THE FLIP SIDE

Pond boosts crappie numbers at Beaver Lake

Jon Stein, fisheries biologist, shows one of 50,000 crappie released Oct. 2 into Beaver Lake from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission nursery pond. The released crappie averaged 6 inches long.
Jon Stein, fisheries biologist, shows one of 50,000 crappie released Oct. 2 into Beaver Lake from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission nursery pond. The released crappie averaged 6 inches long.

With the twist of a crank, the crappie population at Beaver Lake increased by 50,000.

That's how many crappie were released into the reservoir on Oct. 2. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission grew the fish this summer at the Beaver Lake nursery pond. In the wee hours that Monday morning, Justin Hopper with Game and Fish opened the pond's release gate to drain the 30-acre pond.

Crappie averaged six inches long when they were released, said Kevin Hopkins, fisheries biologist with the agency. All are black crappie. White and black crappie swim in the lake. It'll take about three years for these black crappie to reach legal keeper size of 10 inches or longer, Hopkins said.

Game and Fish raises fish at the pond each summer and lets them go directly into Beaver Lake. The pond is one mile north of Horseshoe Bend park on the east shoreline.

Crappie are raised two ways. This year, 50,000 crappie about three inches long were trucked from the Charlie Craig State Fish Hatchery in Centerton and stocked in the pond. They grew until released on Oct. 2.

Game and Fish released 300,000 crappie from the pond in 2016, Hopkins said.

"Last year we netted brood crappie from the lake and put them in the pond. They spawned and were about three inches long when we released them."

A lot of those 3-inch crappie get eaten by other fish. A higher number of the 6-inch crappie will survive because they're bigger, Hopkins said.

The crappie population at Beaver Lake is good, the biologist added. Game and Fish keeps tabs on the crappie with net studies and other research. Anglers report good crappie fishing this year, Hopkins said.

"Right now, if you can find some brush you'll find the crappie. A couple of friends fished last weekend from Horseshoe Bend to the (Arkansas 12) bridge and caught about 50," Hopkins said.

Fishing is good with minnows or jigs 15 feet deep or shallower. Trolling with crank baits has been good in the creek arms that have timber in them.

The daily limit is 15 crappie. Crappie must be 10 inches or longer to keep at Beaver Lake.

Hopkins said he and fellow biologist Jon Stein haven't decided what species to raise at the nursery pond in 2018. Bluegill or threadfin shad are possibilities. These would be more forage for game fish already in the lake than a fish for anglers to catch.

The nursery pond has been a boom to Beaver Lake fishing. Smallmouth bass were raised in the pond years ago. Now they're well established in the lake. Walleye were next. Beaver Lake today has a good walleye population that anglers enjoy catching and eating.

The great debate is, what's the better fish to eat, crappie or walleye? Anglers can catch both at Beaver Lake and do their own taste test.

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 10/10/2017

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