Effort aims to improve Lake Conway boating

Driving a boat on Lake Conway can be a bit difficult because of the thousands of stumps sitting just below the surface. Thanks to some advances in technology, "Old Stumpy" will soon see a shave.

The Arkansas Game and Fish is contracting Stump Busters underwater stump removal service to clear and renovate boat lanes on the6,700-acre lake.

Lake Conway has 23 miles of marked boat lanes, which are relatively clear of stumps. However, people idling in the lanes still will feel the bump of a random stickup that was missed when the most recent lanes were developed in 2006.

Matt Horton, habitat biologist at the Game and Fish in Mayflower, said the project likely will renovate 10 to 12 miles of the current boat lanes. The remaining lanes will be renovated in sections as money becomes available each year.

The project is scheduled to start this month, weather permitting. The lanes will be cleared and marked, and the old boat lane markers will be removed before the end of May.

Horton said the agency prioritized the lanes to begin with ones that experience the most use.

Horton said the lanes will be widened to 30 feet, and areas where current lanes veer closely to the shore will be pulled toward the lake to reduce boat wakes causing issues with boat houses and erosion.

"We also will try to straighten a few of the lanes that went around some known stump fields, but caused some confusion with boaters looking for the next boat lane marker," Horton said. "Most of the existing boat lanes on the west side of the lake will be renovated during this project. We will use as much of the old boat lane system as possible to maximize our investment."

Sports on 03/24/2020

Upcoming Events