The 2013 Fiddlers will be held Saturday, June 1, with the traditional jam session the night before.
“The Athens Old Fiddlers Reunion has moved to Saturday to allow for more student contestants and people who can’t get off work on Friday to be able to attend the event,” said Mary Ensign, coordinator for the Athens Old Fiddler’s Association, in the press release.
Make sure to adjust your calendar. You don’t want to miss Fiddlers.
Jonathan Gonzalez of Kaufman shows off his 18.6-pound channel catfish caught on a fly rod at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens February 14. The fish has been submitted for a number of lake and state records. (PHOTO COURTESY JANICE ARNSDORFF/TPWD)
Press release from Texas Parks and Wildlife
ATHENS—The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center’s main stocked fishing pond, Lake Zebco, covers only about an acre and a half. (A full football field including end zones covers 1.32 acres.) Walking at a brisk pace, you can circle it in three or four minutes.
The lake’s small size does not give a hint of what monsters lurk beneath its surface. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Jonathan (“Gonzo”) Gonzalez of Kaufman caught a channel catfish measuring 35.25 inches long and 23 inches in girth and weighing 18.6 pounds.
Gonzalez, a frequent visitor to TFFC, is a dedicated fly-fisher who frequently fishes for rainbow trout in TFFC’s ponds. As usual, on this occasion he was targeting rainbows using a five-weight rod and a semi-seal lure in peacock green.
Gonzalez is a prolific fly-tier who demonstrates his skills at the annual Fly Fish Texas event at TFFC, scheduled this year for March 9. “A semi-seal fly is named that because it looks like seal fur,” he said. “It’s bushy.” Gonzalez first saw the fly in Arizona, where it is used for trout, and now ties the pattern himself.
“I had seen trout rising on the upper end of the pond near where the waterfall comes in,” Gonzalez revealed. “I cast just past the trout, and the catfish hit the fly as soon as it hit the water. I suspect he may have been looking for rainbow trout to eat.”
The catfish is his biggest catch on a fly rod, eclipsing the 10.5-pound bass that was his previous best. How big was it? Well for starters, it is a pending state fly-rod record for channel catfish as well as a pending state catch-and-release record. And not surprisingly, it will rank as the Lake Zebco fly rod and catch-and-release records. It will also garner Gonzalez a Big Fish Award from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“I was pretty lucky,” Gonzalez said. “I fish at TFFC a lot, and this was just icing on the cake.”
—
On the Net:
For information on how you can submit your catch for a Texas record, visit here.
(PHOTO COURTESY ATHENS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT)
Courtesy the Athens Independent School District Facebook page
The Athens Hornets finished third overall at the Tyler Chapel Hill Powerlifting Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 16.
Athens scored 24 points behind the winner Lindale, which had 35 points. Bullard was 2nd with 25 points. Texarkana placed 4th with 21 points and Nacogdoches was 5th with 18 points.
Athens Ricardo Rodriguez placed 1st in the 114-pound class with a total of 765 pounds lifted, while José Rodriguez placed 1st in the 123-pound class had a total weight of 970, a personal best. John Arellano placed 1st in the SHW class with a total of 1,475 pounds, a personal best. Jose Rodriguez won the light platform award (Best Overall Lifter in the 114 – 165 class).
Alberto Martinez placed 8th in the 198-pounds class with a total of 1,035 pounds. Barrett Senycki placed 6th in the 198-pound class with a total of 980. Tyler Trussell placed 8th in the 242-pound class with a total of 1,135, a personal best. Brian Gutierrez placed 3rd in the 275-pound class with a total of 1,250, a personal best.
The following boy’s also competed for Athens: Osbablo Juarez in the 148-pound class, Dre’Tarious Chavis in the 181-pound class and Chad Walker 242-pound class.
Athens next powerlifting meet will be Thursday, Feb. 21, at Fairfield.
The following students for receiving a 1st Division rating on a Class I solo at the UIL Vocal Solo and Ensemble Contest held Friday night, Feb. 1, at Whitehouse High School: Rebecca Archer, Rachael Cantrell, Amber Conner, Paula Contois, Riley Hall, Azsia Hearn, Arianna Lopez, Ricky Rodriguez, Amy Schoonover, Jordan Solomon, Jadeyn Traxson, and Katy Rose Warmke. Also, a men’s ensemble comprised of Morgan Gimler, Ricky Rodriguez, Kenyon Walker, and Jordan Walker received a 1st Division rating. All of these students are now qualified to attend the State Solo and Ensemble Contest which will be held in Austin in May of this year. (PHOTO COURTESY ATHENS ISD)
