07-16-2007, 11:10 PM
LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, the nation's largest amateur big bass tournament, has been rescheduled for Aug. 10, 11 and 12, tournament officials announced, citing excessive water flows on the Arkansas River.
The three-day tournament was originally scheduled for June 22-24 then postponed to July 13, 14 and 15 but high water conditions made the Arkansas River potentially hazardous for small watercraft.
"The good news is that we were on track to have the largest number of participants in the history of the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza," said Montine McNulty, executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, the tournament host. "By rescheduling for August, we'll have an additional three weeks to promote the tournament and recruit more anglers - meaning more competition and potentially even more prize money to distribute."
All current tournament registrations will be honored for the new dates, and the tournament rules and prize pay-out arrangements will remain the same. Tournament rules and pay-outs are available at www.arkansasbigbass.com.
Current registrants who will be unable to participate on the rescheduled July dates may receive a refund of their registration fees. To receive a refund request form, contact the Arkansas Hospitality Association at (501) 376-2323. All refund requests must be postmarked by Friday, July 20.
New rules drafted for lakeside boat houses, piers
LITTLE ROCK - Significant changes are in the works for privately owned boat houses and piers on many Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lakes.
A new land use policy has been drafted by the Fisheries Division of the AGFC. It will be presented to the agency's commissioners at their July meeting, and if approved, the new rules will go into effect Jan. 1.
Persons holding permits to structures on AGFC land around the lakes have been notified by mail of the proposed new rules.
The policy is for all AGFC lakes in the state, but Mike Armstrong, AGFC's fisheries chief, said, "Lake Conway has by far the most structures around it. There are close to a thousand structures (boat houses, docks and piers) on Conway."
Of the many AGFC lakes in the state, 25 have riparian structures, Armstrong said, meaning boat houses, docks and piers owned by private citizens owning adjacent land.
Under the proposed new land use policy, all structure permits will increase from $5 to $10 per year. Metal markers or placards with the permit numbers and a registration sticker must be purchased for a one-time fee of $25. The stickers must be placed onto the structure and will change colors each year, similar to vehicle licenses. These will be for all AGFC lakes.
Highlights of the statewide land use policy:
Permits are required for boat houses, bank stabilizing, dredging for boat access, piers, herbicide and pesticide use and deepening the shoreline.<br />
No permits are required for non-elevated walkways, clearing brush, fish attractors, removing dead timber and planting trees and shrubs.<br />
Prohibited on AGFC land are septic systems, irrigation systems, fences, discharges, storage sheds, animal pens, burning, private boat ramps, permanent party barges, water wells, gardens, cutting trees, dog houses, satellite dishes, livestock, storage of personal property, seawalls or retaining walls and concrete slabs and patios.<br />
Shoreline stabilizing work is allowed with approval of the district fisheries biologist, but this will not include cutting into the shoreline, digging canals, building walls or constructing swimming beaches.<br />
New boat houses, docks and piers must conform to uniform plans that are available from AGFC. Existing fishing piers and boat houses that presently comply with the existing policy will be grandfathered into the new policy - they will not need to comply with the new construction specifications unless undergoing a major renovation. The plans are free.<br />
Rice farming changes have affected ducks, Hampton says<br />
BAYOU METO - Duck patterns have changed in Arkansas, as most any waterfowler in the state will tell you.
Why and how? It depends on who you ask.
The answers are wide ranging. Global warming, northern states shortstopping "our ducks," the U.N. and those black helicopters - take your pick.
One Arkansan with a long track record in ducks and hunting them is Rick Hampton, who lives in the Bayou Meto country of Arkansas County. He served a term on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and has been heavily involved on the ground and in the water with ducks all his life. He's a rice and soybean farmer, and duck hunts on the Hampton property have been traditional for several generations now.
The wintering ducks have changed habits somewhat, he said, and food is involved.
"Our ducks just don't use the rice fields like they used to. They use the other fields, flooded corn, flooded timber and the reservoirs," Hampton said. "For one thing, the combines we have now are a lot more efficient. They don't leave nearly as much rice in the fields, and that is what the ducks eat. There are new varieties of rice too, and these mature earlier. We are harvesting rice in late August and early September, and we used to harvest it in late September and October.
"What that means is the rice left in the fields when they are flooded will sprout and not be there for food when the ducks get down here."
Hampton's place is in the heart of some of Arkansas' most renowned duck country. The first Hampton settled in the area in 1845, and Hampton Reservoir is a well-known feature of the Bayou Meto country.
