- NARRATOR: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - Captures are awesome.

They're definitely an adrenaline rush and really really cool from a science perspective.

- Well, I don't know how many really I currently have.

I know it's a lot.

I've got over 300 total records.

- He was just a super humble guy and had a huge impact and I think he would be shocked but he'd be really grateful and honored.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Texas Parks & Wildlife , a television series for all outdoors.

♪ ♪ [wind blowing] [birds chirping] - NARRATOR: In the Texas Panhandle where free ranging deer and elk roam, researchers are working to uncover the hidden threats of chronic wasting disease.

[helicopter whirring] To understand how the disease might spread through the deer and elk populations, the team will be tracking the movements of these animals.

[upbeat country music] From the air, helicopters locate and net animals on the open range in a carefully orchestrated operation.

- NETGUNNER: It could be down here.

There's some of them.

- PILOT: That one looks like a little family group.

Come on deer.

[upbeat country music] Three o'clock, thick bush.

I think I got one here.

I know I do.

Oh, Layton.

Get there.

Get there.

Get there.

Get there.

All right Cody, headed your way.

[helicopter whirring] - NETGUNNER: I've got the rope.

- PILOT: Yes, sir.

I'm already hooked up.

[upbeat country music] Let me get this thing spun around here.

Just work our way back.

[helicopter whirring] [birds chirping] - Chronic wasting disease is a disease that impacts deer, white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, and it is a disease caused by an infectious prion.

The minute they turn positive, it is an ultimate death.

- It's unlike a fungus, bacteria or virus.

It's a misfolded protein.

They coalesce in the brain of that animal over time, and that can be as long as two years.

Prions, as they accumulate, cause neurodegenerative damage.

Unable to really defend itself, find food, find water, find shelter.

- NARRATOR: While there is no known cure for CWD, researchers are working to learn more about the disease and how to contain it.

- REED: Ultimately, those animals will expire.

- ASHLYN: We are in the Texas panhandle currently, starting off a chronic wasting disease project to see how that impacts populations.

[helicopter whirring] - REED: Are we seeing any sorts of these effects on these populations long term from CWD?

- Captures are awesome.

They're definitely in a adrenaline rush and really, really cool from a science perspective.

[helicopter whirring] She's a female.

She's a white-tail.

She's at 103.7.

- REED: One of the major things that we're looking for is that animal's temperature.

We're gonna be using some ancillary methods using water, ice to try and cool that animal down.

- We're gonna take some biological samples for disease monitoring, nutrition status, as well as fit her with a collar to track her movement.

Our team then puts it on a carry tarp.

We get a quick weight.

120.

- 120?

- ASHLYN: Then we immediately take them to a processing station.

- You wanna hold that head up and pull it towards you.

We're also taking a variety of different samples.

We're just grabbing blood from the jugular vein here.

Coming out nice and easy.

We're going to be taking blood to do a battery of disease testing.

- We need blood drawn.

- Thank you.

- ASHLYN: We're taking all the precautions we need.

Any tool that touches an animal is either disinfected or it is a disposable item that is immediately thrown away to not spread prions any further.

- REED: Go for the collar.

We see in some of these severely affected areas where you might see a prevalence of CWD 40% or more.

When you get very high prevalence of the disease, those populations continue to decline.

- RESEARCHER: Main beam length three and a half.

- REED: We see shifts in age structure.

You're not gonna see as many old animals out in that landscape.

- In the notes, say Hueco Collar.

We fit them with a GPS collar to then see where that they run off to after we are done handling them.

It tells us her locations every two hours.

We can use those GPS collars to see where the animals are going, and we can try to identify areas where chronic wasting disease might spread in the future to try to keep landowners more informed of areas that might need some more testing.

Frequency is 151690.

- RESEARCHER: Okay, I need somebody to hold here.

- Are we set?

- You ready?

- Oh, okay.

- He's good?

The worry is, is that when you have declines in that population that it can cause downstream effects.

We're getting some more.

On vegetation as well as reducing the opportunities for other hunters, landowners and folks that want to utilize that public resource from the landscape.

Is that the last thing?

