LITTLE ROCK — Dierks Lake in Howard and Sevier counties was recently announced by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as the state’s top tournament fishing destination in 2025, according to the 2025 Arkansas Tournament Information Program Report.
The report is the culmination of hundreds of tournament records submitted to the Arkansas Black Bass Program through agfc.com. Biologists compile data on the numbers of anglers, number of fish caught, weights, and numbers of fish weighing 5 pounds or greater to develop key indicators of fishing quality. These indicators are then compiled into rankings for each body of water to help keep tabs on trends in tournament angling and offer anglers a peek into where they may want to schedule their next event.
While mainstays like Lake Dardanelle, Millwood Lake and Lake Ouachita continued to appear in the top rankings, Dierks snuck into the report for the first time and did so in impressive fashion. During the five tournaments that visited the lake in 2025, the average winning weight was 20.77 pounds. Anglers also brought 22 fish to the scales in excess of 5 pounds, despite the low number of overall tournaments and tournament anglers…