"Catch the Fun with River Rodeo! This community-wide fishing challenge hosted by the San Antonio River Authority (“River Authority”) and the San Antonio River Foundation in partnership with Angler’s Atlas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Fin Addict Angler Foundation, and Brackenridge Park Conservancy—where anglers can log their catches, compete on live leaderboards, win prizes, and support real fisheries science while enjoying outdoor river adventures.
This is a length-based fishing event to be held in the Headwaters to Mission Reach area of the San Antonio River in Texas. Refer to the map attached to this event for the official boundaries. The Riverwalk loop will be excluded from the event.
The 2026 River Rodeo is an online event run through Angler’s Atlas website and the mobile app MyCatch, available for iOS and Android.
Anyone can participate in this event and it is for all ages and multiple accounts are able to use the same device (see accounts tab).
This event is free to enter.
There is an Adult Division and a Youth Division - all youth must be 16 and under.
Participants 16 and younger must be fishing with an adult.
Each contestant must have a valid STATE fishing license or otherwise be exempt from needing one.
Catches must be submitted through the MyCatch app for approval.
For catches to be sent properly, you must use the same login email and password for both the Angler’s Atlas website and the MyCatch app.
Participants must register for this event through the Angler’s Atlas website or the MyCatch app.
Each participant will receive an automatic email confirming registration for the event.
By participating in this event participant’s name may be publicly visible.
Protecting participant’s privacy is a priority, and any location data collected during the event will not be released to the public unless required to do so by law. Our goal is “Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret”. See section 7 for further details.
By registering and participating in this event, all participants agree to abide by the rules and regulations they have received as set out in this rules document.
For this event, participants must follow all limits pertaining to possession and bag limits at all times.
River angling will follow the statewide regulations - https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor annual/fishing/freshwater-fishing/freshwater-fishing-landing-page
Davis Lake (see map) will follow Community Fishing Lake harvest regulations - https:// tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/fishregs2.php?water=cfl0
Invasive Species: https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/general-rules regulations/possession-and-transport-of-exotic-aquatic-species
All fish entered for this event must be caught via angling i.e. using hook, line, rod and reel. Fish caught by nonangling (i.e. use of traps, trap nets or cages) is not permitted. Usage of a landing net to land a hooked fish is allowed.
Participants can only submit catches that they have caught themselves. This is an individual event, so participants cannot enter as a partnership or team. Participants are free to fish alone or with other event or non-event anglers, but each registered participant may only enter his/her own fish.
To ensure the best chances of survival for any released fish, all participants are to handle fish safely.
Each participant must have in his/her possession a valid fishing license for their respective jurisdiction or be exempt under regulations of their jurisdiction.
Each participant must conform to the general sport fishing rules and regulations that are in place for the jurisdiction in which he/she is fishing.
All participants must abide by all federal, state and local laws.
The River Authority is not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any participant or third-party. See section 8 for more details.
All questions or concerns relating to the rules of this event are to be referred to the Organizer: San Antonio River Authority. Their decision will be final in all cases. No other entity can be considered a spokesman for the rules during the event. The Organizer point of contact for this event is - Mitch Magruder: [email protected]
The interpretation and enforcement of the rules is at the sole discretion of the Organizer. The event Organizer may change rules or impose sanctions as they deem appropriate, including but not limited to disqualifications, forfeiture of prizes, and prohibition from competing in future events. All decisions made by the event Organizer are final.
Abuse of event officials and volunteers will not be tolerated and may result in immediate disqualification.
Any participant found to be cheating will be disqualified from the event. Angler’s Atlas also reserves the right to ban participants from competing in future events on its platforms.
In the event of disqualification, any paid entry fees will be forfeited and not refunded.
Any participant has the right to make a protest another participant by contacting the Organizer’s point of contact by email. All protests must be completed and presented within 1 hour of the close of the event. The Organizer’s decision will be final in all cases. Repeated protests, or protests made in bad faith, may result in participant’s disqualification from the event.
It is the River Authority’s intention to provide an honest sportsmanlike event. In the interest of good sportsmanship, contestants are reminded the spirit of the rule will prevail in all judgments.
All participants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation. Any participant who displays poor sportsmanship, violates these rules, or brings unfavorable publicity to the sport of fishing may be disqualified.
Participants are responsible for their own safety, actions, and property at all times.
All participants must follow boating safety regulations in your jurisdiction.
All photo and video submissions may be used by Angler's Atlas and the San Antonio River Authority for any reason. See section 8 for license information.
