The years had passed for Fito since his last fishing trip. A steady decline in health resulted in limits of his physical abilities. Once active in the outdoor life, the Brownsville resident had gone 15 years without fishing. Fito’s mother, Meg Beumel, thought those days were over for her son. Then via Facebook she heard of Fishing’s Future. The nonprofit organization is based in South Padre Island and has chapters…
At a June 20 joint press conference, the City of Pharr and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced that they will be co-hosting the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships Feb. 22-25, 2023 at the City of Pharr Natatorium. The City of Pharr Natatorium at 3001 North Cage Blvd. opened its doors in January 2022. The facility features an Olympic-size, eight-lane, 50-meter…
Finding a new entertainment option on South Padre Island that can gain traction isn’t easily pulled off. A former oilfield worker with an infinity for Island life decided to give it a try. Homer Garcia reached into his bag of ideas and came up with a 15-seat bicycle rig where peddling is shared and fun is had. “It’s pretty much a moving bar,” Garcia said of what’s experienced at his…
The private recreational angler red snapper season in federal water opens June 1 with new federal regulations via the DESCEND Act now in effect as of January 2022. The DESCEND Act requires all commercial and recreational anglers to possess a venting tool or a rigged descending device on their boat while fishing for reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, “Research shows…
Windmills don’t normally dot the landscape of McAllen, but for four days this July, they will be in full swing when pitchers take the mound at the 2022 PONY Softball International World Series Travel Select Tournament – College Showcase. That’s a mighty long name, but this is a mighty big deal. “We will have teams from Mexico, possibly Australia, Louisiana, New Mexico, San Diego and across Texas,” said Debbie Falcon,…
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, through the Texas Nature Trackers program, invites Texans to participate in the seventh annual City Nature Challenge April 29 through May 2. This global community-based scientific effort, co-organized by San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, invites current and aspiring citizen scientists of all ages and backgrounds to observe and submit pictures of wild plants, animals and fungi…
The executive board of the Texas International Fishing Tournament has chosen Caroline Miller, daughter of James and Becky Miller of Harlingen, as the 2022 T.I.F.T. Hostess. Miller is a fourth-generation T.I.F.T. participant and has been involved with the tournament since she was an infant. She attended her first tournament at two-and-a-half months old and took part for the first time at 15 months. “When I think of the Texas International…
The South Padre Island spring breaks of most recent years were quite different from those that came before them. There were lower numbers but some good came out of the leaner seasons of 2020 and 2021. The imagery of rollicking college-aged students was replaced by the more mature demographic family groups. There were fewer crowds to get through with the temporary decline of college youth on semester breaks. The pandemic…
A walk into Quinta Mazatlan takes patrons into a visual and architectural history of McAllen. It was on this 80-acre site over eight decades ago that adventurer and writer Jason Chilton Matthews built one of the larger adobe homes in Texas. The 10,000-square-foot home stands tall today with a regal dignity overlooking an estate of lush green habitat. Quinta Mazatlan is one part an architectural wonder in how the Spanish…
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved proposed rule changes to bag and size limits for spotted seatrout on the middle and lower Texas coast during the January 2022 meeting. The new rules take effect on March 16 in many bays, including the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre Bay systems. From March 16 to Aug. 31, 2023, the spotted seatrout bag and size limits south of FM 457 will be:…