Trout regulations proposed for White, tailwaters

Proposed changes to trout fishing regulations on the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters include a reduction in the number of cutthroat and brook trout.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission heard about the proposal at a briefing held Wednesday in Little Rock. The commission will hold a special meeting with a tentative date of Nov. 21, to review public comments and vote on the regulations.

“The regulations are only a part of our Bull Shoals and Norfork Tailwaters Fisheries Management Plans that are reviewed and adapted every few years,” said Christy Graham, the agency’s trout program coordinator.

“This is a process that has gone on since 2004 and includes creel surveys, angler interviews, mail surveys and focus groups to determine what the fishing public wants out of these trout fisheries.”

Graham said the latest review of the plans included two public workshops in Mountain Home where more than 100 people attended. Their responses were combined with public input from mail-in surveys and creel surveys and compared to biological data to determine what regulations and management strategies would yield the best result of what is biologically sustainable and matches the public’s interests.

“We listed possible regulations and strategies at a second public meeting in late August where attendees were able to give input on which strategies were most acceptable,” Graham said.

“We also reached out to all who attended the first meeting to attempt to get their input, whether they attended the second meeting or not.”

The following regulations are proposed

■ Restrict the harvest of trout on Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters to five with only one fish per day being longer than 14 inches.

■ Reduce the daily limit on cutthroat trout on Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters from two fish to one and increase the minimum length of cutthroats from 16 inches to 24 inches.

■ Reduce the daily limit on brook trout on Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters from two fish to one.

■ Enact a five-fish limit on rainbow trout with only one being longer than 14 inches.

■ Restrict the number of hooking points when using bait on Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters to a single hooking point.

■ Remove the Monkey Island Catch-and-Release Area on Bull Shoals Tailwater.

■ Extend the length of Rim Shoals Catch-and-Release Area approximately two miles downstream on Bull Shoals.

The trout regulations are available for public comment on a survey at https://survey.agfc.com/ index.php?r=survey/index &sid=189717&lang=en.

“The regulations are only a part of our Bull Shoals and Norfork Tailwaters Fisheries Management Plans that are reviewed and adapted every few years.” — Christy Graham, trout program coordinator