Passport to Texas

Enjoying the beauty of Texas thanks to funding thoughtful conservation projects.

Funding Conservation in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The turn of the 20th century saw the US population begin its migration from farms and ranches into cities.

05- We’ve got almost all the people living in cities [now], and very few people living on the land.

Urban Wildlife biologist, Kelly Simon (SEA-mah) says an unintended consequence of the migration was estrangement from the natural world.

Hunters who maintained a close connection with the land witnessed the outcome of unregulated hunting and lack of habitat conservation first hand. At their urging, Congress enacted the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, creating a funding stream for conservation.

07- Through the purchase of hunting license fees and hunting equipment–these things help to fund conservation in the state of Texas.

It’s a new century, and we’re in need of fresh ideas to fund conservation in the 21st Century and beyond. Kelly Simon invites you to take part in the conversation.

12-You can go online, and find Teaming with Wildlife–True to Texas. Texans can get together, just as we did earlier in the last century; we can decide for ourselves in this century how we want to pay for conservation.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Urban Wildlife Biologists Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Wildlife biologists, like Kelly Simon (SEA-mah) specialize in–city critters–and their habitat in Central Texas.

09-I’m a wildlife biologist who happens to work in an urban area; just like all of our biologists, I deal with the issues that are important to their counties and their areas.

Like her rural counterparts, Simon meets with landowners to provide technical guidance regarding land use.

12- I also deal with municipal ordinances, and councils of government, and all the different landowners that have a stake in the wildlife and wildlife habitat for their urbanized area.

Outreach and public meetings round out her work.

05- [I] just try to help folks understand, and enhance the wildlife habitat that they have all around them.

This doesn’t mean developing downtown habitat suitable for mountain lions, but it does mean creating a balanced wildlife habitat for appropriate species.

18-So, what I do is I try to help people make decisions that will increase the diversity and balance of wildlife habitat, so that we have things like chickadees and titmice and owls and frogs and toads and lizards–and things that are important for ecological balance and biodiversity–and also appropriate for an urbanized area.

Find your county’s wildlife biologist when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Bay fishing success.

Sight Casting Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fishing isn’t the passive activity people make it out to be.

09- You know, people picture this guy sitting on a bucket beside a lake or a river, watching a red and white bobber floating in the water. That is so far from the truth. Heh!

David Sikes is the outdoors writer for the Corpus Christi Caller Times, and says he and his coastal compadres prefer sight casting, which is active angling.

03-And we don’t cast until we see a fish, oftentimes.

Due to the skill level required, beginners may not catch fish, but then again, said Sikes, they may.

09-I’ve introduced several of my friends to sight casting. And during the very first trip, they saw–and caught–the fish that they saw. And, it’s pretty cool to watch.

When sight casting from a boat, you need at least two people–one to spot the fish and one to catch them. Anglers never sit when sight casting and they use lightweight flies as lures.

15- And I would really recommend that they at least, for the first time, get indoctrinated by going out with an actual, professional guide. I can recommend several down here who are really good. And, it might seem a little pricey at first, but the lessons are very valuable.

David Sikes wrote an article on Sight Casting for Redfish for the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

You have to see ’em to catch ’em.

TPW Magazine: Ready, Aim Catch Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

David Sikes is the longtime outdoors writer for the Corpus Christi Caller Times. You can call him a multimedia journalist, but just don’t call him an expert.

02–I reject this title.

Even so, he’s the go-to guy when people in south Texas have questions about the outdoors- including sight casting-the definition of which, says Sikes, elicits broad interpretation.

12-Even a flipping bait fish, or surface bait fish, or a swirl in the water-any of those things that give you an indication through sight that there might be a predator fish down there-is, to me, sight casting.

David Sikes writes about sight casting for redfish in the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

12-A redfish looks pretty contrasting against a seagrass bed. It does take some adjustment; you have to have a really good pair
of polarized lenses-you have to have decent eyesight. You have to have a “practiced” eye.

Sikes’ first sight casting attempts were not fruitful.

19- When I first started doing this, I had guides who had been doing it for years who would say: “He’s right there, David. It’s right….” And I’m saying: tell me how many feet away it is. After a while, you learn what to look for. It’s a lot easier to do now
than it was before. I may not get an accurate cast to it, but at least I saw it.

Find David Sikes’ article on Sight Casting for Redfish in the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Family fishing.

National Free Fishing Day June 6th Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Free Fishing Day is a nationwide event where for one day (sometimes even more), participating states waive the need for fishing licenses. Anyone who wishes to cast a line in fresh or saltwater can do so–freely.

This year it is June 6th.

In Texas, every day is Free Fishing Day at state parks that have fishing opportunities. Once you pay the park entrance fee, you and yours can fish to your heart’s content–while following bag limits and other regulations.

If you’re not currently an angler, but want to give it a try, some parks have tackle loaner programs. Borrow the tackle to use at the park, but bring your own bait. For very little investment, you can sample a sport that gets you outdoors and has the potential of putting food on the table.

On June 6th in East Texas, the Texas freshwater Fisheries Center offers a day of free fishing, hot dogs, soft drinks and games. In Central Texas, LBJ State Park offers its free fishing clinic for children and families. At Eisenhower SP in North Texas and Galveston Island State Park, on the coast, learn to fish and leave with a fishing fun pack and enter a drawing for door prizes.

Log onto the calendar page of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website for more angling opportunities.

We receive support for our program from the Sport Fish restoration Program- reminding you that Saturday June 6 is Free Fishing Day in Texas.

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