Arkadelphia Angler Wins $75,000 Bass Boat in Legacy Lunker Drawing

Justin Rogers of Arkadelphia won a $75,000, 21-foot Xpress bass boat on Oct. 29 in the first grand prize drawing of the Arkansas Legacy Lunker program, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. He was one of 18 anglers who caught bass over 10 pounds during the 2026 season and donated them to the agency’s Black Bass Program.

The next donation season opens Jan. 1, 2027, and runs until March 31, with another fully loaded Xpress boat as first prize.

How the Legacy Lunker program works

The AGFC started the program to improve the odds of producing trophy bass from Arkansas’ own fish, pairing big donated bass with research and new technology. The first donation season ran from Jan. 1 to March 31. Anglers who caught qualifying fish over 10 pounds turned them in alive to the agency.

Donated bass go to the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke. There they are treated, held and eventually spawned with male Florida bass supplied by Red Hills Fishery, a private hatchery in Georgia that works on genetics tied to trophy growth.

Bass were numbered as they came in. Rogers’ fish was Legacy Lunker No. 18, the next-to-last of the season. Brady Smith turned in the last one, the 19th, a 10.56-pounder from Lake Ouachita caught March 28. The count of fish is higher than the count of anglers because Bryer Pennington caught two lunkers at Lower White Oak Lake six days apart in February, which gave him two chances in the drawing. AGFC employee Ethan Stokes donated a 10.55-pound bass from DeGray Lake but could not win the boat.

How the boat was drawn

The drawing took place at the year-end awards banquet at the new North Little Rock Event Center, held with the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. Each eligible angler’s numbered ping-pong ball went into a cage, and three were pulled as finalists: Rogers, Smith and Mickey Glover, who caught Legacy Lunker No. 13, a 10.07-pound bass, at Lake Atkins on March 6. Each finalist sat behind a sealed cup, and the cup Rogers opened held the boat’s key.

“It’s still unreal,” Rogers said a few days later. He had been planning to put a new motor on his old boat. The Xpress has the motor he wanted, and he plans to sell his current boat.

The catch at Millwood

Rogers caught his fish last March at Millwood during a spring break trip with his teenage son, part of a yearly run to DeGray, White Oak and Millwood. He said Millwood is usually too murky for bed fishing, but this bass sat so shallow that her fins broke the surface. He threw Senkos, Little Craws and jigs at her before switching to a full-size Texas Brush Hog. She let go of the first bite and was hooked two casts later. The fight took about 30 minutes, and his son netted the fish.

Rogers is a self-taught angler from Clark County who can see the DeGray Lake dam from his land. He has caught big bass before: a 13-pounder at Millwood in 2018 and a 12.5-pounder at DeGray last year.

What it means for Arkansas anglers

Every angler who donated a fish received a reproduction mount from Harper’s Pure Country Taxidermy in Mountain Home and a prize package. It included AFTCO apparel, lures from PRADCO and KGB Baits, a Chevrolet gift pack and $100 in Bass Pro Shops gift cards. Rogers said the KGB glide bait in the package usually sells for about $150 and is 9 inches long, in a color made only for the program.

Pro anglers Stephen Browning and Fred “Boom Boom” Roumbanis spoke in support of the program at the banquet, alongside AGFC Black Bass Program Coordinator Jeremy Risley. Rogers said he hopes it helps the state “keep up with Texas” on big bass.

What happens next

The 2027 season runs Jan. 1 to March 31, and the AGFC posts the rules on its Legacy Lunker program page. Rogers said he will be fishing for another qualifying bass.

Source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission