Lake Fishing in the Arkansas Ozarks — Bull Shoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry, Beaver & Lake Ouachita
Five big, clear reservoirs in the hills of northern and western Arkansas: bass, crappie, walleye and stripers, what swims in each lake, how people fish it, the rules that govern it, and where to sleep.
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Checked against the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Missouri Department of Conservation and Arkansas State Parks, 4 November 2026
The White River country of the Arkansas Ozarks is famous for the cold trout water below its dams. Above those dams lie the lakes themselves — Bull Shoals and Norfork on the Missouri line, Greers Ferry in the hills north of Little Rock, and Beaver Lake in the north-west corner near Rogers. Add Lake Ouachita, the state’s largest lake, in the Ouachita Mountains west of Hot Springs, and you have five of the best-known bass, crappie, walleye and striper lakes in the South.
This is the lake companion to the White River chapter of our fly fishing book, written for everyone else: families with a spinning rod, bass boats, crappie anglers working brush piles, trollers after stripers, and people who want a lake cabin and a fish supper. The rules here are lake by lake, and two of these lakes cross into Missouri, so we say exactly which rule and which licence applies where. Every rule, limit and price below was read from the agency that sets it on 4 November 2026. Where we could not confirm something, we say so instead of guessing.
Book it. Then Hook it. (Catch & Release)
Destinations Guild is a travel reservation site as well as a fishing library. Every lake on this page has a town beside it, and each town has two buttons: hotels, pinned to that exact town on Trip.com, and vacation homes — the cabins and lake houses a party of three or four actually wants, with a kitchen, a freezer for the crappie and somewhere to park the boat.
Hotels are booked through our partner Trip.com; vacation homes through our partner Booking.com. Destinations Guild earns a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Bull Shoals, Fairfield Bay and Mount Ida are small places with few hotels — if the list is short, try the vacation homes button. A warning we checked for you: a plain search for “Mountain Home” finds Mountain Home, Idaho, and “Mount Ida” finds a village in Greece. Our buttons are pinned to the Arkansas towns.
The best months, in plain words
These are southern lakes. They do not freeze for ice fishing, and we found no closed season for rod-and-reel fishing on any of the five in AGFC’s 2026–27 guidebook. What changes through the year is where the fish are.
| Season | What happens | Our plain advice |
|---|---|---|
| Spring (March–May) | AGFC says striped bass run up the tributary arms of their lakes to spawn each April. | Our guidance: the busiest and often best time for bass and crappie in shallower water, and for stripers in the lake arms of Beaver, Norfork and Ouachita. Book rooms early around spring weekends. |
| Summer (June–August) | Long hot days and busy water: swimmers, skiers and pontoons. | Our guidance: fish early and late, and go deeper in the middle of the day. Arkansas’s free fishing weekend is the second weekend in June (proclaimed by the governor, says AGFC). |
| Autumn (September–November) | AGFC’s 29 October 2026 report: crappie on brush piles in 18–24 feet at Lake Ouachita, walleye roaming in 35–45 feet on Bull Shoals, Beaver Lake in turnover and stripers moving south from the dam. | Our guidance: quieter lakes, cooling water and some of the year’s steadiest crappie fishing as the water cools. |
| Winter (December–February) | Open water all winter; marinas keep shorter hours or close for the season. | Our guidance: deep-water crappie and walleye for the patient. Ring the marina before you drive — several told us on their own sites that winter hours are short. |
Low water in autumn 2026. AGFC’s 29 October report put Bull Shoals Lake about 6 feet below its seasonal power pool and said Beaver Lake had dropped into the 1,111-foot range, with other big lakes well below normal. Check the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Little Rock District lake levels before you tow a boat a long way. Where a row says “our guidance”, that is our own plain advice, not an agency rule.
Bull Shoals and Norfork — the White River lakes on the Missouri line
Two big Corps of Engineers lakes either side of Mountain Home. Both reach north into Missouri, so the rules and the licence change at the state line.
