Image by Danita Delimont
The Arkansas Video Game and Fish Commission all authorized brand-new trout harvest guidelines on January 16, 2026, marking a considerable action in the healing of the state’s world-renowned trout fisheries following a disastrous production crisis at 2 crucial hatcheries.
The brand-new guidelines, efficient February 1, 2026, change the emergency catch-and-release orders enacted in October 2025 and signal mindful optimism that the White River system can sustain minimal harvest while its fish populations recuperate.
The New Laws
Under the authorized structure, limitations differ by area:
Upper White River and North Fork River (Bull Shoals Dam to Norfork Gain Access To, and Norfork Dam to Norfork Gain Access To):.
- Daily limitation of 2 rainbow trout, both need to be under 14 inches
- All brown, ruthless, and brook trout need to be launched right away
Lower White River (Norfork Access to Highway 58 bridge at Guion):
- Daily limitation of 2 trout of any types
- Just one trout over 14 inches might be kept
Beaver and Greers Ferryboat Tailwaters:
- Daily limitation of 2 trout of any types
- All trout over 14 inches need to be launched right away
These guidelines will stay in impact till more notification.
A Crisis Years in the Making
The brand-new guidelines represent the most recent chapter in what authorities have actually called an unmatched difficulty to Arkansas’s trout program. The crisis started in early April 2025 when serious flooding struck the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery in Mammoth Spring, destructive devices and facilities while cleaning numerous trout out of the raceways before they might grow to catchable size. The state-owned center has actually been running at just half capability considering that the catastrophe.
Then came the 2nd blow. In October 2025, water quality issues at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery— the biggest coldwater hatchery in the whole U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service system– activated a disastrous die-off. Fish deaths intensified from approximately 1,000 each day to 10s of thousands daily, eventually declaring an approximated 80 to 90 percent of the center’s stock.
The Norfork hatchery usually preserves 3 million to 3.5 million trout of numerous sizes and types at any provided time. These fish supply one hundred percent of the trout equipped in the Bull Shoals, Beaver, and Norfork tailwaters, in addition to a considerable part of the rainbow trout in the Greers Ferryboat Tailwater.
Christy Graham, AGFC Trout Management Program planner, provided the plain truth to commissioners last fall: “They started losing 1,000 fish a day and after that it was 10s of thousands a day. We anticipate that beginning most likely in December, they will not have any fish to stock for the foreseeable future.”
Financial Stakes Run High
The ramifications extend far beyond fish counts. Arkansas’s trout fisheries produce an approximated $100 million to $300 million each year in financial effect, drawing anglers from around the globe to the Ozark area. The White River has actually produced 2 world-record brown trout– a 38-pound, 9-ounce fish in 1988 from the Norfork Tailwater and the existing record 40-pound, 4-ounce brown captured in 1992 from the Greers Ferryboat Tailwater.
The area supports lots of guide services, resorts, take on stores, and dining establishments. Gaston’s White River Resort, among the location’s most storied locations, even preserves a 3,200-foot airstrip particularly for fly-in anglers.
Commission Vice Chairman Rob Finley of Mountain Home, whose district includes much of the afflicted location, promoted for the limiting emergency situation steps enacted in October, noting they accompanied the tourist market’s slower season.
Healing Efforts Underway
Federal and state firms have actually installed a collective effort to reduce the losses. In late November and early December 2025, more than 120,000 rainbow trout determining roughly 9.5 inches were moved from Greers Ferryboat National Fish Hatchery to Norfork. These fish, initially predestined for net pens in Lake Ouachita, will now be raised at Norfork and equipped in the White River listed below Beaver and Bull Shoals Dams, in addition to the North Fork River tailwater.
Mammoth Springs National Fish Hatchery has actually likewise started raising extra rainbow trout to assist balance out production deficiencies.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged the troubles in a December upgrade: “The fall of 2025 has actually been a gloomy time. The hatchery experienced a duration of exceptionally high death due to bad water quality … These losses, coupled with the harmful flooding at Jim Hinkle State Fish Hatchery back in the spring, leave a substantial difficulty to climb up for equipping in 2026.”
Best-case forecasts recommend Norfork might not resume typical equipping operations till June 2026 at the earliest.
Looking Forward
The shift from overall catch-and-release to minimal harvest represents a calculated gamble by wildlife supervisors– an effort to keep angler interest and financial activity while securing delicate fish populations.
” I simply tension to the general public that this is a short-lived thing,” Graham stated when the emergency situation order was very first enacted. “We do not have any objective for this to be a long-lasting modification to the guidelines and the fishery. However it would be the protective thing to do today.”
In the meantime, anglers heading to Arkansas’s popular tailwaters will discover fish in the river– simply less of them, and with tighter limitations on what they can take home.
AGFC Deputy Director Brad Carner provided some motivating news at the January conference, revealing that the company has actually recognized more than 40 guidelines it prepares to get rid of and combine as part of a more comprehensive simplification effort. “We have actually spoken with all of the commissioners to take the actions essential to combine and get rid of guidelines to make things simpler to comprehend for the public,” he stated.
The commission prepares to review the trout guidelines as hatchery production recuperates. Videos of commission conferences are offered on the AGFC’s YouTube channel.
At a Glimpse: New Arkansas Trout Laws
Efficient Date: February 1, 2026
| Water Body | Daily Limitation | Size Limitations | Unique Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| White River (Bull Shoals Dam to Norfork Gain Access To) | 2 rainbow trout | Under 14 inches just | Launch all brown, ruthless, brook trout |
| North Fork River (Norfork Dam to Norfork Gain Access To) | 2 rainbow trout | Under 14 inches just | Launch all brown, ruthless, brook trout |
| White River (Norfork Access to Hwy 58) | 2 trout (any types) | Just 1 over 14 inches | — |
| Beaver Tailwater | 2 trout (any types) | Launch all over 14 inches | — |
| Greers Ferryboat Tailwater (Little Red River) | 2 trout (any types) | Launch all over 14 inches | — |
For total guidelines and updates, see agfc.com/fishing/trout or speak with the AGFC Trout Fishing Manual.
