Arkansas Sept. 17 weekly: Beaver walleye on soft plastics; White River still on emergency trout limits

Jim Harris’s AGFC Arkansas Wildlife Weekly Fishing Report for Sept. 17, 2026 leads with a 26-inch walleye. Scott Seaman of Bella Vista caught it with guide Austin Kennedy of Busch Mountain on the Beaver tailwater between Beaver and Holiday Island, working slow soft plastics near the bottom in deeper holes and current seams. Beaver Lake itself sat near 1,114.00 feet msl, about 7 feet below normal. Jon Conklin still has stripers early from Point 5 to the dam.

On the White River, Cotter Trout Dock reported Bull Shoals about 5 feet below power pool and a sizable shad kill already on. Browns are on sculpin and shad; rainbows are eating PowerBait orange and fluorescent yellow eggs. Calico Rock notes that Jim Hinkle Spring River hatchery stocked 3,000 rainbows from Calico Rock to Allison/Sylamore, plus Norfork, Reds Landing, and Chessmond Ferry. Emergency trout regulations remain in effect on White and Norfork waters — two-trout bags and catch-and-release zones as the weekly restates. Check the live AGFC tables for the water you are on.

Lake Conway is still drawn down. The Nursery Pond was stocked with mature bass, crappie, catfish, and bream, plus trout for the cold months. Brewer Lake and Lake Maumelle are very low — use caution launching.

Photo: Scott Seaman / Austin Kennedy via AGFC (26-inch Beaver tailwater walleye).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: AGFC — Arkansas Wildlife Weekly Fishing Report (Jim Harris, Sept. 17, 2026).