Lake Ouachita

Lake Ouachita is Arkansas's largest Lake with 66,324 total acres of land and water.

Find Lodging, Camp Grounds, Fishing Guides, Resorts and Hiking / Biking Trails.

Bass Tournaments Scheduled for Lake Ouachita 2013.

Information for Fishing,  Hunting,  Boating with the added bonus of GPS locations of Brush Piles / Crappie Condos.

Located in the Ouachita National Forest of more than 1.8 million acres with 20,000 pristine forested acres of Corps of Engineers property surrounding the lake. Most open for hunting. Yet Ouachita is close to the tourist mecca city of  Hot Springs, Arkansas.

No homes are allowed on the tree covered rustic shore line of over 600 miles. With Over 200 islands you can find your own private camping space with beach. Lake Ouachita is one of the cleanest lakes in the country. It it is the first of 3 lakes built on the Ouachita River

Pronounced "Wash-ah-taw", the lake was created by building the Blakely Mountain Dam. “Ouachita” is the French spelling of the Indian word Washita which means "good hunting grounds".

With over 40,000 acres of water, the lake averages 50 feet deep. The deepest area touching 200 feet.

Ouachita was not clear cut before it was filled, so a forest is still standing beneath the surface. Many trees left standing were over 60 feet tall. Always be on the lookout for shallow water markers and tree tops. Even in seemingly open water you can go from 150 feet to 2 feet in a short distance.

Largemouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Bream, Crappie, Catfish, Walleye and World Class Striped Bass await the angler.

There are many unusual features in and around the lake, one feature,  the Geo-Float Trail, is a marked water trail which can be followed with a brochure detailing prominent geologic features along the lake route. Lake Ouachita also features one of the largest crystal veins in the world.

Rare freshwater jelly fish  (non-stinging) and fresh water sponges can be seen in the lake.

Scuba Divers from all over the world enjoy the clarity of the water and the special spear fishing season.

Lake Ouachita was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954 for flood control and  hydropower.  Authorized purposes now include recreation, water supply, fish and wildlife management.

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