Bull Shoals Lake — bass, walleye and crappie in deep, clear water
What swims there: largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, walleye and crappie, all named in AGFC’s rules and weekly reports for the lake. Bull Shoals holds the Arkansas smallmouth bass record, 7 pounds 5 ounces, caught on 1 April 1969, according to AGFC’s state records table. How people fish it: mostly from boats — casting for bass along points, brush and creek arms, and working deep schools of walleye; guides named in AGFC’s report describe walleye suspended in 35 to 45 feet in late October. Boats and ramps: Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock in the town of Bull Shoals and Lakeview Cove Marina in Lakeview hire boats (see below), and Bull Shoals–White River State Park lies along the shores of both the lake and the river below the dam. Nearest towns: Bull Shoals, Lakeview and Mountain Home.
The Arkansas rules for 2026–27: crappie (black and white together) 15 a day, and every crappie under 10 inches goes back at once; largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 15 inches to keep, spotted bass 12 inches; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass together, 6 a day; walleye 4 a day, 18 inches minimum, on the lake and its tributaries. AGFC adds that its health advisory for Bull Shoals Lake concerns eating walleye of 18 inches or longer — read the advisory before you keep the big ones.
Confirmed with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 4 November 2026 — 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook, Bull Shoals: “Crappie, black and white, combined daily limit is 15. Crappie shorter than 10 inches must be released immediately. Largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 15 inches or longer to keep. Spotted bass must be at least 12 inches long to keep. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass combined daily limit is 6. Walleye daily limit for Bull Shoals and its tributaries is 4 and walleye must be at least 18 inches long to keep.”
Norfork Lake — stripers, walleye and crappie
What swims there: striped and hybrid striped bass, walleye, crappie and black bass. Norfork is one of only four Arkansas lakes AGFC stocks with striped bass (with Beaver, Hamilton and Ouachita), and it holds the state records for Ozark bass and rock bass. How people fish it: trolling and live bait from boats for stripers and walleye, and brush piles for crappie; Reel Fish Guide Service guides on the lake year round (see below). Access: AGFC notes a fishing pier for anglers with limited mobility at the Cranfield Recreation Area. Nearest towns: Mountain Home, and the village of Norfork below the dam.
The Arkansas rules for 2026–27: crappie 15 a day, under 10 inches released at once; largemouth and smallmouth bass 13 inches to keep; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass together, 6 a day; striped bass 20 inches to keep, and striped and hybrid bass together 3 a day; walleye 4 a day, 18 inches minimum, on the lake and its tributaries, with the same health advisory for walleye of 18 inches or longer.
Confirmed with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 4 November 2026 — 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook, Norfork: “Striped bass must be 20 inches or longer to keep. Striped and hybrid bass combined daily limit is 3. Walleye daily limit for Norfork Lake and its tributaries is 4, and walleye must be at least 18 inches to keep.” AGFC striped bass page: “The only lakes Arkansas lakes which receive striped bass stockings are Beaver, Hamilton, Norfork and Ouachita.”
Crossing into Missouri on either lake
Anglers must follow the rules of the state whose water they are on. On the Missouri side, AGFC’s guidebook says largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 15 inches to keep, spotted bass 12 inches, and anglers may keep 15 white, striped and hybrid bass combined, no more than 3 of them striped bass; striped bass must be 20 inches in both states. The licence: an Arkansas or Missouri resident can add the $10 White River Border Lakes License to fish the Missouri waters of Bull Shoals, Norfork and Table Rock (it does not cover trout). Everyone else needs a Missouri permit for the Missouri water — the Missouri Department of Conservation lists a nonresident fishing permit at $57 and a daily fishing permit at $9 a day.
The tailwaters below Bull Shoals and Norfork dams are trout rivers with their own, much tighter, 2026 trout rules and a trout permit. They are covered in our White River fly fishing chapter.
Greers Ferry Lake — walleye, white bass and clear water, Heber Springs
In the hills of north-central Arkansas, with Heber Springs at the dam end and Fairfield Bay on the north shore.
