Greers Ferry Lake is located in the Ozark foothills between the towns of Clinton and Heber Springs. This lake is a very popular lake for fishing, water sports, boating and camping.
Bluegill
Many anglers fish for bluegill and other bream on Greers Ferry Lake. Early in the year, they are easy to target as they move into the shorelines to spawn. While you can catch some fish all summer and fall along the abundant shoreline cover, the better bite will usually be deeper. Schools of bream will be found suspended over deeper water and you will usually need some pretty good electronics to find these fish consistently. Brush piles will hold a lot of bream from summer through fall as well, so make sure to mark these gps coordinates so you can find these spots more easily on future trips.
Catfish
There is some good fishing here for catfish. Anglers can target channel catfish, flathead catfish and blue catfish. In late spring and early summer, you can catch a lot of catfish up shallower, but then you are going to have to fish deeper water if you want to consistently target catfish here.
Crappie
There are plenty of crappie on Greers Ferry Lake. Many anglers report good success early in the spring as they head into the shallows to spawn. There is so much good shoreline cover so you can find them around wood, rocks and docks early in the year. Once the summer patterns set in, most of the better crappie will be found in deeper water for the rest of the season. On this lake, that can be anywhere from 12 to 30 feet deep or maybe even deeper. Crappie are known for schooling up and suspending 15 to 25 feet down over much deeper water. If you can find several of the deeper brush piles, you will have a better chance to catch more crappie on a consistent basis.
Hybrid Striped Bass
There are good numbers of hybrid striped bass in Greers Ferry Lake. There aren’t any striped bass, just hybrid striped bass here. Some of the charters will report some incredible fishing with 80 to 100 fish days being possible when conditions are right. Most of these fish will weigh between 2 and 8 pounds, but there are much bigger bass too. The world record is 27 pounds, 5 ounces and it was caught on Greers Ferry Lake.
Largemouth Bass
Greers Ferry Lake has plenty of largemouth bass in it, however, many anglers do report that it is tough to consistently catch bass here. There are miles of shoreline with so many different types of cover and structure that will hold largemouth bass. You can fish wood, docks, rocks, shallower flats and steep drop-offs. Largemouth bass are found all over the lake and some big fish are here too. Early in the year, it is a lot easier to target them as they can be found all along the shorelines as they get ready to spawn. Later in the year, you will probably do a lot better if you look for schools of bait fish over deeper water. The bank beaters don’t do nearly as well as the anglers who can figure out the offshore, deep water bite from summer through parts of the fall.
Smallmouth Bass
Greers Ferry Lake has a good population of smallmouth bass and plenty of anglers will target them. Early in the year, you can fish the banks and that can pay off as these fish are found along the shorelines as they move in to spawn. Once the summer patterns set in though, you are going to find the better quality smallmouth bass farther from shore in deeper water as they chase schools of bait fish. Don’t rule out the 30 to 40 foot depths. Smallmouth bass will often suspend 20 to 25 feet down over deeper water. If you can find some of these schools of bait fish in deeper water, you will most likely run into some smallmouth bass too.
Spotted Bass
There are spotted bass on Greers Ferry Lake as well. Many anglers will catch plenty of them while targeting largemouth or smallmouth bass early in the year as plenty of all 3 species of bass will move into the shorelines to spawn. In the summer and fall, the anglers that fish deeper will usually run into more spotted bass than the anglers who pound the banks.
Trout
The dam at Greers Ferry Lake creates an awesome tailrace fishery on Little Red River. Take a look at our Little Red River page to learn more about the trout fishing here.
Walleye
Greers Ferry Lake is home to some of the biggest walleye ever caught. Over the years, there have been several walleye caught over 20 pounds and the state record at 22 pounds, 11 ounces. This lake still produces some big walleye, but you usually hear about walleye around the 15 pound range compared to the 20 pound range now.
You won’t find walleye everywhere on the lake in big numbers, but there are plenty of walleye in the lake if you want to put the time in to learn the better spots. The spring walleye spawn is what attracts a lot of anglers here because the fish are big and shallow, so they are easier to find. Walleye move into the major tributaries of the lake to spawn. The South Fork, Middle Fork and Devil’s Fork arms all produce good walleye fishing for those who put in the time during the spring spawn. Later in the year, expect to find walleye much deeper in the main lake.
White Bass
White bass do very well in Greers Ferry Lake and many anglers will fish for them. For other anglers, they will catch plenty of white bass while targeting other fish such as crappie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass or hybrid striped bass. White bass are known for schooling up, so once you find them, you can usually catch a lot of them. They move up the tributaries in the spring to spawn. If you time it right in the spring, fishing can be fast and furious in fairly shallow water.
From summer through fall, the better bite will be found over deeper water. You won’t always have to fish down deep in the water column, but you may be out over very deep water. With white bass, it is always about finding the schools of bait fish and then the schools of white bass following the bait fish. Use your electronics and good search baits to help you cover water and find feeding fish.
