PINES — Water level is about five inches low and clear. Water temp in the low 70s.

TOLEDO BEND — Water level is 31/2 feet and clear. Surface temp in the upper 70s.

Not much epitomizes the rogue ways of Mother Nature any better than the vicious circle of life that frequently plays out in the wild. Making a living off the land is a constant fight for survival where guarantees of seeing another tomorrow simply don’t exist.

When dock talk turns to heavyweight catfish, I often think about my good friend Charlie Shivley.

ATHENS — Water level is 5 inches high and clear. Water temp in the upper 70s.

It’s early fall and folks associated with the Virginia-based Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation (TSSA) are making their annual push to remind deer hunters to be safe out there and avoid becoming a statistic.

Two Texas lakes not well known for producing double-digit largemouths recently kicked out a pair of Legend-class giants for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker program.

Some of my fondest kid memories date back to the late 1960s when I roamed the woods and pastures of my grandparent’s farm in Collin County near Parker. Summer weekends were spent shagging grasshoppers and fishing in stock tanks, but come fall I always reached for a single-shot Winchester and…

Here’s an early-season deer hunting tale to whet the appetites of Texas hunters with opening day of archery and youth hunting seasons just around the corner.

Kentucky bass pro Matt Robertson and his wife, Kassie, were a long way from their home in Kuttawa last week when they got an unexpected crash course in dealing with cops, robbers and a whole bunch of adversity.

Texas bass pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander is sitting pretty in the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year points race.

Licensed Texas anglers have through Sept. 30 to apply for a limited number of permits to harvest trophy-class alligator gar from the Trinity River in East Texas as the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Alligator Gar Harvest Authorization drawing application process enters its second year.

We’re still 30-plus days away from the Oct. 3 start of the archery only deer season and more than two months shy of the general opener set for Nov. 7. Not surprisingly, plenty of Texans are already dreaming whitetail.

It’s early August and the clock is ticking down toward another Sept. 1 dove season opener. Dove season in most of Texas gets underway on a Tuesday this year. It’s not the best timing for working folks, so some may have to sit out opening day. Fields will probably be busier the following week…

Safety and social distancing protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic helped take a big bite out of Texas Parks & Wildlife’s overall freshwater hatchery production numbers this spring, but the setbacks didn’t stop one Toyota ShareLunker Legacy Lunker from making a slew of little ones.

ATHENS — Water level is 2 inches high and clear. Water temp in the upper 80s.

ATHENS — Water level is 3 inches high and clear. Water temp in the upper 80s.

It is no secret among crappie fishing buffs that sinking brush piles far from shore are a great way to forge some really good fishing holes while enhancing the habitat at the same time. Unfortunately, the practice has been known to stir up an occasional feud between fishermen, particularly o…

Jake Norman and Todd Driscoll are Texas Parks & Wildlife Department fisheries biologists by profession and diehard bass junkies at heart. It’s in their DNA to always ask why, then turn to sound science to look for reliable explanations.

Branden Rannekleiv, of Reeves, Louisiana, weighed in a 12.41-pound bass on Day 2 of the Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash held July 10-12 on Toledo Bend to take first place in the 34th annual event.

One of America’s favorite food fish that also ranks high on the hit list with freshwater fishermen all across the south is at the center stage of ongoing discussions between Texas Parks & Wildlife Department fisheries biologists and the state’s tightly woven catfish angling fraternity.

ATHENS — Water level is nearly 3 inches low and clear. Water temp in the mid-80s.

Fishermen are among the world’s greatest storytellers. I have known very few who are not prone to stretch the truth every now and then.

Each summer, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department staff place leg bands on thousands of mourning and white-winged doves to monitor the factors that influence populations. Information from hunter-reported bands, or “recoveries,” provide estimates of harvest and survival rates, which are used…

ATHENS — Water level is an inch low and clear. Water temp in the upper 80s.

Fall hunting seasons are still a few months away, but the time is just about ripe to ante up for shots at a slew of public lands hunting permits up for grabs this year through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s lottery-style drawn hunt program.

Veteran bass pro Tommy Martin, of Hemphill, has seen some strange things happen on the water during a decorated career dating back to the early 1970s. He is still scratching his head after what went down in his Nitro bass boat earlier this month.

‘PINES — Water level is 6 inches high and stained up north, clearer down south. Water temp in the upper 80s.

Translocation is nothing new to the toolbox of strategies used in wildlife management. Experts have relied on the technique for years to help restore native wildlife populations of different kinds, cultivate new ones or to supplement those that already exist. It’s a laborious task that has w…

Texas lakes, bays and rivers have seen a significant uptick in fishing traffic since early March, but not just because spring is a season that meets with some of the year’s best fishing prospects. With thousands of people off work during the coronavirus scare, many folks who don’t normally f…