FISHING

There are tons of fishing spots around San Antonio that are great for casting and many fishing fans likely have their own secret spot.

A Texas angler may have broken a state and world record after he reeled in a monster of a fish in Port Aransas last week.

Every year on the first Saturday in June, anyone can fish recreationally without a license in Texas.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic, a winter storm fish kill and higher gas prices have been challenging for professional fishing guides.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be stocking waterbodies across the state with bass between May and July.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is about to start stocking Texas lakes with catfish as part of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program and two of those lakes are in San Antonio.

In this free newsletter, you should expect to find stories about state parks, wildlife, hiking, fishing, hunting, swimming, running, camping and traveling.

The quagga mussel — a close relative of the zebra mussel that’s already invaded 33 state lakes — was detected in Texas for the first time.

From the Gulf of Mexico to deep in the heart of Texas, there were a ton of record-breaking catches this year by Texas anglers and we’ve compiled a list of a few of our favorites.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stock 20,331 rainbow trout in the Canyon Tailrace portion of the Guadalupe River over the course of three months starting Dec. 3.

Roughly one million red drum, also known as redfish, have been stocked in two popular Bexar County lakes this week.

Bass, catfish, crappie and bluegill are just some of the fish being caught in the San Antonio River both north and south of downtown.

Texas might be getting some love from the fishing community after an angler who lives in Johnson City reeled in a potential world record blue catfish.

The Texas Freshwater Fishery in Athens, southeast of Dallas, is home to a state-of-the-art lab where trophy-sized bass are brought for selective breeding.

San Antonio-based Livingston Lures has spent almost ten years designing and selling a high-tech lure that features a built-in circuit board and speaker.

A San Antonio man and his 9-year-old son got the ultimate catch during a deep-sea fishing trip in Port Aransas this weekend.

A 26-year-old Texas City man reeled in the catch of a lifetime on the night of June 30 - a 12-foot, 6-inch tiger shark that weighed in at 1004.3 pounds.

Redfish thrive in both Calaveras and Braunig Lakes which are each just minutes from downtown San Antonio.

A San Antonio man had quite an impressive catch on his fishing trip in Port Aransas earlier this week.

Outdoor Alphas has found success by offering expertise and advice that’s sometimes missing from the big box outdoor stores.

Joe Guerrero reeled in a 12-foot hammerhead shark along the Padre Island National Seashore last weekend and his kids were there to witness it.

June 5, 2021 is free fishing day in Texas.

Some of the most well-known Kansas City Chiefs players have made their way to the Texas Coast.

A South Texas fisherman landed a whopper 876-pound bluefin tuna last month about 150 miles off the coast of Port Aransas, breaking a nearly 40-year state record.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department started stocking catfish in Texas lakes as part of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program on April 23.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department partner with education based organizations to increase fishing knowledge and strengthen family bonds and a connection to the outdoors.

A local fishing enthusiast named Matt caught the fish of a lifetime —until the next one that is— on the San Antonio River along the Saspamco Paddling Trail.

SAN ANTONIO – Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Inland Fisheries San Antonio District reported on Monday that some San Antonio fishing spots would start to get stocked with catfish in the coming weeks. According to a social media post, Miller’s Pond and Southside Lions Park will be stocked with channel catfish starting the week of April 23rd. We will be stocking Miller’s Pond and Southside Lions... Posted by Inland Fisheries San Antonio District - Texas Parks and Wildlife on Monday, March 22, 2021After the initial stocking, both locations will be stocked every two weeks with catfish. According to TPWD, every year the Inland and Coastal Fisheries divisions of TPWD stock approximately 40 million fish in public lakes, ponds and saltwater bays. Since Dec. 2, 2020, TPWD has released 10,336 Rainbow Trout in the San Antonio area as part of the Neighborhood Fishing program.

