Passport to Texas

The Illumination

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This is Passport to Texas

Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga, part of Goliad State Park & Historic Site, was established in 1749 by Franciscan priests. Next week the TPW TV Series on PBS takes you there to experience an annual event called “The Illumination”. Assistant Superintendent Jason Ramirez.

In a lot of the Franciscan missions there is a documented event that will usually coincide with a solar event; a lot of the times it’s one of the holy days of the Catholics. In our mission we have something that happens every year on April 16th; we don’t really have an official explanation for it, but basically what happens is the sun will set in the ‘window of the sun’ as we call it, and cast a direct beam of light onto the Crucifix here. It happens every year on April 16th at around 7:00pm. One of the things we do know is that April 16th is an important holy day for Franciscans. It’s the anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan Order, and so it’s a very important day for the Franciscans. It’s a day that they renew their vows and rededicate themselves to the faith. And so we think that this may have been something that the missionaries here planned to convert the native people here, also to celebrate their faith.

Witness “The Illumination” next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS.

Check your local listings.

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

Reeling in White Bass

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This is Passport to Texas

In springtime, the white bass run is among the most anticipated freshwater angling events in the state.

Generations after generations seek these fish during this time, and it’s a good way to get kids involved in fishing. So there are a lot of traditional values to this fishery. And, there’s also a big economic impact by this fishery. It’s very important to our economy.

Marcos De Jesus is a fisheries biologist. When water levels in reservoirs are low, and river flows are down due to severe drought—that can spell trouble for the run.

Because the connectivity between the lakes and the rivers are being lost. So, without the flows that the fish need, they’re not running up river [to spawn].So, our concern is the fishery is not there for our anglers, and number two, these fish are not reproducing properly. And that starts to concern us because these fish are short lived, and we need them to reproduce within the second or third year.

Although the more than 40 percent of Texas is now in a moderate to severe drought, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, white bass are running.

Anglers need to understand that these drought cycles occur, and that the fish still can be caught in the main reservoirs. It’s just that they may not be able to catch them in those typical areas upriver where people traditionally catch them [during droughts].

Find the fishing forecast on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Many old timers say “when the redbuds (or dogwoods) are blooming the white bass are running.”

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This is Passport to Texas

Beginning in late December and early January, white bass begin to congregate where rivers and reservoirs meet.

And those fish are getting ready for those environmental cues to happen so they can actually all start migrating and running up river.

Environmental cues like changes in temperature and water flows. Marcos De Jesus is a fisheries biologist. When conditions are right, white bass move up river to spawn—something anglers eagerly anticipate each year.

Some of them go up pretty far – as far as they can swim to complete their spawning run. So, they become congregated and create excitement for the anglers, because once they’re congregated they’re really fun to catch.

East and Central Texas offer many white bass fishing opportunities. De Jesus says while they’re active year round, springtime runs, which continue through April, practically set up anglers for success.

As we get into the springtime, they congregate towards the mouth of the river waiting for those cues. Right when they’re at the mouth of the river, they’re easy to catch. But, the easiest time to catch them is when they’re running up river spawning in those shallow waters, because you can actually catch them from the bank. Do these fish give you a good fight? Definitely. They’re very great fighters. They become aggressive, and they take on many types of lures and live bait. Once they hook on – they’ll fight pretty hard.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Sargassum on Texas Beach, Image © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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This is Passport to Texas

The arrival of brown colored algae, called sargassum, to Texas beaches is nearly as predictable as the return of the swallows to Capistrano, but not as welcome.

It shows up on the beach, late spring through early summer, and it can be a nuisance to your average partygoer.

Paul Hammerschmidt, formerly with Coastal Fisheries, says tons of sargassum wash up on the Texas coast from the North Atlantic, hindering beachgoer access to the water. Yet, sargassum is far from being a mere nuisance. It provides habitat for other living things.

There are many animals that only live in the sargassum weed in the Sargasso Sea. It also is a nursery area for a whole lot of game fish like Mahi Mahi, Marlin, Sailfish, that type of thing.

On shore, Hammerschmidt says beachcombers discover shells and sea beans in the slimy tangle, as well as live animals. Cities and counties that obtain permits may move the seaweed to help rebuild sand dunes. If you get a hankering to bring home some Sargassum, it does make a good garden fertilizer – with one caveat.

One thing you really do have to do is rinse the saltwater off of it. You don’t want that saltwater in your garden; that’s just not healthy for your garden.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Image of Kemp’s Ridley resting on Sargassum © Joseph Scarola

So Much Sargassum Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Every spring and summer, visitors to the coast encounter piles of brown, wet, slimy vegetation on Texas beaches.

It’s a brown algae called sargassum.

Paul Hammerschmidt, formerly with Coastal Fisheries, says sargassum may accumulate on tide lines for miles.

It belongs to a whole group of plants that belong to the sargassum group. Most of those plants are attached to hard substrate – rocks, shells – that kind of thing. These particular species don’t attach to anything; they’re floating. They have little tiny gas bladders that help the plant float. So, periodically that breaks away and ends up on the Texas beach.

Sargassum originates in the Sargasso Sea, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

…in a big floating gyre; a gyre is a big eddy. And this particular sea has no shoreline at all – no land shoreline. It’s surrounded by four different ocean currents that keep that seaweed trapped in this one particular area.

Yet, tons of sargassum escape and end up on Texas shores.

Changes in the currents; winds and storms can occur in the area, and section of it actually break off and get into the main currents. Those main currents will bring them into the gulf and eventually onto the beaches.

Tomorrow: the value of sargassum.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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