STARKVILLE — Anglers, outdoorsmen and perhaps fans of the Mississippi State Deer University Podcast can now tune in to a new podcast for wildlife and fisheries management. MSU Fisheries Professor Wes Neal is launching a new podcast called Fish University. 

The podcast will take a similar approach to Deer University to share fascinating research, explain what research means and how it applies to fisheries management. The podcast will cover pond management, salt water fisheries and everywhere in between. 

Fish University is a part of a podcast network called Natural Resources University. Network podcasts include MSU’s Deer University podcast, Fire University from Florida and Habitat University from Purdue and Iowa State. It will be released once a month on the fifth of the month, Neal said. 

“Natural Resources University kind of inspired me to start the Fish University podcast. There was someone who had a Pond University podcast, but he changed jobs, and I took over and expanded it to fish,” Neal said. “My primary audience will be private pond owners looking to improve the management of their ponds, but I hope to bring in other topics as well. First, it will be about fish management, the secondary objective is fishing-related topics, and we would like to cover conservation topics too.” 

Fish University’s first podcast episode was released on October 5, 2022, and features MSU’s Deer Lab Co-Director and Deer University co-host, Bronson Strickland, as the first guest. He and Neal discuss the relationship between growing big bucks and growing big bass through management practices. 

He said what makes podcasts special is they are a convenient way for people to access information and gain an understanding of scientific research. They are on demand anywhere you can get podcasts such as Spotify or Apple Music. 

The podcast fulfills the MSU Extension Service goal of outreach to the public. Fish University’s intro reminds people they can sit back and relax as they tune in to the podcast.

“The podcast will provide a source of information not readily available. I hope to incorporate some video too,” Neal said. “We will cover everything. If it is of interest to the listener we will cover it. Our second episode is about the Toyota Sharelunker program in Texas to grow trophy bass, and the third is about angler perceptions from fishing for brown trout in the Little Red River in Arkansas and speaks to what an angler perceives is going on in the water versus what is happening. Future episodes could be about fish migration and behavior.” 

Listeners are encouraged to provide feedback on the podcast and email topics or questions to jwn72@msstate.edu.