Passport to Texas

Blue catfish – a fighter and biter for those who “noodle.”

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Noodling or hand fishing is a preferred way to land big catfish, for some.

15— What they do is they find holes that are typically on the bank, or in structure timber, what have you. And, fishermen will search around in the water blindly, feeling in holes until they find these fish, and then they’ll pull them out with their hands.

Whether the anglers get the catfish, or the catfish get the anglers is up for debate.

07— Some of them will tell you they’ll be as gentle as a kitty cat, and some of them will meet you at the door, ready to snap on.

Kris Bodine is a research scientist at Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center.

09—They [hand fishers] tell me that actually blue catfish are a little more aggressive than the flat head catfish, and a lot of the hand fishers don’t want to catch blue catfish because they’re so aggressive.

Although hand fishing is not a new sport, it only became legal in Texas in 2011, which means researchers are in the beginning stages of studying this unique user group.

16—It seems at the outset right now, in terms of the data we’re collecting, that we don’t have a very big user group. There’s probably not a lot of folks going out there hand fishing. In fact, they don’t even have a very long window to do it. It’s typically during the spawning season, so they only have a couple months to hand fish.

A survey for hand-fishing enthusiasts. That’s tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

A family sharing fishing fun at a state park.

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Fishing is an enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends.

06— We think it’s a valuable thing for people to be connected with fishing and the outdoors, and we’d like to facilitate that connection.

Aquatic education training specialist, Caleb Harris, says the neighborhood fishin’ program is just one way TPW facilitates that connection between people and nature.

05— Every metropolitan center has a neighborhood fihin’ pond. And all those locations are on the [TPW] website.

He’s referring to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. This time of year, the inland fisheries division stocks neighborhood fishin’ ponds with catfish. Harris says although spending time with family and friends catching fish is fun, something deeper transpires among those who connect with the outdoors.

09—When people are connected to the outdoors in a way that they enjoy it – like fishing – they become stewards of it. They want to protect it. Conserve it. Be good users of it.

June 7 is National Free Fishing Day! Find a nearby neighborhood fishin’ pond as well as tackle loaner programs when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Rod and reel, image by Bryan Frazier

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June 7 is National Free Fishing Day. Yet, when you fish in state parks – once you pay your entrance fee –fishing is always free. If you’re new to angling, though, you may not have tackle. But we do. And…we’ll share.

07— Many of our state parks that have water for fishing, have fishing poles that people can borrow.

Caleb Harris is an aquatic education training specialist. He says it’s easy to borrow rods, reels and tackle boxes with hooks, sinkers and bobbers.

09— [Just] sign a paper that says they’ll bring the fishing poles back, and they can borrow the fishing poles for up to a week, sometimes, as they’re camping in the park. Or, if they just come for the day, they can borrow them and return them back to the park.

You are, however, responsible for your own bait. Even so – what could be easier than fishing in state parks with borrowed tackle?

04— If people are interested in getting into fishing, we try to make that accessible as much as possible.

Find state parks with fishing opportunities and tackle loaner programs when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Kids enjoying a day of fishing

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Why is fishing growing in popularity?

07— Access Is there. It’s not expensive. There’s a draw to water. And young kids are excited to get into fishing typically, [because] it’s weird. [laughs].

Caleb Harris, an aquatic education training specialist, says access may be the top reason why people fish.

06—There’s significant access to fishing in Texas. We have lots of lakes and lots of parks. Within ten minutes of most homes you can find a place to stick a hook in the water.

Find neighborhood fishing locations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. And if you’re new to fishing, Harris suggests attending a Go Fish! Learn-to-Fish Events at Texas State Parks.

34— The Go Fish events are free events in the park, and they start in the morning – typically – and they’ll have education stations. And, they’re very specific for exactly those people who say I’m interested in fishing but I really don’t even know where to start. And after about an hour and a half to two hours of basic hands on activities to learn these things, then there’s an opportunity to borrow some fishing poles and go fishing right there in the park. And after that, most people would have an example of where they could fish, what type of bait to use, how to tie on lures and hooks, what different fish they could expect to catch with certain types of bait – they would get that information at these events. It really is a good starting point.

Find Go Fish events in the calendar section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The WSFR program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Teaching kids to fish.

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As more people show an interest in fishing, the need for trained angler education instructors also increases.

07— Our strategy is to equip people so that they can bring fishing activities and events and outdoor experiences to their own communities.

Caleb Harris is an aquatic education training specialist. He trains interested folks to put on fishing events.

12— What we offer is some training to equip people to bring that to their own communities – whether it be their city, their church, their scout group… And then we can train them how to put on those events and we can give them the resources to successfully do it.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer angler education instructor, it’s easy to find a skills workshop.

14— There’s at least one or two happening each month somewhere in the state. And our workshops are free, too, to people who are interested in them. So, people can contact us directly and ask when the next workshop is, or they can follow the calendar of events on TPW website. They’ll all be posted there, too.

Harris says the people who reach out to the agency for training are enthusiastic, and believe in fishing as a way to engage the outdoors and bring families together.

06— Our volunteers are pretty incredible, actually, how motivated they are to help families get outside and have a good experience in fishing.

Find an angler education workshop near you on the TPW website. The WSFR program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.