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Lake Conway Fishing Report

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

Arkansas’ game-and-fish original: Lake Conway is the largest commission-built lake in America, full of crappie.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
99 / 99 F
Wind
SE 6 mph

Sources: 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Conway serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 6 mph, steady 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

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

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

Largemouth bassFair

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.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

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 103 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.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp99 F
High / Low99 / 75 F
WindSE 6-7 mph
Pressure1012.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain19% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset06:44 / 19:32
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 · Partly cloudy, 99/75 F, wind 9 mph, rain 8%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Conway: 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.

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.

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.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Lake Conway 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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
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 Lake Conway 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. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 5 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

Arkansas license. Crappie 25 per day and bass limits per current AGFC regulations.

Access

Public ramps and fish camps around the lake near Conway and Mayflower.

About this water

A 6,700-acre lake built by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in 1948, Faulkner County, Arkansas.

Fishing Lake Conway: the full guide

A lake built for fishing

Lake Conway covers about 6,700 acres north of Little Rock, built by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in 1948 and still the largest lake constructed by a state wildlife agency in the country. It is shallow, stump-filled and fertile, designed for fishing rather than water supply: crappie, largemouth bass, bream and catfish all thrive in cypress and timber cover.

Crappie country

Crappie are the reason most anglers come: they hold the standing timber, stumps and brush throughout the lake, with spring the peak as fish move shallow. Jigs and minnows under corks work the cover, and locals fish brush piles they have maintained for years. The shallow water warms early, starting the season ahead of deeper Arkansas lakes.

Bass and bream

Largemouth relate to the cypress, stumps and pads: pitch jigs and plastics to the wood, work frogs over the vegetation in summer. Bream fishing around the cypress in late spring is excellent and a family tradition. Channel catfish are abundant. Navigation demands care: stumps are everywhere outside the marked lanes.

Faulkner County logistics

Public ramps and fish camps ring the lake, with Conway and Mayflower providing services and Interstate 40 running alongside. Periodic drawdowns for management and dam work change conditions substantially: check current status. The lake sees steady local pressure but remains productive given its purpose-built design.

Common questions

What makes it unusual?

It was built by a state wildlife agency purely for fishing, and remains the largest such lake in the country.

Where do crappie hold?

In the standing timber and stumps throughout: spring brings them shallow and produces the year’s best fishing.

Is navigation tricky?

Yes: stumps are everywhere outside the marked lanes. Idle in unfamiliar water and trust the markers.

Is fishing good at Lake Conway right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Greers Ferry Lake37 miLittle Red River41 miNimrod Lake44 miLake Hamilton56 miLake Dardanelle59 miLake Ouachita60 mi
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