BRIAN L. BOHNSACK, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA

Two variables that often characterize effective fish and game agencies include 1) tendencies towards proactive action on issues and 2) listening to constituents and understanding their desires. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, working in cooperation with Texas A&M University, has incorporated angler surveys into their management practices to improve effectiveness in managing both saltwater and freshwater fisheries throughout the state. Previous statewide angler surveys in Texas focused on contemporary problem solving. Instead of dealing with matters that are already contentious, an effort was made to predict future management issues and question anglers' opinions and attitudes regarding several broad policy and regulation topics. This will be enable fisheries managers to better plan for necessary efforts in support of agency programs. A self-administered mail questionnaire was sent to 2,050 saltwater anglers during March 1996. Anglers were surveyed to evaluate their attitudes and behaviors on catch and release fishing, hooking mortality, live bait use, red drum allocation preferences, and fishing regulations. An effective response rate of 57% was achieved for the survey. Survey results have broad implications for the future of saltwater fisheries management in Texas, including red drum allocation, and the promulgation of fishing regulations.