Old Town Lake - West Helena area

Went to a friends moms funeral today in Marvell. First time I had ever been in the area that I know of. She had been telling me about her brothers going to Old Town Lake growing up and been telling me I may enjoy a day on the lake there.

Took a detour on the way back to Batesville this afternoon.

What a Beautiful Lake....cypress trees, open areas....no idea on water depth. And not a single boat in the water that I could see. I put that off to a work day, and most working like I would be if not for the circumstances.

My question is anyone have any idea on a positive prospect of it .....or from what I’ve seen a lot of the old Crappie havens have been torn apart by the Asian Carp.

Any help appreciated....thanks.

Haven't heard of Asian carp in Old Town. It is protected by the Mississippi and White river levies. It is a shallow lake. People
that know the lake do well crappie fishing it in the spring.

It is shallow with lots of stumps under that open looking water. The past few years the fishing has not been great but there are a few caught. Most people fish there from mid November through April and then you will have the lake to yourself, as you saw it when you were there. I was by there Tuesday and Thursday. Thursday afternoon there was one boat putting in and testing the heat.

went last Friday night to catch a mess of catfish. water is shallow. most spots on the south side was 1qnout 2 ft deep. We had the lake to ourselves. Culled down to 18 nice 2 pounders. all I wanted. About the closest thing to a sure mess of catfish. Had a friend set out a dozen yoyos and catch 100 one night. sounds like work. But if you want a cooler full set out about 40 yoyos baited with nightcrawlers and get ready for some action.

Yup good time. I b there soon

This is a lake I have tried my luck at a few times and came back pretty much empty handed each time. It sure looks like there should be a fish on every stump in the lake and I have tried a lot of them....guess just not the right ones. I'm in Helena every couple of months and one of these days I'm sure I will give it another go but most of the time I make the drive to Mississippi or occasionally hit Storm Creek just outside of Helena.

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Originally Posted by CRAPPIE HUNTER 2008

Went to a friends moms funeral today in Marvell. First time I had ever been in the area that I know of. She had been telling me about her brothers going to Old Town Lake growing up and been telling me I may enjoy a day on the lake there.

Took a detour on the way back to Batesville this afternoon.

What a Beautiful Lake....cypress trees, open areas....no idea on water depth. And not a single boat in the water that I could see. I put that off to a work day, and most working like I would be if not for the circumstances.

My question is anyone have any idea on a positive prospect of it .....or from what I’ve seen a lot of the old Crappie havens have been torn apart by the Asian Carp.

Any help appreciated....thanks.

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Old Town can be a tough nut to crack. My dad grew up in Barton and fished the lake most of his life except for a short stint coaching in Chicago where I spent the formative years of my youth. We moved back to that area right before I started high school and we fished the lake a ton. My dad was a superb bream and crappie fisherman. That is all he fished for and we spent countless hours on Old Town fishing together. I , myself , am no expert on the lake but I had a back seat view of what the lake is capable of producing and how to do it. He kept his crappie fishing very simple on OT. He only fished with a black/pink tube jig trailered with a one inch white twister tail on a jig pole. Spring was always the best time for numbers of fish but the weather was always the x factor. Our best fishing was always from October thru early February. We fished the visible trees with fair results but always caught fish on the brushpiles. These are identified by a piece of iron rebarb sticking out of the water. These piles are in several areas. You just have to be observant or you will fish right past them. We stumbled upon them by accident. My dad passed away years ago but my mom still lives in the Barton area. I fished there this past Easter and tore the crappie up fishing below the OT flood gates. I lost track of how many I caught but brought home about 20 or so. Caught them on a pearl blue BG baby shad and a blue/white tube under a cork with a 1/32oz. jig head. About five or six were slabs and the rest were good eaters. Blue/white tubes seem to be hot color right now according to the locals and my uncle. Hope this helps and lmk if I can answer any questions. Just remember it is super shallow and heavily pressured so you have to be very patient. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by bigbass12

Old Town can be a tough nut to crack. My dad grew up in Barton and fished the lake most of his life except for a short stint coaching in Chicago where I spent the formative years of my youth. We moved back to that area right before I started high school and we fished the lake a ton. My dad was a superb bream and crappie fisherman. That is all he fished for and we spent countless hours on Old Town fishing together. I , myself , am no expert on the lake but I had a back seat view of what the lake is capable of producing and how to do it. He kept his crappie fishing very simple on OT. He only fished with a black/pink tube jig trailered with a one inch white twister tail on a jig pole. Spring was always the best time for numbers of fish but the weather was always the x factor. Our best fishing was always from October thru early February. We fished the visible trees with fair results but always caught fish on the brushpiles. These are identified by a piece of iron rebarb sticking out of the water. These piles are in several areas. You just have to be observant or you will fish right past them. We stumbled upon them by accident. My dad passed away years ago but my mom still lives in the Barton area. I fished there this past Easter and tore the crappie up fishing below the OT flood gates. I lost track of how many I caught but brought home about 20 or so. Caught them on a pearl blue BG baby shad and a blue/white tube under a cork with a 1/32oz. jig head. About five or six were slabs and the rest were good eaters. Blue/white tubes seem to be hot color right now according to the locals and my uncle. Hope this helps and lmk if I can answer any questions. Just remember it is super shallow and heavily pressured so you have to be very patient. Good luck.

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Thanks for info . How do you get below the gates ? Thanks


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The gates that connect to white river? Those are how the carp will make it into old town.

Sent from my VS995 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Drive along the lake in Lakeview toward Elaine and you will pass the spillway on the left. The locals call it the floodgates. It's not a large area and it can crowded in the spring but you can usually slide in somewhere. I fish a blue/white tube or a baitfish colored Bobby Garland shad under a float depending on water clarity. There a few access points downstream but I have never fished them. However, my uncle said they can produce very nicely from time to time. The locals are friendly and are usually gracious with their knowledge. I have never fished it this time of year because the lake starts getting good after it starts to cool off. Good luck. I might see you there this spring.