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DeGray Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The resort lake that fishes: hybrids at dawn, clear-water bass and an underrated crappie bite.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Gauge
399.68 ft
Air / High
98 / 99 F
Wind
SE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07358500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

DeGray Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The gauge reads 399.68 ft, 8.32 ft below pool, up 0.13 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 99. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Hybrid striped bassFair

Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 102 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Lake Hamilton at Carpenter Dam nr. Hot Springs, AR.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07358500. Conservation pool is 408 ft.

400.95403.73406.51pool 408399.68 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp98 F
High / Low99 / 75 F
WindSE 4-6 mph
Pressure1012.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset06:48 / 19:35
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Clear, 99/75 F, wind 6 mph, rain 4%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on DeGray Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: Jun-Sep

Stocked white bass x striper cross. Open-water shad chasers; birds and busting bait give them away. Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the DeGray Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks DeGray Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Arkansas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Hybrid: 3/day combined. Black bass 15-inch. Confirm with AGFC.

Access

State park (resort island), Iron Mountain, Caddo Drive, Shouse Ford ramps.

About this water

13,400 acres on the Caddo River, Clark/Hot Spring counties, AR. Corps, impounded 1972.

Fishing DeGray Lake: the full guide

Small, clear, consistent

DeGray packs the Ouachita formula into 13,000 manageable acres: hybrid stripers schooling at first light over the river channel, largemouth and spots on timbered points, and crappie over planted brush. The state park infrastructure makes it Arkansas' easiest destination lake: and February's hybrid bite over deep bait is a well-kept local secret.

The hybrid morning

DeGray's signature is the dawn blitz: hybrid schools pin shad against the Caddo Bend and Iron Mountain points June through September, first light only: by 8 AM the show closes. Slabs, flukes and small topwaters all convert: presence is the entire skill.

Timber lines and largemouth

The flooded timber edges of the Big Hill and Brushy arms hold a largemouth fishery that avoids fame by sitting next to Ouachita: spinnerbaits down the wood lines in spring, deep cranks on channel timber in summer. Clear-but-forgiving water: a power fisher's Arkansas option.

Common questions

When do DeGray's hybrids surface?

June-September at first light on the main-lake points: twenty magic minutes most mornings, stretched by cloud cover. Our sky forecast is the tell.

Ouachita clarity school

DeGray's clear Ouachita water runs the finesse curriculum: spotted bass on deep brush and bluff transitions (drop shot, Ned), largemouth ambushing at the standing-timber edges, and winter's open-water spoon bite under loons. Hybrid stripers cruise the main-lake points at dawn all summer: topwater walkers early, then follow them down with slabs. Night fishing under lights bridges the hot months.

Does DeGray have walleye?

A stocked, low-key program: winter jigging on the river-channel points and spring runs up the Caddo produce for the handful who target them. Bycatch surprises are common on jerkbaits.

Is fishing good at DeGray Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Lake Hamilton15 miLake Ouachita26 miLake Greeson30 miNimrod Lake47 miMillwood Lake59 miLake Conway70 mi
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