Thread: Where to start fishing this weekend at Chicot and Washington

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

AGFC has never placed a priority on managing for crappie, and when they've attempted to, it's generally been unsuccessful.

I didn't grow up there but I love to fish it. Its a haul from Jonesboro so I only fish there 4-5 times a year. My fishing buddy CK101 is down ther now locating fish

When I was in Monticello, we sampled the crappie population in Chicot every year. That was the only lake in the district that was sampled each year. We sampled it for three months in the fall. The water level is controlled by the COE. AGFC requests a drawdown every five years. Any fluctuation between that is natural fluctuation. As lakes or reservoir age, the fish population fluctuates more. In Lake Chicot, the crappie only live 4-5 years and the population is very cyclic. It is usually dominated by one large year class and then the next few years are not as productive. In SE Ark, crappie is very important to that district. This is why there is a nursery pond that is stocked with crappie most years. Feel free to contact Diana in Monticello about crappie management in SE AR. There is a lot of research and management efforts that doesn’t get put out to the public that really should.

Crappie are very difficult to manage as is anything dealing with mother nature. We try to do our best. We are working on trying to reverse the downward trend in the crappie population at Lake Charles. It takes times.

As always, me and a couple of the other biologist are here to try to answer any question you might have. If we can’t, we will try to get you in touch with someone that can.

Originally Posted by Mojorig

When I was in Monticello, we sampled the crappie population in Chicot every year. That was the only lake in the district that was sampled each year. We sampled it for three months in the fall. The water level is controlled by the COE. AGFC requests a drawdown every five years. Any fluctuation between that is natural fluctuation. As lakes or reservoir age, the fish population fluctuates more. In Lake Chicot, the crappie only live 4-5 years and the population is very cyclic. It is usually dominated by one large year class and then the next few years are not as productive. In SE Ark, crappie is very important to that district. This is why there is a nursery pond that is stocked with crappie most years. Feel free to contact Diana in Monticello about crappie management in SE AR. There is a lot of research and management efforts that doesn’t get put out to the public that really should.

Crappie are very difficult to manage as is anything dealing with mother nature. We try to do our best. We are working on trying to reverse the downward trend in the crappie population at Lake Charles. It takes times.

As always, me and a couple of the other biologist are here to try to answer any question you might have. If we can’t, we will try to get you in touch with someone that can.

bangheadbangheadbanghead The gates in Ditch Bayou NEVER CLOSE and I mean NEVER!!!! COE is always screwing with the level!! Why can't they leave it alone. That seems like an easy question but it is so hard to get a easy answer. Don't get me started on these nut jobs. I have no trouble with the AGFC just the COE.

So, what is everyone's opinion on the best lake in the area for this week-end? Where is everyone that is coming to the spring camp going to go???

I forgot to mention one more thing. Lake Chicot and the AGFC has a Lake Chicot Citizen Advisory Committee. There are very few of these in the state. A lot of the management ideas go through this committee. The committee is in real need of more crappie anglers in the committee. If you fish the lake a lot and really want to have a part in the management of the lake, please contact Diana and ask to attend the annual meeting. The more people on the committee the better it will function.

I found this link I think it may help with Washington

http://deltawildlife.org/images/file_downloads/lake-washington.pdf