Almost 1 Million Fish Stocked in Arkansas Waters
December 3, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission crews stocked over 856,500 fish in Arkansas lakes and rivers during October, according to Mike Armstrong, chief of fisheries. The total stocking of fish weighed in excess of 144,000 pounds.
October stockings:
Amon’s Lake, Baxter County, 150 catchable rainbow trout
Lake Ann, Benton County, 8,775 yearling black crappie
Lake Atalanta, Benton County, 1,700 catchable rainbow trout
Lake Austell, Cross County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Lake Avalon, Benton County, 4,690 fingerling black crappie
Bear Creek Lake, Lee County, 1,880 catchable channel catfish
Beaver Lake, Washington and Benton Counties, 60,000 yearling black crappie
Beaver Tailwater, Carroll County, 10,501 catchable rainbow trout
Benton City Lake, Saline County, 1,300 catchable channel catfish
Bicentennial Lake, Sebastian County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Big Piney Creek, Pope County, 256 catchable channel catfish
Bois d Arc Lake, Hempstead County, 314 catchable channel catfish
Boyle Park Pond, Pulaski County, 600 catchable channel catfish
Bradley County Lake, Bradley County, 180 catchable channel catfish
Bragg Lake, Ouachita County, 260 catchable rainbow trout
Lake Brittany, Benton County, 3,150 yearling black crappie
Bull Shoals Lake, Marion, Boone and Baxter Counties, 45,600 yearling blue catfish
Bull Shoals Lake, Marion County, 2,200 catchable channel catfish
Cabot Community Pond, Lonoke County, 1,006 catchable channel catfish
Calion Lake, Union County, 774 catchable rainbow trout
Camp Preston Hunt, Miller County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Camp Preston Hunt, Miller County, 24 yearling grass carp
Cavester Cove, Sharp County, 250 catchable channel catfish
Cedar-Piney Lake, Yell County, 336 catchable channel catfish
Champagnolle Creek, Calhoun County, 352 catchable channel catfish
Champagnolle Creek, Calhoun County, 3,000 yearling grass carp
Charleston City Lake, Franklin County, 342 catchable channel catfish
Cherrywood Lake, Pulaski County, 1,310 catchable channel catfish
Lake Chicot, Chicot County, 80,000 yearling black crappie
Lake Chicot, Chicot County, 20,000 yearling white crappie
Clubhouse Lake, Yell County, 160 catchable channel catfish
Cotter Big Spring, Baxter County, 300 catchable rainbow trout
Cox Creek Lake, Grant County, 260 yearling grass carp
Cox Cypress Lake, Arkansas County, 257 catchable channel catfish
Craighead Forest Park Lake, Craighead County, 400 yearling grass carp
Crossett City Park Lake, Ashley County, 400 catchable channel catfish
Cypress Bayou Pond, Lonoke County, 150 catchable channel catfish
Lake DeGray, Hot Spring and Clark Counties, 25,560 yearling black crappie
Lake Des Arc, Prairie County, 1,050 catchable channel catfish
De Witt City Lake, Arkansas County, 450 catchable channel catfish
Lake Dunn, Cross County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Dupree Park Lake, Pulaski County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Energy Park Lake, Garland County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Engineer Lake #2, Pulaski County, 500 catchable channel catfish
Lake Enterprise, Ashley County, 900 catchable channel catfish
Fair Park Pond, Hempstead County, 400 catchable channel catfish
Family Park Lake, Garland County, 1,000 catchable channel catfish
Foreman Lake, Pulaski County, 240 catchable grass carp
Forrest City Sports Complex Pond, St. Francis County, 200 catchable channel catfish
Fort Roots Lake, Pulaski County, 600 catchable channel catfish
Fourche LaFave River, Scott County, 526 catchable channel catfish
Lake Georgia-Pacific, Ashley County, 1,700 catchable channel catfish
Grandview #1 Lake, Hempstead County, 326 catchable channel catfish
Greers Ferry Lake, Cleburne and Van Buren Counties, 30,817 yearling black crappie
Lake Greeson, Pike County, 7,350 yearling black crappie
Lake Hamilton, Garland County, 2,639 catchable channel catfish
Harris Brake Lake, Perry County, 982 catchable channel catfish
Harrison City Lake, Boone County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Hickson Lake, Monroe County, 157 catchable channel catfish
Lake Hindsville, Madison County, 8,556 fingerling bluegill bream
Huckleberry Lake, Pope County, 589 catchable channel catfish
Hunter Lake, Pulaski County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Illinois Bayou, Pope County, 400 catchable channel catfish
Interstate Pond #2, Monroe County, 257 catchable channel catfish
