Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 002 - Game and Fish Commission › Rule 002.00.17-004 - Mercer Bayou Game Fish Regulation

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
N1.01
GAME FISH DAILY LIMITS
Alligator Gar
Black Basses (including not
1
more than four Smallmouth)
10
Bream (over 4 inches length)
50
Catfish (exc. Bullhead)
10
Crappie
30
Rock Bass
10
Muskellunge
6
Paddlefish
2
Pickerel
6
Sauger
6
Saugeye
6
Shovelnose Sturgeon
No Limit
Striped Bass or Hybrid (Combination)
6
Trout (including not more than:
2 brown trout, 2 cutthroat
trout, 2 brook trout)
5
Walleye
6
White Bass
25
EXCEPTIONS:
(1) The following bodies of water are
		  restricted to half the daily limit for all sportfish: Horseshoe Bend Pool of
		  the Strawberry River in Izard County. All crappie on Lower White Oak Lake must
		  be released immediately. There is no daily limit for harvest of game fish from
		  Mercer Bayou (Sulphur River WMA).
(2) BLACK BASS (LARGEMOUTH, SPOTTED,
		  SMALLMOUTH):
(A)
Smallmouth
		  bass:
Ozark Zone
(Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay,
			 Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Newton,
			 Randolph, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, and Washington counties) -
			 smallmouth bass minimum length limit of 12 inches with a daily limit of four,
			 except Bull Shoals, Beaver, Greers Ferry, Table Rock Lakes and Lake Norfork
			 (see Ex. 1(B) below). Greers Ferry Lake - smallmouth bass minimum length limit
			 of 12 inches, daily limit six.
Ozark Zone Blue Ribbon Streams
- Crooked Creek from
			 Arkansas Highway 101 bridge downstream to the confluence with the White River;
			 between the U.S. Highway 62-412 and U.S. Highway 62 Spur bridges at Pyatt -
			 smallmouth bass minimum length limit 18 inches, daily limit of one. Buffalo
			 River from confluence with Clabber Creek downstream to the confluence with the
			 White River - smallmouth bass minimum length limit 18 inches, daily limit of
			 one. All other water of Crooked Creek and Buffalo River - smallmouth bass
			 minimum length limit of 14 inches, daily limit of two.
Ozark Zone Catch-and-Release Area
- Crooked Creek,
			 along boundary of Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation property near Kelley's Slab
			 Access.
Ozark Zone Quality Streams -
Kings River from
			 Trigger Gap to U.S. Highway 62 bridge smallmouth bass minimum length limit of
			 18 inches, daily limit of one.
All other water of the Kings, Illinois, Spring, South Fork of the
			 Spring and Eleven Point rivers and War Eagle Creek - smallmouth bass minimum
			 length limit of 14 inches, daily limit of two.
Ouachita/Boston Zone
(all Arkansas counties not included in the Ozark Zone) - smallmouth bass
			 minimum length limit of 10 inches, daily limit of four.
Ouachita/Boston Zone Quality Streams
- (Mulberry,
			 Caddo above DeGray Lake, DeGray Lake, Cossatot River, Ouachita River upstream
			 from Lake Ouachita, Ouachita River downstream from Remmel Dam, Saline River,
			 including its four headwater forks in Saline, Perry and Garland counties, South
			 Fork/Ouachita, Little Missouri above Lake Greeson) - smallmouth bass minimum
			 length limit of 12 inches, daily limit of two.
Ouachita/Boston Zone Catch-and-Release Area
- all
			 smallmouth bass caught in Lake Ouachita including the Ouachita River upstream
			 to the River Bluff access and the South Fork of the Ouachita River upstream to
			 Hovel Branch must be immediately returned to the stream.
(B)
Largemouth bass
: Grandview
		  Lake 2 and Lake Sylvia Lake Millwood - daily limit six. Mallard Lake - daily
		  limit one .
Marion McCollum Lake, Lake Sylvia - Largemouth bass caught must
			 be immediately returned to the water.
(C)
Black Bass (all species
		  combined)
:
Beaver, Bull Shoals,
DeGray
, DeQueen,
			 Norfork, Table Rock lakes, Lake Jack Nolen, Ouachita, Ashbaugh - daily limit
			 six. Lake Lou Emma - daily limit five. Lake Atkins - daily limit four. War
			 Eagle Creek - daily limit two.
(3)
BREAM
:
No limit on bream 4 inches or shorter.
(4)
CATFISH
:
(A) No limit on catfish on Grand Lake -
		  Chicot County, Lake Chicot (including that portion of Connerly Bayou downstream
		  from Connerly Dam to the bayou's mouth and Ditch Bayou from the inlet on Lake
		  Chicot to Ditch Bayou Dam) and between the main levees of the Mississippi
		  River, from the confluence of the Mississippi/White Rivers upstream to the
		  Benzal Railroad Bridge, and from the confluence of the Mississippi/Arkansas
		  Rivers upstream to the Yancopin Railroad Bridge. No limit on blue and channel
		  catfish from Little River (below Millwood Dam) Red and Sulphur
Rivers.
No limit on channel catfish on Marion
			 McCollum Lake Greenlee - Monroe County, and on Lake Chicot (including that
			 portion of Connerly Bayou downstream from Connerly Dam to the bayou's mouth and
			 Ditch Bayou from the inlet on Lake Chicot to Ditch Bayou
			 Dam).
