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Hi guys (and gals) I am a new member and I am very impressed with the wealth of knowledge on this site. I grew up in the Delta (West Helena) and I was hoping to fish Old Town Lake this weekend. Can anyone speculate how productive it be or should I wait a week or two. Any recommendations of fishing techniques? I grew up fishing on that lake as well as the White River and its oxbows but I have forgotten quite a bit about them. Thanks in advance.
Welcome aboard, Gun Shot. You will be able to find quite a bit of information here on old oxbow lakes. With this time of year, look for the crappie to head to the shallows with a warm front approaching, such as right now. When the cold front moves through behind the warm front, look for the fish to back off the banks into a little bit deeper water. The best days are the nastiest, with wind, clouds, and thunderstorms.
Be sure to give us a good report on Old Town if you decide to fish it. Best of luck to you. CEB -
Thanks CEB. Any good tips about holding in the wind? I fished there last year a few times and every time I would find the fish, the wind would allow me to hold there. It kept blowing me into the banks.
Welcome aboard Gut Shot, from lower Arkansas.
Hi LA Stumpjumber. I have a cousin that lives there. Maybe you have heard of him. His name is Donnie Mathis. He used to sell cars there for years. Now I beleive he sells homes. He is also a musician around there. He is about 47 years old I guess.
I was there this last weekend. The water was up..which is good...but was very muddy. It probably will be a bit more clear by this weekend. I'd start fishing outside the tree line first and make my way in. Be prepared to fish slow. Take some minnows, and if you are fish hungry, take yoyo's, no more than 30 per person. The water temp. was 50 degrees last weekend, so it won't be long till they get fired up.
I'll be there this weekend, both days,if nothing happens. I'm on call at work, I might have to accidently drop the cell phone in the water. :D
I guess it's settled then. I will fish it this weekend. It is a 5 1/2 hour drive for me but well worth it. Something about being in that area that keeps calling me back. That something is the fishing and hunting. I think my brother from Jonesboro will meet me there. Thanks for the information so far everyone. Keep it coming.
Where is Old Town Lake? I live in Eastern Arkansas and I have never heard of this lake.
thanks
Old Town is an old, landlocked oxbow. There's loads of standing cypress. It's mostly shallow. The crappie usually spawn at Old Town a few weeks before the other lakes get started. The lake is located about 15mi SW of Helena.
Thanks ceb. Does the lake have a concrete boat ramp. My boat is too heavy to put in with out a concrete ramp. You say the lake is mostly shallow. How deep is the deepest area and what depth do you mean when you say mostly shallow?
Thanks
Ahh..funny thing....by fishing shallow, I mean fish no deeper than 18". Not sure about the condition of the ramp. Not sure about the maximum depth either, but I'd say it averages 3 or 4'. Fishingpox will probably respond sometime shortly with that info.
Have you been to Midway lately?
Haven't been to Midway in several years. You couldn't put a boat in there last year as the water was too low. Therefore, I fished Horseshoe until it got to low to put a boat in. Thats when I started fishing Burnt Cane. The river did get high enough about 6 week ago to put some water in Midway so I will probably give it a try in the next several weeks. Would like to hear a report from there first to make sure that there is enough water to launch my boat.
LRM58. The lake is usually around 10 to 12 feet at it's deepest points but I think it averages about 6 to eight feet. The problem that larger boats have there is the hidden stumps. I have a 15.5 foot Triton with a 25 Merc on ot and I still hit at least 1 or 2 stumps every time I go there. It certainly can be fished with a larger boat but trim your motor way up and creep through there. Along the banks, the Cypress trees are pretty close together which can make it hard to fish close to the bank in a larger boat. It looks like there will be a stiff wind from the Northeast this weekend so I think I will try the lower southeast side of the lake to stay out of the wind some. The lake is shaped like a quarter moon with it's points facing east. If oyou have never fished this lake you will be in for a treat. It becomes stable much earlier than the other oxbow lakes around there. If coming from Mississippi, just go to Helena and take the bypass. Just south of the Helena bridge is Highway 44. Take it south/sothwest for about 12 to 15 miles. If you are coming from West Memphis, take I40 to Forrest City and take Highway 1 south through Marianna and then to Barton (about 40 minutes). Continue on Highway 1 for about another 8 miles and it will end into Highway 44. Turn right on Highway 44 and the ramp is about 1/2 mile on your left. The concrete ramp is on your left at the mid point of the lake.
