Apply to keep trophy gator gar

The application period to catch and keep a trophy-size Arkansas alligator gar will be Nov. 1-Dec. 31.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will award 200 tags for the 2022 calendar year. This tag is required to harvest an alligator gar larger than 36 inches.

The alligator gar is the second largest species of freshwater fish in North America. Only the white sturgeon grows larger. The alligator gar can exceed 7 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds. The largest fish ever caught in Arkansas was an alligator gar in the Red River that weighed 241 pounds.

Eric Brinkman, assistant chief of fisheries for the Game and Fish Commission, said the tags were increased this year from 100 to 200 to help more anglers pursue the species and gather data on alligator gar locations.

“Alligator gar can take years to reach this 36-inch mark, and females aren’t able to reproduce until they are 14 years old,” Brinkman said. “With many of their traditional spawning areas lost to channelization and damming of rivers, alligator gar may only have the right conditions to spawn once every few years, so protecting these mature fish is very important to their survival as a species.”

Biologists work every year to identify remaining spawning areas and evaluate remaining populations of the fish.

Anyone may fish for alligator gar on a catch-and-release basis, but anglers interested in keeping a trophy gar in 2022 must enter a free online drawing Nov. 1-Dec. 31. Applications are available under the “Fishing License” section of the AGFC’s online license system at https://ar-web.s3licensing.com.

Applicants will be notified of the results by email. They will then need to return to the licensing site to claim their tag. Each tag allows the holder to harvest one alligator gar longer than 36 inches from snout to tail during the open fishing season. Fishing season for alligator gar is closed May 1-July 15.