AUSTIN, Texas — Since January 2009, a microscopic alga most often found in north and west Texas has been confirmed at four south Texas sites: Corpus Christi, Kingsville, McAllen, and Jim Hogg County. All four occurrences caused fish kills in private ponds and investigations by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Kills and Spills Team have found no evidence that public waters were affected.

The organism, Prymnesium parvum or golden alga, is a naturally-occurring species that was first confirmed in Texas’ Pecos River in 1985, marking the first record in the Western Hemisphere. Since then, golden alga has been found to occur in inland waters of an additional 15 states. Prior to 1985, this species was mostly known from brackish European waters.

Sometimes the algae reproduce very rapidly, resulting in what is referred to as a bloom. Golden alga blooms can give the water a yellow or copper color and cause foaming along shorelines. Under certain environmental conditions, golden alga produces toxins that affect gill-breathing organisms such as fish, clams and mussels. There is no evidence that these toxins harm other wildlife, livestock or humans.

Fish can escape a toxic bloom by retreating into an area that receives fresh, flowing water, such as a cove or inlet. Since 2001 golden alga has caused seasonal fish kills in the upper reaches of the Canadian, Red, Brazos, Colorado, and Rio Grande river basins. The lower Brazos River experienced two fish kills in 2006; before this event most fish kills had largely taken place west of Interstate Highway 35.

It remains unknown why golden alga blooms have been restricted to freshwater in the U.S., while they are a coastal concern in places such as Europe, the Mediterranean, and New Zealand. Due to its wide salinity tolerance, there is concern that golden alga might one day threaten Texas’ bays and estuaries and cause fish kills similar to those caused by red tides.

TPWD is coordinating efforts to monitor fish kills caused by toxic golden alga, to research golden alga for better understanding and management, and to manage the recreational fisheries of Texas with river authorities, state agencies and university researchers. Studies have resulted in control methods for golden alga in ponds and small reservoirs; however these methods are not economically or ecologically feasible for application to larger water bodies.

Golden alga does not thrive in waters with salinity below approximately 1.5 parts per thousand. Pond owners might reduce the chances of a bloom, and any resulting threat to surrounding water bodies, by avoiding the filling or topping of ponds with salty ground or surface water.

TPWD has neither the authority nor the resources to treat private ponds. More information about golden alga, including treatment options for private waters, can be found on the TPWD Web site.

It is amusing to see how other sites go through gyrations about doing gear reviews, ethics, and the deep moral issues that ensue as they try to avoid the slide down the slippery slope.

If you want gear reviewed under the most adverse Texas conditions – heat, rain, heat, mosquitos, wet water, stinky mud bottoms, saltwater, heat, sorry casters, superb casters, gearheads and the mostly qualified, but uncertified testers, just contact us and we will take whatever you have and put it through the wringer – Texas Style.

As for the gear reviewed here, it was purchased and is owned by the tester.

KORKERS WADING BOOTS

I have had the Streamborn model for a bit more than a year now, and if you check the link, you will quickly see the cosmetics wear off soon enough. Compared to the photograph of my boots taken this week, I don’t think many folks would be able to tell they are related.

I like my Korkers. The only major drawbacks are 1) I lost a sole in a mud suction and never knew it until I was back at the Cruiser taking them off – way bad, and 2) They tend to lose their form in the toe box and become tight in the toes – requiring presoaking to avoid pain. If you really are the diligent type, be sure to check the soles regularly to see that they are seated in the grooves of the boots. It’s too early to tell, but there is a possibility the soles (the bottom edges where the grooves secure the soles) can permanently deform.

Both of these problems have cropped up on discussion boards, and are well known, but seemingly not widespread. The novelty of interchangeable soles does come at a price and benefit. The price as noted, is that although Korkers redesigned their system to alleviate the sole separating, detaching and being lost – it still happens. The company seems to have attempted to deal with the toe box problem by, at least on their new model, recommending an unprecedented two size increase to accommodate waders. The translation is if you are, say an 8-1/2 US, then you go up a half and add two. Had I done that, perhaps the toe boxes wouldn’t demand a presoak.

