Passport to Texas

Learning to Fly-fish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fly-fish Texas is a daylong introductory angling event on March 10 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) for those wishing to learn how to fly-fish.

23—You wouldn’t have to have any fishing experience whatsoever. We’re going to have different forums going on through in multiple venues throughout the day. We’ll have a couple of areas where there’ll be speakers that you can just drop in and take a look at what the topic is. We’ll also have some casting classes going on. There’s a BBQ house that will be here serving BBQ as well…so that you can come and just enjoy the day.

James Booker is events coordinator at TFFC. Participants will fish for rainbow trout using loaner equipment (or may bring their own); volunteers from fly-fishing clubs will guide learners through the process…which may result in taking home some fish.

15—You can keep up to five rainbow trout per person, which is the legal limit here in Texas. Wow. What a deal. And, so, is there a cost involved? This event is free with regular admission. And we do honor the State park pass, so that can even further reduce your fee.

It‘s $5.50 for visitors 13 and older, $3.50 for children four to 12, and free for children under four years of age.

Fly Fish Texas at the TFFC in Athens, takes place 9 to 4, March 10. It’s family friendly with activities and food available on site. Find complete details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Fly-fish Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you put “learn to fly-fish” on your list of New Year’s resolutions, here’s your chance cross it off. On March 10, the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens offers a day of fly-fishing for rainbow trout.

18—it’s completely fine if you’ve never fly fished before. We’re going to have volunteers from fly-fishing clubs from all over Texas. Some 80 to 100 volunteers to work with small groups and one-on-one just to teach everyone who shows up all about the different aspects of fly-fishing.

James Booker is events coordinator for the center. Called Fly-Fish Texas, the daylong event attracts hundreds of eager students and enthusiastic teachers.

32—We have the fly-fishing clubs from all over the state so heavily involved, and so they descend on this site en masse—and are just eager to share their passion or fly-fishing. We also have some of the top fly-fishing equipment makers come and share their latest technologies and their latest poles and rods. We have up to 20 guest fly tiers, and so we convert one whole building of our center into what we call fly-fishing round up. It is basically just a giant fly tying lesson.

Equipment is provided for casting classes, but participants are welcome to bring their own gear.

Fly Fish Texas at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, is from 9 to 4, March 10. It’s family friendly with various activities and food available on site. Find complete details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

State Parks: Falcon Lake State Park Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Falcon Lake State Park is home to some big bass, and straddles the Texas-Mexico border. Our State Park guide Bryan Frazier says now is a great time to fish the lake for lunkers.

64—Falcon Lake turns on this time of year to become one of the best bass fishing lakes in the Southwest US. All of that South Texas scrub brush that people are so familiar with on the landscape is pretty much what’s on the bottom of that lake–and it’s great fish habitat.

It’s not your typical lake. It’s a long, skinny lake—it’s 60 miles long. It was actually impounded in 1953; President Dwight Eisenhower was there to christen this lake when they opened it. Falcon lake is a place you want to check out even if you’re not a winter Texan. Although it’s a great place to go and check out all the birds that winter there as well. But for fishing, Falcon lake is on the bucket list for a lot of people.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Parks and Wildlife People Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You’ll find interesting people with interesting jobs at Texas Parks and Wildlife. And you’ll meet some, too, this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series. Series Producer, Don Cash.

59—In February we’re going to introduce you to several people and their odd jobs—I guess. One of those people is Amy Treuer-Kuehn; she’s a plant ecologist, and she travels around the state looking at vegetation and habitat and getting record of it and letting people know what’s there on the property.

So, yeah, part of what we do on the television show is people stories. There’s a lot of interesting people with some unusual jobs at Texas parks and Wildlife, and we hope people will watch in February and see what we’ve got going on.

Thanks, Don.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Red Tide in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last year’s record breaking heat and drought contributed to one of the longest outbreaks of Red Tide in Texas history. Texas parks and Wildlife biologist, Meredith Byrd, says a species of algae named Karinia brevis causes the condition.

06—And when these algae reproduce very, very quickly, they turn the water red or reddish brown and so that’s what we here on the Texas coast know as a red tide.

Red tide can be irritating to the skin and lungs but is not a serious threat to most people—but certain aquatic life, isn’t as lucky.

15—Red tide does cause toxins that kill fish and are collected in the oyster tissue so unfortunately the commercial oyster season that would have began Nov. 1st has been suspended indefinitely.

Texas parks and Wildlife Water Resources Branch Chief Cindy Loeffler says, because oysters are filter feeders that can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily, they will eventually rid themselves of toxins… just not in time to save this season’s $30-million dollar Texas oyster industry.

16— What has to happen is for the toxin level in the oyster meat to drop below a certain threshold level but unfortunately the drought, predicted to persist at least through early spring, mid-spring so that would typically be about the length of our commercial oyster season.

That’s our show. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series, and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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