opinion,removal of crappie,nets,agfc.conway lake,gold creek 3/25/08

today agfc put out commercial nets to remove hundreds of crappie only here at gold creek.i asked whats up.response was going to try to stock bull shoals.i told them alot of people are going to be upset,they responded:we do alot of things that upset people.i asked have you all tried to net somewhere else on the lake.response was NO.there are many other creeks not so much used as gold creek by the public.not to mention 5000 acres of lake.i don't think its right or fair to the public,which is you guys.since we are still coming back from the drawdown(agfc did not cut the limit in half and many people abused taking fish),it has been less numbers of crappie,more larger numbers for bass,according to agfc reports.they were in here last year,in 24hrs they took 200 crappie transferred to the nursery pond,not too bad considering they will eventually be released back into conway lake.they pulled out.i know they had some complaints.i heard they were more concentrated on bass than than crappie.here wwe are right smack dab getting in spawn,and they want to take more fish.i understand they have to stock some bodies of water.why can't they even net some in the river or creeks leading to the river.For instance,Palarm creek,comes out of conway(where thousands of fish released per the drawdown headed to the river)even now 7 gates open per high water.maybe its easier to go right straight to your favorite fishing spots and drop a net.it will get you when you cast to your hole and snag agfc net.(i had it happen to me here about 10 yrs ago).ok my job to inform you guys ,the rest is up to you.im sure some complaints to agfc would be helpful!call agfc headqaurters in mayflower.Carl Perrin was on site,but will be retiring very soon!anybody got any feedback?

They took out around 5000 from Grand lake. which most people in seark know is one of the best producing crappie lakes year after year. they put those crappie in Chicot and some other lake in NEArk last year. I personally talked to the biologist last year. She told me they do it so the other heavily fished lakes that bring in tourists will have enough crappie. They don't care about the smaller lakes. IF they did they would'nt let the farmers pump out of Grand lake. it is probably down 5 or 6' from previous years.

You said the right word agfc biologist. They do as they please forgetting who voted for the 1/8 % sales tax so they could drive new trucks & 4 wheelers & have more biologist. They are the same ones who draw down Conway in July(100 degrees) until Feb. to repair dam which they did not complete. Lake drawdowns are normally in cold weather. Notice shad,cormarants,coots disappeared. Did not cut limit in half. Think maybe all fish were stressed? I know I was! These are the same managers who burn Camp Robinson SUA every year effectively killing all the trees. Just drive around it & watch them fall. Then we cut the ones along the road so the $80,000 trucks & trailers with horses & bird dogs don't get scratched. Is this a Good Ol Boy network or what? Why is there a fish raising pond, to raise fish for other lakes? You won't see a lot of tourist here but you will see common people fed up with their arrogance. These people forget who they work for!!!! I will come talk to you & tell you what I really think. Keep your line wet & keep the faith.

I will be on the phone tomorrow. Where did they put the nets?

Might be a good idea for some of us to go and remove those nets.

When the primary source of revenue became general revenue instead of user fees, the commission became nonresponsive to the average sportsman. They only answer to the commissioners, and the commissioners don't answer to anyone but a few well-heeled folks.

How many crappie would it take to make an appreciable difference in Bull Shoals? About a million?:eek:

It would be more understandable if Lake Conway was over populated with crappie and weren't growing properly. This isn't the case from what I have seen.

If Bull Shoals has gotten in that bad of shape with the population of crappie, it would seem to me that money would be better spent by increasing the quality of habitat for spawning fish. i.e. brush piles, and condos in known spawning areas to protect the newly hatched fry from predators. This just seems to be a short term effort trying to fix a long term problem....Typical.:(

well i have a little more information,i agree how many crappie would it take?..they did just tell me-conway is the only lake that is normal at this point to get fish.they need at least 200 9'' or bigger crappie to stock bull shoals nursery pond.they need these fish ready to spawn so the can hatch out thousands.sounds like last minute plan.ok maybe not that bad,but again i asked them couldnt they have set nets in palarm and get what they need,they did say they could.you know boils down to we are not as important as the tourist.they are out right now also electro-shocking to meet their qouta.the gates are shut on the lake and at full pool.excellant for the spawn.oh well i think i will check with them see what they shocked on the flats.oh yea LRjoe the set one net in the pool,and will they really stop at 200!we'll see.

I am not sure about Bull Shoals or what not, but why not pay some local up there to build alot of condos and drop them. I know of a certain other Corps Lake that was done to in the past little bit, but I guess they don't care about a stump filled heaven, can't run a ski boat here or run 100 bassboats out of the same cove... OH WELL!

Did they pay to launch?