LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Family and Community Fishing Program locations will see some hefty bonus catfish stockings this week, thanks to a generous donation by Baxter Land Company Fish Farm in Desha County.
Thousands of catfish ranging in size from 5 to 45 pounds will be hauled to program ponds. The total donated weight of catfish is expected to exceed 20,000 pounds.
Dick Baxter, who was named the Arkansas Catfish Farmer of the year by The Catfish institute in 2023, said most of the fish are in the 5- to 7-pound range, but there are some jumbo-sized blue catfish that will definitely add some excitement for anglers fishing community ponds throughout the state.
“The biggest one I’ve seen so far is about 45 pounds, and I wish I could be there when some kid hooks into that fish and has the time of their life,” Baxter said.
The fish were grown to be used in the farm’s spawning ponds and are past the preferred size for most food markets, but they still hold a lot of value in other commercial markets. Baxter hopes the fish pay much higher returns in the future of conservation.
“I really just think it’s important to get new people involved in conservation, and you have to get people excited about hunting and fishing to do that,” Baxter said. “If you take a kid to a pond and they don’t catch anything, they may not know how fun the outdoors can be, but if they go to a public pond and they hook into one of these fish, we may have just created a future biologist or supporter of the outdoors. I think we need more of those experiences everywhere in the state.”
Jason Miller, AGFC Assistant Chief of Fisheries, said this is the fifth time Baxter has donated fish to the anglers of the state.
“These fish could still bring Baxter some good profit, but he’s always had a great relationship with us and these donations give us something that we don’t provide through our hatcheries. He’s donated well over 100,000 pounds of fish over the years for people to catch.”
