January– March 2014 Welcome to the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery. This past quarter has been quite a busy time for the crew. We prepared production ponds for white crappie, which will be stocked the first of April. We have also inventoried and moved over 8,000 pounds of brood channel catfish in preparation for the upcoming spawning season. We have also spread some fingerling catfish for grow-out to yearling and catchable size; separated our male and female largemouth bass; and harvested minnows for not only ourselves and other hatcheries but also for nursery ponds to be used as forage. In addition, we stocked the Cummins nursery ponds with bass caught at ABA tournaments from Pendleton Dam on the Arkansas River near Dumas. This March we were lucky enough to obtain adult catfish from the Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center totaling over 4,000 pounds and from the Baxter Land Company totaling over 13,000 pounds. These fish were distributed among Family and Community Fishing Program ponds in central and eastern Arkansas. The fish will provide great excitement for the kickoff channel catfish stocking program for the year. Our crew spent 4 full days and drove many miles in the retrieval and distribution of these fish that will surely create a buzz for both the children and adults. We have added a new employee to the Joe Hogan staff this quarter. Wil Hafner, a graduate of Arkansas Tech University with a degree in fisheries and wildlife, was selected to replace Tyler Pack as hatchery technician. Wil has 3 summers of internships with AGFC in various locations and most recently, worked at Joe Hogan which will be of great benefit to our hatchery. Wil worked with the catfish and grass carp spawning projects last summer and will be able to jump right in the middle of things as spawning season begins. We are confident he will be an exceptional asset in the months to come. Wil is all smiles, especially when he receives a gift basket on his first day. JJ Gladden attended a weeklong training on the development of HACCP plans. With this training he will also be able to train staff in the development of their own plans. This will help improve biosecurity not only at our hatcheries but also hopefully the entire division. JJ Gladden and Wil Hafner attended Arkansas Chapter American Fisheries Society conference in Rogers. The meeting provided interesting presentations about new ideas and information in the world of fish culture. As education chair of AFS, Bill Shinn succeeded in judging local science fairs on fisheries related projects. Wil Hafner, Bill Shinn, and Dust’n Lunsford also judged the Lonoke High School science fair which had over 150 exhibits with over 30 fish oriented exhibits. The hatchery crew has been able to accomplish a lot in the past three months. The next quarter will be even busier with fast approaching spawning season. Next quarter we will update you on LMB and Catfish spawning. ‘Till then, happy fish’n. Special Announcements this Quarter Birthdays: February 21st – Chad Wicker 22nd –Cody Speight March 26th – Rob Peterson .