NWA outdoor briefs

ANGLING FOR OLD WHISKERS
Roy Patterson of Springdale relaxes in a lawn chair while fishing on Wednesday at Ward Nail Park in Lowell. Patterson fished for catfish using chunks of hot dogs for bait. He'd caught five catfish by mid-morning on Wednesday. Go to nwaonline.com/200813Daily/ to see more photos. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
ANGLING FOR OLD WHISKERS Roy Patterson of Springdale relaxes in a lawn chair while fishing on Wednesday at Ward Nail Park in Lowell. Patterson fished for catfish using chunks of hot dogs for bait. He'd caught five catfish by mid-morning on Wednesday. Go to nwaonline.com/200813Daily/ to see more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)

Lake gets bluegill, redear

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission district fisheries staff drained the Beaver Lake fish nursery pond on Aug. 10 and released thousands of bluegill and redear sunfish fingerlings into the lake.

The finglerlings supplement the natural reproduction of bluegill and redear to improve fishing. The finglerlings are also excellent forage for larger game fish such as largemouth bass and walleye.

The 28-acre nursery pond is on the east shoreline one mile north of Horseshoe Bend park. It was built in 1987. A variety of species have been raised in the pond and released directly into Beaver Lake.

Trail crew needed

The trails at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area are mostly maintained by volunteers who adopt a section of trail. Park staff is looking for one or more volunteers to adopt a three-mile stretch of Little Clifty Loop, which is part of the Hidden Diversity multiuse trail.

Work may include cutting back vegetation, erosion prevention and other light duties. For details contact Carla Berg, volunteer coordinator, [email protected], 479-789-5009.

Frakes tops Elite field

Nick Frakes won the Beaver Lake Elite Series bass tournament held Aug. 8 at Beaver Lake. His five-fish tournament limit weighed 16.58 pounds. Frakes' catch included the tournament's big bass at 5.56 pounds.

Pat Majors placed second with five bass at 14.19 pounds. Bub Taylor was third with five bass at 13.37 pounds.

Fourth through 10th, all with five bass unless noted, were: fourth, Glenn Rhodes, 13.31; fifth, Kirk McClellands, 12.93; sixth, Justin Fox, 11.46; seventh, Randy Richman, 11.29; eighth, Kevin Ceola (four bass), 10.84; ninth, Grayson Jarnagan, 10.44; 10th, Keith Brashers, 10.

Study's focus is bass

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists will be electrofishing on the Illinois River in Benton County over the next two weeks doing a study of the river's black bass population.

The bass population was last studied in 2014, said Jon Stein, district fisheries supervisor with Game and Fish. That research showed the stream had a good population of the three black bass species: largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Spotted bass numbers were particularly impressive, Stein said.

The study turned up about 20 black bass per hour of electrofishing, including fish up to 3 pounds. Some 15% of the fish were 14 inches or longer, Stein said.

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