Page 22 - Lone Star Outdoor News

Transcription

Hybrid turkeys
Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper
July 23, 2010
Volume 6, Issue 23
North Texas holds a confirmed population
of hybrid turkeys. Page 4
What’s on the inside counts
Inside
Examining deer
stomach contents
can prove useful
By Thomas Phillips
LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
❘❚ FISHING
Cooler of croaker
Some people use croaker only as bait. Others
find them great table fare.
Page 8
Like so many young, curious boys,
instead of being repulsed by the
innards of a deer, Lane Seaman was
intrigued. When he would shoot
a deer growing up, he would gut it
and look over the parts.
But rather than satisfying curiosity, examining the contents of a
deer’s digestive tract can help a person become a better hunter — and
deer manager.
“Every time somebody’s cleaning a deer, there’s
an opportunity
to learn some■ Shooting: Two
thing,”
said
North Texans
David Hewitt, a
will shoot for the
deer researcher
world title.
at the Caesar
Page 4
Kleberg Wildlife
Research Institute.
Most hunters try to avoid opening
the stomachs and bowels of a deer.
Nicking the tissue while cleaning a
deer — or misplacing a gunshot —
results in a filthy, smelly mess that
most hunters dread.
Hewitt, on the other hand, said
hunters can find out what their deer
are eating and whether they are suffering from parasites.
“It’s really kind of eye-opening
what’s in there,” Hewitt said.
After removing the innards
from a deer’s abdominal cavity,
the rumen — one of the stomach
chambers — can be opened to see
INSIDE
Alan Henry hit twice
High water and an oil spill recently caused
Lake Alan Henry to close temporarily.
Page 8
Catfish rigging
A mix of rigs for hook, line and sinker help
catfish anglers bring them in.
Page 8
❘❚ HUNTING
New turkey biologist
A prominent turkey conservation group has
hired a new biologist for Texas and Oklahoma.
Page 5
See STOMACH, Page 6
❘❚ CONTENTS
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For the Table . . . . . . .
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Outdoor Datebook. . . . .
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Products . . . . . . . . .
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Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
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PERMIT 210
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INSIDE: Ranch managers and hunters
can learn a lot from the stomach contents
of deer they harvest, a top biologist said.
Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.
High water, wind affecting
summertime bass patterns
Many catching
largemouths deeper
than usual
FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
See BASS, Page 24
One flatfish could put a
person in the money
By Melissa Zamora
By Nicholas Conklin
Varied weather conditions have caused Texas
anglers to change some of their mid-summer
techniques to catch bass.
High water on Falcon Lake and Choke Canyon
Reservoir has forced some anglers to switch techniques while combing deeper waters. Most
anglers at Choke Canyon have experienced
slower-than-usual fishing because of higher
water levels.
Angler Brad Milam of San Antonio fished the
South Texas lake recently and focused his atten-
Flounder scarcity hits
tournament anglers
on southern coast
WEATHER: Bass anglers have had a couple of big factors to contend with on the water early this summer:
high wind and high water. Photo by LSON.
With fishing tournaments in high gear and
competition as fierce as ever, anglers participating in the typical grand slam category are facing
a challenge more than ever — bagging a southern flounder for that award-winning trifecta.
“This year, it’s been very hard — it’s unbelievable,” said Johnny Rodriguez of Lozano.
“Previously, an angler could catch two or three
flounder per tournament. Now, you’re lucky if
you catch one per month.”
Rodriguez has won many tournaments, and
he is a two-time Bay Grand Champion of the
Texas Intracoastal Fishing Tournament held in
the Port Isabel-South Padre Island area.
See FLOUNDER, Page 18
Page 2
July 23, 2010
Lone✯Star Outdoor News
LSONews.com
LSONews.com
July 23, 2010
Page 3
Page 4
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
HUNTING
BREEDING: Eastern turkeys, left, and Rio Grande turkeys, right, do not often overlap in habitat. But when they do, the different subspecies sometimes produce hybrid offspring. Some of the hybrid
birds have been found in North Texas, and others are believed to live here. Photos by Joe Blake/National Wild Turkey Federation (left) and Lone Star Outdoor News.
Hybrid Easterns, Rios in Grayson Co.
More turkey crosses
suspected of being in
state, biologist says
By Nicholas Conklin
A hybrid version of the Rio Grande and
Eastern turkey is popping up in small pockets
of North Texas.
Although the hybrids are most common in
Oklahoma and Kansas, some have been harvested in Texas, according to Texas biologists.
Texas Parks and Wildlife says a small population can be found in an area around Grayson
County.
Jason Hardin, the top turkey biologist for
TPW, said that the hybridization of birds happens in small quantities, especially in areas
where the two different species cross.
“We have some recent genetics data out
of that county and found that population of
birds we tested (20 birds total), a little over half
were Rios and about 7 of them were Eastern,”
Hardin said.
Three birds, or 15 percent, were classified as
the Eastern-Rio hybrid.
Researchers know little about the hybrids,
including physical differences from their parents. The Rio Grande subspecies is slightly
smaller than the Eastern turkey, and the correct identification of a hybrid can be difficult
for hunters.
“There is really no big difference,” Hardin
said. “You can’t say for certain if they are Rios,
Eastern or a hybrid. “You may think you’re
hunting in Rio Grande country then have
some big 20-plus-pound chestnut banded
turkey walk out in front of you.”
Cross country
Although favoring two vastly different
habitats, the Rio and the Eastern have found
a natural way of mixing. The habitat clash
is something that Shawn Rodgers, National
Wild Turkey Federation regional director, said
is the reason why there are not larger numbers of hybrids.
“What really is a big differentiating factor
on the habitat between the two subspecies is
the amount of rainfall,” Rodgers said.
Because of fluctuations in weather conditions in recent years, the opportunities
for Eastern and Rio territory to merge has
occurred.
“Eastern turkeys dislike overgrown areas,
and it requires land management in certain
areas,” said Dan Sestak of NWTF. “Also, the
moisture (rain and humidity) and rainfall can
cause problems.”
TPW has known about the existence
of hybrids for some time, but only minimal research has been conducted on them.
Hardin sees promise in the small population
that has been surveyed. He contends the data
found thus far has only been a small snapshot
of their population and more hybrids could
be in the state.
“As far as any trends, we have felt certain
that there are hybrids in Grayson County for
a long time,” Hardin said. “But there doesn’t
seem to be one population taking over the
other.”
Texas shooters vying for World Championship
Both hail from
Collin County
4-H Club
By Nicholas Conklin
Shooting demands intense focus
and mental acuity.
For Junior Olympic shooters Morgan Harbison and Taylor
Gallegos, that focus will be put to
the test when they compete in the
World Championships in Munich,
Germany on July 31 through Aug.
10.
Harbison, of Farmersville, shot
his way into the championships in
the trap division by taking a bronze
medal at the 2009 Junior Olympics.
He started shooting .22 rifles and
air pistols at the age of 8 but did not
begin shooting shotguns until he
moved to Farmersville and joined the
Collin County 4-H Club.
Harbison has been shooting competitively for five years and has
placed well in several events around
the country to get to this point.
In Colorado Springs at the Junior
Olympics in 2009, Harbison claimed
the silver medal in the trap competition.
Although competing on the world
ON THEIR WAY: Morgan Harbison of Farmersville, above, and Taylor Gallegos of Prosper,
right, will compete beginning this month at the shooting world championships in Munich,
Germany. The junior shooters are students of the same 4-H club in Collin County.
stage for the first time, Harbison
has set his goals and knows what he
wants to accomplish.
“It’s a lot bigger than any other
matches, and it’s my first overseas
experience,” Harbison said. “So my
goal is not necessarily to win but to
do the best that I can.”
He will spend the remaining time
training under the tutelage of Team
USA shooting member Dominic
Grazioli. Grazioli, of San Antonio, has
been shooting on the international
stage since 1996 and will also comSee SHOOTERS, Page 6
LSONews.com
Outdoor News in Brief
NWTF hires new biologist
for Texas, Oklahoma
The National Wild Turkey Federation recently
hired a new biologist for Texas and Oklahoma.
Gene Miller’s duties will include working with
state and federal wildlife agencies and private
landowners on habitat initiatives, administering
the NWTF’s Hunting Heritage Super Fund, working with NWTF chapters on habitat and outreach
projects, providing oversight and coordination for
conservation activities, addressing riparian forest health issues and coordinating youth hunting
programs and landowners workshops.
“Gene brings not only tremendous passion
and skills to his new position with the NWTF,
he also brings more than 30 years of experience
with wildlife and project management from the
mid-Atlantic region to the southern Great Plains
region,” said Scott Vance, NWTF assistant vice
president of conservation programs. “We are
proud to have him as part of the NWTF staff.”
Most recently, Miller, of Canyon, worked with
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as a technical guidance biologist for the High Plains and
Rolling Plains regions.
— National Wild Turkey Federation report
Ground broken for new
Cabela’s store in Texas
Cabela’s and the city of Allen broke ground
July 15 on what will be the third Cabela’s store
in Texas, joining Fort Worth and Buda locations.
Cabela’s expects to open the 100,000square-foot store, located between U.S. 75 and
Allen Station Parkway, on the southern border of
The Village at Allen, in early spring of 2011.
Cabela’s executive vice president and chief
operations officer, Michael Copeland, a Texas
native, said he was especially excited about
opening another store in the state.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since
we opened the Fort Worth and Buda stores,”
Copeland said. “It’s the success of those stores
that has paved the way for the Allen store —
and for that, we are incredibly grateful to the
people of Texas.”
Allen Mayor Stephen Terrell said he expected
the much-anticipated store to bring economic
growth to the city and region.
“It has been a long-term, strategic goal of
the city council to make Allen a destination,”
Terrell said. “Cabela’s brings to Allen a true ‘destination’ store, and once visitors arrive for the
Cabela’s experience, they will enjoy more great
shopping, dining and entertainment options.”
