1) This fishing season has some new regulations, including:

• Flounder – minimum length is now 15".

2) When you buy your fishing license online, you can use your emailed receipt, or the record of it found in the Outdoor Annual app, to fish right away for any legal fish – except red drum over 28", which requires a tag.

3) The Outdoor Annual is your go-to source for all fishing regulations. There is not a printed version of the Outdoor Annual for the 2020-2021 season due to economic impacts of the pandemic. Access the Outdoor Annual by using the Outdoor Annual mobile app or by visiting OutdoorAnnual.com, where you can also download a copy 

4) Entries are now being accepted for an opportunity to harvest one alligator gar over 48 inches from a section of the Trinity River. Enter by 9/30 and check our press release for more information.

Sept. 26 is National Hunting and Fishing Day. To mark the moment, we offer a hearty "Thank you!" to all Lone Star State anglers, we appreciate you and the impact you make on conservation. A special Texas-sized "Thank you!" also goes to anyone who has ever helped someone else learn to fish – you're a vital link in the long chain of our fishing tradition. 

On Sept. 26, join us in celebrating by taking a person new to the sport fishing. For tips on getting children engaged in the fun of fishing, watch our short video, Fishing With Kids. 

Sharing your catch with family and friends can be very rewarding. Watch our video, Crappie Cooking, for 2 ways to cook what many say is the best tasting panfish out there. Then check out Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine's new Locavore section, a first-of-its-kind collection of fishing and hunting stories, and the recipes that go with them.

Did you know that many names of our Texas rivers are rooted in Spanish, a language spoken by early explorers and settlers? Here are some river names that may surprise you with their meanings: 

• Pedernales = flints
• Nueces = nuts
• Lavaca = the cow
• Comal = pan for cooking tortillas
• Concho = shell, due to its mussels
• Blanco = white, due to its limestone bed
• Brazos = arms, from its early name, Los Brazos de Dios, the arms of God

Read the magazine blog post, Hispanic Heritage Month – Our Rivers, to discover more about the stories behind these river names and others.

Tens of thousands of people boat and fish in our coastal waters. Boating activity, along with natural forces, has caused destruction of the seagrass that provides fish habitat, and that habitat provides us with some of the best coastal fishing in the nation. 

It's vital you avoid damaging marshes while boating – harming seagrass is illegal. Watch our short video,  Lift, Drift, Pole or Troll, to see how you can avoid damaging seagrass when boating on coastal flats. 

Flatsworthy is a non-profit group of anglers, guides and boaters focused on conservation. One of their goals is to slow the tide on coastal habitat degradation, while encouraging safe, legal and more civil behavior on the water. Watch their video, FlatsWorthy - Protecting the Resource to find out how you can do your part to help protect our coastline.  

Reports show that Texas anglers aren’t catching as many bass as they have in the past, despite healthy fish populations. So we've launched a study that tracks the habits of largemouth bass to try and figure out why this is happening.

We'll use radio transmitters implanted in 50 fish to track their habits in Toledo Bend and Lake Fork. Researchers predict it will take up to 2.5 years to complete the study. Find out more in the press release, TPWD Launches Innovative Bass Tracking Study.