A. Eligible species include the following:
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• Largemouth Bass • Guadalupe Bass • Channel Catfish • Flathead Catfish • Yellow Bullhead • Rio Grande Cichlid • Bluegill • Longear Sunfish • Armored Catfish (Invasive) |
• Redbreast Sunfish • Redspotted Sunfish • Green Sunfish • Warmouth • Redear Sunfish • Common Carp • Grey Redhorse • Longnose Gar • Spotted Gar • Blue Tilapia (Invasive) |
For this event, Catch and release is supported but not mandatory. Participants must follow all limits pertaining to possession and bag limits at all times. All invasive species caught, including Plecostomus (Armored Catfish) and Blue Tilapia, are encouraged to be harvested.
For each catch to qualify, a photograph of the fish on a measuring device must be taken using the MyCatch app (ie. photos cannot be uploaded from a photo gallery or other source).
All participants must have GPS/location services enabled on their cell phones for their catches to qualify. River Authority and Atlas Angler will endeavor to protect the location data of the submission unless required to release by law. For more information, see section 7 below.
This is a total length measurement event, not fork length. The total length of a fish is measured from the tip of the nose or jaw to the tip of the tail (see picture below). The tail can be naturally
pinched to the width of the measuring board.
Each fish must be entered only once. Fish should be entered as soon as possible after catching and catches must be recorded at the fishing site.
The nose of the fish must be at the start or zero mark on all measuring
devices.
The entry photo must be taken from a birds-eye view looking down on the fish.
The mouth is allowed to be open, closed, or anywhere in between, so long as the fish meets the other above requirements.
All fish must be measured with the right side down, as pictured above; “right side” refers to the fish’s anatomical right when viewed from the fish’s perspective (head facing forward).
If measuring a fish entry on a commercially produced bumpboard, participant must follow these rules:
The nose of the fish must be visibly touching the bump end of the board;
The fish must be placed on top of the board;
The entire fish showing the head and tail must be visible in the measurement photo. The Organizer must also see past the head and tail in the photo; and
Expandable (sliding) bump boards may not be allowed if the fish passes the expandable section.
If measuring a fish entry on a homemade bumpboard, participants must follow these rules:
The measurement rules are the same as above;
Participants must provide a photo to the Organizer of the empty board to verify proof of measurement accuracy. Such photo must include a measuring tape alongside the bumpboard measurements for verification. This photo must be sent to [email protected];
Homemade bumpboards must have a solid edge or "bump" for the fish to be set against and the fish must line up with the “0” mark on the tape; and
Unverified boards will NOT be accepted.
If measuring a fish entry using a tape measure, participants must follow these rules:
The fish nose and the start of the tape must be aligned by placing both against a solid edge;
The fish's nose must be aligned with the “0” mark on the tape;
The tape measure must be beside the fish, not on top of the fish or covering it in a way that obscures the measurements;
The entire fish showing the head and tail and past the tail must be visible in the measurement photo; and
*Rapala roll out tapes will be treated as a tape measure.*
Sliding/Expandable Bump boards will be allowed if it can be shown in the length submission photo that the board is fully extended.
If an entry submission comes in where a measuring rule is not followed, the fish may still be approved, but a length penalty may be applied by the Organizer. The penalty will apply to the observable length of the fish at the discretion of the Organizer. The set penalty amount will be 1 inch or multiples of. The entry may also be rejected at the discretion of the Organizer.
Fish will be approved for length only to the last physical mark crossed.
The Organizer reserves the right to adjust entries, and the right to require a participant to email a picture of the participant’s measuring device to the Organizer’s point of contact.
Fish entries do not appear on the leaderboards until they have been approved by the Organizer. Participants should not expect to see the fish entry reflected on the leaderboard immediately. Participants should inspect the Log View on the MyCatch app (2nd icon from the left at the bottom) to check that fish was recorded successfully. If the fish entry is shown on the MyCatch app, it was logged successfully. Once a submission has been approved, it will appear on the appropriate leaderboard(s).
During the entry process, additional photos and video will be prompted. For this event, they are not mandatory but encouraged.
The MyCatch app will work even when out of cell range, however for a fish entry to qualify the MyCatch app must be synced with Angler’s Atlas server. To learn how to submit a catch into the event, participants may watch this MyCatch video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS65wMakQHA
Event boundaries include the headwaters to the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River in Texas. See the map attached to this event
The event runs from April 4, 2026 @ 06:00:00 am CDT through to May 31, 2026 @ 9:00:00 pm CDT.
All entries must be synced up by June 1, 2026 @ 9:00:00 am CDT in order to qualify.
At the discretion of the Organizer, event days may be shortened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.
A. Prizes for the event will be distributed in accordance with the prizing categories listed below:
Longest Guadalupe Bass General Division - Caught on conventional tackle
Longest Guadalupe Bass General Division - caught on a fly (has to show fly in mouth in measurement photo)
Longest Fish Adult Division
Longest Fish Youth Division
Most Species Entered Adult Division
Most Species Entered Youth Division
Most Fish Entered Adult Division
Most Fish Entered Youth Division
Most Invasive Species Removed General Division
Week # 5 May 1 -7 - Overall Longest Largemouth Bass Challenge award
B. In the case of a tie, the tie breaker will go to the first fish recorded by time. If a tie still exists, the tie breaker will go to the person with the highest number of fish reported.
