Texas Fishing News & Reports
TPWD Set to Graduate 41 Game Wardens
AUSTIN – After seven months of training in everything from water rescue and state-federal law to alligator handling, the 41 cadets of the 55th Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden class will close one chapter of their lives and start a new one with their graduation Tuesday as state game wardens.
The ceremonies, open to the public, will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the E1 auditorium at the Capitol in Austin.
The new game wardens will then report for duty at stations spanning the state from East Texas to El Paso. Game wardens’ duties include responding to natural disasters and conducting public outreach on a variety of topics in addition to enforcing hunting and fishing laws and water safety regulations...Read More
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Lifetime License Winner
AUSTIN – Daniel Hidalgo won $1,000 in Las Vegas many years ago and hadn’t won anything since.
So when he went to his local Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Midland to buy a fishing license and saw a display advertising Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Lifetime License Drawing, the last thing he thought was that his single entry would win.
But he didn’t leave Lady Luck behind in Vegas as he had thought. Hidalgo’s was the winning entry in the June 30 drawing.
“I was thrilled when they called me and told me I won,” he said. “Luck was with me.”
Hidalgo won a lifetime super combo hunting and fishing license and will be able to hunt and fish in Texas for the rest of his life without having to purchase another Texas state hunting and fishing license."....Read More
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Biologists Sampling Texas Coast to Prepare for Possible Oil Spill Impacts
AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists are working their way down the state’s long coast line collecting environmental samples so that a baseline record is available to gauge any impact in Texas from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The effort is part of a plan developed by multiple natural resource trustee agencies in coordination with BP.
TPWD is leading specialized five-person teams of scientists who are systematically collecting data at 21 locations up and down the coast. These samples will be used to characterize beach conditions, water chemistry, benthic invertebrates (living creatures in shallow water, mud and sand), and other "indicator" factors....Read More
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Big Bass Retire to Little Lake
ATHENS—What happens to a big bass after it spends 10 or so years at a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) hatchery making little bass to be stocked into Texas lakes?
Fittingly, after rendering noble service to Texas anglers by producing untold thousands of fish, the big bass get to retire to a lake to live out the rest of their lives.
About 100 retired largemouth bass brooders from the A.E. Wood State Fish Hatchery in San Marcos made a 5.5-hour trip to Lake Moss outside Gainesville June 23 in the care of TPWD fisheries technician Mike Pereira. “These fish are from the class of 1996,” Pereira said. “They are 14 years old, and typically their egg production decreases as they age.”
Largemouth bass are believed to live up to 20 years, so the fish have several years to enjoy retirement and perhaps make more little bass in Lake Moss. Since the fish were all pure Florida largemouth bass, the stocking will improve the genetics of the fish in the lake, which are already good—the lake record largemouth weighed 13.25 pounds. Lake Moss was last stocked with Florida largemouth bass in 1982.
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TPW Gears Up For TS Alex
AUSTIN – In advance of a growing Tropical Storm Alex, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department today announced the closure of three state parks in the lower Rio Grande Valley effective today and the deployment of game wardens to South Texas to assist with emergency operations.
Fifty game wardens are enroute to a staging area in Mercedes. With 17 airboats and 33 shallow-draft vessels, they will be on standby to assist with any necessary search and rescue operations. In addition, a TPWD mobile command vehicle with a satellite system, computer capabilities and dispatchers is being sent to the Valley.....Read More
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Anglers and Biologists to Meet in Athens August 7-8
ATHENS—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries biologists will host a meeting with anglers interested in learning more about fisheries management in Texas at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens on Saturday, August 7.
The meeting will include an angler-biologist fishing tournament on Lake Athens Sunday morning that will feature demonstrations of fish-friendly tournament weigh-in procedures and fish care.
BASS Elite Series professional angler Alton Jones of Waco will address the group at the Saturday evening dinner.
“Fisheries biologists and anglers share many common interests and concerns,” said meeting organizer Craig Bonds, TPWD’s Inland Fisheries regional director for East Texas. “We all want to make fishing the best it can be in Texas, and anglers have played, and will continue to play, a significant role in improving fish habitat in Texas reservoirs, reporting and removing invasive species and implementing best fish-care practices designed to conserve the resource and improve fishing.”...Read More
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ShareLunker Season Payoff Underway
ATHENS—Anglers who catch Toyota ShareLunkers receive a lot of recognition—ShareLunker clothing, press coverage and a fiberglass replica of their catch—but the program is really about what is happening now.
