Trucks pulling boat trailers rumble down a country road on a warm, early October afternoon.
It’s not an unusual sight in Arkansas, but these are no recreational fishermen and fisherwomen.
These are Arkansas Tech University students from Dr. Kyler Hecke’s Fisheries Techniques class, on their way to a lake in the Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in Yell County. On this day, that lake will provide the ATU students with a real-world laboratory.
Hecke, assistant professor of fisheries science at Arkansas Tech, explained the class is for senior and juniors. He said it provides the students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the fish they have studied in the classroom.
“They’re getting ready to graduate, and they’ve heard about sampling for fish and collecting data for fisheries populations,” said Hecke. “In this class, they get to go out, catch the fish themselves, collect some biological data and apply what they’ve learned in the field.”
The class meets for one hour of lecture each Monday. On Wednesdays, the students spend four hours on the water catching fish and on the shore performing tasks such as identifying, measuring and weighing them. They also learn boating skills that are essential for a career in fisheries.
It is not unusual for Hecke and his students to interact with between 15 and 20 species of fish during their field experiences.
“The common species would be spotted gar, common carp, bowfin, largemouth bass and gizzard shad,” said Hecke. “Every now and then we’ll get species like a bighead carp, a shortnose gar or something cool like a skipjack herring. Every week we try to do something a little different, and each lab builds upon the last one. It’s about allowing them to practice being a professional in the field. Employers really want our students to have applied experiences. Through the labs we offer in this class, they get that. In my opinion, this is the most fun class I’ve ever taught.”
Learn more about the ATU fisheries and wildlife science program at www.atu.edu/stem/bioearthsciences/fishwildlife/index.php.
