Passport to Texas

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

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This is Passport to Texas

The Ninth Annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic returns to Lake Fork Memorial Day Weekend.

07– It’s an event that helps showcase some of our great fisheries across the state–Lake Fork being one of the best bass fisheries.

Dave Terre, with Inland Fisheries, says this professional bass tournament raises the bar with regards to the  handling of  fish.

27– One thing that’s really unique about the Toyota Texas bass Classic is that it employs a totally new tournament format. The format, itself, allows for the fish that are caught during the tournament to actually be weighed in the boat and immediately released, rather than coming to the stage and being weighed in front of an audience, which puts stress on fish. So, this tournament really revolutionized the way
tournaments might be held in the future.

Lake Fork is known for its lunkers–largemouth bass that tip the scales at more than 13 pounds.  While the pros have yet to catch one during the 8 years of the tournament, Terre says: this might be their lucky year.

15–I’ve been promising a lunker for a pretty good number of years right now. But you know what? I think this is the year. We’ve had numerous fish caught over 10 pounds; we’ve never broken that 13 pound barrier. But I think Lake Fork–it could happen this year.  But you need to be there to witness it yourself.

Go to toyotatexasbassclassic.com for ticket information and a schedule of activities for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic Memorial Day Weekend.

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

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

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This is Passport to Texas

Memorial Day Weekend, Lake Fork Reservoir, 65 miles east of Dallas, is the site of the Ninth Annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

08-What it is, is a world class fishing tournament for professional anglers. It’s also a benefit event for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Dave Terre, chief of fisheries management and research at Parks and Wildlife, says the event showcases the state’s quality fisheries, with Lake Fork being among the best bass fisheries in the country.

18- Last year was just incredible. Two anglers caught over a hundred pounds of bass in three days [and] set all sorts of records for numbers and weights of bass caught. So, this year, the bar has been set very high; and hopefully we’ll be able to exceed that. But there’s one way to find out, and that’s to come to the lake and see it for yourself.

Find ticket information and a schedule of activities at toyotatexasbassclassic.com. Money from the event funds outreach programs.

16-In the eight events that we’ve had so far, we’ve raised over two million dollars. And those dollars have been plugged directly back into youth fishing outreach. It’s brought new kids and their families [and others] into fishing through the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, by helping to fund our programs.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Memorial Day Weekend offers a stellar country music line-up, food and outdoor adventure activities for the family: find ticket information and other details at toyotatexasbassclassic.com.

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

Fishing: Gateway to outdoor obsession.

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With more than a million acres of public parks and wild spaces in Texas, opportunities to get outside abound, and so do the health benefits of being active outdoors.

Adult men and women should carve out at least 30 minutes a day for some kind of physical activity. For children, that time grows to a full hour. Regular body-moving, heart-pumping movement builds muscle and develops balance and flexibility – among other benefits.

From daytime and guided night hikes, to star gazing, bike and equestrian trails, bird watching, to swimming, rock climbing, paddling, and geocaching – state and local parks offer a chance to get outside no matter your interest or ability. Your imagination is really the only
thing standing between you and what you can do outdoors.

Of course, you can always go to the gym to log your 30 minutes of activity a day, but when nature is your fitness center your workouts will all seem like play. Side stepping puddles, leaping up rocks, and traversing up and down hills exercise your balance and stability in
addition to the cardiovascular system…not to mention what being in the wide open spaces breathing fresh air can do for your peace of mind.

The outdoor alternative is also more affordable than the gym, as many state parks offer low-cost admission. So go ahead and get out, because life’s better outside. Find a park or scenic trail near you at texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

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

Grilled Shrimp

Fish | Cook: Learning to Cook Seafood Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

We love seafood, but when it comes to cooking it—most of us leave that to the professionals.

06— Because a lot of people are intimidated [by] seafood. They have this impression that it’s hard to cook.

But it’s not, says Rhonda Cummins with Texas AgriLife and Texas Sea Grant. Whether you harvest it yourself or pick up fresh fish from a local market, seafood is easier to prepare than you realize.

06— If you can master just a couple of quick easy [techniques] in the kitchen, you can cook seafood at home

The FREE monthly Cooking with Seafood classes Rhonda coordinates provide attendees the skills they need to prepare fresh seafood at home. Volunteer cooks teach demos, while fisheries biologists and others talk about the resource.

11— Sometimes I have to put the meal on hold because they’re still asking questions to the presenter. They’re coming to learn. I actually believe that it’s become more about interesting topics than about the food.

But there is food. The next FREE Cooking with Seafood class is Monday April 13 at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds outside Port Lavaca, and will include some combination of oysters, crabs, shrimp and fish.

14—The basic concept of the evening is going to be, you’ve harvested it, or you have bought it in its almost natural state at the fish market—what do you do with it next? So, we want to teach them some basic cleaning techniques and then cooking techniques.

Find out how you can attend at passporttotexas.org (see below).

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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If you want to attend the April 13, 2015 FREE Cooking with Seafood Demo, RSVP with Rhonda Cummins:

Cooking with Seafood
Free cooking demonstrations and samples using fresh, local seafood.
Calhoun County Fairgrounds, Bauer Exhibit Building
6 p.m.
RSVP to Rhonda Cummins: (361) 552-9747
Email: rcummins@tamu.edu

Fried oysters

Fish | Cook: Cooking Seafood Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rhonda Cummins, coastal marine resource agent for Texas AgriLife and Texas Sea Grant, unintentionally became the de facto Seafood Cooking maven for her agencies.

04— I’ve got to admit: I may be the current maven, but I’m not the first.

She says Annette Hagen out of Rockport was Texas Sea Grant’s original seafood consumer educator.

11—And she created thousands of [seafood] recipes and we still pass them out today, They’re legendary.

But when Annette retired, they never refilled her position. So, years later, when Rhonda came along with an idea to help promote Texas fishermen by hosting seafood cooking demos, the baton was passed.

09— Now more than ever, we need to educate the consumer on their food choices. Not just know your farmer—it needs to be know our fishermen.

Rhonda teams up with colleagues from Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Sea Grant, and members of the community to demo seafood cookery.

22— Because a lot of people are intimidated [by] seafood. They have this impression that it’s hard to cook. Some people view it as a little pricey; they think it’s only for special occasions; I don’t want to mess it up… But if you can master just a couple of quick easy [techniques] in the kitchen, you can cook seafood at home. And it’s so much cheaper [than restaurants], so much healthier, and it supports my local fishermen.

Demos are free; we’ll tell you more tomorrow. The Sport Fish Restoration supports our series and the work of Sea Center Texas… The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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