April 11, 2014 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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HUNTING FISHING

Possum Kingdom hunter shoots large ram,says herd is expanding.Page 4

Possum Kingdom aoudad turns heads

CONTENTSCrossword . . . . . . . . . Page 16

Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 10

Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 14

Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 22

Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 16

LSONews.com

Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

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April 11, 2014 Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas Volume 10, Issue 16

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Disappearing act

By Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Johnny Allen began fi shing in his local bass club — the Kellogg Fishing Club — last year.

Even though he quickly learned the meaning of, “You don’t know what you don’t know” when fi shing tournaments, he quickly be-came a fi xture on the leader-board.

One of the things that struck him the most was the

paper tournament format — catching a bass, weighing or measuring the fi sh at the boat, recording the informa-tion and releasing the fi sh immediately.

“I like the paper tourna-ments format, especially on slot lakes because it allows you to log the length of ev-ery fi sh caught and then enter your top fi ve fi sh for tournament results,” Al-len said. “Catch and release is practiced in both paper tournaments and weigh-in

tournaments.”The paper tournament for-

mat is catching on in bass tournament circles, espe-cially kayak tournaments and local bass club events.

One major tournament trail, Major League Fishing, has gone to a completely digital format that practices catch, measure and release.

“When the anglers devel-oped the format for MLF, one of the keys was to have a live leaderboard on the boat,” said Don Rucks, com-

missioner of MLF. “For tele-vision, we wanted instant weigh-ins. It created tre-mendous excitement. We also had to break old habits. In MLF, we score every fi sh above our length limits. Be-cause you are weighing and releasing the fi sh, we can set the minimum at any length.It doesn’t have to be a slot-limit lake.”

MLF even devised its own scoring system, scoretrack-

Paper trail

See PAPER TOURNEY, Page 13

New format tournaments becoming more popular, better for fi sh


The fi rst time Port Mansfi eld resident Norman Lavelle saw his friend, he had a strand of Christmas lights wrapped

around his ample rack.“I grabbed a bucket of corn and spread

it around the table where I was sitting,” he said. “After about 30 minutes, he walked up and started to eat and al-lowed me to cut all of the Christmas lights off of him.”

That was more than four years ago, and Lavelle got to know the buck he named “Christmas” pretty well over the years.

Along with other bucks in a herd of semi-tame deer that hang around the small fi shing community and are fed, often by hand, Lavelle would often scratch Christmas’ ears and watch him chase does in his front yard.

Last week, Christmas was found dead in a nearby fi eld, the victim of a night-

Several big Port Mansfi eld bucks thought poached

See POACHED, Page 15

By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

In the 2007-2008 hunting season, Carl Islett of Lubbock, then a Texas state rep-resentative, had the opportunity to hunt the lesser prairie-chicken at the Camphill Ranch near Lev-elland with his friend Todd Bax-ter of Austin, and shot the last bird of the group that day.

Little did he know, he may have been the last hunter to take one of the birds in Texas for a long time, and possibly ever.

“We had one permit left, and we jumped a bird in the sandhills,” said F.E. Shaheen, who guided the hunt-ers. “Often where you jump one, there is another. Carl walked out, fl ushed another and got him. After that is when TPWD quit issuing the tags.”

That season, the 6,500-acre ranch held 150-200 birds, according to counts performed, Shaheen said. The ranch, involved in management for the birds through Texas Parks and Wildlife Depart-

Last chicken hunt in Texas?USFWS lists lesser prairie-chicken

See PRAIRIE CHICKENS, Page 13

POACHED: The buck residents called “Christ-mas” was photographed several days before he was killed in Port Mansfi eld by a poacher at night. Photo by Lance Kruger.

THE LAST ONE: Lubbock hunter Carl Islett poses with the last-known lesser prairie-chicken legally harvested in Texas. Photo by

TRULY CATCH AND RELEASE: Some bass tournaments, especially on the club level and kayak-only events, are switching toward a true catch-weigh-release model to put less stress on the fi sh and provide real-time scoring. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Pullout advertising section, fresh and saltwater fi shing reports inside.

Page 2 April 11, 2014 LoneOStar Outdoor News LSONews.com

LSONews.com LoneOStar Outdoor News April 11, 2014 Page 3

HUNTING


By Mark EnglandLone Star outdoor newS

Until two years ago, Texas anglers regularly received more federal money for game fish conservation than hunters here received for wild-life conservation.

An explosion of sales in guns and ammunition, though, changed all that.

The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program apportion-ment for 2014 was a record $760.9

million, more than $35 million of which is going to Texas. That amount more than doubles the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Resto-ration Program apportionment of $325.7 million, of which Texas will get about $16 million.

