Passport to Texas

Fishing for catfish is a family affaire.

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This is Passport to Texas

Nobody will dispute that largemouth bass is the favorite sport fish among Texas anglers.

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

Yet, Dave Terre, chief of inland fisheries research and management, says largemouth bass has an unlikely rival.

About 20 percent of anglers prefer fishing catfish in Texas.

The humble catfish is gaining in popularity. That’s because unlike largemouth bass, catfish are better able to survive and thrive when water levels—and dissolved oxygen levels—are low, such as during drought.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife developed a management to guide the future of this sport fish in Texas.

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.

Three of ten species of catfish in Texas provide important fishing opportunities to anglers: Channel, Blue, and Flathead. Find the Catfish Management Plan on the TPW website..

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

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Preparing red snapper at Central Market Cooking School in Austin. Image: Bruce Biermann

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This is Passport to Texas

If something smells a little fishy, it might be the next Wild Game & Fish Cooking collaboration between Texas Parks and Wildlife and Central Market Cooking Schools. It’s coming up May 14 and features goodness from the Gulf. It’s a “Gulfstravaganza!”

Whether you’re a beginning cook or a seasoned pro, it’s always fun to learn new preparations for old favorites. And if shrimp, crab and fin fish from the Gulf top your list, then you’re in luck. Here’s what you have to look forward to in the May 14 hands-on class:

Shrimp Queso Flameado with Ranchera Salsa; Gulf Crab Enchiladas with Herbed Pumpkin Seed Mole; and Gulf Fish with Achiote Rub, Pickled Red Onions & Chipotle Mayonnaise.

A Central Market Chef Instructor will guide you as you cook, while a Texas Parks and Wildlife volunteer will fill you in on the agency’s mission as well as wildlife and fisheries management. They also fill you in on the protein gracing your plate. And if you have questions about fishing and hunting and enjoying the outdoors—they can help you there, too.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife and Central Market wild game and fish cooking collaborations offer an evening of camaraderie, learning, good food and fun. Find a link to register for the May 14 class at passporttotexas.org.

We receive support for our show from RAM Trucks: Built to Serve.

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

Wild turkey ready for the table. Image: Field to Table Cookbook, Susan Ebert.

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This is Passport to Texas

If you harvest a bird during the 2019 spring turkey season, don’t wait until Thanksgiving to eat it. Yet, whenever you prepare it, be sure to save their built-in “flavor packet”.

Wild turkeys have this huge fatty deposit at the top of the chest and the base of their neck; it’s called the breast sponge.

Susan Ebert is author of The Field to Table Cookbook. She says gobblers develop this fat layer to sustain them during mating season and it can account for up to 10 percent of the bird’s body weight.

It’s very weird looking tissue. And some people will just cut it off and throw it away, and I say, oh no…no…no. Leave that breast sponge on the turkey’s breast. Because, what you have is a built-in fat blanket to keep that meat moist while it’s cooking. It will shrink substantially during the cooking process. You can discard it afterwards, before you start carving.

We have a longer segment on harvesting and preparing wild turkey with Susan Ebert, as well as a segment on turkey restoration and another on how to call turkey for hunting or nature watching, and on our podcast Under the Texas Sky.

It’s the one called “Talking Turkey”.

The podcast is available on spotify, iTunes and other places where podcasts roam.

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

Have fun with family and friends when you participate in the Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt!

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This is Passport to Texas

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an experience is priceless. Get your experience on with The Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt, or GOSH.

It’s a fun framework in which to go and see and do.

Nathan Adams is art director for TPW Magazine, which is where you will find a list of 30 locations that feature Texas’ natural wonders, history, wildlife, water and fringes. Participation is as easy as taking a selfie.

Everyone’s got their phone with the all the time. So, you would go to one of these locations, and there are instructions for what to take a selfie of. We want to see you and we want to see whatever the location is; we want to see that present also. And so you would go to that location and take a picture of yourself.

Then upload the images to social media, or to a portal on the website with the hashtag: #GOSHTX. They’ll be added to a gallery where you can see what others are doing. Nathan hopes some friendly competition will arise.

I would love it if Texas A & M would challenge UT. Or, Texas State and Texas Tech would get involved. I would hope that this would encourage some competition among people. Yeah.

Find complete details for the Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt in the May issue of TPW magazine—on newsstands now—and the TPW website.

We receive support from RAM Trucks: Built to Serve.

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

No matter where you live in Texas, you can participate in the Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt.

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This is Passport to Texas

Through Labor Day, The Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt—or GOSH—inspires you to discover the natural wonders, wildlife, water, history and fringes of Texas.

I would want to make sure everyone knows that no matter where in Texas you live, there’s at least one thing on this list that’s close to you. And probably more. So we want everyone to participate. This should not feel exclusive, this should feel very inclusive.

Nathan Adams is art director for TPW Magazine; along with the website and magazine APP, it provides the GOSH guide, which includes 30 tasks to encourage exploration and discovery of Texas’ best.

If you complete all of the tasks in any given location, then you’ll get a certificate that we’ll email to you that you can print out; and if you’re crazy enough all the way—get them all—then you’ll get a different certificate [you’re a “Gosher” par excellence] and you’ll get a two-year digital subscription to the magazine.

To participate, go to the sites, take selfies of you and your crew and then upload the images to social media, or to a portal on the website with the hashtag: #GOSHTX.

So, I’m hoping people will discover things didn’t know existed in Texas. But mostly I’m hoping that people will just have a good time being outdoors.

Find complete details for the Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt in the May issue of TPW magazine—on newsstands now—and the TPW website.

We receive support from RAM Trucks: Built to Serve.

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