— Cabela’s report
Stand maker holding
contest to find best blind
Southern Deer Stands, a Denton company,
is challenging Texas hunters in the 2010 Texas
Deer Blind Contest. Southern Deer Stands is
hosting a competition to see which hunter has
the best stand in the state. Based on creativity, comfort and overall design, the company is
asking for photo submissions of personal blinds.
Participation is free, and photos may be submitted to Southern’s Web site and by mail.
Company President Rob Griffin started the
contest so people could show off their blinds.
“As we have worked with clients, and in traveling across the country, everybody sort of has
a story about the blinds they built, many times
regardless of if they were good, bad or indifferent,” Griffin said.
Blinds will be entered in three categories:
best photo, best story behind a blind and most
interesting design. A panel of celebrity experts
will judge the photos, and three prize packages
will be awarded. The contest ends Sept. 30.
— Nicholas Conklin
Louisiana opens about 86
percent of coast to fishing
Louisiana wildlife officials began reopening
coastal waters to recreational fishing in May, and
by mid-July, about 86 percent of the coast was
open.
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in
the Gulf of Mexico is still a concern to the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Recreational fishing is being allowed subject to
continual monitoring, though near-shore water
tests have shown chemical contamination levels
below public health concern.
— Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries report
July 23, 2010
Page 5
Page 6
July 23, 2010
Stomach
Shooters
Continued from Page 1
moment while competing.
“I am trying not to get too
psyched about it, and I don’t want
pete in the World Championships to feel too much pressure,” Gallegos
in Munich. Grazioli understands said. “It doesn’t matter what place I
the pressure that Harbison will be get. I am just going to a world chamunder but stressed that nothing pionship.”
Gallegos’ shooting coach, Joel
about the competition will be difUtz, has worked with her over the
ferent.
“It doesn’t matter where you past year and a half and has been
are or what the competition is,” pleased with the development he
Grazioli said. “When they’re throw- has seen from her.
“She has come a long way in a
ing a 4-inch clay target at 60 miles
an hour, it’s just like everywhere short amount of time, she has put
else in the world. There really is no a lot of time into it and done very
well for herself,” Utz said.
difference.”
He also understands that some
Grazioli added that he expects
Harbison to do well in the com- undue pressure can be placed on
her while shootpetition, as he has
ing on such a large
been a quick learner
It doesn’t
stage. But he knows
throughout
the
matter where
that she will be pretraining process.
you are or what
pared to compete in
Harbison began
the competition
Munich and ready
shooting when he
to shoot against the
took up deer huntis. When they’re
world’s best juniors.
ing as a young boy. In
throwing a
Gallegos is also an
recent years, he has
4-inch clay
avid hunter, spendbecome an avid duck
target at 60 miles
ing many days in
hunter. He has also
an hour, it’s just
the fall hunting deer
hunted dove and is
with her father.
planning
another
like everywhere
Both
shooters
deer hunt this fall.
else in the world.
honed
their
marksHe will attend
There really is no
manship
while
Texas A&M this fall
difference.
shooting at the
and hopes to keep his
— Dominic Grazioli,
Collin County Field
shooting up at one of
and Stream 4-H Club.
the local ranges.
Olympic shooter
The club is under the
The other Texan
from San Antonio
leadership of manheaded
overseas
to compete is Taylor Gallegos of ager and shotgun instructor Raye
Prosper. She will compete in the 25- Murrell and Utz, the club’s pistol
coach. Murrell and Utz have high
meter pistol event.
Gallegos found her way to the but grounded expectations for the
World Championships by plac- two competitors. They also know
ing fourth overall at the Junior that the sport of shooting is a proOlympics and second for her pistol cess: Each shooter must concentrate on the individual shot and not
class in January.
Gallegos has only been shooting allow his or her mind to wander.
“We try to teach every shooter
competitively for about two years.
She began shooting Olympic-style that it’s about each shot, particularly in these precision-type
last fall.
Also competing in her first matches,” Utz said. “And you have
overseas event, she said that her to forget the last shot and move to
focus has to be strong in the event the next one as each shot is a brand
and that she needs to stay in the new opportunity.”
,,
what the deer ate for its last couple of meals. Looking closely at the
(often) green goo can reveal grasses
and forbs, bean pods, fruits and, yes,
deer corn.
The stomach contents might also
show whether a food plot is being
used.
Food in the rumen often is still
identifiable; it has not yet been
digested beyond recognition. Hewitt
suggests that a hunter can sieve the
contents and wash them.
“That’s something that we do in
our research framework,” Hewitt
said. “(I’m) not aware of many people that do that in a hunting framework.”
Seaman, who lives in Heath and
hunts in Palo Pinto County, has
done it.
“From what I’ve seen, it typically
looks like grass and that sort of stuff
with a bunch of corn in there,” he
said.
A couple of times, Seaman has
found parasitic worms in the gastrointestinal tract of deer.
“It definitely made you wonder
if that was fairly normal or if there
were some issues there,” he said.
It’s normal, Hewitt said, and
sometimes it can mean there are
issues.
If a hunter finds a lot of worms, it
typically means the area is overpopulated with deer, Hewitt said. It can
also mean the foods the deer are eating are not providing enough nutrition or that other disease is present
at a significant level in deer.
To determine what “a lot” of
worms is, a hunter should examine
deer every season. The number of
worms found in one deer could be
compared to the number found in
others. That would allow the deer
manager to see changes.
“Having that kind of resource
would be of great value, especially
as a landowner (trying to build a
herd),” Seaman said.
LSONews.com
,,
AFTERTHOUGHTS: Rather than ignoring the insides of a deer, hunters can learn from
what they hold. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.
LSONews.com
National News in Brief
New ballistics program
helps match technology
A new Internet-based, free tool helps rifle
shooters match their preferred load to their style
of shooting, riflescope and reticle.
Optics maker Nikon’s new Spot On program
allows users to select from the largest database
of factory ammo and reloading components ever
assembled to build a plan for dialing in their
rifle.
“Not all shooters have access to a 400-yard
range or the time to figure out with trial and error
exactly what their bullet is doing at every range,”
said Jon LaCorte, senior product marketing manager for Nikon Sport Optics. “Spot On allows
users to match their load of choice to any Nikon
riflescope, with any reticle, and see what the
possibilities are before they ever pull the trigger.”
Spot On, which is available online at
www.nikonhunting.com/spoton, offers detailed
sight-in info to match the user’s goals; ballistic
reports for the bullet and load; printable reports
with trajectory, field references and ballistic
graphs; and adjustable atmospheric conditions.
Although nothing can replace time spent
shooting at a range, Spot On helps shooters
decide from thousands of load and sight -in
options for specific hunts or shooting styles.
— Nikon report
Oiled birds from Gulf
Coast being banded
Birds rescued, cleaned and relocated
because of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
are being outfitted with bands to help track
them, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Hunters know the silver-colored bands usually used on migratory birds, such as ducks and
geese, well. But these bands will be different.
Instead of shiny silver, the bands will be colored orange, red or pink. Orange bands will not
have identification numbers, but red and pink
ones will.
Birds wearing one of the new bands will
apparently be safe to eat. They are released only
after wildlife specialists determine they are sufficiently prepared and exhibit natural behavior
including waterproofing, self-feeding, normal
blood values and are free of injuries or disease,
according to USFWS.
Hunters around the Gulf, not only near the
Louisiana coast, where the spill occurred, could
run into one of the birds. The birds are often
released in the Gulf area, but they are released
as far as possible from areas affected by the BP
oil spill, according to USFWS.
Biologists want to make sure that birds are
released into the same populations from which
they came, but with as little risk of getting reexposed to oil as possible.
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report
Mule Deer Foundation
breaks sales records
The Mule Deer Foundation smashed its fundraising record of auction sales this year by almost
$200,000, according to the foundation.
MDF sold 129 state auction and raffle hunting
tags for $1.84 million. The dollar amount bests
the nonprofit’s record of $1.66 million, set in
2008, when 175 tags were sold.
The 2010 tags were sold at MDF’s National
Convention in Salt Lake City earlier this year and
at several local banquet events.
— Mule Deer Foundation report
New invasive species
found at Lake Texoma
Dime-sized Harris mud crabs, a nonnative
species, have been found in limited numbers
at Lake Texoma, according to the Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Although the direct impact of the mud crabs
on the fishery is still unknown, the species has
created economic and ecological problems in
several states, including Texas.
After several trapping and surveying attempts,
it is thought that the Harris mud crab population
in Texoma is limited.
Anglers have reported finding mud crab carcasses in the stomachs of cleaned blue catfish.
Because the numbers are small and the research
is ongoing, it is unknown whether the crabs have
been introduced (by way of boats or released
bait) or have naturally traveled their way to
Oklahoma from Texas through rivers.
— Okla. Dept. of Wildlife Conservation report
July 23, 2010
Page 7
Page 8
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
FISHING
Double whammy socks Alan Henry
Gulf isn’t the
only place with
an oil spill
By Nicholas Conklin
NO SHEEN SEEN: Oil containment boom guards Lake Alan Henry. Oil had not been
detected in the lake after a spill upstream. Photo by the city of Lubbock.
While the eyes of the nation are
focused on the oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico, a similar incident caused
the closure of Lake Alan Henry in
West Texas.
Recent rainfall in excess of
12 inches caused two pipelines
upstream of Lake Alan Henry to rup-
ture July 4. High waters on the river
upstream from the lake eroded the
shoreline where the pipelines —
one 2 inches in diameter, the other
4 inches —were buried, leading to
their collapse.
The leakage was discovered the
next day. Unlike the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill off the Louisiana
coast, where tens of millions of gallons of crude has been spilled, the
pipeline problem at Alan Henry put
165 gallons into the environment.
The oil, though seemingly a small
amount, was enough to close parts
of the popular bass fishing lake for
about two weeks.
The oil spill was not the first
calamity to strike the lake. The same
heavy rains that caused the pipeline
rupture also flooded the lake — also
causing it to close.
The lake had reopened only days
before the pipeline accident.
Randy Treusdall, community services director for the city of Lubbock,
which owns the lake, said because of
the rise in water level due to recent
storms, the oil moved downstream
quickly.
