Passport to Texas

Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame 2017 Honoree: Gulf States Toyota.

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The Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to the sport. Gulf States Toyota is one such inductee.

Gulf States Toyota joined with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a private-public partnership to create the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, and also with the Toyota ShareLunker program.

Dave Terre, Texas Parks and Wildlife chief of fish management and research, says Gulf States Toyota, has been a boon to bass fishing…and not just in Texas.

The Toyota Texas bass Classic has been huge for Texas Parks and Wildlife. It’s provided us an opportunity to engage millions of people into fishing—all across Texas, and really across the United States of America.

The Guld State’s support helped double the neighborhood fishin’ lakes in Texas, thus making fishing accessible to more families in the urban core. And its long-term involvement in the ShareLunker program, is legend.

Gulf States Toyota supported the Sharelunker program since 2009. It’s really putting us on a path to create cutting edge science. It’s allowed us to be able to track these fish through DNA.

Gulf States Toyota is in the spotlight next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Check your local listings.

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

Dr. Bobby Gene Whiteside

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Dr. Bobby Gene Whiteside taught at Texas State University for 33 years; for 18 years he directed the aquatic biology program there. He calls himself an outdoor oriented country boy.

My family, and then my teaching and then bass fishing was sort of the order of things.

Dr. Whiteside is the first academic inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center Hall of Fame, which honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to freshwater fishing in Texas. A longtime member of the Canyon Bass Club, fellow club member, Carl Adkins, says to know Whiteside is to learn from him.

He basically teaches fishing and how to fish just like he taught species and all the other things when he was actually teaching in the University. Anybody that meets him or is around him very long picks up knowledge from him.

Roy Klein-laster, a retired aquatic biologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife, gives this professor high marks.

Educators can really be judged by the network they create. He has had students go into academia, he’s had them work for different conservation agencies, water quality agencies, Parks and Wildlife, EPA.

Dr. Bobby Gene Whiteside is in the spotlight next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlifeseries on PBS. Check your local listings.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

TPW TV Preview — Hands on Habitat

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Healthy aquatic habitat means good fishing.

We are at Lake Cypress Springs to construct some artificial fish habitat structures.

Fisheries biologist Tim Bister works to enhance declining aquatic habitat.

There is not a lot of structure for fish like largemouth bass or sunfish to relate to underneath the water. And fish need habitat structure in general. Even in reservoirs that left timber standing, over time that timber in the water breaks down and the habitat for fish declines, so we’re at a point where we really need to start doing something with these reservoirs to improve fish habitat.

With supervision from Texas Parks and Wildlife, anglers Kody Corrin and Calvin Lamont, installed artificial habitat of PVC pipes in the lake.

We love fishing, but we both understand that without conservation of the lakes, we are not going to be able to do that. So it is on our part to make sure we help take care of that, take care of the resource that provides our recreation.

Structure is important, but so is food. Rick Ott manages a native aquatic plant nursery at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

The vegetation is producing food that invertebrates consume, small fish consume the invertebrates, bigger fish eat the smaller fish, and we eat the bigger fish.

Learn about artificial fish habitat next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS.

Check your local listings.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, Cecilia Nasti.

Guadalupe Bass (Micropterus treculii)

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The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is a professional bass fishing tournament that puts the spotlight on Texas’ exceptional bass fisheries. The event comes to Lake Travis in the Texas Hill Country May 17-20.

Just outside of Jonestown, Texas at Jones Brothers Park.

Dave Terre, chief of fish management and research, coordinates the event for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The pro anglers who fish the tournament should also expect to reel in species other than largemouth.

It’s going to be kind of cool this year. Yes, they’ll catch white bass, they’ll catch a striper. But I think they’re going to be reeling in one really cool fish this year. A fish that they’ve never caught in the 12 year history of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest. They going to be catching some of the state fish this year. The Guadalupe bass. They’re very abundant in Lake Travis, and also, we’re going to be doing some messaging with that fish this year…since we’re doing so much work with the Guadalupe bass right here in the Texas Hill Country; that will be really cool.

The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is May 17-20 on Lake Travis. It’s free to attend, and offers an Outdoor Adventures Area for family friendly fun. Details at bassmaster.com.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, Cecilia Nasti.

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J., will be competing among a full field of 108 anglers in the 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Image: bassmaster.com.

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More than 100 world class bass anglers will be on Lake Travis later this month for an event originally called the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

This event has been going on since 2007, but, for the past two years, it’s under a brand new name: The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest.

TPWD’s Dave Terre helps to coordinate the event for the agency, which he says is a fundraiser.

To help the department raise fund to benefit our youth fishing activities.

Including the neighborhood fishin’ program, state fish art contest, and various other programs that get youth involved in the sport of angling.

This has been really huge for Texas Parks and Wildlife. So far we’ve raised 2.75 million dollars since the event’s inception since 2007 as the as the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

With another $250,000 donation expected at the Lake Travis event, donations will reach $3-million dollars.

It’s a blessing. And we can thank Toyota, And Gulf States Toyota and Bassmaster for helping us and supporting us in this event, to showcase our Texas fisheries, and to give us these funds to do good work to bring children into the outdoors through fishing.

The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest is on Lake Travis in Jonestown, Texas. It’s free to attend, and offers an Outdoor Adventures Area for family friendly fun. Details at bassmaster.com.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, Cecilia Nasti.