Passport to Texas

Angler Holding Up Trout on Stringer, Blanco State Park Photo Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Catch a Rainbow this Holiday Season Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re an angler who likes to eat what you catch, then now’s the time to reel in a rainbow trout.

We stock them at a catchable and eatable size. They are good fighting fish; they’re relatively easy to catch. We usually stock them in smaller bodies of water, so they’re a good fishing, catching opportunity and good eating opportunity as well.

Carl Kittle is a program director for Inland Fisheries, and oversees winter trout stocking in Texas, which began this month.

We’ve been stocking [rainbow] trout around Texas for almost 40 years. One interesting note about trout is that we often say there are no established populations of trout in Texas, but actually, way out west in the Davis Mountains there’s a small, tiny stream at high enough elevation that there is a reproducing population of rainbow trout.

That’s why we stock them in winter; most of Texas is too hot for the. Inland fisheries will distribute more than 290-thousand rainbows in 150 locations.

And we have a special program; we actually stock somewhat larger trout in urban areas in our Neighborhood Fishin’ Program. And that’s something that you can specifically look for on our web page.

With the winter holidays here, it’s is a great time go fishing with the kids. Find the stocking schedule on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series and funds rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

A happy angler shows off a rainbow trout caught in a Dallas-area community fishing lake stocked annually by TPWD.

Rods, Reels and Rainbows Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s the holiday season; and we recommend celebrating with rods, reels and rainbows. Rainbow trout, that is.

We do winter stockings when the water temperatures permit it, to provide an opportunity for anglers to catch trout in Texas. It’s a species of fish that anglers wouldn’t catch otherwise, so we stock them, and we intend them all to be caught out during the season.

Carl Kittle (kitl) is a biologist with Inland Fisheries. He says thanks to abundant rainfall throughout most of the state, there’s plenty of access to stock lakes and ponds.

This year, things are pretty well back to normal. Looks like our normal level of stocking will happen.

The agency will stock more than 290-thousand rainbow trout in about 150 sites statewide.

We publish a schedule on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department webpage. Look for the winter trout stocking link.

Carl Kittle says we stock rainbows in winter because these fish cannot survive our hot summers. So, when you reel one in this winter, take it home and eat it.

We have two trout recipes at passporttotexas.org.

The Sport fish restoration program supports our series and helps to fund rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

We record our series at The Block House in Austin, Texas and Joel Block engineers our program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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For convenience (or when you need to prepare something the kiddos will eat) fish sticks and canned tuna can save the day. However, when you can slow down and take a little extra time – and it really doesn’t take that much more time, but it tastes like it – excite the taste buds of family and friends with the savory goodness of well-prepared fresh fish. It’s sure to make a splash.

Whole Cooked Trout Italiana
Recipe by Cecilia Nasti
Prep & Cooking time: 30 minutes or less
Serves 2

Annual winter rainbow trout stocking runs December through early March statewide. They’re fun to catch and make great table fare.

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt
• Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 whole, one-pound rainbow trout, cleaned, heads on
• 1 large lemon cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions
1. Heat the broiler.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the oil, garlic and dried herbs; simmer over low heat, about 2-3 minutes. This will marry the flavors. Be mindful not to burn the garlic otherwise the oil may taste slightly bitter.
3. Remove the oil and herb mixture from the heat and stir in the vinegar, half the salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
4. Place the whole trout on the broiler pan and sprinkled each, inside and out, with the remaining salt.
5. With a pastry brush, apply the oil, herb and vinegar mixture onto the fish, both inside and out.
6. Broil the fish about 5-inches from the heat source for 4-5 minutes on one side, before gently turning it to other side and cooking an additional 2-3 minutes until just done; an instant read thermometer inserted into the fleshiest part of the fish should register 120-degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Brush the hot fish with some of the remaining oil, herb and vinegar mixture.

8. Plate and whole fish; sprinkle with chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, and serve with lemon wedges. Serve hot.
This dish would pair well with a winter salad of arugula, thin-sliced red onion, shaved fennel bulb, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit sections, Texas pecans, shaved parmesan cheese, and simple vinaigrette.

Trout with Mexican Mint Marigold. Photo by Beth Pav.