Hampton said, "We are seeing fewer mallards and more gadwalls in recent years. We're getting a lot more gadwalls down here."
A visit in early summer shows a landscape scene completely different from what the ducks will find in when they arrive in November and December. Green is the dominant color now. It'll be brown late in the year. Many fields are growing rice, soybeans, corn. Other fields have been taken out of crop production and are seeded in several varieties of native grasses.
When the crops are harvested and gates closed to flood the fields with fall and winter rains, duck hunting is in the forefront for Hampton, his family and guests.
"Then the ducks are back in the flooded timber, not out in the flooded rice fields," Hampton said. "That's where the food is."
Heber Springs and Bull Shoals urban deer hunt application deadline nearing<br />
LITTLE ROCK - Because of increasing nuisance urban deer conflicts, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the cities of Heber Springs and Bull Shoals have joined together to offer a limited urban archery hunt to reduce the overpopulated deer herd.
This special season requires more of hunters than most, although it's worth the effort. One hundred applicants will be randomly selected in each city. Chosen applicants must pass the International Bowhunter Education Course before they attend a hunter-orientation class and pass a shooting proficiency test.
The season is open Sept. 10 thru Nov. 18 and Jan. 1 thru Jan. 31, 2008 within each city's boundaries - has no bag limit, although the first deer taken by a hunter must be a doe. Deer taken after that may be either sex. Deer taken in the urban hunts do not count in a hunter's seasonal bag limit, and the three-point rule does not apply. Hunters must hold an Arkansas Sportsman's License and an Urban Bowhunting Permit.
Donation of the first deer harvested by each hunter participating in the Bull Shoals Urban Archery Deer Hunt to the Arkansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry organization is strongly encouraged. Donation of the first deer harvested by each hunter participating in the Heber Springs Urban Archery Deer Hunt to the Arkansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry organization is mandatory.
A $35 fee, which includes Arkansas Bowhunters Association membership, covers liability insurance. Only longbows, recurve bows or compound bows with at least 40-pound draw weight and arrowheads at least seven-eighths of an inch wide may be used. Hunters on private property must have written permission from the landowner.
Applications will be available at Bull Shoals and Heber Springs city halls, local license dealers in those towns and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Little Rock office. Applications must be postmarked by July 31, 2007.
The three-day tournament was originally scheduled for June 22-24 then postponed to July 13, 14 and 15 but high water conditions made the Arkansas River potentially hazardous for small watercraft.
"The good news is that we were on track to have the largest number of participants in the history of the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza," said Montine McNulty, executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, the tournament host. "By rescheduling for August, we'll have an additional three weeks to promote the tournament and recruit more anglers - meaning more competition and potentially even more prize money to distribute."
All current tournament registrations will be honored for the new dates, and the tournament rules and prize pay-out arrangements will remain the same. Tournament rules and pay-outs are available at www.arkansasbigbass.com.
Current registrants who will be unable to participate on the rescheduled July dates may receive a refund of their registration fees. To receive a refund request form, contact the Arkansas Hospitality Association at (501) 376-2323. All refund requests must be postmarked by Friday, July 20.
New rules drafted for lakeside boat houses, piers
LITTLE ROCK - Significant changes are in the works for privately owned boat houses and piers on many Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lakes.
A new land use policy has been drafted by the Fisheries Division of the AGFC. It will be presented to the agency's commissioners at their July meeting, and if approved, the new rules will go into effect Jan. 1.
Persons holding permits to structures on AGFC land around the lakes have been notified by mail of the proposed new rules.
The policy is for all AGFC lakes in the state, but Mike Armstrong, AGFC's fisheries chief, said, "Lake Conway has by far the most structures around it. There are close to a thousand structures (boat houses, docks and piers) on Conway."
Of the many AGFC lakes in the state, 25 have riparian structures, Armstrong said, meaning boat houses, docks and piers owned by private citizens owning adjacent land.
Under the proposed new land use policy, all structure permits will increase from $5 to $10 per year. Metal markers or placards with the permit numbers and a registration sticker must be purchased for a one-time fee of $25. The stickers must be placed onto the structure and will change colors each year, similar to vehicle licenses. These will be for all AGFC lakes.
