Texas Fish Art Contest

The Fish Art Contest sparks the imagination and provides valuable lessons about fish and the importance of conserving Texas' aquatic resources. Art, science, and creative writing foster a connection to the outdoors and inspire the next generation of stewards. The contest is open to all youth in grades K-12. Entry deadline: February 28.

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See 2025 Winners

To Enter

  1. Submit a completed entry form and an original illustration of a wild fish in Texas. Participants in grades 4-12 must also submit a one-page creative writing piece.
  2. Mail your artwork to:
    Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center
    5550 FM 2495
    Athens, Texas 75752

Physical artwork must be between 10x8” and 12x9” and postmarked by February 28. View the contest rules and artwork guidelines.

This program is part of Wildlife Forever’s national contest. Texas state winners will be automatically entered into the national contest.

Please note that Texas students may choose to enter national specialty awards with fish not found in Texas however, because of the one-entry per student limit, they will not be eligible for Texas state awards.

New Texas Special Species Award

The Special Species Award is a new category in the Texas Fish Art Contest that showcases a focus species or set of species each year. One winner will be chosen from all entries and spotlighted at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. Students must correctly label their artwork for species and the artwork must be identifiable as the correct focus species. Students do not need to submit additional paperwork for consideration

For the 2024-2025 contest year, the focus species is the Guadalupe Bass, our state fish.

We are honoring Mrs. Shirley Watson and her third-grade class at Decatur Elementary School who, in 1989, realized that Texas had no official state fish. They traveled to Austin and testified in front of lawmakers why a fish found “only in Texas” was the right fish for the job. Their efforts paid off and the Guadalupe Bass has been our state fish ever since. Find out more about Guadalupe Bass and how we are working to restore this Texas icon to its native range: Guadalupe Bass Restoration

Sponsors

The Fish Art Contest is sponsored by Wildlife Forever, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Rapala, U.S. Forest Service, Bass Pro Shops, Wonders of Wildlife, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, National Fish Habitat Partnership, and Western Native Trout Initiative.