mojorig

Great Video, thanks for sharing!!

Dewayne, Ignore all of this!! It wont help you in any of the tournaments down here, lol!!

I agree with Champ. One of my best jerkbaits is a slow sinker. You have to watch it closely but it sinks really slow.

Sorry to deviate from the thread but Bill you like the stain reaction ob over the regular stain reaction?

All, I posted that response. The response was to a question posted by an angler on Basscat Forum. There were several other people the responsed before I did so that is the reason the response was so long. That gentleman posted the same question on BassBoatCentral and I posed the same response. I will be glad to answer any questions. Thanks!!

We saw several young of the year walleye in West Sugarloaf last night. The walleye kill occurred in 2011. Between MDC and AGFC, we continue to stock well over 500,000 plus walleye fingerlings each year.

The nursery pond isn't really a hatchery. It is just a big pond. The pond has been in operation since 2008. The attached table shows what fish and how many have been stocked from the pond. We are trying to do a better job of getting the information out about these types of activities.

Crappie are very difficult to sample in clear, deep reservoirs. Based off the limited growth data I have seen for this area, I would say it takes 3 years to reach 10 inches. I would consider that slow to moderate growth.

Sorry for the delay with getting this information out to everyone. Last month, we released the Bull Shoals Lake Nursery Pond. We estimated that we stocked 300,000 crappie averaging 2 inches into the West Sugarloaf arm of the lake.

All, I have attached the D-2 third quarter newsletter. If you would like to be added to the newsletter email list, feel free to email me at jtrisley@agfc.state.ar.us Thanks for everything you all do for Bull Shoals!!! D-2 - 2014 Third Quarter Newsletter.pdf

All, I have attached the D-2 third quarter newsletter. If you would like to be added to the newsletter email list, feel free to email me at jtrisley@agfc.state.ar.us Thanks for everything you all do for Lake Norfork!!! D-2 - 2014 Third Quarter Newsletter.pdf

Yes, they were first found in Bull Shoals Lake on Sept. 13, 2007 in the Lead Hill area. At this point, we have found them all over the lake. They are nowhere near as thick down the lake as they are above the Lead Hill area.

This is not a done deal, yet.

Ham, We haven't seen any yellow perch but we don't really go that deep (35 feet or so). We did get a report from a walleye angler about one he caught near Howard Creek. Fish 24/7, We are diving in these areas for work. We are looking at our existing brush piles and finding new spots for a habitat project that we will be doing next summer on Bull.

We have been diving a bunch in Bull Shoals, this month. We dove in the Lead Hill, Oakland, and Big Sister areas. We have been seeing a bunch of bass. Most of them have been in the 20 - 30 foot range. I know the fishing has been off but the fish are there. Ron, We have depth gauge on our dive gear that tells the depth.

Great Report!! We have been diving in Norfork over the last two weeks.

The letter that we received said "The Master Plan guides the management of government-owned and leased lands around the lake.", "Decisions about land use classifications in the Master Plan may affect future management of natural resources and recreational opportunities." and "The purpose of the update is to bring the Master Plan into compliance with current Corps policies and regulations, identify usage trends and customer needs, and balance shoreline uses with natural resource management." We will be attending a meeting this afternoon about this revision.

Ham, yes they do along with Blue Catfish.

Yep, you all are correct about other users.

High water year killed everything off.

No hurt feelings, I was just posting some observations and info so people can form their own opinions. Bird watcher is correct that it is enviable they will get spread to other water bodies. But by getting information out, can we delay the enviable? I'm not sure but doesn't hurt to try.

Yes, aquatic vegetation is good!!! I know that is strange to hear from a biologist.

Honestly, I don't want to speculate on the impacts of the zebra mussels. They could or could not have an impact on Bull Shoals. I don't want to be all doom and gloom at this point. I just want to get the information out about them in Bull Shoals and making sure we don't spread them around until we fully understand or determine their impacts, if any. As for Grand Lake, I am not sure there either. They have been in the Arkansas River for many years and from what I have heard their numbers seem to be decrease in the Arkansas portion of the Arkansas River. Hopefully they will do the same up the river.

Not yet but the population is still expanding so it is a waiting game at this point.

To be honest, we are not sure the impacts. The zebra mussel population is still expanding in Bull Shoals. Basically they can be found all over the lake. Education of user is the only real way to stop the spread of the mussels. Here is a response I and AJ gave from MDC to an email I received from a walleye angler asking about the impacts of the Zebra Mussels: My response: Zebra mussels are filter feeders. They can cause the water to become clearer. They are highly efficient at filtering plankton from the water. Thus they can directly compete for the same food sources as the larval and fingerlings sport fish. They also compete with a lot of the forage species though all of their life stages. Zebra Mussels can clog out intakes and as you saw make fishing some areas difficult. The effects I have mentioned have been observed in other places that have been infested by Zebra Mussels. For Bull Shoals, the jury is still out about the impact of the zebra mussels in the lake. Their population is still growing and expanding so it will be many years till we know the true impacts of them in Bull Shoals. We don’t believe there will be a real noticeable impact on the water clarity but there might be some impacts on competition for food with the young sport fish and forage species. Bull Shoals is already an unfertile waterbody expect for high water years and the years following a high water event. I wish I had a more definitive answer but at this point, we are just speculating. AJ Response: I believe Jeremy summarized the situation very well. For the past seven years the mussels have spread to most of the lake and in some places are abundant. Only time will tell how much of an impact the species will have on the lake. Lake of the Ozarks has been infested with zebra mussels for a longer time than Bull Shoals. There the population expanded quickly and became very abundant. However, the population sharply declined in 2012 and is now starting to increase again. Will their populations be cyclical in Bull Shoals? Will the population negatively impact the sport fish populations? At this point no one knows for sure. One thing is certain and that is anglers, boaters, and other lake users need to be aware they are potential vectors to spreading this invasive species to other water bodies (i.e. Norfork, Table Rock, Beaver, Greer’s Ferry, etc.). Therefore, we all need to make efforts to properly clean, drain, and dry boats, trailers, and other equipment before launching on other water bodies. Education and taking steps to prevent the spread of the mussel is really where our focus needs to be at this point and is something we all can and should do.