Interstate Pond #4, Monroe County, 171 catchable channel catfish
Irons Fork Lake, Polk County, 460 catchable channel catfish
Lake June, Lafayette County, 296 catchable channel catfish
Keeland Lake, Yell County, 316 catchable channel catfish
Kingfisher Lake, Yell County, 316 catchable channel catfish
Kiwanis Park, Pulaski County, 800 catchable channel catfish
Lee Creek, Crawford County, 384 catchable channel catfish
Lee Creek Lake, Crawford County, 902 catchable channel catfish
Lilly Pad Pond, Yell County, 316 catchable channel catfish
Little Missouri River, Pike County, 879 catchable channel catfish
Little Red River, Cleburne County, 19,135 catchable rainbow trout
Lake Loch Lomond, Benton County, 33,390 yearling black crappie
Lake Lou Emma, Crawford County, 290 catchable channel catfish
Lyon College Pond, Independence County, 300 catchable channel catfish
MacArthur Park Lake, Pulaski County, 500 catchable channel catfish
Martin Luther King Park, Jefferson County, 800 catchable channel catfish
McKinley Park Lake, Saline County, 510 catchable channel catfish
Mike & Janet Huckabee Kids Pond, Hempstead County, 200 catchable channel catfish
Mike & Janet Huckabee Lake, Hempstead County, 310 catchable channel catfish
Miller Pond, Woodruff County, 150 catchable channel catfish
Mirror Lake, Stone County, 1,000 catchable rainbow trout
Lake Monticello, Drew County, 755 catchable channel catfish
Mulberry River, Franklin County, 590 catchable channel catfish
Murphy Park Lake, Washington County, 300 catchable rainbow trout
Nashville City Park Lake, Howard County, 250 catchable channel catfish
Lake Norrell, Saline County, 240 yearling grass carp
Norfork Lake, Baxter County, 22,000 yearling blue catfish
Norfork Lake, Baxter County, 2,200 catchable channel catfish
Norfork River, Baxter County, 2,071 fingerling brown trout
Norfork River, Baxter County, 8,288 catchable rainbow trout
Norwood Lake, Benton County, 2,450 yearling black crappie
Old Davidsonville State Park Lake, Randolph County, 304 catchable channel catfish
Otter Creek Park Pond, Pulaski County, 650 catchable channel catfish
Lake Ouachita, Montgomery and Garland Counties, 10,026 catchable channel catfish
Lake Ouachita, Montgomery and Garland Counties, 50,624 yearling black crappie
Ouachita River, Hot Spring County, 1,251 catchable channel catfish
Parkway Village Ponds, Pulaski County, 608 catchable channel catfish
Petit Jean River, Yell County, 632 catchable channel catfish
Lake Pickthorne, Lonoke County, 528 catchable channel catfish
Plum Bayou, Lonoke County, 3,040 yearling black crappie
Pullen Pond, Yell County, 316 catchable channel catfish
Lake Rayburn, Benton County, 3,150 yearling black crappie
Regional Park Pond, Jefferson County, 400 catchable channel catfish
Robe Bayou, Monroe County, 306 catchable channel catfish
Lake Saracin/Pine Bluff Lake, Jefferson County, 1,502 catchable channel catfish
Searcy City Lake, White County, 250 catchable channel catfish
Shores Lake, Franklin County, 298 catchable channel catfish
Siloam Springs City Park, Benton County, 300 catchable catfish
Spring River, Fulton County, 9,645 catchable rainbow trout
Spring River, Fulton County, 10,000 fingerling brown trout
Lake Springdale, Washington County, 300 catchable rainbow trout
Storm Creek Lake, Phillips County, 2,592 yearling blue catfish
Swepco Lake, Benton County, 112,490 fingerling bluegill bream
Swepco Lake, Benton County, 50 yearling grass carp
Tri County Lake, Calhoun County, 448 catchable channel catfish
War Memorial Park, Pulaski County, 200 catchable channel catfish
Ward City Lake, Lonoke County, 150 catchable channel catfish
Wells Lake, Sebastian County, 1,000 catchable channel catfish
Lake Winona, Saline County, 1,722 catchable channel catfish
Lake Wedington, Washington County, 28,520 fingerling bluegill bream
White River, Baxter, Izard, Marion and Stone Counties, 68,320 catchable rainbow trout
White River, Baxter, Izard and Stone Counties, 78,349 fingerling brown trout
White River, Jackson and Independence Counties, 8,460 catchable paddlefish
White River, Independence and Stone Counties, 10,560 fingerling paddlefish
White River, Independence County, 3,000 yearling paddlefish
Whitstine Lake, Independence County, 300 catchable channel catfish
Lake Wilson, Ashley County, 457 catchable channel catfish
Lake Windsor, Benton County, 15,400 yearling black crappie
Wrape Plantation Lake, Arkansas County, 166 catchable channel catfish
Yell County Wildlife Federation Pond, Yell County, 288 catchable channel catfish
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Sit On A Bucket Over Ice? Nice.
