Bank Fishing Hot Spots in Arkansas
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You don’t need a boat to fish Arkansas’ more than 600,000 acres of lakes and 90,000 miles of rivers and streams.
Or pricey gear, or years of experience. Some of the state’s best fishing is easier to reach from shore anyway. And in Arkansas, good bank fishing is rarely far away, whether it’s a south Arkansas bayou, an Ozark stream or the tailwater below a dam.
What to Know
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission access points and fish attractors can be found using the AGFC’s interactive maps at www.agfc.com/en/resources/maps.
- Anyone16 and older must carry a valid Arkansas fishing license. You can buy your fishing license and trout permit online.
- Fishing regulations for lakes and rivers differ across the state. Particularly pay attention to size limits, harvest limits, tackle restrictions and catch-and-release areas. Also note sections that are closed to fishing during spawning season. AGFC fishing regulations can be found online.
- Public road bridges, state parks and designated public access points are good places to reach the water. Much of the land along Arkansas streams is privately owned, though, so stay below the high-water mark and respect property lines and posted signs.
Discover Bank FiShing hot Spots
The Ozarks
War Eagle Creek
Flowing north from its headwaters in the Boston Mountains, War Eagle Creek in northwest Arkansas is known for scenic bluffs and trophy smallmouth. Easy access points with parking include War Eagle Mill, the Ark. 23 bridge and 786-acre Withrow Springs State Park. Target smallmouth and largemouth bass along with catfish and bream. In spring, walleye and white bass make spawning runs upstream from Beaver Lake, and smallmouth are active as well. Smallmouth feed heavily again in fall, bringing some of the year's highest catch rates. Nearby lodging options include Rogers and Eureka Springs. The state park has campsites. Huntsville is a close stop for food.
Crooked Creek
Crooked Creek is a Blue Ribbon Smallmouth Bass Stream, and Kelley's Access in Yellville is a good place to start. The access sits at a bend in the creek, just below the Fred Berry Crooked Creek Nature Center, with both offering great bank and wade fishing. Smallmouth are the main draw, but the creek also holds largemouth bass, Ozark bass, green sunfish, bluegill and catfish. Retrieve crankbaits and spinnerbaits across riffles, or work live bait and soft plastics in deep holes with large rocks and other structure. Smallmouth fishing picks up once the water temperature climbs above 55 degrees and usually stays good from March through late October. Look for lodging in Yellville.
The Delta
Cane Creek Lake
Near Star City, 1,700-acre Cane Creek Lake was built specifically for fishing and boating. Its remote location keeps crowds small. Anglers come for bass, catfish, bream and crappie. The easiest way to fish from shore is to walk the 4.5-mile levee and cast to flooded timber and other cover. Park on the north side of the lake, where Bayou Bartholomew meets Cane Creek. Deeper water near the dam's spillway, east of the parking area, holds crappie and catfish. Shallower cover along the riprap holds bream and bass nearly year-round. On the south shore, Cane Creek State Park has campsites, restrooms, playgrounds and fishing access points. Unless you're after catfish, skip the long cast from the piers. Brush placed underneath concentrates fish, so a worm under a bobber dropped straight down is often all it takes to catch bream. Star City has a few traditional hotels and rental cabins.
Lake Frierson
Built in 1976, 335-acre Lake Frierson lies within Lake Frierson State Park, 10 miles north of Jonesboro. Bank anglers will find plenty of shoreline access and picnic areas throughout the park's day-use areas, along with an ADA-accessible fishing pier. The park also has campsites and restrooms, and its visitor center sells live bait, tackle, fishing licenses and basic supplies. Anglers target bass, bream, crappie, catfish and saugeye. For bass, try spinnerbaits, topwater lures or live bait around clumps of water willow and other structure. Jonesboro has plenty of lodging and restaurants.
The Timberlands
White Oak Lakes
Upper and Lower White Oak lakes near Bluff City cover 1,600 acres combined and rank among the state's best mid-size reservoirs for bass, crappie, bream and catfish. For crappie from shore, try the "Old Folks Hole" just below the dam between the two lakes. Local anglers also do well from the bank below the lower lake's dam. Both lakes offer fish an abundance of structure and cover, including dead timber, cypress trees, riprap, lily pads, points, islands and submerged creek channels. Fish attractors and gravel spawning sites within casting distance make it easy to target bream. White Oak Lake State Park has campsites, picnic areas, playgrounds, hiking and biking trails, and a marina with a bait shop and boat rentals.
