FORDYCE – One of the oldest Arkansas Game and Fish lakes is getting a slight change to its name, thanks to a unanimous vote by Commissioners during their Nov. 17 meeting. Tri-County Lake in Calhoun County was renamed Mike Knoedl Tri-County Lake in honor of recently retired director Mike Knoedl.
Knoedl officially retired in July 2016, and was succeeded by former Chief of Staff Jeff Crow. He began work for the AGFC as a wildlife officer in Perry County in 1985, and climbed the ladder to the top position in the agency, which he assumed in October 2012.
“Mike took the reins during a very challenging time in our agency’s history,” said Crow. “His contributions really turned things around for us and put us on a path to a better future. I have been incredibly fortunate to follow behind him, as he has put us on the track to success and put us in a position to tackle the challenges we face now and in the future.”
According to Crow, Tri-County Lake is not only a stone’s throw from Knoedl’s house in Fordyce, but it holds many memories of great fishing and memorable cases the former wildlife officer worked during his 31-year career.
Tri-County Lake has been called the AGFC’s first lake, but that can be a matter of debate. The 280-acre lake was completed in 1953, while the AGFC’s flagship lake, Lake Conway was still under construction. The first lake actually completed for the AGFC was 35-acre Lake Hindsville in Madison County in 1949, but it has seen many issues of leakage throughout the years, requiring major overhauls to keep it a viable fishing lake.
Regardless of its stature as first-, second- or third-oldest in the AGFC’s system of lakes, the newly renamed Mike Knoedl Tri-County Lake has shown excellent resilience, still producing good stringers of bream, catfish and crappie throughout the spring and summer for anglers in south central Arkansas.
Knoedl officially retired in July 2016, and was succeeded by former Chief of Staff Jeff Crow. He began work for the AGFC as a wildlife officer in Perry County in 1985, and climbed the ladder to the top position in the agency, which he assumed in October 2012.
“Mike took the reins during a very challenging time in our agency’s history,” said Crow. “His contributions really turned things around for us and put us on a path to a better future. I have been incredibly fortunate to follow behind him, as he has put us on the track to success and put us in a position to tackle the challenges we face now and in the future.”
According to Crow, Tri-County Lake is not only a stone’s throw from Knoedl’s house in Fordyce, but it holds many memories of great fishing and memorable cases the former wildlife officer worked during his 31-year career.
Tri-County Lake has been called the AGFC’s first lake, but that can be a matter of debate. The 280-acre lake was completed in 1953, while the AGFC’s flagship lake, Lake Conway was still under construction. The first lake actually completed for the AGFC was 35-acre Lake Hindsville in Madison County in 1949, but it has seen many issues of leakage throughout the years, requiring major overhauls to keep it a viable fishing lake.
Regardless of its stature as first-, second- or third-oldest in the AGFC’s system of lakes, the newly renamed Mike Knoedl Tri-County Lake has shown excellent resilience, still producing good stringers of bream, catfish and crappie throughout the spring and summer for anglers in south central Arkansas.
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