Unit 13: Fishing for Conservation Questions to Consider ● What does it mean to think like a fish? ● How can knowing about aquatic communities and food webs be used to improve fishing success? ● How can knowledge of fish adaptations be used to improve fishing success? ● What is “cover” for fish and why is it important in fishing? What weather factors improve fishing success? ● List at least five observations that would help an angler be successful. ● Why are rules about how many fish you are allowed to catch important? ● What is an ethical angler? What are some important things an ethical angler does? ● How do anglers contribute to fish conservation? Think like a fish to catch a fish ● ● ● You can use what you have learned about fish, habitats, food webs, niches, trophic levels, and aquatic ecosystems to help improve your fishing success Spawning brings fish together in one place ○ Their need for “cover” which fish use to hide in attracts them to structures ○ They seek comfortable temperature ○ They also may move about to avoid low oxygen levels To catch a fish, it helps to think like a fish ○ What habitat does the fish like within the aquatic ecosystem? ○ What kind of food does the fish you are trying to catch like to eat? ■ Fish tend to gather where there is plenty of the kind of food they like ■ Cast your bait where you think fish are feeding Finding Fish ● Fish use cover to escape predators and to help them ambush prey ● Some fish spend most of their lives near cover, moving out only to feed or spawn ● Like in the Gulf, a lot of cover for fish cannot be seen from the surface ● Drop-offs, points, ridges, islands, and sandbars shape the beds of lakes, rivers, bays, and the Gulf. ○ These features often attract more fish Hunger fuels Habitat selection ● Hungry fish seem to like places where one kind of habitat changes to another ○ at the border or “edge” between habitats ● The edge of a lake’s shoreline area or littoral zone, for example, usually attracts many fish ● In rivers, fish often feed where the flow changes direction or slows down ● In flowing water, there is less current near the bottom or immediately downstream from an object like a rock ○ most stream fish rest with their bellies almost touching the bottom or stay in the slower water downstream of objects Go Fishing ● Fishing can be good at any time ○ However, fish seem to prefer eating during the low light conditions of morning and evening rather than in the bright sun of midday ● Fish stay in shallower water in low light, and then move to deeper water when the sun is bright ● Cloud cover or shadows on the water mimic low-light periods and may help get fish to bite ● Big fish seem to be less picky about food and easier to catch when it is dark Weather affects Fish ● Hotter weather sends fish deeper to find cooler temperatures such as in the open-water zone of a lake ● Most fish stay out of the deep-water zone of the lake because there is little oxygen there ● Warm fronts in winter may improve fishing ● Cold fronts may reduce fish movements ● A light to moderate wind is better than no wind ○ gives fish in shallow water cover from fish eating birds ● Fishing can be good before and during a gentle rain but may be poor during and after a big thunderstorm Fishing Rules makes Fishing better ● ● ● ● The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) makes and enforces rules to conserve fish and wildlife. These rules help Texans share and keep our aquatic resources healthy Fishing rules protect species by limiting the number or size of fish that may be taken ○ Length limits give fish a chance to grow and spawn before people are allowed to catch and keep them Texas’ fishing rules are based on scientific data and research provided by fisheries biologists. ○ Taxes on fishing equipment and the sale of fishing licenses pay for this work ■ When you turn 17 years old, you get to buy a fishing license and help support fish and fish habitats in Texas ■ If you are too young to buy a license or if you go fishing where a fishing license is not required, you must still obey fishing regulations When you purchase a fishing license ● you support fishery management, hatcheries, conservation, and education ● By learning to identify fish and respecting fishing regulations, anglers help keep fish populations in balance ● Catch and release is a good conservation practice ● The rules can be found in the Outdoor Annual which is published by TPWD every year and free anywhere licenses are sold ● The rules can also be found on the TPWD website Fishing is Good in Texas ● Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recognizes fishing excellence through its Angler Recognition Program ○ The program maintains records of biggest fish caught in public and private waters, and records of biggest fish from all public lakes, rivers, and bays ○ Junior Anglers (under 17 years of age) compete in a separate division ○ For more information check the TPWD Website (https://tpwd.texas.gov/). ● Texas has many Community Fishing Lakes where even if you live in a city you can go fishing ○ These are public lakes 75 acres or smaller located in city, community, and state parks Fishing is Good in Texas ● Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recognizes fishing excellence through its Angler Recognition Program ○ The program maintains records of biggest fish caught in public and private waters, and records of biggest fish from all public lakes, rivers, and bays ○ Junior Anglers (under 17 years of age) compete in a separate division ○ For more information check the TPWD Website (https://tpwd.texas.gov/). ● Texas has many Community Fishing Lakes where even if you live in a city you can go fishing ○ These are public lakes 75 acres or smaller located in city, community, and state parks
