Passport to Texas

Art Morris with his saltwater catch.

Fishing: Saltwater Fishing in 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Variety and quality – that’s what anglers can expect when fishing in Texas bays.

12— Spotted sea trout and red drum on any given cast. Throw on the occasional flounder and black drum…. There’s just tremendous opportunity there for any sort of skill level at any time of the year for that matter.

Art Morris, with coastal fisheries says his favorite is the Upper Laguna Madre.

24— I’ve been fishing it since I was a child, and it’s those trophy sized spotted sea trout that I like to go after. You’ve got clear water, shallow grass flats; you’ve got deep water reefs, and you use top waters and site cast the fish. And, oftentimes, it’s just the perfect setting for sport fishing on the Texas coast – for me, personally.

Each bay system is different and requires different tactics and baits.

25— As you move down the coast, the water tends to get clearer, so we tend to use more variety of stuff on the lower coast as far as artificial lures and bait. On the upper coast the water gets a little more turbid; you get more into live bait fishing, dead bait fishing. Some artificial use up there, but yeah, as you move down and up the coast, each bay is unique and have their own techniques that work best in those particular areas.

Want more? Check out Art Morris’ article on bay fishing in the digital fishing issue at tpwmagazine.com.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Caleb Harris enjoying the salt air.

Fishing: Expectations When Hiring a Fishing Guide Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Want to hire a fishing guide? Be clear with them about your expectations.

16—It’s going to be nebulous to just say, I’m going to hire a guide to go fishing on this lake. It would be better to say I want to learn how to catch a certain type of fish. Ask yourself exactly what you want to do, and then when you shop around for a guide, be very clear with that guide, I want to do this. I would say that’s the primary thing to consider.

Caleb Harris wrote an article about fishing with a guide for the TPW Magazine Digital Fishing Special. He says making this request of a guide can help you know if they’ll be a good fit.

07— Please describe a typical day of fishing with you. And then, let the guide describe that, and then you’ll have a really good idea of whether or not they’re a fit for what you want to do.

Avoid unexpected expenses and misunderstandings, by discussing the guide’s expectations in advance.

25— If you’re going to be using a boat, is the fuel included in the cost? If you’re going to be using bait, is the bait included in the cost? You know, if you’re going out for a whole day, is lunch provided? Do you need your own cooler? Who’s going to clean the fish? Is that a part of the fee? Is that extra? What sort of clothes do they suggest? It would be kind of shameful if you got there and the guide was expecting you to wade, and you didn’t clarify that and you show up with your nice shoes. That would set the day up for a bad experience. So, clarify as much as possible.

Find Caleb Harris’ article on fishing guides at tpwmagazine.com. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Fishing: Canyon Dam, the Guadalupe River and Trout Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s trout season in Texas. It’s when Texas Parks and Wildlife inland fisheries stocks hundreds of thousands of rainbow trout in lakes and neighborhood fishing ponds to provide a unique winter angling experience.

06—Trout are a cold water species and they like the cold water and they regularly bite at this time of the year.

Steve Magnelia is a fisheries biologist with inland fisheries. If you think Texans are the only ones enjoying this winter treat, Trout Unlimited named the Guadalupe River near Canyon Dam, one of the top 100 trout streams in North American.

10—One of the things I think that gets it into the top 100 is that you can come down here during the winter and enjoy trout fishing. And we get a lot of people from up north that come down to the Guadalupe during the winter months to fish.

And because the water in the river near the dam is cold—below 75 degrees —the fish often survive Texas summers; some of the rainbows can get big and feisty.

18—It’s one thing to catch the 8 to 10 inch fish that we stock every winter, but when you hook into a 4 or 5 pounder, it’s pretty exciting. It’s fun when you hook up with one and they jump out of the water like a tarpon, which they do. Those big ones like to jump and they’ll jump out of the water 4 or 5 times trying to throw your bait. It’s pretty neat.

Find other trout stocking locations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series as well as conservation programs in
Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Fishing: Canyon Dam Trout Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We don’t have much in the way of native trout in Texas.

12—The only native trout that we’re aware of are maybe some Rio Grande cutthroat trout that were in the McKittrick Canyon area of the Guadalupe Mountains. Other than that, there are no native trout we know of in Texas.

Which is why, says Steve Magnelia, Parks and Wildlife stocks lakes and neighborhood ponds with rainbow trout every winter.

10—The winter trout program is to provide anglers with a different species to fish for during the winter months when our warm water fish like largemouth bass and other species aren’t readily biting.

Magnelia, an inland fisheries biologist, says because trout won’t survive in water warmer than 75-degrees, the rainbows anglers don’t reel in during winter perish as the water heats up—unless they are in the Guadalupe near Canyon Dam.

08—Because it’s a cold water discharge from Canyon Lake, the water stays cold enough during the summer to sustain trout all year round.

So, if they’ve habituated, does that mean they’ve become a self-sustaining population as well?

08—We don’t have any real evidence that the fish spawn and reproduce in the river, but we do know that they carry over from one winter to the next.

Find other trout stocking locations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series as well as conservation programs in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Larry Hodge with his freshwater catch.

Fishing: Freshwater Fishing for 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As the weather warms, seasoned and wannabe anglers yearn to get on the water in the New Year.

18— Overall, the prospects for fishing are good; they’re not going to be great because parts of the state are still in a drought. But, East Texas and North and Central Texas have fared fairly well in the current drought, and most of the lakes still have access and the fish are still there.

Larry Hodge is with Inland Fisheries. He says white bass are especially active this time of year.

19— Most of the reservoirs in East Texas, particularly Toledo Bend, will have a good white bass run up the Sabine River. Those fish are legendary for their size and numbers. Some of the lakes in East Texas also have good white bass fishing. The Neches River above lake Palestine is good for their size and numbers.

Catching largemouth bass might prove spotty due to low water levels. Yet, Hodge says traditional places like Falcon, Choke Canyon and Amistad will have fish as always, but anglers may have to work harder to find them.

08— So, you may have to find some new places [in those reservoirs] to fish; use your electronics, frequent the coffee shops, and talk to the locals and hunt ‘em down.

Find an article by Larry Hodge’s about the best lakes and rivers to fish in 2015 in the digital fishing issue of Texas parks and Wildlife magazine.

The wildlife and sport fish restoration program support our series.

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