HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Arkie Division will kick off the new season on Lake Hamilton on Feb 28. The popular Arkansas fishery should produce good fishing for the anglers as they get the 2026 season underway.
What to expect
Bass Pro Tour pro and Hot Springs local Spencer Shuffield expects big things from one of his home lakes in this event. He believes several different approaches will produce fish, both shallow and deep.
“Depending on the weather in the week leading up to it, you should be able to do just about everything and catch them,” he said. “You’ll be able to catch them out of the brush, around the bait, and then you can also go up shallow and catch them with shallow crankbaits and lipless crankbaits.”
Shuffield reports that the fishing has been very good on Hamilton all winter. That’s the case with and without forward-facing sonar, which will be limited to three hours of use for each angler in this event. He says the timing of when to use it will be a factor in the outcome, but it may not be the only way to win.
“If I were fishing this event, I would use my forward-facing sonar right away in the morning and then head shallow after that,” he said. “The whole minnow and jerkbait deal has been really good on Hamilton the last two winters, but the problem is they are getting so educated to it now; they’re much more reserved and just follow it and don’t commit as easily. You don’t need to use it to win out there, and you can get it done shallow and still come in with a big bag. I may end up fishing this one, and I might not even turn it on and go down the bank cranking.”
The whole lake is currently fishing well, and there are many potential winning areas, but Shuffield said the lake’s whole lower end as well as the zone around takeoff at the Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery hold great potential.
“You have a lot of release fish there from all the tournaments that go out of there, and it has everything you need,” he said. “There’s some grass, a lot of brush piles and offshore humps for those fish to get on.”
Baits to bring
For forward-facing sonar, Shuffield said a Damiki rig and jerkbait are must-haves, and his other choice for fishing the shallows would be a lipless crankbait. Those three will cover your bases, and he believes one of the trio is likely to be the winning approach.
What will it take?
There is potential for some big bags of fish this time of year on Hamilton if the right conditions occur. In recent years, the top finisher has weighed 15 to 19 pounds.
“If there’s wind at all, the weights will be better, and it could take something in the high teens to win,” Shuffield said. “If we get some rain and the water gets a little dirty, those weights will go even higher. If it stays calm and clear, those weights will definitely be lower, and 16 or 17 pounds should do it.”