Thread: Changes in the near future or will AGFC keep heads buried under the water ?

They have made it clear that they aren't going to do anything. A few years ago I spoke with a biologist about it and he said that ffs was too expensive for the average fisherman to afford and they didn't see many people buying it. I told him that just wasn't true and that it had already taken a toll on the big fish in several of our smaller lakes. Well now everyone with a kayak or a one man boat has one. I wonder what their excuse is now.

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I agree that lowering the limit to 15 or 20 would not be a bad idea. Length limits, I don’t have a problem with but not sure what would be the ideal size to restrict. I would think it might depend on the body of water and growth rate for that lake.
As far as guides being part of the problem, I’m not so sure of that as long as all regulations and limits are followed. I personally have noticed a big shift in fishermen over the years. Instead of all the costs of keeping a boat all year, license, insurance, fuel, ect. they would rather hire a guide to take them out a couple times a year as most don’t go fishing that often.


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Originally Posted by slabbandit

I agree that lowering the limit to 15 or 20 would not be a bad idea. Length limits, I don’t have a problem with but not sure what would be the ideal size to restrict. I would think it might depend on the body of water and growth rate for that lake.
As far as guides being part of the problem, I’m not so sure of that as long as all regulations and limits are followed. I personally have noticed a big shift in fishermen over the years. Instead of all the costs of keeping a boat all year, license, insurance, fuel, ect. they would rather hire a guide to take them out a couple times a year as most don’t go fishing that often.


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Respectfully disagree. Sure, guides are booked, but I’ve never seen so many decked out boats “spare no costs” ever in my life. Ramps stay pretty full in my neck of woods (HS area) too.


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Yea, I’ve seen ‘em too. Reminds me of that old saying…..”The Only Difference Between Men and Boys Is The Price of Their Toys”!


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Number of guides has exploded . Reason Mississippi charges so much for a guide license and requires a boat permit for guide boats. Since livescope number of guides has increased tenfold some places. Guys that could not catch their azz with both hands before, now guiding. Guides can't transfer their fish if it put clients over the limit . I recommend guides not to keep any like Texas does. I hear next year guides will be required to have insurance for their business. Guide fees set to rise too.

Originally Posted by slabbandit

I agree that lowering the limit to 15 or 20 would not be a bad idea. Length limits, I don’t have a problem with but not sure what would be the ideal size to restrict. I would think it might depend on the body of water and growth rate for that lake.



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The major effect that I have seen is on the big fish population. I'd love to see them do something like what Louisiana did on Lake Darbonne. Creel limit stays the same but you can only keep 7 fish 12" or bigger.

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Originally Posted by Cmj

The major effect that I have seen is on the big fish population. I'd love to see them do something like what Louisiana did on Lake Darbonne. Creel limit stays the same but you can only keep 7 fish 12" or bigger.

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Darbonne is my home lake and the new rules haven't help in my opinion. People are raping the lake....

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Number of guides has exploded . Reason Mississippi charges so much for a guide license and requires a boat permit for guide boats. Since livescope number of guides has increased tenfold some places. Guys that could not catch their azz with both hands before, now guiding. Guides can't transfer their fish if it put clients over the limit . I recommend guides not to keep any like Texas does. I hear next year guides will be required to have insurance for their business. Guide fees set to rise too.

Keep in mind that $2000 fee is a non resident guide license. That slows down the oos folks from trying to cash in on the fees they can collect on the big four

With Arkansas, or any state for that fact, there should be an insurance clause as part of the guide license. If I remember correctly, Arkansas will require $150,000 liability insurance. Most guides don’t have it. Also, most guides I know don’t classify their boat as commercial. I know I had to get new boat insurance when my Farm Bureau agent found out I was guiding. With a commercial boat, Farm Bureau would not cover any issues with my boat.
There’s lots of fees to set up a business as a guide and many just don’t set it up


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