Events - Event View

On May 9, 1992, Rip Collins of Heber Springs, while fishing the Little Red below Greer’s Ferry Dam, landed a brown trout weighing 40 lb. 4 oz. It was a new world record! He landed it using spinning gear and 4 lb. test line. There is quite a story to be told describing the event from Rip hooking the fishing to measuring and weighing it for the record. Duane Hada was there and will tell us this “untold” story at the October NAFF meeting.

Raised in the Buffalo River country of the Ozarks, Duane Hada has built a career blending art and angling. Known as both an accomplished guide and acclaimed artist, his work has appeared on trout stamps, calendars, regulation manuals, and even the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. His paintings have raised funds for groups like Trout Unlimited, FFF, and St. Jude’s Hooked on a Cure. He illustrated Ozark Trout Tales and designed the popular 2005 Arkansas Game & Fish Foundation license plate. Honors include the first fly-rod Master Angler Award from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and a silver medal as coach of the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team.

Clients often treasure his sketches and watercolors as lasting souvenirs of their time on the water. As one put it: “I may never own a Homer, but I’ve got a Hada.”