LITTLE ROCK – A quick glance at Arkansas’s state fishing records will reveal that March and April hold the lion’s share of biggest fish catches for most species. Only one catch can qualify as Arkansas’s state record for a certain species, but the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission still wants to help celebrate those memorable…
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Community fishing event kicks off 2022 catfish stockings
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Family and Community Fishing Program will kick off the 2022 catfish stocking season with a special fishing event from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 2. at MacArthur Park in Little Rock. This event will be much more than a typical fishing derby. The AGFC…
AGFC discusses habitat and healthy conservation future at UAM held event
MONTICELLO, Ark. – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Austin Booth, at last week’s commission meeting, held at the University of Arkansas Monticello, shared some recent highlights of AGFC’s wildlife management, fisheries and education efforts. “AGFC private lands biologists conducted 69 site visits during the last month,” Booth said. “These 69 landowners represented over 44,000…
AGFC biologists win awards for Florida bass research in Hot Springs area lakes
HOT SPRINGS — In the world of bass fishing, all eyes are on Florida, well at least Florida largemouth bass. Biologists from Arkansas, however, claimed this year’s Jack Dequine Award for Fisheries Outstanding Technical Paper for work about how these Sunshine State fish have fared in two Natural State reservoirs. Sean Lusk and Chris Middaugh,…
Calhoun County’s Beasley, Martin, and Moore elected to Conservation District Board
LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Commission (Commission) approved twenty-five conservation district board elections at its meeting on March 16. The Commission also made four new board member appointments and five board member reappointments to conservation district boards. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division provides leadership and support for…
Mount Magazine WMA is a little of everything
PARIS, Arkansas – One Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife management area is contained within a national forest and also has a portion serving as an Arkansas State Park. It features nearly every kind of popular game species and plenty of watchable nongame birds and animals, not to mention spectacular views and the highest point…
Comment on proposals for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 hunting and fishing seasons
LITTLE ROCK — Commissioners with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission heard proposals for regulations changes during three days of committee and commission meetings held last week at the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Now the AGFC would like to present those same…
No rod? No problem. Go Fish
LITTLE ROCK — With spring break on the horizon, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission reminds new and occasional anglers that there are nearly 100 locations where people can borrow rods and reels to get out on the water and enjoy a day of fishing. The AGFC’s Tackle Loaner network, which is administered by the…
Unplug at an AGFC nature center during Spring Break
LITTLE ROCK — With kids out of school throughout most of Arkansas next week, many parents may be looking for a way to get them out of the house and off the electronics for a day. A trip to one of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s nature centers may be just the answer to…
New Arkansas Wildlife issue celebrates the Buffalo
LITTLE ROCK – The March/April issue of Arkansas Wildlife magazine, which is on its way to subscribers, is all about the Buffalo River – the Buffalo National River, that is, and its 50th anniversary. The mighty Buffalo became the country’s first national river, administered by the National Park Service, March 1, 1972, after a grassroots…
AGFC, UAPB to present trout research at Greers Ferry Tailwater plan meeting March 21
LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will present results of recent research on the wild brown trout fishery in the Greers Ferry Tailwater at 6 p.m. March 21. The presentation will be part of the regular meeting of the Arkansas Fly Fishers and will be…
Fix up a Fowl Play Reuben for St. Patrick’s Day
Article from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, we dug into the refrigerator to pull out some of the goose breasts left from last season to add some Delta flavor to a classic Irish-inspired meal. It takes some forethought to prepare the corned goose well ahead of…
Try these tasty rustic Arkansas smoked trout nachos(Recipe with video)
Friends of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at Flyway Brewing Co. in North Little Rock, Arkansas, share the secret behind their delicious smoked trout nachos. Give them a try at home! This special recipe can be a tasty appetizer or a standalone mainstay dish.
Shed hunting: Wandering in the woods with purpose
PARON, Ark. – With deer season officially over and turkey season still several weeks away, many hunters are facing the postseason blues and are being forced to catch up on all of the work postponed since last October. Searching for shed antlers offers one last escape from those household chores and can keep hunting skills…
Contract pilot lands George H. Dunklin Award
PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Rocky Thornburg has been flying duck surveys long before any of the current Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists conducting surveys were on the agency payroll. A pilot based in Pine Bluff, Thornburg began flying low-altitude aerial waterfowl surveys in 1992 to allow AGFC staff to count ducks in the state.…
AGFC, PRADCO team up for online bass fishing seminar series
FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has partnered with PRADCO, the parent company of Booyah, YUM, Bomber and many other popular fishing tackle brands to host a special lineup of fishing seminars this spring devoted to catching more and bigger bass in The Natural State. The first of these workshops is…
Arkansas biologist honored with National award for hard work, habitat gains
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The National Wild Turkey Federation at its 46th annual national convention Feb. 18, presented Jason Mitchell, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife biologist, with the Joe Kurz Wildlife Manager of the Year Award, for his outstanding management of wild turkeys and wildlife habitat management. Mitchell has worked for the Arkansas Game and…
Go wild for your Mardi Gras celebration with this Big Easy dish
Mardi Gras can be a celebration in many ways, and a feast of wild game on Fat Tuesday is how I like to celebrate. Wild game plays well into Cajun dishes due to the vast array of wild game found in the swamps of south Louisiana. Although jambalaya is a more traditional Cajun dish, pastalya…
Angler survey study shows no impact from live sonar
CAMDEN, Ark. – Tackle-shop talk may have some anglers convinced that the recent advancements in live-imaging sonar will be the end of fishing as we know it. Research conducted by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission may set those anglers’ minds at ease. As technology and knowledge about wild animals and fish increase, so does…
Additional CWD not detected in Union County
STRONG – After a hunter-harvested white-tailed deer taken in Union County tested positive for chronic wasting disease in December, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has confirmed that no additional sampled deer had been detected with the disease. The infected deer was harvested in Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge during the permit-based annual modern gun deer…
Cut-Off Creek and Seven Devils WMAs closed February 20-26 for feral hog population reductions
MONTICELLO, Ark. – Cut-Off Creek WMA and Seven Devils WMA will be closed to daytime public access Feb. 20-26. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services, in cooperation with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will be conducting aerial operations aimed at reducing feral hog populations in the areas.…