Anglers urged to voice opinions at fishing meetings

LITTLE ROCK - Eleven public meetings are scheduled across Arkansas in May to allow sportsmen to voice their opinions on fishing regulations for 2005.

The input meetings are part of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's regulations-setting process, according to Mike Gibson, chief of fisheries. “Staff members will contribute suggestions, recommendations from both the public and the staff. They will be reviewed by the Commission's Regulations Committee, then the rules for the next calendar year will be set by the Commission at its August meeting,” Gibson said.

All the public meetings start at 7 p.m. Dates, locations and phone numbers are:

May 4 -Russellville AGFC Regional Office, 1266 Lock and Dam Road, Russellville, 1-877-967-7577.

May 4 - Greers Ferry Visitor Center, 700 Heber Springs Rd. North, Heber Springs, 1-877-470-3309.

May 6 - Rogers City Administration Building, 300 W. Poplar, Rogers, 1-866-631-6005.

May 6 -Camden AGFC Regional Office, 500 Ben Lane, Camden, 1-877-836-4612.

May 11 - McMullan Lecture Hall, ASU Mountain Home Campus-Dryer Hall, Mountain Home, 1-877-425-7577.

May 11 - Brinkley AGFC Regional Office, 1201 U.S. Highway 49 North, Brinkley, 1-877-734-4581.

May 11 - Monticello AGFC Regional Office, 771 Jordan, Monticello, 1-877-367-3559.

May 13 - Hope Fair Park Community Center, Jones Street, Hope, 1-877-777-5580.

May 13 - Hot Springs Convention Center-Room 205, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs, 1-877-525-8606.

May 18 - AGFC Jonesboro Regional Office, 2920 McClellan Dr., Jonesboro, 1-877-972-5438.

May 20 - AGFC Main Office, 2 Natural Resources Dr., Little Rock, 1-800-364-4263.

Anglers may bring their ideas to the meetings or they can send written comments to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, c/o 2005 Fishing Regulations, #2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205. “The written comments should get to us by May 24,” Gibson explained.

Commission renames hatchery after Hinkle

MAMMOTH SPRING - A former commissioner from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission had his name added to the Spring River Hatchery near Mammoth Spring last week. The present commission voted unanimously to change the name to the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery.

The Spring River Hatchery is one of the largest trout culture facilities in the eastern U.S. and the only cold-water fish hatchery operated by the AGFC. The Kroger Company of Cincinnati donated the hatchery to the commission in 1985. The facility is located on the Spring River in the Ozark Mountain Foothills.

In renaming the hatchery, the commission chairman Lester Sitzes said that Hinkle’s “untiring dedication in his desire to serve the sportsmen and protect the fish and wildlife resources of Arkansas during his tenure as a commissioner” was the main reason for honoring him. “Hinkle frequently expressed his deep affection for the trout fishery of Arkansas,” Sitzes added.

This has been a banner year for Hinkle. In February, Hinkle was elected to the board of directors of the National Wild Turkey Federation at the organization’s national conference in Columbus, Ohio.

During the last two years of his appointment as a commissioner with the AGFC, he served as the vice-chairman and chairman of the commission. He currently holds the title of commissioner emeritus with the AGFC. Hinkle also has a varied background of public service to go with his term on the AGFC board. He has have served as the vice chair of the Arkansas task force that rewrote the banking laws of Arkansas. As a pilot, he devoted another seven years on the Arkansas Aeronautics Commission.

Hinkle and his wife Kay have two grown daughters and a one-year-old grandchild. He is president of the Bank of Mountain View.

"Gone Fishing" brings new meaning to learning in Cabot

CABOT - People who think of fishing may think of the activity as anything from a chance to have fresh fish for a meal or to have an opportunity to get away from the hectic pace of daily life.

For those reasons and more, 44 Cabot High School FFA members and 88 second- through fourth-grade students from four of Cabot's elementary schools recently exchanged pencils and paper for poles and nets. Much to the surprise of the FFA students and their agriculture teacher, Kevin Woodrow, their decision to "go fishin'" has gained state and national interest.

The "Cabot FFA PALS Fishing Adventure" is one of several year-round activities sponsored by the Cabot FFA Partners through Active Learning Support (PALS) initiative. The event was held at the City of Cabot's Community Fishing Pond, part of the city's new Campground and Kerr Station Roads Development Project.

PALS is a mentoring program developed by the national FFA organization that matches high school agriculture students with elementary youngsters identified by their schools as in need of positive role models. Together, the elementary students and their PALS explore mutual interests in agricultural and aquatic life. At the same time, the high school students sponsor activities in these areas to help their PALS build trust in others, develop positive self-esteem and social skills, and gain confidence in their schoolwork.

Last fall, the Cabot FFA members started to enlist community support for the Fishing Adventure, they received more than they dreamed possible because of the good work of their PALS program.

The Shakespeare Company, headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of fishing gear and donated 50 fishing rods and other equipment to the participants, along with "goodie bags" and event prizes. According to Shakespeare spokesperson Roxanne Coleman, the company has selected the Fishing Adventure as one of several youth events in the country to sponsor this year. The company believes that young people not only need chances to get away from the stresses of daily life, but they also need to learn more about nature and the values and responsibilities that come with appreciating and protecting natural resources.

The fish of the day was channel catfish, thanks to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Representatives of the commission's Aquatic Resources Education program at the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke not only stocked the pond with 500 pounds of the fish, but also brought the agency's Mobile Aquarium display, which contains a tank holding 1,000 gallons of water with various native fish species. The Commission sees the event as another opportunity to bring relaxing recreational opportunities to families living in urban areas through its Urban Fishing Program.

Of the approximately 1,600 students at Cabot High School, 230 are enrolled in either Agriculture Education Natural Resources Management or Agricultural Leadership programs of study offered through the Department of Workforce Education. Many of these students are also members of the FFA organization. Their classes are structured to where they can meet with their younger PALS during those class periods.

In addition to participating in the PALS program, Cabot agriculture students also support the community by being active in the Holiday Helpers program, Adopt-A-Highway program, the Lonoke County Fair, and a Greenhouse Outreach program in partnership with the Horticulture program at Arkansas State University-Beebe. Students are also in the process of building a Mobile Outdoor Education Unit.

Buffalo River Elk Festival will feature permit drawing

DIERKS - Too many carp in recent years sent popular Dierks Lake in southwest Arkansas into a downhill slide.

Muddy, turbid water resulted from the overabundance of common carp, sometimes called German carp. As a result of the overabundance of carp, fishing for bass, crappie, catfish and bream declined. But a cooperative effort supervised by Les Claybrook, fisheries biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, has resulted in a turnaround for the lake.

The lake was drawn down and its exposed bottom seeded with rye grass. Coves were baited with sweet feed, a cattle food that contains molasses, and rotenone in both dry and liquid forms was applied to kill the fish.

Claybrook said, “We estimated that 32 percent, or nearly a third, of the lake’s fish by weight were carp.” Because they are bottom feeders, carp root into the lake’s bed in search of food, creating muddy conditions that are detrimental to the reproduction of game fish.

Approximately 270 acres in the coves of the 1,360-acre, many-fingered lake was treated with the rotenone. A portion of the chemical was applied by boats and a larger amount by a helicopter from the Weyerhaeuser Corporation, which has extensive timber holdings in the area.

Volunteers also helped with the work. Claybrook said, “Ronnie Cogburn (of Dierks) really put in a lot of time helping us, and there were many others also.”

The result, Claybrook said, was about 6,000 carp were killed and removed. These nuisance fish totaled 16,800 pounds. Game fish were also killed, so the lake is being restocked after it refills. Claybrook said, “Now the lake is much clearer.”

Cost of the project included $14,000 for rotenone and $2,400 for the sweet feed bait and the rye grass seed.

Dierks Lake is nearly 30 years old, one of the newer Arkansas impoundments of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was built for flood control, water supply, recreation and fish and wildlife conservation. Construction started in 1968 but wasn’t completed until 1975. The lake is on the western Saline River (Arkansas has two Saline Rivers), which forms the Howard-Sevier county line. It adjoins the AGFC’s Howard County Wildlife Management Area.

The main portion of the lake is augmented by more than a dozen coves running into the valleys of the southern Ouachita Mountains. Some of these coves are more than a mile long and offer some of the lake’s better fishing. The lake has several recreational parks with boat launching ramps, picnic areas and campgrounds.

The lake and the nearby town of Dierks bear the name of a leading figure in Arkansas’s timber industry. Peter Dierks was a German immigrant who moved to the area in the early 20th Century and accumulated large holdings along with several lumber-related mills. The company was sold to Weyerhaeuser in 1969.

AGFC