AUSTIN, Texas — For many a veteran angler, the pinnacle of a fishing career comes with the explosion of chromed muscle that signals his first tarpon hook-up. That experience was once common on the Texas Gulf coast; so common, in fact, that through the 1950s, tarpon tournaments were commonplace and presidents and potentates made the journey to the third coast to catch a “silver king.”

The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, in cooperation with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, held the first Congressional Breakfast Briefing of the 111th Congress today.

Travis Tomasie (GM) is on a roll. The army marksmanship unit shooter has captured the Limited title at the USPSA / STI Double Tap Championship held over the weekend of March 27-29, 2009.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC) and Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the country's second largest selling Bourbon brand, have announced a two-year partnership that positions Evan Williams as the official bourbon of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. As part of this partnership, Evan Williams' branded concessions area will be one of the highlights of the expo area. The TTBC will be held October 16 - 18 at Lake Conroe in Montgomery, Texas.

Texas continues to lead the nation in whitetail deer sales. Two weeks ago, the nation’s largest state association dedicated to whitetail deer — the Texas Deer Association (TDA) — welcomed hundreds of deer enthusiasts to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and raised more than $850,000 at its 1st Annual Spring Gala Banquet and in Grapevine, Texas.

Two Collin County lawmakers have filed identical bills in the Legislature that would increase the buffer zone between hunting grounds and residential areas.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners today approved a reduction in the recreational and commercial bag limits for southern flounder and set a reduced bag limit for the month of November with take that month limited to hook and line.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today released the first ever comprehensive report on bird populations in the United States, showing that nearly a third of the nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline due to habitat loss,
invasive species, and other threats.