Passport to Texas

Fishing: Canyon Dam Trout Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We don’t have much in the way of native trout in Texas.

12—The only native trout that we’re aware of are maybe some Rio Grande cutthroat trout that were in the McKittrick Canyon area of the Guadalupe Mountains. Other than that, there are no native trout we know of in Texas.

Which is why, says Steve Magnelia, Parks and Wildlife stocks lakes and neighborhood ponds with rainbow trout every winter.

10—The winter trout program is to provide anglers with a different species to fish for during the winter months when our warm water fish like largemouth bass and other species aren’t readily biting.

Magnelia, an inland fisheries biologist, says because trout won’t survive in water warmer than 75-degrees, the rainbows anglers don’t reel in during winter perish as the water heats up—unless they are in the Guadalupe near Canyon Dam.

08—Because it’s a cold water discharge from Canyon Lake, the water stays cold enough during the summer to sustain trout all year round.

So, if they’ve habituated, does that mean they’ve become a self-sustaining population as well?

08—We don’t have any real evidence that the fish spawn and reproduce in the river, but we do know that they carry over from one winter to the next.

Find other trout stocking locations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series as well as conservation programs in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Larry Hodge with his freshwater catch.

Fishing: Freshwater Fishing for 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As the weather warms, seasoned and wannabe anglers yearn to get on the water in the New Year.

18— Overall, the prospects for fishing are good; they’re not going to be great because parts of the state are still in a drought. But, East Texas and North and Central Texas have fared fairly well in the current drought, and most of the lakes still have access and the fish are still there.

Larry Hodge is with Inland Fisheries. He says white bass are especially active this time of year.

19— Most of the reservoirs in East Texas, particularly Toledo Bend, will have a good white bass run up the Sabine River. Those fish are legendary for their size and numbers. Some of the lakes in East Texas also have good white bass fishing. The Neches River above lake Palestine is good for their size and numbers.

Catching largemouth bass might prove spotty due to low water levels. Yet, Hodge says traditional places like Falcon, Choke Canyon and Amistad will have fish as always, but anglers may have to work harder to find them.

08— So, you may have to find some new places [in those reservoirs] to fish; use your electronics, frequent the coffee shops, and talk to the locals and hunt ‘em down.

Find an article by Larry Hodge’s about the best lakes and rivers to fish in 2015 in the digital fishing issue of Texas parks and Wildlife magazine.

The wildlife and sport fish restoration program support our series.

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

Maybe you can fly fish for white bass

Fishing: Tackling White Bass Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Largemouth bass give fishermen a good fight, but the smaller white bass is just as capable of providing anglers with an adrenaline kick.

14— Ounce for ounce, they are a real strong fighter. But they’re not as big as largemouths. If they grew as large as largemouth bass, I think we’d have to fish for them with surf rods and heavy lines.

John Jefferson is an outdoor writer.

11— Most people that fish for whites will use lightweight tackle, a medium to lightweight spinning rod, and four to six pound test line – and then they’re fun!

Late winter and early spring white bass begin schooling in tributaries to spawn. Whether from a bank or a boat, fishing for whites in open and running water is your best bet for success.

21— Middle of the creek, and then draw the lure back to the shore. And you’ve covered water from the deeper water in the middle up to the shore. You’ll probably hang one. It’s not uncommon, and a neat thing to see [that sometimes] you’ll hook one fish and as you’re reeling it in and playing it, there will be two or three others schooling right along with it.

They’re probably offering moral support.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and receives funding from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…

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

White Bass

Fishing: White Bass Run Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Outdoor writer John Jefferson has caught his share of white bass.

11— White bass is a great sport fish. Parks and Wildlife records show there are more white bass caught per hour of fishing than any other fish in Texas.

Usually a lake dweller, white bass school in tributaries to spawn in late winter and early spring.

21— The white bass are triggered to spawn when the water reaches 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As far as the calendar, instead of the thermometer, it starts sometimes as early as warm days in January, but it really picks up in February and March. Those are the best two months.

Anglers may keep up to 25 fish caught with a pole and line that meet the 10-inch length requirement. Although white bass prefer shad and minors, they’ll take artificial lures, which is what John Jefferson says he uses.

13— With me, it was a matter of laziness. I didn’t want to lug a big minnow bucket up and down the creeks when I could take a few jigs with me and a lightweight spinning rod and spend more time actually fishing than changing bait.

We’ll talk more with John about white bass tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport fish Restoration Program supports our series and receives funding from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…

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

Rainbow trout in hand.

Fishing: Winter Trout Stocking Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re heading into the holiday season; what better way to celebrate than with rainbows – rainbow trout, that is.

13— We do winter stockings when the water temperatures permit it, to provide an opportunity for anglers to catch trout in Texas. It’s a species of fish that anglers wouldn’t catch otherwise, so we stock them, and we intend them all to be caught out during the season.

Carl Kittle is a program director for Inland Fisheries. Drought had an impact on lake levels statewide over the past two years, but things are looking up in 2014.

13 – This year, things are pretty well back to normal. It’s very dry out west, but it looks like our normal level of stocking with our usual yearly increase. In fact, we expect to stock over 140 sites this year.

Texas Parks and Wildlife plans to distribute approximately 290,000 rainbow trout amongst the various locations, including urban neighborhood fishin’ holes.

07 – We publish a schedule on the Texas parks and Wildlife Department webpage. Look for the winter trout stocking link.

Carl Kittle says we stock rainbows in winter because these fish cannot survive our hot summers. So, when you reel one in this winter, take it home and eat it.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and helps to fund rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

We record our series at The Block House in Austin, Texas and Joel Block engineers our program.

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