Photo by
Thousands of walleye fingerlings swim in tanks (above) before they were stocked in Beaver Lake on Wednesday by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Clint Smith tempers the tank water so it’s the same temperature as the lake water before pulling a lever to release the fish from a transport truck into the lake at the Arkansas 12 bridge launch ramp. The fingerlings are from 1 to 2 inches long. Ron Moore, Game & Fish fisheries biologist, said it will take two to three years for the fingerlings to reach the legal keeper size of 18 inches. The walleye were raised at the Charlie Craig State Fish Hatchery at Centerton. More walleye fingerlings will be stocked today for about 150,000 fingerlings. Most will be eaten by bigger fish, but many will grow into adult fish.