Hamilton Lake

[site admin]

Just got back from a short trip to Arkansas. One of the lakes I fished was lake Hamilton. This lake is in Hot Springs Arkansas.
Look up the lake on Navionics. I will be posting a video later this week. talking about the structures and how the fish were located.
A few questions:
What reservoir classification is this lake?
Below pics of the lake, with blow up of the areas fished. I know there is a lot of structure situations, but identify only 2 or 3 spots per section that you would work. Water color was a light yellow green. Water 80/82 degrees, fairly stable weather. Mostly bass and walleyes were caught...

[CHAMP]

This is a very weird shaped lake .I would have to call it a lowland .As far as where I would fish. Most likely would have fished mostly between the 2 bridges on the main lake but water color might have me elsewhere

[waterflogger_no_more]

Jim, did you ever post the video you referred to in this? Couldn't find it. I'm going to fish this lake next week maybe and would like to see it. I've fished these two spots before, just once. I'll be there at the end of April and although I can't find any realtime data on water temperature for the lake, I'm guessing fish are in late spawn. If they're still in spawn I would fish up into the creek channels and the mouths of the creeks, if post spawn who knows where they are, I would figure they're on the way out of the creeks and holding on structure at the mouths perhaps...

The structure that looks promising to me in general -- not necessarily for spring, but summer -- in the second map (White Oak Basin) is the long breakline at about 10 feet starting in the lower right side of the creek channel and heads out into the middle of that water. It isn't adjacent to the deepest water until it gets out toward the middle so I'm not sure how productive it will be. The breakline dips a little and then comes back up to 10 feet or so as it goes around that big hump there.

Another spot is the breakline at the top left, as you come out of the narrow channel leading into that basin (to the right as you enter the basin). The breakline is at about 12-14 feet and runs for a bit up into that creek arm and it's adjacent to the deepest part of that area, at least the beginning part of the breakline is.

I'd check the humps in that basin as well.

What are your thoughts on these spots?

[site admin]

Here's the video. I'd fish this area for sure. Let me know how you did! DeGray wipers might be good now too

[John Bales]

Jim, Thats a great video with you and your dad. Great structures you picked and some nice fish. Nothing better than sharing what you know with family and friends. Those memories will be very important down the road. John

[waterflogger_no_more]

Jim, thanks for posting this. I'm on Hamilton for the next few days and plan to fish those same spots, which I partially mapped the one time I was here last year. Fished mostly shallow in spawning coves for the last two days but caught only a couple smaller bass and one good sized white bass. Weather has been different every day. Tomorrow I'll fish those structures and see if the walleye are active there. Water temps are about 64-65 degrees so bass may be pre-spawn still, although walleye should have already spawned.