If you find yourself bored over the next few weeks, then it’s not for a lack of things to do — it’s an imagination issue. Hunting and fishing action are going strong, football season is hitting its stride, holiday cooking is around the corner, and summer has finally gasped to a stop and given way to fall-like weather.
One of my favorite things about this time of year is that Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologists infuse waters throughout the state with rainbow trout, and instead of having to travel westward and drop baits into a mountain stream, I can just drive a few minutes down the road from home and come back with a mess of trout for the skillet.
The first stocking in our area will be on Nov. 23 at Buena Vista Park Lake, and follow-up stockings will take place every two weeks through the first of March. Amsler Park is the only other McLennan County water to get trout. Other waters within a short drive of Waco include:
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- Bell — Nolan Creek, Carl Levin City Park Pond and Miller Park Pond
- Bosque — Meridian State Park
- Limestone — Kosse City Park Pond and Springfield Lake.
This 2017 video shows Texas Parks and Wildlife Department workers restocking Waco’s Buena Vista Park with catfish. Source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1299822130053287
There’s no minimum length limit on trout, but each angler can only take five trout per day, and there’s a 2-pole per angler restriction in most stocked waters. A valid fishing license with a freshwater endorsement is required for anyone 17 and older. Licenses and endorsements are not required when fishing within a Texas State Park.
Catching rainbow trout isn’t that difficult — if you’ve caught sunfish, then you already have the skills and equipment needed for trout, although fly-fishing is effective, too.
Light tackle is the way to go when catching trout, and light line, small hooks and split shot weights will serve the need. A No. 10 circle hook or a No. 6 shank hook are what I use, plus a slip cork to top things off gives you a simple but effective setup.
Top-producing natural baits for stocked rainbows are fish nibbles, kernel corn, salmon eggs and worms. Good lures for trout include small spinnerbaits, jigs, tied flies and swim baits.
Rainbow trout are scrappy fighters, beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. Look for a recipe or two over the next month.
Deer in the crosshairs
Deer hunters are finally waking up to what really feels like hunting weather, and even though temperature has less of an effect on deer behavior and mating than the decrease in daylight hours, 90-degree days certainly has an impact on how much chasing they feel like doing.
I’ve spoken to a number of Centex hunters who have held back on pulling the trigger, wanting to save their tags for the big one that might come into the clearing at any moment.
The key to a good turkey
Millions of folks will be looking to the grocery store for their holiday turkey needs in the next week, but what most of us set on the table at Thanksgiving doesn’t much resemble a wild turkey. Factory birds are genetically engineered to have disproportional amounts of white meat, so we end up with birds that have big breasts and spindly legs — and don’t even try to get a mouthful of meat from those little wings.
Wild turkeys are leaner than their factory cousins because they’re constantly on the move in search of food and avoiding predators, so they require a little extra work to make them table-ready.
Whether you brine them in salt water, inject butter and seasonings, or cook them in basting bags, keeping the meat moisturized is key to a successful turkey dinner. You can chicken fry them, deep fry them, put them in the smoker, or oven roast them — just keep them from drying out.
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