- It's good, yep.

[bright country music] [deer grunting] - ASHLYN: Releasing is really cool.

It is probably one of the most intimidating aspects.

[spray can hissing] [bright country music] I personally like to watch the mule deer stot away.

That jumping motion that they do is super, super cute.

[bright country music] The elk was also really cool.

They looked super majestic pulling their heads up majestically as they walked away.

- NARRATOR: This is the first step in understanding the true impact on our deer and elk herds in Texas.

Knowledge that can guide future management and conservation.

- REED: It's invigorating.

It's great to see these animals get up and move.

We're really optimistic to see that we're gonna have that information to manage these populations so that we have healthy deer and elk for many years to come.

- I'm going to go try some casts out here to see if I can get any bass that may have gone out over there.

Get out there now.

Got him, got him.

Good fish here, real good fish.

A bass, gotta be a bass.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Look at that.

Big Rio.

Big Rio.

Gentlemen, we may possibly have something over two pounds.

- NARRATOR: Meet Chuck Dewey.

- Look at this.

- NARRATOR: Chuck likes to fish, a lot.

But he doesn't go fishing for just any fish, Chuck goes Fishing for Records.

- CHUCK: 1.45.

- JAMIE: Wow.

- CHUCK: 1.45.

If that fish was caught in October, there's a good chance he'd go over two pounds.

Got a few of the records I've caught over the years.

- NARRATOR: A visit to Chuck's home just outside of San Antonio, Texas is kind of like a visit to the Chuck Dewey Fishing Hall of Fame.

Plaques, awards, certificates and fish mounts are the decor of choice.

- This one here is the Warmouth for Live Oak City Lake that was caught on July 13, 2012 and that is still the current record.

- NARRATOR: That record is just one of many that Chuck has as part of the state's Angler Recognition Program.

Catch a big fish and you too could get your name in the record books.

- RON SMITH: Everybody can get recognition through this program in some way or another.

You can catch a water body record, you can catch a state record, you can catch a first fish.

You can get a record by weight or you can get a record by length.

You can get a record for different tackles, different types of fishing, different methods of catches.

[fish splashing] - CHUCK: Oh, that's a good bass.

- One of the cool things about it is, whether somebody gets the record or doesn't get the record, they're always excited about fishing.

- LEO: Oh, got a good one Chuck.

- CHUCK: Good fish, good fish!

People call it perch jerkin, brim fishing, whatever.

Oh yeah, big old red-ear.

Big old fat red-ear.

I would rather catch a 10-plus inch red-ear than a 10-pound largemouth bass.

That's just me.

[Dragnet TV theme] - NARRATOR: Chuck spent 37 years as a police officer chasing bad guys.

- TV ANNOUNCER: The story you are about to see is true.

- CHUCK: Got him!

- NARRATOR: Now that he's retired, he spends his days chasing big fish.

- These are all trophy fish here, every one of em.

- NARRATOR: It's early June and Chuck is fishing one of his favorite spots, the West Nueces River north of Brackettville.

- There it is.

Got him!

Oh yeah!

Oh, come on buddy.

There he is.

I love to bank fish.

I love to keep it simple.

Another big old female red ear.

I don't have to worry about cleaning a boat or charging batteries or anything like that.

I Just throw my gear in and I'm gone.

Big old slabs.

Beautiful day for fishing.

- I like to catch bass, they're pretty good fighters.

- NARRATOR: Chuck's here with Leo and Yesenia Flores.

They all fish here on a regular basis, and between the three of them, they have 11 West Nueces River records.

- CHUCK: I met Leo and Yesenia off a fishing forum.

- LEO: Beautiful bass.

- CHUCK: We got to become pretty good friends.

Lo and behold, they like getting records also.

Yesenia's got the weight record.

That's more important than the record or even fishing, is just the people you meet.

Get a quick picture of him holding his fish.

[camera clicks] And that's going to be the catch-and-release, pending, largemouth bass record, West Nueces River by Leo Flores.

- LEO: Pretty nice fish.

Thank you, Mr.

Bass.

- Right here is where it happened.

- NARRATOR: The Angler Recognition Program is not just for adults.