Greers Ferry Lake
What swims there: walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass, white bass and hybrid striped bass, crappie and bream. AGFC names Greers Ferry as a walleye lake that northern transplants enjoy, and its state records table lists two Greers Ferry fish: the walleye record of 22 pounds 11 ounces (12 March 1982) and the hybrid striped bass record of 27 pounds 5 ounces (24 April 1997). How people fish it: from boats — trolling and jigging for walleye, chasing white bass and hybrids on the surface, and casting for bass; families fish from the shore around the parks. Boats: Eden Isle Marina just west of Heber Springs and Damsite Marina in the Corps’ Damsite Park hire pontoons (see below). Nearest towns: Heber Springs and Fairfield Bay.
The rules for 2026–27: largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 12 inches to keep; smallmouth 6 a day; new this year, walleye under 16 inches must be released at once on the lake and its tributaries (it used to be 14); no limit on white bass. Where the lake has no rule of its own, AGFC’s statewide limits apply — for example 30 crappie, 6 walleye, 6 striped and hybrid bass combined, and 10 black bass combined a day.
Confirmed with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 4 November 2026 — 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook, Greers Ferry: “Largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 12 inches or longer to keep. Smallmouth bass daily limit is 6. Walleye less than 16 inches in length must be released immediately in Greers Ferry and its tributaries. No limit on white bass for Greers Ferry Lake and its tributaries.” New This Year: “The minimum length limit for walleye on Greers Ferry Lake and its tributaries has increased from 14 inches to 16 inches.”
Below the dam, the Little Red River is a trout tailwater with its own 2026 trout rules and a trout permit — see AGFC before you fish it.
Beaver Lake — stripers and bass in north-west Arkansas
The White River’s first big lake, between Rogers, Springdale and Eureka Springs.
Beaver Lake
What swims there: striped and hybrid striped bass (Beaver is one of AGFC’s four striper-stocked lakes), largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, crappie, white bass, walleye and catfish. The Arkansas paddlefish record, 127 pounds 6 ounces, came from Beaver Lake on 18 June 2024, according to AGFC. How people fish it: from boats, trolling or using live bait for stripers, which AGFC’s late-October report had moving south from the dam towards Prairie Creek; crappie in brush around 15 feet; jugs, noodles and trotlines for catfish. Access: AGFC notes fishing piers for anglers with limited mobility at Hickory Creek and Prairie Creek. Prairie Creek Marina near Rogers hires boats (see below). Nearest towns: Rogers, and Eureka Springs to the east.
The rules for 2026–27: largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 15 inches to keep; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass together, 6 a day; crappie 15 a day, under 10 inches released at once; striped and hybrid bass together 3 a day, striped bass 20 inches minimum; walleye 4 a day, 18 inches minimum, on the lake and its tributaries; no limit on white bass on the lake and its tributaries, including Lake Sequoyah. Snagging game fish from the bank below Beaver Dam is allowed only from 15 April to 15 June, between the Corps’ “No fishing beyond this point” sign and the first Corps boat ramp.
Confirmed with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 4 November 2026 — 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook, Beaver: “Largemouth and smallmouth bass must be 15 inches or longer to keep. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass combined daily limit is 6. Crappie shorter than 10 inches must be released immediately. Crappie (black and white) combined daily limit is 15. Striped and hybrid striped bass combined daily limit is 3 and striped bass must be 20 inches or longer to keep. Walleye daily limit for Beaver Lake and its tributaries is 4 and must be at least 18 inches long to keep.”
Lake Ouachita — Arkansas’s largest lake, west of Hot Springs
Not strictly the Ozarks — it lies in the Ouachita Mountains — but it is the lake most visitors to Hot Springs fish.
Lake Ouachita
What swims there: Arkansas State Parks lists bream, crappie, catfish, striped bass and largemouth bass, and calls the lake “40,000 acres of clear, clean water surrounded by the scenic Ouachita National Forest.” AGFC stocks it with striped bass, and spotted bass are plentiful enough that the rules let you keep 10 extra. How people fish it: from boats and the bank — AGFC’s late-October report had crappie on brush piles in 18 to 24 feet near deeper channels, and bass both feeding on the surface and holding deep. Boats: Lake Ouachita State Park has a marina with boats and kayaks to hire, cabins and a campground, and Mountain Harbor Resort near Mount Ida runs a marina and lodging (see below). Nearest towns: Hot Springs, and Mount Ida at the western end.
