CCA Texas

The January meeting was a great success.

Bill Balboa shared LOTS of great information and we set a new record for turnout.

We had close to 50 people come out. What is equally exciting is that 20 of them have never been to a meeting (or at least in the last year)!

So glad to see our efforts are bringing out new folks and bringing back some old timers!

Here are some of the highlights of Bill’s presentation. (I hope to get some of his slides for future emails)

Bill shared a lot of data from Gill Net surveys of the Gulf fish population. We are one of the oldest controlled surveys in the country. He shared how the population varies by costal area and how the various populations have changed over the last 20 years or so. It reflected the natural spikes in population as well as those that were caused/impacted by regulation, freezes, wet or dry years, etc. Fascinating! Good news, Flounder are on the rise!

He also shared the salinity levels in the Bays over many years showing how it swings and the most extreme impact form our recent draught. He explained how this has/will impact various types of fish and various places over the years.

He shared lots of information about the various exotic species (including the recent Tiger Prawns) that are found in our waters, the impact and how some of them were probably introduced.

He shared info on current efforts to restore oyster beds and their impact.

He discussed Red Tide, the recent impact and its effect on the oysters and game fish.

There was lots more discussion but that’s the highlights.

I heard lots of great comments from our members and guests. We hope to have Bill back again later in the year for an update.

Our Next Meeting will be February 4^th.

We have invited Fred Ruiz back and he will speak to the Red Snapper regulations/enforcement and impact. Fred spoke to our group last year and was a great hit. This is shaping up to be another meeting you don’t want to miss!

Remember the banquet is coming up in April.

For the newer folks, this is by far our largest fundraising event of the year and most ambitious project. It takes lots of work and always need lots of help. Please be sure to put it on your calendar. More to come very soon!

Our newest event is a “Night at the Ball Park.”

You all received an email from me trying to see what interest there was an event like this.

Well, the response was overwhelmingly positive. I started getting replies before I even fished sending out all the emails! Initially, we were hoping to get 20 seats for us. But the response was so overwhelming I have reserved 50 seats! Those that replied to first email got first shot and we have already committed over 30 tickets!

So we still have 20 seats available. Tickets are First Come First Serve. So if you want to join us, email me ASAP with how many tickets you want I will hold them for you and send you my address to mail a check.

This is a great way to check out the new park/team and enjoy the camaraderie.

Here again, many of the members who have committed are veteran members who we have not seen for a while. This is proving to be another great way to get our members more involved.  Tickets will go fast so email me ASAP!

Well that’s it for now. Hope 2012 is shaping up to be a great year!

Remember to “like” us on Facebook to get more updates and email me any pictures of your fishing outings to share on our wall.

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