Day: November 5, 2020

Heber Springs cross country team heads to state meet

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs High School runners hope for better performances and compete for medals at the Class 4A state cross country championship at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs Friday.

The Lady Panthers, who were the 4-4A Conference runner-up, will start at 9 a.m. The Panthers, who were fourth at the conference meet, will go to the starting line at 9:45 a.m.

Three Lady Panthers, ranked sixth by Arkansas mile split, finished among the top 10 last week’s conference meet in Clarksville. Sydney Buffalo claimed fifth place with a time of 22:53.0. Maygan Jarvis (23:27.90) captured sixth place and Vallie Cantrell (23:30.20) was seventh. Riley Bailey (24:03.50) finished 11th, followed by Samantha Gilley (24:33.10) in 12th place and Allison Wildman (25:05.10) in 13th place.

“Sixth of the 10 girls had personal best performances,” Heber Springs head coach Dale Cresswell said. “Clarksville had a very good team. Times don’t really matter at the state meet, it’s runners’ places on that day.”

Sophomore Nathan Poff finished ninth for the Panthers with a time of 19:11.0. Mason Harris (13th place, 20:12.50), Gabe Tate (15th place, 20:22.60) and Landon Leisenring (19th place, 20:43) were among the top 20.

“Six runners had personal bests at the conference meet,” Cresswell said. “Nathan broke his toe early in the season and recently returned. His times now are faster than last year when he competed as a freshman.”

Cresswell said he was impressed with his younger runners. Seventh grader Sarina Mays (14:45.60) finished fourth for the junior high girls. Eighth-grader Jocelyn Baureis (15:07.40) claimed eighth place and eighth-grader Marisa Kelley (15:08.30) was ninth.

Eighth-grader Wade Harris (12:32.90) led the junior high school boys by finishing third, followed by freshman Noah Cordes (13:04.60), who was seventh. Freshman Logan Cox (13:14.90) finished ninth.

Both teams were runner-up in their respective divisions.

“The junior girls ran well all year,” Cresswell said. “Our No. 1 runner was a seventh-grader and our No. 2 runner was an eighth-grader. The junior high boys also ran well and unfortunately got caught by Pottsville at the end of the race.”

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
Heber Springs results — 5. Sydney Buffalo, 22:53.00; 6. Maygan Jarvis, 23:27.90; 7. Vallie Cantrell, 23:30.20; 11. Riley Bailey, 24:03.50; 12. Samantha Gilley, 24:33.10; 13. Allison Wildman, 25:05.10; 20. Ava Noble, 27:27.30; 21. Ellie Riddle, 27:31.00; 25. Lily Hendrix, 28:49.80.
Team totals — 1. Clarksville 21; 2. Heber Springs 36; 3. Ozark 67.

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
Heber Springs results — 8. Nathan Poff, 19:11.0; 13. Mason Harris, 20:12.50; 15. Gabe Tate, 20:22.60; 19. Landon Leisenring, 20:43.20; 24. Reagan Buell, 20:55.10; 25. Colt Allen, 20:57.80; 32. Noah Cordes, 21:58.60; 34. Morgan Salsman, 22:10.80; 35. Judson Ogle, 22:19.50; 38. Aaron Combs, 23.34.80; 43. Evan Burgess, 24:43.70.
Team totals — 1. Dardanelle, 42; 2. Subiaco Academy, 46; 3. Clarksville, 59; 4. Heber Springs, 73; 5 Pottsville, 83.

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
Heber Springs results — 4. Sarina Mays, 14:45.60; 8. Jocelyn Baureis, 15:07.40; 9. Marisa Kelley, 15:08.30; 11. Annalyse Wilson, 15:12.40; 14. Joy Bray, 15:27.90; 17. Taylor Westenhover, 16:23.30; 20. Kaitlyn Pierce, 16:23.50; 21. Lynnlee Presley, 16:34.80; 22. Rylee Birmingham, 16:43.70; 24.  Ella Harper, 17:05.90; 36. Allie Rouse, 18:28.00; 37. Eva Jones, 18:29.30.
Team totals — 1. Pottsville, 28; 2. Heber Springs, 46; 3. Clarksville, 83; 4. Dardanelle, 86.

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
Heber Springs results — 3. Wade Harris, 12:32.90;0;  7. Noah Cordes, 13:04.60; 9. Logan Cox, 13:14.90; 13. J.P. Bonkoski, 13:46.60; 14. Eli Buffalo 13:48.40; 15. Judson Ogle, 13:50.90; 16. Thomas Spears, 13:54.90; 17. Hunter Warren, 13:58.00; 21. Eli Bailey, 14:35.10; 40. Cameron Johnson, 17:21.10.
Team totals — 1 Pottsville, 36; 2. Heber Springs, 42; 3. Subiaco Academy, 77; 4. Clarksville, 78.

Youth deer hunt set for this weekend

By ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH COMMISSION

LITTLE ROCK — The kickoff to modern gun season is less than two weeks away, but hunters under 16 will get an early crack at a deer this weekend during the Arkansas modern gun youth deer hunt.