The rules for 2026–27: largemouth and smallmouth bass must be at least 13 inches to keep; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass together, 6 a day, and in addition 10 spotted bass may be kept; striped bass 3 a day; no fishing in the Jim Collins Net Pen area. Other species follow AGFC’s statewide limits, such as 30 crappie a day.
Confirmed with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas State Parks, 4 November 2026 — 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook, Ouachita: “Largemouth and smallmouth bass must be at least 13 inches or longer to keep. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass combined daily limit is 6. In addition to the combined daily bass limit, 10 spotted bass may be taken. Striped bass daily limit is 3. No fishing in the Jim Collins Net Pen area.”
Licences and boats — plainly
Prices as printed in AGFC’s 2026–27 Fishing Guidebook and on MDC’s permits page on 4 November 2026. Check the current price when you buy.
Arkansas — Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Anyone 16 or older must carry a valid Arkansas fishing licence. Non-resident: $15 for one day, $30 for three days (72 hours from the start time you choose), $60 for the year. Resident: the Resident Fisheries Conservation License is $10.50; there is no longer a three-day resident trip licence. A trout permit ($20 non-resident, $10 resident) is needed only to keep trout or to fish certain trout waters such as the tailwaters below these dams. Buy online at agfc.com (“Get a License”), by phone on 833-345-0325 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or from sporting goods stores, boat docks and bait shops. New for 2026–27: all possession limits have been eliminated, so the daily limit is the rule to know.
Missouri waters of Bull Shoals and Norfork — Missouri Department of Conservation
Arkansas and Missouri residents: the $10 White River Border Lakes License (above). Everyone else: a Missouri permit — MDC lists the nonresident fishing permit at $57 and the daily fishing permit at $9. Follow Missouri’s rules while you are on Missouri water.
Running a boat
AGFC requires anyone born after 1985 to have passed its Boater Education Course, and to carry proof, to operate a motorboat on Arkansas waters; the classroom course is free and there is a small fee online. Zebra mussels are on AGFC’s list of nuisance species: clean the mud and weed off your boat and trailer before you leave the ramp, and wash it between lakes.
Boat hire, marinas and guides we have checked
Every business below has its own website, which we opened on 4 November 2026. Descriptions come from their own sites. No ratings, no reviews copied from anywhere.
Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock — Bull Shoals Lake
Boat and houseboat hire, boat sales and service, guided fishing and the Lighthouse Point Resort rooms, in the town of Bull Shoals. bullshoalslakeboatdock.com
Lakeview Cove Marina — Bull Shoals Lake
Full-service boat dock in Lakeview with pontoon and equipment hire, slips and a store. lakeviewcovemarina.com
Del Colvin Fishing — Bull Shoals Lake
A bass-only guide on Bull Shoals Lake, for beginners and tournament anglers alike; posts a Bull Shoals fishing report on YouTube, which AGFC’s weekly report quotes. delcolvinfishing.com
Southern Walleye Guide Service — Bull Shoals Lake
Guided walleye trips on Bull Shoals Lake, with bass and crappie too; rods, tackle and boat included, according to its site. southernwalleyeguideservice.com
Reel Fish Guide Service — Norfork Lake
Year-round guided trips on Norfork Lake for stripers, walleye, crappie and bass. reelfishguideservice.com
Eden Isle Marina — Greers Ferry Lake
Pontoon hire, slips, used boats and a ship’s store with 24-hour fuel, just west of Heber Springs. Its site asks you to call ahead, as office hours vary. edenislemarina.com
Damsite Marina — Greers Ferry Lake
Pontoon hire, slips and an on-the-water deli inside the Corps of Engineers’ Damsite Park near Heber Springs. Its site gives short winter weekend hours. damsitemarina.com
Prairie Creek Marina — Beaver Lake
Full-service marina near Rogers, open since 1966, with boat and personal watercraft hire, slips, fuel, a store and a floating restaurant. prairiecreekmarina.com
Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa — Lake Ouachita
Family-run lakeside resort with a marina, lodging and dining, about 32 miles west of Hot Springs near Mount Ida. mountainharborresort.com
State parks on the water: Lake Ouachita State Park (marina, boat and kayak hire, cabins, camping) and Bull Shoals–White River State Park (camping, boat hire, and both the lake and the river). For river guides across the region, see our fishing outfitters directory.
