ATHENS — Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker program begins October 1. This program was established in 1986 to promote catch-and-release fishing of trophy-sized largemouth bass and to selectively breed these fish to stock ShareLunker offspring in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas.
ATHENS—Some 172,000 fish were lost in Fairfield Lake in September in what has become an annual event at the Luminant power plant lake adjacent to Fairfield Lake State Park.
ATHENS—The Federation of Student Anglers (FSA) wants to hear from students in Texas middle and high schools who want to form or be on a school fishing team and from school administrators who are interested in starting a club team at their school.
ATHENS — Wheeler Branch Reservoir, a 180-acre impoundment located within the Paluxy River system in Glenrose, Texas, recently opened for fishing, and anglers need to be aware of the fishing regulations for the lake.
The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
AUSTIN – Today scientists collected fish threatened by drought in the upper Brazos River and take them to Possum Kingdom state fish hatchery to weather the drought, with plans to use them to restock the river later. Similar collections of other aquatic species imperiled by drought are being considered for Central and West Texas.
Conroe – The Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC), the world championship of professional bass fishing, announced its final field of competitors today. The three-day event, to be held on Lake Conroe, combines the top Professional Anglers Association members from the Walmart FLW Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series and Bass Pro Shops PAA Tournament Series. The field of 50 anglers will compete for the unified world championship Oct. 28-30.
ATHENS—New Braunfels High School sophomore Andrew Cumberland was fishing for sunfish in the Guadalupe River July 12 when he spotted a really ugly fish in shallow water. Thinking it was a carp, he switched to dough bait, which the fish took immediately.
ATHENS—The 26th season of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Toyota ShareLunker program kicks off October 1, and reports from around the state indicate the fishing may be excellent despite the hot weather and drought.
ATHENS — Effective September 1, some Texas reservoirs will have different fish-harvest regulations. One is Lake Kirby, where the 12-inch minimum length and 25-fish daily bag limit for blue and channel catfish was changed to a NO minimum length limit and daily bag limit of 50 blue or channel catfish in any combination. No more than five blue or channel catfish 20 inches or greater can be kept.