Dierks City Pond
Once an industrial reservoir on Weyerhaeuser land, Dierks City Pond opened to the public in 2024 through a 10-year agreement between Weyerhaeuser and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The pond spans 883 feet at its widest point and sits less than a mile from downtown Dierks, an easy walk or bike ride. Its open shoreline lets you cast to nearly any part of the pond for bass and bream. Enter through the gate at the southwest corner. Traditional hotels and themed cabins are located a short drive away in neighboring Nashville, De Queen, or Murfreesboro.
Central
Lake Overcup
Just off Interstate 40 at Morrilton, Lake Overcup is a go-to lake for panfish, largemouth bass and catfish. Bank anglers can fish from the piers or the earthen jetty, or walk the mile-long dam in search of big largemouth. Summer is prime time for channel catfish. The lake also holds flathead and blue catfish, white bass, chain pickerel and warmouth. The surrounding wildlife management area has camping, RV sites, picnic tables and restrooms. Lodging options include hotels in Morrilton, plus rooms at Mather Lodge and cabins at nearby Petit Jean State Park.
Lake Sylvia
Lake Sylvia is a 17-acre lake south of Perryville in Perry County. Accessible shoreline areas and easy walking paths lead to the water from public spots around the lake, where anglers target largemouth bass and bluegill. Channel catfish are generally stocked during the summer. The recreation area has campsites, RV sites, picnic tables, restrooms and a boat ramp. Little Rock, the state capital, is 38 miles east and has ample lodging and dining options.
The Ouachitas
Wilhelmina Lake
The AGFC built Wilhelmina Lake near Mena in 1958 for public fishing. The Wilhelmina Access offers camping, picnic tables, restrooms and a recreational area. The western side of the lake has an ADA-accessible wooden fishing pier. Anglers target bass, bream, catfish and crappie. Channel catfish are stocked annually during the fall. Located 7 miles west of Mena, the lake is south of Queen Wilhelmina State Park’s restaurant and lodge.
Lake Greeson
Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1950, 7,260-acre Lake Greeson stretches north of Murfreesboro. The clear lake averages 40 feet in depth and holds bass, bream, crappie and white bass, along with a healthy population of channel and blue catfish. Night fishing for catfish from the bank is productive throughout the warm months, especially along the rocky shoreline at Parker Creek Recreation Area, which also has campsites. Daisy State Park, on the lake's shore, has more than 100 campsites, a yurt, boat rentals, picnic areas, a playground, and ATV and mountain bike trails. Waterfront resorts, marinas with cabins, and nearby hotels and rentals round out the lodging options.
The River Valley
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River runs 328 miles across the state, from Fort Smith on the Oklahoma line to its mouth in the Delta. A series of locks and dams divides it into 12 navigational pools. The upper River Valley section, from Fort Smith to Russellville, features rocky shorelines, strong currents, and deep waters below the dams. This zone is famous for its seasonal runs of striped bass, white bass, and winter sauger. Bank anglers do best in the tailwaters below the dams, especially Ozark-Jeta Taylor and Dardanelle locks and dams. If you’re in Fort Smith, head to Harry E. Keller River Park for an easy walk-in experience. From the paved parking lot, you can step directly onto a flat, grass-lined bank, unfold a lawn chair, rig up a live worm under a bobber and throw into slow-moving eddies. Lodging is available in cities all along the river.
Mulberry River
In spring, high water draws whitewater paddlers to the Mulberry. From midsummer through late fall, the water drops, and bank anglers can walk gravel bars and slick streambeds to fish the pockets and shaded logjams where smallmouth and spotted bass hold. Long stretches of the river flow through the Ozark National Forest, which makes public access easy. Note that many of the access points have small day-use fees.
Redding Recreation Area has parking, restrooms and a long, fishable shoreline next to the campground. Framed by scenic rock bluffs, Wolf Pen Recreation Area near Oark has a primitive campground loop with paths leading directly down to the rocky shoreline and gravel bars. Near Interstate 40, Vine Prairie Park in Mulberry sits close to the river's confluence with the Arkansas River, with flat banks for anglers to target largemouth bass, channel catfish and sunfish. Campgrounds and resorts such as Byrd's Adventure Center and Mulberry Mountain Lodge are plentiful along the river.
