MOUNT IDA, Ark. – The 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Arkie Division season continues February 27, on Lake Ouachita. A premier lake in the wintertime, Spencer Shuffield expects the fishing to be really good, and he won’t be there, so there’s probably at least one spot in the Top 10 freed up by his absence.
Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Arkie Division
Mount Ida, Arkansas
February 27, 2022
Lake Ouachita is a deep, clear mountain reservoir located in western Arkansas within the Ouachita National Forest, a 1.8-million-acre wildlife-rich area that sprawls clear across the Oklahoma border. Construction of the dam took place from the late 1940s to the early 1950s and, depending on the water level, the lake covers about 40,000 surface acres, with approximately 975 miles of shoreline.
Ouachita is a short drive from nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas, yet due to its location within the Ouachita Mountains and National Forest, there is very little development along its largely remote shoreline.
Standing timber, hydrilla and other grasses, and natural structure such as points and humps provide most of the fishing targets. With spotted bass and largemouth, the lake is known for bass that like to get really deep, but there are plenty of windows when shallow fish can contend.
Shuffield reckons that anglers can expect both a deep and shallow bite to play depending on the conditions.
“I spent all week up there last week, and the fishing was really good, especially if you had wind and could catch them shallow up around the grass,” said Shuffield. “It’s gonna be good, the fish are shallow and deep. You’ve gotta have wind to catch ‘em shallow, and if you don’t have wind you’ve gotta fish deep.”
For deep fish, Shuffield said an umbrella rig is hard to beat.
“This time of year, those fish get deep,” said Shuffield. “They get as deep as 60 foot of water, and you can find some pretty big schools on some of those points and creek channel swings and river ledges.”
Shallower, either near the plentiful grass or miles from it, Shuffield said a windy day is the dream scenario.
“When you’ve got wind the lower end usually fires around the grass, the milfoil and hydrilla,” said Shuffield. “You’ve got a shot at catching a 6-, 7-, 8-pound fish when that’s going. If you’ve got wind you can get a biggun’ or two to bite around the grass. But, you still catch good ones away from the grass, they bite good shallow with a lipless in places where there isn’t grass within miles.”
Wind or not, Shuffield said the fishing is guaranteed to be pretty good, and that it could take up to 22 pounds to win.
“It’s a shame we’ve never had a big event on Ouachita this time of year because it really shines,” said the Hot Springs, Arkansas pro. “It’s such a good fishery in the wintertime and early spring, throughout the spring. Every time we’ve ever been here, it’s been August, which is the toughest time of the year. Ouachita is such an excellent lake in the winter, it’d knock it out of the park if there was a [top-level] event here.”
Out deep, Shuffield recommends an umbrella rig and a football jig.
In the wintertime, he also dotes on a deep jerkbait around the grass.
“The one I throw is the Yo-Zuri 3DB Series 110 Deep,” said Shuffield. “That jerkbait gets down deeper than a Megabass 110+2, it gets down at least a foot deeper. That’s all I throw this time of year, because it gets down to that 12- to 13-foot range on 10-pound fluorocarbon and you can throw it a pretty long ways.
“I caught a lot of fish on it at Ouachita last week around the outside of the grass, especially around standing timber,” said Shuffield. “You’d have four or five of them sitting out there, and you could LiveScope them. That jerkbait would get down to 10 or 12 foot and they’d come out of 20 feet of water to get it.”
For shallower work, Shuffield likes the standard Yo-Zuri 3DB Series SP 110. When the lipless bite is on, his go-to is a Yo-Zuri Hardcore Flashi’n Vibe 65S in red.