MANILA – Licensed anglers have the opportunity to fish without catch limits on Big Lake, situated within the Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge, beginning Friday, July 1, as federal plans to renovate the refuge begin in earnest this week. This emergency action by Big Lake NWR and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which manages the lake’s fish for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is effective through Sept. 30.
The actual window for catching fish may be shorter than the 92 days allowed in the emergency order. The USFWS was to begin the complete drawdown process for Big Lake this week by removing boards from the water control structure on the south end of the lake, with the expectation that it would be drained in about two weeks, depending on rainfall.
“You’re going to want to strike while the iron is hot and it’s going to be hot only for a little while,” Sean Lusk, an AGFC Fisheries Division staff biologist, said. “The renovation of the lake is completely to be done by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Our only role is removing the regulation on catch limits. The lake falls under waters belonging to the state, so we manage the fish within it.”
The USFWS’ purpose for renovating Big Lake is fourfold: to compact the buildup of sediments and organic matter on the lake substrate; reduce invasive aquatic vegetation; replace the mid-lake water-control structure; and to “provide migrating waterfowl with food resources to help meet refuge, state and Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture energy objectives for waterfowl,” according to the project draft environmental assessment that was open for public comment starting March 31.
“The lake continues to shrink with the invasive species,” Steven Rimer, the refuge manager, said. “The main two invasives are American lotus and giant cutgrass.
