From the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
For the most updated lake level at DeGray Lake, click here.
As of Oct. 9, 2025, Capt. Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips says he’s been out on lakes Ouachita, Hamilton and DeGray most recently. “The water is cooling and the crappie are starting to stack up on the brushpiles. During this transition period, expect the fish to be a bit scattered. Usually this time of year we find ample crappie 18-20 feet deep. But, this year we are catching them 8-12 feet deep. Early in the morning you can also find bass schooling. Later in the mornings they scatter, and trolling is the most productive. Have fun and be safe.”
Back in early October, Randy Plyler with Plyler Outdoors Guide Service said some bass have been schooling early in the mornings and very late in the evening. During the day, bass can be caught on crankbait and Texas-rigged worms. Some white bass and hybrid bass can be caught vertical-jigging a spoon. Some crappie can be caught on small jigs in the brush.
Back in late September, Philip Kastner of Trader Bill’s Outdoors in Little Rock and Hot Springs noted on the weekly “Wild Side Show” on KABZ-FM, 103.7 The Buzz that an intense hybrid striped bass bite has been going on at DeGray for a while now. “A Rooster Tail is a secret little thing that DeGray hybrids kill it,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy, but you take a half- or three-quarter-ounce Rooster Tail, you can throw them a mile. You drag them through a bunch of breaking hybrids and they will eat ’em up.”
Be alert for the first good, little cold snap — that will have crappie and other fish moving up where they’re supposed to move and the overall fishing will be fun.