December 3, 2008
MADISON – It’s not everybody’s idea of fun, but it fits the bill perfectly for nearly half a million Wisconsin adults every winter.
In a new video available on the Department of Natural Resources Web site “Ice Fishing: My Kind of Fun,” an angler fishing one of the popular Madison area lakes explains his enjoyment of the sport.
In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, anglers spent 11 million hours sitting on an overturned bucket or shacked up in an ice shanty, waiting for a red flag to fly.
They caught 14 million fish and kept just under half of them, according to a statewide mail survey of anglers the DNR conducted in 2006.
In winter, as in summer, panfish rule, says Brian Weigel, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries research scientist who analyzed the survey responses. “A quick check of the numbers shows panfish, panfish, panfish by far.”
Anglers caught about 11.7 million panfish during the ice fishing season and kept a higher proportion of them, nearly half, than in the open water season. The same pattern held true for walleye, northern pike and bass, Weigel says.
More information on ice fishing and fishing conditions to help the veteran angler as well as the novice can be found on DNR’s ice fishing pages.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE FISH SURVEY CONTACT: Brian Weigel - (608) 221-6326
10 tips for staying safe while ice fishing
First or early ice may promise the most fishing success, but it can also pose the greatest risk if anglers aren’t careful, recreation safety officials say.
“Ice is always unpredictable, and that’s particularly true early in the ice fishing season,” says Gary Eddy, the Department of Natural Resources conservation warden who administers the snowmobile and ATV safety programs.
State conservation wardens caution that ice is never viewed as safe, but general guidelines suggest at least 4 inches of clear ice is necessary before someone walks on a frozen waterbody; at least 6 inches before driving a snowmobile across ice, and 8 to 10 inches before traveling in cars or light duty trucks. “Those guidelines are only if the ice is real solid and clear,” Eddy says.
He offers these other tips for staying safe:
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Do not go out alone, carry a cell phone, and let people know where you are going and when you’ll return home.
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Wear proper clothing and equipment, including a float coat to help you stay afloat and to help slow body heat loss; take extra mittens or gloves so you always have a dry pair.
- Wear creepers attached to boots to prevent slipping on clear ice.
- Carry a spud bar to check the ice while walking to new areas.
- Carry a couple of spikes and a length of light rope in an easily accessible pocket to help pull yourself – or others – out of the ice.
- Do not travel in unfamiliar areas or at night.
- Know if the lake has inlets, outlets or narrows that have current that can thin the ice.
- Look for clear ice. Clear ice is generally stronger than ice with air bubbles in it or with snow on it.
- Watch out for pressure ridges or ice heaves. These can be dangerous due to thin ice or may be an obstruction you may hit with a car, truck or snowmobile.
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Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration To Florida
December 3, 2008
The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) program is one federal program that really lives up to its name. For more than half a century, it has been one of the best “user-pays, user-benefits” initiatives anywhere. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has received more than $11 million each year from these matching funds to sustain and enhance public fishing opportunities that return a $7.5 billion economic benefit to the state each year and provide 46 million days of recreational enjoyment.
In 1950, Congressmen Dingell and Johnson created the original program in response to a request from the fishing industry and angling public. Under this program, fishing tackle is assessed an excise fee at the manufacturers’ level, and resulting funds are allocated to state game and fish agencies.
The original Dingell-Johnson Act was expanded in 1984, through the Wallop-Breaux Amendment, to include import duties on sport fishing equipment, pleasure boats and yachts, as well as tax revenue from motorboat fuel sales. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines how much of these taxes are returned to each state, based on its size and the number of paid fishing license holders. Since Florida, unlike many other states, does not charge saltwater fishing license fees to resident shoreline anglers, nor require any youth under 16, or resident adult over 65 to purchase a freshwater or saltwater license, we recover a somewhat smaller proportion of the funds than some other states do.
SFR generated $13.3 million for Florida in 2008, of which 15 percent ($2 million) provided for both fresh and saltwater boating access, including building and maintaining boat ramps, courtesy docks and trailer parking. Of the remaining $11.3 million, freshwater fisheries conservation received $5.3 million (based on the estimated number of resident freshwater anglers versus saltwater anglers), and saltwater attained $6 million.
