Fishing is a serious pastime in Texas, from the casual angler to the professional fisherman. The passion for fishing isn’t limited to the Lone Star State, but for the purposes of this article we’re going to focus on laws and regulations that apply to fishing in Texas. What we won’t be covering is what bait or flies to use, when’s the best time to fish, and the thousand other details that go into the perfect fishing expedition. We’ll leave those points to the experts!
Here’s a quick mental exercise for you: if we were to ask you to imagine a typical Texas ranch, what animal would come to mind first? Considering it’s Texas, we’d be willing to wager most people would picture a sprawling pasture populated with Texas Longhorns. After all, the hardy bovine has been a symbol of the Texas cattle drives since the 1860s; it’s the official mascot of the largest university in the state; and it was named the official large mammal of the Lone Star State in 1995. Hook ‘Em Horns and all that.
Generally speaking, when you mention the word “topaz” it summons in your mind’s eye a gemstone that’s golden in color, roughly the same hue as fresh honey. This is likely because the yellow topaz is the traditional birthstone for the month of November, and is one of the most common colors of the stone to be found. However, topaz occurs in nature in a variety of colors, and in this article we’re going to focus on the blue topaz. It plays an important role in the state of Texas, and is as beautiful as the Hill Country skies!
The Texas countryside is known for wildflowers, especially thanks to LBJ’s First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. Her passion for colorful carpets of wildflowers drew attention to them, and inspired plantings to beautify roads throughout the state. She’d be proud to know Texas wildflowers will forever be part of her legacy!