Jason Miller, AGFC Assistant Chief of Fisheries, said this is the fifth time Baxter has donated fish to the anglers of the state.

“These fish could still bring Baxter some good profit, but he’s always had a great relationship with us and these donations give us something that we don’t provide through our hatcheries. He’s donated well over 100,000 pounds of fish over the years for people to catch.”

Miller said catchable-sized catfish AGFC hatcheries provide anglers at FCFP locations range from three-quarters of a pound to two pounds because that size provides the best combination of value and numbers for anglers to pursue.

“It would require too much pond space on our hatcheries and food to regularly grow fish to this this size for stocking, so this is a treat that we don’t get to offer very often,” Miller said.

Clint Coleman, Assistant FCFP Coordinator, said he can always tell when the big blue catfish come to program ponds by the calls and reactions of regular anglers.

“We get calls from anglers and people send in pictures of their big catches,” Coleman said. “People really get a kick out of fighting these bigger fish, but I’d suggest bringing a dip net along on your next fishing trip or two to the ponds. More than one angler has hooked into one just to have it break his line right at the bank when he finally got it within reach.”

Baxter offers this bit of advice for anglers looking to hook into one of these fish.

“Be sure you have at least 20-pound-test fishing line and a 3/0 circle hook,” Baxter said. “Suspend the bait about a foot under a bobber and make sure the drag on the reel is loose. Bring a kid and get ready to have a great time.”

Visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing to find a FCFP location near you. Aerial views of the ponds and the most recent stocking dates are available through the program’s web page.

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CUTLINES:

HOLDING CATFISH
Larger than normal-sized catfish will be heading to ponds across Arkansas this year, thanks to a generous donation by one of Arkansas’s top catfish producers.. AGFC photo.

SORTING FISH
AGFC crews and Baxter’s staff harvesting and sorting catfish at his farm in Desha County. AGFC photo.

YOUTH WITH BIG CAT
Anglers at Family and Community Program Ponds enjoy these larger-than-normal size stockings of channel and blue catfish provided by Baxter Land Company’s catfish farms. AGFC photo.

“Maurice (Jackson) and Clint (Coleman) secured some golden rainbow trout from a private facility to give anglers a little something extra this year,” Vandiver said. “We successfully tagged and stocked 385 tagged golden rainbow trout spread out among the majority of the stocking sites in December. We ended up having about 100 surplus golden rainbows that were stocked (untagged) at select locations in January as well.”

Jackson says the first round of golden trout were all tagged, and anglers who turned in a tag received a prize pack as well as a chance at a special grand prize.

“We’ll be drawing a winner from all anglers who turned in their tags on the AGFC’s Facebook page live at 10 a.m. March 13,” Jackson said. “Three winners will receive a free guided trout fishing trip for two on the Little Red River, courtesy of Sore Lip ’em All Guide Service in Heber Springs.”

Jackson says he’s thrilled about the turnout he’s seen at FCFP locations and some of the stories he’s received of people taking family and friends on a fishing trip this winter.

“FCFP broke a record on tag returns for trout this year,” Jackson said. “We had a 66 percent increase in overall trout tag returns.”

Jackson also credits the hatchery team with all the extra hours and time associated with the special promotion.

“Winter months are the busiest time of the year for our trout folks,” Jackson said. “BJ’s team went above and beyond by receiving golden trout from an out-of-state facility, holding them at the facility for over a month, tagging the fish and stocking them statewide. Clint and I are both former hatchery men, and we know from experience that a loss of fish can occur during any misstep in the process of growing, harvesting and getting the fish to the final destination, and the Spring River team took the challenge in stride.”

Visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing for more information on the Family and Community Fishing Program and a list of stocked locations.

Don’t forget to tune in to www.facebook.com/ARGameandFish on March 13 to watch the live drawing for three trout-fishing trips on the Little Red River.

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CUTLINES:

DELIVERING TROUT
AGFC Family and Community Fishing Program Coordinator Maurice Jackson delivers trout to Boyle Park in Little Rock. AGFC photo.

GOLDEN TROUT
The AGFC stocked special golden-phase rainbow trout in FCFP locations this year to increase excitement for angling in community ponds. AGFC photo. 

KIDS AT DERBY
Nearly 60,000 rainbow trout were stocked in ponds throughout Arkansas this winter for local anglers to enjoy. AGFC photo.

KID WITH GOLDEN TROUT
The AGFC received numerous reports of anglers catching “gold fever’ during their winter angling efforts this year. 

