Beaver Lake fishing: Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike

Target species: Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Walleye
Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Oct for Smallmouth Bass
Second window: Apr, May, Jun, Oct for Striped Bass
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Horseshoe Bend Marina.

The reservoir

Beaver Lake covers 28,582 acres in Arkansas, across 3 counties: Benton, Carroll and Washington. It is a reservoir: 91.5% of it is 120 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 207 feet (63.1 m). Our records hold 31 species for this water.

View of Beaver Lake from Prairie Creek, Arkansas.jpg
Traveler7 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth: down to 207 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 207 ft (63.1 m). 91.5% of the water is 120 feet or shallower. We hold 773 depth contours for this water, drawn from 3,956,333 soundings.

Beaver Lake, Arkansas.jpeg
Thesagemarmot · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–10 ft: 14.9% of the water
  • 10–20 ft: 11.9% of the water
  • 20–30 ft: 11.3% of the water
  • 30–40 ft: 9.3% of the water
  • 40–50 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 50–60 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 60–70 ft: 7% of the water
  • 70–80 ft: 6% of the water
  • 80–90 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 90–100 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 100–110 ft: 3.7% of the water
  • 110–120 ft: 2.9% of the water
  • 120–130 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 130–140 ft: 1.9% of the water
  • 140–150 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 150–160 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 160–170 ft: 0.8% of the water
  • 170–180 ft: 0.5% of the water
  • 180–190 ft: 0.2% of the water

7 target fish, led by Smallmouth Bass

  • Smallmouth Bass — Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Oct.
  • Striped Bass — Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Oct.
  • Northern Pike — Best months: Apr, May, Oct, Nov.
  • Largemouth Bass — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Cutthroat Trout — Best months: Nov, Dec, Apr.
  • Rainbow Trout — Best months: Nov, Dec, Apr.
  • Walleye — Best months: Apr, May, Oct, Nov.

Also recorded here: White Bass, Channel Catfish, Black Redhorse, Golden Redhorse, River Redhorse, Spotted Bass, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Redear, Green Sunfish, Flathead Catfish, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Black Bullhead, Northern Hog Sucker, Longear Sunfish, Longnose Gar, Common Carp, Grass Carp, Gizzard Shad.

Open Floodgates - Beaver Lake Dam - Northwest Arkansas, U.S. - 21 May 2011.jpg
Doug Wertman from Rogers, AR, USA · CC BY 2.0

Water and conditions

Water temperature averages 68°F across the year. pH averages 7.8. These readings span 2016–2026.

Monthly average water temperature: Jan 42°F · Feb 47°F · Mar 48°F · Apr 60°F · May 73°F · Jun 75°F · Jul 85°F · Aug 83°F · Sep 79°F · Oct 71°F · Nov 59°F · Dec 51°F

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 boat ramps.

  • Hwy 45 Boat Ramp — on White River, Goshen.
  • Horseshoe Bend Marina 16168 Highway 94 East 72758 · website facebook.com/Thehorseshoebendmarina · hours: Mo-Th 10:00-17:00; Su,Fr 10:00-18:00; Sa 09:00-18:00

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Season by season

  • Winter (Jan, Feb, Mar, 42–48°F) — Steady but no peak: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Walleye.
  • Spring (Apr, May, Jun, 60–75°F) — Biting: Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout.
  • Summer (Jul, Aug, Sep, 79–85°F) — Biting: Largemouth Bass. Steady but no peak: Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye.
  • Fall (Oct, Nov, Dec, 51–71°F) — Biting: Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 28,582 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish. Winter water drops to 42°F, and the warm-water species stop feeding well before you do. Summer water sits at 85°F: heat and afternoon lightning are the real risks, not the fishing.

Where this data comes from

  • USGS — USGS reservoir bathymetric surveys (ScienceBase): class A, a survey of the bottom, 2018.
  • USACE CWMS — USACE CWMS elevation-area curves: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.