Burnley advises anglers to avoid Horseshoe Lake in Crittenden County, as the bass population is still rebounding from a severe three-year drought. The bass were more susceptible to harvesting, and very little spawning occurred during this time.

Often overlooked, Lake Dunn in Village Creek State Park has become the best bet for catching a trophy bass in the region. During sampling last year, one bass over 13 pounds was shocked up and released. While Lake Austell gets a lot of trophy hunters, Dunn, having yielded the third-largest bass in Arkansas, shouldn't be neglected.

"Lake Monticello, in Drew County is probably our hottest bass fishery in the region right now," said fisheries biologist Diana Andrews. "The lake is managed as a trophy bass lake with an aggressive 16- to 21-inch slot limit." Stocked with Florida-strain bass, Monticello remains very productive.

The same holds true for Lake Chicot in nearby Chicot County off highway 65. Although Chicot only has a 15-inch-slot limit on largemouths, it holds a nice mix of northern-strain and Florida-strain fish. It's a good place to look for numbers of quality bass, with an occasional "kicker" fish turning up.

A smaller lake often skipped in this region is Morgan Point Bendway in Desha County. The lake boasts largemouths averaging 3 pounds - an impressive average on any lake in the state. The oxbow lake, formed during the creation of the Wilbur D. Mills Dam, makes great numbers of quality bass available.

According to AGFC bass biologist Colton Dennis, Lower White Oak Lake and Lake Columbia represent the best bets for trophy bass in this region, as they're managed as trophy bass lakes with protected slot limits. White Oak is actually managed as two separate lakes, with the lower section typically offering the most promising chances of catching a trophy, while the upper lake offers greater numbers of bass. It's truly the best of both worlds in one divided body of water. Anglers will find White Oak smack dab in the middle of Nevada and Ouachita counties.

"The lake never did rise this past spring," said guide Mike Siefert, 12 years in the business and associated with Millwood Guide Service. "The really large bass spawned deeper this year making it harder for the average fisherman to find them as in recent years." But that's not to say no large bass were caught in 2003. One lucky angler caught a 13.575-pound largemouth in September on a topwater lure. Both local anglers and biologists alike think that the next state record is swimming around in Millwood Lake right now.

The lake has been stocked with Florida-strain bass since 1988, and those fish are taking hold and mixing their genes with the resident northern-strain bass. Siefert assists AGFC biologists with their samplings, and the information collected points to another phenomenal year of fishing on Millwood.

Smallmouth fishing tends to be best in the northern part of the state, while the better largemouth fishing tends to be in the central and southern parts. Spotted bass seem to flourish from top to bottom, their sizes not less impressive their numbers, coming as they do from highland reservoirs up north and lowland rivers down south.

Most of the lakes mentioned can be found by visiting the AGFC Web site at www.agfc.com or by calling 1-800-364-4263 and asking for the Arkansas Outdoors Atlas. The $18 price tag is well worth the money if you fish or hunt much in Arkansas. The AGFC also plans to post its fisheries sampling data on their Web site in 2004 so anglers can conduct their own research on their favorite waterways for years to come.