Casa Pav Rainbow Trout with Mexican Mint Marigold
Recipe by Mike and Beth Pav

Ingredients
• 1lb or 1 filet (side w/skin) of trout, de-boned
• 1-2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons of Mexican Mint Marigold leaves, rough chop
• Several Mexican Mint Marigold flowers for garnish

Directions
1. Preheat Oven 400
2. Place parchment paper on a 1/2 sheet pan.
3. Gently place the trout on top of the parchment paper, skin-side down.
4. Drizzle olive oil over entire trout.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the entire trout.
6. With your fingers, softly rub olive oil, salt and pepper into the flesh of the fish.
7. Rinse & dry hands.
8. Sprinkle the rough chopped Mexican Mint Marigold leaves over the entire fish.
9. Gently place the Mexican Mint Marigold flowers in a line down the center of the filet, from tip to tail.
10. Place in over for up to 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Hints & Tips

• You may substitute tarragon for Mexican Mint Marigold.
• The yellow flowers do turn brown when roasted. So keep some aside to garnish the trout when done.

Lily Raff McCallou, photo courtesy www.oregonlive.com

Lily Pulls the Trigger Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When you grow up in a hunting family, you learn to appreciate the tradition.

It was so different from what I grew up with and from anything I knew, that I wanted to know more about it.

Lily Raff McCaulou moved from NYC to Bend Oregon to write for a small newspaper, her readers included anglers and hunters. To connect with them and her food, Lily learned to hunt.

You know, the locavore movement was starting to take hold, and I’d been a meat eater my whole life, and was wondering: do I really have what it takes to hunt and kill my own meat. And wanting to know what I could get from that experience — and that closeness to my food. So, it was a combination of all these different factors that made me decide this is something that I want to try.

After hunter education and learning to shoot, she attended a Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop, which included a pheasant hunt. She thought she might not have the nerve to pull the trigger.

All the other women in my group had shot a bird, and I just started feeling like, ‘Hey, I’ve come all this way and it’s been a year in the making, and I want to take a shot, too.’ Eventually, all the stars aligned and the dog that I was with sniffed out a bird and held it on point [and when it flushed] , and I got it; I took the shot and the bird fell immediately. Rather than feeling all the guilt and remorse, I felt empowered.

Lily Raff McCaulou wrote a book about her experience entitled: Call of the Mild.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

More women are becoming hunters to spend time in the outdoors and to put fresh nature-raised meat on the table.

How a Non-Hunter Changed Her Tune Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When Lily Raff McCaulou moved from NYC to Bend, Oregon to pursue a career in journalism, her beat covered a large rural area.

I was there hoping to write about stories that mattered to them and their community.

Something that mattered to the community was hunting.

I didn’t know any hunters growing up – and this was just so far from what I was used to. And there was a little bit of a danger element. These were people who knew how to use guns. People who owned guns. There was something kind of scary bout that to me.

It didn’t take long for Lily to appreciate how hunting and land stewardship went hand-in-hand, or that her new neighbors were committed conservationists who had great compassion for the lives of the animals they harvested.

So, when I was meeting these hunters, I realized a huge part of hunting for them was being out in the environment and interacting with the natural world. And that, as hard as it was to understand, and hard as it is to explain, they actually had a huge amount of love for the animals that they hunted. There was not hate – it was actually the opposite of that – it was love and respect for these animals.

Tomorrow – Lily pulls the trigger.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

First Day Hike at Pedernales Falls State Park.

First Day Hikes and More Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Here we are again, straddling the threshold of a new year. How will you spend the first day? You could devote the first day of 2016 recovering from the last day of 2015. You might also decide to remain in your jammies, parked in front of the television for a day of football, movies, and snacking. There’s nothing wrong with that… in theory.

But before you settle into that well-worn groove in the sofa and start brushing potato chip crumbs from your loungewear, change into your street clothes, and head out the door for a little fresh air and sunshine.

People who spend time outdoors are healthier, happier, and smarter. And how we spend the first day of the year is often indicative of how we’ll spend the entire year. That’s research talking, I’m just the messenger.

Go to the calendar section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website to find outdoor opportunities for the first day of the New Year, including: a List Birding Hike at Tyler State Park in East Texas; A First Day Mountain Bike Ride for beginners at Franklin Mountains SP near El Paso; how about a First Day Hike at the Hill Country State Natural Area; or the fifth annual Stuffed Turkey Hike at Bonham SP to help walk off some of those holiday treats.

Or, just go outside and take a walk around your neighborhood and appreciate where you live and with whom you share your life. The games and movies will be on…and the chips will be crisp when you get back.

Remember: Life’s Better Outside. Happy New Year.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.