Passport to Texas

Fisheries biologists and channel catds

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What happens when fish hatchery brood stock are past their prime? If they’re channel catfish from the A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery in San Marcos, they find new homes in urban lakes.

08—What we’re trying to do is provide quality fishing opportunities close to home; it’s part of our urban fishing incentive here in Texas.

Fisheries biologist, Marcos De Jesus says Lake Kyle is catch and release only. You might wonder: If anglers are prohibited from taking fish home, and TPWD continues to stock fish in the lake – this includes sunfish and largemouth bass, all of which they call biomass – will the lake be able to support them over time?

26—The ecosystem is designed to sustain a high population. We’re doing intensive management on this system; Lake Kyle will eventually have a network of aeration systems and will also have a network of fish feeders. So, while we are adding a large biomass to this lake, we are also adding infrastructure to support the biomass. The whole objective is to create high numbers of quality size fish for anglers to catch fairly easily.

Find fishing opportunities near you when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and receives funds from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Channel Catfish

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Some seniors at the A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery in San Marcos are graduating. These seniors aren’t students, though – they’re mature channel catfish.

11—The fish have served to produce millions of channel catfish babies (fry) that we use to stock urban fisheries. After they serve their purpose, these fish have a chance to be stocked in a lake.

Fisheries biologist, Marcos De Jesus says the most recent graduates ended up in Lake Kyle, just outside of Austin.

14—Lake Kyle is a 12-acre impoundment that opened to the public about two years ago. So, we’re trying to establish a quality urban fishing experience in Central Texas – close to Austin – and these fish will serve that purpose.

Largemouth bass and sunfish also inhabit Lake Kyle. The channel cats average nine pounds each, and offer anglers a good fight. Take a picture, because you can’t keep them.

10—Lake Kyle has a brand new regulation that just started September first – where it’s really a catch and release environment. So, these fish will be protected under a catch and release regulation.

Find fishing regulations and tackle loaner programs near you when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Our show’s receives support from the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration Program, which provides funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Programs.

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

Bass Angling at Choke Canyon

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Hunting and fishing are deeply rooted traditions for Gabe Kulhanek of El Campo.

04—It’s just as stress relief to go hunting and fishing and get away from everything.

The outdoors has been a lifelong pursuit for him, and something he shared early on with his son.

11—He started hunting when he was probably four and a half years old. He shot his first deer at five years old with his own rifle. I never shot anything for him. He’s always killed his own deer whenever he hunted.

This past June Texas Parks and Wildlife drew Gabe’s name as the winner of a Lifetime Super Combo License, giving him the right to hunt and fish in Texas without ever having to buy another state license or state stamps. Instead of keeping, it, he transferred it to his son – now 17 – as his legacy.

05—It would benefit him more than anything, and it’s something he can have and cherish the rest of his life.

Entries for the Lifetime License Drawing are five dollars each and available online or at retailers. Enter as many times as you like; fees go toward conservation in Texas. The next drawing is December 30, 2014.

04—It’s a good opportunity. I never dreamed I would win it – it was the first time I entered.

Is luck on your side? Find more information on the Lifetime License Drawing on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Enter to win a Lifetime License

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This is Passport to Texas

Tim Brockway is an avid fisherman.

02—I fish about four days a week.

This competitive bass angler from Kaufman says he’d always buy an annual super combo license for hunting and fishing.

02—Because I think the money goes to a good cause.

The cause: conservation and habitat management in Texas. In 2010, Tim – a retired firefighter – spent five dollars online to enter Texas Parks and Wildlife’s twice-a-year Lifetime License drawing…and won.

25—I told the guys up at the fire station: Hey, I bought a five dollar chance to win a lifetime license. And I get a call a few months later – and I would have bet anything one of the guys got their wives to call and mess with me – and I actually didn’t believe them. I got off the phone and I called our local game warden that I know real well. He said: ‘Give me the phone number they called you from and the person’s name and I’ll check on it.’ Whenever I gave him the phone number and name, he said: ‘Congratulations; I know the person and I know the number.’

The win allows Tim to hunt and fish in Texas without buying another state license. Fees from every five dollar entry go toward conservation in Texas, which improves hunting, fishing and the outdoors for all.

09—I know your entries went up by about 30 right after I won mine from people at the fire station. I said: Come on guys; it’s five bucks. You spend that much on a hamburger. It’s well worth the chance.

The next drawing is December 30, 2014. Entries are online or at license retailers.

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

Hank Shaw and Holly Heyser at McKinney Falls State Park

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Hank Shaw knows where his food comes from because he forages, hunts and fishes for the majority of it—skills he learned from his mother growing up on the east coast.

13— It’s always been part of our lives. Digging clams in the Atlantic, picking berries, and all that kind of stuff. It’s an awareness that there’s food all around us. I’ve always had it. And that’s really helped spur a lifelong passion.

The Sacramento, California resident records his passion for wild food on his popular blog Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. He says the deepest level of food satisfaction one can achieve is only possible when it’s wild sourced.

18— Think about it: on a very basic level, anybody who’s ever fished, you catch a fish and then you eat it in a frying pan on a camping trip. It tastes so much better than one that you buy at a store. And it is that satisfaction of having worked for your food. It’s difficult to explain if you’ve never done it, but once you do it, it become addicting and you never want to stop.

Hank Shaw cooks and eats everything he forages, hunts and fishes, and shares the experience and what he’s learned on his blog.

09—I want to do justice to the things that I bring home. And I want to help people who are also hunting and fishing and foraging to cook their food better—give them new ideas.

Sign up for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Hunt Texas e-newsletter on the website, and learn about hunting for and preparing wild game.

That’s our show for today. .. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.