AUSTIN — As organizations across the nation face budget cuts, groups in Austin, Dallas, Brownsville, San Antonio, Houston and other cities are still finding ways to get more kids and their families outdoors. Sixteen such organizations have been awarded grants from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to introduce participants to environmental education, conservation and outdoor recreation.
ROCKWALL — A Garland man has pled guilty to stuffing a lead weight into a bass during a fishing tournament last fall, the outcome of an investigation by a Dallas-based Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden.
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.
ATHENS — Lake Austin continues to be the sleeper among public water bodies pumping out largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more.
ATHENS — Bill Hunter III of Sweetwater caught Toyota ShareLunker 499 from O.H. Ivie Reservoir April 6. The fish weighed 13.04 pounds.
AUSTIN — The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has made application for a permit to close Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula due to its impacts on beach erosion and sedimentation within the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. If the pass is closed, there will be loss of public recreational fishing access.
AUSTIN — Lt. Col. Craig Hunter, a 36-year law enforcement veteran, has been named recipient of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award of the 100 Club of Central Texas.
ATHENS — Raymond Ivy of Brownwood caught Toyota ShareLunker 498 from O.H. Ivie April 5. It weighed 13.06 pounds and was caught in seven feet of water on a Strike King swim bait.
ATHENS — Whoever catches Toyota ShareLunker 500 will have to answer a few more questions than usual for someone entering a 13-pound-plus bass into the popular Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) program.
SPRING BRANCH — A strolling spider expert in safari gear, guided nature walks, crayfish displays, bird-banding and a live reptile show-and-tell are just some of the activities planned for Guadalupe River State Park’s Earth Day celebration from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 24. The special day also marks the grand opening of the Children’s Discovery Center.