The state of Arkansas has a long and vibrant history. It began as Native American lands and later was settled by hardworking European and American settlers and farmers. Because of this, Arkansas has always had a long history as one of the top agricultural and manufacturing hubs of the country and it remains so even today.

According to a 2006 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas’ top three industries are all in the area of manufacturing. Food manufacturing ranks first, primary metal manufacturing is second, and transportation equipment manufacturing ranks third. Below is a description of each of these industries.

Food manufacturing
Food manufacturing is the process by which food is processed and made available en mass. This might include a few different steps and processes including milling, preservation, labeling, packaging, and transportation of the food. Large food manufacturing plants provide employment for many people in Arkansas.

Primary Metal Manufacturing
Primary metal manufacturing is an industry like a steel mill or iron mill that smelts or refines metal from ore or scrap using metallurgical techniques. They may also manufacturer alloys by introducing other chemicals to pure metals. The output of smelting and refining is used to make forms of metal like sheet, strip, bar, rod, or wire.

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
This industry produces equipment for transporting people and goods. This might include bending, welding, and forming metal or plastic into mechanical parts and components. These may used in many transportation sectors including road, rail, air, and water transportation. This industry is extremely economically significant in all North America countries.

More than 600,000 acres of lakes and 9,700 miles of rivers and streams fuel Arkansas’ excellent angling reputation. Anglers will find fantastic bass, crappie, bream and cat fishing opportunities, as well as some of the nation’s best trout streams. Yes, believe it or not, Arkansas has some of the best trout fishing in the country! Three of the current world record fish were caught in Arkansas.

Methods and regulations vary by area, so check your local rules to see what type of fishing is legal and what types are considered illegal. One of the best methods fopr presenting live worms or salmon eggs is a set of gang hooks. In the case of salmon eggs, a set of #10 gang hooks enables the angler to present twice the bait that they normally would. You see, a set of gang hooks is simply 2 small hooks tied in tandem. And gang hooks are the most natural way to present a live worm, there’s no question about that. Just make sure you check your local regulations before using them. In some areas and bodies of water, live bait and/or gang hooks is considered illegal.

A resident fishing license is only about $12, which is a great deal, and if you plan on fishing for trout, a trout stamp is needed, which will run you another $5. These are great prices, as far as fishing licenses go. Non resident anglers can expect to spend around $40 for a license and if you’re just visiting there are 3, 7, and 14 day licenses available for a discount. All in all, Arkansas is a very affordable state to fish in, their fishing license prices are some of the most reasonable in the entire country.

There is some very good striped bass fishing in many of Arkansas’s lakes, with 20 pounders being a fairly common occurrence. If you’ve never had the pleasure of catching a big striper, it’s something that you may want to look in to. Stripers are caught that are in excess of 40 pounds. When’s the last time you caught a single fish in excess of 40 pounds? Most people don’t get to catch fish this large very often. In the great state of Arkansas, an angler can do this very thing.