Fishing

 

Whether you are fishing from the bank with a worm, fishing in a  bass boat, or fly fishing below the dam, Northwest Arkansas abounds with a diversity of fishing opportunities. Beaver Lake has more than 28,000 surface acres of water. The lake provides year-around fishing pleasure for all types of anglers. There is a wide variety of species just waiting for you.  

Species include; largemouth bass, small mouth bass, rock bass, spotted bass, white bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, sunfish, bream, stripers, hybrids, and walleye. Beaver Lake  offers a diversity of fishing conditions. Largemouth bass is the most popular sport fish. The lower end of the lake offers clear waters, while the upper end offers dingy waters. Beaver Lake is widely known for stripers. The state record striper that weighed in at 64 lb/8 oz. was caught in the Beaver Lake tail waters. Beaver Lake continues to yield many 40-pounders. 

Each year, millions of fingerlings game fish from the Blackburn Creek Nursery Pond are released into the waters of Beaver Lake by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The first on-site rearing pond in this area, the Blackburn Creek Pond is the workplace for fishery biologists and other specialists in the field who work hard to keep Beaver Lake in the forefront of fish production.  Fingerling species include: walleye, small mouth bass, blue and channel catfish, red-ear sunfish, white and black crappie. 200,000 to 300,000 fingerlings of various species are released each year.

The tail waters of Beaver Dam offer the perfect habitat for pole-bending rainbow and brown trout. Coldwater releases from the dam flow for approximately 8 miles below the dam before easing into Table Rock Lake. Both species of trout are stocked on a regular basis by The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.       

 Beware of sudden rises in water when the horn sounds below the dam,whether wading, fishing from the bank or by boat.