Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, May 16, 2019:
TPWD warns anglers about virus from imported bait shrimp: With many people getting out their rod and reel for summer fishing trips, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department wants to warn all anglers to only use bait shrimp native to the Gulf of Mexico when fishing in fresh or salt water. Shrimp is a popular choice to use for bait, but not all shrimp species can safely (or legally) be used. Never use “imported” shrimp as bait.
Muddy floodwaters a clear boon to Texas fish: When Texas inland fisheries crews launched electrofishing boats on Lake O’ The Pines earlier this week, the aim was to collect adult flathead catfish for an ongoing research project. The plan was to cruise areas identified by fisheries managers as prime flathead spawning habitat — stretches near shorelines where the bottom beneath the shallow water holds the natural cavities or washed-out areas beneath submerged logs the catfish use as spawning beds. There, they’d employ the pulses of electric current generated by the specially equipped boat to temporarily stun the catfish, which floated to the surface and were placed in holding tanks.
Three Southeast Texas fishing guides to appear before judge on ‘over bag limit’ charges: Fishing guides Regina Myers, 67, of Brookeland, William Rogers, 70, of Jasper and Ronald Wallace, 39, of Brookeland, will appear before Jasper County Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Brett Holloway on May 20, according to the JP’s office.
California’s lead ammo ban in effect July 1: As of July 1, 2019, lead ammunition will no longer be legal in California. This ban applies to all hunting (including public and private land), all wildlife (game birds, nongame birds and mammals) and all firearms (rifles, shotguns, pistols and muzzleloader) “in any gauge or caliber for the take of any legal species,” according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This ban, which was signed into law in October 2013, makes California the first state to require nonlead ammunition for all firearms-related hunting.
Program that protects America’s outdoor places deserves full federal funding: After a protracted effort in Congress, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was permanently reauthorized March 19 as part of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act (Dingell Act). But astonishingly, days later the Trump administration proposed a budget for fiscal year 2020 that included draconian cuts to LWCF.
Batter up: Dick’s Sporting Goods’ move away from hunting clears room for batting cages: It’s been more than a year since Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it would stop selling modern sporting rifles at its 35 Field & Stream stores following the massacre at a Parkland, Fla., high school. The company made other changes to its gun policies, including no longer selling high-capacity magazines or selling firearms to anyone under 21 years old. Since then, the company has been scaling back hunting departments at its namesake stores while swapping out guns, ammunition and accessories — a low-margin business — with things like outerwear and batting cages. The decision has sparked its share of controversy, with some consumers voicing support and others swearing off the store.
Foresight makes outdoor activities more successful: Most work or recreation plans follow the principle that you reap what you sow. The more planning and preparation, the better the odds are for success. Or in other words, the time to start preparing for deer season isn’t the night before.
5 tips to taking great fishing photos: 1. Wet hands before handling the fish to make sure to not remove the protective mucus the fish has coating their body.
5 reasons why you should be squirrel hunting: Like so many other hunters, my introduction to the sport came in the squirrel woods. My first successful hunt, which resulted in my harvesting a big fox squirrel, occurred just a couple hundred yards from the office where I sit as I write this article and, if I look out my office window, I can still see the bent, gnarly limbs of a century-old white oak tree where the squirrel was sitting when I made that shot.
Tribes seek ban on public hunting of revered grizzly bears: Native American leaders pressed lawmakers in Congress Wednesday to adopt permanent protections for grizzly bears, a species widely revered by tribes but that has been proposed for hunting in Wyoming and Idaho.
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