Archive for January, 2017

Habitat Improvements for Better Fishing

Tuesday, January 24th, 2017
Enjoying a day of fishing at Possum Kingdom.

Enjoying a day of fishing at Possum Kingdom.

This is Passport to Texas

Collaboration can bring about positive outcomes. Consider the teamwork between Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Brazos River Authority, and other supporters and volunteers. Together they made habitat enhancements at Lake Granbury, Possum Kingdom Lake, and Proctor Lake.

The work was designed to improve habitat for a variety of fish species, and to provide better fishing overall.

The enhancements include artificial structures made of recycled plastics, and natural structures made of recycled bamboo and Christmas trees. These items were vetted for safety, and deployed to create new habitat and improve areas with existing habitat for popular sport fish and prey species.

Environmental conditions such as golden algae, drought and the natural reservoir aging process can affect fish populations. The enhancement projects offer improved areas for spawning and feeding, in addition to providing cover from predators to help fish grow to maturity.

GPS coordinates and maps of the locations of the habitat improvement projects In Lake Granbury, Possum Kingdom Lake and Proctor Lake are available on the TPW web site.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Mid January Resolution: Take More Nature Photos

Monday, January 23rd, 2017
Caprock Canyons State Park-- a great place for nature photography.

Caprock Canyons State Park– a great place for nature photography.

This is Passport to Texas

Last time my colleague Aaron Friar and I got together to talk about holiday events in state parks for the radio show, I also asked him if he had any resolutions for the New Year that include the outdoors.

Well, one thing that I would really like to work on is outdoor photography. I love taking pictures—I do it a lot now—but I want to do it more and hone my skills. Do a lot more dark sky photography. I think that’s really neat. I’ve seen that a lot lately, and that just really gets me excited. I have a camera; I really want to get involved in trying to get some of those really special shots. All it takes is getting out and doing it. Where’s a park you’d like to do some of that? Oh, that’s a great, great question. I’m actually in love with Caprock Canyons—and it’s so photogenic out there with the mountains and the colors and the wildlife. The sunsets out there are absolutely beautiful. So, that’s one site that I think is really, really good for that. But, then again, in the spring in the Hill Country…I mean, you can’t beat the wildflowers. I mean, it’s just so hard to say. That’s a really tough question. But I really am enjoying Caprock, and there’s a lot of great chance to get some good photography out there.

What do you want to do new or better in the outdoors this year? Let us know at passporttotexas.org.

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.

TPW TV – Dundee Fish Hatchery Reopens

Friday, January 20th, 2017
Aerial view of Dundee Freshwater Fish Hatchery .

Aerial view of Dundee Freshwater Fish Hatchery .

This is Passport to Texas

The Dundee Fish Hatchery, Texas’ largest, suspended operations in 2011.

Yep. We had a big hiccup in production due to water supply. It was a very big drought in 2011, so we discontinued production here just because we didn’t have availability to water.

The hatchery produces striped bass, hybrid striped bass and catfish. Inland Fisheries Hatchery Program Manager, Carl Kittel, says the shutdown continued through 2015.

All of our hatcheries operate off water right that can be cut off. So we were without water and didn’t operate. Last spring there was plenty of rain—the water levels in the lakes came up—so we began operations.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series on PBS features the challenges of bringing the Dundee Hatchery back online after a four year hiatus.

Starting up is a bit of a process. Personnel have to be reallocated and then hired and trained to do their job. Equipment has to be started and repaired and all those things take a little bit of gearing up to get going full speed.

Getting it back online benefits freshwater fishing in Texas.

The Dundee hatchery is a big part of the inland fish hatchery program. And we can produce more fish and better support fisheries when this hatchery is operating.

Catch the segment on the hatchery on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series on PBS the week of January 22. The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

A Novice Hunter has Success in the Field

Thursday, January 19th, 2017

Ralston Dorn [left] and a fellow workshop attendee [right] discuss Dorn's success in the field. He shot his first deer (a doe) during a mentored deer hunt for adult novices, at inks Lake State Park.

Ralston Dorn [left] and a fellow workshop attendee [right] discuss Dorn’s success in the field. He shot his first deer (a doe) during a mentored deer hunt for adult novices, at Inks Lake State Park.

This is Passport to Texas

Armed with his father’s vintage Weatherby 2506 hunting rifle, Dallas paramedic, Ralston Dorn, climbed into the idling pickup that would take him and his mentor to a blind at Inks Lake State Park, where they would wait and watch, and hope for a chance to harvest a deer.

We got there at 6 a.m. when it was dark. It was quiet. You got to watch the sun rise. The birds come in. The feeder went off at seven, and then five or ten minutes later, my guide ironically said: ‘Alright deer, come on out’ just as a joke. And sure enough, about five minutes later two doe popped out.

Under the direction of his mentor, Justin Dreibelbis, Ralston brought the rifle to his shoulder, and put the deer in his scope.

You know, my adrenaline’s flowing. And then he’s looking through his binoculars and I’m looking through the scope. And he’s telling me—alright–doe on the right is good to shoot. Alright, doe on the left is not good to shoot. Then it got to a point where the one on the left became the good one to shoot. My heart was racing. I did have to try and control my breathing. And so I took the shot. I just kind of let the trigger surprise me. And it went off and it was exactly where I was aiming. So it was a good shot. She ended up expiring about 20 yards from the blind. We waited for about 15 minutes in the blind, and then went to the point of impact.

Ralston Dorn shot his first deer during a new mentored deer hunt program for adult novices. Additional mentored hunts are in development.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Ralston Dorn Revives a Family Tradition

Wednesday, January 18th, 2017
Ralston Dorn at butchery demo by Chef Jesse Griffiths, Inks Lake State Park.

Ralston Dorn looks on as  Chef Jesse Griffiths demonstrates how to break down a deer during the Mentored Deer Hunt for Adult Novices at Inks lake State Park.

This is Passport to Texas

I met Ralston Dorn the week before Christmas at Inks Lake State Park, during the first of its kind mentored deer hunt for adult novices.

I come from a family of hunters—on my mom’s side. They all hunt. And my dad hunted when I was younger. But, I myself, have never been deer hunting, so I wanted to learn how to do it.

Ralston, whose middle name is “Hunter” is a paramedic from Dallas.

The first day of the program taught us a lot of what we needed to know in preparation for the hunt. What kinds of shots to take. What kinds of shots not to take. Ways to load and unload the rifle and carry it. How to be safe….

Ethics and proper care in the field were also covered. Ralston brought a family heirloom to use on his hunt.

My father’s Weatherby 2506 that he used to deer hunt with when I was a little kid. When I was about 10 years old, he quit deer hunting, and hasn’t hunt in probably 21 years. And so that gun probably hasn’t been fired in 20 years [chuckles]. So, it was nice to keep the tradition going on in my family with that firearm.

Tomorrow, find out if Ralston’s father’s vintage rifle, combined with the knowledge and skills he learned during the mentored hunt workshop brought him luck in the field.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series…as well as hunting and the shooting sports in Texas.

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