Anglers may even tie into one of the remaining golden rainbow trout stocked earlier this year by the AGFC.

“Those golden trout have really generated a lot of interest in our FCFP locations this winter,” Jackson said. “We put 400 tagged golden trout in ponds throughout the state, with each trout location receiving at least 10. Right now there are 225 of those tags remaining in the ponds.

Anglers who catch a tagged golden rainbow trout can clip the tag and send it to the AGFC for a free tackle pack courtesy of Leland’s Lures. All anglers submitting tags also will be entered into a drawing for one of three guided fishing trips for four on the Little Red River near Heber Springs.

“Sore Lip ‘Em All Guide Service has been really great at helping us introduce new trout anglers to the Little Red River,” Jackson said. “Anglers who may never visit one of Arkansas’s famous trout tailwaters are now getting exposure to this fantastic fishery, and it all started at one of our ponds.”

Visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing to learn more about the golden rainbow trout winter fishing promotion and find a list of locations where the trout are stocked in winter.

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CUTLINES:

FLYER
The AGFC will host its annual Trout Day celebration at Lake Dieffenbacher in Texarkana Jan. 25. The event is free but registration is required.

GOLDEN TROUT
More than 220 of the 400 tagged golden trout the AGFC placed statewide are still swimming and ready to catch.

After an angler catches a tagged fish, they can call the phone number on the tag to claim their prize. Follow the instructions and mail the tag in by Feb. 28, and you’ll be entered into the big drawing at the end of the year. The winner of that drawing will receive one of three free trout-fishing trips on the Little Red River from Leland’s Lures’ and Sore Lip ’Em All Guide Service.

Anglers are limited to submitting one tag per person. Coleman encourages anyone who catches a golden trout to post a photo of the fish on the AGFC Facebook page.

“The prizes and the trips are great, but the opportunity to catch golden trout is even bigger,” Coleman said. “It may be once in a lifetime for some people. Only five states have golden trout and we’re lucky we’re close enough to the facility to get them.”

Visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing for a list of FCFP locations.

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CUTLINES:

TROUT1
Golden trout will be available at Family and Community Fishing Program locations this winter. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lake Fisheries Inc.

TROUT2
Golden trout are rainbow trout with different pigmentation. Photo by Mike Wintroath.

“Gary Casey, who is the founder of the Big Catch, is our partner on the event,” Jackson said. “We are expecting a record crowd for the fall event. Last year we had about 1,700 at the September event.”

If you haven’t attended the previous Big Catch events, you can learn how to clean and cook catfish, how to kayak, and be entered into a chance to win a deer hunting trip.

“We will have inflatables, games, prizes and food for the first 500 anglers,” Jackson said. “This traditionally wraps up the catfish and catfish event season statewide. In November, we will begin stocking rainbow trout in many of our ponds.”

With a busy month of events, Lake Valencia will be stocked four times this month, Jackson said. “We’ll be posting ‘No Fishing’ signs the day before the senior event and the day before the Big Catch.”

The Big Catch is free, and registration is available right up to the event beginning at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 21. But you can avoid the expected long line for last-minute registration and sign up in advance by registering online at the Community First Alliance Inc. website, www.c1a.life.

September wraps up with National Hunting and Fishing Day scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, which will give both anglers and hunters the perfect excuse to pull away from fall chores and celebrate the Arkansas outdoors. Many of the stocked ponds around the state will still have table fare-sized catfish available, and many hunting seasons will be underway, including dove, early teal and early Canada goose season, with deer archery season opening that day and bear archery season already underway.

For a list and map of community fishing locations among the Family and Community Fishing Program’s stocked ponds, visit www.agfc.com/fishing/where-to-fish/family-and-community-fishing-program-stocked-ponds.

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CUTLINES:

SENIOR WITH CATFISH
This senior angler enjoyed plenty of fishing fun during the 2017 senior’s fishing derby. 

TWO KIDS FISHING
The Big Catch is the largest community fishing event of the year. 

TWO KIDS WITH FISH
Freshly stocked catfish will be ready to catch at Lake Valencia on Sept. 21. 

Maurice Jackson, the FCFP coordinator, said the “grand opening” of the park and pond is a long time coming. The program has held events at Matthews Park in recent years, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the park and pond were built, there was never a proper opening. Saturday’s event will serve that purpose with invited local dignitaries led by Greenbrier Mayor Sammy Hartwick.

