Fishing Advice

[Middleton369]

I just moved to the area and will be fishing Beaver Lake as much as i possibly can. Any advice or tips would be great. I mainly bass fish but I am open to any other species as well. Where are the good areas of the lake this time of year and typical patterns?

[J-Doc]

Welcome to NWA!

Now to answer your questions. How much time do you want to spend reading? Lol! That's what it will take.

This time of year can be tough but the bite is picking up. Depending on your skill/experience and access to boat and or fishing equipment, drop shot is a good standard along with deep crankbait if you're REALLY good with crankbaits.

I just learned about trolling this year and its taught me a good bit. Fish are offshore and moving around. Not so much on shorelines except steey sloped banks and at dusk.

I suggest reading various topics with "report" in the subject. Feathers&Fins typically posts a weekly report but he trolls pretty much most of the time. That maunot be what you're looking for.

Be sure and look up JT Crappie Guide and Hook Line and Sinker on Facebook. They typically provide a fishing report weekly as well. Gives you a rough idea.

Also, where to fish. Well if it were easy.....it wouldn't be a challenge right? Water will clear up above the Hwy 12 bridge past Prarie Creek. It will become stained the further south you go up river towards Hwy 412. Further up north towards the darn is deeper and clearer water.

Fish what your used to. If stained go south. If clear, go north. You'll have to fish what you know and what you're comfortable with starting out.

Beaver Lake is known on the FLW tour as a "pattern by the hour" lake. Meaning it changes frequently. I do know that the bait population is astounding this year and Beaver is will be one of the healthiest fisheries in the country in the next few years.

Hang out here. There's a lot of us that share things openly here.

[Middleton369]

I remember watching the FLW your and some college tournaments and hearing similar stories about how the patterns change.

I've done some trolling at Bull Shoals for walleye so I have a little experience with that. I've also done a lot of crank bait fishing and worm fishing different techniques.

It sounds to me like the lower end of the lake from 12 to the dam is place that I need to concentrate. I've mainly fished shoreline so off-shore fishing will be something new for me to learn. Is it good to target long points and flats with brush? Or are the fish primarily schooling so it's better to locate schools of bait fish?

I'm planning on going out early in the morning an fishing into the afternoon. Thanks for the advice!

[Feathers and Fins]

What species are you most interested in and how is your boat set-up.

[J-Doc]

I'd say........find the fish and fish them.

I say that with a smile but it's true. I have learned the more I plan, the less I'm right. I go out now with a half-baked idea of what I expect and then I watch my graph to see if I'm correct. I may start near a ramp if I know there are typically fish there and if I don't get a bite in less than 10-15mins and not much topwater activity or fish on the graph, I leave the entire area and it tells me they are not shallow in that cove. Make sense?

This time of year, points humps, ledges, drops, holes, etc. Anything that's different and not visually seen above water is what you look for.

Try this............since you're new. Buy and download the NAVIONICS app to your phone. It's a far better contour map than anything you can buy in a paper map and it's SKADS cheaper than the same map available on your GPS sonar (if you have one).

Look at the map and find some spots that you're used to looking for this time of year and give that a shot.

I posted a report a few weeks ago and found fish stacked on a steeply sloped gravel bank because they had schooled the bait into that area (or followed them there). I caught some nice bass on a big Fat Free shad in a shad color. I stumbled upon the spot by accident.

My advice is to get the app, look for some spots, put the trolling motor on high and find some fish. When you find them, leave quietly and come back in about 10-15mins and creep in there with a game plan.

C-rigs, crankbaits, t-rigs, drop shot would be my bet. Especially the c-rig. Something as simple as a Rage Tail Craw.

[Middleton369]

Bass, I have a 17 ft Stratos Bass boat, standard set up. 120 hp evinrude.

[J-Doc]

What species are you most interested in and how is your boat set-up.

He said bass but not limited to only bass.

I didn't ask how big his boat was.........that's getting too personal!

[Feathers and Fins]

Bass right now Indian Creek in the timber and Point 6 around boulders should produce well. Arig in open water in the same area along with a Drop Shot. in the timber or rocks keitechs are next to unbeatable. Despite horrible rumors im very adept at many other styles of fishing I just don't tell all my secrets lol.

[J-Doc]

Despite horrible rumors im very adept at many other styles of fishing I just don't tell all my secrets lol.

HORRIBLE!! TERRIBLE EVEN! lol!

I advised him to fish what he knows/comfortable with first.

Then try the "clear water". Lugging an a-rig on this lake this time of year is enough to make a preacher cuss. I'm sure it could work but it's not always been a numbers bait for me. Could be......given the right conditions. All of the FLW guys were throwing the rigs with the little blades like a spinnerbait and the smallest Kietechs they could find. You can get Kietechs at Hook Line & Sinker.

[Feathers and Fins]

Lugging nothing im talking about using it as a JIG drop it down and yoyo it. works great at hammering suspended fish! A-rig is not just a chuck and wench bait its a helluvajig