Fishermen, and women … fisherpersons out to score some scaly goodness but lack a proper license don’t have to skulk around in the shadows tomorrow.
Texas Parks and Wildlife grants a kind of angling clemency Dec. 1 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center just outside Athens, Texas, when the agency stocks the ponds with rainbow trout. A fishing license is not necessary to join in the fishing fun, and, in fact, they’ll even provide the equipment and bait.
Anglers will need to pay $5, though, and the catch will be limited to five fish. Still, at $1 a head that’s a pretty good bargain.
There are a few provisos, though, particularly for those folks who bring their own tackle. Only single hooks “with barbs mashed down” will be allowed, and the good people at TP&W suggest baiting those mashed-down hooks with something called Berkeley PowerBait Hatchery Formula Trout Nuggets because it most resembles a trout’s natural diet.
This appears to be just one step up the degree of difficulty scale from shooting barreled fish. Y’all have fun now, ya hear?
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. He’ll let you have his place in line.