ShareLunker babies are being delivered and stocked into the lakes where their mothers came from as well as other public reservoirs and private lakes that had fish entered into the program.
On Monday about 2,200 fat, healthy ShareLunker fingerlings were stocked into both Caddo Lake and Lake O’ the Pines by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) inland fisheries technicians from the Marshall office.
Fingerlings were also stocked Monday into Lake Livingston and Purtis Creek State Park lake.
The fingerlings were harvested early Monday at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens from the pond where they had been growing for the last month. They were trucked to the lakes, transferred to a tank on a boat, and released into the lakes in places with good places for them to hide and grow.
During the remainder of this week, ShareLunker fingerlings are scheduled to be stocked into Choke Canyon, Amistad, Casa Blanca and Falcon on Tuesday; Lakes Austin and LBJ on Thursday; and Lakes Fork and Nocona on Friday....Read More
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Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame to Induct Two
ATHENS—Two former long-time employees of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Athens June 5.
Honorees will be the late Edward W. Bonn of Denison and Philip Durocher of Austin.
Bonn was one of three fisheries biologists hired in 1946 by what later became TPWD. As many new reservoirs were built to serve Texas’ growing population, a sport fish able to utilize open-water habitat was needed. Under Bonn’s leadership and direction, experiments were carried out with striped bass, a marine species, to develop ways to stock them into Texas lakes.....Read More
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Boaters and Anglers Urged to Help Curb Spread of Zebra Mussels from Lake Texoma
ATHENS—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) officials are asking all users of Lake Texoma to assist in stopping the spread of invasive zebra mussels to other water bodies in Texas and Oklahoma.
“Zebra mussels have become well established in Lake Texoma after having been introduced into the lake by boats trailered in from other states,” said Brian Van Zee, regional director for TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division.
In addition to being found in Lake Texoma, zebra mussels have been introduced into lakes in the Arkansas River drainage in Oklahoma.
“Zebra mussels have the ability to attach to any hard surface left in the water—boat motors, docks, pipes and even cans and bottles,” Van Zee continued. “The larval stage of zebra mussels can also be carried in water left in livewells or bait buckets.”
Boats being transported from Lake Texoma to other water bodies pose the greatest threat of spreading zebra mussels to other water bodies. At present the only way to deal with that is for boat owners to be responsible and to inspect, clean, drain and dry their boats before moving them from Lake Texoma to another lake.....Read More
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Boating Deaths Decline in Texas
AUSTIN — Deaths from boating accidents on Texas public waters decreased last year compared with the year before and Texas game wardens, boater education proponents and others hope to keep the numbers trending downward. The decrease in 2009 came after an unprecedented spike in boating accident deaths in 2008, the highest in more than ten years.
“We don’t know for sure what caused the decrease in boating deaths, but we do think two contributing factors are saturation law enforcement and educational outreach,” Parrish said.....Read More
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Texas Freshwater Fishery Center to be Part of Nature Challenge 2010
ATHENS—Families will be fanning out across North Central Texas this summer in search of outdoor adventures as part of Nature Challenge 2010.
In addition to connecting to their local environment, participants will be able to win prizes for visiting the most sites, compiling the best scrapbook or taking the best photo during their travels.
Theme of the event is Mission: Possible. During the 11 weeks of the event, families will visit as many participating parks and nature centers as they can. Each site will provide information in English and Spanish on specific activities to be completed at that location. Families will keep a record of all their adventures for judging.....Read More
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Texas State Fish Art Contest Winners Announced
ATHENS — Officials at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens have announced the winners in the Texas division of the 2010 Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest.
First, second and third-place winners and honorable mentions are awarded in three grade-level divisions: grades 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12.