- GAVIN: Oh my god.

- NARRATOR: There is a separate division just for Junior Anglers.

- GAVIN: It's about dang time!

- NARRATOR: Gavin Mikeska is one of those Junior Angler record holders.

He's a member of the Wall High School fishing team so he's out on the water a lot.

In the Spring of 2019, Gavin was fishing the Oak Creek Reservoir with his dad.

- We go around this one dock and see a huge bass.

I tossed one of my baits at it.

I scared it.

It went under the boat.

I was nervous I wasn't going to catch it.

I ended up catching it.

- I remember looking at the fish and I'm thing to myself, man, she's huge.

She's big.

Gavin in the meantime, he was running around hootin' and hollerin' and having just a ball.

- GAVIN: I about jumped in the water I was so happy.

- NARRATOR: What he caught was a 26 3/4 inch largemouth bass.

At 13.6 pounds, it set both the Junior Angler and All Ages record for Oak Creek.

- GAVIN: One of the best moments of my life.

I'm just saying this now.

I think I'm going to be famous.

[paper rustling] - Blue gill.

- NARRATOR: Ron Smith runs the Angler Recognition Program.

- RON: Nice one.

- NARRATOR: In a typical year, he'll get about 1,500 applications for record fish.

That works out to about 125 each month, or 29 applications every week.

- RON: Chuck Dewey's, it's a nice one.

Rio Grande Cichlid.

He sends me about four to five applications a month.

He's like a regular at a restaurant, comes in almost every day.

[laughs] A big fish award, and a water body record.

Once I get validation, I will print out the certificate that has their name on it, a little gold star.

[stamper clicks] And then we mail them out.

Last month I processed 240 certificates.

We do that right here.

This is pretty much the factory.

[laughs] - Definitely, definitely over half a pound.

Since I hold the record, I'm not going to beat my own record I don't think, so we'll throw it back.

[splash] - CAMERAMAN: You're not selfish?

- No.

- RON: What we're really trying to do is to stress the importance and the availability of angling.

Get more people out there, more friendly competition.

- CHUCK: Booyah!

Everybody likes to brag about their fish.

[laughs] - And then you got the green sunfish.

Well, I don't know how many really, I currently have.

I know it's a lot.

It's in the 200-range for current records, but I've got over 300 total records.

- NARRATOR: You remember the Rio Grande Cichlid Chuck caught at the beginning of the story?

It did qualify for the West Nueces River weight record.

- Glad to get him back in the water.

I don't know he may never get caught again, but who knows?

- NARRATOR: Just another day, another big fish for a guy who has a record number of records.

- CHUCK: Got him.

The reason why I do this kind of fishing is plain and simple.

It's enjoyable.

Each time I go out, it's just the enjoyment of walking up to that bank and seeing that nice still water in front of you and wondering what's in it.

A record is just icing on the cake.

Oh, got him!

And if I don't catch a record, it doesn't mean anything at all.

I'll keep fishing.

[calm music] [mellow music] [attendees clapping] - NARRATOR: On a blustery spring morning, [crowd cheering] a dedication ceremony is underway.

It's for the Ron Smith Paddling Trail.

- RON: And this is just the Birch Creek-- - NARRATOR: Ron Smith helped launch the paddling trail program some 20 years ago.

- We're trying to develop a large inventory of paddling trails with lots of different venues and different activities so that we can reach a wide audience with a healthy outdoor experience.

- He's just a super humble guy and had a huge impact, and I think he would be shocked, but he would be really grateful and honored.

[mellow music] - NARRATOR: Some kayak anglers are here to give the new paddling trail a go.

- MIKE: Let's hit this little area right here.

[mellow music] - JOSH: This is Oso Bay here in Corpus Christi.

It's right by the university, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi.

[mellow music] [ducks quacking] [mellow music] - This a bunch of grass right here and then goes off into a hard bottom.

It's been a very easy paddle so far.

We're only doing the two-mile one.

Man, very easy, very kayak friendly.

So we're just seeing if we can work our way through these weeds and grass and have a good time with it.

[mellow music] - It's just flat waters out here, very shallow.