“Our park has been open a couple of years and it’s being used for many things,” Mayor Hartwick said. “So many people are up there now using the splash pad, and we’ll see folks under the pavilion with birthday parties for kids. A circus based out of Springfield (about 10 miles from Greenbrier) is up there doing horse riding training for kids … It’s what we were hoping for when we build the park and pond, having people come out and have a good time.

“It looks like Mr. Jackson has quite an agenda” for Saturday’s event, the mayor added.

The park, which is 55 acres with a pond taking up a small portion of that, was named for Percy “P.B.” Matthews, who served as the town’s mayor and recorder-treasurer five times in the 1950s and ’60s. The Matthews family owned the land, off Ivy Street and east of U.S. Highway 65 (South Broadview Street), and it sat idle and for sale for about 20 years, Hartwick said. Hartwick saw an opportunity to develop the land for city use, and the two children of the late Matthews who live out of state agreed to the city’s offer, allowing the city of Greenbrier to pay the sale amount over two years.

“Our citizens, they are great people and they saw the need,” Hartwick said, noting the half-cent sales tax that Greenbrier voters approved for the park and a new fire station. When the bond is paid off, two-thirds of the half-cent tax sunsets and the remainder will provide for operation and maintenance, he said.

Also, a timely matching grant of $250,000 from the Arkansas Parks and Tourism’s Outdoors Recreation Grants Program helped fund the park and amenities.
“Man, it’s just a blessing,” Hartwick said.

The AGFC’s Jackson continues growing the FCFP, providing family fishing opportunities with special events at several communities throughout Faulkner and White counties, as well as in northeastern Arkansas. To be a part of the FCFP lineup, a town must be in a county of at least 25,000 people. Vilonia’s Weaver Family Community Pond recently was added to the roster, and Beebe’s Community Pond in White County came on board at the same time as Matthews Park during the waning days of the pandemic. The program’s 50th pond, now being built in Osceola, should come online by the fall, Jackson said. Marion opened an FCFP location at its Recreation Complex in recent years, just after West Memphis’s Tilden Rodgers Park Pond joined the roster.

Greenbrier city officials anticipate up to 500 people attending Saturday’s fishing derby. All ages are welcome. Advanced registration is urged; visit https://register-ed.com/events/view/214185 to register. Participants should bring their own fishing gear.

For a full list of FCFP ponds around the state and an interactive map to find them, visit https://www.agfc.com/fishing/where-to-fish/family-and-community-fishing-program-stocked-ponds/.

Also, 22 catfish derbies are scheduled throughout the state through the month of June with stocking by the AGFC’s fishing derby program. For a list of derbies, see https://www.agfc.com/education/fishing-derby-program/.

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CUTLINES:

TWO YOUNG ANGLERS:
June 15 marks the “grand opening” celebration of Matthews Park Pond in Greenbrier being added to the AGFC’s Family and Community Fishing Program.

COMPLETED POND:
The AGFC will stock hundreds of catchable-sized channel catfish for anglers to enjoy, and the park will be buzzing with a party atmosphere Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

CONSTRUCTION:
The 55 acres where Matthews Park now sits once sat vacant for more than 20 years before residents of Greenbrier approved a half-cent sales tax increase to help purchase and transform the property.

The FCFP plans two or three Family Fun Day showcase events annually, featuring music, free food for the first 500 attendees, prizes, canoeing, archery and BB gun shooting, kids zone, fish cooking and cleaning demonstrations, wild game provided by Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, and health screenings, among other outdoors-related activities. The number of other fishing derbies the AGFC and FCFP will be involved with — Jackson said the agency has scheduled around 300 derbies this fishing season — will limit their “fun day” events to two this year. Jonesboro’s Arkansas State University Pond is the site May 18 for this year’s other Family Fun Day.

In Springdale, personnel from the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center will help with the May 4 event along with staff from the AGFC’s Fisheries, Wildlife Management and Enforcement divisions, Jackson said.

A national grant through the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar (“Let’s Go Fishing”) Education Fund, the nonprofit Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s state agency and local engagement initiative, has provided money to market the event, Jackson added. Trout Unlimited NWA was a partner with the AGFC in being awarded the grant and “dedicated time, volunteers and money to making the grant possible, as their chapter is focusing on outreach to underserved audiences as well,” JJ Gladden, AGFC assistant chief of education, said.