Bob Hall Pier is closed until further notice due to construction. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will temporarily close some saltwater fishing spots along the coast — including some on Padre Island and near Rockport, Fulton and Aransas Pass — due to freezing weather. The 21 fishing sites will close at midnight on Monday and stay closed until 11:59 p.m., TPWD said in a news release on Saturday. During that time, fishing will be off-limits in these areas in an effort to protect the wildlife and resources. You can get the very latest forecast anytime by bookmarking our weather page and downloading the KSAT Weather Authority App - available for both Apple and Android devices.

The app can help users find new places to fish, record catches and share tips on what baits and techniques fish are biting at. The app released its 2020 Fishing Report and says 125,000 were recorded across the state this year. With over 8.5 million users, developers of the app says 6,223 of those catches came from Bexar County. John Attby, CEO of Fishbrain, called the 2020 report numbers “heartening” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read Fishbrain’s Texas Fishing Report in full below:Related: 18 places to fish near San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – Even though the holiday season has come and gone, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are continuing to give the gift of stocked ponds and lakes. Since Dec. 2, local fishing hot spots, including four in San Antonio, have been getting stocked with rainbow trout as part of the department’s stocking program. Check out our trout stocking schedule at https://t.co/8UxAxRMEdo#TexasFishing pic.twitter.com/Am0uYh2aJf — TX Parks & Wildlife (@TPWDnews) January 16, 2021Tried your luck at some local ponds and lakes yet? Currently, four San Antonio waterways are stocked annually by TPWD officials:Earl Scott PondLive Oak CityMiller’s PondSouthside Lions Park (Hi-Lions)For directions, stocking dates and tips, click here. Related: 20,000+ rainbow trout to be stocked in New Braunfels

This month starts the 35th season of the Toyota Sharelunker Program, which is a coordination effort with Texas Parks and Wildlife to increase the production of trophy-sized fish in Texas reservoirs. The year-long program offers four levels of participation for catching bass over 8 pounds or 24 inches in Texas. During the first three months of the year, anglers who reel in a 13 pound bass or larger can loan it to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the Sharelunker selective breeding and stocking program. Once a lunker is reeled in, anglers need to enter the catch data on the Toyota Sharelunker mobile app. For more information on this program or to report a fish, anglers can call the Sharelunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stock 20,921 rainbow trout in the Canyon Tailrace over the course of eight weeks starting Dec. 4. The tentative dates for rainbow trout stocking along the tailrace are Dec. 4, 11, 18, 23 and 31, as well as Jan. 8, 15, 22, and 29. Rainbow trout are stocked as part of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program which encourages families to spend time together outdoors. “Rainbow trout stockings begin around Thanksgiving in Bexar County and will continue through February,” a TPWD spokesperson previously told KSAT. A total of 334,088 rainbow trout will be stocked in lakes and ponds across Texas for the 2020-2021 trout stocking season, TPWD reported.

SAN ANTONIO – So you think you can fish? You can try your hand at catching one of the 50 trophy-sized catfish stocked at Elmendorf Lake Park. Mitchell Nisbet with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries Division told KSAT Tuesday that 50 “trophy catfish” weighing between four and five pounds were stocked in the San Antonio lake. “These particular fish are retired brood fish,” Nisbet said, “meaning these fish were responsible for producing the Channel Catfish that we stock around the state.”The trophy fish are “quite a bit larger” than the Channel Catfish that TWPD routinely stocks as part of the Neighborhood Fishin' program. Miller’s Pond and Southside Lions Park in San Antonio are stocked with catfish as part of the program.

Any weather is fishing weather in Texas but now that it’s starting to cool off a little bit there’s more reason to head outside. The Lone Star State is “renowned for world-class bass fishing," according to Texas Parks and Wildlife officials but there are also “excellent opportunities to reel in a sometimes-overlooked species: crappie.”Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff recently compiled a list of 12 places that it considers some of the best hot spots for crappie fishing in the state. The 12 spots are:“We are excited to feature these 12 destination lakes for our anglers to check out on their next fishing excursion,” said TPWD Inland Fisheries Regional Director Brian Van Zee. “These lakes, which are located across the state, stood out as providing consistently strong crappie fishing right now. We hope anglers take advantage of all the excellent fisheries that the state has to offer," Zee said.

BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – More than 1 million red drum, also known as redfish, have been stocked in two popular Bexar County lakes this week. Calaveras Lake and Braunig Lake were stocked with over 1 million fingerlings - approximately 650,372 fish were stocked in Calaveras Lake and for Braunig Lake approximately 363,503 fish were stocked, according to TWPD spokesperson Mitch Nisbet. Red Drum have arrived in San Antonio! This week we stocked 1,000,000 red drum fingerlings, creating a unique freshwater... Posted by Texas Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday, October 7, 2020Red drum are stocked in the lakes annually, officials said. “When coastal red drum are young they spend a portion of their life in brackish water, which is a mixture of salt and freshwater.

SAN ANTONIO – A man was arrested while fishing on Calaveras Lake Saturday after Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens discovered he was wanted on felony warrants by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. According to field notes from Texas Park and Wildlife, game wardens were patrolling Calaveras Lake and stopped an unregistered boat on the water. The man told Texas game wardens that he had been fishing on the lake and he had purchased a one-day fishing license. After a short investigation, officials said they discovered he had been wanted on felony warrants and was arrested and taken to the Bexar County Jail. Related: Child injured in accidental shooting near Calaveras Lake is in stable condition, deputies say

Feeling the need for some fresh air? Maybe you want to teach a younger member of the family how to fish?

Camping, hiking, outdoor gear in high demand during the pandemicPublished: August 19, 2020, 10:50 pmAccording to the Outdoor Industry Association, which tracks information for the industry, more Americans took up new outdoor hobbies between April and June this year. Initial reports show the most popular activities were running, bicycling and hiking.

SAN ANTONIO Heads up - its time to renew licenses for Texas anglers and hunters. Licenses for the 2019-2020 season expire at the end of August, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One hundred percent of the annual sale of around 2.4 million hunting and fishing licenses directly funds conservation efforts in Texas, including fish stocking, wildlife management, habitat restoration, public hunting leases, river fishing access as well as helping fund the Texas Game Wardens. Licenses can be purchased online at the TPWD website, by phone or in-person at more than 1,700 retailers across Texas. For frequently asked questions about Texas hunting and fishing licenses, visit the TPWD website.

SAN ANTONIO – Nearly 20,000 fish were stocked in two bodies of water in San Antonio Wednesday as part of an ongoing proactive ecological restoration by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA). The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division stocked approximately 15,500 adult Bluegill in the Mission Reach section of the San Antonio River Walk and 4,000 Bluegill in Elmendorf Lake, according to Shaun Donovan, the environmental sciences department manager for SARA. More than 100,000 fish, including Guadalupe Bass, Channel catfish and Bluegill, have been stocked along the Mission Reach since the completion of an ecosystem restoration project in 2013, according to Donovan. He also noted that “Mission Reach has become a hotspot for birding; a three-year avian study resulted in the observation of more than 200 species.”Thousands of catfish to be stocked in two San Antonio neighborhood lakesDonovan pointed out that instream ecosystems are slower to recover despite the success with the reintroduction of plants and birds. “River Authority staff will continue with additional fish stockings and reintroductions and are exploring a reintroduction of freshwater mussels that could begin as early as 2021,” Donovan said.

It’s also International Sushi Day! Plus, barbecue, key lime pie, fishing and more today at 1 p.m. on SA Live. For International Sushi Day, we’ve rounded up some sushi spots around San Antonio for you to try, including Godai, Koikawa, Tong’s Thai, Wild Goji and Sapporo. It’s also National Fishing Day! Stream the show anytime from the KSAT TV app on Roku, Fire Stick, your smart TV or your smartphone.

SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of catfish are expected to be stocked in neighborhood lakes across Texas through Nov. 1 as part of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Neighborhood Fishin’ program. TPWD has been stocking catfish regularly at San Antonio’s Southside Lions Park and Miller’s Pond since early May. During the 2019 catfish season, Southside Lions Park was stocked with more catfish than any other lake in the program. Anglers no longer need to carry their paper fishing license. A legible digital photo, emailed receipt, online purchase record or digital copy of your fishing license is also acceptable.

