Reports

[J-Doc]

Weather is cooling off some too Stump.

Actual fishing weather outside.

Should be trending in the right direction. Unless we get one last hot spell.

[jerry241]

Not to hijack a thread here but...... Any of you trollers out there use the depth hunter line with colors??? Thinking about giving it a try it would be cheaper than replacing reels.

[Notropis]

"So the last remaining question, do stripers impact the fishery negatively as a whole and do they in fact, hurt or stunt the bass size or population?

I have observed and caught more large bass than I ever have by targeting stripers. Once I find stripers, I find larger bass.

Are there myths or proof on how stripers impact highland impoundments? Seems other lakes with large fish of both species exist."

J-Doc, The stocking of striped bass in Beaver Lake created a great fishery for anglers to enjoy. The lake has characteristics that make it very suitable for a healthy striped bass population. The fertile upper end helps maintain good levels of forage (shad) while good water quality on the lower end provides a thermal refuge for the striped bass in the summer. In all the years I studied the lake, I never observed any significant impact on the bass population by striped bass. We looked in a lot of striped bass stomachs and never found a bass or any other game fish, finding mostly shad and to a lesser extent crayfish. My biggest concern with the stripers was the possibility of excess competition with other predator species for available forage fish (shad). Fortunately, Beaver has a robust shad population and I didn't see any evidence of forage depletion caused by stripers. Very rarely did I see a drastic reduction in the shad population and when I did it was caused by a severe winter die off of shad or caused by a huge increase in the white bass population. Large year classes of white bass, by far, had the greatest impact on the shad population levels. The large reduction in shad levels cause by the white bass was the reason we promote harvest of them (no creel limit on whites in Beaver Lake). Another factor that makes Beaver suitable for stripers is that they can't reproduce successfully in the lake. This helps to keep their numbers at a proper level to insure good growth and the potential for trophy sized fish (which Beaver is known for).

I'm not surprised you have better luck catching quality bass out in the open water areas, The fish that do the best in Beaver are the ones that learn to utilize the shad population. I don't think the bigger bass are out there because of the stripers, they are there for the same reason the stripers are, to feed on the shad.

Myths about stripers, Ha Ha, I've heard some pretty good one's. Stripers eat all the game fish, stripers eat all the bass fingerlings, stripers eat all the crappie fingerlings etc. My favorite, striped bass eat their weight in fish every day. I had an angler confront me about stripers, claiming they ate their weight in fish every day. He was a pretty big guy weighing about 300 pounds so asked him if he could eat his weight in food in one day, got some pretty good chuckles from his buddies. As far as the stripers eating fingerling bass and crappie, the species that eat the most bass and crappie fingerlings are probably adult bass and crappie. Most predator fish are cannibalistic, even the fingerlings will eat other fingerlings of the same species if they get enough size advantage on them. Ask any hatchery manager what happens if you hold fingerling predator fish in a pond too long.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to ridicule the anglers that oppose the stocking of stripers. It's easy to understand their fears about a large predator causing potential problems with other species. As a fish manager, I shared those fears, until I saw evidence that they weren't happening in Beaver Lake. The thing I hate most about the striped bass controversy is the division it cause among anglers. We anglers are a passionate bunch concerning our love of fishing and unfortunately high passion sometimes create heated arguments. It's important to for us to realized that we all share a great love for angling and find a way to have some mutual respect for each other regardless of our differences.

[bfishn]

...Actually, there is good evidence that Beaver Lake is getting a significant natural walleye spawn...

Hi Ron,

Are those from river spawners, dam spawners, or both?

Also, it would be interesting to check the broodstock from Table Rock for the trace chemical in a few years to see how many Beaver 'eyes made the jump.

[Notropis]

Hard to say, Bfishn, the yearlings (which were 10-12 inches) were captured by netting in different areas of the lake. Since walleye tend to move around a lot, there was no way to determine in which part of the lake they were spawned. I don't believe we ever treated fingerlings that were stocked in the Kings River or the Beaver Tail Waters (location of brood stock collection). If you're referring to walleye going over the dam during floodgate release, I haven't seen evidence of any significant numbers of walleye doing that, at least not like the stripers and hybrids do sometimes. It might happen occasionally, fish do crazy things including taking the almost 200 foot plunge over the dam during high water release.

[jolicious]

I'll share a report.

Last Saturday, put in at Rocky Branch around 6:15am. By 7:30am, the sweat was already making it's way down my back to my booty. another hour of suffering, and we left

[Robert Haynes]

In my years as a Taxidermist on Beaver Lake from 1986-2003 I have mounted around 2500-3000 Stripers. When skinning and would notice something large in the belly, I would cut it open to see what the fish are feeding on. I may have once found a bass in a Stripers belly but not even sure of that. No doubt that Stripers would eat a bass from time to time but I spent years finding Shad, Shad And more Shad in their bellies. Also a few perch.

As for posting reports, I read this forumn to give me something to do to get me dreaming about fishing again. I have only been on the lake 1 time this year and did that just to take a man who had never been in a boat before. When and if I do go in the fall, I will be intentional about posting even though I normally do not have a positive report due to lack of fishing skills and very little time on the lake.

This forumn is full of good people. I am more active on Salty Cajun forumn because I spend more time fishing the salt even though I live by Horseshoe Bend. Salty Cajun is full of drama and pure meanness causing me to appreciate the quality of people on this forumn. I hope to contribute reports in the future.

