50lb Blue Cat Caught on Lake Ouachita

There’s one way to spice up a fishing trip and that’s to jump in the boat with Northern fisherman on Lake Ouachita, Arkansas. I fished with a blend of outdoor writers and pro staff from Frabill, Lund, Northland Tackle Company, Hobie Fishing, Pradco, Rippin Lips, St. Croix, MarCum Technologies and Rapala for a week of exciting catches which fed the likes of outrageous (mostly true) fish tales.  One such catch involved a 50lb. blue catfish caught by Noel Vick of Traditions Media and John Jamison of Rippin Lips using skipjack herring cut bait.

The lake was very giving as I caught Kentucky bass and crappies with Frabill pros, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl and Pat Kalmerton. I even reeled in a few spots from a Hobie Mirage Outback Kayak.  And while bringing in a fish is always exciting, I have to say that fighting one from a kayak brought the sport to an all new level for me.

Midwest Outdoors was on the scene for most of the action and filmed a lot of footage. A recently released episode featured our trip including the fight with the monster cat.  You can view this episode by clicking on this link: Winter Fishing on Lake Ouachita at Mountain Harbor Resort

Mountain Harbor Resort, located in Joplin, Arkansas offers beautiful cabins with lake views.  The large resort provides first class service with some of the best examples of Southern hospitality around. Just about any accommodations and activities you are interested in can be found at the resort.  The compound has hotel room style lodging, condominiums and posh cabins.

A few of the cabins include three bedrooms and most have large hot tubs positioned on the back porch.  Activities include horseback riding, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, tennis courts, a full service restaurant and a top-notch spa. If you visit, be sure to say hello to Pati Brown, resort manager and Chris Barnes, Food and Beverage manager.  Cook and fishing guide, Chris Darby will even fry up your catch for you. The resort has a full service marina, complete with a floating Subway sandwich shop.  You can buy your tackle, gear, snacks and fishing license right on site.  Renowned guides Jerry Bean and Chris Darby operate exclusively from Mountain Harbor Resort.  They’ll put you on walleye, striper, crappies and bass.

If you are looking for a fishing destination to visit this fall or winter, I highly recommend Mountain Harbor Resort and Lake Ouachita.

Dena Woerner

Dena Woerner is the president of Argia Media, LLC and a strategist for Traditions Media, LLC. She is the former Tourism Division Communications Director for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism where she was the editor of state tourism publications, blogs and web content. Dena is a published outdoor freelance writer and editor. She plans and organizes fishing industry writer's events and photo shoots. She has been published in the River Management Journal, Arkansas Wild, North American Fisherman, and in National Wildlife Federation publications, to name a few. She has appeared in Outdoor Life photo essays, Sporting Clays magazine, and has been a featured guest on episodes of Midwest Outdoors, Illinois Outdoors,Wisconsin Outdoors and local Arkansas television fishing segments. She is a former culinary and hospitality & tourism instructor. An avid cyclist, she competes in woman's crosscountry cycling events. Dena holds a B.A. in Marketing form the University of Arkansas, a M.A. in Professional Communication from Purdue University and is Certified in Tourism Crisis Communications from the University of Florida.