Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

When you hear the word tilapia, you may think of a savory meal with lemon butter sauce, but you probably don’t think of the term “invasive species.”

11—The tilapia are great to eat. They’re raised as a food fish, and they’re quite tasty. They’re quite popular in restaurants. But the problem is when they’re in our natural waters they are upsetting the ecosystem.

Tilapia have been in Texas for decades. They were originally brought in as a food source to be raised in fish farms, but eventually made they’re way into Texas waters.

Gary Garrett, a Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologist, says tilapia can be a threat to large mouth bass and other native species.

16—They build big pit nests and in doing that they stir up a lot of the settlement. And it’s been shown, for example, with large mouth bass, all that sediment stirred up and settling back down will often kill large mouth bass eggs.

When tilapia do this, they can potentially damage the entire ecosystem because of the intricate food chain.

Texas Parks and Wildlife does have state regulations for tilapia, but because tilapia are found all over the state, they are difficult to control. But if you like to fish, Garrett says you can help.

03—Don’t throw them back. If you catch them, keep them.

So next time you catch a tilapia, turn on the grill and get cooking. You’ll be doing yourself and the Texas ecosystem a favor. The SF Restoration program supports our series…and works to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Anglers know they can find big bass in Texas.

06—We have more big bass caught in Texas than anywhere I know of. I’m talking about anywhere in the United States or anywhere in the world.

David Campbell coordinates a bass spawning program at Parks and Wildlife, called the ShareLunker program.

17—I know there’s been some bigger fish caught in California, Florida—but it’s the numbers of big fish. And the anglers can go to almost any reservoir in the state of Texas and have the potential of catching a thirteen pound plus large-mouth bass. I don’t think that anyone else can come close to that.

Anglers who reel in largemouth bass weighing 13-pounds or more through the end of April are encouraged to donate their catch to the ShareLunker program.

The donated bass enter into a spawning program, with the hope of creating faster growing, bigger bass.

10—We’ve had somewhere in the neighborhood of three quarter of a million fry from the ShareLunkers through the years. We’ve had some years we didn’t have any spawn. Then some years we might have five, six or seven spawn.

The challenges of breeding bass in captivity…that’s tomorrow.

That’s our show for today…with support fro the Sport Fish Restoration Program…providing funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens…

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Winter may not be the time when most folks think about fishing, but it is the only time in Texas to reel in rainbow trout. Our State park Guide, Bryan Frazier, says parks are an ideal place to cast for this stocked species.

56—They’re a nice fish to catch for kids because they’re pretty easy to catch when they stock them. And we have about 15 State Parks where you don’t need the freshwater stamp, you don’t need the freshwater fishing license—so you can just come out to fish at your leisure and have a good fishing experience during a time of year when maybe you’re not doing anything else; it’s a great outdoor activity for the winter.

And I know you’re an angler. What kind of bait would you use to reel in one of these rainbows?

You know, these rainbow trout will fall prey to lots of different things: little spinners, little jigs, little power bait. Corn. Table corn is something they’ll go after, too. I’ve even heard of marshmallows and things like that. I would throw a little spinner, or corn, or a little power bait if I was out there.

And we still have the bag limits, and they’re good table fare as well.

They’re actually delicious to eat, and all the bag limits and length limits will apply, so check those rules and regulations in your outdoor annual, or online on our website to find out more.

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

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more
than 90 years.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

February always brings with it the promise of spring and… fishing…Louie Bond is Editor of TPW magazine, and she says the February issue celebrates freshwater fishing.

53—We’re going to have an entire issue that focuses on freshwater fishing. And, we’ll take you on a trip fishing for trout in the Guadalupe. We stock lots of trout and it makes for some very exciting fishing. We’ll take a look at ShareLunkers and what might be the hotspot this year for ShareLunkers. Can’t make any promises when it comes to fishing, but Larry Hodge always seems to know where the big fish are lurking and he’s predicting O.H. Ivy is ready for a good run of ShareLunkers this year. And then, we’ll also take a look at what might be a lot of our readers first fishing experience—fishing for crappie—with Paul Cañada. And we’ll take a special look with Kat Hunter at Toledo Bend reservoir, from a granddaughter’s perspective—interviewing her grandmother and her grandmother’s friends about the beginnings of that lake and the impact it’s had on their lives. So, Cecilia, you get a line, I’ll get a pole and I’ll meet you down at the fishing hole.

Thanks Louie.

You can read recent articles from the magazine online, and even subscribe, at www.tpwmagazine.com.

We record our series at the Production Block Studios in Austin, Texas. Joel Block engineers our program.

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

TPW Magazine: Freshwater Fishing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Biologists have found Rio Grande silvery minnow eggs in Texas for the first time in over fifty years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service started a restocking program two years ago. Those fish have now successfully spawned in the Big Bend region of the Rio Grande.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jason Remshardt says the minnow is important because it tells biologists a lot about the environment it lives in.

The silvery minnow is just sort of an indicator of the river’s health itself. By showing that this fish can survive, it also documents that the river ecosystem itself is healthy, that the habitat for lots of birds and lots of fish is available.

Unfortunately, the minnow’s habitat has shrunk considerably from what it used to be.

Historically the minnow was found in the Rio Grande and the Pecos rivers in New Mexico and Texas all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. And they hadn’t been found in Texas or Big Bend since the 1950s.

Until now that is. Remshardt says finding the eggs is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t guarantee success.

The next step is to find young fish and have those fish reproduce on their own. We have to document not just the fish that we stocked, but we have to document the survival and reproduction of several generations.

Rest assured, biologists will be checking up on those baby minnows frequently to make sure they’re doing Okay.

That’s our show… the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Fish/Wildlife: Silvery Minnows Return Play Now | Play in Popup | Download