Passport to Texas

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

People who don’t live in Texas are usually surprised by the amount of water we have here, as well as the extensive and diverse angling opportunities available in the state.

If freshwater fishing is your thing, and bass your bag, then Lake Texoma, near Oklahoma, Falcon Lake on the border with Mexico, Caddo Lake near Louisiana, and even the White River Reservoir in the panhandle have healthy bass populations just waiting for you to reel them in. Each lake also has plenty of species like catfish and crappie for your angling pleasure.

For some… saltwater angling is a passion — and if it is for you — consider Goose Island State Park, where you won’t find any geese, but you will find prolific waters of Aransas, Copano and St. Charles Bays. Mustang Island, meanwhile, offers primitive camping on a first come first served basis, as well as prime opportunities to get into the surf and pull in rockfish, red fish and maybe sea trout, as well as other sport fish.

Come to passporttotexas.org where you’ll find useful links to help bring out your inner angler.

That’s our show…made possible by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, shooting, fishing and hunting in Texas.

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

Fishing in Texas--Landing Your Inner Angler Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Texas Parks and Wildlife television series features a segment in June about an underwater “flower garden” you won’t want to miss. Producer Bruce Biermann explains.

Just a hundred and ten mile, east southeast of Galveston is a national treasure.

Flower Garden Banks are one of the most unique, diverse, and healthy coral reef ecosystem habitats, the northernmost coral reef on the continental shelf of north America.

And Texas A&M Corpus Christi has the contract to go out and monitor the coral reefs.

Organized monitoring of the Flower Garden Banks has been going on since 1989, and to date, all of our findings have been positive.

One of the interesting things is that what forms the coral heads is a big salt dome. Well, oil is underneath all this salt.

It is surrounded by the most active offshore oil and gas production area of the world. And so what we do is go out on annual cruises to ensure that there are no changes—no negative changes—occurring in the reef system itself.

Coral reefs take thousands of years to grow. And it doesn’t take but one oil spill to destroy an entire coral reef.

I think it’s important that Texans realize that this is a national treasure that’s sitting in Texas’ backyard.

Find stations airing the series at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Garden in the Gulf Play Now | Play in Popup | Download