Looks as though Gut Shot summed it up pretty good. I always take my waders with me, if I catch a few in the shallows, I bail out and wade. The bottom is pretty soft but one should have no troubles. To many stumps, limbs in the shallows to hit with your trolling motor. The concrete ramp is in excellent shape. I launch off the bank on the south east end.
Hey Gut Shot, where is that 10 foot water? I have not found any deep water where I fish. Though I have not really looked for any either.
Oh ,they are calling for more severe rain tonight and tomorrow. I hope it does not mess the water up.
Fushingpox, I was guessing mostly but I do remember a spot that is north of the congrete ramp that runs almostly completely across the lake. It is only about 35 to 40 feet wide but it where you can see the new building on the west side ( ithink it is a school or a home for the elderly) and a farm shed and some kind of field drainage pipe running into the lake there on the east side. I think it is an old creek bed. If you can remember that very large mangled and burnt cypress tree stump that is about 600 yards north of the ramp, it is just past that. I just happened upon it last year and caught a limit there in about 2 hours. Other than that, I have not seen anything over 8 feet. My brother just called and he spoke with someone from Helena that said that he caught 40 keeper slabs there today before the front came in. That is good enough for me to make the drive this weekend even though I know that cold front will have moved through. I will bring a couple of dozen yoyo's in case the wind gets up too bad or the fishing gets tough. I will be in a camoflauge triton aluminum hull with a 25 Merc on it and Alabama registration. If you come across my boat, be sure to stop and say hello. I always like to meet fishermen from that area and get their advice on lakes. Does anybody know the rules for yoyo's such as reflective tape, numbers, identification, etc.?
Yo-Yo Fishing - Up to 30 yo-yos (or similar mechanical devices) per person may be used as long as they are not left unattended (out of sight or hearing) during daylight hours, and no more than one is hung from a line, wire, limb or support. Yo-yos must be labeled with the owner's name and address or vehicle license number, or current vehicle license number of the person using such equipment.
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Originally Posted by Gut Shot
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Originally Posted by Gut Shot
Hello, I too am from there, nothing to brag about. i herd from my dad that some fish were caught Tuesday, on OLD TOWN LAKE. My Grandpa mapped out the Southern end of this lake by marking alot of the underwater stumps. Thing is, you can't just pull up to a marked stump and catch them, you have to know where the "KNOT HOLE" is located to get the full potential of these marked stumps. The woods across form the school should be an excellant place to begin your search for the SLABS! Then again the upper end around Ms Tony's might be good too. Then theres the GAR HOLE area, The DUCK BLIND....the list goes on and on. Thing is, we aint gonna catch nuttin sittin here... GOOD LUCK TO YA!
Fished 2 days at Old Town (Saturday and Sunday). I got skunked. I missed 2 and broke one off. That was it. Windy and cold both days. The water temp was 50 to 53 degrees. Interseting enough, the fish taht I lost and the fish that my brother caught (he caught only 2 and he is an excellent fisherman) were on the extreme south end of the lake where the water was clearer but somehow 3 degrees warmer at the same depths as the north end which waqs stained to muddy. I thought muddy or stained water heated up faster than clear water. I met "fishingpox" and we talked a bit. It was great to meet him and I appreciate him taking the time to introduce himself and chat with me and my father. He had not been ther elong but he was not having much luck either. The temps should hold steady there in the 60's all week. Will this be long enough for them to pick up again by this weekend?
Any body fished there this week since the weather finally got nice? I was thinking about trying it this weekend, but I would like a report.
I went with gutshot yesterday and we caught 30. They have not moved on the banks yet, but it won't be long. It would be worth a trip this weekend