C. Awards will be announced after a review process on or by June 12, 2026 and participants will be contacted directly using the contact information provided during the event registration process. Prizes will be given out at the end of the event.
D. Winners must claim their prizes within 60 calendar days of the end of the event. All prizes not claimed by the above deadline will be forfeited.
The following are not rules - they are simply a reference to best practices of handling fish.
To ensure the best chances of survival for all released fish, the Organizer highly encourages conservation and the proper handling of all fish caught.
Whenever feasible, participants should keep the fish in the water as long as possible while handling.
Participants should not place fingers in the gills or mouth of the fish.
If a swallowed hook can't be easily removed, participants should cut the line as close to the hook as possible.
Participants should have the camera ready prior to landing fish to minimize air exposure.
Participants should hold large fish horizontally and support the fish’s body to avoid damage to the internal organs.
Participants should not hold or support the fish by its gills, gill covers or eyes.
Participants should use wet hands when handling a fish and handle the fish quickly and as little as possible.
When releasing a fish, participants should never throw it into the water.
“Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret” — This is our primary commitment to participants who report their catches through MyCatch. So what does this mean in practice?
Angler’s Atlas does not release MyCatch GPS data to the public unless required by law. It is treated as confidential and is provided to fisheries researchers under strict conditions.
Every research team with which Angler’s Atlas works with must sign a data sharing agreement that sets the terms of use for the data.
Data is anonymized before it is provided to the researcher.
Researchers agree not to share the data with anyone else.
Researchers cannot use the data for any purpose other than the research specified in the agreement.
Exact location data cannot be published as part of the scientific research. Instead, it has to be generalized to a larger region so the location cannot be reverse engineered.
Angler’s Atlas may release data as required by law.
Angler’s Atlas may be required by law or court order to release data, photos or other submissions. The River Authority is a governmental entity and may be required to release data, photos or submissions in compliance with the Texas Public information Act.
The data privacy rules for Angler’s Atlas are designed to protect each participant’s private data, to conserve the fisheries, and to make sure we maintain a trusting relationship with our anglers into the future. If participants have any questions regarding Angler’s Atlas commitment, please reach out to Angler’s Atlas President directly by email ([email protected]).
A. PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW TO FULLY INDEMNIFY AND HOLD THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY AND ITS DIRECTORS, AGENTS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND SUBCONTRACTORS (“INDEMNIFIED PARTIES”), HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL COSTS, CLAIMS, LIENS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, EXPENSES, FEES, FINES, PENALTIES, PROCEEDINGS, ACTIONS, DEMANDS, CAUSES OF ACTION, LIABILITY, AND SUITS OF ANY KIND AND NATURE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY, DEATH, AND PROPERTY DAMAGE, MADE UPON ANY INDEMNIFIED PARTIES, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ARISING OUT OF, RESULTING FROM, OR RELATED TO PARTICIPATION IN THE EVENT OR FROM ANY ACT OF NEGLIGENCE OF INDEMNIFIED PARTIES, ALL WITHOUT WAIVING ANY GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY OR DEFENSES AVAILABLE TO INDEMNIFIED PARTIES UNDER TEXAS LAW. TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, IT IS FURTHER COVENANTED AND AGREED THAT SUCH INDEMNITY SHALL APPLY EVEN WHERE SUCH COSTS, CLAIMS, LIENS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, EXPENSES, FEES, FINES, PENALTIES, ACTIONS, DEMANDS, CAUSES OF ACTION, LIABILITY AND/OR SUITS ARISE FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF INDEMNIFIED PARTIES. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS INDEMNITY ARE SOLELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES AND NOT INTENDED TO CREATE OR GRANT ANY RIGHTS, CONTRACTUAL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY. IT IS THE EXPRESS INTENTION OF THE ORGANIZER AND THE PARTICIPANT THAT THE INDEMNITY PROVIDED FOR IN THIS AGREEMENT IS AN INDEMNITY BY THE PARTICIPANT IN THE EVENT TO INDEMNIFY, PROTECT, AND HOLD HARMLESS INDEMNIFIED PARTIES FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES’ OWN NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW.
B. Participants give Angler’s Atlas and San Antonio River Authority an irrevocable, assignable, fully paid-up, sublicensable, royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual license and right, which shall survive the conclusion of the event to use the photos, data, and video submissions, including the originals thereof, and the ideas and designs contained therein, for any purpose, regardless of the participant’s involvement.
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