Lake Conway anglers and homeowners got an early Christmas present Monday when the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission announced it would allow the lake to begin filling Dec. 2.
Nick Feltz, a fisheries management biologist for the Game and Fish Commission, broke the news to a full auditorium at Mayflower High School. The commission billed the meeting as a progress update for the lake, which has been under renovation since 2023.
Created in 1948, Lake Conway covers 6,700 surface acres. It is also the largest fishing lake ever created by a state wildlife management agency. It was an excellent place to fish for largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish, but it was most popular among crappie anglers. Because of residential and commercial development in Conway, sediment filled in much of the lake's upper portion, greatly reducing the amount and quality of fish habitat.
In early 2023, the commission began draining the lake. Exposing the mud lake bed to sunlight would compact the silt and lower the lake bottom from end to end.
While the bottom was exposed, AGFC staff created a lot of new fish habitat, cut boat lanes, rebuilt boat ramps and created and improved bank fishing access.
The reno...