Fisheries Archives • Arkansas Game & Fish Commission https://www.agfc.com/tag/fisheries/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 17:34:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 Arkansas Legacy Lunker Program https://www.agfc.com/fishing/black-bass/arkansas-legacy-lunker-program/ Thu, 17 Jul 2025 20:44:01 +0000 https://www.agfc.com/?page_id=18236 The post Arkansas Legacy Lunker Program appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

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Arkansas Legacy Lunker Program

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Fisheries
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Black Bass Program

Celebrate Arkansas’s trophy bass and create a lasting legacy with the AGFC’s Legacy Lunker Program.

Donate your 10-pound-plus largemouth bass from January through March to help stock Arkansas waters with the next generation of lunker bass. Bass that come close to the donation requirements and those that fall outside the spring spawning season also give cause to celebrate, thanks to our Angler Recognition Program, where you can earn prize packs courtesy of our many partnering sponsors. Mega-sized smallmouth and spotted bass will also be eligible for recognition through the program. Join us to make the catch of a lifetime an enduring legacy for generations to come.

Harnessing the trophy potential of Arkansas’s home-grown trophy bass combined with cutting-edge research and technology, the Legacy Lunker Program will push the envelope in producing and managing trophy bass like never before in the history of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. From January to March, anglers can donate trophy bass weighing over 10 pounds from Arkansas waters. These donated fish will be bred with selected males that possess trophy genetic markers, identified through a collaboration with our genetic partners at Red Hills Fishery. After spawning, both the donated bass and their offspring will be released back into the same water body where the trophy bass were caught. This initiative will create a lasting legacy for trophy bass fishing in Arkansas.

Each fall, anglers who catch and donate a double-digit bass during the donation period will be invited to the Legacy Lunker banquet. At this event, they will be recognized for their achievements and generosity. Donors will receive a prize package that includes lures from PRADCO and a Bass Pro Shops gift card. Additionally, thanks to a partnership with Xpress Boats of Hot Springs, donors will be entered into a drawing for a fully rigged 21-foot boat and will receive a replica mount of their catch from Harper’s Pure Country Taxidermy of Mountain Home. Additional prizes provided by Arkansas companies are in the works.

The Legacy Lunker Program aims to generate excitement for bass fishing across Arkansas by recognizing anglers for their impressive catches throughout the year. Anglers will receive honors for catching largemouth bass weighing over 10 pounds (not donated), bass weighing over 8 pounds, and there will also be a youth category for bass over 6 pounds. Additionally, there will be recognition for smallmouth and spotted bass that weigh over 4 pounds.

These anglers will receive a prize pack recognizing their achievement, including lures from PRADCO and a gift card from Bass Pro Shops, with more prizes in the works.

For years, anglers have requested a program that would enhance their fishing experience in Arkansas, and now that dream is finally becoming a reality. With state-of-the-art renovations at the AGFC Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery and the addition of passionate Black Bass Program staff, we’re ready to turn those long-awaited requests into action.

Contact

Will Lancett

Legacy Lunker Program Coordinator

Phone (870) 310-9050
Email tristan.lancett@agfc.ar.gov

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]]> Wild Science Webinar: September 2023 – Spring River Brown Trout and King Rails https://www.agfc.com/news/wild-science-webinar-september-2023-spring-river-brown-trout-and-king-rails/ Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://agfc.wpengine.com/wild-science-webinar-september-2023-spring-river-brown-trout-and-king-rails/ Sept. 15, 2023 The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff and guest speakers presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Joe Kaiser, Trout Management Biologist, will present “Spring River Brown Trout Growth and Diets” and Jess Schmit, master’s student at the University of Arkansas, will […]

The post Wild Science Webinar: September 2023 – Spring River Brown Trout and King Rails appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

]]> Sept. 15, 2023

The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff and guest speakers presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Joe Kaiser, Trout Management Biologist, will present “Spring River Brown Trout Growth and Diets” and Jess Schmit, master’s student at the University of Arkansas, will present “Ain’t no Rest for the Cryptid: Migration and Breeding Ecology of a Secretive Marshbird”.

Go to Wild Science Webinars to view February 2021 through November 2021.

Wild Science Webinar September 2023

The post Wild Science Webinar: September 2023 – Spring River Brown Trout and King Rails appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

]]> Wild Science Webinar: June 2023 – Reservoir Habitat Evaluation and The BEAR Facts: A Survey of Arkansas Bear Hunters https://www.agfc.com/news/wild-science-webinar-june-2023/ Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://agfc.wpengine.com/wild-science-webinar-june-2023/ June 13, 2023 The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff and guest speakers presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Matt Schroeder, District 10 Fisheries Supervisor, will present “Reservoir Habitat Evaluation” and Ava Smith, Social Science Research Specialist, will present “The BEAR Facts: A Survey […]

The post Wild Science Webinar: June 2023 – Reservoir Habitat Evaluation and The BEAR Facts: A Survey of Arkansas Bear Hunters appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

]]> June 13, 2023

The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff and guest speakers presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Matt Schroeder, District 10 Fisheries Supervisor, will present “Reservoir Habitat Evaluation” and Ava Smith, Social Science Research Specialist, will present “The BEAR Facts: A Survey of Arkansas Bear Hunters”.

Go to Wild Science Webinars to view February 2021 through November 2021.

Wild Science Webinar June 2023

The post Wild Science Webinar: June 2023 – Reservoir Habitat Evaluation and The BEAR Facts: A Survey of Arkansas Bear Hunters appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

]]> Wild Science Webinar: April 2023 – Surveying Wildlife Viewers and Using Tech to Modernize Fishing Efforts https://www.agfc.com/news/wild-science-webinar-april-2023-surveying-wildlife-viewers-and-using-tech-to-modernize-fishing-efforts/ Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://agfc.wpengine.com/wild-science-webinar-april-2023-surveying-wildlife-viewers-and-using-tech-to-modernize-fishing-efforts/ April 7, 2023 The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Kirsten Bartlow, Watchable Wildlife Coordinator, will present “Surveying Wildlife Viewers in Arkansas”. Nick Feltz, District 10 Fisheries Management Biologist, will present “Using Technology to Modernize Estimating Fishing Effort”. […]

The post Wild Science Webinar: April 2023 – Surveying Wildlife Viewers and Using Tech to Modernize Fishing Efforts appeared first on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

]]> April 7, 2023

The Wild Science Webinar is a monthly series featuring Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff presenting research and projects about Arkansas fish and wildlife. Kirsten Bartlow, Watchable Wildlife Coordinator, will present “Surveying Wildlife Viewers in Arkansas”. Nick Feltz, District 10 Fisheries Management Biologist, will present “Using Technology to Modernize Estimating Fishing Effort”.

Go to Wild Science Webinars to view February 2021 through November 2021.

Wild Science Webinar April 2023

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