The Toyota Texas Bass Classic funds cash prizes for Texas winners: $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place and $500 for third place in the 10–12 division. Prizes in the 4–6 and 7–9 grade levels are $100 for first; $75 for second; $50 for third. First-place winners also receive a travel allowance for themselves and their family to attend the national contest and exposition, which will take place at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens July 16–17, 2010...Read More
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ShareLunker Season Ends With Big Day on O.H. Ivie
ATHENS, Texas — April 30, the last day of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s 2009-2010 Toyota ShareLunker season, brought proof that sometimes it’s a good idea to pay attention to those "funny feelings" you get now and then.
Jerry Bales of Hico had two big fish in his livewells, and he had a feeling one of them was big enough to become a ShareLunker-13 pounds. But when the fish was weighed at Elm Creek Village Marina at O.H. Ivie, an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station, the scale read only 10 pounds. Disappointed, Bales and his fishing companions were already headed back to the lake when one of them said, "I think we weighed the wrong fish."
Sure enough, they’d taken the fish from the wrong livewell. When the right fish was weighed, it came in at 16.08 pounds, making it not only Toyota ShareLunker 503 but also a new lake record that bested the old mark by nearly a pound and a half...Read More
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Lake Amistad Produces ShareLunker 502
ATHENS — Lake Amistad moved into sole possession of second place in the number of Toyota ShareLunkers produced this season on April 21 when Marion Merritt from Florida caught ShareLunker No. 502.
Merritt’s 13.87-pound bass was the fourth to come from the border’s Big Friendly during the current season. Lake Fork has produced three fish. O.H. Ivie Reservoir is way ahead of the pack with nine entries.
Merritt was fishing in 14 feet of water in the San Pedro Canyon area west of U.S. 277 when the fish took a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm in green pumpkin.
Toyota ShareLunker 502 brings the total number of fish entered into the program this season to 31, only five fish short of the record 36 entered during the 1994-1995 season..... Read More
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Lake Austin Produces ShareLunker 501
ATHENS — Lake Austin continues to be the sleeper among public water bodies pumping out largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more.
April 11 Jim McDaniel of Cedar Park caught Toyota ShareLunker 501 from the Colorado River reservoir. The fish weighed 13.01 pounds and was 20.5 inches in girth and 26.5 inches long.
Lake Austin has now produced two ShareLunkers this season and nine overall. One more entry will put the lake into double digits with Amistad International Reservoir (11 entries), Falcon Reservoir (11), Choke Canyon Reservoir (13), O.H. Ivie Reservoir (14), Lake Conroe (16), Sam Rayburn Reservoir (23) and Lake Alan Henry (25). Only Lake Fork, with 246 entries, has made it to triple-digit territory.
McDaniel was fishing in 8 feet of water with an undisclosed lure when he caught the fish. Water temperature was 65 degrees.
McDaniel’s fish was the thirtieth to be entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program this season. The all-time record number of entries is 36..... Read More
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ShareLunker 500 Angler Collects Big Check
ATHENS — So far this season O.H. Ivie Reservoir has produced nine largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more that have been entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program. All were special fish to the anglers who caught them, but the ninth was a little more special than the others: Sam Callaway of Corpus Christi will collect $500 a pound for his catch, a total of $6,670.
Callaway caught Toyota ShareLunker No. 500 at 9:20 a.m. April 9 using a Zoom Magnum eight-inch lizard in watermelon/red. The 13.34-pound fish was immediately taken to an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station, Concho Park Marina, where it was held for pickup by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) ShareLunker program manager David Campbell. The fish, which is 20.5 inches in girth and 26.25 inches long, now rests in the Lunker Bunker at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.
Callaway caught his big bass on the first day of the Permian Basin Oilman’s Bass Invitational, an annual event that raises money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The sixteen tournaments held to date have raised more than $1.5 million for the cause.... Read More
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Three ShareLunker Bass Caught in Single Weekend
ATHENS — Three more Toyota ShareLunkers have been added to the season’s tally, and spawning of the big bass is about to begin at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.
The Race to 500 count reached 497 late Sunday with the entry of a fish from Lake Amistad. On Saturday O.H. Ivie Reservoir produced its fifth and sixth Toyota ShareLunkers of the season.
Steve Hand of Snyder kicked off the big weekend about 9:50 a.m. April 3 when he caught Toyota ShareLunker 495, a 13.22-pound largemouth, on O.H. Ivie. He was fishing in 10 feet of water using a Zoom six-inch lizard.
