I will be giving testimony today in Austin along with several others and parks and wildlife personnel . Apparently the House Committee on Culture , Recreation, and Tourism wants to hear about it due to complaints and or concerns about the program from the Falcon Lake area constituents . Hearing is at 2 pm at the Capitol . Rep. Lyle Larson is the one who requested testimony from TP+W . I will be giving mine on being a Sharelunker receiving facility, fish care provider and the socioeconomic aspects as well as from an angler perspective on the program.

I dealt with that when part of the boating safety  panel! "Hurry up and wait"!

Apparently the hot topic that is taking so long is the photo I D voting thing.

All 2 of the falcon area constituents??? Lol

Evidentally some people that make their living off of tourism down around falcon are complaining....I don't think they have figured out that publicity is what has taken all the $$$ down there in the first place. That water drops 50ft and people quit going down there they may start wanting to enter SAL fish into the program! 

What JR said.  What a waste of time...  Think of the time and effort expended by government.  The time might be better spent fighting crime.  What an ignorant debate anyway.  Lets see?  Brings free positive publicity and restocks the fishery with superior gene.   

Well, it wasn't a total waste. All the TP+W heads were there , so we got the opportunity to discuss a lot of issues and items while we were waiting. That alone was worth the trip IMO . Was nice knowing they wanted our opinions on things.

We talked at great length on the situation you and I discussed . I will be taking care of that shortly. Other topics were basically updating us on budget stuff , that they actually know about, and my filling them in on the happenings out here. Lot of small talk . The main thing was the two bills they had in the house were pushed into committee , so that's progress . I don't know the details of them, but it is progress. Habitat was another issue discussed in length and the possibilities there. I got to discuss a little fish care as well. Learned a lot ! Good stuff! The meeting was actually held at midnight and ended around 2:45 or so in the morning. On their Facebook page they have a video of the meeting that transpired. I haven't been able to watch it yet, but should be a good viewing. It is on the Sharelunker page.

I'm sure it will on both sides.......,, including the BS that people bent Larsons ear with at the tournament that created this meeting in the first place. Guess it will explain the DNA testing that is currently underway on 10 lb. or better fish . Or why a lot of sharelunkers are f1 , f2 etc. etc. crosses that parks and wildlife created in the first place . It's not just about the Florida bass strain anymore, and the research they are doing proves it. The DNA testing that is now being done will dispel the "not responsible for a single 13" myth too . Now they can track who the parent fish were by this with their DNA testing that is a lot like testing on humans , in a way. Any fish in the program can be tracked now, including offspring. It will also explain there is no natural predation in a Sharelunker holding tank. No male to turn and wipe out the hatch of a 13 or better as what happens in their natural environment. Will dispell the myth that lakes are hurt by the program , when nobody knows the actual population of this class of fish unless you drain the lake and count them . But then again, I doubt any of this will be listened to either. Why not study and spawn these fish ........, lot better than trying to beat the Medina record for 40 some odd years. Knowledge/Research/Fact vs. Opinion . Guess we will see which will be chosen . The one rumor I laugh at the most is that the program kills almost every fish turned in . The main reason ANY of them die is lack of care from time of capture to it gets in personnels hands. The certain lack of that in that part of the state is rampant. Hardly anyone cares or wants to learn . But , what the hell . There's only 10 or 15 of that size fish there anyway ............. Right ?

I am not saying that the program "Couldn't possibly grow bigger fish."
I am saying that they are not responsible for any that we have caught to date..

Which is a giant misconception..

Most people think that SL is responsible for the bigger fish we are catching today.. And the real reason is Florida bass.. Which what a SL is anyway..

But you don't have to believe me.. Ask PAW..

As far as the DNA research goes, I am all for it.. And when the next state record gets caught and they sequence it to a SL broodfish I'll be all ears.. But then maybe it is just a freak of nature and luck that got it to that size..

And if that is the case then I suppose in 8-10 years we will be breaking the state record every month..

I'm not holding my breath..

Fact is that NO SL fish were put in either of our lakes long enough ago to make it to 13 by now..

Check it out for yourself..

Those are NOT SL Fry..

I'll do the research for you..

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0014

That's for Amistad..

Here's Falcon..

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0278

You'll see that we got a miniscule number in 08 and 10..

And even though Falcon is a Buffet.. We can't even grow them that fast..

Show me where it says what kind of fingerlings those were ? Normal or sal . It doesn't say . And considering the programs 25 year existence, you can't prove it. All that says is largemouth stocking numbers. Jeff, the debate is whether the program is worth it or not . Science vs. Opinion

Please don't take this debate wrong folks. James and I are very good friends and this will in no way affect that friendship. Just two hardheads having a discussion. Lol we just agree to disagree and go on and eat some BBQ together or whatever . Just wanted to clarify that we are not enemies whatsoever . Even though he IS uglier than me. I will admit he cooks better ! Lol

I DID look at those two pages . please show me WHERE it says SAL fingerlings . I'll post a pic of the article from last year and PROVE you wrong

Ok I see what you are saying ax I read down the list . Seems you missed 2006, 2008 and 2010 for us . It is listed down the list just like it is on the Falcon list

I may have missed it on Amistad as well.. I'll go look..

But they ain't 13's yet!

I’ve got no play in a friendly debate between friends.

It does concern me if we are wasting government time and funds on a pointless endevor.  Does it really matter if we have documented proof of a SAL offspring growing to be a state record? 

Last time I checked if you plant a Natchez Crape Myrtle, it’s gonna grow to be 25 to 30 feet tall.  If you plant a Pink Velour Crape Mertle, it’s gonna grow to 8 to 10 feet.  If you want a 25 foot Crape Myrtle, you might want to plant a Natchez.

Science and Opinion are always debatable, however, does this really require public resources?  So whoever is pursuing this debate and spending my money tell me, what is the debate really about and is it really worth the time and money?     

I do not have near the knowledge of the program that you two do. However, I did have an uncle that was a professor at and ran the University of Idaho trout hatchery on the Snake River. They studied trout genetics extensively and bred superior stock. I have a picture of me holding a 25# rainbow trout at the hatchery. They had a selective breeding program. (not the genetically altered ones you may have heard of). He came from a back ground in the cattle business and anyone that has been in the cattle business for many years knows how cattle have changed over the years. He even came up with a branding method for trout.  He used horn brands and liquid nitrogen to freeze brand the females.  The brands woulds align the spots on trout so they could more easily id them.  So, yes it is my opinion that we have and will see the benefits of this program.

What seems to be forgotten is this debate would not even be happening if not for Mr. Bob Kemp and Texas Parks and Wildlife bringing the Florida strain here in the first place. Changed the bass fishing scene forever . So technically, yes, texas parks and wildlife created every one of those sharelunkers. Nor can we prove if fry produced from the program has produced any or not. Fork has been stocked with them for years and produced almost half of the entered fish. To bad testing wasn't around back then to see who the parents were. Time will tell on that one , especially now with testing available. Why not study them when someone else (toyota) fits the bill. Especially when it's not just the florida strain getting to that size anymore. Everyone before said the intergrades (Florida/northern) wouldn't grow that big. Now DNA testing is proving that to be false too . I personally would rather have someone who is much smarter than me studying our green quests. As long as it improves the fishing in our state and lakes, I will stand right beside them and help.

More info for you guys..........,

The Toyota ShareLunker program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a long-time supporter of the Foundation and TexasParks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.


www.tpwd.state.tx.us/sharelunker. The site also includes a searchable database of all fish entered into the program along with pictures where available.

Information on current catches, including short videos of interviews with anglers when available, is posted on www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram.