For weekly flow releases from Carpenter Dam, visit www.entergy.com/hydro
Always wear a life jacket when on the water and continue to follow park rules and regulations.
For weekly flow releases from Carpenter Dam, visit www.entergy.com/hydro
(updated 10-7-2021) Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, reports that water temperature below the dam is 67 degrees with clear conditions in the tailrace. Entergy has posted the weekly generation schedule starting Friday, Oct. 8, that extends through Thursday, Oct. 14. Anyone planning on navigating the Carpenter Dam tailrace is urged to view these flow releases and plan accordingly. This schedule is posted weekly on the Entergy website for public viewing normally on Wednesday evening. Now that Lake Ouachita has been lowered almost 10 feet below flood pool, weekly flows from area dams are now at a level where fishing and boating are safe, but being aware of the flow releases is always advised.
White bass have been observed breaking in the early morning hours chasing threadfin shad. Huge schools of threadfin shad can be observed moving in and out of the tailrace. Casting spinnerbaits and jigs in eighth-ounce weights has been the best presentation to catch these fish during the past several weeks. Hybrid bass school alongside white bass and are being caught on the same techniques. Trolling shallow-running crankbaits against the current has been productive catching white bass and hybrids, as well as walleye in the 3-pound class. Walleye thrive in the tailrace in the summer as these fish prefer colder water temperatures than other area game fish. The summer months were dominated by these fish species with migration in and out of the tailrace a weekly event. This pattern will be repeated almost every week until the summer heat is replaced by fall temperatures.
Rainbow trout fishing season below Carpenter Dam will resume in mid-November when the AGFC’s stocking of rainbows restarts and the water has cooled. The past season was marred by flooding, and the past three years have been adversely affected by high water as trout despise muddy conditions. Very small numbers of rainbows remain in the tailrace, which is the norm for this time of year.
Catfish were caught on a regular basis this summer in the tailrace, but that action has slowed considerably in the last week. The majority of fish caught had been in the 4- to 8-pound range. Blue catfish are the dominant species in the tailrace area.
Always wear a life jacket when on the water and continue to follow park rules and regulations.
Lake Hamilton
(updated 9-30-2021) Greeson Marine, hometown dealer of the Arkansas-born-and-bred Xpress, all-welded aluminum fishing boats in Hot Springs, reports Lake Hamilton at normal water levels with excellent clarity throughout the lake and temps in all areas except the river channel below Blakely Dam at 75-78 degrees. Pleasure boat traffic continues to be heavy all times of day due to the never-ending summer heat. Bass fishing is trying its best to transition to the fall patterns, but the ongoing warm temps are not letting that happen effectively, so we would call fishing “fair.”
Bass have slowed down during daylight hours and have become hesitant to bite much at all. Drop-shot rigs with small worms in Watermelon Seed and Watermelon seem to work best in luring fish out of brush and main lake points in 18-25 feet of water. White Zoom Horny Toad Frogs skipped under docks and retrieved in or around shady grass lines will work. Typically, this time of year the “Frog is King” but it’s just not cool enough yet.
Night fishing for bass is good to excellent right now, however! During the nighttime hours bass really pick up and can be readily caught in very shallow areas near main lake creeks and channels. Buzzbaits in dark colors with a large profile trailer bait like a Craw- or Beaver-style bait. Run this or a Chatterbait down dock edges and let the fun begin. Good fish and good numbers can be caught right now!
No crappie report, but we have seen good packs of crappie on the electronics hovering on or near brush piles or dock pilings at 14-22 feet in the main channels and mixed in with Bream.
Hybrid bass are being caught regularly now when they break in the opening to creek channel pockets. Spooks, spoons and crappie jigs in white/chartreuse slow rolled under a cork at a depth of 5 feet will get a nice mess in the cooler at certain times of the day (usually early morning and an hour before dusk). “Good Luck, and Go Greeson!”
Lake Ouachita
(updated 9-30-2021) Greeson Marine, hometown dealer of the Arkansas-born-and-bred Xpress, all-welded aluminum fishing boats in Hot Springs, reports Lake Hamilton at normal water levels with excellent clarity throughout the lake and temps in all areas except the river channel below Blakely Dam at 75-78 degrees. Pleasure boat traffic continues to be heavy all times of day due to the never-ending summer heat. Bass fishing is trying its best to transition to the fall patterns, but the ongoing warm temps are not letting that happen effectively, so we would call fishing “fair.”
Bass have slowed down during daylight hours and have become hesitant to bite much at all. Drop-shot rigs with small worms in Watermelon Seed and Watermelon seem to work best in luring fish out of brush and main lake points in 18-25 feet of water. White Zoom Horny Toad Frogs skipped under docks and retrieved in or around shady grass lines will work. Typically, this time of year the “Frog is King” but it’s just not cool enough yet.
Night fishing for bass is good to excellent right now, however! During the nighttime hours bass really pick up and can be readily caught in very shallow areas near main lake creeks and channels. Buzzbaits in dark colors with a large profile trailer bait like a Craw- or Beaver-style bait. Run this or a Chatterbait down dock edges and let the fun begin. Good fish and good numbers can be caught right now!
No crappie report, but we have seen good packs of crappie on the electronics hovering on or near brush piles or dock pilings at 14-22 feet in the main channels and mixed in with Bream.
Hybrid bass are being caught regularly now when they break in the opening to creek channel pockets. Spooks, spoons and crappie jigs in white/chartreuse slow rolled under a cork at a depth of 5 feet will get a nice mess in the cooler at certain times of the day (usually early morning and an hour before dusk). “Good Luck, and Go Greeson!”