Passport to Texas

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

14—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. Water levels in reservoirs are at historic lows, and river flows are also down due to severe drought, and that spells trouble for spring’s white bass run.

23—Because the water is so low, 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.

De Jesus says east Texas isn’t experiencing flow issues like the Hill Country; so, there will be fish runs available in the state.

12—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.

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

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