$101K Fishing Challenge starts May 1

The eighth edition of the $101,000 Hot Springs Fishing Challenge will get underway on lakes Hamilton and Catherine on May 1 and run through July 31 this year, Visit Hot Springs announced Wednesday.

Seventy-one fish will be tagged with a prize number by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and released into the two lakes. The prizes will range in value from $500 to $15,000 for "Big Al," the top catch in the annual contest.

Over the seven years of the challenge, the single fish designated as "Big Al" has only been caught one time, in 2017. That year, "Big Al" was a largemouth bass caught on Lake Hamilton.

In 2018, "Big Al," was a crappie released in Lake Hamilton.

Participation in the yearly challenge is free for anyone with a valid Arkansas fishing license, Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said in the release.

In addition to "Big Al," four fish, two in each lake, will be worth $5,000 apiece; 46 will be worth $1,000 each; and 20 will be worth $500 each.

The species of prize fish will be a mix of largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, white bass and bream.

The release said the challenge will again feature a free-fishing weekend, June 7-9.

Jeff Newman, manager of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Andrew H. Hulsey State Fish Hatchery, said any $500 fish caught during Free Fishing Weekend will have its prize amount doubled to $1,000.

"Free Fishing Weekend is an annual tradition sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and approved by Gov. Asa Hutchinson," Newman said in the news release.

"Free Fishing Weekend furnishes many citizens and visitors an opportunity to enjoy the amazing angling the Natural State has to offer," he said.

"Residents and nonresidents may fish this weekend from Friday at noon until midnight Sunday without fishing licenses or trout permits. Regulations for Arkansas waters apply; daily limits, slot limits, and length limits must be observed," he said.

Visit Hot Springs will give clues to the whereabouts of "Big Al" -- which could be any of the species in the challenge -- if the fish is not caught by June 1.

Clues will be given June 1, July 1 and July 26, Arrison said.

The 2018 Hot Springs Fishing Challenge saw a total of 10 fish caught and $12,000 in prize money awarded.

Visit Hot Springs said last year that the challenge dates and number of fish would remain the same for 2019. In 2017, organizers changed the dates to omit the hot days of July.

Local on 04/04/2019

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