The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation will induct three people into the Arkansas Outdoors Hall of Fame at its annual banquet Aug. 24 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Inductees will be Jim Hinkle of Mountain View, Ellen Moorhead Fennell of Little Rock and Randy Young of Dover. The late J.B Hunt and his wife Johnelle Hunt of Springdale will receive the Game and Fish Foundation's Legacy Award.
Hinkle served on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 1996-2003. He also served 14 years on the board of the National Wild Turkey Federation and was president of the NWTF's national chapter. During that time, he worked for the expansion and improvement of habitat throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada through various NWTF initiatives.
A pilot for 40 years and a lifelong musician, Hinkle plays banjo and upright bass. He also does a memorable Charlie Chaplin imitation.
As vice president and executive director of Audubon Arkansas, Fennell was an advocate for native bird species, flyways and nesting habitat throughout Arkansas. During her tenure with the organization, she was instrumental in securing funding for several state initiatives including environmental programs in the state's schools, water quality education, energy policy and habitat restoration.
Young joined the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission as an entry-level water resource engineer in 1971. By 1975, he was deputy director/chief engineer and was appointed executive director in 1985, a post he held under five governors for 31 years. He collaborated with conservation groups to fight erosion, floodwater and sediment damage that threatened fragile ecosystems.
Tickets for the banquet cost $125, and 10-seat tables are available for $1,250 each. The night will include dinner, live and silent auctions, and induction ceremony.
Proceeds from the event support the year-around work of the Foundation, which helps introduce hundreds to the joy of the outdoors every year. AGFF's mission supports Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) initiatives, particularly those aimed at engaging young people in outdoors activities.
To purchase tickets to the event or for more information, contact the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation office at (501) 223-6468 or email agff@agff.org.
Big Bass Bonanza
The 30th Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, America's largest amateur bass tournament, will be held June 29 through July 1 on the Arkansas River.
The entire length of the Arkansas River and its tributaries within our state's boundaries will be eligible water for the tournament, and the river will be divided into five pools.
The angler that weighs in the heaviest bass during the three-day event will win $50,000, which will include a $10,000 bonus for catching the biggest bass in his pool.
In addition, anglers weighing the heaviest bass in the other four pools will each win $10,000, as well.
Also, hourly cash prizes will be awarded to the anglers catching the three heaviest bass per hour in each pool. The amount of the hourly prizes depends on the number of anglers that have entered the tournament, but the prizes can be substantial. Because they are more attainable, most anglers fish for the hourly prizes and consider the grand prizes to be a bonus.
New for this year will be a youth division. Subdivisions will be for 6th through 8th graders and 9th through 12 graders. Both subdivisions will be based on the grades participants will enter in August.
The grand-prize winner in the 2017 Bonanza weighed 6.76 pounds and was caught by Ricky Cantrell of Dumas, and the 2016 grand-prize winner weighed 7.25 pounds. Herbert Holman of Delaware, Ark., caught that fish. The grand-prize winners from 2010-14 weighed less than 7 pounds.
Steve Scherrey of Conway is the only two-time Big Bass Bonanza winner. He won in 2000 and 2014 with bass that weighed 6.76 pounds and 6.98 pounds, respectively.
Weigh-in sites for each pool will be at Clear Creek Park for the Fort Smith area, Lake Dardanelle State Park, the North Little Rock Marina and Boat Dock, Pine Bluff Regional Park and Pendleton Bridge near Dumas.
The entry fee is $80 per day, and $90 per day for entries received after June 9.
Checks will be distributed at an awards ceremony that will take place at the North Little Rock Marina (Verizon Ramp) in North Little Rock on July 1 from 4-5:30 p.m.
For more information or to obtain registration forms, contact Arkansas Hospitality Association at (501) 376-2323 or by email at aha@arhospitality.org. Information is also available online at arkansasbigbass.com.
Sports on 05/10/2018