May 17, 2021

Texas State-Fish Art Contest Announces 2021 Winners

ATHENS – The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is pleased to announce the Texas division of Wildlife Forever’s Fish Art Contest winners for 2021.

May 13, 2021

Texas Parks and Wildlife Partners with City of Abilene for “Abilene Outdoor Adventures 2021”

ABILENE – Mark your calendars and gear up for Saturday, June 5 to participate in Abilene Outdoor Adventures 2021 at Cal Young Park in Abilene. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is teaming up with the City of Abilene to host the free event that is open to participants of all ages. Since June 5 is Free Fishing Day in Texas, anyone can fish even if they don’t have a fishing license.

May 7, 2021

Gulf Shrimp Season Closing on Saturday, May 15, 2021

AUSTIN- The Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp season for both Texas and federal waters will close 30 minutes after sunset on Saturday, May 15, 2021until a still-to-be determined date in July. While the statutory opening date for the gulf season is July 15, the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be sampling shrimp populations this summer to determine the optimum opening date.

May 4, 2021

Federal Red Snapper Season Opens June 1

AUSTIN- The private recreational angler red snapper season in federal water opens Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Bag and size limits will remain unchanged. The regulations are 2 fish per person daily with a 16-inch minimum size limit in federal waters, and 4 fish per person daily with a 15-inch minimum in state waters. Red snapper caught in federal waters count as part of the state bag limit of 4 fish. No more than 4 red snapper may be in your possession while fishing in state waters and no more than 2 in federal waters.

April 30, 2021

Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center Announces Inaugural “Spring Spawning Run”

ATHENS — The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is hosting the first statewide virtual 5K “Spring Spawning Run” to celebrate the fish spawning season and recognize the importance of state fish hatchery efforts to enhance the fisheries resources and fishing opportunities for more than two million anglers in Texas. This year’s 5k run will take place virtually the entire month of May, which means participants can show their support from anywhere in the state at their own pace.

April 27, 2021

Zebra Mussels Detected at Lake Brownwood

AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has detected invasive zebra mussels at Lake Brownwood in the Colorado River Basin, southeast of Abilene. Zebra mussel larvae were detected in plankton samples collected at two sites approximately three miles apart at Lake Brownwood in November. This is the second lake in the Upper Colorado River Basin where zebra mussels have now been detected, which indicates this species is continuing to spread westward.

April 20, 2021

Catfish Stocking Heading Back to Neighborhood Fishin’ Lakes in Texas

AUSTIN – Spring is in the air and with that comes one of Texas’ best spring traditions, angling for catfish. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Neighborhood Fishin’ program enables friends and families to stay close to home, enjoy time in the outdoors, and have the chance to reel in a catfish.

April 19, 2021

Toyota ShareLunker Program Enjoys Banner Season

ATHENS – The 2021 Toyota ShareLunker collection season will go in the books as one of the best in the history of the program. Anglers landed 23 ShareLunkers at 10 different lakes across the state, the most during a January through March timespan since the 1995 season which produced 27. Five new lake records were established, four lakes made their mark on the program with a first ever entry, and milestone ShareLunker 600 was caught in this year’s group.

April 9, 2021

Winter storm impact to Texas fish, wildlife topic of April 13 webinar

AUSTIN — The Texas Master Naturalist Program will present an “Impacts of Winter Storm Uri on Texas Fish and Wildlife” webinar on April 13 covering the storm’s impact on fish and wildlife, their recovery and fish and wildlife management efforts moving forward.

April 1, 2021

Convenient Family Fishing Education Opportunities Offered in Six Texas Metro Areas this Spring

ATHENS – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens has partnered with Fishing’s Future and the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund to provide convenient fishing education opportunities for families throughout Texas.