Passport to Texas

White Bass, Illustration TPWD

Angling: White Bass Run= Sprintime Fun Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the February Digital Fishing Special from Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine you’ll find an article on white bass by outdoor writer John Jefferson.

11— White bass is a great sport fish. Parks and Wildlife records show there are more white bass caught per hour of fishing than any other fish in Texas.

Usually a lake dweller, white bass school in tributaries to spawn in late winter and early spring.

21— The white bass are triggered to spawn when the water reaches 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As far as the calendar, instead of the thermometer, it starts sometimes as early as warm days in January, but it really picks up in February and March. Those are the best two months.

Anglers may keep up to 25 fish caught with a pole and line that meet the 10-inch length requirement. Although white bass prefer shad and minors, they’ll take artificial lures, which is what John Jefferson says he uses.

13— With me, it was a matter of laziness. I didn’t want to lug a big minnow bucket up and down the creeks when I could take a few jigs with me and a lightweight spinning rod and spend more time actually fishing than changing bait.

We’ll talk more with John about white bass tomorrow.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…

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

Image courtesy www.russellgraves.com

Nature: Dirty Fingernails and Goat Slobber Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We live in an age where nearly everyone has access to more than one kind of electronic media device.

02— Which, personally, I’m not against.
What writer, photographer and former Ag teacher, Russell Graves, does take exception to is the amount of time children and families spend indoors using those gadgets.

07 –You know, I think a lot of my attitude comes from the way I was raised. When I was growing up, I was continually outside, and it just seemed like the natural place to be.
Studies suggest children who spend time outdoors are healthier, happier and more focused in the classroom. Parents can help their children develop an affinity for nature by starting small…such as by growing a flower garden, or going on hikes in State parks with the goal of spotting specific animals or plants.

06 – Getting them to the point where the kids are motivated so they want to go outside and play on their own, without their parents having to push them outside.
Graves, a former award winning public school teacher, says schools have a role to play when it comes to reconnecting young people with nature.

08 – School can provide a way for kids to learn about the outdoors, and become involved in camping or hiking or photography or any number of outdoor activities.
Russell Graves wrote an article for the January issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine [called Dirty Nails and Goat Slobber] that outlines simple steps any adult can use to help children take back the outdoors. Because: Life’s Better Outside.

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

Photo by Russell Graves

Nature: Getting Kids Outdoors Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When given a choice, kids used to spend entire days in unstructured outdoor play. Not so today.

11— There was a study done that says kids spend an average of 5,000 hours by the time they reach kindergarten age being exposed to some sort of electronic media. That’s roughly the equivalent it takes to get a college degree.

That’s Russell Graves, professional writer, photographer and former Ag teacher. He cited that statistic in an article he wrote for the January 2013 issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Television, video games and other electronic devices compete for a child’s attention.

05 –At some point, kids need to have a love of the outdoors and a love a playing outdoors fostered in them.

And that’s where adults come in. We have to help children cultivate what’s already exists inside them. In his article, Russell Graves offers simple suggestions for parents to help their kids cultivate love of the outdoors and of discovery.

16 – One of the things we did when my kids were little is we would garden. Whether it was a vegetable garden or a flower garden – just get them out there in the dirt. Let them dig holes, and let them plant flowers. Because, then all of a sudden, they get involved with wanting to come home every day and check to see how their flower garden or their vegetables are doing.

And that leads to examining bugs, and reptiles and birds and before you know it – you have a nature lover on your hands.

We’ll have more with Russell Graves tomorrow. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Photo and caption by Michael Mezeul II (from National Geographic Photo Contest 2012)

The Milky Way graces the west Texas night sky over Fort Griffin. Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort that was established in the late 1860s to provide settlers protection from Kiowa and Comanche Indian raids. The view of the night sky, from past to present, remains the same.

Location: Albany, Texas

TPW Magazine: January/February Issue Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A comfy chair, a hot beverage, and a good read make a winter’s day pure pleasure. You’re on your own with the chair and beverage, but Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine has you covered with the reading. Editor, Louie Bond.

62— Well, I always like to think of the deep winter issues as the ones you want to snuggle up and spend some time reading. So we put a little smorgasbord of things in our January/February issue. And the cover story is by Russell Graves, and it is about how to teach your kid how to love the outdoors, called “Dirty Nails and Goat Slobber”. And it’s all about kids letting play in the dirt. And Russell is such a great person to write this article. He was Ag teacher of the year in Texas. He has two kids of his own who are great outdoorsmen. And he’s got six quick steps to teach your kid be a great outdoors person. And then, to counter that, we have this beautiful photo essay by our own Chase Fountain called “Into the Night”, which is this whole variety of starscapes and light and all kinds of things that go bump in the night, and I think people are really going to enjoy that. And then our final feature this month is on pond management. Now who wouldn’t want to have their own pond in their backyard where they could just stick a line in, catch a fish, and while away a lazy afternoon? It’s a really wide variety of articles this month, and I think there’s going to be something in there to please everyone.

Thanks, Louie. Look for the January/February issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine on newsstands.

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

Image from http://swco.ttu.edu/

TPW Magazine: December 2012 Preview Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is celebrating its 70th anniversary and Editor Louie Bond is here to tell us more.

60– We’re so proud to present this 70th anniversary issue; and we have some great stories in it by people past and present who have been involved with the agency and the magazine — including our own fearless leader, the Executive Director, Carter Smith, who has a wonderful little anecdote I thought I’d share with you. He said he started reading the magazine as far back as he could remember. He read his grandmother’s issues. And his grandmother finally bought him a subscription, and he said it was likely that she was so tired of him pilfering them. He said ‘Who could blame her? If I didn’t run off with her copy each month, I’d rip out pictures of deer and bobcat and West Texas mountains and coastal sunrises. My love affair with our wild things and wild places was in no small part shaped by that early exposure to the stunning wildlife photography and essays on all things outdoors. I still read it cover to cover multiple times.’ So, when you have a boss like that who supports your magazine this way, you can’t help but be happy to celebrate 70 years. And I hope our readers
will enjoy it.

Thanks, Louie

More information about the magazine and subscriptions at tpwmagazine.com.

That’s our show for today…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.