Jackson said, “That grant program was created to reach out to the Hispanic community to get them out fishing and boating, and that’s helping with the marketing aspect of this event. We generally get about 1,500 people to come out for Family Fun Days, but for this we’re expecting around 2,000.”

It marks the fourth Family Fun Day held in Springdale since the program began holding the flagship annual events — Shaw Family Park was the site of one and Murphy Park has played host to the others.

The event is free, with the exception of requiring a fishing license for those 16 and older. Everyone who fishes will need to bring their own fishing gear, though. The target is catfish, with tablefare-size fish being stocked in Murphy Lake.

Registration is required. Visit register-ed.com/events/view/211664 to sign up for Springdale; to register for the Jonesboro Famly Fun Day, visit https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/208948.

As part of the Vamos A Pascar grant to the AGFC for northwest Arkansas, a fishing class for the Marshallese community in the area will be held on Saturday, June 15, in addition to a fishing derby scheduled for Benton County, according to Marisol Alcaraz, the community outreach manager at the Ozark Highlands Nature Center. More information is available by calling 833-356-0867.

Along with the upcoming Jonesboro Family Fun Day event on May 18, the Family and Community Fishing Program will be dedicating two ponds in its program with derbies in coming weeks. The Weaver Family Community Pond in Vilonia will have an FCFP grand opening, also on May 18, and on June 15, one week after Free Fishing Weekend around Arkansas, the program will be in Greenbrier to welcome Matthews Park Pond to the program.

Both Faulkner County ponds were built during the COVID pandemic around 2020-21 and the program was unable to officially “dedicate” the two participants in the FCFP roster of ponds until now, Jackson said.

All of the FCFP ponds are stocked during spring with tablefare-size catfish, he added, noting that the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation is a big supporter of the program in making the flagship events and other derbies happen, along with the AGFF’s Steve Smith Endowment.

For a list of FCFP stocked ponds, visit https://www.agfc.com/fishing/where-to-fish/family-and-community-fishing-program-stocked-ponds/

Brush wasn’t the only habitat that was added to Arkansas lakes last year, either. Biologists also spent a lot of effort bringing life to lakes through vegetation projects. DeGray Lake and Greers Ferry Lake saw the continued use of floating “Arkansas cubes” filled with coontail to promote this helpful aquatic vegetation. DeGray, in particular, has seen notable increases in aquatic vegetation in the last few years, and AGFC fisheries biologists hope to expand the program even further in 2024 in a new partnership with the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

“We also planted water willow in two pools of the Arkansas River to continue adding this valuable aquatic cover in areas where current had scoured it away,” Schroeder said.

Basstankers deliver
Nearly 2.5 million black bass were stocked last year from AGFC hatcheries, with Florida largemouth bass taking the top position with 1.99 million produced. Although most lakes in Arkansas can produce more bass in any given year than the entire AGFC hatchery system, the goal of bass stockings isn’t necessarily to add extra fish to catch.

“When we’re stocking Florida bass, we’re focused on changing the genetics of a lake’s population to increase trophy potential,” Vic DiCenzo, AGFC assistant chief of fisheries, said. “We have plenty of bass in most Arkansas lakes, and these Floridas will actually displace other bass that would have been there. We’re looking for those Floridas to grow and spawn with the population already in the lake and increase growth potential.”

A handful of Arkansas fisheries still need an occasional boost in bass numbers, so hatcheries still raised 396,557 northern strain largemouth to stock in areas where biologists saw issues with reproduction.

“The Arkansas River is a good example of a fishery that still can benefit from supplemental stockings of northern largemouth bass,” DiCenzo said. “Current in high flow years can really affect the spawn in some pools that don’t have sufficient backwaters. Previous research has shown that our stocked fish do make up a noticeable percentage of year-classes of fish when that occurs and help bring the river bass populations back a little quicker when conditions are favorable.”

Northern largemouths also are stocked in lakes that have been renovated when the lake is not conducive to Florida bass stockings.

“Lake Poinsett is too far north for Florida bass to thrive, so northern bass were stocked there to help jump-start the population after that renovation was complete,” DiCenzo said.

Setting the table
AGFC hatcheries continue to crank out the fish food for those budding bass, too. According to Jason Miller, AGFC assistant chief over the agency’s fish culture section, they produced 1 million threadfin shad, 2.05 million fathead minnows and 114,000 golden shiners to boost the forage base of lakes around the state. An additional 933,095 bluegill and 219,623 redear sunfish were stocked. These two species not only serve as forage for bass and other gamefish, but also offer excellent angling targets for people looking to dip a cricket in their local lake.