SAN ANTONIO – This Saturday, Texas celebrates free fishing day. Typically you need a fishing license to fish anywhere in the Lone Star State. You can cast your lines in any body of water, fresh or salt, in Texas for free just this Saturday. One hundred percent of fishing license fees goes toward the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for on the ground conservation efforts like fish stocking. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will have all kinds of fishing 101 videos and tips online for first timers.

The hope is that more people will try fishing, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. More than 70 state parks offer free fishing year-round, although entry fees still apply as well as length and bag limits. A fishing license purchase is one of the simplest and most effective way people can support fisheries science and management.”A fishing license is required for adults and can be purchased starting at $11 for a one-day, all-water access license for Texas residents. A legible digital photo, emailed receipt, online purchase record or digital copy of your fishing license is also acceptable. Gators in the gulf: Alligators caught on video in Galveston, Port O’ConnorFor more information about fishing license requirements and rules, visit TPWD.com.

SAN ANTONIO – If you’re looking take a quick trip outdoors, you may want to check out one of these local fishing spots. Even if you aren’t a fan of fishing, some of these fishing destinations also feature hiking trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, and camping. Woodlawn Lake ParkLocated at 221 Alexander Avenue, this is one of the most popular fishing spots in San Antonio, according to Yelp users. Elmendorf Lake ParkLocated at 3700 W Commerce Street, Elmendorf Lake Park allows fishing from the bank or a pier overlooking the water. For more information, click here.

Thousands of catfish are expected to be stocked in neighborhood lakes across Texas through Nov. 1 as part of TPWD’s Neighborhood Fishin’ program. During the 2019 catfish season, Southside Lions Park was stocked with more catfish than any other lake in the program. A fishing license is required for adult anglers and can be purchased starting at $11 for a one-day, all-water access license. A legible digital photo, emailed receipt, online purchase record or digital copy of your fishing license is also acceptable. COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019.

SAN ANTONIO – Dozens of Texans reeled in large hauls in 2019 — a year that Texas Parks and Wildlife called “great” for fishing. Fishermen and women broke 47 new state fishing records in Texas this year, according to TPWD. For individual lakes, rivers or bays, 434 waterbody records were broken. 200-plus-pound fish swim in Texas rivers, some over 50 years oldFishermen and women must measure and weigh their catch, take several photos and complete the application. “We are happy to recognize great catches even when they may not have set a new record.”Here’s a list of fishing records broken in 2019, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stock 20,498 rainbow trout in the Canyon Tailrace over the course of eight weeks starting Dec. 6. Additionally, 420 rainbow trout will be stocked in Fischer Pond on Dec. 5 as part of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program which encourages families to spend time together outdoors. “Rainbow trout stockings begin around Thanksgiving in Bexar County and will continue through February,” a TPWD spokesperson told KSAT. Thousands of rainbow trout will also be stocked in four lakes around San Antonio this season, including Southside Lions and Miller’s Pond. A total of 343,650 rainbow trout will be stocked in lakes and ponds across Texas for the 2019-2020 trout stocking season, TPWD reported.

NORTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – A Texas boat captain received 17 citations for going over the daily bag limit for red snapper on July 6. Nueces County Game Wardens received a tip that a fisherman was regularly bringing in red snapper in excess of the daily bag limit, which is four fish per person per day, on North Padre Island, according to a spokesperson with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Four San Antonio lakes to be stocked with thousands of rainbow troutWardens located a recreational fishing vessel near North Padre Island with seven anglers on board and discovered 31 red snapper in an ice chest and an additional 14 red snapper in an anchor storage compartment. The boat captain, whose identity wasn’t released, was issued 17 citations for going over the daily bag limit, according to the spokesperson. The captain was convicted in Nueces County court on Nov. 12 and fined more than $26,000, the spokesperson said.