Passport to Texas

Lake Sam Rayburn [reservoir], site of the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest

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This is Passport to Texas

Texas receives high praise and recognition for its world class bass fisheries, like Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas.

Absolutely. Sam Rayburn has a long history of good fisheries management and production of huge largemouth bass.

One-hundred-nine professional bass anglers will be competing at Sam Rayburn during the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest May 17—21. It’s a reimagining of Toyota Texas Bass Classic. Dave Terre is with Inland Fisheries and coordinates the event for the agency.

Instead of a three day event that the Toyota Texas Bass Classic was famous for, this is actually going to be a four-day event. It’s going to start on May 17and it’s going to be on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And then the anglers are going to take off on Saturday to spend with the crowd, at our Expo in Lufkin. And then they’re going to have a final round on Sunday.

The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is a fundraiser for Texas Parks and Wildlife youth fishing programs. In addition to the competition, there’s a family-friendly Expo.

Learn all about fishing on Saturday. On Sunday, you’ll get to meet your favorite pro anglers—the ones that are most famous in the tournament fishing world. And come down and interact with Texas Parks and Wildlife staff, and learn all about fishing and the outdoors. It’s going to be a really exciting time.

The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is free, and runs May 17th through 21st at Lake Sam Rayburn, with a family-friendly expo in Lufkin. The Sport Fish Restoration Program Supports our series and helps funds fisheries management in Texas.

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

Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

For a decade, The Toyota Texas Bass Classic shined a light on Texas’ world-class bass fisheries while raising funds for youth fishing programs. But that changes this year—sort of.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic, merged with a longstanding event called Bass Fest become the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest.

Dave Terre, with Inland Fisheries coordinates the event for the agency. He says despite the name change, the goal remains the same.

This is a benefit event for Texas Parks and Wildlife at its very core. We expect the event will generate about $250-thousand dollars this year to support Texas Parks and Wildlife—and specifically youth outreach programs tied to fishing.

While The Bass Classic took place at Lake Fork with about 45 professional bass anglers, Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest heads to Lake Sam Rayburn, and more than doubles the number of participants.

This new event is special in that it is going to be down at Sam Rayburn with 109 of the best bass anglers of the world. It is going to showcase our catch, weigh and immediately release format that was born at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic in 2007. And, it’s going to be an exciting thing to see.

The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is a free event, May 17th through 21st at Lake Sam Rayburn, east of Lufkin. And we have more about the event coming up tomorrow.

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

Effie Dukes at her Neighborhood Fishin’ pond.

TPW TV--Casting Call with Neighborhood Fishin' Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Texas Parks Wildlife’s Neighborhood Fishin’ program creates convenient and close-to-home fishing opportunities for city-dwellers by stocking urban lakes.

Our goal with the neighborhood fishin’ program is to bring the focus back to the outdoors.

Effie Dukes and her husband David took the bait. In a segment of the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV show next week, viewers wait along with them at East Metropolitan Park in Travis County for the stocking truck to arrive.

I think they’ll be coming momentarily, because they said between 9 and 9:30. Yeah, look. They’re coming with the fish.

Marcos de Jesus is a natural resource specialist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. He says the fish they stock are big, healthy, and fun to catch. As Effie and David discovered.

What we try to do is to actually bring fishing close to home. Most people in Texas are moving into bigger and bigger towns. Having these opportunities in your backyard, basically, is what it’s all about. [Effie] Yeah! Got a big one! [David] That’s what I’m talking about.

The Neighborhood Fishin’ Program provides an outdoor experience with fishing at its core. Perhaps her successful experience means the program reeled in Effie Dukes as its newest recruit.

It’s a big catfish. And I caught it with a net. With the help of my husband. With a rod and reel that I don’t know how to use. [laughs]

Catch the segment, Casting Call, next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV show on PBS. Check your local listings. The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Baits and lures are an angler’s friend.

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This is Passport to Texas

Nothing beats live bait for catching fish. Yet, manmade lures have been around a long time—because they work.

For example, take the spinner bait. The spinning blades are designed to catch a fish’s attention as they move through the water. The flashing silver looks just like a tasty minnow.

Steve Campbell worked in Outreach and Education at Texas Parks and Wildlife, specializing in angler education.

Another popular lure is the top water lure. Because it floats on top of the water, it works best in calm waters where it is visible to fish below. To use a top water…cast…wait for the bait to settle, and then pop your rod tip; repeat until you get a strike.

The crankbait is a fun lure to work with. It has a kind lip that extends from the front of the lure.

This lip causes the bait to dive down through the water as you crank on the reel. As soon as you cast your crankbait, turn the reel quickly a couple of times so the lip will catch the water and pull down. Stop reeling, and the lure begins to float back up. Your goal is to imitate an injured fish darting through the water.

Lures come in all shapes and sizes, and your tackle dealer can help you select the right lures for your next fishing trip.

And remember: while natural bait is best, it’s always a good idea to keep a couple of lures on hand when you get tired of feeding—I mean catching—the fish.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series.

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

Making baits and lures work for you.

Baits and Lures Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

If you plan to go fishing, you’ll need to bring along live bait, man-made lures—or both.

Let’s talk baits first.

Steve Campbell worked in Outreach and Education at Texas Parks and Wildlife, specializing in angler education.

Nothing beats natural bait for catching fish. Some good, all around freshwater baits are: kernel corn, hot dogs and live critters, such as worms, minnows and crawfish.

If you’re on the coast, can hardly go wrong with using live shrimp. Whether you’re a freshwater or saltwater angler, you need to keep your bait alive.

You’ve got to keep bait alive for it to be effective. Make sure you keep your bait cool and moist and out of direct sunlight.

Most anglers keep live bait in their coolers. Just don’t get it mixed up with the tuna sandwich you packed for lunch. And if your bait came from a bait shop or another body of water, do not release the unused bait into the waters you are fishing.

It can interfere with the plants and animals that live there naturally. Dump the bait in a trash can or on land, away from the water.

Tomorrow we learn about several lures and how to use them to your best advantage.

We record our show in Austin at the Block House. Joel Block engineers our program.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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