LITTLE ROCK – On October 16, 2025, The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) temporarily cut back the daily trout possession limit in the state’s four most significant cold-water fisheries. Production losses were caused by poor water quality, due to low oxygen levels and higher water temperatures at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Norfork Hatchery. Loss of trout was in the millions. In early April, the AGFC’s Jim Hinkle State Fish Hatchery also suffered extensive damage from flooding on the Spring River, multiplying the trout farming losses. The Jim Hinkle State Fish Hatchery is recovering but only working at 50 percent capacity probably until April of 2026.
With the significant losses at two hatcheries, the AGFC Commission was presented with several options to relieve the problem. The Commission decided that the best approach was the most restrictive, a 120-day emergency order that was made effective immediately. The loss raised a red flag about whether there would be enough stocked trout available for the four cold-water fisheries in the coming months. At the next Commission meeting in January 2026, they will determine if trout production is adequate or they may issue a second 120-day emergency order.
The emergency proclamation calls for catch-and-release of all trout, 45 miles of tailwater below Bull Shoals Dam to the White River’s confluence with the North Fork River, as well as catch-and-release only on the entirety of the Norfork Dam tailwater. The trout waters below the White River-North Fork River confluence, from the Norfork Access boat ramp to the Highway 58 bridge at Guion, will have a two-trout-only limit with normal length and daily limits, only one trout over 14 inches.
The Norfork Hatchery trout stock enhances a portion of the total rainbow trout in Greers Ferry Dam’s tailwater, known as the Little Red River. It also provides stock for the Beaver Lake Dam tailwater, known as the Upper White River. Under the order, anglers in those two tailwaters may keep two trout up to 14 inches in length and must release all other caught trout.
The AGFC Trout Management Coordinator explained, “I just stress to the public that this is a temporary thing. We do not have any intention for this to be a long-term change to the regulations and the fishery. But it would be the protective thing to do right now.” The economic impact is also an important factor. Typically, the winter months are slower for resorts in the area. Hopefully, the trout populations will have some time to recover, but it may be longer than anticipated.
In southeast Arkansas, AGFC has a new lease agreement on a wildlife management area on a 730-acre island for hunting and fishing. The lease includes the whole island and 10 acres around Wargo Landing, known as a popular boat launch to access the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. The lease is for one year until next June, however, the Commission is pursuing grant funding to acquire the property and plans to make further improvements.
