Ouachita - Fishing tips and advice

[firemedjj]

Going to be taking my sons (16 and 12) camping and fishing on Lake Ouachita next week. We are thinking about island camping. I have never fished this lake before and need some tips/advice. We want to fish for stripers, white bass, and crappie. I would also be interested in using a guide but I cant afford $400 for a half day. We'll be fishing out of my 17' Carolina Skiff. Any pointers, locations, techniques, and info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Slab Junkie]

It's a beautiful lake but the water is low right now. I don't fish for stripers or whites so I can't help you in that arena. I've been out there a couple of times over the last few weeks and the crappie fishing was really slow. It is a large, deep, clear water lake lake fed by the Ouachita River and numerous feeder creeks. In the past it has had a lot of underwater vegetation but much of that is gone now. You will have to find brush piles in deeper water to find the crappie. The water temperature is in the lower to mid 70's right now and the water has been real clear but we did get quite a bit of rain today which might give it a little color for a few days to come. I wish I could give you some better advice but like I said I haven't had much luck lately myself. I found a bunch of crappie on a deep brush pile last time out but was only able to catch one out of it. I could see on the sonar image is was literally loaded with fish but I just couldn't get them to bite anything and I tried everything I could think of except live bait, which I didn't have. I will probably go this weekend and if I get any pattern going I will shoot you an IM. If you guys like to bass fish any; I've caught some recently on topwaters early in the morning and on overcast days. A jighead worm is usually a safe bet for catching a few bass too. A buddy of mine said he caught several a couple of weeks back on a crankbait but I haven't explored that pattern myself. What area of the lake are you planning on camping and how many days are you staying? I live less than 15 minutes from Crystal Springs and mostly fish out of that area but have fished all areas of that lake.

[firemedjj]

Thanks for the reply!!! Almost all of the fishing reports mirror yours. I am really wanting to do some crappie fishing seems Ouachita isnt the lake for it. I may look at Kentucky Lake. Thanks again!!