Updated: February 2024
The following tables include the Arkansas fishing records for both species caught by traditional rod and reel as well as those caught by other (alternative) methods.
If you think you’ve landed or otherwise legally captured a fish that might topple one of the following species records, be sure to check out the resources linked at the bottom of this article.
Rod and Reel Records
| Bass, Hybrid Striped 27 lbs, 5 oz | Greers Ferry Lake | Jerald C. Shaum Apr 24, 1997 |
| Bass, Largemouth 16 lbs, 8 oz | Mallard Lake | Aaron Mardis Mar 2, 1976 |
| Bass, Ozark 1 lb, 1 oz | Norfork Lake | Dan Biery May 12, 2014 |
| Bass, Rock 1 lb, 8 oz | Norfork Lake (Clear Creek) | Jerry Heard Aug 2, 1982 |
| Bass, Shadow 1 lb, 12 oz | Spring River | James E. Baker Jul 5, 1999 |
| Bass, Smallmouth 7 lbs, 5 oz | Bull Shoals Lake | Acie Dickerson Apr 1, 1969 |
| Bass, Spotted 7 lbs, 15 oz | Bull Shoals Lake | Mike Heilich Mar 26, 1983 |
| Bass, Striped 64 lbs, 8 oz | Beaver Lake Tailwater | Jeff Fletcher Apr 28, 2000 |
| Bass, White 5 lbs, 6 oz | Mississippi River | Bill Nelson Oct 27, 2005 |
| Bass, Yellow 2 lbs, 4 oz | Lake Ouachita | Craig Viscardis Jan 26, 2022 |
| Bluegill 3 lbs, 4 oz | Fulton County | Albert Sharp Aug 7, 1998 |
| Bowfin 17 lbs, 5 oz | Desha County | Doug Smith Feb 21, 1977 |
| Buffalo, Bigmouth 50 lbs, 0 oz | Craig D. Campbell Lake (Conway Reservoir) | Tony Worm Sep 10, 2007 |
| Buffalo, Black 92 lbs, 8 oz | Lake Maumelle | Kenny DeLuca Feb 26, 2001 |
| Buffalo, Smallmouth 68 lbs, 8 oz | Lake Hamilton | Jerry Dolezal May 15, 1984 |
| Bullhead, Black 4 lbs, 12 oz | Point Remove Creek | Janet Story Apr 11, 1986 |
| Bullhead, Brown 3 lbs, 3 oz | Upper White Oak Lake | Christopher “JJ” Holeman Apr 2, 2013 |
| Bullhead, Yellow 2 lbs, 7 oz | Private lake | Jackie R. Mullins Sep 21, 2014 |
| Catfish, Blue 116 lbs, 12 oz. | Mississippi River | Charles Ashley Jr. Aug 3, 2001 |
| Catfish, Channel 38 lbs, 0 oz | Lake Ouachita | Joe Holleman Jun 3, 1989 |
| Catfish, Flathead 80 lbs, 0 oz | Arkansas River | Wesley White Oct 28, 1989 |
| Crappie, Black 5 lbs, 0 oz | Lake Wilhelmina | Donivan Echols Jun 6, 2011 |
| Crappie, White 4 lbs, 7 oz | Mingo Creek | Shelby D. Cooper Apr 12, 1993 |
| Drum, Freshwater 45 lbs, 7 oz | Lake Wilson | Chuck Piker Jul 11, 2004 |
| Eel, American 5 lbs, 4.4 oz | Spring River | Cory Beeson Jul 15, 2015 |
| Flier 0 lbs, 14 oz | Saline River | Harvey Jones Jul 10, 1985 |
| Gar, Alligator 215 lbs, 0 oz | Arkansas River | Alvin Bonds Jul 31, 1964 |
| Gar, Longnose 35 lbs, 12 oz | Taylor Old River Lake | Tommy Cantrell Jun 28, 2005 |
| Gar, Shortnose 5 lbs, 13 oz | Lake Dardanelle | Thomas Kremers Sep 23, 2011 |
| Gar, Spotted 7 lbs, 15 oz | Little Red River | Tim Welch Mar 29, 2018 |
| Goldeye 2 lbs, 5 oz | White River | Dylon Youngblood Sep 1, 2023 |
| Herring, Skipjack 2 lbs, 10 oz | Lake Dardanelle | Jeremy Whitcomb Jan 3, 2004 |
| Mooneye 0 lbs, 12 oz | Current River | Shawn Clark Jun 3, 2023 |
| Muskie, Tiger 23 lbs, 12 oz | Spring River | Randy Wyatt Jun 27, 1995 |
| Paddlefish 118 lbs, 9 oz | Beaver Lake | James C. Johnson Aug 27, 2020 |
| Pickerel, Chain 7 lbs, 10 oz | Little Red River | Abe Vogel Jan 6, 1979 |
| Pike, Northern 16 lbs, 1 oz | DeGray Lake | Dick Cooley Dec 12, 1973 |