At three o’clock that afternoon Mark Worthington of Abilene landed Toyota ShareLunker 496. That fish bit a seven-inch red shad Senko in 10 feet of water on O.H. Ivie.
Both fish were weighed and held for pickup by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) ShareLunker program manager David Campbell at Concho Park Marina, an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station.... Read More
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Lake Nocona Produces First Ever ShareLunker Bass
ATHENS — Add Lake Nocona to the growing list of lakes that have produced their first-ever Toyota ShareLunker during the current season.
Don Wilborn of Sherman caught Toyota ShareLunker 493, a 13.34-pound largemouth bass, from Lake Nocona March 29. Wilborn was fishing in eight feet of water. Lure type was not reported.
The fish was transported to The Tackle Box in Pottsboro, where it was held in a large aquarium until picked up by ShareLunker program manager David Campbell. Read More
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Two Lake Record ShareLunker Bass Caught on Same Day
ATHENS, Texas — A snowy blast chilled Spring’s debut in North Texas, but northeast Texas lakes were smokin’. Both Caddo Lake and Lake O’ the Pines produced new lake records.
Keith Burns of Jefferson caught Toyota ShareLunker 487 from Caddo Lake, a 16.17-pound brute that ranks 16 on the list of the 50 largest bass ever caught in Texas. The previous record weighed 16.01. The fish bit a Senko in five feet of water.
The fish also vaulted Burns into the lead for Angler of the Year honors. The Texas resident who catches the biggest fish of the season receives a lifetime fishing license from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation in addition to other prizes awarded to all the anglers.
James E. Hollis of Longview caught the new record for Lake O’ the Pines-13.2 pounds-while fishing in a tournament. That fish was not only the new lake record but also the first ShareLunker from the lake. The former lake record was 12.74 pounds. Hollis caught the fish on a lizard in five feet of water. "I’m not saying what color lizard," he said.
The two-fish weekend coming in the midst of rain and snow driven by fierce north winds increased the possibility the current season will see the 500th fish entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program. The angler who catches that fish will receive $500 per pound for his or her catch-a minimum of $6,500.....Read More
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Lake LBJ Produces First Ever ShareLunker Bass
ATHENS — With the exception of Lake Austin, Colorado River lakes in the Texas Hill Country have never produced bass weighing 13 pounds.
That changed Sunday, when Lloyd Ward of Horseshoe Bay saw a huge bass cruising near the bank in three feet of water. "I pitched my jig in front of her, and she swam over and ate it," he said. The fish tipped the scale at 13.7 pounds when weighed at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, headquarters for the Toyota ShareLunker program.
The previous record for Lake LBJ was a 12.55-pound fish caught in 1989.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) stocked northern largemouth bass into the lake in 1971. Florida largemouth bass were stocked in 1976, 2001 and 2002. "Those fish are now old enough to weigh 13 pounds," said ShareLunker program manager David Campbell.
Ward knows his big fish is not the only one in the lake. "I saw two others today that were just as big," he said.....Read More
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ShareLunker 500 Will Net Lucky Angler $500 Per Pound
ATHENS — Most ShareLunkers — 13-pound-plus bass caught between October 1 and April 30 — are caught by ordinary anglers who enjoy a brief flurry of fame and get a fiberglass replica of their catch and some ShareLunker clothing.
The angler who catches the 500th entry into the Toyota ShareLunker program will get all that and a little something extra: $500 a pound for every pound the fish weighs. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is offering the prize to mark the 500th lunker milestone and celebrate the success of the Toyota ShareLunker Program, which began in 1986. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation is providing the prize money.
A fish that meets the minimum 13-pound weight for entry into the program will be worth $6,500. A 14-pounder would garner the angler $7,000. And should someone catch a new state record weighing, say, 18.2 pounds, they would take home a cool $9,100. Not bad for someone who just went out to do a little bass fishin’ on a day off from work, which is exactly how most ShareLunkers are caught.....Read More
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Two ShareLunkers Caught on Same Day
ATHENS — Fish lightning struck twice Sunday, 10 minutes and 500 miles apart.
Fishing on Lake Amistad, Robert Robles of Del Rio caught Toyota ShareLunker 479, a 13.5-pound bass. At almost the same time, Robert Laird, Sr., of Livingston set the hook on a 13.19-pound fish that is now Toyota ShareLunker 480.
