The smallmouth bass are here in good enough numbers to target and some big fish mixed in. With the clear, deep waters in Beaver Lake, it’s a nice fit for smallmouth bass. Try fishing deeper water and using a variety of finesse-style baits with lighter line and you’ll get more bites here.
Highway 12 to the Beaver Dam
This part of the lake is much better for smallmouth bass and spotted bass too. You will still catch largemouth bass in this part of the lake, but for the anglers looking to target smallmouth bass, you will usually find larger numbers of them in this part of the lake.
Beaver Lake Can Be Tough to Fish
This lake can be tough to fish, especially for people new to the lake. Because this lake is so deep with such clear water, it can be hard to located suspended smallmouth bass over deeper water from summer through fall. If you can put in the time with some good electronics, there are some very nice smallmouth bass to be caught on Beaver Lake.
Use Lighter Line
Beaver Lake is known for its clear, deep waters. While the waters can definitely get murky in some areas of this lake after a heavy rain, this lake has very clear water for most of the year. Using lighter line is key to getting more bites in clear water, especially in the middle of the day when the sun is out. Use 6 to 8 pound test line and you’ll get a lot more bites and still have enough strength to get some of the bigger fish into the boat. Fluorocarbon line or at the very least, a fluorocarbon leader will help get more bites too.
Deep Water Fishing
Beaver Lake is a very deep lake which can make fishing quite challenging for many anglers. The super clear water doesn’t help anglers since the fish can easily see your presentations and at times, they can be quite skittish. Whether you’re fishing open water or along the shorelines you’re most likely going to be fishing a little bit deeper than you would on lakes that are not as clear. From summer through fall, you will find lots of fish suspending 15 to 25 feet down out over much deeper water.
Fish at Night
Night fishing is fairly popular here among bass anglers. Some smallmouth bass will come shallow at night, which makes them easier to target. However, the better way to do it is to locate bigger schools of bait fish in deeper water during the day. Fish these same areas at night and see if the schools of smallmouth bass will fire up. Find the right school of hungry bass and you can fool some smallmouth bass that may not be easily fooled during the day time.
Fish the Docks
While Beaver Lake isn’t loaded with docks, there are still plenty of docks throughout the lake if you want to fish this pattern. In the spring, anglers will find all types of fish up around the docks such as bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, spotted bass, smallmouth bass and more. You can usually find some smallmouth bass spawning around the docks, but don’t be surprised if they are located a little deeper as a result of the clear water on Beaver Lake.
Fish the Points
Beaver Lake has so many points that you can easily fish this pattern and never run out of spots to fish on your day on the water. Every point won’t be equal, however, there is some very good fishing for a variety of different species of fish around these points. The points that have quick access to deep water and some type of cover will usually hold more smallmouth bass than the shallower stuff.
Fish the Rocks
Beaver Lake is full of rocks, so plan on fishing rocky bottoms wherever you’re at in the lake. Whether you’re fishing shorelines with smaller rocks, larger rocks or some of the cliffs that have some awesome ledges with deep water, you’re going to be fishing rocks on Beaver Lake.
Fish the Shorelines
Because Beaver Lake has so much deep water, a lot of anglers will just pick a shoreline and start casting. Most of the shorelines offer quick access to deeper water, so you can usually find a variety of different species of fish either up against the shorelines or just off the shorelines. Good numbers of smallmouth bass can be found tighter to the shorelines in the spring, however, in the summer and fall months, plan on fishing deeper water just off these shorelines if you want to catch more smallmouth bass. These fish will often suspend out a little deeper a little bit away from the shorelines.
Fish the Wood
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission does a great job of placing fish attractors in a bunch of lakes throughout Arkansas. On Beaver Lake, they have files you can download that gives you access to the GPS coordinates so you can find these fish attractors much easier. The fish attractors will hold all types of fish, but most anglers like to fish these areas for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. There are plenty of trees in the lake, lay downs and bushes to fish along the shorelines depending on what creek arm you are in. When the bass move into the shallows to spawn, you’re going to find a lot of largemouth bass, spotted bass and even some smallmouth bass around the wood.
Learn More About Smallmouth Bass
Our smallmouth bass section is huge with information on the best live baits, lures, where to catch them and how to catch them. Visit our smallmouth bass page to learn more.
