Add a little Christmas spirit to your favorite fishing hole

Dec. 19, 2018

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK — That Christmas tree that stands proudly above gifts on Christmas morning has plenty of giving left to do if you’re an angler. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has established drop-off locations for all leftover Christmas trees near popular fishing destinations to give them a new life as fish habitat.

The drop-off locations act just like a “take-a-penny, leave-a-penny tray” at a cashier’s station, only it’s for fish. Anyone who wants to drop off their natural Christmas tree can just take it to a location and leave it. And any angler who wants to take the trees and sink them in the lakes where they are located can do so. Anglers should bring their own rope, parachute cord and cinder blocks to weight the trees and sink them where they wish. 

Artificial trees are not allowed at drop-off locations, and all ornaments, tinsel and lights should be removed before being dropped off. 

Christmas trees typically only last a year or two before all that’s left is the main trunk, but large groups of trees can attract bait fish and sportfish long after the smaller branches and needles have rotted away.

Trees can be dropped off at any of the following locations until the end of January:

Central Arkansas

• Arkansas River – Verizon Access beneath the I-30 Bridge
• Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access
• Greers Ferry Lake – Sandy Beach (Heber Springs), Devils Fork Recreation Area and Choctaw Recreation Area (Choctaw-Clinton)
• Lake Conway – Lawrence Landing Access
• Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access
• Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing
• Lake Barnett – Reed Access
• Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access Area

East Arkansas

• Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Conservation Education Center at 625 Cook’s Lake Rd., Casscoe, or the bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart.

Northeast Arkansas

• Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake boat ramp
• Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access
• Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access

Northwest Arkansas

• Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access and AGFC Don Roufa Hwy 412 Access
• Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access
• Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access
• Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access

Southeast Arkansas

• Lake Chicot – Connerly Bayou Access Area
• Lake Monticello – Hunger Run Access

Southwest Arkansas

• Bois d’Arc Lake – Kidd’s Landing or Hatfield Access
• Millwood Lake – Cottonshed, White Cliffs Recreation Areas and the Millwood State Park ramp on the point
• Dierks Lake – Jefferson Ridge South Recreation Area
• De Queen Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
• Gillham Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
• Lake Greeson – New Cowhide Cove and Self Creek Recreation areas
• Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory
• Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing
• Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371
• El Dorado – City recycling center drop-offs: one behind Arby’s and one on South Jackson
• Smackover – Recycling Drop-Off Center (these will be transported to El Dorado)
• South Fork Lake – South Fork Lake Access
• Terre Noire Lake – Terre Noire Lake Access
• Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East