Bait Regulation.

[MoCarp]

I don't know the closest source of asian jumping carp to beaver...but if someone was inclined they could bring them in with no understanding...I have heard they have made it into grand lake...some have been snagged during spoonbill runs..short hop netting shad on grand for fishing beaver stripers....we still don't know what the result will be from them..saw a study on the Illinois river on a boom in LMB..and they were getting porky on eating baby silvers....I wonder if they have more nutritional value than say a shad?....blue and flathead cats, muskie and stripers should be able to eat lots of the jumping demon fish...at least till they break 10#.....

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I was on a striper guide trip on Beaver about 10 years ago and the guide told us they go to grand once a week to get shad.  They had huge bait tanks set up at their place

[Quillback]

I heard they are now getting them from the Arkansas river.  Can't (legally) take them from Grand lake anymore, OK passed a law that prohibits taking live shad out of Grand lake.

[JohnF52]

There are zebra mussels in the Arkansas River.  Beaver may have some starting already from that practice.  They take a few years to show up.

[bfishn]

1 hour ago, JohnF52 said:

There are zebra mussels in the Arkansas River.  Beaver may have some starting already from that practice.  They take a few years to show up.

You could swap "zebra mussels" from your 1st sentence for any of the following and still be correct:

American eels, cottonmouths, and 90% of the fish species in Arkansas. Throw a net there enough, and you'll eventually haul in something you have no idea what it is. And if you're serious about live shad, there's no time to sort out the culls, you just dump the net in the tank, stowaways and all. 

I caught a lot of bait on the River, but I used it right there, never hauled any out. For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would rather fish Beaver than the Arkansas River anyway... 

[JohnF52]

1 hour ago, bfishn said:

(snip) I caught a lot of bait on the River, but I used it right there, never hauled any out. For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would rather fish Beaver than the Arkansas River anyway... 

I can't either.  I've always caught more on the AR River than on Beaver.  It's a much richer fishery, and much richer in forage too.

To guide on the river, a USCG Captain license is required.

 

[bfishn]

Yeah, a river tug with 6 barges gives new meaning to the term 'wake boat'.

[MoCarp]

13 minutes ago, bfishn said:

Yeah, a river tug with 6 barges gives new meaning to the term 'wake boat'.

I am tell you...grew up in Mobile, AL.....and OS moments when you say...... LOOK a barge! not so much a wake as they can in and will run you over! pehaps one on LOZ and make the 1st moving golf course

[Stump bumper]

19 hours ago, JohnF52 said:

There are zebra mussels in the Arkansas River.  Beaver may have some starting already from that practice.  They take a few years to show up.

I know at least 10 people that have been fishing the Arkansas River and Beaver this year. They are bass fishermen that would never use live bait but I would blame their live wells and bilge pumps for spreading Zebra mussels before a few loads of shad being transported.

I will look forward to the clearer water Beaver used to have if we do get zebra mussels, if it happens might as well look at the bright side. 

[Blll]

On 9/26/2017 at 4:52 PM, Quillback said:

I heard they are now getting them from the Arkansas river.  Can't (legally) take them from Grand lake anymore, OK passed a law that prohibits taking live shad out of Grand lake.

I think that's right on. It's the Arkansas river that has plenty of gizzards to net but also the silver carp and zebras.