Dave Mansue of Texas has been elected President of the Professional Anglers Association by the PAA Board of Directors.

Sales of fly fishing gear continued to show impressive gains with 59.3 percent of anglers reporting they bought fly fishing tackle in 2010. That was an increase of 4.1 percent over 2009.

Anglers seeking to catch one of Lake Fork's legendary lunkers are off to a great start to the 2010 fishing season.  After declining big bass catches for the last six years in the Lake Fork Trophy Bass Survey, nearly as many 7-pound or bigger bass were reported caught from March through June as were reported during all of the 12-month period from March 2009 to February 2010.

Professional angler and artist Judy Wong of Many, Louisiana, will be a featured exhibitor at the Art's Better Outside show and Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest national expo at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center July 17. She will show and sell her wildlife art and demonstrate fishing techniques.

The Stephen F. Austin team of Robert Platt of Orange Park, Florida, and Ryan Watkins of Nacogdoches, Texas, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Division event on Toledo Bend Saturday with six bass weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce.

Anglers from across the Texas Gulf Coast and surrounding regions will converge on Rockport, Texas, on June 12-13 for the second Texas Division regular-season event for both the IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela's and the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing.

Between the ongoing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and the vast areas of state and federal waters now closed to fishing, without immediate financial assistance, many of the region's recreational fishing-dependent businesses may not be in business by the 4th of July.

Fishouflage, one of the most unique camouflage patterns anywhere, has joined the PAA as an Associate Sponsor.  Fishouflage combines the high-tech elements of popular 3D camouflage patterns with fish and habitat from aquatic environments. Four eye-catching patterns were introduced last year: Bassouflage, Walleyeflage, Muskyflage and Crappieflage.

The brother team of Charlie Barton, of Port Lavaca, Texas, and Jack Barton, of Port Isabelle, Texas, weighed in a two-redfish limited that totaled 14.67 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Port Lavaca on April 17.

College Bass, the nation's elite collegiate fishing tournament, heads to Lake Tyler in Tyler, Texas Saturday, April 24-Sunday, April 25 making it the second consecutive year that the Lone Star state will host this regional tournament.