“Combined, you’re looking at 4 million or so forage fish for bass, crappie and other gamefish to chase,” Miller said. “And most of these species are prolific spawners, so the impact to the food chain is much greater than the original numbers we stock.”

Trout-tastic numbers
Even with the Jim Hinkle State Fish Hatchery undergoing major construction last year, AGFC staff were still able to stock 571,712 catchable-size rainbow trout. Miller says good things are on the horizon now that the hatchery is back up to full speed.

“I talked to the hatchery manager just the other day and he said they have more than 700,000 trout on site right now,” Miller said. “Before the renovation, they were only able to hold 450,000 or so. They also were able to use their own hatch house at the facility for the first time in a few years, so they’re really getting up to speed quickly to get more trout out there for Arkansas anglers.”

Catchable-size trout from the AGFC’s only cold-water hatchery are stocked at 43 locations in Arkansas, including the Family and Community Fishing Program locations, the White, Norfork and Spring rivers. Federal hatcheries add to that number tremendously, stocking the Norfork, White, Greers Ferry and many seasonal tailwater fisheries in the state.

“If you add in the numbers from the Federal hatcheries, we’re talking 1.9 million rainbow trout in the state that were ready to fight from the day they hit the water,” Miller said. “And don’t forget all the naturally reproducing brown trout for anglers to pursue.”

Growing memories
Anyone who’s had a chance to visit one of the AGFC’s four warmwater hatcheries during Free Fishing Weekend knows how much work and dedication staff have in growing catchable-size channel catfish. Each year the hatcheries open their doors for one day so people can chase catfish during a special fishing derby to celebrate the event. But that’s just a tiny sample of the catfish angling opportunities provided by the hatcheries. Last year, the AGFC stocked 418,301 channel catfish throughout the state. Roughly half of those fish were grown out to catchable size to be used in fishing derbies, special events and to support dozens of Family and Community Fishing Program locations throughout spring and fall.

“Just like the rainbow trout, those catfish are ready to catch the minute we put them in a lake or pond,” Miller said. “Our process is just the same as many commercial catfish farms, so the fish you catch are great for the supper table, too.”

Walleye roundup
The annual walleye project at C.B. “Charlie” Craig Fish Hatchery in Centerton boasted a great year for production of these river-loving members of the perch family. Fish borrowed from the Kings River produced an impressive 799,235 walleye that were stocked in Lake Fort Smith, Beaver, Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes.

“A lot of those fish went to the Bull Shoals nursery pond last year,” Miller said. “We alternate where the focus of our walleye project is every year, and south Arkansas lakes should see a boost in walleye stockings in 2024.”

 

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CUTLINES:

ARTIFICIAL COVER ON BARGE
Dierks Lake was one of dozens of Arkansas fisheries that AGFC biologists enhanced with artificial cover in 2023.

BRUSH ON BARGE
A new habitat barge on Beaver Lake was put to good use sinking dozens of giant brush piles to add habitat and fish attractors in Northwest Arkansas lakes last year.

DIP NET FULL OF FISH
AGFC Hatcheries stocked more than 1.9 million Florida largemouth bass last year in lakes to improve growth rate in Arkansas’s no. one sportfish.

PIPE RELEASING BREAM
Bream stockings not only serve as a boost to the food chain of a lake, but they add opportunities for panfish anglers.

PIPE RELEASING TROUT
With the help of Federal Hatcheries and the completion of the Spring River State Fish Hatchery, Arkansas’s famous trout-fishing destinations received 1.9 million trout.

FISH ON MEASURING BOARD
Walleye released from the nursery pond on Bull Shoals contributed to nearly 800,000 of this species stocked statewide in 2023.

Trout Day
If you can’t celebrate “Troutsgiving” with the AGFC, the FCFP hopes you’ll join in the fun of its 2023 Trout Day family fishing event from 9 a.m.-noon Dec. 2 at Pleasantview Park Pond in Russellville. In addition to some fantastic fishing for stocked rainbow trout, the AGFC will hold fish cleaning and cooking demonstrations to show anglers how to get the most out of their catch. Prizes and live music will be rolling for the 3-hour event, and lunch will even be provided for the first 300 anglers who register at www.register-ed.com/events/view/205390. The event is sponsored by the AGFC, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, CADDIS Fly Fishing Club and the Russellville Recreation and Parks Department.