Arkansas trout angler survey in progress

May 31, 2023

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is asking trout anglers in The Natural State to keep an eye on their inbox in the next few weeks in case they are selected to participate in the AGFC Trout Program’s statewide angler survey. The survey is being conducted by HDNR Consulting to help the AGFC learn more about how they can help meet trout anglers’ expectations in Arkansas.

According to Christy Graham, AGFC trout management supervisor, 10,000 anglers will be randomly selected from current trout permit holders to participate in the survey. This should be a large enough sample size to reflect the answers of the majority of anglers. 

“We conduct angler surveys like these at regular intervals to gauge people’s opinions, motivations, favorite water bodies and typical expenditures,” Graham said. “These surveys, plus in-person creel surveys conducted throughout the year as people are coming off the water, help keep our trout management plans in line with what anglers want.”

Graham expects to have results of the survey summarized in a final report by September, and that information will be used to guide the process of revising the statewide trout management plan.

“It’s a similar process to the statewide Black Bass Management Plan that was revised last year,” Graham said. “Just like that process, we plan to have opportunities for anglers and other stakeholders to have input during the planning process and give them the opportunity to review it before it is finalized.”

This will be the first major update to the statewide trout management plan since its creation in 2004.

“There have been major changes that affect trout angling since the last statewide plan was completed,” Graham said. “The agency has changed, the tailwaters have changed and even the anglers’ desires may have changed over 20 years, and we want to capture that. We’ve made modifications to individual tailwater plans to address many issues, but this will be the first holistic plan update in two decades.”

CUTLINES:

Anglers in Boat
The AGFC will request feedback from 10,000 trout anglers in Arkansas during its upcoming survey.

Fishing in Chair
Trout fishing can be as in depth as hand-tied flies or as simple as fishing with a worm from the bank.

Angler with Trout
Anglers often search out the cool water of Arkansas’s trout fisheries during the heat of summer for fantastic wade-fishing opportunities.