“The water at the time was coming into the lake at 39,000 cubic feet
per second, and that’s a lot of water,”
Treusdall said. “But, when you mix
See ALAN HENRY, Page 21
One man’s bait, another’s bite to eat
Croaker are close
cousins to redfish, fight
and taste good, too
By Ralph Winingham
Bob Holley remembers the early fall days
years ago when he would camp out on a
Galveston Bay fishing pier with a bucket of
shrimp and some light tackle, then head home
with a washtub full of Atlantic croaker destined
for the frying pan.
If Texas Parks and Wildlife predictions are
correct, this September may mean anglers will
have to break out their washtubs again.
“A 2- or 3-pound croaker hits like a 10-pound
redfish,” said Holley, a 60-year-old retired
trucker and croaker fishing devotee from
Tomball. “They are a lot of fun on light tackle
and are excellent eating.
“I started fishing for croaker with my grandpa
— been doing it for 50 years.”
Most anglers think of croaker as bait for
more popular sportfish. For some, they are a
top sportfish.
Like most croaker anglers, Holley’s preferred
method of fishing is to use a spinning rig loaded
with 12-pound test to cast a small weight and a
No. 3 hook threaded with a peeled dead shrimp
to the bottom near structure such as a pier or
jetty. Croakers are notorious bait stealers, but
when hooked they can put up a good fight.
Holley and other veteran anglers who
caught croaker during the big spawning runs
in the 1960s and 1970s are looking forward to
reliving those family-fishing memories in the
wake of officials’ report about good numbers of
juvenile croakers in net surveys conducted this
year.
“The Sabine Lake area had a massive croaker
year in 2009,” said Mark Fisher, science director for the TPW Coastal Fisheries Division. “We
BEYOND BAITFISH: Croaker, a popular baitfish on the Texas coast, puts up a good fight and tastes good, too, some anglers say. The annual croaker run begins in late
summer. Photo by Scott Sommerlatte, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
have been conducting net surveys for the past
30 years and have been seeing a steady increase
in the number of juvenile croakers in the Gulf
and bay areas during the past few years. This
year should be as good as last year.
“A lot of people have forgotten about the big
croaker runs in the past. They all seem to be
focused on catching reds and trout only.”
Atlantic croakers, also known as golden
croakers, are closely related to speckled trout
No-eat advisory issued for Trinity River fish
One pollutant no
longer a concern;
two new ones are
See TRINITY, Page 21
See CROAKER, Page 24
Can you rig it?
Catfish anglers
mix it up on line
Standard setups are
adapted to conditions
By Bill Miller
Some anglers may not be bothered by a new advisory from state
health officials warning that fish
from some portions of the Trinity
River are unfit to eat because of pollution.
They’ve known for at least 20 years
that “catch and release” is the best
way to handle the Trinity’s catfish,
bass and drum, from Fort Worth to
the Texas Highway 34 bridge in Ellis
County.
That’s because the insecticide
chlordane prevented them from
and redfish and are one of the most abundant fishes in North American coastal waters.
Although a croaker about 12 inches long and
By Kyle Carter
POLLUTION: A map shows portions of the Trinity River where anglers are advised not to eat fish they catch. A previous
warning ordered anglers not to keep any, let alone eat them. Map by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Rigging for catfish is like rigging for most
game fish — there are hundreds of variations
with hundreds of different names.
A little tweak here, an inch or two there,
and it gets a new name and a personal touch.
But the premise behind the rig stays the same
across all species.
“You have to listen to the fish,” said Ray Austin,
a professional catfishing guide at Canyon Lake.
“We fish eight to 12 rods at a time, so I’m putSee RIGS, Page 11
LSONews.com
July 23, 2010
Page 9
Page 10
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
TEXAS FISHING REPORT
Sponsored by
HOT BITES
LARGEMOUTH
BASS
BRIDGEPORT: Good on topwaters
early, later switching to drop-shot rigs,
chatterbaits and Texas rigs.
CEDAR CREEK: Good on buzzbaits, jigs
and Texas rigs.
COOPER: Good on topwaters early, later
switching to Texas rigs and Senkos.
HUBBARD CREEK: Good on black/blue
jigs, watermelon candy soft plastics
and live bait worked along grass lines
and suspended along timber.
O.H. IVIE: Good on green pumpkin
or red shad soft plastics, baby bass
crankbaits, white spinnerbaits and
live bait worked along grass lines and
timber.
WHITE,
HYBRID,
STRIPER
ARROWHEAD: White bass are excellent on
jigs and small crankbaits off windswept
points and along the dam on jigs and
small crankbaits with some surface action.
LIVINGSTON: White bass are excellent on
slabs, pet spoons and trolling tubes.
TEXOMA: Striped bass are good on live
shad, slabs and trolling with down-riggers.
FORT PHANTOM HILL: White bass are good
on live bait and crankbaits.
CATFISH
CALAVERAS: Channel catfish are excellent
on liver, cheesebait, shrimp and shad near
the railroad trestle and 181 Cove. Blue catfish are excellent on liver and cheesebait.
BUCHANAN: Yellow and blue catfish are
very good on goldfish and perch upriver.
CHOKE CANYON: Channel catfish are very
good on live bait. Yellow and blue catfish
are very good on live bait upriver.
HOUSTON COUNTY: Channel and blue
catfish are very good on trotlines baited
with stinkbait and cut shad in 25 feet.
SAM RAYBURN: Very good on trotlines
baited with live bait and cut bait.
GRANBURY: Good on stinkbait, chicken
livers and frozen shrimp.
GRANGER: Blue catfish are good on shad
and prepared bait in shallow water.
CRAPPIE
RAY ROBERTS: Excellent over brush piles on
soft plastic crappie lures.
ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 82
degrees; 0.01’ low. The lake is set to
open this week after an upstream oil
spill.
AMISTAD: Water murky; 83 degrees;
9.94’ high. Black bass are good on
topwaters, crankbaits, swimbaits, jigs
and soft plastics. Striped bass are fair.
White bass are slow. Striped bass are
slow. Crappie are slow. Catfish are fair.
Yellow catfish are fair.
ARROWHEAD: Water turbid; 80 degrees;
1.14’ low. Black bass are slow on
crankbaits or chatterbaits in shallows off
rocky areas. Crappie are fair. Blue catfish
are good pounds on rod and reel using
cheese bait or shad.
ATHENS: Water fairly clear, 84-88
degrees; 0.23’ high. Black bass are
good on topwaters early, later switching
to spinnerbaits, Texas rigs, chatterbaits
and shaky head jigs with a finesse worm.
Crappie are fair. Catfish are good on
nightcrawlers.
BASTROP: Water clear. Black bass are
slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue
catfish are fair.
BELTON: Water fairly clear; 82 degrees;
2.05’ low. Black bass are good on dark
spinnerbaits in coves. Hybrid striper are
fair. White bass are fair. Crappie are fair.
Channel catfish are slow. Blue catfish
are slow.
bait and bottom bouncers. Channel
catfish are good on live bait.
degrees; 0.14’ low. White bass are good
on Little Georges and topwaters. Hybrid
striper are good on swimbaits. Crappie
are fair. Catfish are good on prepared
bait.
CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 85
degrees; 3.29’ low. Black bass are fair
on small white/chartreuse spinnerbaits,
shallow running crankbaits and pumpkin
Whacky Sticks with chartreuse tails along
main lake points. White bass are slow.
Crappie are slow.
COLEMAN: Water fairly clear; 83 degrees;
8.02’ low. Black bass are fair on watermelon red and chartreuse spinnerbaits
and soft plastic worms. Hybrid striper are
fair. Crappie are fair. Channel catfish are
good on trotlines baited with live perch
and liver.
COLETO CREEK: Water fairly clear; 81
degrees (94 degrees at discharge); 0.04’
GRAPEVINE: Water stained; 83-87
degrees; 0.08’ low. Black bass are
fair to good on medium running shad
pattern crankbaits, Texas rigs and
wacky rigs. Crappie are fair to good on
minnows and jigs. White bass are good
on Rooster Tails, topwaters and Little
Georges. Catfish are good on cut bait
and nightcrawlers.
HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 84
degrees; 0.42’ high. Black bass are good
on crankbaits near the marina and on
jigs near the dam in 6-15 feet. Crappie
are fair. Bream are good on live worms
off piers and over grass beds.
HUBBARD CREEK: Water stained; 81
degrees; 7.53’ low. Crappie are good
on jigs and minnows. White bass are
good on live bait and small shad-colored
crankbaits. Catfish are good on live bait.
JOE POOL: Water off-color; 84-87 de-
HOT SPOT
BOB SANDLIN: Water off-color; 83-88
degrees; 0.43’ low. Black bass are fair on
Yellow Magics and Stanley Ribbits early,
later switching to jigs, Carolina rigs and
Texas rigs. Crappie are good on minnows
and jigs over brush piles and around
bridge columns. White bass are fair.
Catfish are good on prepared bait.
BRAUNIG: Water clear; 83 degrees. Black
bass are fair on crankbaits and dark
soft plastic worms in reeds and near the
jetty and dam. Striped bass are good
on liver and shad off points near the
pier and down-rigging silver and gold
spoons near the jetty and dam. Redfish
are excellent on perch, tilapia, shad and
silver spoons and down-rigging near the
jetty and dam. Channel and blue catfish
are good on liver, shrimp, cut bait and
cheesebait near the dam and the hot
water discharge.
BRIDGEPORT: Water fairly clear; 84-88
degrees; 0.41’ high. Crappie are fair.
White bass are good on Rooster Tails and
topwaters. Hybrid striper are fair.
BROWNWOOD: Water fairly clear; 82
degrees; 6.11’ low. Black bass are slow.
Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are
good on Li’l Fishies and Rat-L-Traps off
lighted docks at night. Crappie are good
on Li’l Fishies over brush piles in 10-12
feet and off lighted docks at night in
18-20 feet. Channel catfish are good on
cut bait over baited holes in 8-10 feet.
Yellow catfish to 25 pounds are good on
trotlines baited with perch in 3-10 feet.
