By Robert Johnson – Not a lot of fishermen out this week with that cold front. But the ones who are getting out are catching fish.
My report from Beaver Lake is the water temp is holding close to 46° with stripers being caught freelining shad and shiners. Off the flats at Beaver Shores, the subdivision you see going west into Rogers, looking south off of Hwy. 12 bridge on the right side you have a free boat launch you can also see the islands. If you Look northwest when crossing you can see Prairie Creek Docks which has a good boat launch but you need a pass or pay $5.
If you look back northeast and you can see Ventras way across other side of lake, which is a shut down park that keeps access to boat launch open, or you can put in out of Garfield if a person wants to get in the water in this area without driving all the way to Rogers.
This whole area is all in view of the bridge, and for the next 4 to 6 weeks is where you want to look for the stripers on Beaver Lake. They might be down 30 feet, or with calm winds and a little sun could be running the flats feeding to the surface in water less then 30 feet deep.
I would add 3 oz. weights to two rods up front then lighten up the rest now. Keep a heavy jig tied on one for and a big topwater bait tied on another.
Watch for gulls feeding here this time of year too because there’s a lot of bait calling this area home for a while. One of my fishing buddies from Eagle Rock, Ward Goodrich (Bubba), went out here at Holiday Island this last week on a warm afternoon and got a good mix of walleye, crappie and bass working the drop off the flats with a jig just off the bottom between here and Beaver.
The fish all look healthy and still get hungry. We got another warm spell on us now. So if you get a nice day you can still be warm and enjoy catching some fish. Have you a winter fish fry. Well, I better go for now. Stay warm.