Protect your right to hunt and fish




Proposition 6 is on the November 3, 2015 ballot in Texas is of interest to all sportsmen.

Voting yes to the amendment would add text to the state constitution preserving the right to hunt and fish, and recognize such activities as the preferred methods for wildlife management. The emphasis on “the preferred methods for wildlife management,” is my position.

Voting yes to the proposed amendment would add a Section 34 to Article 1 of the Texas Constitution. The following text would be added by the proposed measure's approval:

“(a) The people have the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, including by the use of traditional methods, subject to laws or regulations to conserve and manage wildlife and preserve the future of hunting and fishing.
(b) Hunting and fishing are preferred methods of managing and controlling wildlife.
(c) This section does not affect any provision of law relating to trespass, property rights, or eminent domain.
(d) This section does not affect the power of the legislature to authorize a municipality to regulate the discharge of a weapon in populated area in the interest of public safety.”

As of 2015, eighteen states have constitutional amendments providing for the right to hunt and fish. Vermont was the first state to constitutionalize such a right in 1777. The other sixteen states have all adopted right to hunt and fish amendments since 1996.

Supporters of the amendment:
Organizations…National Rifle Association, Texas State Rifle Association, Texas Outdoor Partners, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Farm Bureau, Dallas Safari Club, Coastal Conservation Association, Wildlife Habitat Federation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Saltwater-Fisheries Enhancement Association, and Ducks Unlimited.

State Senator, Brandon Creighton who introduced the legislation, said: “With recent lawsuits across the country successfully denying citizens certain hunting rights, our Texas heritage is threatened and needs protection. Our state has an obligation to take a strong stand on this issue.”

Representative Roland Gutierrez said that while he enjoys hunting and fishing, he disagrees with adding the amendment to the state's constitution. He contended…
“At the end of the day, what we put in our constitution is important and our constitution isn't a toy. It's not an item or a document to be taken lightly. If we are asking to put things in our constitution that say this is a constitutional right to fish and hunt, how about our constitutional right to watch Sunday night football or our constitutional right to love the San Antonio Spurs? When we do these things to our constitution and make voters go out and vote for these things, it demeans the document and it demeans us.”

Lisa Lange, senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), criticized the amendment, calling hunting a "bloody pastime." She stated…
“An amendment to protect the right to hunt and fish is bizarre and frivolous. It would clutter up the most important charter of government and open the door to a flood of other amendments whose sole purpose is to make political statements for special-interest group.”

Now it’s up to the voters to say what they think by voting on Nov. 3—let you voice be known. More information regarding this proposed amendment can be found at:
http://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Right_to_Hunt,_Fish_and_Harvest_Amendment,_Proposition_6

 




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Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Mar. 27)

GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.28 feet below pool. Bass fishing has been slow due to the fluctuating weather patterns. The best bite has been on frogs behind the grass and Texas rigs in front of the grass. Yum dingers are good around flooded grass in 1-3 feet deadsticking rigged wacky worms. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Bass have moved up and are nesting, small crawfish patterns will work well. Frog pattern top waters are excellent in the grass and brush. Crappie are shallow, small fish patterns like wooly buggers are a good bet. Bream are beginning to make themselves known in the shallows, wooly buggars and small poppers should bring a strike.Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Crappie fishing has been up and down and all over the place this past week. Patterns are not just changing weekly or daily but sometimes hourly. Fish can be in water deeper than 30 feet, or as shallow as 1 foot. Seeing fish around grass, around timber, under bridges, under docks and on ledges. There are very few fish on brush piles and lay downs. Finding fish all over the bridge in the morning then gone that afternoon. The cold fronts and winds have really made finding patterns that will hold up difficult. Not seeing very many fish spawned out yet, so we should have shallow fish for the next months. The bite when you do find fish, and they do not run, is good on small hand ties, minnows, soft plastics. The catfish bite continues to be red hot in 12-18 feet of water around trees that have birds roosting overnight. We should see fish showing back up around trees along creek channels in 18-25 feet of water as well. Bait the area with cattle cubes or sour grain to get the catfish loaded up. Any prepared catfish bait works great and we have been having great trips using punch bait. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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