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ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS “The Voice of the American Sportsman”
January 2018
Sean & Tom Reynolds 877-246-4869 • www. stroutfitters.com
JANUARY BEGINS THE NEW YEAR FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITY IN ARKANSAS
January begins the new year for outdoor activity in Arkansas. Striper, walleye, and crappie are in their winter feeding period. Duck and deer season is still going strong. Winters in Arkansas are usually very mild. On a typical day, the beginning temperature will in the low thirties with average high in the mid-forties. This is a great time to be on the water because you will see very few people fishing. The ones that are usually are catching stripers all day long. The walleye will be starting their early season move to their spawning areas and the crappie will be over the deep brush piles feeding on minnows. Combine hunting with some great striper fishing and you have a perfect Cast & Blast
opportunity. We offer both deer and bird hunting Cast & Blast packages starting in November thorough Mid-February. Lodging is available at some of the lakefront resorts. Some even offer extensive hunting grounds. Check it all out at www.stroutfitters.com/specials. Stripers will have moved to deep water in January. The stripers follow the shad to the deeper water as the shad finds the layer of water temperature that fits their comfort zone. This is usually in the 50 to 100 foot range. Find the shad and you will find the stripers. Live shad, both gizzard and threadfin, work the best and should be 3 to 5 inches in length. The next best live bait is shiners specifically brooders. They are in
the 3 to 5 inch range and can be purchased at our local bait shops like 101 Grocery and Bait. Spoons are the best artificial bait for catching stripers during this time of the year. The best color and length is a white 3 inch spoon. Our presentation varies but it’s usually floats and downlines. Our normal bait will be 3 to 5 inch threadfin shad. Most times we will have 8 rods out, six downlines and 2 floats. I will vary the depths of the downlines until I figure out what depth range the stripers are holding that day. I then set all lines to that depth. One trick I use is using a light leader line of 10 lb test. The lighter line allows the small baits to move freely in the water. The best spots to catch stripers in January are Float Creek in the early part of January, the large flat above 101 bridge, and the river channel in the 101 area up to Crystal Cove. Look for the shad or sea gulls and you will likely find the stripers. January can provide great striper bite all day long, it’s just not a morning bite.
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The bass will be on the buffs and drop offs near the river channel. The best baits are on jigs, worms and spinnerbaits thrown later in the day to a bank that has wind pounding it. If you can get a couple of strong south winds try going up the creeks and throw a spinnerbait. The bass will move up to that warmer water mid-morning looking for young bait to feed on. There is also great night fishing throwing jigs, worms, and black or red 3/8 OZ spinner baits. You can catch fish all over the main lake and the creeks. The crappie bite is very good. The fish are holding along the buffs in brush piles and roaming the flats in 20 plus feet of water. Warm days will bring the fish up so make sure you always check out the shallow flats. Spider rigging is the most effective technique to catch them. You can find active crappies in Brushy Creek and Big Creek on the south end of the lake, and Bennett’s Bayou, Red Bank, Calamity Beach, Pigeon Creek on the north end.