You can wade fish or kayak.

And it's right pretty much in the city, so that's nice.

Close to everything.

Easy to get to.

And there's trout, flounder, redfish.

Today's a beautiful day with no wind.

It's really beautiful out here in the morning.

[birds squawking] - It's very peaceful out on the water, especially on calm days like this.

I kind of grew up around the water liking kayak fishing because I can go with my friends, I can go with anybody, and I can go anywhere.

Shallow waters, deep waters.

It's really nice.

- NARRATOR: And as for the fishing... - KASEN: Got one!

- NARRATOR: there's some action to be had.

- KASEN: A little trout.

- I mean, it's pretty open, so you can see a lot of different types of people fishing here.

Like, there's more boats over that way, and there's some people wade fishing.

So it's a lot of variety over here.

I can just go and fish whenever I want, and it's kind of just like a fun getaway I can go to and have fun.

- NARRATOR: So from the trout-- - MIKE: Hey, this guy might keep.

- NARRATOR: to the trail, it looks like Ron Smith's spot is a good one.

- CHRISTIAN: He's definitely here.

He's looking down on us being like, "This is awesome.

I don't deserve it, but it's awesome."

[mellow music] [gentle music] [fish splashes] ♪ ♪ - Possum Kingdom State Park is about an hour and a half west of Fort Worth, snuggled in between Graham, Breckenridge and Graford.

[gentle music] - The visitors come to Possum Kingdom because of the lake itself.

You know, it offers great fishing... plenty of space for camping... ski and tube or boat, or kayaking and canoes are very popular here around the park.

- KAYAKER 1: You guys, I'm so excited to go kayaking.

I've always wanted to go.

- KAYAKER 2: Oh, there's a fish jump.

[water ripples] - Such a nice day on the lake.

Not too hot.

- KAYAKER 1: I'm so excited about s'mores.

I feel like I haven't had a s'more in a while.

♪ Life is quite a dream.

♪ [kayakers laughing] [upbeat music] - Well, when you have cliffs at over 92 feet tall, Hells Gate is pretty unique for an area that's so close to the metroplex.

If you do wanna fish Hells Gate, or around it, come early in the morning at dawn.

- Wow, they're jumping out here in the middle.

- KEVIN: Or in the evening, when the striped bass are running.

And it's a very good opportunity to catch striped bass, the sand bass, large mouth bass follow behind it.

So we have all the major basses and catfish.

[gentle music] [crickets chirp] - Looked around the lake here, and said, "I think I like that scene."

[chuckles] Even though it's not the lake, I like the wildflowers, 'cause these lemon horse mints are so prolific.

Had breast cancer in 2001, and survived that.

And, I thought, "Well, if I'm ever gonna do art, I guess I better get busy and do it."

Most of the time, some kind of natural feature at a state park.

I guess that's why it ends up being a, you know, some waterfall or creek or something like that.

[gentle music] [crickets chirp] [bird chirps] [gentle music] - It's peaceful.

It's a nice time to like sit down and just think for a little bit.

Some country fried catfish is a good reward.

[gentle music] - WOMAN: [gasps] Get it, get it.

Okay, just.

- Look, oh!

You got one.

- Woo!

- He's just a little guy.

- You got a catfish.

[boy sighs] - Channel catfish I wanna say.

- I love you.

Thank you.

- Is that your first fish?

- Yes.

- That's your first fish!

[gentle music] - CATHY: Whether you're just a little kid splashing around in the water, fishing for any age, just lounging.

It's a great place to cool off.

[gentle music] - TRAVIS: I would like to think that when people leave here that they had learned something about the park itself, or they just had some good life experiences here on the lake just spending time with family.

[gentle music] - NARRATOR: Next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - There are all kinds of remnants on the landscape that tie back to the Camino Real.

It's the road that lead to the founding of Texas.

- The cove is my favorite place on this specific kayak trail because it's just so peaceful and it's calm.

- It's fun to watch them roll and tumble and do the jump yips and when they go, weeee!

- NARRATOR: That's next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife.

[majestic music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [majestic music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [majestic music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.