Passport to Texas

Colt Anderson and his fishing partner Jonathan Gray.

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This is Passport to Texas

Size, strength and speed…important attributes for most high school athletes; unless, of course, the sport is fishing.

You don’t have to be the biggest kid, or tallest kid, or the most athletic kid to be a bass fisherman. It’s all about your knowledge.

Several years ago Colt Anderson was half of a high school fishing duo; Jonathan Gray was his teammate.

It’s kind of like playing golf a little bit, where you have different tools and you have to adapt to the conditions. You can never become perfect at fishing, and that’s a cool thing because you can always improve.

Another factor that makes competitive high school fishing a great sport is that young women can also participate – like Marinna Collins and Mia Sartor were the only female team at tournaments in which they participated.

It’s hard being the only girl team out there. We’re going to represent. This is my first year, so I am a little scared, but, you just have to relax. Chill. Just go with it.

Fishing is a terrific way to introduce young people to the outdoors.

Ooh. I think that’s the furthest I’ve cast yet. [giggles] That felt good. It’s really cool being in this club because you get to meet a lot of different people. And, we’re all like one big family – and that’s really good to have friends you can be really close with.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series.

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

Paddling on Caddo Lake

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This is Passport to Texas

Gliding along the paddling trails on Caddo Lake in East Texas is at once intimate and humbling: mist dancing on the water; banks flanked by giant, moss-covered bald cypress; the chorus of birds; habitat teaming with diverse and abundant wildlife. It’s a special place.

It’s beyond words to describe how wonderful this place is.

Vanessa Adams worked as a resource specialist with parks and wildlife.

The paddling trails here on Caddo Lake will get you back into some habitat that is just not everywhere, it’s unique. It gets you into a place that you may have never seen before.

Marshall, Texas resident, and Caddo Lake paddling enthusiast, Sandra Phillips, says she feels close to the earth when she’s on this enigmatic lake.

You can’t find this well really anywhere else. All the network of canals and the swampyness of it.

Caddo Lake is different every season; Adams says paddlers need to return often to experience the full effect.

You gotta get out on the boat, you gotta get in the swamp and you really gotta sit down and you gotta sit and listen.

Find more information about Caddo Lake and discover other unique Texas paddling trails on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series.

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

Muy Grande Deer Contest, Image: https://muygrandevillage.com/

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This is Passport to Texas

The excitement mounts as hunters across Texas await the November 3rd deer season opener.

None are more eager than those who plan to participate in the annual Muy Grande Deer Contest–the granddaddy of all deer hunting contests. Read about it in an article by John Goodspeed, in the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

Goodspeed captures the thrills and disappointments of the final day of the competition–the last day of deer season. Hunters continue to vie for dominance in multiple categories until the final hour. They agonize as they watch their rankings rise and fall on the leader board.

Leonel Garza founded the contest in 1965. Operating out of his family’s gas station and convenience store in Freer in South Texas, Garza started Muy Grande to celebrate the bounty and quality of white-tailed deer in his region. He says South Texas Deer are as wide as the Rio Grande and as big as the state of Texas.

The contest and Mr. Garza have been honored at the Texas State Capital contributions to whitetail conservation, deer management, and major economic contributions to the state of Texas and South Texas.

Catch the excitement when you read John Goodspeed’s article on the Muy Grande Deer Contest in the November issue of Texas parks and Wildlife magazine. On Newsstands now.

We receive support from RAM Trucks: built to serve.

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

TPW TV- Opening weekend of hunting season in small town Texas.

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This is Passport to Texas

The week of October 21, Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series captures the excitement of deer season opening weekend; series producer, Don Cash.

We sent a lot of producers to Goldthwaite, Texas for the opening weekend of deer season. We follow a young deer hunter who lives in Goldthwaite; we spend some time at a processing facility–people bringing their deer in. We take a look at some of the businesses, restaurants and  different places in Goldthwaite that look forward to the opening weekend of deer season because it’s good for them financially. So, this is
something we’ve talked about for years–being able to show people the economic impact of hunting. I think it’s going to be kind of interesting, actually.

Cash said, his team could not have achieved this feat without the kind and enthusiastic support of the people of Goldthwaite.

A gentleman named Warren Blesh who’s the President of the Simms Creek Wildlife Management Association went out of his way, and the people of Goldthwaite went out of their way, to help us find people to tell their stories. And really cleared the way for us to come in and run wild with our cameras. And, we showed up with our cameras, and people were pretty excited about us coming in to tell the story of what goes on in a small town in Texas when hunting season rolls around.

See this show the week of October 21 on PBS; check your local listings.

The Wildlife restoration program supports our series.

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

TPWD TV Series producer, Don Cash.

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This is Passport to Texas

Texas Parks and Wildlife is one of the few state natural resource agencies that still produces a weekly television program. It’s been on the air 33 years.

And the reason we do it is because we have a very good message to let Texans know about.

Series producer, Don Cash.

We’re the folks who help take care of deer and birds and water and parks and all kinds of things. And like I always say: if we don’t tell people what we do here, no one else is going to do it for us.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series, which airs on PBS and other outlets, spreads the message of conservation and recreation in Texas. The new season is shaping up to be one of the best.

Our new season begins the week of October 14th. You know, we’ve got a lot of new stuff. This year, we’re going to look at green jays, black-capped vireos, paddlefish, prairie dogs, chimney swifts. Coyotes. We’ve got stories coming on paddling the San Antonio River. What’s up with Bastrop State park after the fires. We’re going to go diving the Kraken. Take a trip to the Austin library to look at their very green roof. We’re going to look at the oyster industry in Texas, too.

But there is one show this season that took more planning, coordination and cooperation than any other produced before it.

We are devoting an entire show to what happens on the opening weekend of deer season in Texas.

Details coming up on tomorrow’s show.

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