Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bass Restrictions Set

DeGray Lake has a new harvest restriction on largemouth bass.

Effective January 1, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission imposed a 13-inch to 16-inch slot limit for largemouth bass. Any largemouth bass caught measuring between 13 and 16 inches in length must be released immediately unharmed back into the lake.

Spotted bass (Kentuckies) are not included in this regulation.

The daily limit for black bass (largemouth, spotted, smallmouth combined) is 10, of which no more than two can be smallmouths.

The commission is hoping to promote the growth of large bass with the slot limit regulation, according to a news release.

The Game and Fish Commission encourages anglers to readily harvest the largemouths they catch under 13 inches in length. This harvest of largemouths below the slot limit is essential to make the slot limit work properly.

DeGray Lake smallmouths are now protected by a 12-inch minimum length limit with a daily limit of two fish.

This smallmouth regulation for DeGray is the same as the upper Caddo River which flows into the lake. The length limits were made the same on the lake and river to help avoid confusion.

The commission plans to begin stocking DeGray with walleye fingerlings during 1997. This will add another exciting sport species to the lake. The stockings will continue in future years as the walleye fingerlings are available from our hatcheries.

Andrew H. Hulsey State Fish Hatchery at Hot Springs will be producing the fingerlings for 1997 stocking at DeGray. The number of fingerlings stocked in future years will be dependent on availability.