[J-Doc]

J-Doc, The stocking of striped bass in Beaver Lake created a great fishery for anglers to enjoy. The lake has characteristics that make it very suitable for a healthy striped bass population. The fertile upper end helps maintain good levels of forage (shad) while good water quality on the lower end provides a thermal refuge for the striped bass in the summer. In all the years I studied the lake, I never observed any significant impact on the bass population by striped bass. We looked in a lot of striped bass stomachs and never found a bass or any other game fish, finding mostly shad and to a lesser extent crayfish. My biggest concern with the stripers was the possibility of excess competition with other predator species for available forage fish (shad). Fortunately, Beaver has a robust shad population and I didn't see any evidence of forage depletion caused by stripers. Very rarely did I see a drastic reduction in the shad population and when I did it was caused by a severe winter die off of shad or caused by a huge increase in the white bass population. Large year classes of white bass, by far, had the greatest impact on the shad population levels. The large reduction in shad levels cause by the white bass was the reason we promote harvest of them (no creel limit on whites in Beaver Lake). Another factor that makes Beaver suitable for stripers is that they can't reproduce successfully in the lake. This helps to keep their numbers at a proper level to insure good growth and the potential for trophy sized fish (which Beaver is known for).

I'm not surprised you have better luck catching quality bass out in the open water areas, The fish that do the best in Beaver are the ones that learn to utilize the shad population. I don't think the bigger bass are out there because of the stripers, they are there for the same reason the stripers are, to feed on the shad.

Myths about stripers, Ha Ha, I've heard some pretty good one's. Stripers eat all the game fish, stripers eat all the bass fingerlings, stripers eat all the crappie fingerlings etc. My favorite, striped bass eat their weight in fish every day. I had an angler confront me about stripers, claiming they ate their weight in fish every day. He was a pretty big guy weighing about 300 pounds so asked him if he could eat his weight in food in one day, got some pretty good chuckles from his buddies. As far as the stripers eating fingerling bass and crappie, the species that eat the most bass and crappie fingerlings are probably adult bass and crappie. Most predator fish are cannibalistic, even the fingerlings will eat other fingerlings of the same species if they get enough size advantage on them. Ask any hatchery manager what happens if you hold fingerling predator fish in a pond too long.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to ridicule the anglers that oppose the stocking of stripers. It's easy to understand their fears about a large predator causing potential problems with other species. As a fish manager, I shared those fears, until I saw evidence that they weren't happening in Beaver Lake. The thing I hate most about the striped bass controversy is the division it cause among anglers. We anglers are a passionate bunch concerning our love of fishing and unfortunately high passion sometimes create heated arguments. It's important to for us to realized that we all share a great love for angling and find a way to have some mutual respect for each other regardless of our differences.

And I believe that ends that debate.

Thank you.

Yes, bigger bass chase the same food source is why I see the bigger bass with stripers. Thats what I meant. I also found a crawfish in a striper belly one day. Surprised me.

I used to complain saying stripers were eating all the bass but it was just my hunch and based on absolutely no fact whatsoever. Other than it was a big fish and "could" eat smaller bass. I know now that is not the case. And from a reliable source of information. I'd say your years as a biologist should outweigh any opinions. Your facts are based on that.....scientific facts.

So...

Many guys always want to know why Beaver does not have a very large big bass population. That......is probably not an easily answered question. Its a great lake, has TONS of fish in it, and has a good food source. Why there are not a ton of 5-7 pound largemouth I do not know.

I've caught many fish that suffer from having plastic baits in their guts and clogging their digestive track though.

[J-Doc]

I have derailed this thread a little but the value of information supplied here is tremendous. Notropis, we (I) thank you for joining us here and sharing your years of experience. It's really cool having the lakes biologist on the board. The things you have seen over the years, most of us could only dream of witnessing. I think it would be a lot of fun and a rewarding job.

Now I certainly appreciate all of the responses and like many, I have been busy as well. If we want reports, we have to make them. If we want to talk about things specific to this lake and the area, we have to share it. Yes, it has been quiet lately. It is up to us to change that. It's a board for friendly discussion and where people of like interests can share opinions, experiences, etc.

SO...post up and it won't be quiet anymore. :-)

And thanks again to those that have over the years.

[Champ188]

And I believe that ends that debate.

Thank you.

No sir, one man's findings/opinions does not end a debate the magnitude of whether stripers arm harmful to the black bass fishery in Beaver and other freshwater lakes. I doubt that Notropis would claim to be the final authority in that debate, which spreads nationwide.

I don't have all the answers by any means. I don't have the knowledge or experience of Notropis or other fisheries biologists. But if he was the district biologist for Beaver Lake, I presume that means he worked for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and throughout my years with the statewide newspaper, I never, ever, ever interviewed a single AGFC person who would even entertain the thought that stripers might be harmful. Can't exactly blame them ... I'm sure they would have been called on the carpet and possibly have lost their job for going against the flow, so to speak.

I base my opinion that stripers are likely harmful on personal experience ... lakes Ouachita, Hamilton and Catherine near Hot Springs all have stripers and black bass fishing in those lakes is relatively poor. Same for Texoma. Lakes Wylie and Norman in North Carolina also have only so-so black bass fishing. In short, anywhere I have ever been that had stripers had unremarkable black bass fishing.

Missouri is reluctant to stock pure in its larger freshwater fisheries, although Truman and Lake of the Ozarks have hybrids (wipers).

This is still the United States of America and I'm still entitled to my opinion. And on this topic, my opinion is that stripers in freshwater are probably detrimental to my primary angling interest, which is black bass and crappie (winter).

Not here to argue. We'll just have to agree to disagree.