Last year’s record breaking heat and drought contributed to one of the longest outbreaks of Red Tide in Texas history. Texas parks and Wildlife biologist, Meredith Byrd, says a species of algae named Karinia brevis causes the condition.

06—And when these algae reproduce very, very quickly, they turn the water red or reddish brown and so that’s what we here on the Texas coast know as a red tide.

Red tide can be irritating to the skin and lungs but is not a serious threat to most people—but certain aquatic life, isn’t as lucky.

15—Red tide does cause toxins that kill fish and are collected in the oyster tissue so unfortunately the commercial oyster season that would have began Nov. 1st has been suspended indefinitely.

Texas parks and Wildlife Water Resources Branch Chief Cindy Loeffler says, because oysters are filter feeders that can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily, they will eventually rid themselves of toxins… just not in time to save this season’s $30-million dollar Texas oyster industry.

16— What has to happen is for the toxin level in the oyster meat to drop below a certain threshold level but unfortunately the drought, predicted to persist at least through early spring, mid-spring so that would typically be about the length of our commercial oyster season.

That’s our show. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series, and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Two generations of Texas anglers know the joy of reeling in rainbow trout during the winter months thanks to Parks and Wildlife’s stocking program.

07—I believe it started in the 1960s; so, we’ve been stocking trout for fisherman for winter fishery for over forty years I believe.

Carl Kittle oversees the trout stocking program for Parks and Wildlife. Beginning every December through the first week of March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s inland fisheries division stocks more than a quarter of a million of the colorful fish in neighborhood fishing ponds statewide.

06—Rainbow trout are a cold water fish. The winter is the only time we really have water here in Texas that will support them.

Once it starts warming up—which could be any time now—the water will, too, and those fish will not survive. Considering rainbow trout are excellent table fare, it would be a shame to let them expire in the water.

17—They’re excellent eating fish. You can keep whatever fish you catch and I believe it is five per day. The fish that are stocked in general will be between eight and 10 inches, so a nine inch fish would be normal—with the exception of neighborhood fishing program lakes, which should average 11-12 inches in size.

Find the trout stocking schedule on the Parks and Wildlife website. 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.

Get to a state park with fishing opportunities while there’s still a chill in the air for your chance to reel in the last of the rainbow trout. Out state park guide Bryan Frazier explains.

The water temperature has to stay below a certain temperature for the rainbow trout to do well, and February’s a great time, because it’s usually the last month that there’ll be stockings for rainbow trout.

It’s a great reason to get outside during what’s typically a mild winter in Texas, and enjoy something else. It’s a new slant on fishing, and you can do it this time of year when you don’t necessarily think about fishing. But. It’s even better for rainbow trout when it’s cold.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

If you fancy yourself a fisherman, or think it’s time you found out what all the fuss is about, Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine has a treat this February. Editor, Louie Bond explains.

60—You know, we’re really excited this February to offer our readers something new and different.

So, this is the beginning of a new tradition for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. We hope everybody will check in on the fishing guide this month, and then back again in the fall for our hunting guide.

Louie says the online digital guide is accessible to everyone.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series with funds from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Just as we’re physically weaker when we lose muscle, freshwater ecosystems weaken when they lose their
mussels.

14—They’re a very important part of the aquatic ecosystem. They’re the foundation. I like to call them the vacuum cleaners; their main diet is bacteria and other small particles. They’re the filtration systems of the rivers, lakes and ponds.

Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, Marsha May, says one species of Texas mussel is on the federal endangered species list. US Fish and Wildlife is considering listing additional species of freshwater mussels.

03—We’ll see what happens in the next three to five years.

You can help keep track of these important species as a member of Texas Mussel Watch.

24—Texas Mussel Watch is a program designed to get citizens involved in monitoring freshwater mussel species throughout the whole state of Texas. We hold workshops normally in the springtime. They can learn about freshwater mussels. Once they’ve gone through the workshop, they can be put on my
scientific permit, and then go out and monitor mussels within their own community and give us information on what they find, because it’s very important information.

Find information about mussel watch on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Texas is home to nearly fifty species of freshwater mussels.

07—They have just really fun names—like the Texas Pig Toe, and there’s the Louisiana Fat Mucket…

Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, Marsha May, says wherever there’s freshwater, you’re likely to find mussels.

08—The live in freshwater streams, lakes, ponds and even tanks. So you can find them pretty much anywhere in freshwater in Texas.

The only place you’ll have a hard time finding mussels is in deep east Texas where the water is too acidic for the mollusk to survive.

06—They prefer more alkaline water. They need to have that calcium in the water to help them build their shells.

Speaking of those shells…if come upon one with or without its occupant…Marsha May says leave it where you find it.

