Bear Bayou Fishing Guides
A flat Delta bayou in the Bayou Meto bottoms near Humphrey, gauged for water level rather than flow, on green-timber water better known to duck hunters than to anglers.
Guides on the Bear Bayou
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
No guides listed yet
Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.
About the Bear Bayou
Bear Bayou runs through the Bayou Meto bottoms of the Arkansas Delta, the flat rice and green-timber country between Stuttgart and Pine Bluff. It is a slow, shallow, tree-lined bayou with almost no gradient, and its character changes completely with the season. For much of the year it is a modest channel winding through hardwood flats; when the winter water comes up it spreads out into flooded timber, which is what has made this system famous among duck hunters rather than anglers.
The gauge near Humphrey reads water level and stage rather than discharge, and that is the honest limitation to understand before planning a trip. There is no flow series here to tell you how hard the bayou is running, so the level reading is what you work from. A steady low or moderate level means a defined channel with fishable banks and visible structure. A high reading means the bayou is out in the timber, which scatters fish across acres of flooded ground and makes them far harder to find.
When the water is in its banks the fishing is good Delta fishing. Largemouth hold on cypress knees, stumps and any bend with wood in it. Crappie stack on brush and around the bridge and culvert structure, and are the most dependable target for most of the year. Catfish work the deeper holes, and the bayou carries the full Delta cast of bowfin, gar and drum, including the occasional alligator gar that comes with any water connected to the Arkansas River system.
Access is the real constraint and worth planning around. Much of the surrounding land is private rice ground or club-leased timber, so the public road crossings and the Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area are where to start. Check waterfowl season dates before going, because access and priorities in this country shift entirely once the ducks arrive.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Bear Bayou.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Humphrey - the small community at the gauge, the nearest landmark and service point on the bayou.
Stuttgart - the region's main town to the northeast, with lodging, tackle and the Delta's fishing and hunting trade.
Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area - the large public bottomland holding on this system, and the key legal access.
Pine Bluff - the city to the southwest, with full services and access to the Arkansas River.
Arkansas River - the big river the system drains toward, with developed ramps and a fallback when the bayou is out.
Bayou Meto - the parent bayou this one belongs to, useful to know when scouting water levels.
DeWitt - a further Delta town to the southeast for supplies and local information.
Seasons
Spring: the best of it, with crappie on the brush, bass on the cypress and the bayou usually back in its banks.
Summer: low, warm and weedy, with catfish in the holes and early mornings the only comfortable option.
Fall: falling water and cooler temperatures bring a second good crappie and bass window before the ducks arrive.
Winter: high and often out in the flooded timber, when this country belongs to waterfowl hunters rather than anglers.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What species can you catch on the Bear Bayou?
Anglers target Alligator Gar, Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Bowfin, Bullhead, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Longnose Gar, Redear Sunfish, Spotted Gar, Warmouth, White Bass, White Crappie, Yellow Bass on the Bear Bayou in Arkansas.
Where can you access the Bear Bayou?
Humphrey - the small community at the gauge, the nearest landmark and service point on the bayou. Stuttgart - the region's main town to the northeast, with lodging, tackle and the Delta's fishing and hunting trade. Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area - the large public bottomland holding on this system, and the key legal access. Pine Bluff - the city to the southwest, with full services and access to the Arkansas River. Arkansas River - the big river the system drains toward, with developed ramps and a fallback when the bayou is out. Bayou Meto - the parent bayou this one belongs to, useful to...
When is the best time to fish the Bear Bayou?
Spring: the best of it, with crappie on the brush, bass on the cypress and the bayou usually back in its banks. Summer: low, warm and weedy, with catfish in the holes and early mornings the only comfortable option. Fall: falling water and cooler temperatures bring a second good crappie and bass window before the ducks arrive. Winter: high and often out in the flooded timber, when this country belongs to waterfowl hunters rather than anglers.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Bear Bayou?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Arkansas agency site: https://www.agfc.com/regulations/general-fishing-regulations/