Successful Fishing Challenge enters final month; Big Al still on the lam

This year's $86,000 Hot Springs Fishing Challenge wraps up July 31, but even with just one month remaining it is already the most-successful challenge to date as far as prize money, paying out $18,500 thus far.

"In 2014, we paid out $16,500 and 16 fish were caught, but this year we're at 13 fish going into July," said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. "So it's not the most fish caught, but we've still got a month to go and things are going pretty well."

The 13th fish in the challenge was caught early Monday by Jimmy Webb Sr., of Hot Springs, on Lake Hamilton just behind his home on Marion Anderson Road. Webb was fishing for bream using crickets and reeled in a $500 catfish.

Arrison said 2015 has been one of the more interesting years for the challenge, taking into account flooding in May and continued wet weather through June.

Two $5,000 fish were caught early on in the challenge, one on Lake Catherine and the other on Lake Hamilton.

"We had one fish caught just below the dam at DeGray Lake," he said. "That one traveled some 33 miles and that, so far, is the best story we've had in the history of the challenge. I think that's what makes it so great is the stories that come with each catch."

This year, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has released one $1,000 fish and publicized the exact location it was released every Tuesday since the challenge started. This will continue through July 21, though no anglers have had any luck catching one of these bonus fish.

"No one has caught any of these fish, but there's still time," he said. "But usually, this is when the challenge starts to slow down. After the holiday, traffic on Lake Hamilton for sure stays pretty heavy the rest of the month. And the hotter temperatures, I think, probably have something to do with the drop in catches. But you just never know."

Big Al, the grand prize fish, continues to elude anglers on both lakes; however, Arrison said he's hopeful this will be the year they pay out the $10,000 the fish is worth.

"As people are getting more familiar with the challenge each year, I think we've got more people fishing our lakes, which was the goal in the first place," Arrison said. "Our hope is for somebody to reel in Big Al and us give out that $10,000. There's still time to see that happen."