(B)
		  Catfish daily limit five on:
DeWitt City Park Lake (Arkansas County); Lake Atalanta (Benton
			 County); Hidden Lake (Carroll County); Big Timber Lake and Gurdon Lake (Clark
			 County); Hubble Lake (Clay County); Lake Bailey (Conway County); Lake
			 Cambadelle and Lake Lou Emma (Crawford County); Marion City Park Lake
			 (Crittenden County); Village Creek State Park Lakes (Cross and St. Francis
			 Counties); Lake Bennett (Faulkner County); Lake Clearfork (Garland County);
			 Crowley Ridge State Park Lake and Reynolds Park Lake (Greene County); Newark
			 City Lake (Independence County); Lake June (Lafayette County); Ward City Park
			 Lake (Lonoke County); Hindsville Lake (Madison County); Blytheville City Park
			 Lake (Mississippi County); Donald Branch Fishing Pond (Monroe County); Lower
			 White Oak Lake (Ouachita County); Lake Sylvia (Perry County); Shady Lake (Polk
			 County); Twin Lakes A and B, Camp Ferncliff (Pulaski County); Old Davidsonville
			 State Park Lake (Randolph County); Forrest City Park Lake (St. Francis County);
			 Truman Baker Lake (Scott County); Cave City's Lakes (Sharp County); Gunner Pool
			 and Hayden Bend Pond (Stone County); Devils Den State Park (Washington County);
			 Spring Lake, Kingfisher, Clubhouse Lakes in Petit Jean WMA (Yell County) and
			 posted USDA Forest Service ponds and lakes.
(C) In addition to daily limit, 10 channel
		  catfish under 16 inches may be taken on the Arkansas River.
(D) In addition to daily limit, 10 channel
		  catfish and 10 blue catfish any size may be taken in Lake Erling and Millwood
		  Lake.
(5)
CRAPPIE
:
(A) Crappie daily limit
		  - 15 in Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork reservoirs, Cane Creek Lake
		  (Lincoln County), Gurdon Lake (Clark County)
and Dr. Lester Sitzes
		  III Bois d'Arc Lake
.
(B) Crappie daily limit - 50 between the main
		  levees of the Mississippi River, from the confluence of the Mississippi/White
		  Rivers upstream to the Benzal Railroad Bridge, from the confluence of the
		  Mississippi/Arkansas Rivers upstream to the Yancopin Railroad Bridge and on
		  Horseshoe Lake (Crittenden County).
(C) Crappie daily limit - 20 in Lake Chicot
		  and Lake Monticello.
(6)
WALLEYE
:
(A) Beaver Lake and its
		  tributaries; Table Rock Lake and its tributaries to Beaver Dam; Bull Shoals
		  Lake, and Norfork Lake - minimum length limit of 18 inches, daily limit
		  four.
(B) Greers Ferry Lake and its
		  tributaries - protected slot limit of 20-28 inches, daily limit of six (only
		  one of which may be longer than 28 inches).
(C) In compliance with
Addendum
		  N1.02
and
Code Chapter
		  28.00
.
(7)
WHITE BASS, STRIPED
		  BASS, HYBRID STRIPED BASS
:
(A) White
		  bass:
Between the main levees of the Mississippi river, from the
			 confluence of the Mississippi and White rivers upstream to the Benzal Railroad
			 Bridge, and from the confluence of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers upstream
			 to the Yancopin Railroad Bridge - daily limit of 50, possession limit of 100.
			 Beaver Lake and its tributaries; lakes Ashbaugh, Sequoyah and Monticello - no
			 limit.
(B) Striped bass and
		  hybrid striped bass (combined): Beaver, Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes; lakes
		  Maumelle, and Ouachita - daily limit three. Arkansas River and connecting lakes
		  - daily limit 10. Lake Monticello - no limit.
(8)
ALLIGATOR GAR
:
Alligator gar longer than 36 inches may not be harvested from
			 noon, May 1-noon, July 1, statewide. Alligator Gar Permit is required to
			 harvest alligator gar (
Code 26.28
).
(9)
TROUT (BROOK, BROWN, CUTTHROAT,
		  RAINBOW)
:
(A)
Brown trout
:
White River (Bull Shoals Tailwater) and North Fork White River
			 (Norfork Tailwater) - minimum length 24 inches, daily limit one. Spavinaw Creek
			 (Benton County) west of Arkansas Highway 59 and Spring River - minimum length
			 16 inches, daily limit two. Little Red River (Greers Ferry Tailwater) from
			 Greers Ferry Dam to Arkansas Highway 305 Bridge - protected slot limit of 16-24
			 inches, daily limit of five (only one of which may be longer than 24
			 inches).
White River (Beaver Tailwater) from Beaver Dam to boundary signs
			 at Houseman Access - protected slot limit of 13-16 inches, daily limit of five
			 (only one of which may be longer than 16 inches). Little Missouri River, from
			 Narrows Dam to Arkansas Highway 27 Bridge - all brown trout must be released
			 immediately.
(B)
Cutthroat trout
:
White River (Bull Shoals Lake Tailwater), North Fork White River
			 (Norfork Tailwater), Spavinaw Creek (Benton County) west of Arkansas Highway
			 59, Spring River - minimum length 16 inches, daily limit of two.
(C)
Brook trout
:
White River (Bull Shoals Lake Tailwater), North Fork White River
			 (Norfork Tailwater), Spavinaw Creek (Benton County) west of Arkansas Highway
			 59, Spring River - minimum length 14 inches, daily limit two.
(D) Rainbow trout:
Lake Atalanta (Benton County) - daily limit five.
All fish measurements must follow procedures listed in
Code 01.00-C Length Limit
definition.