BUCHANAN: Water clear; 83 degrees;
8.63’ low. Black bass are fair on flukes,
white buzzbaits, Chug Bugs and Texasrigged 5” watermelon candy Whacky
Sticks in Morgan and Silver Creeks in
4-8 feet at first light. Striped bass are
good on Rat-L-Traps, Rattlin’ Rogues and
plastic swim baits. White bass are fair.
Crappie are slow. Channel catfish are
good on liver, minnows and dipbait.
CADDO: Water murky; 84-89 degrees;
0.35’ high. Black bass are good on
Scum Frogs, Senkos and Texas rigs.
Crappie are good on jigs and minnows
and jigs. White bass are good on Little
Georges. Catfish are fair.
CALAVERAS: Water clear; 83 degrees.
Black bass are fair on dark soft plastic
worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits over
reed beds and near the dam. Striped
bass are good on spoons and striper jigs.
Redfish are excellent down-rigging silver
and gold spoons. Crappie are slow.
CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 81 degrees;
0.98’ high. Black bass are fair on
topwaters, watermelon candy flukes and
Whacky Sticks among flooded bushes
and along grassy banks early. Striped
bass are slow. White bass are slow.
Smallmouth bass are fair. Crappie are
fair. Channel catfish are fair. Yellow and
blue catfish are good on goldfish.
CEDAR CREEK: Water stained; 84-87
O.H. IVIE: Water lightly stained; 81
degrees; 22.66’ low. Crappie are good
on minnows and jigs. White bass are
good on live bait and chrome crankbaits.
Smallmouth bass are good on shadcolored soft plastic jerkbaits and live
bait along tree lines. Channel catfish are
good on live and cut bait.
PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 85-88
degrees; 0.24’ high. Black bass are
fair on spinnerbaits, topwaters and soft
plastics fished shallow and in 15-20 feet
on jigs and Carolina rigs. Crappie are fair.
Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are
fair. Catfish are fair.
POSSUM KINGDOM: Water stained; 81
degrees; 1’ low. Black bass are good
on Senkos, shad-colored buzzbaits
and spinnerbaits in mid-lake pockets.
Crappie are fair. White bass are good
on live bait, silver/black back crankbaits
and jigging spoons. Stripers are good
on shad-colored crankbaits along the
southern lake points. Catfish are good on
shad and worms.
RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 84-87
on Carolina rigs, spinnerbaits, soft plastic
frogs and buzzbaits. Crappie are fair.
White bass are good on Humdingers and
chrome topwaters. Hybrid striper are fair.
Catfish are fair.
RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 85-88
wacky-rigged watermelon/red Senkos.
White bass are excellent on clear Tiny
Torpedoes. Catfish are good on prepared
baits in 6-8 feet over baited holes.
RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water off-color;
83-88 degrees; 0.01’ low. Black bass are
fair on spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged worms
and topwaters. White bass and hybrid
striper are fair. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs over brush piles. Catfish
are good cut shad and prepared baits.
Port O’Connor
Trout and redfish are good on topwaters over soft mud in waist-deep water in San Antonio
Bay. Trout and redfish are fair at the mouths of bayous on the outgoing tide.
low. Black bass are slow. Striped bass
are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie
are fair. Channel and blue catfish are
good on trotlines baited with liver,
stinkbait and live bait. Yellow catfish
are fair.
CONROE: Water fairly clear; 0.26’ low.
Black bass are fair on chartreuse and
watermelon Carolina-rigged soft plastics
and spinnerbaits. Striped bass are fair.
Crappie are fair. Catfish are good on
stinkbait, chicken livers and shrimp.
COOPER: Water off-color; 83-88 degrees;
1.92’ low. Crappie are good on jigs
and minnows over brush piles. White
bass are good on Rooster Tails and
Little Georges. Hybrid striper are good
on Sassy Shad and live shad. Catfish
are fair.
FALCON: Water murky; 88 degrees. Black
bass are slow. Striped bass are slow.
Crappie are slow. Channel and blue
catfish are slow.
FAYETTE: Water fairly clear; 87 degrees.
Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits early
and late. Channel and blue catfish are
good on Black Saltys and cut shad over
baited holes in the trees.
FORK: Water fairly clear; 83-88 degrees;
0.33’ low. Black bass are fair to good on
buzzbaits and Yellow Magics early and
late, midday switching to drop-shot rigs,
spoons, jigs and Carolina rigs. Crappie
are fair on minnows and jigs under the
bridges and over brush piles. Catfish are
fair on nightcrawlers and prepared baits.
GRANBURY: Water clear; 0.47’ low. Black
bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on
minnows and silver spoons. White bass
are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows
and white tube jigs.
GRANGER: Water murky; 86 degrees;
1.68’ low. Black bass are fair on Carolina-rigged soft plastic worms. White bass
are fair on slab spoons over main lake
humps. Crappie are good on chartreuse
jigs in 5-12 feet. Yellow catfish are fair.
grees; 0.17’ high. Black bass are fair on
spinnerbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are
fair. White bass are fair. Catfish are fair.
LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water lightly stained;
84-87 degrees; 1.59’ high. Black bass
are fair on topwaters early, midday
switching to Texas rigs, 5” weightless
Yum Dingers and spinnerbaits. Crappie
are fair. Catfish are fair.
LAVON: Water stained; 83-88 degrees;
1.91’ low. Black bass are fair on
spinnerbaits and topwaters early, later
switching to Texas rigs and shaky-headrigged finesse worms. Crappie are fair.
Catfish are fair.
LBJ: Water stained; 84 degrees; 0.46’
low. Black bass are fair on black/blue
worms, watermelon topwaters and watermelon red Whacky Sticks in 5-12 feet.
White bass are slow. Crappie are good
on minnows and watermelon jigs over
brush piles. Channel catfish are good on
minnows and stinkbait. Yellow and blue
catfish are good on trotlines.
LEWISVILLE: Water stained; 84-88
degrees; 1.07’ low. Black bass are slow
on spinnerbaits and soft plastics pitched
around docks and on jigs and drop-shot
rigs in 15-25 feet around structure. Crappie are fair. Catfish are good on prepared
bait over baited holes.
LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 85
degrees; 0.23’ high. Black bass are good
on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Striped
bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows. Blue catfish are good on shad.
MEREDITH: Water lightly stained; 80
degrees; 79.00 low. Black bass are good
on live bait, topwaters, shad-colored
crankbaits and black/chartreuse jigs or
Texas-rigged soft plastics along grass
lines and rocky points. Crappie are
good on jigs and minnows. White bass
are good on live bait and shad-colored
crankbaits. Smallmouth bass are good
on live bait and chrome jerkbaits along
rocky points. Walleye are good on live
SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 84
degrees; 2.92’ low. Black bass are good
on minnows and dark soft plastic worms.
White bass are fair. Crappie are good on
minnows and blue tube jigs over baited
holes in 20-25 feet. Bream are fair.
SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 84 degrees;
0.15’ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid
striper are slow. White bass are slow.
Crappie are fair. Channel and blue
catfish are slow.
TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 84-88
on chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and finesse
soft plastics. Crappie are fair. White bass
are fair. Striped bass and hybrid striper
are slow to fair. Catfish are good on
nightcrawlers and prepared bait.
TEXOMA: Water off-color; 84-88 degrees;
1.04’ low. Black bass are fair on
buzzbaits early, later switching to dropshot rigs, spinnerbaits and Carolina rigs.
Crappie are fair. Catfish are fair.
TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 84
redbug soft plastic worms. Striped bass
are fair. White bass are good on spoons
in the river. Crappie are fair. Bream are
good on crickets and nightcrawlers.
Channel and blue catfish are good on
trotlines baited with live bait, stinkbait,
livers and hearts in 30 feet.
TRAVIS: Water fairly clear; 84 degrees;
6.74’ low. Black bass are good on
plum worms, smoke grubs and bone
topwaters. Striped bass are slow. White
bass are fair. Crappie are slow. Channel
and blue catfish are good on bloodbait
and nightcrawlers.
WALTER E. LONG: Water stained; 84
degrees. Black bass are slow. Hybrid
striper are slow. White bass are slow.
Crappie are slow. Channel and blue
catfish are fair.
WHITNEY: Water murky; 3.34’ low. Black
bass are slow. Striped bass are slow.
White bass are slow. Crappie are slow.
Catfish are good on shrimp and live bait.
WRIGHT PATMAN: Water off-color; 84-88
degrees; 6.56’ high. Black bass are fair
on spinnerbaits and soft plastics in the
shallows and in 15-25 feet on jigs and
Carolina rigs. Crappie are fair. White bass
are fair. Catfish are fair.
SALTWATER
SCENE
NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good on the
Louisiana shoreline on topwaters and Corkies.
Redfish are fair on jigs tipped with shrimp
around marsh drains. Some birds have
worked over trout.
SOUTH SABINE: Sheepshead and black drum
are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout
are fair to good around Lighthouse Cove and
around the jetty rocks on topwaters. Redfish
are fair to good in the marsh on topwaters.
BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south
shoreline on soft plastics and plugs. Black
drum and redfish are good at Rollover Pass.
Croakers are good on dead shrimp in the
channel and around the pass.
TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad
and mullet on Bass
Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels.
Redfish and trout
are fair to good at the spillway on shrimp.
EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are good on the
south shoreline on topwaters and soft plastics.
Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge
of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. Mid-bay
reefs have held trout on plastics and croakers.
WEST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good
for drifters working shell on live shrimp.
Trout, sheepshead, redfish and black drum
are good
at the jetty
on shrimp.
Tarpon are
showing on the beachfront. Kingfish, ling and
red snapper are good offshore.
TEXAS CITY: Trout are good on the channel
on croakers. Reefs and wells have held good
trout on live bait.
FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are
good on live shrimp on the reefs. Trout and
sand trout are good at the jetties on shrimp
and DOA Shrimp. Red snapper and kingfish
are good offshore.
EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair to good
for drifters on live shrimp over humps and
scattered shell. Redfish are fair to good on the
edge of the Intracoastal on crabs and mullet.
WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfish are fair to
good on the edge of Oyster Lake on shrimp
and crabs. Trout are fair on sand and grass
on soft plastics.
ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on free-lined shrimp
in the deep channels. Trout are fair over grass
while drifting with live shrimp. Redfish are
good in shallow water on pin perch.
PORT ARANSAS: Redfish are fair to good
at East Flats on shrimp. Redfish and
sheepshead are fair
to good at the
jetty on shrimp.
Offshore is good
for red snapper,
ling and kingfish.
CORPUS CHRISTI: Trout are fair to good on the
edge of the spoils on Gulps and live shrimp.
Trout are good on the flats with higher tides
and around Pita Island on croakers.
BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair in mud and grass
on Corkies and topwaters. Trout are fair to
good in the Land Cut on live shrimp. Trout
are fair to good while drifting with topwaters at
Rocky Slough and on the surrounding sand
and grass.
PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are good on
topwaters and soft plastics under corks
around sand and grass. Redfish are fair to
good while drifting pot holes and sand flats
on live shrimp.
SOUTH PADRE: Trout are good around the
spoil islands, channel edges and color
changes on
DOA Shrimp.
Tarpon, snook,
trout and
Spanish mackerel have been caught at the
jetty on live bait.
PORT ISABEL: Snook are fair to good in South
Bay on shrimp and DOA Shrimp. Trout and
redfish are fair to good at Gas Well Flats on
live shrimp. Trout are fair to good on TTF Flats
Minnows in 3-4 feet of water.
LSONews.com
Rigs
ting various baits and various rigs
out there and letting the fish tell me
what they prefer.”
Here are some tips from guides
across Texas in regard to four of the
more popular rigs used in the state.
Slip sinker rig
“This rig is used more when the
blue or channel (catfish) are biting more aggressively,” said Chad
Ferguson, who guides on lakes in
North Texas. “You’re not having to
fish off feeling. Usually when a blue
cat comes along, it will hammer the
bait, and there’s not any doubt it’s
been hit.”
This is known in bass fishing
as the Carolina rig. Ferguson said
the advantage of using the slip
sinker rig is it offers less resistance
against a fish that has taken the bait
because it does not use a bobber. It
can be used in either anchored or
drift fishing, but Ferguson said he
prefers the rig when he’s anchored
up on structure.
“If I am sitting still and fishing for
blue cat, then that’s what I’m using
the vast majority of the time,” he
said.
Depending on how deep he’s
fishing and how rough the water is,
Ferguson said he, on average, uses
an ounce-and-a-half no-roll sinker.
The weight is tied on the main line
a few inches above a barrel swivel.
On the other end of the swivel
is a 40-pound test monofilament
leader, ranging anywhere from 8
inches to 12 inches long, depending on the aggressiveness of the
bite that day (the more aggressive
the fish are, the longer the leader
should be). On the end of the leader
is the hook.
“You get more movement when
the leader is long,” said Ferguson,
whose Web site is www.learnto
catchcatfish.com. “But if you have
to feel for the bite, it needs to be
short.”
Slip bobber rig
Cliff Hill, a guide in South Texas,
said no rig lends itself to the bass
angler like the slip bobber rig.
“I have a retired doctor friend who
is a converted bass fisherman,” Hill
said. “He never anchors. He just runs
the trolling motor and works structure on the banks with this rig.”
Coming from the main line,
start with a bobber stop. Put a bead
below the bobber stop, followed by,
Hill said, a 3-inch slip float. Below
the float, place a quarter-ounce egg
sinker. Then, to protect himself from
losing the entire setup if something
gets stuck, Hill attaches a swivel. On
the other end of the swivel, he runs
12 to 14 inches of 20-pound test
monofilament and ties on a No.6
treble hook.
“It’s more of a numbers type rig,”
he said. “It suspends the bait off the
bottom and bounces it in front of
their face to the point where they
can’t stand it anymore.
“It’s not much different from bass
fishing. We’re typically fishing these
corks on structure, like a downed
willow tree. You’re not just throwing it out there and waiting. You
pitch it, leave it for 30 to 45 seconds,
and if you don’t get a bite, pitch it to
another piece of structure.”
Santee Cooper
“Anytime I’m going to be drift
fishing, I’m going to use a Santee
Cooper rig because I don’t want
that bait dragging in the mud,”
said Bobby Kubin, a catfish guide
on lakes Lewisville and Grapevine.
“You want it right in front of the
fish’s face. You can also lose a lot of
the scent off your bait if you’re dragging it in the mud.”
The Santee Cooper rig is almost
identical, in terms of setup, to the
slip sinker or Carolina Rig. The major
difference being the addition of a 2inch cigar-shaped cork put about 6inches above the hook and before
the swivel. Kubin said he uses 40- to
50-pound test monofilament and a
24-inch leader. The cork keeps the
July 23, 2010
Page 11
Three Way Rig
Santee Cooper Rig
Slip Sinker Rig
Slip Bobber
Rig
bait suspended.
The Santee Cooper rig can be used
drifting or anchored, but Kubin said
there needs to be an adjustment to
the weight, depending on which
style you’re using. In anchor fishing, use a 1- to 2-ounce no-roll, and
if drift fishing, he prefers a no-snag
sinker.
“I make my own no-drags, but it’s
basically four bass worm weights
linked together and hooked onto a
snap swivel,” he said. “This is a go-to
rig that works both deep and shallow — anywhere between 1- and 60(feet) of water.”
Three way
Although the other three rigs are
used in more generic situations,
Austin said the three-way rig has a
more specific purpose.
“The only time I’d ever use a
three-way is in some rock rip-rap
or on the bottom of a dam when I
know I’m going to lose my weight,”
he said.
The three-way rig has more to do
with the swivel than anything. The
three-way swivel has three areas to
tie to, instead of the traditional two.
The main line occupies one ring.
A 12- to 18-inch leader with some
light monofilament tied onto a
weight that’s going to sit on the
bottom takes the second ring. And
a similar leader going to the hook
occupies the third.
Austin said he uses all types of
objects — rocks, bricks and “anything heavy” — as the weight
because “you’ll never see it again.”
“Honestly, I’d rather use a Santee
Cooper and take my chances, but
sometimes you’re on some rock and
know there’s no way you’re getting
your weight back,” he said. “That’s
when this rig becomes your best
option.”
Page 12
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
GAME WARDEN BLOTTER
ALL SEEMED LOST FOR
GRANDFATHER, GRANDSON
While patrolling Lake Bridgeport,
Wise County Game Warden Penny
Nixon and two volunteers from the
Texas State Guard Maritime Unit
were dispatched about a missing
personal watercraft operated by a
grandfather with his grandson. Nixon
found the missing craft tied behind
a tree. Yells and siren blasts brought
the traumatized grandson out of the
thick brush to Nixon’s boat, where he
could be reached by the guardsmen.
The boy was crying and sobbing that
his grandfather had drowned. Nixon
patrolled around the remote peninsula and found the grandfather
sitting on a rock in the pounding
surf. Upon seeing the child unhurt,
the grandfather burst into tears after
fearing the 11-year-old had perished. With waves crashing over the
patrol boat’s stern and large rocks
looming under the bow, Nixon and
the guardsmen brought onboard the
unharmed grandfather, who immediately grabbed his grandson for a
reunion. The personal watercraft’s
kill switch lanyard was retrieved
from the grandfather’s life jacket
and reunited with the craft, whose
owner drove it home. The pair had
borrowed the personal watercraft
despite wavy, windy water conditions, inexperience and unfamiliarity
with the lake. They hit a wave that
tossed them off, and the grandfather yelled for the boy to stay with
the watercraft as they drifted apart.
Wind and waves pushed the pair to
landing locations almost a half-mile
apart. Nixon transported the pair to
greet worried family and friends at a
lake house about two miles away.
WARDEN FLOATS THE DEVILS,
FINDS VIOLATIONS
Game Warden Chrissy Plant of Val
Verde County patrolled the Devils
River by kayak and was able to make
contact with many anglers and boat-
Chase winds through chicken coops
While traveling back from the
Laredo district office, Dimmit County
Game Warden Gene Fernandez
noticed a male walking alongside
the highway with a shotgun in hand
in Webb County. Fernandez turned
around and attempted to make contact with the person, but the person
fled into a small ranch with chicken
coops surrounding a chicken house.
Fernandez chased the person, who
threw down the shotgun and ran
around the chicken house. He was
found hiding behind a chicken coop.
ers along the way. Violations for
unregistered vessel and no life jackets were identified and corrected.
BOATERS CAUGHT OFF
GUARD BY WAVE
McLennan County Game Warden
Jason Campbell and Coryell County
Game Warden Andrew Alexander
worked a boat wreck based on a
phone call about people in the water
screaming for help. The wardens
responded and found a boat almost
totally submerged, bow up in the air.
They located three men floating in
the water, loaded them into the boat
and took them to shore. They were
shaken up but not injured and displayed no signs of impairment. The
boat was having fuel line problems,
and while they were working on it, a
large wave swamped the boat, sinking it almost immediately.
FISH FARM REPRIMANDED FOR
LACK OF LICENSE, MARKING
An investigation of an out-of-state
fish farm resulted in two citations from McLennan County Game
Warden Kurt Slaughter. The company
was operating five trucks in Texas
selling live fish. The company had
only purchased one retail fish truck
dealer license. Slaughter convinced
Fernandez brought the person out,
and as he was questioning him
and about to arrest him for evading
arrest, he ran into the chicken house
and attempted to slam the door on
Fernandez. Fernandez pushed the
door open and then the person went
into another room of the chicken
house and slammed another door
behind him. Fernandez kicked the
door open and had the person turn
around. As Fernandez was about to
put the second handcuff on him, he
tried to fight Fernandez and resist
arrest. Fernandez, being bigger and
stronger, gained control of the person, detaining him without further
incident. After removing the person
from the building, the landowner and
his brother arrived and asked what
had happened and why their shotgun
was outside. The landowner and his
brother both said they did not know
the person and that he must have
attempted to steal the shotgun. The
person was turned over to another
agency and was awaiting further
action against him.
the owner to purchase four more
licenses for his trucks. He wrote one
citation for the license violation and
one citation for fish vehicle not properly marked.
legal bag limits. A second shrimp
boat that had been traveling with the
first vessel was found to be in possession of one red snapper over the legal
limit. Citations pending.
