The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries office in Wichita Falls recently completed fall electrofishing surveys on area lakes. Electrofishing surveys examine populations of largemouth bass and prey species such as sunfish and shad.

Individuals or organizations that have made a lasting contribution to freshwater fishing in Texas may be nominated through February 29 for induction into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

The slogan of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is “Life’s Better Outside,” and department staff will show visitors to the Toyota Texas Bass Classic in Conroe October 28—30 why that’s so.

Fishing at Squaw Creek is generally synonymous with largemouth bass fishing—and rightly so, since the reservoir has plenty of good-sized largemouth bass for the taking. However, catfish anglers might be unaware of the tremendous opportunity this reservoir provides during the cooler autumn and winter months.

Largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more are rare. Only 523 have been entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program in the last 25 years.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic ShareLunker Club Tournament is set to get started on Lake Conroe on October 1. The amateur tournament will run October 1-21 and gives members the opportunity to fish for $100,000. There are still tournament memberships available for anyone interested in competing.

With cooler weather just around the corner and cabin fever taking its toll on those of the outdoor persuasion, people are ready to start enjoying the outdoors again. In North Texas, Meridian and Cleburne State Parks offer fishing opportunities close to home with excellent hiking and camping opportunities as well.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker program begins October 1. This program was established in 1986 to promote catch-and-release fishing of trophy-sized largemouth bass and to selectively breed these fish to stock ShareLunker offspring in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas.

Some 172,000 fish were lost in Fairfield Lake in September in what has become an annual event at the Luminant power plant lake adjacent to Fairfield Lake State Park.