20—Freshwater mussels are protected. In order to handle the shells or live animals, you have to have some sort of license or permit. Either a fishing license, which you can handle any mussel greater than two and a half inches long for most species, and then, my Mussel Watch volunteers have a scientific permit so they can handle all species.

Learn about Mussel Watch tomorrow.

That’s our show with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m
Cecilia Nasti.

Freshwater mussels—soft bodied organisms that live inside hard shells—are vital to Texas’ aquatic ecosystems.

03—They’re the foundation of the aquatic ecosystem.

Marsha May is Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, which is part of the Texas Nature Trackers program at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

14—I like to call them the vacuum cleaners of the system. Their main diet is bacteria and other small partials. They’re the filtration systems of the rivers lakes and ponds. So they have a very important role in cleaning that water.

Marsha says mussels are an indicator species—the aquatic equivalent of a canary in a coalmine.

09—They’re definitely a canary in a coalmine. You start losing these freshwater mussels, then you know something definitely detrimental is going on with that system.

We have lost some mussel species. Historically Texas has had more than fifty species of freshwater mussels, but today we’re down to 47.

22—We currently only have one species that’s federally listed as endangered, and that’s the Ouachita rock pocketbook. We’ve never found it alive in Texas; we’ve only found recently dead shells. So it goes on and off the Texas list. We have 11 species that US Fish and Wildlife is looking at possibly listing.

More on mussels tomorrow.

That’s our show with support from the SFWR program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

The plan: stock more than a quarter million rainbow trout in over 120 locations statewide through March. The challenge: the ongoing drought, which has caused…

07—A combination of low water that doesn’t cool and doesn’t get enough oxygen in it and a combination of access to those sites.

Carl Kittle, who oversees the trout program for inland fisheries, says those two factors will probably mean stocking fewer fish in fewer locations. He adds there are locations statewide able to sustain this winter fishery.

16—We do feel confident there will be some trout stocking. The large reservoirs with tail races, particularly the Guadalupe River coming out of Canyon, are looking good. And, we have a pretty good level of confidence those will be good places to stock trout this year.

Kittle says if inland fisheries is unable to stock all the sites it usually supplies with rainbow trout, then it will put more fish in locations that are suitable. Kittle’s best advice: monitor the website for the most up to date information on the stocking situation.

16—That’s what I would say: watch the website very closely this year. We will identify stockings that look safe; stockings that can’t happen or won’t happen. And those notifications may happen close to the time of stocking and they may change frequently depending on weather conditions.

Find the stocking report on the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

We receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which funds trout stocking programs in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Winter is no time to put up those fishing poles. That’s because each December Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Inland Fisheries Division stocks rainbow trout statewide.

07—Rainbow trout are a cold water fish, so the winter is the only time that we really have water here that will support them.

Carl Kittle oversees the trout program for inland fisheries. The trout, farm raised in Missouri, arrive at Texas four hatcheries via tank truck.

20—And then we redistribute them from our hatcheries to each of the stocking locations. We have over 120 locations where we have stocked trout in Texas. And how many trout are we expecting to stock this year? Our plan would be to stock about 280-thousand trout. However, this year is unique because of the ongoing drought.

Ah, yes…that pesky drought. The agency may reduce the number of fish and locations it stocks based on how long the drought continues and on conditions going forward.

15—Two things that can happen are that the water level can be so low that there’s no way for fishermen to get at the water. Or, more common what we’re running into right now—is that we don’t have enough clear water in place in a pond to be cool and high in oxygen and support the trout.

But all is not lost. There will be rainbow trout stocked for your fishing pleasure. Learn more on tomorrow’s show.

We receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which funds trout stocking programs in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

John Besh operates seven restaurants: six in his home state of Louisiana and one in San Antonio called Luke. Chef Besh grew up in a hunting and fishing family; and contrary to what non-hunters and anglers might think, these activities helped him to develop respect for life.

13— You see something running or swimming one moment, and then the next moment it’s in the frying pan. You don’t waste as much of it. You don’t look at it as lightly as you do as meat wrapped in cellophane on the grocery shelf.

More people today want to know where their food comes from; Chef Besh says when you hunt and fish you do.

12— If you’re a carnivore, it’s the purest form—to take it from the field to the plate. It’s something that I do on a personal level quite a bit. I have four sons, and they’re growing up with the tradition as well.

Chef Besh apprenticed in southern Germany, where each fall the restaurant served wild game brought in by local hunters and farmers, and inspected and approved by the health department.

16—I so loved that, and so appreciated that that added just yet another layer of understanding of how to treat game and the importance of this tradition.

I don’t know if it’s cool yet [laughter].

The Hunt Texas e-newsletter provides information on hunting and preparing wild game. Sign up for it on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.