Challenge boasts record giveaway

The first-time capture of “Big Al” ensured that the sixth annual Hot Springs Fishing Challenge had the largest payout in the history of the competition.

The annual fishing challenge, which began in April, ended June 30. The challenge’s sponsor, Visit Hot Springs, paid out $21,500 in prize money to successful anglers on the two lakes this year, a news release said Wednesday.

“Big Al,” a largemouth bass worth a $15,000 prize, was tagged with a bounty 50 percent higher than 2016’s reward of $10,000. The prize catch was reeled in by Pete Clark, of Magnet Cove, who was

competing in Brooks Marine’s weekly Tuesday night fishing tournament.

Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, called the challenge a “huge publicity success for Hot Springs fishing” due to the capture of “Big Al.”

“Every year, we hoped that ‘Big Al’ would be caught, and finally he was,” he said. “That was the highlight of the fishing challenge.”

The challenge consisted of 61 prize fish — “Big Al,” one of several largemouth bass, along with bluegill, white bass, walleye, channel catfish and crappie — that were tagged with a prize number and phone number next to their dorsal fins and released into the lakes on April 1. The amount of prize fish was lowered from 71 last year to 61 in 2017, with “Big Al” prized at $15,000, four fish prized at $5,000, 46 at $1,000 and 10 at $500.

The prize money given out to those who caught the fish on the lakes beat out 2014, previously the challenge’s most lucrative year, by $5,000. Had “Big Al” not been caught, the amount of prize money given out would have been the lowest of the challenge’s six years at

$6,500. Had the prize pot for “Big Al” not been sweetened, this year’s total would have tied

2014 at $16,500. Though 2017 was the most lucrative year for the competitors, it was the lowest in amount of fish caught, with three reeled in on Catherine and five on Hamilton. This year’s total was half that of

2014, which had the highest number of fish caught at 16.

Arrison said this year’s challenge deviated from the May, June and July time frame of years past, and high lake waters may have affected the amount of fish caught.

“All of us were disappointed that more fish weren’t caught this year,” he said.

Visit Hot Springs announced in Wednesday’s release that it plans to move the challenge back to its original dates next year. While the logic behind moving the challenge back a month was that temperatures would not be as high as they would be through July, Arrison said he received calls from out-of-town visitors saying the challenge would line up better with their vacations if moved back to its original time frame.

“They really look forward to fishing on Hamilton and Catherine during their vacation to try and catch some prize fish,” he said.

Fish tagged in earlier challenges were also caught this year, something that Arrison said has happened before, and is not unusual. The colors of the tags vary each year.

Visit Hot Springs only pays prizes associated with the current year’s challenge. A previous year’s challenge is “over when it’s over,” Arrison noted.

“Every year, we get several calls,” he said. “The contest rules and regulations are pretty clear when it starts and when it finishes.”

Arrison said he will also consider suggestions about restructuring the prize money for 2018.

Whatever changes may be made next year, Arrison said he has been pleased with the challenge’s popularity.

“It’s been a very good promotion,” he said. “We hope that somebody catches ‘Big Al II’ next year.”