WOMAN’S DROWNING APPEARS
TO BE HOMICIDE
A call came in to Tarrant County
Game Warden John Padgett about
a body in a creek under a bridge in
Tarrant County off Joe Pool Lake. A
woman had apparently drowned with
a 65-pound rock tied to her. Local
agencies are investigating it as a
homicide.
BOY ATTEMPTS LONG SWIM;
WARDEN COMES TO RESCUE
Karnes County Game Warden Chad
Moore rescued a boy from drowning
in Coleto Creek Reservoir. The boy
and a friend were trying to swim from
one side of the lake to another in a
cove about 200 yards wide. Midway
through their swim, the boy began to
go under and was obviously having
trouble staying afloat. Moore quickly
moved his patrol boat to the juvenile,
pulled him out of the water and took
him to shore.
SUSPICION BY ASSOCIATION
FOR SHRIMPER
Coast Guard personnel in Freeport
called Game Warden Lt. Fred Ruiz
about a Gulf shrimp boat that one of
their crews had boarded for a routine
inspection. The shrimp boat, which
had been shrimping in Louisiana and
was on its way back to Brownsville,
had several flounder, red snapper and
ling on board. Ruiz forwarded the call
to Brazoria County Game Warden Jim
Bob Van Dyke, who responded. Once
on site, Van Dyke determined that
the vessel’s three-person crew was
in possession of 18 flounder, 11 red
snapper and ling that exceeded their
NEARBY WARDENS, FEDERAL BOAT
RESCUE BOATERS ON AMISTAD
Pecos County Game Warden Chris
Amthor and Reagan County Game
Warden Matt Adams were patrolling Lake Amistad for water safety
enforcement in Val Verde County
when they saw a boat in distress
with multiple people in the water
near the Highway 90 bridge. They
went to the location of the boat with
a Border Patrol boat not far behind.
The wardens pulled occupants out
of the water into their boat, and one
person was pulled onto the Border
Patrol boat. The wardens radioed
Terrell County Game Warden Ken
Stannard and Pecos County Game
Warden Mike Dushay, who happened
to be traveling east on the bridge.
They relayed the situation to another
nearby patrol boat occupied by Ector
County Game Warden Chris Lasiter
and Val Verde County Game Wardens
Mike Durand and Dustin Barrett, who
immediately responded to help.
SPOTTED TRESPASSING, CAUGHT
KEEPING TOO MANY FISH
While patrolling Calaveras Lake by
boat, Game Wardens Jesse Garcia
and Derek Iden spotted three trespassers on private property. The
wardens stopped the people and
ultimately seized 94 illegally taken
catfish, tilapia and other fish. The
people took all the fish with a cast
net. The seizure consisted of 40 catfish, 50 tilapia, one carp and three
bream.
BOATER COULDN’T GET
HIS ACT IN GEAR
A revved-up motor and boat sitting
still in the water on Lake Nasworthy
caught Tom Green County Game
Warden Jason Huebner’s attention. The confused operator could
not figure out why his boat wouldn’t
go. Huebner had to explain to him
that the boat was still in neutral and
then had to work to keep the subject awake in order to complete the
a sobriety test. Huebner arrested the
boater on suspicion of boating while
intoxicated.
TOO MANY SNAPPER
ON FISHERMAN’S SHIP
Galveston County Game Warden
Bobby Kana filed charges on a
commercial snapper fisherman for
exceeding his quota of fish. Three
hundred sixty-one pounds of fish
were seized and sold for $1,444.
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July 23, 2010
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July 23, 2010
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LSONews.com
July 23, 2010
Page 17
HEROES
KYLE ABLERS, 7, of Pawelekville caught this 27 1/2-inch speckled trout while
fishing with his father in Ingleside. Kyle was fishing with dead croaker.
JOHN SCHWALBE harvested this mule deer on the Flag Ranch in Ector County. The
deer had 13 nontypical points and a net score of 180 5/8.
WILLIAM HUGHS of Sachse caught this
6-pound bass on Lake Monticello.
SYDNI LYTLE,13, holds the 13-point nontypical buck she shot on her
father’s farm near Anson. Sydni shot the deer with a .243 at 210 yards.
Share an adventure
WHIT GENTRY with red drum he caught in south Louisiana in May.
DAVE PRICE shot this gemsbok bull with his bow in April. He hunted with
Johann Muller Safaris in Africa.
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Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, 9304 Forest Lane,
Suite 114 South, Dallas, TX, 75243
Page 18
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
WHERE ARE THEY? Even a small flounder like this one could win some tournaments on the South Texas coast
this summer, an angler and a tournament director said. Photo by Jennifer Phillips, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
Flounder
“If you have a flounder this year, you could
win a tournament,” Rodriguez said. “Out of
30 boats, maybe 20 brought back flounder
in previous years. Not this year. Maybe three
boats will have one.”
The scarcity of flounder is an issue not isolated to the South Texas coastline, said Dr.
Mark Fisher, Coastal Fisheries science director
for Texas Parks and Wildlife.
“Since 1992, we’ve had a run of warm winters, so we’ve seen a slow decline in flounder
numbers along the Texas coast,” Fisher said.
“Flounder are winter spawners, and they
require cold water to successfully reproduce.”
With warmer winters in deep South Texas
come fewer juveniles as compared with the
upper coast with flounder more commonly
found in Sabine and Galveston bays.
Still, in 2007, TPW researchers saw the lowest abundance of flounder in several years.
“The (farther) south you go, the fewer you
see,” Fisher said.
Flounder are now being raised in TPW
hatcheries, but large-scale production is years
away. TPW released 10,000 flounder this year
to add to the estimated 3 million along the
Texas coastline. In 1986, the population was
estimated at 6 million.
Tighter restrictions went into effect last year
for flounder. Now, anglers have a five-fish bag
limit with a minimum length of 14 inches,
and no gigging is allowed during the migration month of November, when flounder
spawn. A two-fish bag limit is also in effect for
November.
The winter of 2009-10 was cooler than normal, which led to a slight increase in flounder.
“We’ve seen more juveniles reproduce,
meaning more adults later,” Fisher said.
More adults later increase an angler’s opportunity at successfully competing in the grand
slam category of any fishing tournament.
“No flounder puts an angler out of contention in the Bay Grand Champion category,”
said Betty Wells, TIFT tournament director.
“Flounder hasn’t been as plentiful in the last
several years, so it does make it a bit more
challenging.
“But it makes for a better fisherman.”
LSONews.com
July 23, 2010
Page 19
Page 20
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
Barrage of storms on coast
raises water, changes fishing
Bite slows for specks,
catches fire for reds,
anglers say
By Nicholas Conklin
Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Alex and a
tropical depression had an impact on fishing
on the Texas coast, anglers said.
“It affected the fishing in terms of the pattern,” said Port Isabel guide Allen Salinas said.
“We had a tide rise above average about 2 feet,
so we were fishing different areas.”
Alex made landfall as a Category 2 storm
about 100 miles south of Brownsville on July
1. It caused little damage in Texas, though it’s
blamed for several deaths in Mexico.
The U.S. side of the border saw several days
of poor weather, causing many to cancel fishing trips.
“We did have some business shy off during
the actual Fourth of July weekend,” Salinas said.
“But that’s not unusual when you have storms
in the Gulf coming so close to your area.”
John Fails of Corpus Christi lost four days of
trips because of the storm and said the fishing
would become difficult with all of the freshwater runoff into the bay.
“We have a tremendous amount of runoff
right now,” Fails said. “Now the water’s come
up, and it spreads the fish out so it’s like letting
the dog out after its been locked in the house
all day, as they just run all over the place looking for new sources of food.”
Fishing patterns changed again after a small
tropical depression swung through the area
after the July 4 weekend. Some guides and
anglers had experienced radical changes in
their fishing patterns and noted high tides in
the bays.
Guide Brad Smythe of Rockport said that
before the storms, he had settled into a pattern and was catching fair numbers or speckled trout and black drum. The trout fishing
TEXAS REDS: Fishing action for red drum picked up
after a second major storm hit the Texas coast, one
angler said. Photo by LSON.
took a dramatic turn once storms came upon
the area.
“When that storm happened, the trout bite
came to a screeching halt basically,” Smythe
said.
The abrupt change in water level improved
the fishing for red drum. Smythe said his
anglers caught many redfish in the days following the storms.
“When that super tide comes up, a lot of
reefs that are only 4 to 5 inches underwater are
now sitting at 3 to 4 feet underwater,” Smythe
Said. “So it made for some pretty impressive
red fishing.”
Since that time, the water level has receded,
but it has become murky. Smythe had to adapt
again.
LSONews.com
Alan Henry
Trinity
all of that (oil and water), I wouldn’t
call that really significant.”
A quick response to the spill is
something that Treusdall attributes
to containing the oil.
“The oil was captured down in
the river and didn’t get into the lake
body itself; it was all captured and
contained,” he said.
possessing any fish from that
stretch of the river, according to
a 1990 aquatic life order from the
Texas Department of State Health
Services.
The agency on July 7 lifted that
order, declaring the Trinity had
become free of chlordane. But at
the same time, TDSHS officials
warned that it’s still a bad idea to
eat any fish caught in upper portions of the Trinity — because of
different health threats.
Dioxins and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), the officials said,
remain in the water and sediment
— remnants of industrial practices
that were stopped more than 30
years ago.
“It’s a pretty well-known fact
that from Dallas down to Lake
Livingston, you don’t eat fish out
of the Trinity,” said Larry Winters,
owner of Midway Landing at nearby
Richland Chambers Reservoir. “
Winters,
whose
operation
includes a bait shop and RV camp,
Fish, wildlife seem OK
Borden County Game Warden
Brent Tucker said the oil apparently
has not affected fish and wildlife,
and it is being monitored closely.
“We have monitored it by boat,
helicopter, ATVs, and we don’t
anticipate any impacts on wildlife,”
Tucker said.
