Austin-area BHA member Ben Christensen officially had his name put in the record books this month for catching a 31-pound, 8 ounce blue catfish on the Pedernales River last October. He landed it after a 40-minute fight with 4-weight fly tackle on a 12-pound tippet, with a custom fly tied by his son. The record was certified by the International Game Fish Association for the body of water where the fish was caught.   Christensen is a seventh-generation Texas, a hunting guide, rancher, and ...

Public wildlife management areas (WMAs) managed by the state agency are a valuable asset to Tennesseans and Tennessee’s rural economies, and Yanahli is one of the state’s most popular. Hunters and anglers are concerned that should this become law, these properties will be diverted to other uses not compatible with hunting and angling, or will be poorly managed. H.B. 1674 by Rep. Cepicky, and S.B. 1839 by Senator Hensley, if passed, will transfer ownership of the 12,800-acre Yanahli ...

A major victory for public lands hunting access was notched last week in the Arkansas Capitol as the attempted sale of the Pine Tree Research Station was closed down. "To put it succinctly, several different parties came together with an interest in seeing that the Pine Tree property remained open for public enjoyment," said James Brandenburg, a leader of the Arkansas chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. The sale of 6,300 acres of the University of Arkansas Pine Tree Research Station ...

Texas BHA is organizing a fence modification project for this Spring to improve habitat permeability and connectivity for pronghorn on the Rita Blanca National Grassland. We hope you can join us for this weekend long chapter campout that will allow our volunteers to have a lasting impact on this vital shortgrass prairie ecosystem while rubbing elbows with land managers, private landowners, and fellow BHA members around the campfire.   On Saturday and Sunday, volunteers will work alongside ...

At its January meeting and with formal written support from Texas BHA, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission passed temporary regulation changes for spotted seatrout, with a beginning target date of March 10 (beginning date subject to change). The new rules reduce the spotted seatrout bag limit to three fish and restrict the allowable size to 17-23 inches. The goal of this rule is to leave more spawning fish in the water for two spawning seasons to help the populations recover more quickly ...