Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

It took ten years and four million dollars, but the Texas Clipper is finally at the bottom of the gulf as an artificial reef.

Sinking the ship is just the beginning to me.

Dale Shively coordinates the artificial reef program at Parks and Wildlife. The Clipper is part of the Ships to Reefs program.

I think that once we start our biological monitoring, which will start immediately, we will have an underwater environment where we’ll be studying artificial reefs for many years to come.

On November 17, after several delays, contractors towed the ship from Brownsville where it had been cleaned up, 17 nautical miles off the coast of South Padre Island, where it was sunk.

I like to look at it as the ship of four lives. We’ve always talked about the three lives: as the USS Queens, the Excambion, and the Texas Clipper. But now it has the opportunity to live on in its fourth life, as an artificial reef for the state of Texas.

Artificial reefs are oases for marine life in the gulf, and improve fisheries where they exist. Learn more about the sinking of the Texas Clipper at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife restoration program…working to increase hunting, fishing, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas Parks & Wildlife

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

The Texas Clipper: That Sinking Feeling Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

October through April, anglers who reel in a largemouth bass weighing 13-pounds or more are encouraged to donate their catch to the ShareLunker program. Fish accepted into the program spawn the next generation of big bass.

To donate a fish, handle it as little as possible, then…

Get a weight on it. If you have a set of scales that you feel like are close enough that you can actually say it’s a good enough weight to call us, weigh it and let us know.

David Campbell coordinates the ShareLunker program, and explains what to do if you think you have a lunker, and want to donate it to the program.

We would like to have these fish in our possession in less than 12 hours. I realize sometimes if you’re on the other side of the state of Texas is may take me a few hours to get there. If you have to go somewhere and have that fish weighed, leave it in the water in aerated live well or whatever it is, try not to dry the fish off. If that fish weighs 13-pounds on a set of certified scales—whether it’s for business or whatever it is—give us a call as quick as possible. And we dispatch a vehicle; and take care of it until we get there. That’s the main thing.

Visit passporttotexas.org to find the phone numbers to call to donate your lunker.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…providing funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
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If your fish meets the requirements listed above, call our toll-free, 24-hour pager at 1-888-784-0600 (October 1-April 30 only) or (903) 681-0550.

ShareLunker Program: How to Participate Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

The ShareLunker program takes largemouth bass—13-pounds or more—and uses them to breed even bigger bass. By placing the males and females in the same tank, you’d think nature would take its course. It’s not that easy, says program coordinator, David Campbell.

It’s very hard to get these older fish to spawn in a strange environment.

The bass donated to the ShareLunker program are ten years old or more—which makes them eligible for membership in the aquatic equivalent of AARP. Besides, the journey to the spawning tanks is stressful.

When you catch a thirteen-pound bass with a rod and reel, that’s not something you just reel in real quick and get it out of the water and put it in a live well—it usually takes some time, and it stresses the fish.

Do you feel romantic when you’re exhausted and stressed? Apparently, neither do bass. Music and dim lights work for humans. I asked, in jest, whether Campbell tried such mood enhancers with the bass.

(laughter) We haven’t tried it, but we have thought about it. (chuckles) We thought about a lot of this in the first few years of the program because we found it was extremely difficult to get them to spawn.

They’re doing something right, because three-quarters of a million fry have been stocked in lakes from the ShareLunker program. How to donate to the program tomorrow.

That’s our show for today…with support fro the Sport Fish Restoration Program…providing funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

ShareLunker Program: Breeding in Captivity Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

Anglers know they can find big bass in Texas.

We have more big bass caught in Texas than anywhere I know of. I’m talking about anywhere in the United States or anywhere in the world.

David Campbell coordinates a bass spawning program at Parks and Wildlife, called the ShareLunker program.

I know there’s been some bigger fish caught in California, Florida—but it’s the numbers of big fish. And the anglers can go to almost any reservoir in the state of Texas and have the potential of catching a thirteen pound plus large-mouth bass. I don’t think that Anyone else can come close to that.

Anglers who reel in largemouth bass weighing 13-pounds or more are encouraged to donate their catch to the ShareLunker program. The donated bass enter into a spawning program, with the hope of creating faster growing, bigger bass.

We’ve had somewhere in the neighborhood of three quarter of a million fry from the sharelunkers through the years. We only had one spawn last year. We’ve had some years we didn’t have any spawn. Then some years we might have five, six or seven spawn.

The challenges of breeding bass in captivity…that’s tomorrow.

That’s our show for today…we record our program at the Production Block Studios in Austin, Texas…and we receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…providing funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

ShareLunker Program Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

One of the segments this month on the Parks and Wildlife Television series is about big bass in Texas…and series producer, Don Cash, is here to tell us about it.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and boy howdy, the bass are bigger, too. One of the best places to go fishing is Lake Fork, which is east of Dallas. And it is well known as the big bass lake in the country.

Reel…reel…every time. Set the hook! Hard! Hard! I’ve got him! Oh my God he’s huge! (laughter) Hang on! (cheers)

A lot of people don’t know that there’s some really nice places in Texas state parks to go bass fishing. Purtis Creek State Park, which is near Athens, they look at themselves as sort of a smaller Lake Fork.

Well, I’ll tell ya—one thing I love about Purtis Creek—you can always be pretty much guaranteed you’re going to catch a fish.

Well, one of the things I’ve found is that bass populations—all the fish populations—are really dependent on management. Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists do a lot of fisheries management.

Our goal is always to at least maintain bass angling as it is or keep improving it.

And that helps keep the bass populations high where they are, and keeps the fishing good for everybody in Texas. People that are out fishing for bass (cheers) are having a good time, and that’s really the main thing.

Watch the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS stations.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…working to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Stations & Air Times for Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series

TPW TV January Feature: Big Bass Play Now | Play in Popup | Download