Tucker added that the Texas
Commission on Environmental
Quality has been taking intermittent water samples on the lake and
the current levels remain normal.
Once the spill was discovered,
cleanup work began, which, also like
the Gulf oil spill, included the use of
containment booms.
“They started cleanup efforts
immediately, and there are still
ongoing cleanup efforts,” Tucker
said. “Kills and Spills (a Texas Parks
and Wildlife team) has been up for
the week, and the crews have been
working diligently. It is just a lot of
physical labor.”
Booms were placed about 25
miles downstream from where the
leak occurred, and others have been
placed in an upper portion of the
lake to ensure that it does not spread
into the lake.
About 60 percent of Alan Henry
was reopened July 10, with a few
booms in the remaining waters. It
was set to reopen completely at 6
a.m. July 21, Tucker said.
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has seen pictures of large catfish
pulled from the Trinity. Most people, Winters said, prefer to fish in
lakes such as Richland Chambers.
“It won’t affect us at all,” he said.
More river included
The new advisory area includes
the same stretch from the chlordane order, but also adds riverfront
portions of Navarro and Henderson
counties and the northern tips of
Freestone and Anderson counties.
Specifically, it starts on the Clear
Fork of the Trinity just below the
Benbrook Reservoir Dam and the
West Fork of the river from the Lake
Worth Dam.
It continues into the river’s main
stem, through Dallas County, and
farther east to the U.S. 287 bridge
over the Trinity — the spot east of
Richland-Chambers Lake.
Catch and release is still OK, and
people can continue boating and
swimming in the river.
And, even though Winters said
people usually don’t consume fish
for another five counties down to
Lake Livingston, state officials said
July 23, 2010
tests show that PCBs aren’t found
past the U.S. 287 bridge.
If people are concerned about
pollutants in fish from any source,
they should be sure to skin the fish
and thoroughly cook them, according to the TDSHS.
The new advisory is a reminder
that Texans have much to do if
they are serious about purging the
Trinity of PCBs.
“Fish consume these pollutants
and they accumulate in their tissues
over time,” said Chris Van Deusen,
TDSHS spokesman. “The danger is
that these toxins can accumulate in
people over time and create health
problems.”
Prolonged consumption of
PCBs is known to cause skin rashes
and acne, birth defects and cancer. They can also damage human
livers and immune systems, Van
Deusen said.
“These kinds of pollutants
degrade very slowly in the environment,” he added, “so it’s certainly
possible that the advisory could be
in effect for some time in the future
— probably in the order of years.”
Page 21
How many years?
“I don’t think anyone really
knows,” said Ron Stein of the Texas
Commission on Environmental
Quality. “Certainly not a couple of
years.”
Stein, of the commission’s Total
Maximum Daily Load program, is
working on a project aimed at mitigating the pollution.
PCBs are chemicals that were
used in fluids that insulated transformers and capacitors. They also
came from flame retardants and
caulk. Dioxins are the result of inefficient waste incineration.
TCEQ, partnering with the North
Texas Council of Governments, is
scheduled to unveil a mitigation
strategy in about a year, Stein said.
But, he noted, it’s important to consider that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
banned PCBs in the late 1970s —
and the ones that seeped into the
river before then are still with us.
“PCBs are very persistent,” Stein
said. “They attach to sediment
so they don’t get flushed downstream.”
Page 22
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
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LONE STAR MARKET
July 23, 2010
Page 23
Page 24
July 23, 2010
Bass
tion in depths of 12 to 25 feet. Milam fished off of
ledges and around brush in the deeper water and
said fishing was tough.
He has stuck with similar artificial presentations over the past few weeks and has continued
with his regular bait styles, tossing worms and
creature baits.
“I have fished it a lot (Choke Canyon) and have
been catching them on soft plastics,” Milam said.
“Nine-inch lizards in watermelon red and plum
seems to be working better for me now.”
Windy weather conditions have also contributed to lower catch numbers. Angler Chris
Dombkowski of San Antonio said changing conditions might be a reason for sluggish fishing.
“I think climbing temperatures, fluctuating
water and constant frontal activity have the bass
confused,” Dombkowski said. “The water will
ultimately be a long-term blessing, but it is sure
putting a damper on the catches.”
Similar high water issues have plagued Falcon
Lake, where angler John Post of San Antonio has
had trouble locating many schools of fish.
Fishing on July 10, Post had to work several
areas on the lake to find bass.
“Well, it was a real slow day,” Post said. “I fished
deep, shallow and in between, with the water
coming up it has scattered the fish.”
Post had success fishing yellow topwaters and
was able to catch bass weighing up to 2 pounds.
Post said that fishing in recent weeks has
changed because of the varying amounts of water
being let into the lake, which is not something he
feels the fish are accustomed to.
“It was a dramatic difference from the last time I
was fishing there,” Post said. “It is kind of unusual
for it to go up that dramatically.”
Falcon Lake set a new lake record July 17 when
it reached a conservation pool of 309.31 feet. The
previous record was set in 1958 when the lake
pooled at 308.1 feet.
The northern portion of Falcon was closed temporarily starting July 16. Zapata County Game
Warden William Hullems said an area between
buoys 10 and 14 was closed to prevent damage
from boat wakes.
High water caused Post and other anglers to
adapt to the different depths and use lures that
will work closer to the 20 to 25 feet deep, rather
than their traditional 10-15. That means the addition of weights onto artificial worms or the use of
deep-diving crankbaits.
The change in water level has also caused some
challenging scenarios on Brownwood Lake,
where the level has fluctuated greatly over the
past month.
Angler Matt Turney of Kerrville reported low
water levels early in the summer, but the water
has since risen because of heavy rains in the past
weeks.
Catching bass on silver slabs, Turney said that
he has had to try different techniques to trigger
the bass to bite.
“Changing the rules on the speed or letting
it fall a little longer, just kind of playing with it,”
Turney said.
These altered styles have led to catches of 15 to
20 fish on recent trips, with most of his fish coming in the early evening to nighttime hours. Of
those, Turney only considered about half of them
to be keeper size, and he said that has been the
trend on his recent trips.
Down deep
Toledo Bend is also an area that some anglers
have had to get creative and have found success
in varying their styles.
Anglers have reported success while fishing in
depths up to 30 feet in and around cover.
Lure presentation at Toledo Bend has ranged
from topwaters to weightless worms, and even
deep-diving crankbaits. Popular colors for the
artificial worms have been in varied shades of
red.
In a July 10 tournament on Toledo Bend,
anglers reported catching fish weighing more
than 5 pounds, with the winning team of Wade
Gosnell and John Davis bringing in a sack of five
fish that weighed more than 30 pounds.
Guide Randy Colson said that although some
large bass can be taken this time of year, it has
slowed down as the water temperatures have
risen.
“The lake has been drawn quite a bit, it’s hot,
and the fish are not feeding well,” Colson said.
With the surface temperatures in the mid- to
upper 80s, he has had to search deep water (up to
30 feet) for bass.
To combat warm water temperatures, Colson
has used deep-diving crankbaits and Carolina
rigs with minimal success. Standard summertime colors such as watermelon and motor oil
red-flake have produced bass for him.
He attributes the large fish caught during a
recent tournament to the ability of anglers to fish
late in the day when water temperatures are lower,
which can bring bass up into shallow water.
LSONews.com
Croaker
Worth a try
weighing one or two pounds is considered
a large catch, the Texas state record is a 5.47pounder landed April 24, 2002, by Paul
Straw.
The prime fishing areas for croaker are
in the Galveston Bay system, Rollover Pass
and the Sabine Lake area near the Louisiana
border, with catches spreading all the way
down to the lower Laguna Madre.
“Croakers are good family fishing,” said
Muriel Tipps, who has been operating
Tipps’ Bait Camp at Sargent along with her
husband, Roy, for the past 30 years. “There
are very few fish you can catch where there
is no size limit, and you can use very affordable fishing gear.”
On their stretch of the coast, runs occur
in April and September, and they always
bring plenty of croaker, Tipps said.
“Most people fish with dead shrimp on
the bottom,” she said. “You can catch two at
a time, and when they hit, the fight is on. It
is like hooking into a small redfish. They are
tough little fighters, which probably makes
them such good eating.”
The flesh of the croakers is a firm white
meat that is similar in flavor to a small
redfish. Smaller croakers can be cleaned
and scaled, then covered in batter and fried
whole. Larger croakers are normally filleted,
producing two clean, white pieces of flesh
that can be fried or baked.
Although croakers are in the same family, they are distinguishable from redfish
because they lack the distinctive spot near
the tail of a red. The head is a little broader
than a red. And croakers have small barbels
on their chin like a black drum.
“People catch them through the year,
along with sand trout and whiting, but the
prime time is the spawning season from
about September to November,” said Bill
Balboa, ecosystem leader at the TPW Coastal
Fisheries Division office at Galveston Bay.
He said although no definitive connection has been made, larger and more numerous catches of croakers in survey nets started
shortly after by-catch reduction devices
were required for all shrimpers in the Gulf.
“We are not sure that the runs will get to
that point (of the heydays in the ’60s and
’70s), but we are catching a lot of juveniles
Fresh fish fanatics are quite adamant
in their selection of freshly caught croaker
as some of the tastiest table fare available
from the waters of the Texas Gulf Coast.
The most preferred method of preparation
seems to be pan frying cleaned and scaled
smaller fish and treating fillets of the larger
croaker to the same technique.
The following is a simple coating mix
that can be used for croaker to create a
fried fish delicacy.
Fresh Fried Croaker
1 cup biscuit mix
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup cooking oil
10 fresh fillets or five cleaned and scaled
croaker
Combine all dry ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and shake to mix well.
Heat oil in a large skillet (cast iron works
well) over medium high heat. Rinse fish in
cold, clean water and lay on paper towels
to remove excess water. Season on both
sides with salt and pepper to taste. Place
seasoned fish in the plastic bag with the
dry ingredients. Shake well to coat fish.
Shake off excess coating and carefully
place fish in hot oil. Cook, turning at least
once, until golden brown on both sides.
