NE Arkansas Crappie

Hey yall, im a new member and didnt see there are state specific forums so I'll post this here. Sorry for the cross post.

Just moved to Paragould, AR and have been trying to figure out how to fish this area. I grew up on KY/Barkley Lakes, and have lived in Memphis fishing the Mississippi lakes and Horseshoe lake AR for the past couple years. Going from big lakes to these small impoundments and oxbows has been giving me fits (I don't understand how to find and locate fish on lakes that don't have primary and secondary channels in them). I've fished Portia Bay, Lake Frierson, and Mallard lake recently. Portia was a gar hole - literally. Caught several small (6-8") shallow in Mallard lake but couldn't find deeper water or bigger fish. Is making the drive every time to a bigger lake like Reelfoot or Horseshoe lake going to be my best bet?

Are there any other areas that I'm missing? Lake Hogue and Ashbaugh are next on my list to try as is Wappappello in Missouri.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Not asking for honey holes. General information such as deeper areas of a lake or if a lake is predominantly white or black crappie would help me tremendously.

Sad but that is the plight of the new fisherman. Most of our la k we and divers have a narrow window of quality fishing. I wore out Shirey bay early and had decent luck. Not all that big but good eating size. It petered out when summer hit. Spring river was a pleasant surprise til that submerged tree decided to jump in my way. Gravel bars are tough also. St. Francis can be good if the water is right. It seems that if you live in Jonesboro you have to make 125-150 mile drives to fish.

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At mallard lake the cypress trees were there when it was impounded. They grow in low lying places so should be in deeper water.

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That's what I'm afraid of. I caught 24 yesterday on Mallard lake, they were just all small. They weren't bug eyed and didn't seem overpopulated, they were just all small

Big Lake is probably overlooked. Wappapello on one end, st. Francis the other. Figure it would be a honey hole if you figured it out.

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Originally Posted by Gomer Snerd

Big Lake is probably overlooked. Wappapello on one end, st. Francis the other. Figure it would be a honey hole if you figured it out.

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How would you fish big lake with all of the Lilly pads in it?


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I would start over on the west side where I figure the channel runs. Should be deeper. But I have always wanted to do it but procrastinated until now I'm too old and decrepit to start exploring.

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Google maps and water color might be important.

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I was stationed at Blytheville in the 80's and fished Wappanoca down 55 and it was incredible. Not sure about now. Big lake and Mallard were our bass lake. Lived there when they drained it and oh my you should have seen the fish!! Used to mak the run to Kentucky Lake and Sardis and Grenada back then just for crappie so I would say you may have to continue your travels to find the good fish. Have fun!

Unfortunately there's not a lot of prime crappie fishing locations in NE Arkansas. It consists of mostly small bodies of water and river oxbows. If you truly want a consistent "home" lake to catch fish on then you're going to have to travel 1.5 hours +.

Does lake neark at Osceola ever produce? I remember Rayo catching a bunch back in the day. Been told that when the Mississippi hits 13 at Osceola the white bass, hybrids and stripers turn on in the tailwater.

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Originally Posted by Gomer Snerd

Does lake neark at Osceola ever produce? I remember Rayo catching a bunch back in the day. Been told that when the Mississippi hits 13 at Osceola the white bass, hybrids and stripers turn on in the tailwater.

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Not sure. This is the first I’ve heard of it. Fished Reelfoot today and managed to find a few scattered fish


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Originally Posted by Srongchoo

Not sure. This is the first I’ve heard of it. Fished Reelfoot today and managed to find a few scattered fish


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I live in Blytheville and have all my life. Big Lake is extremely shallow for the most part. There are some decent fish in there but you are going to dredge some mud to get to them.
I fish Reelfoot and Horseshoe when I fish locally. You are welcome to pm me with questions. I’ve fished near every mud hole around this part of the state


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Originally Posted by arkcrappie

I live in Blytheville and have all my life. Big Lake is extremely shallow for the most part. There are some decent fish in there but you are going to dredge some mud to get to them.
I fish Reelfoot and Horseshoe when I fish locally. You are welcome to pm me with questions. I’ve fished near every mud hole around this part of the state


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Man I appreciate that. I’ll shoot you a message


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You might give the black river a try. Once you learn how to fish the river instead of a lake or pond, it can produce some nice fish. I'm still learning, but that has been half the fun. You might catch almost anything there, such as crappie, bass, gar, grinnell, drum, catfish, sand bass and several species of bream. So when you feel that thump, be prepared for anything to pop out. But once you tune into them, it is mostly crappie.