked up at Golden Outdoors in Heber Springs and Fish N` Stuff in Greers Ferry off of Hwy 16.

Our Hybrids are going to be making a good push to the surface this month. Early morning hours and late evenings are going to be the best time to locate some surfacing fish for some fast action. Zoom Flukes, Zara Spooks, 3" Grubs and Large In-Line Spinners should all be considered when chasing these fish that are surfacing. If you want a more dependable and longer lasting bite, think deeper! Use your electronics once the school has gone down to catch back up with them. Use spoons or drop shot rigs with live bait. Mark your fish and drop your offering to the same level the fish are holding. With a well mounted transducer and today's graphs you should be able to watch your offering fall and be presented to the fish on your sonar's screen. This is a fun way to fish, you can actually see if the fish are reacting to your offering in a positive or negative manor. This will tell you if you are doing what is necessary in order to get a strike. If no hit or interest is shown to your offering after several presentation's you simply need to change, listed in importance; action, size or color.

All three species of black bass will be hunkering down for summertime taking advantage of both major and minor feeding times during the day. As stated before, late evenings and early mornings will be best. Cloudy and even better yet, Windy days will offer a good bite throughout the day. Top waters like the Sammy and Jimmy, Pop R's, and The Ribbit will produce some really good fish this month. Flukes and In-line spinners presented to these fish while they are schooling will put some really high numbers in a short amount of time during June. During bright condition's and the middle part of the day look to drop shot plastics, shaky heads, jig and chunk combos and the carolina rig to all have there place. The limited amount of grass we have here on Greers Ferry is hard to find but once located will produce good numbers of fish this month.

With the kid's out of school, the thermometer rising and Arkansas Free fishing weekend this month I can't think of any better time to gather up the family and head to the lake! I hope to see each and everyone of you here this summer. If you have any question's regarding this forecast or have question's about the area please call or email me and I will get back with you as soon as I'm off the water. Over the coming week I will be launching my new web-site which once completed will feature updated reports, pictures and information regarding our fine area, www.fishgreersferry.com