Passport to Texas

TPW TV: Turkey Calls Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Making sounds like a hen turkey can mean the difference between bagging a bird this spring and going home empty handed.

06—Now you want the call of a hen turkey to try and attract the Tom, or male turkey, over to your position.

Steve Hall, Executive Director of the International Hunter Education Association, says a box calls can make enticing sounds.

53—One is called the basic cluck [clucks]. Now, a cluck is a call that says: ‘Hi. I’m here.’ And if you put the cluck in a series of calls, it would be a yelp [yelps]. Now a yelp call says: ‘Come over here; I’m having fun.’ Now, a slate call is much the same as a box call and you can make that basic ‘cut’ sound [cut sound]. And, you can also make a purr, which says ‘I’m on my daily rounds.’ Now, I like to use a diaphragm call; it’s a little more complicated
call. But it allows me, if I’m hunting, to move my arms and hands with my bow or my gun. It fits in the top of your mouth, and you can do it quite easily [cackle]. That was a cackle or a yelp. If you hear a ‘put’ though, that’ll scare a bird away – and that’s the alarm call [put call]. Put them all together and you can have fun imitating a flock of turkeys. [07-of turkey calls…fade]

More tips for talking turkey this week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV Series. Check local listings.

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

Paddlefish

Conservation: Creating Flow for Paddlefish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

With a huge mouth and long paddle-shaped snout, the prehistoric paddlefish is a threatened species in Texas. In water systems like Big Cypress Bayou, their decline followed river modifications and dam construction [for Lake O’ the Pines reservoir] which altered in-stream flows necessary for their survival.

18—The in-stream flows that are released from the Lake O’ the Pines reservoir are critical for maintaining habitat within the river, as well as for initiating spawning conditions paddlefish need to reproduce.

Kevin Mayes, an aquatic biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, says after years of study and restoring key features of the Big Cypress system, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Caddo Lake Institute, TPW and others, are returning this “big river” species to the ecosystem.

16—Part of that [work] was identifying that paddlefish require spring spawning pulses to support their reproduction So, we integrated those pulses into a flow regime that we call “in-stream flow building blocks” for the Big Cypress Creek.

This spring, researchers plan to release up to 50 radio-tagged paddlefish into the newly restored system, monitoring their movements, and making adjustments to flows based on the data.

The Wildlife and Sport fish Restoration Program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Paddlefish

Conservation: Restoring the Paddlefish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Weather permitting, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Caddo Lake Institute will release up to 50 paddlefish into Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou in East Texas this week.

12—In Texas, it’s listed as a threatened species. Much of its range has been interrupted by damns on rivers; so the habitat just really hasn’t been there for the paddlefish to survive in Texas very well.

Predating dinosaurs, fisheries biologist, Tim Bister, calls the species “big river fish.” Populations exist in rivers like the Mississippi, but remain scarce in Texas waters.

13—It’s been a long time since we’ve collected a paddlefish in the Big Cypress River or Caddo Lake. So, this reintroduction is really more of an experiment to see if paddlefish are going to stay in the system.

Bister says they’ll “radio tag” the fish before release.

38—There’re going to be radio transmitters; there’s going to be three different towers down the stretch of the river, including one at the spillway of Caddo lake. So, every time a fish swims by one of these towers data will be collected. So, why now? What is it about this point in time that makes this seem like the right time? Well, for about the last 10 years, there have been several groups that have been working on establishing recommended flow patterns for The Big Cypress below lake of the Pine. So now that we’ve got some of these recommended flows in place, it’s time to put some fish in there that respond to certain flows, and see how they perform.

Tomorrow: in-stream flows and paddlefish.

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

Blue Catfish

Fishing: Managing Catfish for the Future Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Largemouth bass is hands down the favorite sport fish among anglers in Texas

04— Today in Texas about 50% of our anglers say they prefer largemouth bass.

Dave Terre, chief of inland fisheries research and management, says another fish is gaining on largemouth.

05—About 20 percent of anglers prefer fishing catfish in Texas.

That’s right – the humble catfish. Catfish are better able than largemouth bass to survive and thrive when water levels are low, such as during drought.

06—We’re trying to study catfish more intensively to determine how we can make fishing for catfish even better.

Over the next couple of years Texas Parks and Wildlife will develop management plans for catfish, and ask for public input. Until then, grab a rod and reel and cast for cats.

15— Most people in Texas – when they think of a fish, they think of a catfish. I think that’s the honest truth. Bass get more notoriety, but catfish are very important and I think a perfect fish to start new anglers on fishing, and to get a new generation of Texas interested in fishing.

Lots of folks are interested in eating catfish, too. So Dave Terre says as the agency develops fisheries across the state, it’s ensuring opportunities for the harvest of decent sized catfish for your dining pleasure.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds fisheries research in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Catching Blue Cats in Lake Waco

Fishing: Rethinking Catfish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

An old timey freshwater fish is gaining in popularity again. What is it?

04— A traditional fish that’s been caught by anglers for many, many years.

That’s more of a clue than an answer, Dave. Dave Terre is chief of inland fisheries research and management. Here’s another clue: Parks and Wildlife produces and stocks this fish in Texas water bodies.

05—Yes, we do produce many, many catfish in our state fish hatchery system in Texas.

Catfish! Was that so hard?

28—As a matter of fact, we stock literally thousands of advanced size channel catfish in small ponds located throughout the state. One of those programs is our neighborhood Fishin’ program, where we’re stocking every two weeks adult channel catfish 12-inches or larger, into some 14 water bodies across the state to offer up great fishing opportunities for people who reside in urban areas of our state, which is definitely a group that we would like to reach out to.

To the original point: serious anglers are rediscovering catfish. This begs the question: why?

15— Texas is changing. We’re going to be experiencing more drought conditions in Texas; and what we know about catfish is they are able to deal with fluctuating water levels better than largemouth bass, which have been – and will continue to be – a popular sport fish in Texas.

With heavy stocking and a new eye toward management catfish is a traditional species for changing times.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds fisheries research in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.