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TALE WATERS & TIDES · POCKET FISHING GUIDE
ARKANSAS SPORTFISH
UNCOMMON

Smallmouth Bass

GO81SCORE
CROOKED CREEK
Conditions favor today

Pound-for-pound, the hardest pull in the Ozarks.

SIZE
10–18 in
MAX
22 in
WEIGHT
Up to 7 lbs
HABITAT
RiversLakesStreams
Clear rocky rivers, bluff banks, gravel bars.
DIET
Crawfish, hellgrammites, minnows, sculpins.
BEST BAITS
Ned rig · Tubes · Jerkbaits
SEASONAL PATTERN
BEST🌱SPRING
☀️SUMMER
🍂FALL
❄️WINTER
Summer: Cool, oxygenated current.
ANGLER INTEL · RIGHT NOWWORTH THE TRIP
DEPTH
10–18 ft
shade lines & points
TIMING
First & last light
TOP LURE · LURE
Ned rig
moderate conditions — work the cover
TACKLE
Medium spinning, 8–10 lb fluorocarbon
TECHNIQUE · Moving bait on main-lake points — match forage size
ANGLER STATS
SPAWN 5970°F
BITE
80
FIGHT
94
STEALTH
68
FUN FACT
Smallmouth are the reason anglers buy wading boots. They live in moving water and will leave a bed to chase a bait they didn't even see the first time.
STATUS
Secure
Native · Centrarchidae
LIVE PFG SIGNAL78°F · Cossatot RiverGO 81
YOUR CARD · ACTIONSNOT YET COLLECTED
🪪 ID marks
  • Bronze-brown body
  • Vertical bars
  • Red eye
  • Jaw ends under eye
💡 Tips
  • Cast upstream, drift down
  • Brown & orange mimic crawfish
  • Target current seams

🌙 Lunar profile

MEDIUM Lunar ImpactBest phases: Full Moon
☀️ Daytime
Current seams in rivers; rocky ledges and boulders in reservoirs. Moderate lunar sensitivity.
🌙 Nighttime
Some night feeding near Full Moon along rocky structure. Tube baits and crayfish imitators.
🔗 Source: Lukas & Sass 2011 framework; AGFC Smallmouth Bass management

Where to catch