| Redhorse, Golden 1 lb, 2 oz | Spring River | D. Victor Waits May 27, 2011 |
| Redhorse, River 9 lbs, 3 oz | Osage Creek | Levi Wright Dec 20, 2022 |
| Redhorse, Silver 6 lbs, 9 oz | Eleven Point River | Russell “Rusty” Gibson Dec 12, 2020 |
| Sauger 6 lbs, 12 oz | Arkansas River | Claude Eubanks Dec 15, 1976 |
| Saugeye 9 lbs, 0 oz | Lake Frierson | Chris Owen Jan 30, 2012 |
| Shad, Alabama 2 lbs, 13 oz | Ouachita River | Monte Pascoe Apr 4, 1977 |
| Shad, Gizzard 2 lbs, 14 oz | White River | Charles Jordan May 9, 1992 |
| Sturgeon, Shovelnose 5 lbs, 0 oz | Spring River | D. Victor Waits Oct 10, 2008 |
| Sucker, Northern Hog 1 lb, 6 oz | Eleven Point River | Rusty Gibson Apr 10, 2021 |
| Sucker, Spotted 2 lbs, 3 oz | Twin Creek | John Carter Mar 20, 2023 |
| Sunfish, Green 1 lb, 11 oz | Dierks Pond | Keith McCullough Apr 12, 1976 |
| Sunfish, Longear 1 lb, 2 oz | Table Rock Lake | Carl Bohannan Apr 22, 1991 |
| Sunfish, Redear 2 lbs, 14 oz | Bois d’Arc Lake | Glenda Tatom May 4, 1985 |
| Trout, Brook 5 lbs, 0 oz | North Fork River | Billy J. Meeks Jun 3, 2002 |
| Trout, Brown 40 lbs, 4 oz | Little Red River | Howard “Rip” Collins May 9, 1992 |
| Trout, Cutthroat 10 lbs, 2 oz | White River | Mike Bowers Sep 29, 2018 |
| Trout, Lake 11 lbs, 5 oz | Greers Ferry Lake | Clark Stevenson Dec 15, 1997 |
| Trout, Rainbow 19 lbs, 1 oz | White River | Jim Miller Mar 14, 1981 |
| Walleye 22 lbs, 11 oz | Greers Ferry Lake | Al Nelson Mar 12, 1982 |
| Warmouth 1 lb, 8 oz | Black Dog Bayou | Michael Curtis May 28, 1998 |
Unrestricted Tackle Records
| Buffalo, Bigmouth 56 lbs, 4 oz | Calion Lake | Benny Alexander Apr 3, 2000 |
| Buffalo, Black 105 lbs, 0 oz | Harris Brake Lake | Kenneth Harvey Mar 14, 1994 |
| Buffalo, Smallmouth 74 lbs, 0 oz | Millwood Lake | Zane Barrett Apr 15, 2007 |
| Bullhead, Yellow 4 lbs, 9 oz | Blue Bayou | Joshua Rosenbaum May 22, 2005 |
| Carpsucker, Highfin 1 lb, 12 oz | Arkansas River | Jimmy Ruple Jun 19, 2017 |
| Carpsucker, Quillback 6 lbs, 9 oz | Beaver Lake | Caleb Broeker Apr 19, 2019 |
| Carpsucker, River 3 lbs, 2 oz | Arkansas River | Jimmy Ruple Jun 19, 2017 |
| Catfish, Flathead 85 lbs, 6 oz | Blackfish Lake | Preston Gracey Jun 10, 2019 |
| Eel, American 5 lbs, 5 oz | Bull Shoals Lake | Wilson Bowling Jun 24, 2018 |
| Gar, Longnose 54 lbs, 0 oz | Arkansas River | Torry Cook Aug 4, 2011 |
| Gar, Shortnose 11 lbs, 12 oz | Cypress Bayou | Bryson Harpole Nov 2, 2016 |
| Gar, Spotted 12 lbs, 5 oz | Craig D. Campbell Lake (Conway Reservoir) | Jerrime Tucker Mar 18, 2017 |
| Goldeye 2 lbs, 12 oz | Cache River | Tommy Medler Mar 22, 2020 |
| Mullet, Striped 5 lbs, 6 oz | Morgan Point Bendway Lake | Samuel Yarberry Mar 27, 2020 |
| Redhorse, River 9 lbs, 0 oz | Lake Ouachita | Asher Kight Mar 17, 2013 |
| Shad, Gizzard 3 lbs, 7 oz | DeGray Lake | Ross Wooldridge Jun 15, 2013 |
| Sucker, Spotted 4 lbs, 6 oz | Big Hill Creek | Ransum Mullens Mar 19, 2018 |
Setting an Arkansas Fishing Record
If you think you may have just set a new Arkansas game fishing record, be sure to follow the rules found on the Arkansas State Fishing Records page. That page also has links to the official application as well as the locations of state-certified scales you’ll need to claim your spot in the record books.