SPORTS
Largest state freshwater fish survey available
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is asking anglers and non-anglers to participate in a brief online survey to share their experiences and opinions about alligator gar, Texas’ largest freshwater fish.
The results from this survey will help TPWD make informed management decisions regarding this species in the near future.
“Our management goal is to sustain our unique alligator gar fisheries for future generations of Texans,” said Warren Schlechte, TPWD Inland Fisheries Research Biologist. “We spent the last decade learning about the biology of alligator gar, and from that we know we have a variety of management options on the table. What we need now is constituent input – this survey will give our constituents a place at the table.”
The online survey is available now through July 31, takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and is accessible in English here and Spanish here.
Survey questions focus on gathering information about who constituents are, how anglers like to fish, angler harvest practices, and how people would like to see alligator gar managed in the future.
Once considered a “trash” fish, native alligator gar have been growing in popularity among anglers in recent decades and people from all over the world visit Texas to catch these large and challenging fish for a sense of pride.
Although some target alligator gar to catch the trophy fish of a lifetime, others intend to harvest them so they can eat them for a meal. To learn more about this species or view the findings of studies conducted by TPWD biologists before taking the survey, visit tpwd.texas.gov/texasgar.
The Nocona Lady Indians beat Saint Jo at home on Saturday morning.
The Lady Indians won 16-1 after four innings due to run-rule against the smaller school.
Nocona was coming off a competitive loss at Collinsville earlier in the week while the Lady Panthers were hoping to compete after a busy week of their athletes doing everything else besides just softball.
The Lady Indians easily won the first matchup between the teams in March, 19-2 and it was more of the same on Saturday.
Saint Jo struck first to start the game off well. Jordyn O’Neal hit a one out single. Krista Reeves followed with a walk after O’Neal had stolen second base and had advanced to third thanks to an error trying to throw her out. A wild pitch then allowed her to score to put the Lady Panthers up 1-0.
The lead did not last long. Nocona’s first two batters drew walks which set up Abby Hill to drive them both in with a single to right field.
Despite giving up a single and a walk later in the inning, Saint Jo’s defense did not allow another run. A line out and groundout to the shortstop while picking off a runner attempting to steal got the Lady Panthers out of the inning unscarred.
The Lady Indians led 2-1.
That was about as competitive as it got. In the second inning, Nocona’s bats got going. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases up with no outs.
Reagan Phipps drew a walk that drove in a run. Hill hit another two RBI single. Skye Kirby followed with a two RBI double.
After the first out, Allie Sutton drove in one run with a single. There was a fly out for out two, before a runner came in to score after a passed ball. Finally, an error allowed two more runs to score on the base paths.
Nocona had scored nine runs and led 11-1 to break the game open heading into the third inning.
Taylor Patrick hit a double, with O’Neal and Reeves following with singles. Unfortunately for Saint Jo, Patrick was thrown out before the hits attempting to steal a base so the Lady Panthers scored no runs from this.
The Lady Indians kept pouring on the runs. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases up with no outs. Tinley Cable then hit an RBI single. Shelby Swell was hit by a pitch that drove in another run.
After two strikeouts, Evelyn Marquez drove in two more runs on a double to put Nocona up 15-1, coming up one run short of ending the game early.
The Lady Indians scored that one run in the fourth inning. After Phipps drew a leadoff walk, Hill hit a triple that drove her in to end the game.
Nocona won 16-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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