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?

rowdy'no agfc does not have to pay for launching per contract,and i do not have any problem with that.i do support agfc!for the most part they do great for arkansas.i just felt like they didnt have to pick this very very popular area.i suppose they do know where the most crappie are on the lake.last night i saw them gather 25 9'' or better crappie off the flats.they just pulled in to check their nets

I called the state office in Little Rock. They are having someone call me back. I talked to one of the main guys and he is checking into it, and will have someone call me back. I will keep you all updated.

Every one need to go the the Game and Fish website and read their Crappie Managment plan for the year. It says the Netting will take place during September through November. AGFC is a bull .... group of people and screw every thing they touch they always have From deer hunting to Duck hunting to trout fishing and every were in between. They are here to work for the people with money. and do not follow what the general public veiws, but they ask for the publics input?????????? not for sure what that is about

just an update-agfc pulled out with at least 200+ looked more like 300 to me that i saw.glad their gone.nice size ones and real healthy.also saw large numbers of red ear and huge #s of largemouth bass.well they could'nt get them all.it was nice to see ample amount crappie!there are plenty here,get out and make them bite.they only took crappie.mountain home gf were very happy-high tailing it to the nursery.they had just recently duped the nursery pond and were itching to start restock.as i said before you see where they come for less work to get the crappie.i do want to add seems as though some higher power and money behind it for those who have the most money.of course thats just my opinion,you know what they say about opinions!

Let's not get carried away trashing the AGFC. True enough, I would prefer they not get their fish from Gold Creek, but their reasons are probably not as sinister as some might say. The fact that Gold Creek has easy access and has plenty of crappie is most likely why they chose to get their fish from there.
While many of us do not agree with all of their decisions, AGFC has done a tremendous job maintaining fish populations, building ramps and piers, acquiring public land, and other projects that give us great fishing and hunting opportunities.
Just my two cents.

I just got off the phone. They said that they got 180 crappie out of Gold Creek. I asked him why they did not go somewhere that did not get as much fishing pressure as Gold Creek. He told me that because of the winds yesterday, it was his only option. He understood our concern, but said that 180 fish was nothing compaired to the number of fish that are there. I tend to agree. He said the next time that they have to do this they would not come to Gold Creek becasue of our concern. He would not have been there yesterday, but it was the only option with the wind direction and the high wind.

On another note, he told me that the AGFC WOULD NOT have a draw down of the lake this year. I know that there was a rumor of this. He said the only thing left to do was to pave the road next to the dam. He said that job would not require a draw down.

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Originally Posted by MDMcenterridge

Let's not get carried away trashing the AGFC. True enough, I would prefer they not get their fish from Gold Creek, but their reasons are probably not as sinister as some might say. The fact that Gold Creek has easy access and has plenty of crappie is most likely why they chose to get their fish from there.
While many of us do not agree with all of their decisions, AGFC has done a tremendous job maintaining fish populations, building ramps and piers, acquiring public land, and other projects that give us great fishing and hunting opportunities.
Just my two cents.

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They take care of the trout and bass not crappie or catfish. Just my 2 cents.

So they harvested 180 crappie. It would take CEB 9 days to catch that many. :D :D

It would seem to me that the AG&F would already have a brooder pond allocated for crappie where that would not have to go to a public lake to harvest crappie. The idea for the G&F is increase the quality and quantity of fish. Now, there is my 2 cents.

Didn't Game and Fish build lake Conway? If so, it seems like they could do whatever they wanted to do. If you build your own lake, you can manage it however you want.

as i mentioned i do support the game and fish,as i also said;glad their gone.in their defense i would like to say they said they did stock 300,000 crappie last year.so 180-200 fish not bad.im glad they did not want to take a thousand or more.now thats bout all i have to say bout that.well i had 3 boats today were in for a big surprise.they set up in pool fishing-gf pulls up beside them pull up nets right by them and see couple dip nets of crappie.that had to be a little tough.we'll survive.one man did good early this morning-with the rest of the day fairly slow.another boat 3-guys had about 30,another man and his son had 15.4 caught on flats by another.4-5 people had it tough.tommorrow should be better.water temp at 60.water clarity -good,water level full pool and holding,great for the spawn.i must add GF did a great job keeping from flooding and back at normal level

I really don't have as much of a problem with AGFC catching those crappie to transplant as I do with the attitude of them doing it. Instead of telling Dan that it wouldn't be the first time AGFC upset someone, they could have been a little more politicaly correct. They could have mentioned that they probably knew someone was going to be upset but overall it was for the better good of the area where they were going to restock the fish. That "so what" attitude is probably my biggest pill with them to swallow!

I am amazed they were able to pull that many out of the pool. Typically, I move on to other areas by this time of the year thinking the bite is about done. My fishing is normally over for the summer by May, so I don't know if the pool attracts them then or not.
DP