LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission haw accepted five changes to trout fishing regulations proposed for the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters.
The proposals are part of ongoing revisions to the formal trout management plans for the two tailwaters.
The following regulations were passed for trout fishing on the two tailwaters:
The daily limit on all trout species combined is five, but only one of those fish may be 14 inches or larger.
The daily limit on cutthroat has been reduced to one, and the minimum length for that species is now 24 inches.
The daily limit on brook trout has been reduced to one.
When using natural (corn, worms, sculpin) or scented bait (PowerBait) on the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters, anglers may only use a single hooking point.
The Monkey Island Catch-and-Release Area on Bull Shoals Tailwater has been removed.
An additional regulation to extend the Rim Shoals Catch-and-Release Area approximately 2 miles downstream was removed from the proposals before the vote, essentially declining the proposal.
According to creel surveys conducted on the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters, 71 percent of trout angling taking place is catch-and-release.
"In a sense, the entire tailwater already is 71 percent catch-and-release," Commissioner Ken Reeves said.
Reeves also spoke up about the "outstanding job" on the part of the AGFC Trout Program Coordinator Christy Graham and the public in coming together to create the proposals presented to the Commission.
"It really bothered me not to go with her recommendation," Reeves said of the Rim Shoals Catch-and-Release Area proposal. "But I think she's done a fantastic job, above and beyond the call of duty."