Lake Conway

[jeffb243]

Anybody fished it lately? how high is the water? im planning on fishing it friday afternoon, don't really know what to expect, except nice weather!

[Wes Ramsey]

It looks to be at normal pool. Back in January or February when we had all the rain it went from -4 to 6 feet to the highest it has been in many years all within a couple of days. I'm headed out ther Friday as well. My hopes for the next year or two aren't that great - everyone that cold get to the deeper holes when the lake was down was tearin' 'em up. I figure it always takes a few years to get back to normal after a drawdown like that, but I don't know for sure. One of the guys I work with said this week that he's caught a few decent bass in the main lake, and is starting to catch bream and crappie around his dock.

[Wes Ramsey]

Well, Conway was a bust this weekend.

Put 1 line in at Adam's Lake with 40+ hooks Friday night using big minnows and a little stink bait. Saturday morning almost all my bait was still on the line :smack: I thought it would be a good night for a trot line with the front coming through, but I thought wrong. I did catch a 2' gar though. I decided to keep him and see what gar tastes like. That's a mistake I won't make again. I've heard the backstrap meat is really good - but nobody has ever given me any tips on getting TO the meat :dontknow: My electric filet knife wouldn't even make a dent in it. I suspect they have some sort of kevlar/titanium reinforced fibers in their hide. I would liken it to trying to filet an armadillo. Nearing total frustration I almost grabbed my hatchet to cut it into chunks, but I finally found a weak spot behind one of the fins and was able to spiral around the lines in the nearly impenetrable shell. I quickly discovered that 'he' was a 'she'. Eggs went everywhere. I finally got the backstraps out and cut them into thin chunks to fry at a later date. I'll let you know how they turn out, but I don't plan to keep any more gar. When I was done I actually had to disassemble my new knife to get all the eggs and gar slime out of it. Kids, don't try this at home.

Saturday afternoon I put out another line with 25 hooks baited with hot dogs. I fished some, but couldn't find any bream or crappie. I have no idea where to find bass in that lake right now. Obviously the same goes for all the other species I was after as well.

Sunday I pulled in both my lines. 70+ hooks + 2 days = 1 gar and 1 small blue catfish. More of my bait was gone this time, but I still had a LOT left. They didn't touch the hot dogs, so I'll save the leftovers for Dardanelle - they love them there. I didn't want the whole weekend to be a bust, so I picked up some shiners and headed up Gold Creek. I fished 'til dark and had 2 bites, but no takers. I still had a couple dozen minnows left when I headed out, but I had a hard time finding anyone that needed them. Finally gave them to a gentleman and his wife - he said they didn't need them, but would take them if I was just gonna turn 'em loose.

Talked to several people over the weekend and nobody was doing any good. I watched 1 guy catch a drum and the guy I gave the minnows to caught a small crappie before I left. It may just be a little early yet for any decent fishing in Conway. I'm hoping that the drawdown didn't screw up the fishing for the whole year. I guess we'll see in a few weeks when everything starts spawning. I figure most anything worth catching is still hanging out in the old creekbeds. If you know where they are, that's where I'd try first. I had planned to put a canoe in last fall and chart the creeks with my GPS so I'd know for sure where they were for later reference...but I had no canoe and no GPS. I guess I'll have to wait for the next drawdown.

EDIT: Oh yeah, the lake is still above normal pool. I actually saw a guy running wide open down trail 2 in what looked to be a BIG Mastercraft with a BIG inboard motor. You gotta have some solid brass cajones and/or a lot of money and nothing else to spend it on to run a boat like that in Conway. I broke a prop and spun another there last year hitting stumps IN the lanes, and I've got a 14' flatbottom...

[jerry dean]

Wes,

If ya catch another gar, to clean it, hang it upside down with a big hook from it's butt, clip off it's side stearing fins, ring it around it's tail and skin it just like a catfish. That back strap will jump out out ya and you can almost take it out with just your thumb.

Cooking it: Saute' some bell peppers & onions in some butter and olive oil till the peppers are just starting to change colors and the add your gar strips cut 2 inches long and 1 inch thick and then crank the fire up and cook it real fast. Salt & pepper to taste. Kinda like Fajita's. It's delicious.:thumb:

[RAMBUSTER]

Wes,

If ya catch another gar, to clean it, hang it upside down with a big hook from it's butt, clip off it's side stearing fins, ring it around it's tail and skin it just like a catfish. That back strap will jump out out ya and you can almost take it out with just your thumb.

Cooking it: Saute' some bell peppers & onions in some butter and olive oil till the peppers are just starting to change colors and the add your gar strips cut 2 inches long and 1 inch thick and then crank the fire up and cook it real fast. Salt & pepper to taste. Kinda like Fajita's. It's delicious.:thumb:

:head: have to remember that one, hate it when they end up retiring in the grass:smack:

[Wes Ramsey]

Jerry,

That actually sounds pretty good. I cut this one into thin, medallion-type filets for easy frying, but I bet it'll work just fine in your recipe. I may just have to fry this one and see what it tastes like, then try it your way (cleaning method included) with the next one. If you run trot lines on Lake Conway, there's always another gar!

BTW, that trolling motor I got from you still works like a charm! Made the whole investment in my first boat worth it. Thanks again!

[jerry dean]

:head: have to remember that one, hate it when they end up retiring in the grass:smack:

I've thrown my fair share to the coons myself. They're easier to clean than you'd think if ya do it right and dang tastey to boot. An old black woman showed me how to clean 'em and told me about the pepper & onion deal. I've never eaten one fried, but hear they're OK if you eat 'em when they just come out of the oil.

[jerry dean]

BTW, that trolling motor I got from you still works like a charm! Made the whole investment in my first boat worth it. Thanks again!

I'm glad you could use it and my girlfriend is very glad it's out of the garage.:biggrin:

[rowdyrabbit]

Bream or rice slicks are the best thing I've found for a trotline on Conway. Never had much luck on any kind of minnow. If you don't have time to catch the bream, you can buy the slicks at Bates in Mayflower.

[Wes Ramsey]

Bream or rice slicks are the best thing I've found for a trotline on Conway. Never had much luck on any kind of minnow. If you don't have time to catch the bream, you can buy the slicks at Bates in Mayflower.

That may be what I got. Heck, I don't know how to tell the difference. I always get my bait at Bates. The ones I got were pretty good sized - had about 30ish to a pound. I've had good luck with them in the past, as well as with their goldfish. I guess they just didn't find my lines this time. I'm headed to Lake Dardanelle next week if it won't be too windy - I always catch a mess there. That lake gets a little hairy for my 14' flat bottom if the wind is up...especially if it's just me in the boat.

[joedirt]

Has anybody been to the dam on Lake Conway to see if the whites may be runnin' yet?

[ryanh_johnson]

Has anybody been to the dam on Lake Conway to see if the whites may be runnin' yet?

The whites are running else where or starting to anyway.....where is the dam on conway??

[rowdyrabbit]

The dam is on the road directly across the highway from Bates. Follow it down and it deadends at the dam.

The slicks look just like small bream. They used to also sell a trotline minnow, but we always had better luck with the slicks.

[Wes Ramsey]

I'm pretty sure that's what I got then. Nice to know :thumb: I can't say for sure they were whites, but I saw quite a few fish hitting the top of the water over the weekend. What do you catch them with on Conway, and where's a good place to get in a mess of 'em?