My wife and I and another couple (all retired) spend most of our fishing hours going after crappie, walleye, wipers and blue cats, but would like to learn to catch stripers. With that in mind we are considering two lakes in Arkansas - Beaver and Norfork. The question is which one would best fit our needs. We are from Kansas and are looking at one or two week long trips to Arkansas per year.

We would prefer bigger fish over number of fish, although we don't want to fish a week for one or two bites. Also, the presence of other species such as walleye or crappie to go after when the Stripers are shut down would be nice. I've gotten the impression from what I have read that Beaver may have more stripers, but the potential for bigger stripers is greater at Norfork?? Also, looking at a Map of Arkansas, there appears to be a lot more people living near Beaver. Like many fishermen we do appreciate less competetion and/or boating activity when on the water. The other comment I have read is that Beaver has considerable standing timber while Norfork has most of the timber cleared.

At this point we are leaning towards Norfork as our destination, but would truly appreciate any unbiased thoughts, comments or recommendations regarding the choice between these two lakes.

Thank you for any comments, take care, and always "Enjoy the Day".