Arkie Division season gets underway Feb. 25 on Lake Ouachita
When the Arkie Division of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine kicks off Feb. 25 on Lake Ouachita out of Mount Ida, Arkansas, anglers will need to catch stout limits of largemouth – along with a few smallies and spots – to be competitive. However, Ouachita’s largemouth population is the mainstay for the biggest bags early in the season.
Tournament details
Lake Ouachita
Mount Ida, Arkansas
Feb. 25, 2023
About the fishery
One of the most well-known tournament lakes in Arkansas, Lake Ouachita covers more than 66,000 surface acres and features approximately 690 miles of shoreline surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest.
As previously mentioned, anglers fishing the Arkie Division opener will have a shot at largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, and the lake is loaded with crappie, bream, walleye, some huge stripers, and catfish (which means that fishing traffic can be hearty).
There’s plenty of quality natural vegetation for anglers to fish – hydrilla, milfoil, coontail, etc. – along along with both natural and manmade wood and rock.
What to expect
Hot Springs resident and Bass Pro Tour angler Spencer Shuffield has fished Ouachita as much as anybody, and has a slough of BFL Top 10s there to prove it. Shuffield thinks the top anglers will need to weigh some hefty limits to take home the trophy.
“At a recent team tourney, the winning weight was over 29 pounds for a five-fish limit,” Shuffield said. “This is the time of the year for some big bags of bass.”
Moving baits tend to produce the biggest limits out of Ouachita this time of the year, but Shuffield says that one condition will make those baits particularly effective – wind.
“Most of the biggest bags will be caught on moving baits, but there has to be some wind – any moving bait anywhere in the country tends to need a ripple on water to be productive,” Shuffield said. “The wind is one of the deals that activates the fish to bite.”
Shuffield says a wind from the south in the 10- to 15- mph range is ideal for moving baits on Ouachita. Although you can locate bass all over the lake, Shuffield believes that the bottom half of the lake is an angler’s best bet.
“The bigger bags of largemouth will come from Crystal Springs or lower down the lake,” Shuffield said. “The water is clearer with 5 to 7 feet of visibility most of the time. Some guys get a little intimidated fishing the clear water, but that’s where the fish are. That’s the area I spend most of my time, anyway. Above Crystal Springs seems to be a waste of time in February.”
Anglers should focus on submerged hydrilla, whether it’s the inside edges or deeper water edges. Even though depths vary, the weed height in the water column seems to remain the same.
“The deep hydrilla is where you should be fishing,” Shuffield said. “If you’re fishing along flatter banks, fish over the inside grassline. Steeper banks, fish the outside grassline. Either way, the hydrilla grows to about the same height, so you can easily fish the same moving baits over the top to draw fish out.”
Baits and techniques
Alabama rigs, lipless crankbaits, crankbaits and jigs can all produce a big bag for some fortunate anglers during the tournament.
“With how the grass sets up, a moving bait fished around and over the top of the grass should be your best bet,” Shuffield said. “A (lipless crank) can really produce. I think the Alabama rig will also come into play. Don’t forget about fishing a casting jig or football head jig as well. Fishing a jig in the hydrilla can also be productive. No matter what you use, it’ll likely take 16 to 18 pounds to get a check and over 20 pounds to win.”