Informational Meeting For Bull Shoals And Norfork Tailwaters

[Phil Lilley]

We are planning to hold an informational meeting for Bull Shoals and Norfork Tailwaters on February 6^th from 6 -7:30 pm in the McMullin Lecture Hall on the campus of ASU-Mountain Home. This meeting will provide us (AGFC) to update the public on current monitoring efforts (population samples, creel survey, etc.) of some of the management strategies implemented in 2007-2008 when we developed the management plan. We will also discuss plans for upcoming projects. The first half of the meeting will be a presentation of our monitoring data and the second half will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

I think this will be a very informative meeting and I encourage everyone to attend. We will be advertising this through the normal media outlets, but feel free to pass this e-mail on to anyone that may be interested in attending. Thank you.

Jeff

Jeff Williams

Trout Program Coordinator

E: j_williams@agfc.state.ar.us | P: (870) 424-5924 ext. 432 | M: (870) 404-0503

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Mountain Home Field Office

201 East 5th Street

Mountain Home, AR 72653

P: (877) 425-7577 | F: (870) 425-6596

www.agfc.com

Comments by James A. Smith -

Here is our chance to approach AGFC on submitting a request for extending the Norfork River Catch and Release to the boundaries that the AGFC staff requested 3-4 years ago. If you recall, it was not fully implemented due to some backdoor politicking done the night before the vote. It will be interesting to see how the extension improved the size of fish in the catch and release as compared to the rest of the river. The data will be skewed due to the change in Brown trout size limit, but I would be much more interested in the effects on Rainbow. If you recall, data at that time was submitted showing limited (1" to 1 1/2") growth per year. I believe this is the lowest growth rate on record for the North Fork. Recall, that stomach samples of rainbows showed that the contents was 50% algae/moss. The lower end of the river has virtually no aquatic life. The effects of Overlook and the flooding has filled in the rock base with silt and small gravel, eliminating the habitat for sculpins and crayfish as well as scuds and sow bugs. This area was not touched by the AGFC during last years "habitat improvement" that was done as a result of the Overlook settlement and some matching funds. That money was spent on the area of the river least effected by the silt from the Overlook run-off. I strongly suggest that the AGFC be urged to improve the habitat below the Ackerman Access and designate the area from Ackerman Access to the end of first island down stream from there, as Catch and Release. I would suggest that this be done immediately following the habitat improvement. This will allow that section of the river to recover and once again begin to populate the needed food source to allow the rainbows and other species to have the nutrients needed to grow at an expected rate.

Please pass this opportunity on to those you feel will support the effort to recover the lower section of the North Fork. I would like to hear any suggestion, comments or ideas you have toward making this happen. I also expect, and request, any negative feedback. Thank you for taking the time to read this. This is the opportunity to formally approach the AGFC to implement the program submitted by the Fishery Staff in its entirety.

[Ham]

I'm going to try to attend. Thanks for the heads up.