Heated fishing dock
Anglers don’t always agree on fish stories.
Ed Fischer, president of the Bella Vista Fly-Tyers, said he doesn’t believe there are many fish to be caught near the heated dock on Lake Avalon.
Harold Kimmel, a FlyTyer who lives near the dock, disagrees.
Kimmel caught an 8-pound bass near the heated dock several years ago and last year his grandson hooked 7-pound bass.
Kimmel doesn’t usually fish off the POA dock because his own private dock is close by. He did use it when his grandchildren visited: He took them out to the enclosed dock so they could fish in deeper water. They also played cards inside the building while they waited for a bite.
The dock is not only enclosed, there is a heater that keeps the building comfortable and benches that surround the rectangular lake access in the center.
Kimmel sees many “regulars” at the dock, but they don’t come as a group or any particular schedule.
The Fly-Tyers Club has helped the POA with the heated dock, just as the club helps at the other Bella Vista lakes. About two years ago they helped pay for a project to move the dock away from shore so fishing could take place in deeper water. They also added fish habitat to the area — both PVC pipes and bamboo have been sunk near the dock. For years the POA maintained a fish feeder in the area as well, Fischer said. He doesn’t think their efforts have attracted a lot of fish. He doesn’t fish there.
POA fisheries biologist and Lakes Superintdent Rick Echols said the fish feeder had to be moved last summer because kids swimming in the area were climbing on it. But this time of year, fish are not being fed, he said.
“I think there are fish there,” Echols said, but he has not heard about people catching them at the dock. He’s heard about several saugeye that were caught in other parts of Lake Avalon.
Echols plans to stock walleye in several Bella Vista lakes. He tried to raise walleye in one of the golf course ponds, but the state stepped in and delayed the move from the pond to the lakes because the fry were purchased out of state. By the time Echols got permission to move the fish, he had lost hundreds of them.
Walleye will be good for wintertime fishing, he said.
The other wintertime fishing in Bella Vista is at Lake Brittany, where trout are stocked each winter. The first load of trout for 2016 went in on Nov.18; more will be added about once a month until April.
Richard Clark likes to fish at the heated dock when it’s windy out. Because it’s enclosed, it can be used in any weather, he pointed out. Anglers know when the fish can be caught, he said, because they understand the life cycle.
When the crappie are “bedding,” there are people at the dock, he said. But even though he knows there are crappie out there, he usually catches bass on Lake Avalon.