LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Searcy resident Caroline Ferguson celebrated a big win after claiming the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Grand Slam Award for the second year in a row.
The Arkansas Grand Slam is a voluntary reward-based program that aims to get more anglers on the water to discover new species or fish they may not normally pursue. To qualify, anglers must catch at least one catfish, bass, crappie, bream, and trout between Jan. 1 through Dec. 1.
“Last year I caught my first grand slam fish on Jan. 2 when the AGFC stocked Searcy City Lake in winter, then it just sort of came together where I had caught all but one of the species while fishing there in spring,” Ferguson said. “The last fish to catch was a bluegill of all things, and it’s almost embarrassing that it took me until May to finally catch that one because they’re usually really easy to catch.”
This year, it only took Ferguson a mere four days to make her catches!
“When I caught a trout to start the year, I decided to see just how fast I could get it done,” Ferguson said. “I caught a bass the next day, then a catfish and bluegill the day after. I went one day without that last fish, so I went to Higginson Lake because I know it’s got crappie, and I caught that one the next day.”
All qualifying applicants will receive a decal for their car, boat, or tackle box to let all their angling buddies know they're a fishing fanatic— which Ferguson can confirm, she is!
“I fished the Catch 22 nationwide online fishing tournament last year and the team I was in placed in the top three, which qualified for the national championship this year,” she said. “I’m really excited about it. I normally fish from the bank, and I’ve been a little cautious about fishing in a lake here in Arkansas, but here I am, about to fish in a kayak on a 69,000-acre lake!”
Ferguson said she began fishing about six years ago when her children were about to head off on their own.
“I wanted something fun to do with all the extra time I was going to have,” Ferguson said. “I got some of my husband’s fishing stuff out of the garage and started going to Searcy City Lake. For the first year and a half, I caught nothing but panfish, but then I caught my first largemouth and it was ‘game on!’ I’ve since caught my personal best largemouth at 6.8 pounds down at [Rick Evans Grandview Nature Center].”
Now, she takes to the water any chance she gets, even volunteering for the AGFC’s Fishing in The Natural State and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman programs.
“I try to help people out whenever I’m fishing and see someone holding their rod wrong or looking lost, and I volunteer with Lea White (AGFC BOW coordinator) and Bo Davidson (AGFC FINS coordinator) whenever I can,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson doesn’t just fish. Thanks to the extensive lineup of courses and offerings at the AGFC, she’s taken up hunting as well.
“I’ve been able to do so much in the outdoors thanks to the [Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]," she explained "I got to take my first deer, my first alligator, went on my first duck hunt, and my first quail hunt, and that is all since October!”
To learn more about the Arkansas Grand Slam, please click here.