Greers Ferry guide Tommy Cauley shows off a largemouth from a recent trip on the lake. Photo by John Felsher.

Looking somewhat like a lopsided, leaning “M,” Greers Ferry Lake dominates the north-central part of Arkansas across parts of Van Buren and Cleburne counties at the edge of the Ozarks near Heber Springs.

Nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains about two hours from Little Rock, Greers Ferry Lake contains populations of every species of game fish available in Arkansas except stream trout. However, the tailrace of the Little Red River, the primary source for Greers Ferry Lake, holds good populations of rainbow, cutthroat, brown and brook trout.

The lake has produced two current state records and one world record. Jerald C. Shaum landed a 27-pound, 5-ounce hybrid striped bass on April 24, 1997. Clark Stevenson caught an 11-pound, 5-ounce lake trout on Dec. 15, 1997. Al Nelson caught the world record walleye, a 22-pound, 11-ounce fish, on March 12, 1982.

“Greer’s Ferry is fair for largemouths and occasionally produces a big fish, but it’s pretty good for smallmouths and spotted bass,” said Carl Perrin, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologist in Mayflower. “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 smallmouth probably weighed about 5 pounds. The biggest spotted bass would be in the 4- to 5-pound range.”

Fed by three rivers and numerous creeks, the 40,000-acre lake offers anglers plenty of deep water and about 460 miles of shoreline. Greers Ferry actually resembles two lakes. The deeper lower lake around Heber Springs resembles a huge inverted “V” with plenty of tributaries feeding it. “The Narrows,” a river-like channel, connects the upper and lower halves of the lake. The upper lake near Fairfield Bay looks more riverine, with channels cutting through rocky bluffs and hills. In the spring, muddy run-off from numerous tributaries can stain parts of Greers Ferry Lake, especially in the northern half.

“In the past 10 years, the water clarity has gone down hill,” said Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service in Bee Branch. “It has a great influx of water in the spring that stains the lake. It used to be stained just on the upper lake, but the water is becoming more stained throughout the lake. Stained water is a good thing for fishing. The lake is getting more fertile than it has been and that’s good for fish.”

Stained water actually helps the largemouth bass fishing on the lake. Bass become spooky in very clear water. While a smallmouth prefers clear water, a largemouth can live comfortably in stained water, holding tight to structure and ambushing any prey that passes too close.

“The largemouth population has come back in recent years while smallmouths have held their ground,” Cauley said. “Largemouth bass fishing is getting better. In a tournament, a good five-fish stringer will weigh about 20 pounds. The lunker will be in the 4- to 8-pound range. People occasionally catch 10-pounders. I caught a 10.4-pounder on a Wiggle Wart in the spring of 2005. The lake still has some Florida bass from stockings years ago.”

A bass can see much better underwater than a human, so what looks nearly opaque to an angler might provide enough visibility for a bass to feed. Still, throw baits that thump and rattle in stained water. A spinnerbait with a large Colorado blade or a rattling crankbait might do the trick.

“Fish adapt to muddy water,” said Bill Dance, a legendary angler and host of his own television show. “They become object oriented in a muddy environment. In stained water, I fish single-bladed black spinnerbaits and wobbling crankbaits. Black holds its identity better than any other color in muddy water. Make repeated casts to the same spot in muddy water. The fish hears the sound and starts looking for the source of that sound. If I throw the bait once and pull it out of there, the fish can’t find it. If I throw it back to the same spot again and again, the fish can home in on the source of the sound.”