Sometimes a paddle is more practical than an outboard when a fisherman's sights are set on crappie at Beaver Lake.
Word from the fishing grapevine was that crappie were going gangbusters in the Pine Creek arm of Beaver Lake, south of Hickory Creek park. Launching a power boat to reach the fishing hot spot would require a substantial drive to reach the ramp at Hickory Creek. But a dirt road that dead-ended at the lake near Pine Creek was close and perfect for slipping a canoe into the water.
The jig is up
Small jigs are the top lure choice for crappie at Beaver Lake, but they can produce a mixed catch. Little jigs resemble minnows or shad that all game fish eat, including walleye.
Crappie must be 10 inches or longer to keep at Beaver Lake. The daily limit is 14. Walleye must be 18 inches or longer to keep. The daily limit is four.
Jon Stein of Pea Ridge was fishing in short order. He cast a gray crappie jig and occasionally dipped a canoe paddle April 15 on safari for crappie in the Pine Creek arm.
The overcast Friday happened to be the second day of the Walmart FLW Tour pro bass tournament at Beaver Lake. The fishermen in the canoe were within sight of two glittering bass boats, each powered by 250 horsepower from the stables of Mercury and Evinrude.
The fishing rods of those pros, and the guys in the canoe, stayed arrow straight with nary a bend from a Beaver Lake bass or crappie. Fishing was off to a slow start.
In the world of Beaver Lake creek arms, Pine Creek is tiny. It doesn't even stretch a mile before it joins the main lake. But Pine Creek can fish big. It has everything a fish could want. There are gravel and rock banks, plus submerged bushes and trees. Lay-down trees that have fallen in the water are hot spots for crappie. These were Stein's favorite targets, especially where the shoreline was steep.
Stein is an ardent angler and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries biologist for Northwest Arkansas. He keeps tabs on the population of crappie and other game fish at the lake.
One way is by electrofishing. Stein and fisheries biologist Kevin Hopkins use electricity to stun the fish around their boat. The charge doesn't harm the fish, but immobilizes them so the two can net them, then measure and weigh whatever species they're studying. Fish are released after data is jotted down.
"In our electrofishing samples, we've been getting the most crappie along these steeper banks," Stein said, arching another cast. His rod tip quivered, but the fish he caught was a bluegill. A pretty fish indeed but not what he was after.
Another lay-down offered up another strike. This time Stein reeled in a spotted bass. Next fish was a tiny long-eared sunfish. Finally he hit pay dirt and welcomed a fine looking crappie aboard the canoe. It went straight into the ice chest. Crappie have to be 10 inches or longer to keep at Beaver Lake. There was no doubt about this one.
"I love catching those keepers you don't have to measure," Stein said.
His fishing buddy in the back of the canoe wasn't doing so hot. In fact, he broke his fishing rod freeing a crappie jig from an underwater bush. Luckily, Stein had a spare.
The little rig was more like a kid's rod, with a tiny reel the size of a walnut. The rod itself was so whippy it was like fishing with cooked linguine.
But oh, what fun when the next fish bit. This was no dink. It had some size and bent the little fishing rod into a semi-circle. A big fight on this little rod had both men laughing.
When the one-minute battle was through, Stein slid a net under a keeper-sized walleye. Walleye have to be 18 inches or longer to keep. This one measured 18.001 inches. A fish fry was in the making.
Another lay-down offered up another strike. This time Stein reeled in a spotted bass. Next, a long-eared sunfish bit. Size wasn't much, but they were catching a good number of fish. When they called it a day at high noon, they'd caught eight species of fish -- crappie, walleye, long-eared sunfish, green sunfish, bluegill, spotted bass, largemouth bass and warmouth.
"All that just by paddling a canoe around in a cove," Stein said when the catching was through.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 05/10/2016