Passport to Texas

A fishable population of snook await anglers in the lower Texas Gulf.

Fishing: Unusual Fish Await the Winter Angler Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You don’t have to keep your fishing gear in storage until summer. Head to the coast this winter and reel in some amazing fish!

06—Texas has year-round saltwater fishing and it’s very productive, even in the worst of weather.

While the majority of saltwater anglers cast for red fish, flounder and speckled trout, professional fishing guide and outdoor writer, Danno Wise, recommends casting a wider net, so to speak. He says there are plenty fish in the sea.

40—Down here in the Rio Grande Valley is the only place in the continental United States outside of South Florida there’s a fishable population of snook year round. They’re sensitive to cold so they’re going to go into the deeper portions of our bay systems, but because the fish will be concentrated, we have excellent snook fishing during the winter time. We also have a substantial amount of beachfront fishing which is kind of overlooked. Whiting, which is a simple kind of fish, and the pompano. Very tropical looking species; in Florida, they’re targeted very heavily. Fish such as those are plentiful and good eating, and if you want to target going out just to get out of the house, relax, and catch a few to take home to eat, those are excellent choices.

Grab your gear, some warm clothes, and head to the coast this winter to reel in more than the usual suspects.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series… funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife technician stocks rainbow trout.

Fishing: Winter Trout Stocking, 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re an angler who likes to eat what you catch, then now’s the time to reel in a rainbow trout.

14— We stock them at a catchable and eatable size. They are good fighting fish; they’re relatively easy to catch [and will take nearly any bait]. We usually stock them in smaller bodies of water, so they’re a good fishing, catching opportunity and good eating opportunity as well.

Carl Kittle is a program director for Inland Fisheries, and oversees winter trout stocking in Texas. Distribution began this month and continues through February 2015.

17 – We’ve been stocking [rainbow] trout around Texas for almost 40 years. One interesting note about trout is that we often say there are no established populations of trout in Texas, but actually, way out west in the Davis Mountains there’s a small, tiny stream at high enough elevation that there is a reproducing population of rainbow trout.

It’s just too hot in the rest of the state to sustain rainbow trout populations year round, and so we will stock approximately 290-thousand of the fish in about 140 locations this year…including urban areas. There’s even a new site in Abilene at Grover-Nelson Park Pond

11 – And we have a special program; we actually stock somewhat larger trout in urban areas in our Neighborhood Fishin’ Program. And that’s something that you can specifically look for on our web page.

With the winter holidays here, it’s is a great time go fishing with the kids. Find the stocking schedule and locations at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and funds rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

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

Whitetail deer in snow.

Hunt: Antlers, Horns and Habitat Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hunting is about more than trophies. It’s about creating healthy habitat.

05—That’s exactly right. And our tagline at TBGA [Texas Big Game Awards] is Hunting equals Habitat.

Justin Dreibelbis is Hunting Heritage Program Director at the Texas Wildlife Association, which coordinates the Texas Big Game Awards, or TBGA.

25— Those big deer are not an accident. They are a direct response to the habitat that they were grown on. And that’s why we celebrate antlers and horns at Texas Big Game Awards. Not because it’s some big trophy and that’s what’s important. We celebrate antlers and horns because we recognize that’s a direct result of the habitat that that animal was raised on – and that’s what we’re trying to get back to. It’s all about habitat and our hunting heritage.

The TBGA is currently accepting entries of white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, Desert Bighorn Sheep and javelina. Find a list of certified volunteer scorers at texasbiggameawards.org.

18—Contact them and they’ll get the animal scored for you. You fill out the form and send it in to us – it’s completely free. If it’s a youth or first harvest category, you don’t even have to contact a scorer. All you have to do is go to texasbiggameawards.org, print out a copy of the youth and first harvest form, fill it out and send it in. And that’s all there is to it.

Deadline for entries if February 15, 2015. Three Regional Sportsman’s Celebration banquets will be held to honor winners and program participants. Find more information at texasbiggameawards.org.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Big Buck at Choke Canyon State Park

Hunt | Habitat: Texas Big Game Awards Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Big Game Awards started in 1991 as a partnership between the Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife as a means to document the native big game resources we have in the state.

05—And also, to celebrate our hunting heritage and recognize young and new hunters.

Justin Dreibelbis is Hunting Heritage Program Director at the Texas Wildlife Association.

12— We have scored entries that have to meet a certain scoring criteria for that particular region. And then we also have unscored categories which are our youth division and our first harvest division.

Texas Big Game Awards recognizes white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, Desert Bighorn Sheep and… this was a surprise… javelina.

08—At this point it’s still kind of a well-kept secret. But it’s something that we do want to publicize that javelinas are actually able to be scored and entered into TBGA, too.

The awards showcase quality big game in Texas, and prove thoughtful land management can produce big healthy game animals, especially deer, anywhere. And, Justin says that makes landowners take notice.

19—It kind of opens up people’s eyes to going, hey, you know what – we’ve never grown any big deer around here before, but it’s possible. And that’s something we’re constantly telling people: if you let a deer get old enough, and you manage the habitat so that it has plenty of groceries at every point during its life, you have the ability to grow a big deer anywhere in the state.

More on the Texas Big Game Awards tomorrow. That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas Mule Deer

Hunt | Habitat: Texas Wildlife Association Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Healthy habitat means healthy wildlife. The non-profit Texas Wildlife Association – a TPWD partner – ensures both by empowering private landowners to embrace good land management practices.

15—With private land, making up, upwards of 95 percent of the land in Texas, [landowners] they’re the ones making the real decisions that affect all the people that live in our state. And, so, we need to give them the tools and resources they need to make wise use of the land that they’re the stewards of.

Justin Dreibelbis is Hunting Heritage Program Director at TWA. The organization documents the result of good land management practices through its annual Texas Big Game Awards Program, which proves quality bucks, for example, are not the sole domain of South Texas.

13—Our Texas Big Game Awards has helped us document those exceptional big game harvests around the state; we’ve been doing it since 1991 as a record-keeping program for the state, identifying those exceptional big game animals that are taken each year.

He says TWA reviews this large dataset and the variables associated with producing exceptional big game animals.

08— And so that data set allows Parks and Wildlife to go back and look at trends with rainfall and land use and make large-scale management decisions around the state.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

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