Passport to Texas

Toyota Texas Bass Classic at Lake Conroe

Fishing Fun at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic 2016 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is a professional bass fishing tournament that for the past 10 years has attracted professional anglers from across the country.

These pros, they really love to come to Texas because Texas has great fishing.They know that Texas Parks and Wildlife wants to make Texas fishing the best in the world. And they just love to come to Texas and showcase our department. They come here and they speak real highly about the work that we do. And, of course, us being fisheries biologists, we like to be bragged on. It means a lot to us. There’s just no question about that.

Dave Terre, with Inland Fisheries. The tournament takes place May 20th through 22nd on Lake Ray Roberts.

You’ve got to be there. Get your boat up to Lake Ray Roberts State park, and you need to follow along and see your favorite pro catch that fish. And then, you need to come to the Toyota Stadium, and see tht big fish held in front of a crowd of about 20-thousand people. And while you’re there, take in a great country western concert, and go introduce your youngster to the outdoors at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Expo.

The tournament helps raise funds for youth fishing programs throughout the state.

Find complete details and ticket information for Toyota Texas Bass Classic at toyotatexasfest.com.

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

Toyota Texas Bass Classic, Image by Larry Hodge

Toyota Texas Bass Classic 2016 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is May 20th thru 22nd this year.

We’re in our tenth year now. The event is moving to a new location in Frisco, Texas; we’ll be at the Toyota Stadium, and fishing at Lake Ray Roberts State Park.

Dave Terre, with Inland Fisheries, helps organize and promote this professional bass fishing tournament and outdoor festival.

 The Toyota Texas Bas Classic gives us an opportunity to really showcase what it is that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does. It gives us an opportunity to showcase the great fishing we have in our state. This year it’s going to give us a great opportunity to showcase state park opportunities we have, since this year we’ll be doing it at Lake Ray Roberts State Park.

Professional bass anglers compete to reel in the biggest bass for big winnings. The true winners, though, are the youth of Texas; the Toyota Texas Bass Classic is a fundraiser for Parks and Wildlife’s youth fishing programs.

We’ve already received about 2.25 million dollars which the department has taken and reinvested back into youth fishing related outreach, creating new anglers. It’s really an exciting opportunity for Parks and Wildlife; something no other state has.

Find details and ticket information for Toyota Texas Bass Classic at toyotatexasfest.com.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

White bass

White Bass Run = Fishing Fun Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

In December and January, while we’re busy with the holidays and staying warm indoors, white bass begin to congregate where rivers and reservoirs meet.

And those fish are getting ready for those environmental cues to happen so they can actually all start migrating and running up river.

Environmental cues like changes in temperature and water flows. Marcos De Jesus is a fisheries biologist. When the time is right, white bass move up river to spawn.

Some of them go up pretty far – as far as they can swim to complete their spawning run. So, they become congregated and create excitement for the anglers, because once they’re congregated they’re really fun to catch.

East and Central Texas offer many white bass fishing opportunities. De Jesus says while they’re active year round, springtime runs practically set up anglers for success.

As we get into the springtime, they congregate towards the mouth of the river waiting for those cues. Right when they’re at the mouth of the river, they’re easy to catch. But, the easiest time to catch them is when they’re running up river spawning in those shallow waters, because you can actually catch them from the bank. Do these fish give you a good fight? Definitely. They’re very great fighters. They become aggressive, and they take on many types of lures and live bait. Once they hook on – they’ll fight pretty hard.

Find out when and where white bass are biting when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Spirula shells. Photo credit: Fritz Geller-Grimm

Benefits of Winter Beachcombing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Before you sell seashells by the seashore, you first have to find them. Surprisingly, summer beachcombing may not yield the results you desire.

I feel the best time to go shelling is in the wintertime.

Paul Hammerschmidt is a lifelong shell collector and former coastal fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. He says winter storms churn up the Gulf bottom, sending marine critters and their calciferous containments onto the beach. To improve your chances of finding a variety of intact shells, Hammerschmidt says stay clear of crowded beaches.

If you get a chance to go to some more isolated beaches, like down on Padres island, or something like that, where the population of humans is not quite so thick, you’ll have a much better chance of finding some really unusual shells.

Such as a pretty little shell called baby ears—which looks like…well…baby ears. Or, there’s another special shell worth searching for called spirula.

And it’s a coiled, snail-like shell. But it doesn’t belong to a snail—it belongs to a little squid. And it’s inside the squid, and when the squid dies, that little thing has a lot of chambers in it with gas, and it floats and washes up on the beach. Those are very pretty, bright white, and they’re very fragile, so you have to be careful with them.

This time of year, before it warms up, is a terrific time to go beach-combing.

That’s our show for today…remember: Life’s Better Outside.

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

Shells one might find on the Texas coast.

Shell Collecting Tips Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Nobody thinks twice about collecting shells from the beach. But I started to wonder if it’s really okay since beaches are public land.

It’s okay to collect shells. The ones that are broken and come apart, they create the sand that’s out there, but there is no law against it [collecting].

Paul Hammerschmidt is a lifelong shell collector, and former coastal fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. He says collect responsibly to avoid creating problems for the environment or marine animals.

I highly recommend that you only take shells that are from dead animals—not live animals.

How can you determine if something is still alive? In the case of the popular sand dollar, small spines cover the shells of living animals…so look for smooth, spineless shells. If, like me, you’ve never found a sand dollar on the beach—there’s good reason for it.

I think it’s because everybody wants to get a sand dollar. And, too, they’re another very fragile shell. And when the waves are strong, they’ll get broken up, and you’ll just see fragments of them. A lot of times, the best time to find a sand dollar, is after a storm—and then very early in the morning—before anybody else gets out on the beach.

When and where to go shelling on tomorrow’s show.

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