Which Arkansas lake to fish for Stripers

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".

Have you thought of Lake Quachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas? Absolutely beautiful lake with several well known striper guides. Been wanting to take my best friend on a good striper trip there for quite a few years. Just can't quit crappie fishing long enough to go!
I'm hoping to make my first turkey hunting trip to Kansas this year but don't have a public hunting area picked out yet. Good Luck!!

Dardanelle..

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Thanks slabbandit and jackie 53 for the responses. From my small world here in central KS the Ark. lakes I heard most about for stripers were Beaver and Norfork. After your posts I did some checking on the internet and it does sound like Dardanelle and Ouachita were good striper lakes, however they would be a really long one-day drive from my home and they appear to be closer to major population areas. Lake Ouachita really does look attractive, but that would probably be a two day drive for this old man. Thanks again for your comments.