There is a huge upside to the Korkers System, and that is as new composites are developed to expedite the move away from felt, Korkers can easily create new soles without having to retool, or in most cases re-bid with overseas manufacturers for a new design with new materials. So, last week I picked up a new pair of the non-slip soles when I was at Cabela’s. They presented themselves as being comparable with new Vibram Aquastealth soles, but I have yet to get them in the field to see how they work. They are called the Kling-on Sticky Rubber Sole. Meanwhile, Korkers has gone even further with two new sole offerings (I wish I would’ve known about), both have the Aquastealth name and are offered in studded and without studs. I can only assume they are using the Aquastealth name because they really are Aquastealth (see Gore-Tex if you aren’t following). Hats off to Vibram for creating a name that will linger in fly fisher’s lexicon much as the Kleenex brand is synonymous with tissue.

My favorite sole is the straight Carbide studded and rubber sole. I use it for the jetties, dam hopping (all the rage in the extreme workout world), and streams that are notorious for their slick rocks – like Broken Bow, Oklahoma. I also used the hiking sole to get to distant locations while on the Conejos, and switched them out with studded felts once I hit the River. The Streamborns are extremely flexible, lightweight and lace up by simply pulling on the ends without having to cinch through the entire weave of laces.

I have to admit, once I bought into the system, I did begin to cast an eye toward more Korkers to take advantage of using the soles on different boot models. With the recent release of the Ultra-Lite I may be rolling some pocket change to get a pair. If nothing else, take a look at the Swift Sandal, and try to talk yourself out of that model for hot Texas climate.
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AND THE TIP OF THE WEEKEND

The close up shows the addition of a tire tube doughnut to hold your gravel guards on your waders. The hooks on typical waders seem to eat through laces no matter the lace, and no matter the type of wader. So, just cut yourself one of these from an old bicycle tube and run it into your laces, hook into that and fish on. No matter what, always carry a spare set of laces, and expect them both to fail within a month of one another. It happens.

FROM THE TPWD – AUSTIN, Texas — A new online tool created by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will help anglers find out where tarpon have been seen or caught in Texas waters, and will help biologists learn more about the “silver king’s” distribution and movements.

“Tarpon are extreme game fish highly sought after by sport anglers,” said TPWD Coastal Fisheries Outreach Specialist Art Morris, who first proposed the new tool. “This application should not only help those looking to target tarpon but help us understand this charismatic and hard-to-study species.”

Members of the TPWD GIS Lab’s Resource Information System (RIS) team spent nearly two years building the application.

Texas was once an international destination for anglers seeking to land a trophy tarpon. U.S. presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, have successfully landed the species in Texas waters, and Port Aransas, Texas, was once named for the species.

Today’s Texas tarpon fishery centers on Gulf passes and nearshore waters, primarily spring through fall, but angler reports and TPWD gill net sampling indicates the fish can be found at scattered locations throughout the state’s bays and estuaries.

While the reasons are not entirely known, it is generally accepted that the current abundance of the species in Texas waters is nowhere near its historical highs.

“This application will allow the public to assist biologists track current tarpon use of Texas waters to better understand and manage the species.” said Morris.

The new web application allows TPWD staff and anglers and researchers to query the number and type of tarpon observations using dates, radius from a point based on latitude and longitude, bay name or coastal area. The application features GoogleTM Maps, allowing for satellite-based imagery and the ability to zoom in, zoom out and pan to locations of interest.

The Membership Security Module offers a password protected interface for editing the database allowing authorized users to report their observations via the Internet. This will allow for other reportable data such as information about observation time of year, temperature at location, and tarpon length and weight (if known).

Close to 300 observations already are loaded into the application, primarily from TPWD records and a few early volunteers. The web application is the first of its kind for the Gulf of Mexico.

“If successful, the program could be expanded to include other states and Mexico as well as other, less common species such as snook or large sharks,” said Morris. “Ultimately, the program will help researchers and anglers alike in understanding this elusive game fish.”

Anglers or members of the public who wish to record observations can log in to the application on the TPWD Web site, or e-mail tarpon@tpwd.state.tx.us for more information.