Passport to Texas

Texas Hunter Education certificate. Never go hunting without it.

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This is Passport to Texas

What’s the most frequent violation Texas Game Warden encounter in the field?

That’s hunter education and it’s a preventable one.

Aaron Sims is a Texas game warden.

That’s something that’s been mandatory for a long time now.

The 70th Texas Legislature made hunter education a requirement in 1987. Hunters born on or after Sept. 2, 1971 must successfully complete the course.

“I know how to use guns. I’ve been shooting them all my life. Why do I have to go through another class?” And I’ll tell them that’s a very small portion of the hunter education class. The other part is why it’s important. Why we have these laws. Conservation, ethics; something that might not be unlawful may be unethical. We have to have respect for the animals when it comes to hunting or fishing.

The Hunter Education program strives to produce safe, responsible, knowledgeable and involved hunters.

All we want is for them to get compliant. Take the class, learn the good information and pass it along to your children. If an adult is already certified and they have a young son or daughter that wants to go through it. We always encourage them. If you would like to go sit through the class with them and learn with them and maybe they can ask you questions because its more comfortable. We definitely encourage parents to attend classes with their children

Find hunter education information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Overnight tent camping at Lost Maples State Natural Area.

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Does the thought of tent camping at a state park give you anxiety? An article in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine may help quell your fears.

Writer and avid tent camper, Wendel Withrow, addresses ten of the most common anxieties people have when it comes to overnight tent camping and how to overcome them.

Anxiety about the unknown is something a we all face. Address it by getting to know the park. Start with one that’s close to home, and spend the day, exploring—particularly the camping loops. Get a feel for where you and fellow campers will pitch your tents and spend the night.

Willingly trading in your pillow-top mattress for a sleeping bag on the floor of a tent may seem mad. Tent camping doesn’t have to be unpleasant. Gear like ultra-plush sleeping pads and bags stuffed with soft down or synthetic insulation will keep you off the ground and comfy.

If you’re concerned you won’t sleep because of worry about wildlife roaming the park in the dead of night, know that they’re not interested in you. Although, keeping your provisions and waste away from your tents and securely stowed will ensure they’ll give you a wide berth. Although, mosquitoes are another story.

The Oct. issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine with the article on overcoming tent camping fear is on newsstands now.

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

Manmade habitat for freshwater fish.

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The Lone Star State is revered for its exceptional sport fishing opportunities.

To preserve and enhance these destinations, a recent project at Lake Sulfur Springs experiments with nontraditional materials and designs to create artificial habitat.

Fish need habitat and structure in general.

Tim Bister is a District Fisheries Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife

Even in reservoirs that left timber standing, over time, that timber in the water breaks down and the habitat for the fish declines. We’ve done work with Christmas trees in the past but the PVC that we’re using in the structures we’re building today are going to last for many, many years

One design for artificial habitat involves using simple, materials like PVC pipe and corrugated plastic drainpipe. Biologists and volunteers use the PVC to build a four-foot cube-shaped framework, and then weave and secure the drainpipe to it; it’s not much to look at, but it creates a nest-like structure.

Kody Corrin is the state director for Bass Unlimited and a restoration project volunteer

Somebody that doesn’t really know would think that we’re just piecing recycled garbage together, and we’re really not. We’re actually providing good habitat for the fish.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Is this the size fish Lake Bois d’ Arc can look forward to producing?

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Lake Bois d’ Arc, a new reservoir project 70 miles northeast of Dallas, may be the future hot spot for trophy largemouth bass

One of the main things we are doing is establishing some nursery ponds that we can come into and introduce some genetically superior largemouth bass strains that have the potential for growth into that trophy status over eight pounds or so.

Dan Bennett is a natural resources specialist with Parks and Wildlife

Those are Florida strain Largemouth bass and we are hoping that this is going to be the first opportunity to come into a new reservoir with some of those ShareLunker offspring that are produced at our Freshwater Center in Athens. The ShareLunker are fish over 13 pounds and larger that have been donated to our selective breeding program.

ShareLunkers are fish with proven genetic potential to reach a trophy size.

So we are hoping that those fish we stocked in those nursery ponds come through that program. If that’s the case, we should be able to track those fish long term. Once this reservoir has existed for eight or ten years, we may be seeing some large fish caught by anglers over there that we can then genetically trace them back to a particular lineage that may have originated from that hatchery down in Athens.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Image courtesy www.fanninwater.org

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Lake Bois d’ Arc is a 16,000-acre reservoir under construction in northeast Fannin County, scheduled for completion in 2022.

From a fisheries biologist perspective, it’s particularly exciting to get in on the ground floor of establishing a fishery in a new lake like this; not something that many of our biologist have had the opportunity to do.

Dan Bennett is a natural resources specialist with parks and Wildlife. Anglers may look forward to a lake with variety of sportfish; Bennett’s work will make sure of it.

The north Texas municipal water district has helped us identify four ponds that will eventually be flooded by the reservoir to come in and establish some small-scale fisheries or nursery ponds to be able to introduce both forage fish and ultimately genetically superior largemouth bass; and [then] pre-stock those ponds, which we’re planning on doing this year. [This will give] those fish a little bit of an edge or a boost before the lake fills so they’ll be year or two old and more or less adult fish that are ready to spawn.

Once the reservoir opens to the public, anglers will have another productive Texas fishery to enjoy.

Our goal is to do everything in our power to establish fish populations in those lakes and try our best to make them the best they possibly can be.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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