Florida freshwater fisheries’ SFR funding is used primarily to support the many programs that ensure Florida remains the Fishing Capital of the World. This includes evaluating key fisheries to determine the appropriate regulations, fish stocking, habitat enhancement, aquatic plant management and infrastructure needs (e.g., boat ramps, fishing piers, fish attractors). The funds also support applied research, hatchery operations, outreach activities for youth, and communications programs to keep the angling public informed.
The fishing tackle and boating industries pay these taxes up front and then pass the cost on to anglers and boaters. Each recreationist pays a minor share. However, the accumulated impact is one of the strongest forces helping ensure there will be fishing and boating access in the future, that aquatic habitats are protected and restored, and that our waters contain healthy and abundant sport fishes to sustain quality recreational fishing.Â
In turn, sport fishing not only provides millions of hours of healthy, relaxing enjoyment for anglers and boaters, it also provides a tremendous economic benefit to local communities and businesses. The angling public and fishing industry together serve as watchdogs to ensure that the user who pays into the system directly benefits.Â
“Put, Grow and Take” is an expression fisheries biologists use to describe stocking a small fish into a healthy environment, letting it grow and allowing it to be caught by an angler as a much-bigger fish. Sport Fish Restoration works the same way - with a little money going into the system, being returned and expanded to give the angler more than his or her money’s worth.
For additional information go to MyFWC.com/Fishing/, and click on the Sport Fish Restoration link. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s WSFRprograms.FWS.gov Web site provides additional information.Â
Instant licenses are available at MyFWC.com/License or by calling 888-FISH-FLORIDA (347-4356). Report violators by calling *FWC or #FWC on your cell, or 888-404-3922. Visit MyFWC.com/Fishing/Updates for more Fish Busters’ columns.
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Winter Rainbows Arc Across Texas
December 1, 2008
Annual Rainbow Trout Stockings Begin Dec. 3
AUSTIN, Texas — For an inexpensive, entry-level fishing experience the entire family can enjoy, it doesn’t get much easier than winter rainbow trout fishing in Texas.
Beginning Dec. 3 and continuing until mid-March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stock upwards of 260,000 hatchery-reared rainbow trout at 119 sites across the state. Many of the fish stockings will be conducted at small community fishing lakes, state park lakes and popular river tailraces offering easy angling access.
TPWD has been stocking rainbow trout each winter since the 1970s, providing Texans a simple and economical opportunity to go fishing.
Catching these hungry fish can be easy, making the experience ideal for both novice anglers and kids. The fish will bite almost immediately after stocking and typically will take a variety of baits, from whole kernel canned corn or commercial soft bait to artificial flies and even small spinner baits.
Fishing gear can be as basic as an inexpensive spincast rod and reel combo, a small plastic bobber, a fishing weight and a hook. It’s also a good idea to carry along a pair of needle-nosed pliers to help remove hooks, and a five gallon bucket, small ice chest or a fish stringer to keep your catch. Be sure to keep freshly caught trout cold on ice or refrigerated.
The complete 2008-2009 Rainbow Trout Stocking Schedule 
is on the TPWD Web site. Here anglers can find stocking locations, stocking dates and driving directions to each site. Many locations offer special events for youth prior to allowing the public to fish. Check with local parks and recreation departments or water authorities for additional information. Most sites get an annual dose of more than 1,000 trout.
Among the winter trout stocking sites are 13 Neighborhood Fishin’ locations in city suburbs across the state. These spots get trout stocked every two weeks in the winter, but catfish are also stocked there in the summer, making them year-round family fishing destinations. Details are on the Neighborhood Fishin’ Web page, which lists the urban area, lake or pond, driving directions, and a TPWD name and contact phone number for each site. Money donated to TPWD from the Toyota Texas Bass Classic is being used to support Neighborhood Fishin’.
Other popular fishing holes like the Guadalupe River below the Canyon Reservoir Dam, which includes the tailrace, also receive multiple stockings from December into March. As the only fishable place in Texas where rainbow trout can survive during the summer months, the Guadalupe River will get almost 17,000 trout stocked this winter.
One public access point along the Guadalupe River has been leased by TPWD specifically for trout fishing, Camp Hueco Springs. A map and directions to this site are on the TPWD Web site.
Anglers should note there are special harvest restrictions in place along a 10-mile stretch of the Guadalupe River below the tailrace. In this area, anglers may retain only one trout per day, which must be at least 18-inches in length, and any trout harvested must be caught on artificial lures.
