Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data
Built by the Game and Fish Commission in 1948, Lake Conway has been drawn down since 2023 for a multi-year rebuild.
Drained for renovation. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission drained Lake Conway from 1 September 2023 for a renovation it says may take up to five years, and it has not given a refill date. No fishing report is published for the lake until it is refilled. Source, read October 5, 2026.
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Arkansas requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $10.50 for residents. What a Arkansas licence costs and where to buy it β
Chasing crappie here? Check the size and bag limits with AGFC before you keep anything. The season dates for Arkansas, read off the agency, are on the Arkansas seasons page.
Live readings.
Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.
Latest readings
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.
The species that matter on Lake Conway: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.
Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.
Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 82 F, wind to 4 mph.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 80 F, wind to 5 mph.
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 6 mph.
Arkansas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.
Arkansas fishing license. During the renovation, check AGFC's Lake Conway project page for which waters are open; limits follow AGFC's current fishing regulations.
AGFC's project updates mention the Pierce Creek Boat Ramp; ramp use depends on the drawdown, so confirm on the project page.
A 6,700-acre AGFC lake built in 1948 in Faulkner County, Arkansas, drawn down since September 2023 for renovation.
AGFC says Lake Conway was built in 1948 and was, at the time, the largest lake ever constructed by a state wildlife agency. The 6,700-acre lake includes arms such as Pierce Creek and Caney Creek. When the Commission approved the renovation in June 2023, AGFC estimated that sediment had filled 33 percent of the lake's original 40,000 acre-feet over 75 years.
AGFC opened the first gate at the dam on September 1, 2023 and drew the lake down for a renovation it says may take up to five years, letting the silt dry and compact to regain some depth. The plan replaces the dam's metal gates with a concrete weir and renovates boat lanes, launches, bank access and fish attractors. Work has included mulching stumps in permitted boat lanes (nearly 30 miles were planned), planting 600 cypress trees and building 80 lean-to fish structures by February 2025, removing old infrastructure at the dam from October 2025, and setting a bridge over the auxiliary structure in August 2026. On September 9, 2026, AGFC reported boat-lane marker poles being delivered and driven.
AGFC opened the Lake Conway Nursery Pond to rod-and-reel fishing on October 28, 2023 and stocked it with crappie, catfish, bass and bream. Check AGFC's renovation page for the refill schedule and for which waters are open before you go.
AGFC opened the Nursery Pond to rod-and-reel fishing in October 2023 and stocked it with crappie, catfish, bass and bream.
AGFC says it was the largest when it was built in 1948; it does not make that claim for today.
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.