Where to stay
Every town below is pinned to its own Trip.com city number, so the button opens that town’s hotels — not Mountain Home, Idaho, or Mount Ida in Greece.
The towns that serve each lake
Bull Shoals Lake: the town of Bull Shoals by the dam, or Mountain Home for the most choice. Norfork Lake: Mountain Home. Greers Ferry Lake: Heber Springs at the dam end, Fairfield Bay on the north shore. Beaver Lake: Rogers on the west side, Eureka Springs to the east. Lake Ouachita: Hot Springs for the most choice, Mount Ida at the western end.
Three or four of you? Take a house, not four hotel rooms. A lake house at Bull Shoals or a cabin near Mount Ida gives you a kitchen for the early breakfast, a freezer for the crappie and walleye you keep, and one bill instead of four. Our vacation homes guide has the questions to ask before you pay.
Bull Shoals hotels › Mountain Home hotels › Heber Springs hotels › Fairfield Bay hotels › Rogers hotels › Eureka Springs hotels › Hot Springs hotels › Mount Ida hotels ›
Our Arkansas guide › Our Missouri guide › White River fly fishing ›
Questions
Which fishing licence do I need for Bull Shoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry, Beaver and Lake Ouachita?
An Arkansas fishing licence, for anyone 16 or older. In 2026-27 a non-resident pays $15 for one day, $30 for three days or $60 for the year; an Arkansas resident pays $10.50 for the Resident Fisheries Conservation License. A trout permit is needed only to keep trout or to fish certain trout waters such as the tailwaters below the dams. Bull Shoals and Norfork also reach into Missouri: on the Missouri water you need a Missouri permit, unless you are an Arkansas or Missouri resident with the $10 White River Border Lakes License.
How many crappie can I keep?
On Bull Shoals, Norfork and Beaver Lake, 15 crappie a day (black and white together), and every crappie under 10 inches must be released at once. Greers Ferry and Lake Ouachita have no crappie rule of their own, so Arkansas’s statewide limit of 30 a day applies. That is AGFC’s 2026-27 Fishing Guidebook, checked 4 November 2026.
What are the striped bass rules on Norfork, Beaver and Lake Ouachita?
On Norfork and Beaver, striped and hybrid striped bass together are limited to 3 a day, and striped bass must be 20 inches or longer to keep. On Lake Ouachita the striped bass limit is 3 a day. AGFC says Beaver, Norfork, Ouachita and Hamilton are the only Arkansas lakes it stocks with striped bass.
What changed for walleye on Greers Ferry Lake?
For 2026-27 the minimum length for walleye on Greers Ferry Lake and its tributaries went up from 14 to 16 inches; any walleye under 16 inches must be released immediately. On Bull Shoals, Norfork and Beaver the walleye limit is 4 a day with an 18-inch minimum.
Can I ice fish these lakes?
No. These are southern lakes that stay open all winter, and AGFC’s 2026-27 guidebook prints no closed season for rod-and-reel fishing on them. Winter fishing is from boats and the bank, usually deep for crappie and walleye. Many marinas keep short winter hours, so ring ahead.
What we could not check today, and will not pretend to have
The part of a fishing page most sites leave out.
Four honest gaps
Corps of Engineers pages. All five lakes are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes, and the Corps runs most of the parks and ramps. The Corps’ Little Rock District website refused our automated check on 4 November 2026, so we have not listed its ramps one by one or printed lake sizes from it. Check the Corps for ramps, park fees and lake levels.
Health advisories. AGFC says its advisories for Bull Shoals and Norfork concern eating walleye of 18 inches or longer. We have not printed the advisory’s detail; read it with AGFC or the Arkansas Department of Health before you keep big walleye.
Missouri’s own rules. The Missouri limits we quote for Bull Shoals and Norfork come from AGFC’s guidebook. For anything more, check the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Marina hours and boats. Several marinas run short winter hours. Ring before you drive.