Only hunters 6-15 may harvest deer during the modern gun youth deer hunt. Youths who have not completed hunter education must be under the direct supervision of an adult at least 21 years old. Mentors may not hunt any species during the hunt. Youth who have completed hunter education may legally hunt on their own at their parent or guardian’s discretion.

Youth hunters are allowed to take bucks during the youth hunt and during regular deer season without regard to antler-point restrictions for both of the bucks in their seasonal bag limit. They must follow modern gun deer zone limits, and deer taken during the youth hunt count toward their seasonal bag limit.

This year youth hunters will need their own unique Customer Identification Number to check their deer upon harvest. The CID number is free to obtain and will remain with the hunter throughout their life. Anyone who already has purchased a hunting license or applied for a permit hunt of any kind has already been issued a CID number and will use that to check their deer.

In years past, hunters would check a deer of a youth hunter to the mentor’s license or explain to the operator receiving the call that it was a youth hunter and the deer would be recorded with the youth’s name and date of harvest. However, if the youth needed to refer to their checking number later for any reason, finding that number required a call to the AGFC and database requests. With hundreds to thousands of such requests possible each year, the system was in need of a change.

“The requests from the tens of thousands of records of youth deer harvests added up to a lot of staff time and frustration for our young hunters,” Brad Carner, chief of wildlife management for the AGFC, said. “But with their own CID, hunters can look up their checked deer on the AGFC’s smartphone app. They also can speed up any requests by giving their unique number to the operator and get results almost instantly.”

Carner explained the CID would be issued the first time a hunter purchases their hunting license at 16, and it is only needed when the hunter goes to check their deer.

“There have been some misconceptions that the CID is required to hunt, but it’s only required once the youth needs to check a deer,” Carner said. “But it would be smart to go ahead and get one for your youth hunter so you don’t have to worry about it when trying to check a deer in the woods.”

Hunters have 12 hours from the time of harvest to check deer and other big game animals in Arkansas. If a hunter cannot immediately check their deer before moving it, they must tag the deer with any piece of paper or material with their name, address, date and time of harvest and the sex of the deer. Once the deer is checked, this tag may be removed. Once checked, physical tags are no longer necessary as long as the deer remains within the hunter’s immediate presence. If the hunter leaves the deer at a camp, processor or other location before arriving home, the deer’s carcass must be tagged with the hunter’s name, address, date and time of harvest, and sex of the deer if it has not been checked. The check confirmation number must also be included if the deer has been checked. Deer may be checked online at www.agfc.com, by phone at 877-731-5627 or through the AGFC’s smartphone app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). The app even allows a hunter to check a deer without a cell phone signal.

Visit www.agfc.com for more information on the modern gun youth deer hunt. Obtain a free Customer ID number by clicking the “Buy Licenses/Check Game” button at the top of the page and creating a new customer profile for your youth hunter.

Central Arkansas fishing report

By ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH COMMISSION

Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir

NOTE: Employees and contractors with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission conducted herbicide applications to Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir through September. The herbicides will cause no harm to wildlife, people or aquatic life, but will kill gardens, flowerbeds and lawns if used on neighboring lands. By federal law, these herbicides have up to a 120-day irrigation restriction after application. The AGFC asks adjacent landowners to NOT irrigate for lawn or garden use with water from the lake until Feb. 1, 2021. The use of herbicides is necessary to control the current problems with alligatorweed and other invasive vegetation species that have infested the lake, restricting access to boathouses, ramps and fishing locations and hindering native wildlife and fish populations. For more information, please contact the AGFC Fisheries Office in Mayflower at (877) 470-3309.

(updated 11-4-2020) Bates Field and Stream (501-470-1846) said clarity is back to the normal Lake Conway stain and the water level is also normal. The bream bite continues at a good rate. Bream are being caught off the shoreline and in the creek channels. Redworms and crickets are both working. Crappie are good, particularly in the early mornings and the late afternoons and in the shallow water. Black bass continue to bite well, with anglers’ best success this week coming on plastic worms. Target areas around the cypress trees for best results. Catfish are fair, with most action on limblines baited with cut shad.

Lake Beaverfork
(updated 11-4-2020) Angler Dennis Charles had no report.

Little Red River
(updated 11-4-2020) Fish ’N Stuff (501-834-5733) in Sherwood says the river is at normal level and is a little stained. The trout bite has been “pretty good” on Rooster Tails and maribou jigs around the banks.

(updated 10-28-2020) Greg Seaton of littleredflyfishingtrips.com (501-690-9166) said the river is clear today (Oct. 28) “but we’ll have to wait and see how much rain we get today (Wednesday) and tomorrow. Generation has been on a twice-a-day schedule of one unit early in the morning and again late afternoon. Again, it’s best to check the schedule daily.”
Greg says there was a midge hatch Monday in the low water and the fish were rising. The midges were small (probably size 28-30) and hard to match. “This makes fishing tough but we were able to fish the deeper water with small midge pupa with some success. Also, small emergers worked fished just under the surface.”
The extreme low water caused by a couple of days of no generation makes the fishing difficult. The fish are very selective and spooky, so the presentation and fly selection become very important. Fishing falling, moving water after generation usually produces a better bite.