For additional details about the special harvest regulations and the location of that river stretch, please consult the TPWD Outdoor Annual. The special regulations zone does not include the area immediately below Canyon Lake Dam. There, as in other Texas waters, the daily bag limit is five trout and there is no minimum length.
A valid Texas freshwater fishing package is required to fish for trout. Youth ages 16 and younger and all anglers fishing from the bank in state parks are exempt from the fishing package requirement.
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Coleman National Fish Hatchery Meets its Central Valley Fall Chinook Salmon Egg Collection Target
November 29, 2008
Earlier this year it was projected that the returns of adult fall Central Valley Chinook salmon would be the lowest on record. With fewer fish returning, there was much concern that hatcheries in the Central Valley might be unable to secure enough spawning adults and collect enough eggs to meet fall Chinook salmon production targets. Although the numbers of fall Chinook salmon appear to be as low as predicted, Coleman National Fish Hatchery has collected enough eggs to more than meet its production target of 12 million juveniles.
“Because of the low predicted run-size, adult fish were managed slightly differently this year and eggs were collected and fertilized from nearly every mature fish available,” said Coleman National Fish Hatchery Manager Scott Hamelberg.
“We consider ourselves fortunate that we were still able to collect eggs at the tail-end of the run, when we were initially thinking few — if any — fish would be available to us by that time.” Hamelberg added that the hatchery collected more eggs than it can raise, a normal occurrence at fish hatcheries. Eggs were collected throughout the spawning season to ensure adequate genetic representation of run timing and maturation timing.
Considering the decreased abundance of fall Chinook salmon, and the fact that some excess eggs have been collected, the hatchery is working on a strategy to incorporate some of these eggs into the current rearing program. “The endeavor is not without risk, but, given the circumstances, Coleman NFH personnel will do their best to produce as many as 1.8 million additional healthy fish this year,” notes Hamelberg.
While some excess eggs will be incorporated into production some will also will be removed from production, per standard practice, and will be used by Coleman NFH as part of their ongoing program to recondition steelhead adults after they have been spawned. “These eggs are the perfect food to get the spawned out steelhead adults healthy enough to be released in hopes they will grow for another year and come back next year and spawn again,” Hamelberg said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coleman NFH remains committed to meeting fish production goals to off-set the impacts of Shasta and Keswick dams while minimizing the effects of the hatchery’s operation on natural fish populations. “Considering the current status of fall Chinook salmon in the Central Valley of California, we believe we have found a reasonable strategy to utilize some excess eggs in the production program this year,” concluded Hamelberg.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
More information about the Fish and Wildlife Service operations in California, Nevada, and the Klamath Basin is available at www.fws.gov/cno.
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NOAA’s Fisheries Service Releases an Additional $70 Million in Disaster Aid to West Coast Salmon Fishing Industry
November 26, 2008
NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced it is making an additional $70 million in disaster-relief aid available to West Coast salmon fishermen, completing a financial-assistance package announced in September, when the agency released $100 million in disaster assistance.
The agency will provide the money to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The commission is distributing the money to fishermen and related businesses affected by this year’s closure of the ocean salmon fishing season off California, Oregon, and Washington based on agreements with the three West Coast states.
To date, the commission has disbursed more than $73.6 million from the initial $100 million grant to eligible fishermen and businesses affected by the closure. That number is expected to rise to close to $100 million by the end of November.
The unprecedented collapse of Sacramento River Fall Chinook, combined with the exceptionally poor status of Coho salmon from Oregon and Washington, led officials to close all commercial and sport Chinook ocean fishing off California and most of Oregon last spring. Only a small hatchery-origin recreational Coho fishery off central and southern Oregon remained open, which also affected Washington fishermen.
The governors of all three West Coast states requested a federal disaster declaration as a result of the closures. The declaration, issued by the Secretary of Commerce, last May, paved the way for Congress to appropriate a $170 million disaster-relief package in July. The first funds were dispersed by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in early October.
The grant, developed by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in consultation with representatives of the West Coast governors, provides relief to affected commercial fishermen, wholesalers, processors, charter boat owners and recreational guides and businesses dependent on fishing.
So far, officials have sent aid to over 2,000 commercial fishermen with fishing permits. An additional 1,400 checks have been sent to businesses and others affected by the salmon closure. Businesses affected by the salmon closure can download application forms from the commission’s Web site at http://www.psmfc.org. Applicants must be licensed state permit holders or have purchased a state business license or permit in 2007.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the o