Oct-Dec 2009 - Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

October - December 2009There is a cool feel to the air.Hunting seasons are upon us. Falland winter are, in my humbleopinion, some of the best seasons inArkansas. They are an especiallygood time for folks to get outdoorsand enjoy themselves. Thischanging of seasons also meanssomething special for the Family andCommunity Fishing Program. This isthe time for the changing of theguard from catfish stocking to troutstocking. The year’s last round ofcatfish are stocked in October, thenwith no rest for the weary, troutstocking begins the first ofNovember.Cabot Community, Family Park,Entergy Park, Little Rock Air ForceBase, Wells Lake, Mike and JanetHuckabee Youth and Senior Pond,Craighead Forest Youth and SeniorPond, Valencia, Lake Atalanta,Pleasant View Park,Murphy Lake, Springdale Lake andWest Memphis Pond. All of thesebodies of water will continue toreceive trout, monthly at a minimumthrough February, and most throughMarch. For up to date information onstocking, call the stocking hotline:1-866-540-FISH (3474)Trout Season is Here!Stocking has recently begun inArkansas waters. By the end ofDecember, over 28,000 catchablerainbow trout will have beenreleased in Family and CommunityFishing Ponds. The following pondsall receive trout: War Memorial,MacArthur, Kiwanis, Boyle Park,Rock Creek, Otter Creek, MartinLuther King Park, SherwoodCommunity, Cherrywood Lake,Trout can be caught using a varietyof lures and baits. Some popularnatural baits include: marshmallows,corn, nightcrawlers and red wigglers.Also, trout can be caught on artificialbaits, varieties of which are made byPowerbait, Yum, Gulp, and other

companies.The most effective presentation is tostart with very light line, such as 4-6lb test, as trout have acute eyesight,and will spook if they see larger line.Next, some sort of weight should beused to get the bait near the trout,which generally swim slightly abovethe bottom. The weight can be heldin place about 12-18” above thehook by any kind of stopper from asmall split shot weight to a swivel Avery small hook should be used,again to avoid detection (sizes 8, 10,or 12).The last piece of the puzzle is thebait. One very common mistake thatis often made is using too much bait.The adage that “big bait = big fish”wasn’t written with trout in mind. Ihave seen people fish with onewhole nightcrawler, or 5 Powerbaiteggs for an hour or more without abite. Try using 1-2 Powerbait eggs,or about ½” of worm, and you willsee more hookups.Lake Maumelle UpdateWe have held several publicmeetings with personnel fromCentral Arkansas Water (CAW), andAGFC Fisheries and Wildlife folksconcerning new regulationspertaining to Lake Maumelle. Incase you missed the last letter, aftermuch debate and publicinvolvement, we have tried toaddress some of the major concernsof anglers to improve the LakeMaumelle fishery. The majorconcerns that we heard were low fishnumbers and lack of access. Toincrease access, AGFC will improvethe launch area known as SleepyHollow in the Northwest corner of thelake, and for canoes, kayaks, andboats with motors 25 hp or less to beable to launch at this ramp andoperate in the portion of the lakelocated west of the Highway 10Bridge.Figure 1. Typical bait rig forcatching rainbow trout.Good luck and good fishing!The issue of low fish numbers is amore complex issue. Havingparticipated in a rotenone sample onLake Maumelle in August of thisyear, I can certainly say that there isa relatively large biomass of fish inthis lake, especially given the fact

that it is maintained with a minimumamount of nutrient input, in order tokeep the water easier to process forsupply to Central Arkansas. Theproblem lies in the large number ofpredator species compared to arelatively small amount of foragespecies. Lake Maumelle is predatorrich, and contains the followingspecies, all of which are known toeat other fish: white bass, hybridstriped bass, saugeye, chainpickerel, largemouth bass, spottedbass, channel catfish, blue catfish,flathead catfish and crappie. This isa large number of mouths to feed!The forage or bait fish population isnot as strong due to low productivity(nutrients). Basically, forage fish eatsmall invertebrate, or aquatic bugs,that eat algae, and other plant life,that are fueled by nutrients.Because this is a water supply lake,it is in CAW’s interest to keepnutrients low, so that they don’t haveto filter them out of the water beforeit heads to our houses.Game FishBait FishWhen anglers want to catch morefish on a lake, their first reaction isusually to want AGFC to stock moreof these fish. This seems logicalenough, but is not always the rightanswer. In the case of Maumelle,there are already too many predatorsand not enough food. Adding morepredators will only mean less foodfor each individual predator, andwould cause a decrease in theaverage size of fish, or may evencause lower numbers, as somestarve.So, to improve this fishery, we cantry to decrease the total number ofpredatory fish and/or increase thenumber of forage fish. We areworking on measures to do both. Inorder to decrease some of thepredatory fish, we have lobbied toallow trotlines in the lake in order totarget some species moreeffectively, especially catfish. Thiseffort was passed, and trotlining isallowed from the eastern tip of thelargest island, and west, whichincludes about 2/3 of the lake.Hopefully, this will reduce thenumber of catfish, and will increasethe forage available for moredesirable game fish.Aquatic Bugs (Invertebrates)AlgaeNutrientsFigure 2. Simplified food chain fora lake or pond.Also, we are still working on placing

artificial structures made of PVC.These structures will create newhabitat for bait and forage fish tocongregate around. This shouldhelp to increase the amount andavailability of forage to the predators.In addition, this concentratespredatory game fish, making themmore accessible to anglers.Conference which was held inAtlanta GA.This is the current State of the Unionfor Lake Maumelle. Be sure to keepan eye out for more updates in thefuture!Clint’s Adventures!This has been a very busy quarterfor me. I’ve had the opportunity toparticipate in a lot of public relationevents. October 6 th , I helpedLangston Elementary in Hot Springswith their PTO membership drive bysetting up the AGFC mobileaquarium. The drive set a record forattendance, with over 500 people.On November 7 th the Family andCommunity Fishing Program set upa tailgate tent for the Delta Classicfor Literacy football game andpassed out fishing information andour new Take Me Fishin’ DVD. Wepartnered with the Minority HealthCommission on this and we had agreat outreach during this endeavor.November 10 th , I did a fishing clinicat the Mike Huckabee Nature Centerin Pine Bluff. November 19 th , Iattended the Senator Tracy Steele,Roast and Toast. AGFC provided afishing basket and turkey stamppicture signed by Governor Beebefor the silent auction to raise moneyfor the Step Up Support Program.On November 23 rd - 24 th , Iparticipated in my annual CareerDay held at Lakeside Jr. HighSchool.On October 17 th , I had a catfishderby with 200 children inattendance. On October 12 th and16 th , I worked the AGFC booth at theState Fair. October 31 st - November4 th , I attended the SEAFWA

For more informationon trout stockings, callour toll-free hotline:1-866-540-FISH (3474)On December 14 th , I gave a fishingclinic at the North HeightsRecreation center. On December15 th - 16 th , I did a radio and televisionblitz with Steve “Wildman” Wilsonpromoting the F&CFP trout stockingsaround the state. It was veryrewarding to participate in all thepublic relations, but, we also havethe responsibility of maintaining ourregularly scheduled monthlystockings. During October westocked 16,000 catfish to end theseason. Between November 25 thand December 21 st , there were19,050 trout stocked in F&CFPponds. Until next time!!Saugeye – Walleye X Sauger hybrid