Hot Springs Fishing Challenge!

Editor’s note: The event featured in this article occurred in 2017, but we hear that this year’s will be the best yet. Find it on our Events page.

Cora Easterday of Visit Hot Springs has sent word about the upcoming Hot Springs Fishing Challenge. The event, which was created to bring attention to the fishing available in Arkansas, has been taking place for the past six years and this year is starting earlier than in the past, with an opening date of April 1. The challenge stays open through June 30.

As to details, 61 tagged fish are being released by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission into Lake Catherine and Lake Hamilton that represent a variety of species to catch, including largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, white bass, crappie, and walleye. If you catch a tagged fish, it will have a phone number to call and a prize number on it. The prizes are cash and range from $500 to $5,000. Overall, the total prize pool is $85,000 and those interested in taking part need a valid fishing license to do so.

There is also one special fish that is being released, and the payout for catching this top fish, known as “Big Al,” is a payout of $15,000. As of yet, Big Al ( he is named after Al Capone) has not been caught during any of the past challenges.

You can keep up to speed on all the action via the Hot Springs Fishing Challenge facebook page here: facebook.com/HSFishingChallenge/. And for further details, you can contact Steve Arrison too at 501-321-2027.