For fishermen, there's reason to rejoice on a rainy day.
Showers get creeks in the Beaver Lake watershed flowing. When these small waters fill the War Eagle and White rivers, which are Beaver's main tributaries, the lake level can rise a hurry. High water is good for the spawning success of all game fish in the lake, especially crappie and largemouth bass.
The lake has risen several feet in recent weeks. That puts a smile on Jon Stein's face. He and Kevin Hopkins are our region's fisheries biologists with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Both are avid fishermen.
"High water drives the fishery at Beaver," Stein said.
When lake water floods shoreline grass and bushes, the spawn can be outstanding because newly-hatched fish take shelter in the cover. High water brings nutrients to the water and food for the young fry to eat.
A rising lake is good news.
"We need a high-water year," Stein said.
The last one was in 2011 when the lake was bank full through most of the summer. Fishermen are now reaping the harvest of that excellent 2011 spawn. Black bass, crappie, walleye, white bass, all game fish born that year, are catchable size now. Game & Fish research and tournament results prove it.
"There have been bass tournaments lately where it's taken 20-pounds or better to win. That's not routine for Beaver Lake," Stein said.
The two biologists catch and release fish with gill nets during winter to get an idea of the health and numbers of game fish and forage fish.
Efforts this winter produced lots of keeper-sized walleye over 18 inches. Better news is that walleye 15- to 17- inches are plentiful. Those walleye hatched during the spawn of 2011.
"That year-class dominated our gill net studies this year. Those fish will be legal next year," Stein said.
Walleye must be 18 inches or longer to keep at Beaver Lake. The daily limit is four.
Some big 24- to 26-inch walleye were gill-netted this winter. Those fish spawned in 2008, another high-water year, Stein said.
The news is good for white bass. Gill-net catches revealed an abundance of 12- to 14-inch white bass that are the result of the prolific spawn of 2011. There is no size limit or daily limit on white bass at Beaver Lake or its tributaries.
Keeper-sized crappie, 10-inches or longer, should be plentiful as well, thanks to that 2011 spawn, Stein added. The daily limit at Beaver is 15 crappie.
"More good news is that when the three White River lakes are high, Beaver is the last one to be lowered. The level stays higher longer," Stein said.
Generally, water authorities lower Table Rock Lake first, then Bull Shoals and finally Beaver.
There's a dark side to this silver lining.
"If we don't get high water in the next five or six years, fishing is going to be on a downward trend. People are going to remember the good old days of fishing, which are now," Stein said.
Rain dance, anyone?
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 04/02/2015