By Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX-23)

Proudly displayed on the wall in my Washington office is a picture of me holding a giant bass that I caught during the B.A.S.S. Pro Tour "Battle on the Border." It was quite a thrill for an amateur fisherman like me to be featured on ESPN.  It was during this tournament, at the incredibly majestic Lake Amistad in Del Rio that I saw firsthand just how passionate anglers are about their sport and saw yet again that hunting and fishing both have a great social and economic impact.

Hunting and fishing in Texas is a force as big as the great outdoors. Whether it's a father and child Sunday morning activity or just a way to get away from it all, hunting and fishing are traditions. Sportsmen are as passionate about their sports as they are devoted.

Texas is rated number one in the country in the total of resident anglers, which stands at 2.3 million. There are 979,000 resident hunters in Texas.

Anglers spend $1.1 billion on bait alone. Here's another fun fact: The population of New York and Los Angeles is roughly 12 million. These are two of America's largest cities.  But if you added up the total population of both cities, that's still less than the number of people who hunt in the United States.

You hear and read all the time about the multi-million dollar contracts of professional basketball or football players. Companies pay millions of dollars for stadium "naming rights."   But the economic impact of hunting and fishing is often overlooked. Annual spending by Texas sportsmen, at $6.6 billion, is greater than the combined cash receipts from the state's cotton, greenhouse/nursery, broilers, dairy and corn production. Fishing contributes $4.2 billion to the Texas economy, and hunting $2.3 billion.

Our district has some of the best hunting and fishing in the state. As you take your rifle off the rack and your fishing rod out of the garage, I hope you're able to take advantage of all there is to offer