KISSIMMEE, Fla. -

Eighteen teams featuring some of the top pros in the sport are competing in the PAA's season-opening event. The full field will compete all three days, with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes at stake, including a Nitro Z-8 with a Mercury 225 Optimax and T-H Marine Atlas jackplate, Nitro Z-7 with a Mercury Pro XS, and MinnKota Talon shallow water anchors for the big bass winners. Also at stake are points toward the PAA Angler of the Year title and qualification for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic world championship in September on Lake Conroe.

WASHINGTON -

A U.S. House of Representatives vote yesterday could mean permanent easy access for hunters looking to buy their federal duck stamps online. The e-Duck Stamp program, started four years ago on a trial basis, allows hunters 16 and older to purchase temporary duck stamps online until their physical stamps arrive in the mail.

FAIRFAX, VA -

NRA's Competitive Shooting Division is unveiling the NRA Club
Champion Challenge, a new recreational shooting event for people of all ages and
skill levels held at the local clubs and ranges.

DEL RIO, Texas -

The EverStart Series is headed to Lake Amistad Feb. 2-4 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the first of four stops in the Texas Division.

DEL RIO, Texas -

National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Amistad Feb. 4 for the first of four stops in the South Conference. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $5,000 and a berth in the South Regional Championship tournament.

Austin -

Since Texas Parks and Wildlife Department launched a statewide appeal in early December for donations to aid a financially strapped Texas State Parks system, more than $1 million has been raised.

Austin -

Proposed regulations under consideration by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department would enlist anglers and boaters in the fight to prevent further spread of exotic aquatic species into Texas waterways.

Austin -

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved a staff recommendation to protect seagrass in the Laguna Madre near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Nueces County through a voluntary education and outreach program.

Columbus, Ohio -

The Cabela's Outdoor Fund, with a mission to promote conservation and hunting, fishing, camping, boating and other outdoor sporting and recreational activities, has awarded a $225,000 grant to the Trailblazer Adventure Program

Texas -

Last week, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.  The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members.