Fishing

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Directions 

Click here to view specific regulations pertaining to this lake.

The lake has two concrete boat ramps with adjacent courtesy docks and primitive camping areas. One is near the northeast corner, and one is midway down the east side. A fishing pier is located near the lower ramp. Parking areas without boat ramps are located at each end of the levee to benefit both hunters and anglers. An overlook area near the spillway on the lake's south end provides an excellent view of the lake. Motels and restaurants are located near Interstate 30 at Hope.

The lake is reached by taking Arkansas Highway 174 south from Hope to Spring Hill, then Arkansas Highway 355 south from Spring Hill to the lake. There are also signs indicating access routes from Arkansas Highway 29, 5 miles south of Hope.

Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d'Arc Lake (pronounced "bow-dark") is part of Bois d'Arc Wildlife Management Area, a 5843-acre bottomland hunting and fishing complex. The name Bois d'Arc (French for "wood of the bow") is a nickname for the Osage orange, a locally abundant tree once used by Indians for making bows. The lake was formed by damming Cedar Creek, a major tributary of Bois d'Arc Creek that flows just west of the lake.

Excellent crappie, bluegill and redear fishing are the lake's main drawing cards. Bois d'Arc produces some dandy stringers of these feisty panfish, and though most keepers weigh around half a pound, you may find a real slab at the end of your line. Two-pound crappies aren't unheard of, and in 1985, Bois d'Arc produced a 2 pound, 14 ounce state-record redear. Fishing for jumbo largemouth bass and channel catfish is also good.

Boaters have ready access to acres and acres of good timber fishing. But if bankfishing is more to your liking, just grab your gear and pick a spot along the 4-1/2 miles of riprapped levee on the north, west and south sides. There's also a man-made peninsula near the lower boat ramp built especially for bankfishing.

Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d'Arc Lake offers good fishing year-round, and you may want to combine a fall or winter fishing trip with a hunt for ducks, deer, squirrels or other game on the adjacent WMA. The bottomlands surrounding the lake are a nature lover's paradise, where visitors can see alligators, wintering eagles, raccoons, minks, a wide variety of song and water birds and other wildlife.