Striped Bass in the 50 pound
class are no strangers to Lake Hamilton. Two of the last four Arkansas State
Record Striped Bass were caught out of
Hamilton. In March 1997 a 53-lb., 9-oz. striper was caught, four days later,
a striper weighing 53 pounds, 13 ounces was caught. Both record fish at the
time.
Lake Hamilton's record striped bass now is 58 pounds.
Lake Hamilton has four public access areas and several private marinas.
Hotels and resorts and provide good access to all parts of the lake.
You need to get on the water and start fishing before first light and fish
until
9 or 10 in the morning on Lake Hamilton. The first-light bite on Lake Hamilton mirrors what occurs on Lake Ouachita.
The stripers
school pretty regularly for the first hour or two of the morning, before the boat traffic, usually over points or humps.
An alternative approach is to fish at night. If you choose to fish at night
on Lake Hamilton be extremely careful the many shoreline lights make it a
dangerous lake at night.
In 1932, Carpenter Dam was constructed on the
headwaters above Lake
Catherine on the Ouachita River.
The Dam was named after Flave Carpenter, the pioneer peace
officer who first
discovered the dam site while searching for outlaws along the river.
The
resulting lake (Lake Hamilton) was 18 1/2 miles long and covered 7,200 acres.
Lake Hamilton, no longer has a direct release nursery pond
from the Hulsey Fish Hatchery.
The former nursery
pond (four acres) was located on the edge of the
Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery
and
drained directly into Lake Hamilton.
The nursery pond was incorporated into hatchery ponds
during renovation work a few years ago.
It was divided into two hatchery ponds and no
longer drains directly into Lake Hamilton.
Any stocking of hybrid striped bass or striped
bass for Lake Hamilton will be by quick delivery fish truck.
