Ouachita- help!

[jdt13]

Just starting crappie fishing and would like to learn ouachita. I know it will be tougher than shallow muddy water, but I spend quite a bit of time over there. I need all the help I can get. I don't mind putting in work and all suggestions are welcome. Any help on general areas, how to go about putting out cover (brush vs. stake beds), depths, lures, tactics,etc. Please someone get us started in the right direction on this big clear lake! THANK YOU!

[Little Skeeter]

Well I always fished up towards the Ouachita river end. UP the river even and you do good as well. You talking about going in the winter or spring or when. There are lots of brush piles in the lake. But if you go up toward Cedar creek area you will find submerged timber as well as timber above water as well. The Hwy 27 bridge holds some good crappie from time to time, and just on the west side of the bridge out from the bluff there is a large submerged tree down there, depending on the lake water level sometimes you can see the tip top branches of it, its pretty deep there. But also in the spring go up that river, and there is structure all along the banks. Watch the depth finder though the channel is very important or you will be beached.

I grew up on that lake. But have not fished it in a few years now since I live up in MO. Good luck to ya.

[Slab Junkie]

Well, someone has been catching a few out of Crystal Springs. I saw a bunch of fish heads in the water at the ramp yesterday. I haven't crappie fished in weeks and wasn't doing any good there when I did. In the spring Ouachita is a lot of fun. You can catch some huge crappie just fishing the moss in 6-8 feet casting and slow reeling a 2' grub. I mostly fish out of the Crystal area but will also fish the Little Fir area and sometimes the north fork area. This is the first time in a long time I have tried crappie fishing in the fall out there and didn't do well at all. I don't crappie fish there in the summer months as it's much easier to catch a big mess of very large bluegill that time of year. I don't fish in the winter much at all cause I'm usually hunting ducks. There are a bunch of brush piles in the lake you just have to find them, which ain't always easy in that large of a body of water. There are some down around Denby and Shangrila that are marked with blue signs up on the bank though. They might not be a bad place to start.

[McCrappie]

We had a boat slip at crystal and we caught some nice crappie in the pollard creek area in the spring. Up toward the ouachita river end is usually the hot spot for crappie. Tough lake to fish for crappie, but once you find them, there some of the best crappie in the state.