Thread: Bear Creek - AR

Fish near the dam at Bear Creek. Used to catch se good ones in the deeper water.

Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine

Fish near the dam at Bear Creek. Used to catch se good ones in the deeper water.

That's about the deepest water on the lake (25-30 ft.). Last winter, trollers caught a bunch of 'em trolling deep around there. One good thing about the lake is that you can almost always find a place to fish out of the wind. Right about the 9.9 hp restriction though; Last summer I saw a guy get a $200 ticket for running a 25 hp. The warden was pretty lenient on him though; his 12 yr. old son wasn't wearing a life vest in the boat & the warden let that slide with only a warning--figured he was going to pay enough fine already!

Originally Posted by arkcrappie

In the St. Francis Forest. Bear Creek Lake and Storm Creek Lake are in there. Couple of those hidden lakes up on the ridge. I quit fishing it years ago when I had to argue with an enforcement person because i did not (1) take the fuel tank out of my boat and/or (2) remove the prop from my outboard. I think it is a stupid rule. I think it should be idle only on all motors. I was told that all would not abide....

It's easier to just stay out of there for me. Plenty more water to fish....

The reason for that rule is that the soil on Crowley's Ridge erodes really badly, and big wakes from fast boats only make the lake fill in faster. The warden's right, folks wouldn't abide by a 'no wake' rule. You didn't need to take out the fuel tank, just remove the fuel line & leave it in the truck. Some folks who fish there a lot mount a 9.9 'kicker' on the side of their bass boat.

Cut my teeth on trolling the Creek. I fished it hard for 10 years. I was over there hunting/scouting last month and went to look at the lake, from the ramp it has changed alot. There is muncho structure under water and can be very frustrating for a troller. The only help I can give is watch your graph. Fish the points and between the points if you are trolling, and dont be scared to ease up towards the bank , just watch your line carefully. If you are verticle jigging you will have no problem. There is water 20 foot deep 5 feet from the bank. I'd say on average the water is 17 to 20 feet deep while trolling. I wished I could help you more but that would require me to be in a boat. Gun deer season opens in Ms. this weekend and thats where my heart is. The main thing is to enjoy your day, its a beautiful lake and you can always get out of the wind to fish.

Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine

Fish near the dam at Bear Creek. Used to catch se good ones in the deeper water.

This is Good Advice. Trolling the deep water by the dam has always worked well for me in the winter. There are some nice sized crappie in there and some whopper bream for sure. Good luck and let us know how you do.