AGFC to host open-house forums for bass angler input

July 27, 2022

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK – Anglers interested in improving Arkansas’s bass fishing are invited to provide input on the state’s latest Reservoir Black Bass Management Plan at a series of open-house events the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold in August and September. Eleven public forums will be held in locations throughout Arkansas to ensure anglers and other stakeholders from every corner of the state have an opportunity to review the current status of fisheries management, ask questions and provide input on the future of bass management in The Natural State.

The less formal setting of these meetings will allow AGFC biologists to communicate the values, goals and objectives of the plan, and they will be available for one-on-one interactions with everyone in attendance.

According to Vic DiCenzo, AGFC Black Bass Program coordinator, AGFC fisheries biologists have been working with professional bass anglers, tournament directors, outfitters and other key stakeholders in the angling community to build upon previous Arkansas bass management plans to incorporate the values of all black bass stakeholders. An additional public survey was developed last November to assess the values of a broader, more general bass-angling community. Biologists then combined and used those values to create goals and objectives to address the complex management challenges and problems related to producing desirable fishing experiences for black bass in Arkansas’s lakes and reservoirs.

“We greatly appreciate the input of all the anglers, business owners and other stakeholders who have worked with us on this plan, and we look forward to hearing from even more of the angling community at these upcoming meetings to refine this plan even further,” DiCenzo said. “This plan will provide broad guidance for AGFC commissioners and staff for managing black bass in Arkansas’s lakes and reservoirs. It will not replace the existing process for setting regulations, but will be vital in informing current and future decision-makers of the values and desires of our black bass angling community.”

For more information, email DiCenzo at blackbassprogram@agfc.ar.gov or call 501-350-1806.

Public meetings will be held at the following dates and locations:

Aug. 8: 6-7:30 p.m., Lonoke Chamber of Commerce, 102 Front St. NW, Lonoke, AR 72086

Aug. 9: 6-7:30 p.m., AGFC Headquarters, 2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205

Aug. 15: 6-7:30 p.m., Lake Dardanelle State Park – Lakeview Room, 100 State Park Drive, Russellville, AR 72802

Aug. 16: 6-7:30 p.m., Baxter County Library, 300 Library Hill, Knox Room-B, Mountain Home, AR 72653

Aug. 17: 5:30-7 p.m., JB and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center, 3400 N. 40th St., Springdale, AR 72762

Aug. 18: 6-7:30 p.m., Forrest L. Wood Crowleys Ridge Nature Center, 600 E. Lawson Road, Jonesboro, AR 72404

Aug. 30: 6-7:30 p.m., Carter Day Training Center, 200 Lake Nichols Drive, Nashville AR 71852

Aug. 31: 6-7:30 p.m., South Arkansas Community College, El Dorado Conference Center Lobby, 311 S. West Ave., El Dorado, AR 71730

Sept. 1: 6-7:30 p.m., AGFC Monticello Regional Office, 771 Jordan Drive, Monticello, AR 71655

Sept. 6: 6-7:30 p.m., Hot Springs Convention Center & Bank OZK Arena, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs National Park, AR 71901

Sept. 7: 6-7:30 p.m., Herschel Hall – Foyer, 114 S. Broadview, Greenbrier, AR 72058