Robles was fishing in about 30 feet of water in Evans Creek using an Amistad Tackle Flutter Spoon. His fish was weighed and held for pickup at Angler’s Lodge, an official Toyota ShareLunker Weigh and Holding Station certified by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists to care for big bass.
Laird was fishing in six to eight feet of water beside the U.S. 190 bridge across Lake Livingston. He was using a Bagley crankbait. His fish was held for pickup in a minnow tank at Kickapoo Bait and Tackle in Onalaska......Read More
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Fly Fish Texas Set for March 13
ATHENS — Fly Fish Texas is your one-stop shopping center for everything there is to know about fly-fishing in Texas, and it takes place March 13 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Fly Fish Texas activities are free with regular paid admission to the center.
"Fly Fish Texas is a great show and the only event of its kind," said Walter McLendon of Lufkin, who has organized the show since its beginning. "Other shows cater to people who are already fly-fishers, but we try to introduce people to fly-fishing."
"We take people from ‘This is a fly’ to ‘This is a fish-you’ve caught one,’" explained Allen Crise, who co-chairs the casting lessons.
Fly Fish Texas emphasizes hands-on learning and immediate application of newly acquired skills. Visitors can collect aquatic insects from the center’s streams, tie a fly to imitate one of those insects under the supervision of a skilled tier, learn to cast it from a certified fly casting instructor, then use it to catch a rainbow trout from one of TFFC’s stocked ponds or streams......Read More
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Choke Canyon Produces Another Share-A-Lunker
ATHENS — Another South Texas reservoir that has benefited from rains several years ago is kicking out big bass.
On February 6 Richard Flores of Seguin pulled a 15.09-pound largemouth from Choke Canyon Reservoir while flipping a 10-inch plastic worm in 12 feet of 57-degree water. That fish is now Toyota ShareLunker 478.
Flores’ fish continues a string of big bass that is significant. Of the seven fish entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program so far this year, three have weighed 14 pounds or more and one more than 15 pounds. Average weight of the entries thus far this season is 13.9 pounds...Read More
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Riechers Named TPWD Coastal Fisheries Director
AUSTIN — Following an extensive nationwide search, Robin Riechers has been selected to lead the Coastal Fisheries Division at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Riechers began his career with TPWD in 1988 and has served in various roles within coastal fisheries, most recently as the Science and Policy Director.
Riechers assumed his new position Feb. 1.
"Robin brings a wealth of institutional knowledge about the key issues and challenges facing our state’s coastal fisheries resources," said Carter Smith, TPWD Executive Director. "He has demonstrated strong leadership skills and the ability to bring consensus among diverse stakeholder groups."..Read More
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REPORTS
Salt Water
Fresh Water by Region
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At the annual ICAST fishing trade show held earlier this month in Las Vegas, WaveSpin Reels announced they would be offering two new models of spinning reels in 2011. The new reels, dubbed ZTR (Zero Tangle Reels), are being billed as "an economical alternative" to WaveSpin's existing lineup.... 
For anglers in the Laguna Madre area, July signals the beginning of an incredible couple months of fishing opportunities. From now through September, inshore and nearshore anglers can realistically expect to hookup with everything from speckled trout to tarpon to kingfish. Granted, some years see this potpourri of saltwater game fish show up sooner than others. And, this year we had a pretty early jump on kingfish and Spanish mackerel. However, year after year, July marks the point at which all of these species will be consistently found in catchable numbers in and around the Laguna Madre... 
The current trend for catching bass on many Texas reservoirs is to use 'oversize' baits. Giant swimbaits and 10-inch worms are just a couple of popular examples. However, there is also a place in bass fishing for baits that are on the extreme opposite side of the spectrum. Anglers who can use light line, light rods and small lures are often able to produce fish when others aren't.....
Most Texas fishermen are familiar with king mackerel, but relate to them as an offshore target. While it is true kings spend the majority of their time well off the beach, late summer along the entire stretch of South Padre Island - from Brazos Santiago Pass to the Mansfield Cut - they can be found sharing water with swimmers. It is then that jetty walkers, surf casters and old men in john boats are just as likely to tangle with these tasty tackle-busters as the boys in big center consoles.
