Checking Out Sugarloaf Lake
Author Markfish
4-29-11 I went out on Sugarloaf Lake for a while this afternoon just to check out the condition of the lake after the recent drawdown. Recent monsoon style rains have, fortunately, brought the lake up to where at least a boat can be launched …..
.. semi normally. There were quite a few people out for the condition of the lake. While the water had come up, it was not the lake most of us are used to fishing.
When I arrived the wind was blowing about 20 mph and in a 15 foot aluminum flatbottom boat, that’s not a good indicator. But I knew once I got out, I could head to a sheltered place that was blocked, at least to some degree from the wind. I got on the water and felt somewhat like I was on the Arkansas River with the near chocolate colored water. Sugarloaf is, under normal conditions, a small scenic lake that has greenish slightly stained water. Not today. Chocolate milk.
I fished down a bank line that normally bluegill have begun to populate significantly by this time of year. But
the mixture of heavy rains, cold nights, low water, all combined to keep the fish somewhere besides where they normally are at this time. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks with some warmer weather, a bit more water in the lake, and just simple time to press them into their genetic necessities, they will congregate normally.
While I was fishing I saw a lot of wood I haven’t seen in about 7 years (the last time the AGFC drained it). The low water left normally submerged stumps out of the water and some that are normally safely beneath the water to be just under the surface. Proof of that is that I hit a couple of them going from and to the launch ramp. But I’m digressing.
I used my flyrod for the bulk of the trip, along with a slip bobber rig with worms on a spinning rig trying to locate 
some bluegill bed activity. The first fish I caught on the tiny trout fly I was using was this 1 lb spotted bass. But for most of the way down the usually productive bank, I didn’t find any gills until I got to one spot that is usually a huge gill bed by the first week of May. Here there were several good sized adult bluegill like the one in my hand. I also hooked what felt like a big Redear Sunfish, but lost it off 
the thin wire hook reeling it in.
The bottom line of the trip is that as the lake settles and fills a bit more, it will probably return to some semblance of normalcy before the spawn is over. From the big gills in the one spot, that’s a good indicator that fish will return to other spots they normally spawn in. It may just be a bit later and with fewer fish. In any case, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks when I’m on vacation to see what size ice chest I can fill up with gills.
Posted in All Articles, Sugarloaf Trips | 
Tags: bluegill beds, bluegill spawning, flyrod, Sugarloaf Lake | 
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Sugarloaf Lake Drawdown Mess
Author Markfish
You know I’m generally very favorable to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. At least I’m favorable toward them until they do something (in association with landowner associations and counties) questionable like the latest Sugarloaf Lake Drawdown. 
Sugarloaf is an AGFC lake that is 330 acres at normal pool. The lake shore is developed by private property and houses around about one half of the lake. Aquatic grass lines the shore all the way around the lake, except on the deepest banks. While drawdowns are implemented for a variety of reasons, they should always be questioned if they are not specifically for the issue of strengthening the fishery. That means they should not be done for grass elimination, shoreline development, or property owners complaints. These are specifically, primarily fishing lakes. And the lakes and AGFC operation are paid for by taxpayers of the State of Arkansas. Consequently, the fishery should be the first consideration when pulling massive amounts of water out of the lake in the fall and winter, hoping it will be refilled by spring rains.
The AGFC did this back around 2005 just when the great drought that emptied ponds, streams and water supplies hit the region. Sugarloaf stayed depleted for 2 years before it refilled. This year the lake has a “broken release valve” that is keeping water seeping out 
and keeping the lake from refilling with rain. The AGFC claims it will get it fixed in April. But that will have a serious effect on the spring spawn when fish lay eggs and reproduce normally. This will affect the fish population resulting in further stocking, management issues, and monitoring to get fish populations optimal. This will mean hundreds of thousands, if not millions in expense to taxpayers.
At this drawdown, some shoreline grass has been burned off (where not close to any houses). The hope is that the rest of it was reduced by freezing. This is all done, hoping that everything will work normally and that the lake will refill in March and April. But not this year because of the “valve” that can’t be replaced until April ……. something.
Once was understandable as far as the AGFC not being able to predict a 2 year drought. But they should have learned a lesson and rejected all efforts at a drawdown until it was essential for the health of the fishery, not to accommodate the homeowners or people wanting better shore access for their boats.
Finally, without going into a bunch of scientific jargon, drawdowns don’t always produce what they are intended to produce, and sometimes create a worse problem in the form of algae and chemical pollution. Many times when you read news reports about this type of drawdown on any lake, you’ll read about how the AGFC or associated organizations or biologists are “hoping” for some vague result. Bottom line is, a drawdown, as opposed to smaller, specific implementation of grass reduction with the lake full …… is just plain cheaper (unless there’s a screwup like this). That’s the reason for it.
And here’s the reality. All the pictures you see of the brown area are pictures of where water is normally this time of year. This is the area where thousands of fish in the lake have spawned year after year. But because the lake will not fill normally, the fish will not have those ares. The spawn that does take place will be significantly depleted by predation reducing the fish population for years if not for significant supplemental stocking just to correct this problem.
By the way, this and all other AGFC lakes are owned by that state organization. And not only do they own the lakes, but also a “buffer strip around every lake that is from 20-100 feet wide. Property owners living on the shores of these lakes must adhere to all AGFC regulations concerning any structures they have on the property.
