Asian grass carp first started showing up in North America around the mid 1960’s. By 1975, they could be found in 40 states and currently call 45 states home. This was no accident initially, as state wildlife agencies explored the idea of using grass carp to help manage or control aquatic vegetation. Today, state wildlife agencies still use this fish in certain situations. The only difference being that released fish are sterile.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries District Biologist Marco De Jesus joins the show this week to discuss triploid grass carp and how his division employs the service of this fish. We also take a look at the relationship Inland Fisheries has with the Management Authority of a said body of water. At the end of the day, fishing opportunity is not why lakes were created. So, that relationship with the management authority of “X” water body is paramount for Texas Parks and Wildlife to work with them to increase good angling opportunity.

Then we spend a couple segments with my good friend Luke Sterling who recently invited me up to Montana for a spring black bear hunt. Luke is a lifelong Montana native and is the most hardcore backcountry hunter I’ve ever had the pleasure of hunting with. I’m not gonna lie, keeping up with this mountain goat was not an easy task for a flatlander like myself. We recount our hunt and discuss a situation that occurred on our hunt that really made me question the ethics of some of the members of our hunting community. Poor hunting ethics and etiquette shouldn’t be tolerated. It simply is bad form and can lead to unnecessary conflicts.