On a good May day, you're likely to catch dozens of bass up to 2 pounds, with an occasional lunker in the 5- to 7-pound range to keep things exciting. Be aware that bigger fish lurk here. I caught one of my biggest largemouths ever here in early May, a spawning female weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces. During the year I worked as the park's ranger, I saw several 10-pounders caught by spring anglers.

Access to Walcott Lake is along three main routes. From U.S. Route 67 at Walnut Ridge, go 16 miles east on state Route 25, then two miles south on state Route 141. From Paragould, go 10 miles west on Route 25, then two miles south on state Route 168. From Jonesboro, travel 15 miles north on Route 141. All roads lead to the friendly rural town of Walcott, for which the lake is named.

The park has campsites with water and electrical hookups, hot showers, and restrooms, as well as cottages with everything you'll need for an overnight stay. Electric motors only are allowed on the lake. Phone (870) 573-6751 for more information, or visit the Arkansas Parks & Tourism Web site at www.arkansas.com.

LAKE POINSETT
Nestled in forested hills atop Crowley's Ridge, Lake Poinsett was the first Arkansas Game & Fish Commission lake built in northeast Arkansas. Just 20 miles south of Jonesboro, this picturesque impoundment is an ideal location for a peaceful spring bass-fishing retreat.

These days, it seems like most folks fishing Poinsett in spring are hoping to catch a mess of eating-size crappie. The lake is bristling with these panfish. Bass angling is popular, too, however, and fishing for lunker largemouths is outstanding here. Really big bass -- fish 7 pounds and up -- are rare, but they're always a possibility. The scarcity of "hawgs" hardly matters, though, because there are times in May when you can catch 1- to 3-pound bass one after another, as fast as you can cast.

Poinsett is relatively small -- only 640 acres -- so even without a fish-finder, an angler may be able to locate bass simply by fishing all visible cover until largemouths are found. Early in the season, however, a sonar unit is invaluable for pinpointing schools of fish in submerged cover along the old Distress Creek channel and in deeper water.

As the days warm with the progression of spring, bass move to the banks searching for spawning sites. Typically, the spawn will end late in April or early in May. But during the first half of May, it's likely you'll still find some bass on nests in the shallows if you concentrate your fishing efforts around cover such as standing trees, stumps and logs in Poinsett's numerous small coves. Spinnerbaits buzzed alongside these cover features are probably the most popular spring lures here, but Poinsett largemouths can be fooled by other lures as well, including weedless spoons with pork-frog trailers, Texas-rigged plastic lizards, tube baits, Rat-L-Traps and any lure that resembles a crawfish.

Lake Poinsett State Park on the lake's west side has picnic areas, restrooms, rental fishing boats (no motors), a concrete boat ramp and campsites with water and electric hookups. The AGFC provides two concrete boat ramps, one just north of the park and one at the dam's west end. The dam-site ramp has an adjacent courtesy dock and wheelchair-accessible fishing pier. Fishing supplies are available near the lake, with motels and restaurants in Harrisburg.