Rescheduled Lake Chicot drawdown meeting Feb. 28

LAKE VILLAGE — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Lake Village Fire Station at 2017 Arkansas Hwy 65 to talk about the upcoming drawdown scheduled for Lake Chicot in southeast Arkansas. The meeting was originally set for late January but was rescheduled because of inclement weather.

The last scheduled drawdown at Lake Chicot was coordinated by the AGFC and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2019. The lake’s fishery management plan recommends controlled drawdowns once every 5 years to improve the fishery and offer lakeside landowners a chance to repair boathouses and docks on the lake. Drawdowns improve the fishery by concentrating predator species like bass and crappie with baitfish, giving them more opportunities to feed while temporarily thinning out abundant baitfish levels to increase their growth rate in fertile lakes. They also help recycle nutrients and reduce silt deposits by allowing shallow flats to dry out and existing grass seeds to sprout and provide future nursery cover for baitfish and young-of-the-year gamefish.

According to Kris Nault, AGFC fisheries supervisor for southeast Arkansas, the fire department is on the main highway that runs through Lake Village and is two buildings south of Fox’s Pizza. The best places to park are either behind or off to the side of the building.

Contact Nault at 501-351-8947 for more information about the drawdown and meeting.

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CUTLINE: 

BOATHOUSE
Scheduled drawdowns, like the one completed in 2019 at Lake Chicot, allow lakeside landowners the opportunity to make repairs to boat docks and boost the fisheries productivity.