Thread: Greers Ferry Lake Nursery Pond Finglerling Protection

Originally Posted by NIMROD

Bass boys and fly fishermen got deeper pockets and I'd guess more pull. Seems like them Bass and Trout are stocked more than Crappie for a reason.

Last year over 800,000 crappie were stocked and about 1,000,000 largemouth bass were stocked in Arkansas lakes. Not as big of a difference as you think. Fish are stocked for several reasons. The most important reason (IMO) is a biological need to sustain the population. Depending on the lake, environmental conditions can heavily influence a fish population. Another reason fish are stocked are for social reasons. There has been two studies examining the effectiveness of bass and crappy stockings in Arkansas lakes. The simple answer is that our stockings for these two species are not as effective as we once thought. We have contracted an additional University study, further examining crappie stock enhancements. Also, stocking is not always the answer. In some situations, it can be to the detriment of the stocked species (stunted populations). Trout are an entirely different story. Trout are primarily stocked and paid for by the federal government as mitigation pay back for turning the White River, Little Red River tailwaters into a barren and unproductive environment to the native species that once inhabited them. These rivers were once premier smallmouth fisheries. Now the water is too cold to sustain good populations of warm water fish.