Photo by Ron Sinfelt

For many Arkansans, the Arkansas River is a part of life that's taken for granted. This great stream spans the breadth of the Natural State, from Ft. Smith in the west to its juncture with the Mississippi River in the east. Many Arkansans fish it, cross it, drive alongside it every day. Yet few except fishermen and barge workers know the Arkansas River with any great measure of familiarity.

What many people do know is that the Arkansas River serves up extraordinary largemouth bass fishing for anglers in the know. Spotted, or Kentucky, bass also are common in many stretches of the river. During summer months, fishermen who unravel the secrets of black-bass fishing in a particular river pool can enjoy plenty of action throughout the day.

RIVER FACTS
The Arkansas River has its beginnings in the Rocky Mountains near Leadville, Colo. Before it empties into the Mississippi in Arkansas' Desha County, the river travels 1,460 miles through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. In Arkansas, it stretches 310 miles, from border to border.

This massive delta river hasn't always been held in high esteem as a bass-fishing hotspot. Prior to 1970, the Arkansas was wild and muddy, frequently flooding surrounding countryside. It was fished by the brave and the few, usually commercial fishermen or recreational anglers seeking catfish, buffalo or drum. Bass fishing was excellent, even then, but relatively few anglers were willing to challenge the treacherous currents that characterized the river much of the year.

Today, the Arkansas resembles a series of lakes more than a river. In 1971, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation Project, the largest inland waterway project in the Corps' history. The project included construction of 12 dams in Arkansas, turning the once-untamed river into a series of comparatively tranquil reservoirs. The project not only improved navigation on the river but also provided flood control, prompting the development of cities, suburbs and roadways immediately adjacent the waterway. Fishing improved as well, and tales about huge stringers of giant Arkansas River bass began making the rounds of the nation's bassing fraternity.

By the mid-1970s, local, state and regional tournaments were being held on the river nearly every weekend year 'round. And as more and more anglers experienced its sensational bass fishing, the Arkansas River gained a well-deserved and highly publicized reputation for serving up jumbo bigmouths, and lots of them.

Unfortunately, bass fishing became rather poor in many areas during the 1980s and 1990s. This was partly due to a loss of backwater spawning habitat for bass. Backwater areas behind the river's many wing dikes silted in and became infertile grounds for spawning bass. But thanks to a cooperative project between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, many backwater areas were restored to their former fertility. Dikes that kept the river out of these areas were notched to allow inflow again. Long-accumulated sediments were removed in dozens of areas; then, the AGFC stocked millions of largemouths at sites up and down the river.

Thanks to these efforts, excellent bass fishing is once again available along the entire Arkansas River, from border to border. But space doesn't permit detailed descriptions of fishing opportunities in all pools. That being the case, we'll zero in on two major sections of the river, both of which attract many anglers seeking big summer bass.