Anglers of all ages are in for a fun — and potentially prize-filled — weekend of fishing on area lakes.
Free Fishing Weekend runs Friday through Sunday throughout Arkansas, and state fish hatcheries are offering special derbies for anglers up to 15 years old, including the Andrew H. Hulsey State Fish Hatchery, 350 Fish Hatchery Road, in Hot Springs.
The local derby will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Adult supervision is required; there is a limit of one rod and reel/cane pole per child, and a limit of three fish per child. There will be a casting contest, an archery range, a BB gun range, and fishing on a stocked pond. Prizes will be awarded, and drawings will be held throughout the derby.
Free Fishing Weekend starts at noon Friday and ends at midnight Sunday. During that time, residents and nonresidents can fish without fishing licenses or trout permits. Regulations for Arkansas waters apply; daily limits, slot limits, and length limits must be observed, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
As part of Free Fishing Weekend, Visit Hot Springs will double the $500 prize being offered on 17 fish in this year’s Hot Springs Fishing Challenge on lakes Hamilton and Catherine to $1,000.
And, as an added bonus, Bill Solleder, director of marketing for Visit Hot Springs, on Wednesday released the first clue about “Big Al,” the name given the single fish worth the largest prize, $15,000, in the challenge. The first clue, he said, is the species — a simple crappie.
“That’s the only clue I’ve got for you,” Solleder said, adding that Visit Hot Springs will release a second clue on July 1, then a third a week prior to the end of the challenge, if “Big Al” is not caught. The second clue will most likely be the lake where “Big Al” was released, and the third, the GPS coordinates of the spot where “Big Al” was released.
The challenge ends at 5 p.m. July 31.
The challenge is sponsored by Visit Hot Springs in partnership with the Game and Fish Commission.
“Free Fishing Weekend is an annual tradition sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and approved by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Free Fishing Weekend furnishes many citizens and visitors an opportunity to enjoy the amazing angling the Natural State has to offer,” Jeff Newman, the fish hatchery’s manager, said in a news release from Visit Hot Springs.
Other prize fish remaining in the challenge include four fish valued at $5,000 each and 41 tagged fish valued at $1,000. Visit Hot Springs stressed in a news release that only the value of the 17 fish tagged for a $500 prize will be doubled this weekend.