Passport to Texas

Toyota Texas Bass Classic, Image by Larry Hodge

Angling: Toyota Texas Bass Classic Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Texas has earned its bragging rights when it comes to our state’s bass fishery. And Lake Conroe is among the top producers of some our state’s biggest bass. So it makes sense the annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic, takes place there.

06—This is a great opportunity for Texas Parks and Wildlife department to promote the great fishing we have in our state.

Dave Terre, with Inland fisheries, says 50 professional anglers will compete over the three days during the seventh annual Bass Classic; the top-10 will fish the final round on Sunday.

11—Lake Conroe was chosen because it is a producer of huge largemouth bass. So, anybody coming to the event will likely
see some pretty good sized fish. Maybe a fish of a lifetime.

Over the years, these events, which are free to the public, have raised funds for TPW youth fishing programs.

20—A total of six of them [events] have provided 1.5 million dollars in funding to support youth fishing programs in our state. No other state has this opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for the public to come see, and enjoy, an event that supports Texas Parks and Wildlife in so many different ways.

The family-friendly Toyota Texas Bass Classic is October 4 – 6 at Lake Conroe. Admission is free if you sign up for tickets online at ToyotaTexasBassClassic.com.

Additional details about the event on tomorrow’s show.

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

Northern Pintail

2013 Waterfowl Season Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Pull out the hip waders; waterfowl season is near. It begins September 14 – 29 with early teal, but it doesn’t end there.

10— Our regular duck season really depends on the different zones. For the most part statewide it will run from the first of November and will run to the last weekend of January.

Kevin Kraai, waterfowl program leader at Texas Parks and Wildlife, says duck hunting provides challenges, not the least of which is the recent drought. Yet, hunters who scout in advance and are willing to travel will reap rewards.

34— Scouting is extremely important [when hunting] waterfowl on any year, and especially during times of drought. So, if people are willing to put in a little bit of time and commitment even during less than optimal conditions they can still have a very successful season. Yes. Absolutely. And that was evident even though we had very poor [habitat] conditions the last few years. The overall harvest of waterfowl in the state of Texas has actually gone up over the last few years purely because these birds are concentrating in larger flocks in certain areas, and hunters have figured that out and are basically targeting those concentrations and have been very successful.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish restoration program supports our series, and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Blue-winged teal

Hunting: Early Teal Season Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

It may feel like summer, but fall waterfowl season is here.

17— The first season that we have for waterfowl begins with our early seasons. Which include all species of teal, and as of the last couple years, in the eastern tier of the state of Texas, we have an early goose season for Canada Geese only that coincides with our early teal season.

Kevin Kraai is the waterfowl program leader at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

34— We are going to have the most liberal season, which is 16 days; teal is doing very well nationally, so we will be having the most liberal season we can have. Can you explain to our listeners how that’s decided. Yes. We have a harvest strategy in place that depicts the season lengths on teal. And basically, by looking at population estimates from the breeding ground surveys – we can determine whether we’re going to have a liberal, a base, or a closed season. And, basically any number of blue-winged teal above 4.7 million will have a 16-day season. And as of right now, we’re far above 4.7 million.

Early Teal season is September 14 – 29, with a six bird daily bag limit – up from 4. Tomorrow: How to get the most out the waterfowl season.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish restoration program supports our series.

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

Rainbow Trout in Texas

TPW TV: Guadalupe Rainbows Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Throughout the year, Texas Parks and Wildlife has been observing its 50 year history as an agency. This week we go back in time with the TPW PBS TV series as producer Abe Moore reflects on Texans’ love affair with winter trout stocking.

41— We went back and looked at some of the old movies that Parks and Wildlife produced. And one of the stories I came across was fishing for rainbow trout on the Guadalupe River, and the stocking that they actually did back there on the river. It was really interesting.

[ambiance] No one would have guessed several years ago that rainbow trout could ever be caught in Texas. Summer Waters were much too warm for trout. [ambiance]

And then what we did is we looked at that piece then, and comparing it to see if it’s changed as far as stocking on the river over the past 40 to 50 years.

We stock close to 30-thousand rainbow trout in the Guadalupe River. They used to be six to eight inches back then, today, they’re eight to 10 inches, and the still come from Missouri.

That historical piece will be on September eighth through the 14th on your local PBS station.

Check your local listings.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

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

Sandcastle on Texas Beach

Conservation: Goals of Taking Care of Texas Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Taking Care of Texas, is a non-profit started in 2011, by former first lady Laura Bush. The organization promotes conservation of Texas’ natural resources.

10— Our goals are to really communicate the value of safeguarding our natural resources, and to do that in rural and urban settings, and emphasize conservation is consistent with Texas tradition.

Taking Care of Texas partnered with a who’s who of conservation heavyweights, including Texas Parks and Wildlife. Erin Franz, Executive Director, says the enterprise catalyzes its partner’s initiatives while recognizing conservation and economic prosperity need not be at odds.

21— One of our goals is to showcase there are already a lot of great conservation efforts being done by our business community, and so we want to continue what’s being done and expand on that. And, bring business minds to conservation matters and conservation minds to business matters so that we can really continue to elevate that conversation, and get more and more conservation practices put into place.

Learn more about the conservation efforts around our state, and how you can get involved, at Taking Care of Texas dot org.

Support provided by Ram Trucks. Doing what’s right and good regardless of the degree of difficulty — takes guts. Those are the people who build Ram trucks. RAM.

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