Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TPWD Angler Education Area Chief Annual Gathering

This past weekend a number of TPWD Angler Education Area Chiefs converged upon the Junction Campus of Texas Tech for our annual gathering. An Area Chief is a fancy name for a person who "trains the trainer". We are volunteer educators who teach new Angler Education Instructors. It is a labor of love for those who had a dad or a grandpa or someone special who took the time to teach them how to fish at some point in their life. It's a way for us to "pay it forward".



We first met in Mountain Home, Texas at the Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center where we learned all about what they do and enjoyed a wonderful presentation 
on Alligator Gars in Texas. We toured the entire facility and also had a marine biologist
show us the procedure they use for aging of freshwater fishes.



We then went to TTU for dinner and the welcome by Karen Marks of TPWD. After dinner
Jere Anderson and I taught fly tying and helped those who attended to tie several flies.

Saturday we began our meeting with a few breakout sessions and a presentation
by Tim Birdsong of TPWD Inland Fisheries and the Kerr County Game Warden.


 
Some things we learned were quite scary!

After lunch we loaded up the yaks and took off to the S Llano River for a little fishing.








After we fished it was dinner time. Dinner was a 50's themed meal based on the fact that
it is National Volunteer Month and they wanted to tell everyone that
"Our Volunteers Rock". The meal was an old fashioned burger and chips followed
by root beer floats in old fashioned glasses with the TPWD brand on them.



After dinner we had our award ceremony. 


Receiving my Silver Award for 2014

Then came the campfire and sing-along with the Stink Bait Band


We then retired for the night to get ready for our Sunday morning breakout sessions and wrap up before heading home.

I did a breakout session on "Fishing from the Kayak" which I will post pics of as soon as they become available.
I also became the foster parent for "Teddy" who is the unofficial/official mascot for 
Angler Ed. You will see lots of Teddy over the next 12 months. Be watching!!!

That's all for now. 
Tights Lines,

Rev TCF



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