As water temperatures warm during the spring and into summer, hoardes of speckled trout and other gamefish will begin feeding more actively throughout the day, and night. For those feeding at night docks and piers, several of which are fitted with lights, make ideal dining areas for these predator fish. When fish are in the neighborhood, a set of lights can draw them in and make for consistent action deep into the morning hours.
Once school lets out for summer, thousands of families will be embarking on their annual vacation adventure. For many of these families, angling is an important part of their yearly sojourn. 
Summer, more than any other time of the year, offers coastal anglers a variety of fishing options. Not only are there more species of fish available during the summer months, there are also more places and ways to catch them. Fish may be shallow or deep, in the flats or along the channel edges. And, this may change not just from day to day, but throughout any given day as the sun and temperature rises. Being versatile and capable of making a change in locale or technique from hour to hour can make the difference between catching fish all day and just catching them during a portion of the day......
Long before the advent of modern rods and reels, everything from topwater plugs to live bait was fished on “poles.” Even after casting tackle became mainstream, cane and willow switches were still being employed on ponds, creeks and rivers throughout Texas. This was often due to the fact early entries in the casting reel category were somewhat clumsy, cumbersome and generally considered more trouble than they were worth on small bodies of water.
Throughout late spring and well into summer, the otherwise glassy surface of back lakes and coves in various Texas bays will often explode with what appears to be tiny slivers of glass. However, these small shards are actually diminutive glass minnows leaping quite literally for the lives in order to escape hungry predators beneath them. 
For whatever reason, Texas coastal anglers don't employ stickbaits as often as saltwater fishermen in other Gulf Coast region. This is somewhat perplexing for a couple of reasons. One, stickbaits are among the most versatile baitfish imitations available. Secondly, decades ago, in the 1970s, an early saltwater stickbait, the Cordell Redfin, accounted for a then-state record speckled trout. Thanks to that catch, broken-back redfins are still thrown often in the Coastal Bend region. But, they are seldom utilized in other Texas coastal regions.....
For years anglers searching for fishing adventures full of trophy size largemouth bass probed a variety of Mexican big bass factories. From Lake Guerrero to El Salto, these south-of-the-border lakes produced an incredible amount of big fish during their prime. However, in recent years it has become evident that US fishermen heading into Mexico were passing up a pair of the best big bass lakes in North America.
March is the month that ushers in spring. Spring's warmer weather and warmer water welcomes new life to Texas' inshore bays. Shrimp, crab and finfish have - or soon will - release this year's crop of younglings. When this happens, the bay's resident predators will shift their focus from large, hard to catch adults to the young, naïve hatchlings populating the flats. 
Although redfish have been the driving force behind inshore tournament trails, if asked, most Texas bay fishermen would quickly admit their biggest dreams are made of trophy trout, not tailing reds. Over the next month or two, many coastal fishermen will be attempting to fulfill those dreams as egg-laden specks begin to prepare for their annual spring spawn.
The old saying, "Big bait, big fish" does not always ring true. But, late winter through early spring is one time that it certainly does.
Most experienced Texas bay fishermen know winter can provide some of the year's best inshore action. For one thing, the fish are quite predictable during the winter season. However, knowing where the fish are and getting to them can often be two entirely different things. When harsh winter winds blow, anglers are often left scrambling for a backup plan...
Over the past few years, artificial shrimp such as the DOA Shrimp have become more and more popular among coastal fishermen. However, a number of questions always arise as to the best way to rig and fish artificial shrimp. Here are a few of the more popular and productive methods.... 
With its silvery sides, bright yellow chin and deeply-forked black tail, the Florida pompano is one of the more tropical looking species found in the Gulf of Mexico. And, despite its name, anglers don't need to travel to the Sunshine State in order to tie into this popular light-tackle quarry. However, relatively few Texas anglers take advantage of the well-established pompano fishery along the state's southernmost stretch of beach..... 
Recent years have seen an entirely new lure type - creature baits - become increasingly popular among bass fishermen. In fact, there are literally hundreds of models on the market today. However, picking the right one - and knowing when to throw it - is still a necessity for anglers hoping to score stringers of big bass.