Northern Arkansas lakes like Beaver, Bull Shoals and Norfork are expected to serve up some excellent bass action this spring. Photo by Keith Sutton.

As Arkansas bass anglers shake off the winter doldrums and plan their springtime fishing campaigns, they can expect a few nasty leftovers from last year's tumultuous spring and late-summer weather, including high water on some reservoirs and rivers.

However, that same water blessed fisheries across the state, too. Bass and other game fish thronged to freshly inundated vegetation, spawned successfully and left their fry to thrive amongst cover in water rich with nutrients. High water also scattered the fish and reduced fishing pressure, which means that last year's largemouth and smallmouth bass have enjoyed a long, fruitful growing season.

In short, 2009 is going to be a good year for bass anglers in Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries management biologists we interviewed have recommended a lively mix of large and small lunker lakes and spots where you should expect strike after strike from more average-sized fish. Here's our roundup of some of the top springtime largemouth and smallmouth bass fisheries.

SOUTH ARKANSAS
This region weathered last year's incredible weather with few side effects, according to Eric Brinkman, an AGFC fisheries biologist who works out of Camden. "In general, flooding is good for fisheries," he confirmed. "It's good for spawning and creates strong year-classes, but it'll take two or three years before you get catchable-sized fish out of them."

Lake Columbia
Lake Columbia should continue its reign as one of the state's top destinations for heavy Florida-strain largemouths, Brinkman said. Its southern location, along Beech Creek northwest of Magnolia in Columbia County, makes it a perfect nursery for growing lunkers. "They're a fast-growing and aggressive fish, and there's a good forage base in there to feed them," he continued. "Our cove rotenone samples showed good numbers of the minnows and small fish they feed on."

More than 100,000 Florida-strain fingerlings were stocked there last summer. This successful program, which Brinkman calls "a definite reaction by the commission to what the public wanted," is scheduled to continue in the future.

Columbia covers about 3,000 acres. From Magnolia, follow U.S. Route 371 south and turn right onto state Route 344; at county Road 53, turn left and drive 3 miles to the lake. Facilities include three concrete ramps, two wheelchair-accessible fishing piers and courtesy boat docks, and a picnic and day-use area on the southern shoreline. A small section of the lake is off limits to unauthorized users, but the remainder is open to fishing. Expect to find bass in the coves and near creek channels at this time of year.

Upper And Lower White Oak
Both sections of White Oak Lake in Ouachita County should continue to produce the same outstanding bass action that anglers have enjoyed in recent years, Brinkman predicted. "Upper and Lower White Oak tend to be great bass lakes, and we stock the lower lake with Florida-strain bass." The upper lake covers 1,032 acres and features two AGFC ramps and a barrier-free fishing pier; the lower section comprises 1,645 acres and has three ramps. State Route 387, which provides access to the lake, splits this AGFC-owned fishery.