Bank Fishing for Trout
The cold tailwaters below the dams on Beaver, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry and Greeson lakes and on the Ouachita River are Arkansas' top trout waters. Depending on the river, you may catch rainbow, brown, brook, cutthroat, golden rainbow or tiger trout. The best-known stretches are the White River below Bull Shoals Dam, the North Fork of the White River below Norfork Dam and the Little Red River below Greers Ferry Dam near Heber Springs. Fed by Mammoth Spring, the Spring River stays a constant 58 degrees and has excellent bank fishing for trout. Public walk-in access points along these rivers let you fish from the bank or wade, and AGFC trout maps mark each one, along with wheelchair-accessible sites and generation schedule phone numbers. Check generation before you go, and head for the bank if you hear a horn or see the water rising. For more on each river, see Arkansas Trout Fishing: Best Rivers, Seasons and Tips.
ADA Accessible Public Fishing Areas
Bois d'Arc Lake
Bois d'Arc Lake (pronounced "bow-dark") sits within the 5,843-acre Bois d'Arc Wildlife Management Area, a bottomland hunting and fishing complex in Hempstead County. An ADA-accessible fishing pier puts anglers with limited mobility within reach of the lake's main draws of crappie, bluegill and redear sunfish. Largemouth bass and channel catfish fishing is good too, and the lake fishes well year-round. Bank anglers can walk 4.5 miles of riprap levee on the north, west and south sides, or fish from a man-made peninsula near the lower boat ramp that was built for bank fishing. Keep an eye out for alligators, wintering eagles, minks and water birds in the surrounding bottomlands. The area has campsites, RV sites, picnic tables and restrooms.
Lake Atkins
Built in 1956 on Horsepen and Ten Yard creeks, 752-acre Lake Atkins in Pope County was the first Arkansas lake built partly with Dingell-Johnson Act funds, which come from federal excise taxes on fishing equipment. Stumps, brush and logs fill the lake. After a renovation, it was restocked with Florida-strain largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie and channel catfish, and it's now known for trophy-class bass. ADA-accessible fishing piers serve anglers with limited mobility, and four jetties reach into the lake for bank anglers. Russellville and Dardanelle have restaurants and motels.
Many Arkansas state parks and AGFC Family and Community Fishing Program ponds also have accessible fishing piers or shoreline access. Check AGFC’s list of mobility-impaired fishing areas - https://www.agfc.com/fishing/where-to-fish/public-fishing-areas/ for more places to fish.
Family and Community Fishing Ponds
In cities and towns across the state, the AGFC's Family and Community Fishing Program stocks ponds and small lakes on a regular schedule, so there are fish to catch close to home. The program also brings fishing events, beginner clinics and tagged-fish contests to selected cities each year. That makes these ponds a natural first stop for kids, beginners and anyone who wants a few hours of fishing without a long drive.
The rules differ a bit from other public waters. Fishing is limited to a handheld rod or pole, and largemouth bass must be released immediately. Daily limits are three catfish, five trout and 25 bream. Anglers 16 and older need a fishing license, plus a trout permit to keep trout. Some ponds are open only to anglers 15 and younger, anglers 65 and older, and holders of a disability license. Licensed adults ages 16 to 64 may fish alongside a youth or an angler with a disability who is actively fishing. Find a pond near you on the AGFC Family and Community Fishing page.
Tilden Rodgers Park
Tilden Rodgers Park in West Memphis is an easy outing for families and beginners. The pond is stocked regularly with catfish and other species, and picnic areas and walking trails make it a good place to spend the day. West Memphis has lodging and restaurants.
Wells Lake
Next to the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith, 12-acre Wells Lake has three wooden fishing piers and walking trails around the lake that make the shoreline easy to reach, along with accessible fishing areas for anglers with limited mobility. Anglers catch bream and catfish, plus trout during seasonal stockings. No gear? Rent fishing poles and tackle at the nature center. The site also has restrooms, pavilions and picnic tables, and lodging is close by in Fort Smith.
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