Passport to Texas

South Llano River

Expanding River Access for Anglers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Looking for a serene, wilderness experience and a high-quality fishing opportunity? You can hardly do better than one of Texas’ scenic, wild and storied rivers—if you can access them, that is.

Land ownership issues in Texas make it challenging for anglers to be able to access rivers.

Ninety-five percent of land in our state is in private hands. Tim Birdsong is chief of habitat conservation for Texas Parks and wildlife.

We have some access adjacent to right-of-ways of bridge crossings. Some cities, counties and state parks have river access. But, in general, there is very limited access to rivers around the state.

Public land with the best access may end up in Texas’ paddling trails program.

So, these are defined launch areas for paddling in general—for [angling], birding and other sorts of wildlife oriented recreation that can be done in these river segments. But, even with around 70 paddling trails in the state, that still only provides access to a small fraction of the 191-thousand miles of river that we have in Texas.

Tomorrow: a new a public-private partnership that’s creating more river access for anglers.

Meanwhile, find paddling trail information and maps 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.