Anglers who catch trophy-size fish in four or more categories or species can be certified a master angler by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Game and Fish is relaunching its Master Angler program under the direction of Mikki Moore, an administrative specialist in the fisheries division. Pins have been redesigned for each category: black bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, trout and miscellaneous species.
For each trophy fish that reaches or exceeds a minimum size for a species, an angler receives a commemorative pin. The program is open to any aged angler, residents and nonresidents. The only requirement is that the fish be caught in Arkansas waters.
Moore stepped up to restart the program.
"Anglers were calling in, 'Where is my pin?'" she said. "The Commission wanted to relaunch it and I took it over. Now we're pushing this out."
The plans were announced at the Game and Fish monthly commissioner's meetings in April. Some changes were made to the program's previous rules such as removing hybrids or non-native fish from the categories.
"The weights didn't change," Moore said.
A full list of species and starting trophy size is available at agfc.com.
Sports on 05/09/2017