Dec. 14, 2022
Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications
LITTLE ROCK — Last week, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission hatcheries burned the midnight oil to transport 15,500 keeper-sized rainbow trout to Family and Community Fishing Program locations throughout the state as part of its annual winter fish stockings. Not only will these trout offer a great experience and tasty meal to those who frequent these ponds, but many have been marked with special tags to give a few lucky anglers an early gift for the holiday season.
Hatchery staff from the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery tagged 335 tagged fish with special markers just behind their dorsal fin and distributed them evenly across the state for the promotion. Each angler who catches a tagged trout can mail the tag back to the AGFC for a special prize.
“Keep the fish or release it to be caught by another angler if you wish, but keep the tag so you can send it in,” Maurice Jackson, Family and Community Fishing Program Coordinator for the AGFC, said.
In addition to their first prize, all anglers who send in a tag by Feb. 28, 2023, will be entered into a drawing for one of four guided fishing experiences. Three will win guided fishing trips for themselves and three friends on the Little Red, courtesy of Sore Lip ’em All Guide Services. One lucky angler will win the grand prize, a half-day guided fishing trip on the White River for up to six anglers, including a fish fry dinner on the river, and a one-night stay at a lodge courtesy of White River Family Fishing of Arkansas and the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation.
“We really want to thank Sore Lip ’ em All Guide Service, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation and White River Family Fishing of Arkansas,” Jackson said. “They’ve really stepped up to make the tagged trout promotion an exciting event.”
The drawings will be held live on the AGFC’s Facebook page at 10 a.m., March 15.
To find a stocked fishing location near you, visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing or call the stocking hotline at 833-345-0349.