23 March 2024 “still running”

[HEN]

You weekenders don't waste your gas money, at 6:00 Saturday morning they are still running the bunger valve. They seem to be "slow rolling" the river, only taking about .33 of a foot of water off the lake per 24 hour period.

I checked out Albert Pike last Thursday and it was really slow!  I caught a few in the swimming hole but none father up river!😞😞. Don't know when they last stocked or when they might stock again. Sorry Gordon, just don't have much information for up there.

[Jonbo]

Yeah, Albert Pike was extremely slow upstream last week when I went. I had found a report somewhere that they had stocked 1000 earlier in March at AP. I can't find the report now. Maybe I imagined it? Someone else had told me they haven't stocked at the Swimming Hole for a couple of years but at the Car Wash Hole instead. Maybe he had bad information? Donno. All I know is I can confirm YOUR report that AP was very slow last week.

BTW, can you or someone explain what the "bunger valve" is? I know that earlier in the season supposedly the generators were down for repairs and that somehow meant they ran water constantly some other way. Was that the bunger valve?

[GORDOB]

Thanks Hen and Jonbo.  I don't know whether they adhere to the published stocking schedules or not, but the Arkansas Game & Fish book shows stocking of 1,000 Jan, Feb, March, and April 2024.  We can only hope.  Hen, you've saved a lot of folks time and money with your timely reports, much appreciated.

[GORDOB]

Jonbo, I don't know what kind of Howell-Bunger valve is installed at Narrows Dam, but here is a youtube video from the company that makes them explaining operations.  Apparently they're all installed with a high head of water above.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnhOy4YWjsQ&ab_channel=ORBINOXVALVESINTERNATIONAL