(updated 10-21-2020) Lowell Myers of Sore Lip’em All Guide Service (501-230-0730) said the generation pattern for the Little Red River is unpredictable. “We are experiencing days without generation and days with significant generation. It’s highly recommended to check forecasted and real-time generation before planning a trip to the Red.”
For fly-fishing, Lowell recommends midges, hare’s ears and sowbugs. Hot pink and cotton candy bodies on chartreuse jigheads are recommended for Trout Magnet spin-fishing. Be safe while enjoying the river. Always check before heading to the Little Red River by calling the Corps of Engineers Little Rock District water data system (501-362-5150) for Greers Ferry Dam water release information or check the Corps of Engineers website (swl-wc.usace.army.mil) for real-time water release and the Southwestern Power Administration website (swpa.gov) to see forecasted generation schedule.

Greers Ferry Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 458.84 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 462.04 feet msl).

(updated 11-4-2020) Tommy Cauley of Fishfinder Guide Service (501-940-1318) said the water level at Greers Ferry is staying about the same at present, 458.88 feet msl. It is 3.16 feet below normal pool for this time of year of 462.04 feet feet msl. Fish are experiencing a turnover in different parts of the lake now and until it is over and gets settled back down, usually two weeks, catching is going to be down. But after that, the fishing should resume being better than so for this fall. If you run into water with an awful smell and tannic color, you are in the middle of it and you need to move up or down the lake to try and get away from it.
Black bass are eating topwater baits on out to 40 feet dragging something and all in between. Some are staying in place but a lot are roaming around staying with the moving schools of shad. Spoons, inline spinners, swimbaits, hair jigs, A-rigs and drop-shots are working. Crappie can still be caught with crankbaits, jigs, minnows, Road Runners and beetle spins at various depths. The walleye bite is off with turnover, for sure. A lot are roaming underneath schools of shad as well. Try spoons or drop-shot baits. Some bream are still up shallow but most are moving deeper; try crawlers from real shallow out to 25 feet. No report on catfish. Hybrid bass and white bass are still trying to eat off and on but hate murky or off-colored water. But the bite will be great when all of this is over for the rest of winter; for now, try spoons, inline spinners, swimbaits or live bait.

(updated 11-4-2020) Fish ’N Stuff (501-834-5733) in Sherwood reports that the lake is low and with clear clarity. Bass are good on Rock Crawler Crankbait and Wiggle Wart Crankbait in 6-8 feet of water, as well as biting on drop-shots and Carolina rigs. Crappie are fair for anglers throwing blue/white and shad-colored crappie jigs. Walleye are good on the main lake and secondary points by drop-shotting and using nightcrawlers.

Harris Brake Lake
(updated 11-4-2020) Harris Brake Lake Resort (501-889-2745) says the lake is clearbut the water level is low. Bream reports have been poor of late. Crappie are good. Crappie are being caught on trotlines in the early morning. Minnows and jigs are working for anglers. Black bass reports have been poor for two weeks. Catfishing is good. Use worms, chicken liver or goldfish.

Lake Overcup

NOTE: Employees and contractors with the AGFC conducted herbicide applications to Overcup through September. The herbicides cause no harm to wildlife, people or aquatic life, but will kill gardens, flowerbeds and lawns if used on neighboring lands. By federal law, these herbicides have up to a 120-day irrigation restriction after application. The AGFC asks adjacent landowners to NOT irrigate for lawn or garden use with lake water until Feb. 1, 2021. The use of herbicides is necessary to control the current problems with alligatorweed and other invasive vegetation species that have infested the lake and, if left uncontrolled, could restrict access to boathouses, ramps and fishing locations and hinder native wildlife and fish populations.

(updated 11-4-2020) Randy DeHart at Lakeview Landing (501-354-5309) said the lake’s clarity turned a little murky in the past few days. Water level is normal. Stripers are good on spinnerbaits, he said. Bream are good on redworms or crickets. Crappie reports the past week have been excellent. Try a minnow or a jig in white/chartreuse. No reports on black bass. Catfishing is good using shad or basic catfish bait.

Brewer Lake
No report.

Lake Maumelle
(updated 11-4-2020) Westrock Landing (501-658-5598) on Highway 10 near Roland said water temperature remains in the mid-60s. The largemouth bass bite is good. Some can be found in shallow water or just outside the grass line biting a variety of lures. Try using Rat-L-Traps or that style of bait, along with swimbaits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Kentucky bass are good as well. Some reports have surfaced of them being found in 15-20 feet off drops and rocky banks Use jigs. White bass are slow. There have been reports of anglers catching them while trolling. Try using minnows, Rooster Tails, jerbaits or rattle-style baits. Crappie are good. Reports have come in of them moving out of deeper water and being found in 16-18 feet in shallow brush. Some can still be found scattered. Try using jigs and minnows. Bream are fair. They can be found on windy points by drop-offs in 12-16 feet of water. Use crickets, worms or beetle spins. Catfishing is good. Try using chicken liver, nightcrawlers or baitfish.