Anglers interested in hooking into an epic-sized trophy fish like the one in the photo above can apply for a 2024 Alligator Gar Trophy tag from now until the end of 2023.
Many Arkansas anglers travel all the way to the Gulf of Mexico each year in search of trophy fish like tarpon and sailfish. Most don’t know they are passing up a similar opportunity right here in The Natural State. Alligator gar, the second largest species of freshwater fish in North America, occurs in many of Arkansas’s large rivers. These gar can grow longer than 7 feet from tail to snout and can weigh more than 200 pounds. In fact, the largest alligator gar ever caught in Arkansas weighed 241 pounds, more than 100 pounds heavier than the state’s next largest Arkansas catch, a 116-pound blue catfish that once held a world record.
The one in the photo above was an 187-pounder; it’s being handled by AGFC biologist Chelsea Gilliland at the Red River in southwestern Arkansas, and it was released back into the wild.
Although the species is much less prevalent than it historically occurred, big gar are still swimming in rivers throughout Arkansas and many other southern states.
Anyone may fish for alligator gar on a catch-and-release basis with an Alligator Gar Permit (AGP), but a trophy tag (AGT) is required to keep an Alligator Gar longer than 36 inches. It takes decades for these fish to reach these trophy proportions, and harvest must be managed if the gar population is to remain healthy in Arkansas waters.
Interested anglers can enter the free online drawing through Dec. 31 for one of 200 Alligator Gar Trophy tags for the 2024 season. Applications are available under the “Fishing License” section of the AGFC’s online license system at https://ar-web.s3licensing.com. The drawing for tags is Jan. 2. Applicants will be notified of the results by email.