Cleburne State Park has an image problem—people don’t know it’s there. Yet it has so much to offer outdoor enthusiasts. Bryan Frazier, our SP guide, says whether you hike, bike, camp, or fish—you can enjoy all these activities at Cleburne SP.
It may get overlooked by some people, but its just down HWY 67 from the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex area. And I’ll say—it just might have as good, and maybe the best—trails that we have in our park system. They’re wide. They’re great for bikers and for those who just want to hike, And you can take a leisurely hike, or you can take a pretty intense walk through incredible scenery. You’re up almost in the North Texas Hill Country area. You’ve still got limestone outcroppings in here; you’ve got a nice lake that’s about 130 acres, so it’s good fishing. You’ve got great camping with full hook-ups: water, electric and sewer. And also at Cleburne, we’ve got some real interesting developments going on to make that park better. We’ve had brand new group bunk houses that hold up to 44 people. Total renovations of the dining hall that can be rented. And a new store and bathhouse are being built right on the lake, and a new beach access area right on the lake. So some real nice improvements to use those tax dollars and to use those voter approved, and legislative appropriated monies from past bienniums, that it shows up on the ground in ways that when people get to the park they can see that their park experience is going to be better.
Thanks Bryan.
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For an inexpensive, entry-level fishing experience the entire family can enjoy, it doesn’t get much easier than winter rainbow trout fishing in Texas.
05—In fact that’s one of the fish we use at the Expo each year to allow kids to catch their first fish.
Carl Kittle oversees the Texas Parks and Wildlife trout-stocking program. The agency will distribute up to 285-thousand fish to 120 sites—including additional urban locations—between December and March.
14—We’re excited about having a number of new ponds online for our neighborhood fishing program. We actually stock slightly larger trout and we stock frequently—every other week—at specific sites that are set up near urban centers to provide opportunities for urban anglers.
If you prefer to get away from the city for your rainbow connection, then state parks provide the perfect escape.
14—A number of our state park ponds will get stocked with trout. For those ponds and lakes that are located completely within a state park, the license will not be required. The limits will still apply: five fish per day, and there is no size limit on trout.
Anglers fishing in locations other than state parks must have a valid license.
The annual arrival of colorful, fun-to-catch rainbow trout gets underway this month and continues through March.
02—They’re a good fish to catch and a good fish to eat.
Carl Kittle oversees the Texas Parks and Wildlife trout-stocking program. This year they’ll distribute 285-thousand of the fish.
12—Each winter we try to create an opportunity for fishermen. Right now we’re doing over a hundred and twenty sites, with rainbow trout being stocked almost all over the state.
It gets too hot in Texas to support a natural population of rainbow trout, so anglers have to get ’em while it’s cold.
11—You can catch them with live bait. You can catch them with corn or some other bait; and certainly, they’re great on spinners and even fly-fishing. What about a cane pole? A cane pole and a worm is one of the best ways to catch trout.
Kittle says although relatively easy to catch, rainbow trout can offer a challenge to anglers.
11—In that they are aware of people above the water, and they can see out of the water if the water is clear. So, sometimes you have to be a little bit cautious about letting the fish see you from above while you’re fishing.
Maybe it would help if you disguised yourself as a hunter.
Find the trout-stocking schedule at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
That’s our show…with support from the SF Restoration Program… helping to fund fish hatchery management and operations in Texas.
Dinosaur Valley State Park is a unique destination with some of the most well-preserved dinosaur tracks anywhere. Our State park guide, Bryan Frazier, is here to tell us more.
And you’ve got three distinct species of dinosaurs that can be seen; and the whole scene unfolds where one looks to be chasing the other one.
It’s a spectacular sight when you can see all the tracks. When the river’s low, you can walk around and see them from just a few feet away. They’re very visible. And kids love it.
But also, from a recreation standpoint, there’s more than 40 campsites at Dinosaur Valley with electric and water hook-up. You’ve got miles and miles of great hike and bike trails that are up above the Paluxy riverbed, and some really incredible scenery, making it a worthy destination for an outing like none other that you can have in our state park system.
And on a personal note…
The superintendent at Dinosaur Valley, Billy Paul Baker, he’s known and loved by so many people and countless thousands who visited that park…he passed away from a recent and intense battle with cancer…and so we just wanted to say thanks for all the years of service to a fine man who ran a very find park.
Thanks Bryan.
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The December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine looks at the future of the Gulf of Mexico, post oil spill. Editor Louie Bond.
In December we have something totally different. We’re going to take along, hard look the effects of the BP oil spill. I think a lot of Texans are wondering exactly what impact it will have on Texas.
Obviously, we don’t have oil on the beaches. We participated in the rescue of oiled birds, and the release of oiled birds, which was a wonderful good news story that came out of this spill.
Everyone wonders: what’s the long-term impact on our fishing industry, on our birds who are residents here and those who migrate and use our beaches and marshes? The impact is yet to be seen—so we’ve asked the leading scientists, both within our agency and outside the agency [to make predictions].
Two of our top writers, Wendee Holtcamp and Melissa Gaskill actually took a trip along the entire gulf coast to talk to people who had actually experience the spill and to see for themselves what was going on. So, we have an in-depth look with two feature stories and a Scout article, all exploring the impact on the Texas Coast.
We hope our readers will take time this winter to learn for themselves what the scientists are forecasting.
That’s our show for today… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating in Texas.
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