Remove to a platter covered with a paper
towel to drain and serve warm.
— Ralph Winingham
in our surveys, and they appear to be doing
quite well,” Balboa said.
Although their numbers appear to be
on the increase and there are no size or
bag limits for croaker, state officials are urging anglers to use restraint when hauling
in what has been called one of the hardest
fighting and tastiest eating panfish in Texas
saltwater.
“As with any fishing, we recommend that
anglers take only what you can use,” Balboa
said. “Trying to load up a freezer is just not a
real prudent thing to do.”
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July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
Outdoor
News in Brief
CLASSIFIEDS
Rockdale, Milam Co
• 147 acres. All wooded. Never hunted. Secluded.
Mineral and water rights. $695,000
• 96 acres with 40 ac lake. Deep, clear water. Great
fishing. Close to Dallas. $765,000
Bryan Pickens
214-552-4417 mobile
[email protected]
www.busbeeranches.com
or UsedBoatsBoats
NewFishing
Pontoon Boats
Runabout Boats
Deck Boats
Call John Baily at (281) 829-1560
Ron Hoover Marine
14465 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77094
www.ronhoover.com
[email protected]
$50 per month (two issues)
Call (214) 361-2276. Ask for Mike
Hughs or e-mail ad to mhughs@
lonestaroutdoornews.com.
Trophy Hog
Hunting
East Texas
Food & lodging included
RazorBack Hog Hunting Ranch
713-203-3860
713-849-4200
razorbackranch.com
Hire a Sportsman
for all your Austin-area
real estate needs.
Tommy Biffle won the Bassmaster
Elite Series regular-season finale July
18 at Fort Gibson Lake in his home
state, according to Bassmaster.com.
Biffle, of Wagoner, won the Sooner Run
Invitational with a four-day total of 73
pounds, 11 ounces.
Biffle caught all of his fish on a
modified Biffle Bug, which had been
tweaked to feature a football-type head
in a watermelon color.
The win was Biffle’s fifth victory on
the year and netted him $100,000.
Biffle qualified for the Bassmaster Elite
Series Postseason for the second consecutive season.
Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., finished second with 70 pounds, 15
ounces. He fished a half-ounce green
jig with a chigger craw in shallow water.
Gary Klein of Weatherford, rounded
out the top 10, and received a bid to
compete in the postseason.
— Staff report
Craig Nyhus
Thomas Phillips
Mark England
Mary Helen Aguirre
Mike Hughs
Nancy Halphen
Bruce Soileau
Place a classified ad in
Lone Star Outdoor News
and experience the
results of a new look.
The 2”x 2” ad will get
the attention necessary
to say SOLD!
Terrell, Kaufman Co
Biffle wins Elite
finale in Oklahoma
Publisher/Editor
News & Graphics Editor
Associate Editor
Business/Products Editor
Operations Manager
Accounting
Web site
National Advertising
Accounts Manager
Summer Interns
Place your
classified
Corsicana, Navarro Co
• 254 acres with 15 ac bass lake. Deer, ducks, hogs,
pecan bottoms, and open range. $632,500
Heaviest fish DQ’d at
Poco Bueno tourney
Whap Bam Boom’s 465-pound
marlin won the Poco Bueno fishing
tournament at Port O’Connor after a
boat that brought in a heavier fish was
disqualified, according to the Victoria
Advocate.
Marlin Majic boated a 476.5-pound
marlin but lost the title because it was
not caught according to rules of the
International Game Fish Association,
according to the newspaper. According
to a report by the Poco Bueno
Tournament Committee, the 476.5pound marlin was gaffed on the side
of the boat but separated from the gaff
and leader, when the crew gaffed it a
second time.
Gaffing the fish the second time
constituted an illegal catch, the committee ruled. IGFA rule No. 14 states
that a catch is disqualified if “a fish
escapes before gaffing or netting and is
recaptured by any method other than
as outlined in the angling rules.”
— Staff report
24 years of experience
Milton Matus ◆ Broker
(512) 658-7114
Special of the month: 149 acres.
One hour from Austin. Milam County.
$2,950 per acre. Loaded with ducks,
hogs, deer and doves! Agent/owner
Hog Eradication
Hunts
Unlimited Hogs
Llano & San Saba Riverbottom
Lodging Included
100 ACRES
in EAST TEXAS
•PLENTY OF DUCKS, DEER, HOGS,
AND WOODCOCK.
•BETWEEN LUFKIN AND DIBOLL. BUTTS
UP TO RYAN LAKE HUNTING CLUB.
5 MILES OFF HWY 59.
•$1500. PER ACRE.
DARRELL BEARD 936-635-2023
512-517-9259
ThreadgillRanches.com
LEASE
WANTED
Lone Star Outdoor News is looking for a
hunting and fishing lease with all fishing
and hunting rights. Interested landowners
please call (214) 361-2276.
Mike Nelson
Nicholas Conklin
Lili Sams
Founder & CEO David J. Sams
Contributors
Dan Armitage
Kyle Carter
Alan Clemons
Bob Hood
Diana Kunde
Kendal Larson
Wilbur Lundeen
Bill Miller
Erich Schlegel
David Sikes
Brandon Shuler
Scott Sommerlatte
Kyle Tomek
Chuck Uzzle
Ralph Winingham
Distribution
Bruce Andreen, Metrogate Communications
Budget Distribution Services
Victor Cantu, South Texas Circulation
Jeff Bulpin
Paul Fletcher
Klaus Rindfleisch
Advertising
For home delivery
Call (214) 361-2276
subscriptions
or e-mail editor@lone
www.LSONews.com
staroutdoornews.com
(214) 361-2276
to request a media kit.
Lone Star Outdoor News, a publication of
Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice
a month. A mailed subscription is $30 for 24
issues. Newsstand copies are free, one per
person. Copyright 2010 with all rights reserved.
Reproduction and/or use of any photographic
or written material without written permission by
the publisher is prohibited.
Subscribers may send address changes to:
Lone Star Outdoor News, 9304 Forest Lane,
Suite 114 South, Dallas, TX 75243 or e-mail
them to [email protected].
Page 25
PIONEER REAL ESTATE
Shirley Shandley, Broker
Real & Uvalde Counties
• 103 AC hunting, water avail. (#89) $236,178
• 152 AC springs, cabin, elect. (#69) $370,000
• 240 AC mobile, well, elect. (#51) $312,000
• 503 AC Axis & Whitetail deer, 2 mobiles (#75)
$1,254,500
• 3525 AC hunting, lodge, Nueces River (#64)
$12,000,000
Photos & plats on www.hillcountryrealestate.net
or call 830-232-6422 for a “free” brochure
Beach and Waterfront Rentals available
Matagorda and Sargent, Texas
●
Come see the new Matagorda Bridge and Jetties!!
●
Great values on Waterfront Properties!!
www.FullStringerRealty.com
Your Coastal Property Specialist
Residential Acreage Commercial
David and Jody Cassady Owners/Broker
(979) 863-1143
Brownsboro, Henderson Co
153 acres Athens area with 30 ac lake. All wooded with
deer, ducks, timber. Call for pricing.
Troup, Cherokee Co
144 acres of INCOME. Clay mine, gas well, woods, deer,
ponds. $750,000
Troup, Cherokee Co
55 acres with 7 ac lake. Tyler area. Two houses, meadows,
good soil for pine trees. $550,000
Bryan Pickens
214-552-4417 mobile
[email protected]
www.busbeeranches.com
Puzzle solution from Page 22
Page 26
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com
DATEBOOK
Through Sept. 6
Coastal Conservation Association
State of Texas Angler’s Rodeo
Fishing tournament
www.startournament.org
August 4-8
Texas Legends Billfish Tournament
Boats may leave from any Texas port
www.txlegends.com
August 5
Port Mansfield Fishing Tournament
(956) 944-2354
www.portmansfieldchamber.org
Dallas Safari Club
Introduction to muzzleloading
DSC Pavilion
(972) 980-9800
July 23-25
August 6-8
July 23-24
Texas Hunters & Sportsman’s Expo
McAllen Convention Center, McAllen
(956) 664-2884
[email protected]
Ducks Unlimited
Waterfowl Weekend
Sam Houston Race Park, Houston
www.waterfowlweekend.com
July 24
Cinnamon Creek Ranch
2010 Bowhunters Classic shoot
Roanoke
(817) 439-8998
[email protected]
July 28-August 1
Texas International Fishing Tournament
South Padre Island Convention Center
(956) 943-8438
www.tift.org
July 30-31
Deer Breeders Co-op
Convention and deer auction
La Torretta Del Lago, Conroe
(866) 972-5001
www.deerbreedersco-op.com
July 31-August 1
Gulf Coast Waterfowl Festival
Pasadena Convention Center
(713) 429-1950
www.gulfcoastwaterfowlfestival.com
Texas Gun & Knife Show
Civic Center, Abilene
(830) 285-0575
www.texasgunandknifeshows.com
Cabela’s Archery Classic
Seminars on bowhunting
Fort Worth (817) 337-2400
Buda (512) 337-2400
Texas Trophy Hunters Association
Hunters Extravaganza
Reliant Center, Houston
(877) 261-2541
August 7
Deer Fest
Fundraiser for the Adopt a Box Program
MPEC Exhibit Hall, Wichita Falls
(940) 704-2984
[email protected]
North Texas Chapter Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation
Fundraiser
Embassy Suites, Grapevine
www.northtexasrmef.org
August 12
Greater Houston Quail Coalition
Fundraiser
River Oaks Country Club, Houston
(713) 275 - 2600
[email protected]
Dallas Woods and Waters Club
Monthly meeting
Beretta Gallery, Highland Park
(214) 570-8700
August 13-15
Texas Hunting & Outdoor Classic
Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio
(210) 226-1177
www.huntersclassic.com
August 16
Purina Wildlife Series Expo
Jacksboro
Speakers on pond and
deer management
(940) 567-3794
LSONews.com
July 23, 2010
Page 27
Page 28
July 23, 2010
LSONews.com

Page 22 - Lone Star Outdoor News

Transcription

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