"It's fairly far north for Florida bass, but it's in the river valley," Leone observed. "If the lake ices over, we could lose a lot of our fish. It has iced over before. If we don't have any problem with winter mortality, it could produce some really big fish."

Lake Austell, in Village Creek State Park near Forrest City, is about 30 feet deep in places. The 85-acre lake surrendered a 15-pound, 12-ounce largemouth a few years ago, reported Jeff Farwick, an AGFC biologist in Brinkley, and produces many bass in the 8- to 12-pound range as well. Many fish the old standing timber and fallen trees along the shorelines.

Lake Conway underwent a partial drawdown in 2006. The 6,700-acre lake near Conway usually averages a depth of about 6 feet, but contains some holes down to 18 feet. Built in 1948, the lake contains about 52 miles of shorelines.

"Lake Conway has produced some bass up to 14 pounds," said Carl Perrin, an AGFC biologist in Mayflower. "Going back to 1976, we've stocked Floridas in Lake Conway about every three to four years. We drew it down in the fall of 2006 to do some work on the shorelines. The lake has about 1,500 acres of lily pads."

Known primarily for big smallmouths, Greers Ferry Lake, near Heber Springs also holds some big largemouths. In fact, it holds every species of game fish native to Arkansas in its 40,000 acres of clear, deep water -- about 190 feet deep in places, Perrin stated. Opened in 1963 by John F. Kennedy in one of his last acts as president, Greers Ferry offers more than 460 miles of shoreline.

"Greers Ferry is fair for largemouths and occasionally produces a big fish, but it's pretty good for smallmouths and spotted bass," Perrin said. "It produced a few 14-pound largemouths and at least one 15-pounder that I know about. We stocked Florida bass into the lake years ago. The biggest largemouth that I've heard about in the past several years weighed about 9 pounds."

In northeast Arkansas, anglers might fish Lake Charles, a 645-acre lake near Powhatan, or Lake Frierson, a 350-acre lake in Lake Frierson State Park near Jonesboro. Either can produce bass in the 7- to 10-pound range.