Arkansas Wildlife

Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Ep.94: Deep Dive into Arkansas New Hunting Regulations Part 3

Host Trey Reid welcomes Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Deputy Director Brad Carner back for a third straight episode on regulation updates, focusing on Arkansas waterfowl. They review that duck season dates remain largely the same, with only a minor change around the Christmas split, still opening the Saturday before Thanksgiving and closing January 31 under federal frameworks. Key changes include expanding non-motorized access areas on select WMAs/GTRs to reduce disturbance and improve hunting success, and implementing permit hunts in limited units such as Buckingham Flats on Bayou Meto, parts of Ed Gordon Point Remove, Prairie Bayou, and the Wiville unit at Black Swamp. A proposal to raise certain surface-drive horsepower limits was tabled after public opposition. They also discuss a robust public input survey (30,000+ participants and 70,000+ comments) and a new restriction barring nonresidents from hunting Dave Donaldson Black River WMA during the first nine days of duck season, based on hunter and anonymous cell data.

Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Ep.93: Deep Dive into Arkansas New Hunting Regulations Part 2

Host Trey Reid talks with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Deputy Director Brad Carner about biannual wildlife regulation updates aimed at simplifying rules and streamlining license products. They explain a new requirement on public lands that dogs pursuing deer, fox or coyote must wear GPS collars and electric correction collars, clarifying it does not apply to other dog types or private land, and noting the goal is reducing conflicts and sustaining dog hunting opportunities. They also discuss redesignating Camp Robinson and Perry Michael’s Blue Mountain SUAs as Lake Conway WMA and Perry Michael’s Lick Creek WMA, with minimal user impacts but greater habitat-management priority. Other changes include consolidating leased land permits into one $75 permit for 10 leased WMAs, creating a $10.50 conservation permit for non-hunting/fishing users on AGFC-owned WMAs or lakes, and eliminating several free required tags/permits while still seeking participation data through other methods.

Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Ep.92: Deep Dive into Arkansas New Hunting Regulations Part 1

On this episode of the Arkansas Wildlife Podcast, host Trey Reid is joined by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Deputy Director Brad Carner to discuss new hunting and wildlife management area (WMA) regulation changes in the upcoming biennial cycle (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2028), part of 218 total fishing and hunting code updates aimed at simplifying and standardizing rules. They explain cleanup of outdated or redundant regulations, highlight the new searchable online code book, and detail key deer-related changes including more uniform WMA season structures, a three-deer WMA bag limit (with unchanged statewide limit of six), an expanded and earlier three-day early archery buck hunt in late August, statewide classification of button bucks as antlerless, and allowing modern centerfire rifles in deer zones 4 and 5. They also cover elimination of most wildlife possession limits (except migratory birds) and announce new public hunting access at Oakwood WMA near Dumas and the Queen Wilhelmina State Park Conservation Area agreement.

Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Ep.91: Reeling in Change: Updates to Arkansas Game and Fish Regulations

Host Trey Reid talks with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Deputy Director Ben Batten about new regulations passed at the April commission meeting that take effect July 1, aligning fishing and wildlife regulation start dates and guidebook releases. They highlight the expansion of “blue ribbon” smallmouth bass streams from 2 to 10, with a one-over-15-inch smallmouth limit. They also discuss eliminating fish possession limits to simplify rules, clarifying how guides can transfer legally harvested fish to clients with documentation, and allowing bowfishing-style alligator harvest on private land. The episode covers lake renovation-related harvest changes at places like Wilhelmina, Poinsett, and Monticello, and provides an update on Lake Conway construction progress.

Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Ep.90: Reeling in Success: The First Year of Legacy Lunker

Host Trey Reid talks with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries staff Eric Naas and Will Lancett about the first year of Arkansas’s Legacy Lunker program after the donation period ended March 31. They report 19 qualifying bass donations, with fish coming from several waters including DeGray (5), Lake Austell (3), Lower White Oak (3), and Ouachita (3), and discuss unusual double-catch stories, minimal false alarms, and strong public support on social media. The donated fish are now spawning at the Joe Hogan hatchery using temperature/light control and spawning mats, with fry being raised at the hatchery then stocked as 2–3 inch fingerlings back into the lunkers home lakes. Preliminary genetics show many fish are mixed Florida and largemouth, and they note growth to 10 pounds can range from about 5–6 years in renovated lakes to 10–12+ years in older reservoirs.