Lake Ouachita Jim Collins Net Pen Area

They get fed twice a day and they don’t have any reason to leave,” he said. The net pens are located in areas where fishing is prohibited. “We feel that the best way to get rid of these big catfish is to move them to areas around the state where the public can catch them,” Brader explained.

Over the first three months of 2009 the Jim Collins Net Pen Facility staff has been very active in distributing rainbow trout throughout the states southern trout waters. During Jan., Feb., and March they stocked approximately 118,000 rainbow trout.

During the trout growing season they stayed busy hand feeding and transporting the fish from the net pens to the usual stocking sites of Blakely Mtn. Dam, Carpenter Dam, Remmel Dam, Albert Pike Rec. Area on the upper Little Missouri River, and the Narrows Dam Tailwater area.

The AGFC decided to capture the Big Blue Catfish that were tearing holes in the nets resulting in food and trout losses and move them into agency lakes around Arkansas and donating some to the Aquatic Resources Education Program.

The AGFC plans to stock the following lakes with the giant fish:

• Lake Pickthorne

• Little Rock Aquatic Resources Education (A.R.E.) urban ponds

• Lake Pine Bluff

• Lake June

• First Old River

• Millwood Tailwaters

• Red River

• Clear Lake

• Irons Fork Lake

• Cox Creek Lake

• Lake DeGray

• Little Missouri River Lake Ouachita

• Sugar Loaf

• Hinkle

• Horsehead

• Jack Nolen

• Carol Cross

• Lake Lou Emma

• Lake Ludwig

• Craighead Forest Lake

• White River at Batesville

• Lock and Dam #1

• Lake Norfork

• Paris City Lake

• Harris Brake

• Lake Overcup

• Lake Conway

• Lake Barnett

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