Highlights of the statewide land use policy:
Permits are required for boat houses, bank stabilizing, dredging for boat access, piers, herbicide and pesticide use and deepening the shoreline.<br />
No permits are required for non-elevated walkways, clearing brush, fish attractors, removing dead timber and planting trees and shrubs.<br />
Prohibited on AGFC land are septic systems, irrigation systems, fences, discharges, storage sheds, animal pens, burning, private boat ramps, permanent party barges, water wells, gardens, cutting trees, dog houses, satellite dishes, livestock, storage of personal property, seawalls or retaining walls and concrete slabs and patios.<br />
Shoreline stabilizing work is allowed with approval of the district fisheries biologist, but this will not include cutting into the shoreline, digging canals, building walls or constructing swimming beaches.<br />
New boat houses, docks and piers must conform to uniform plans that are available from AGFC. Existing fishing piers and boat houses that presently comply with the existing policy will be grandfathered into the new policy - they will not need to comply with the new construction specifications unless undergoing a major renovation. The plans are free.<br />
Rice farming changes have affected ducks, Hampton says<br />
BAYOU METO - Duck patterns have changed in Arkansas, as most any waterfowler in the state will tell you.
Why and how? It depends on who you ask.
The answers are wide ranging. Global warming, northern states shortstopping "our ducks," the U.N. and those black helicopters - take your pick.
One Arkansan with a long track record in ducks and hunting them is Rick Hampton, who lives in the Bayou Meto country of Arkansas County. He served a term on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and has been heavily involved on the ground and in the water with ducks all his life. He's a rice and soybean farmer, and duck hunts on the Hampton property have been traditional for several generations now.
The wintering ducks have changed habits somewhat, he said, and food is involved.
"Our ducks just don't use the rice fields like they used to. They use the other fields, flooded corn, flooded timber and the reservoirs," Hampton said. "For one thing, the combines we have now are a lot more efficient. They don't leave nearly as much rice in the fields, and that is what the ducks eat. There are new varieties of rice too, and these mature earlier. We are harvesting rice in late August and early September, and we used to harvest it in late September and October.
"What that means is the rice left in the fields when they are flooded will sprout and not be there for food when the ducks get down here."
Hampton's place is in the heart of some of Arkansas' most renowned duck country. The first Hampton settled in the area in 1845, and Hampton Reservoir is a well-known feature of the Bayou Meto country.
Hampton said, "We are seeing fewer mallards and more gadwalls in recent years. We're getting a lot more gadwalls down here."
A visit in early summer shows a landscape scene completely different from what the ducks will find in when they arrive in November and December. Green is the dominant color now. It'll be brown late in the year. Many fields are growing rice, soybeans, corn. Other fields have been taken out of crop production and are seeded in several varieties of native grasses.
When the crops are harvested and gates closed to flood the fields with fall and winter rains, duck hunting is in the forefront for Hampton, his family and guests.
"Then the ducks are back in the flooded timber, not out in the flooded rice fields," Hampton said. "That's where the food is."
Heber Springs and Bull Shoals urban deer hunt application deadline nearing<br />
LITTLE ROCK - Because of increasing nuisance urban deer conflicts, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the cities of Heber Springs and Bull Shoals have joined together to offer a limited urban archery hunt to reduce the overpopulated deer herd.
This special season requires more of hunters than most, although it's worth the effort. One hundred applicants will be randomly selected in each city. Chosen applicants must pass the International Bowhunter Education Course before they attend a hunter-orientation class and pass a shooting proficiency test.
The season is open Sept. 10 thru Nov. 18 and Jan. 1 thru Jan. 31, 2008 within each city's boundaries - has no bag limit, although the first deer taken by a hunter must be a doe. Deer taken after that may be either sex. Deer taken in the urban hunts do not count in a hunter's seasonal bag limit, and the three-point rule does not apply. Hunters must hold an Arkansas Sportsman's License and an Urban Bowhunting Permit.
Donation of the first deer harvested by each hunter participating in the Bull Shoals Urban Archery Deer Hunt to the Arkansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry organization is strongly encouraged. Donation of the first deer harvested by each hunter participating in the Heber Springs Urban Archery Deer Hunt to the Arkansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry organization is mandatory.
A $35 fee, which includes Arkansas Bowhunters Association membership, covers liability insurance. Only longbows, recurve bows or compound bows with at least 40-pound draw weight and arrowheads at least seven-eighths of an inch wide may be used. Hunters on private property must have written permission from the landowner.
Applications will be available at Bull Shoals and Heber Springs city halls, local license dealers in those towns and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Little Rock office. Applications must be postmarked by July 31, 2007.