So, congratulations AGFC and associated partners. You’ve done it again. You’ve dropped the water out of a state owned fishery and it won’t fill normally. This is twice in the last 7 years on the same lake. Fishermen (who the lake is designed to attract) can barely get into the water if at all. Homeowners can’t get their boats in the water behind their homes. Businesses that Sugarloaf Lake draws in nearby Midland are harmed. And the lake is trashed. After this, the AGFC should have significant oversight from the state before allowing them any more environmental privileges such as dropping the water out of state owned fishing lakes to do …… whatever, before determining if it can be done with much less devastation to the fishery. And that means even if it has to cost more on the front end to do it better.
Your Favorite Fishing Spot
Author Markfish
Everybody who fishes has a favorite fishing spot that they swear by. Of all the lakes, ponds and creeks they fish in, there is that one spot that just comes through when nowhere else is producing. It is a confidence spot that can put fish on the table, reestablish confidence, and give a boost to a fishless vacation. And I’m no exception. I have mine that I’ve fished for nearly three decades. It’s a small spot only about 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. But the numbers of catfish, crappie, white bass, largemouth bass, stripers and other not so well known species that have come out of it is staggering. The spot is a bridge that crosses Lake Dardanelle at near the towns of Dardanelle and Russelville, Arkansas.
Delaware Bay is a favorite of bass fishermen whenever a tournament is being held on
the lake. Fish at the bridge on any Saturday during mild weather and you’ll likely have a dozen bass boats around you throughout the day. But it doesn’t matter. When fish congregate under the bridge, boat traffic doesn’t matter. The fish are used to boats going and coming under the bridge as well as the obnoxious metallic noise made by endless vehicles driving across it.
My latest couple of trips to the bridge were this past week while on vacation. The first day, Monday, I went with a good friend. Later on Thursday I went back solo. Both days good numbers of fish were caught. Not spectacular, but solid. The kind of days where you feel satisfied that you went fishing because the stringer looks good and you know the table fare will be a reward.
The first time I ever fished under the bridge was nearly 30 years ago in a water scamp. I took 8 dozen minnows under the bridge and ran out before noon. I left the water long enough to get more, returned with another 8 dozen and used them up. In that first trip, I caught limits of catfish, crappie and white bass. I had fish hanging all over my diminutive craft and a new favorite spot. Now I expect it will be my favorite spot till I go to be with Jesus. There have been a few more spectacular days like that through the years, but usually the results are like this last week. Solid and fun catching good numbers and providing fun for me and whoever is with me.
Minnows fished under a slip bobber are the staple rig under the bridge. Fixing a couple of rods with this rig allows adjusting the depth from 5 – 22 feet which is the depth variance from either side of the bridge to the center of the channel that runs through it. The area under the bridge has columns, ledges and concrete on the bottom from the bridge construction however may decades ago. Out in the channel away from the bridge is sometimes very productive for catfish, though not usually as productive as the bridge. There is a short time during the fall when catfish move to the channel in unbelievable numbers and the fishing is spectacular out in the channel. Otherwise under and right around the bridge is the best bet. Danny Kings punch bait drifted for catfish under the bridge with a bobber is a more recent favorite and what I used primarily on my latest two trips.
Early to mid spring brings some very good crappie fishing and some days can be incredible for largemouth bass around t
he shallow areas of the bridge. White bass will move in sporadically this time of year and can provide some frantic, if brief action. The bridge can be fished from a boat of any size by tying up to one of the pipes that run down either side. Tying once in the front and once in the back will keep any boat in place. When getting ready to change bridge sections, just untying, grabbing the pipe and pulling the boat down to the next section is all that’s needed. Most days, I spend the day tied to the bridge without going anywhere else. A mixed bag of catfish, white bass and other species move in and out of the bridge area from late spring through summer. In summer, nighttime fishing around the bridge under lights is great for white bass. The bay near the bridge is a good place to drop some jugs or noodles for catfish while you’re plying the bridge with rod and reel. Spotlighting them later is great fun chasing the flourescent noodles around in the dark while catfish hooked on them take off for all they’re worth. Then again in fall when the weather gets cooler and water temps drop, the crappie and catfish begin to gather under the bridge and in the channel again for great daytime fishing. The best fishing of the year is in fall when the water temp hits between 55-60 degrees. Fish bite like they have a death wish for a couple of weeks.
My latest two trips netted a 
few crappie, couple of white bass, but the mainstay was catfish, particularly my Thursday trip. I found the catfish bunched up under one section of the bridge primarily like they were stacked on top of each other. Catching them on a medium action spinning rod rigged with light line and crappie hooks is great fun, though requires lots of hook retying and replacement. But as is common under the bridge, it entertained me, put fish on my line which is nearly a fetish for me, and put food in my freezer. And the consistency with which the bridge has done that over the last 30 years is the reason it’s my favorite fishing spot.
One final note here with this being a web site about small boats. Dardanelle is a 35,000 acre lake. I fished it for years out of big, fast bass boats. But now, I launch in the bay about a mile from the bridge and run across in my small flat bottom boat with 15 horse Mercury to do my fishing. And amazingly, I catch as many fish out of this $5000 boat as I did out of a $25,000 boat. And my first and one of the most spectacular trips was out of that water scamp. Just goes to show, fishing from small boats deserves some serious attention when it comes to putting fish on the stringer and in the freezer.
Posted in All Articles, Favorite Fishing Spots | Tags: bridge, fishing spots, Lake Dardanelle | No Comments »