Perch: arguably the most commonly misused and synonymous with smaller fish, especially types of sunfish. Origins of the word perch can be traced to “perke”, from Ancient Greece, meaning spotted or speckled. Taxonomically, Perch are considered fish species in the Percidae family. Only three North American sport fish are members of the Perch family – Yellow Perch, Walleye, and Sauger. None of the three mentioned are native to Texas, instead they are hatchery-raised and stocked by TPWD. According to the TPWD stocking webpage, Walleye is the only species stocked in the state in recent years. However, Texas does have 21 native small nongame freshwater fish species in the Percidae family, comprised of darters and logperch. Only growing to several inches, darters and logperch typify the long, rounded perch form with an incredible variety of colors and patterns.

By Monica Garrity, TPWD Aquatic Invasive Species Team Leader

Recently a fisherman contacted me at TPWD with a question about decontaminating waders and fishing gear—we appreciate your interest in protecting our natural resources for future generations!

Here is some information—hope it helps:

Any gear used in the water should be decontaminated before you use it on another water body or at another site on a river or creek, especially if you move upstream.

For waders, we recommend that, at minimum, you remove any mud, plants, or other water and let them dry completely. Make sure to pay special attention to gravel guards, boot treads and use a flathead screwdriver or toothbrush followed by a wash‐down of the gear with a good strong spray nozzle on a water hose. If you can, go the extra mile and decontaminate after cleaning and before drying. Here are three options to decontaminate your waders and nets—the first option will kill any disease-causing organisms (like whirling disease of fish). Be sure to wear eye protection and gloves, and protect your clothing.

Best option: use a 10% bleach/water mixture—this can cause some waders to fade.

1. Add ½ gallon of household bleach to a five-gallon bucket filled with water—make a new batch of bleach water every time you decontaminate.
2. Put the waders and gear in a big Rubbermaid tub or mop sink, weight them down with something that won’t corrode, like bricks or rocks.
3. Pour the mixture in and make sure everything is submerged.
4. Set a timer for ten minutes—no less and no more than 12 (for your gear’s sake—10 min is the recommended time).
5. Rinse the gear and let dry completely—hang waders upside down.
6. Dump the bleach/water down the sink drain. If outside, dump the bleach water at least 300 yards from the nearest outdoor water source.

 Good option: use a 50% solution of Formula 409 or Lysol (buy a big jug of it!)

1. Make a mix of half Formula 409 and half water—just enough to cover the waders in the tub.
2. Put the waders and gear in a big Rubbermaid tub or mop sink, weight them down with something that won’t corrode, like bricks or rocks.
3. Pour the 409/water in and make sure everything is submerged.
4. Soak for at least 10 minutes and try to agitate (just slosh the liquid in the tub around a bit).
5. Rinse the gear and let dry completely—hang waders upside down.
6. Best to dump the solution down the sink drain.

 Acceptable option: use hot water; for invasive species but not disease.

1. Follow the same basic soaking/weighting procedures as above.
2. Soak for at least 20 minutes in the hottest water your tap can provide—aiming for 120°F.
3. Add hot water periodically during the 20 minutes if you think it’s needed to keep the water super-hot.
4. Let dry completely.

Some other options—not the greatest—are to run waders through a very hot cycle in the washing machine or dishwasher and let dry. For other fishing gear, do the same thing—remove any mud and plants, rinse, and let dry completely. For dip nets or other nets that won’t be damaged, the extra decontamination steps described above are good practice—even though they won’t be good (or really necessary) for fishing rods.

Here’s a link to a nice fly‐fishing group website that I like because it gives good, clear information and a nice flow chart. Even though the group is in the Rocky Mountains area, the methods apply everywhere. Thanks again for your diligence to protect our waterways!

Karen Marks, Aquatic Education Manager

As we come to the end of the calendar year, we are working on year-end reports and the annual incentive mail-out (look for something in the mail in January). It was another great year, we had 40 Top Lure volunteers who reported 100+ hours! Nearly 600 volunteers provided angler education activities, reached 65,000+ people and documented over 21,000 hours! Our tackle loaner sites loaned fishing rod and reels to 5,500+ borrowers. We appreciate all the partners and volunteers for your continued Support of the Sport!

Image: Catching a Guadalupe bass. Photo by TPWD

If you would like to help grow our Train-the-Trainer model and become an Area Chief volunteer trainer, contact us. We are making plans now for our next Area Chief training meeting, June 14 -15, 2019 (all day Friday and Saturday) at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, TX.

What does “Support the Sport” mean to you? Does it mean buying a fishing license (which helps support our program)? Does it mean teaching others to fish AND reporting your volunteer time? Does it mean fishing ethically and responsibly (following fishing regs to maintain the fish populations and safely releasing unwanted fish)? To me, it’s all three. I was surprised that a recent report revealed that less than half of our volunteer instructors have a current fishing license. We would like to encourage everyone to make it your New Year’s resolution to “Support the Sport,” buy a fishing license in person or online and send in your volunteer reports. We want to thank those of you who are doing that already!

Here’s another way you can “Support the Sport” and Texas habitats, fish and wildlife…Have you heard about the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA)?

More than 1,300 plant, fish and wildlife species of concern in Texas will get help if the bipartisan bill, RAWA, is passed. Funding will come from existing monies received from energy and mineral production. Check out the Texas Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife blog to learn how RAWA could positively impact outdoor recreation and wildlife (like the Guadalupe Bass) in Texas, then help spread the word about RAWA and contact your U.S. Representatives to let them know you are counting on their support of RAWA. #SpeakOut4Wildlife

In late October, Angler Education staff joined other Aquatic Resource educators from across the nation at the Aquatic Resource Education Association (AREA) training conference in California. We were all inspired by our keynote speaker and vowed to write more thank you notes; and we attended various sessions with lots of great ideas, like Idaho’s WILD About Fishing activity that uses a simple dichotomous key for fish ID. We have adapted this activity for use with our TPWD Fish ID cards so that you can use it in your Basic Fishing classes or at a Fishing Outreach event like a STEM night at a school or scout event. Download the activity from the Instructors Resources web page. (This page is password protected, if you forgot the password, you can find it in your Instructor Guide.)

Finally, as the year comes to an end, we say good-bye to our team member Audra Wert. As the program administrative assistant, she has been the backbone of our team. We will miss her but wish her well as she continues on her career path. She has accepted a new position (a promotion!) with our Human Resources Division.

Photo: Angler Ed Instructor Workshop at North Texas Education Center

It was a wonderful year for fishing and teaching. We are always excited to welcome our New Instructors and are delighted to have you join our team!
 
Due to the hard work of our volunteers, we had another great year and reached 65,781 people. This year, forty-one Top Lures received an award pin for reporting 100 or more volunteer hours. You still have 8 months left to join this category if you missed it this year! Thank you all for sharing your passion of fishing and for "Supporting the Sport! 

To encourage Angler Ed Instructors to "Support the Sport" and purchase a current fishing license. . . all of our active certified volunteer instructors who report hours and also purchase a fishing license during the 2019 fiscal year (Sept. 1 - Aug. 31) will receive a special incentive next year - and it's going to be good!