Both programs are funded by excise taxes that anglers and hunters pay on outdoor recreational products.

Total Pittman-Robertson funding in Texas jumped more than $18 mil-lion over the last two years. Clayton Wolf, director of the Wildlife Divi-

sion for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said he doesn’t expect the boom to continue.

“I think this is the peak of the curve,” Wolf said. “Just go to Cabe-la’s or Walmart and look at the am-munition rack. People aren’t stand-ing in line like they were months ago. Revenues will start dropping, although I don’t think there will be a crash in funding.”

Texas anglers, on the other hand, have already seen a bite taken out of the funds distributed by Dingell-Johnson.

In 2009, Texas got more than $20 million from the program.

“We believe some of our decrease is because we don’t have water in a lot of our lakes, so we’re not getting as

many people going out fishing,” said Robin Riechers, director of TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division. “There are drought conditions throughout the United States. That and broader economic issues might have impact-ed the funding available.”

TPWD splits the Dingell-Johnson money between its inland and coast-al fisheries programs.

Inland gets about two-thirds of the funding.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service distributes the money through grants, with states contributing a 25 percent match.

“We write grants, for example, to obtain money for gill nets and bag seines so we can collect information regarding our fisheries,” Riechers

said. “We continually update our grants to obtain that money. This year, we (coastal) will receive about $4 million from Dingell-Johnson. Our overall budget is in the neigh-borhood of $16 million, so you can see the funding is significant.”

Although funding for the two fed-eral restoration programs has gone in opposite directions lately, they share one thing in common — Texas stands at the head of the line in both.

“Texas is a large state with a large number of hunters and anglers, so it typically receives the maximum allowable (funding) under the Wild-life and Sport Fish Restoration acts,” according to Laury Parramore, a se-nior public affairs specialist for the

Pittman-Robertson funding jumps for TexasMore than $35 million headed to state for projects

Aoudad turns heads in PK

Herd has been there for a long time, according

to biologistsBy Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Keller hunter and trapper Em-mitt Woods has spent a lot of time at various ranches near Possum Kingdom Lake trapping hogs, coy-otes, bobcats and other predators.

While he’s seen a decrease of those types of critters on the ranches where he works, he has noticed an uptick in the number of exotics he has been seeing — mostly axis and aoudad.

So when a ranch owner told Woods he could take one of the big aoudads he had been catching on trail cameras, Woods jumped at the chance.

“On one of the properties I trap, we’ve got the deer and turkey pop-

ulations up,” he said, “but the aou-dad also moved in. It is a low fence ranch in Palo Pinto County, and I saw this big ram about a month ago on trail cams. I had planned to hunt him one weekend.”

While setting hog traps several weeks ago, Woods saw a big boar he had been trying to catch run-ning around the side of a hill.

“I tried to run around the other side and flank him,” he said. “As

I ran around one side of the hill, the aoudad was coming up right toward me.”

One perfect shot later and Woods was admiring his first aoudad — a big ram with thick bases and one of the longest manes of any aou-dad he had ever seen.

“That’s a fish out of water if I’ve ever seen one,” Woods said.

Once the big ram was down, an-other problem presented itself —

Woods was all alone and had to load the big-bodied sheep by him-self. He managed to use a winch in the back of his truck to get the ram loaded. He headed to Cinna-mon Creek Wild Game Processing to have the ram butchered and the cape readied for a mount. A rough score on the big ram put him at 93 inches total.

“I am seeing a lot more aoudad; just a ton of them,” he said. “We’ve

noticed after the fires around Pos-sum Kingdom a few years ago that a lot more exotics are out there. We think a few fences might have burned and let some of these ani-mals get out. The exotics are breed-ing like crazy.”

Kevin Mote, the Possum King-dom area district leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife said it is pos-


Florida hunter Braxton Gillam made his yearly trip to the Lone Star state to chase longbeards during the opening weekend of the North Zone near San Angelo.

“The guide had been seeing lots of toms still bunched up the week before the hunt,” Gillam said. “On opening morning, there were a lot of birds in the area, but many had moved about a mile down the creek

bed onto another property. One gobbler was roosted at the top of a power tower and he flew down into the field in front of me.”

Gillam called the lone tom across the field and shot him at 20 yards.

“Birds were gobbling like crazy on the roost, but it got pretty quiet after they flew down,” he said. “They were all in a big group except that one lone gobbler. He was puffed up and drumming all the way into the decoys.”

Many hunters who had birds scouted before opening day reported a baffling lack of gobbling on opening weekend.

Hunters dealing with henned up birds in North Zone

See FUNDING, Page 6

See TURKEYS, Page 7

See AOUDAD, Page 7

KNEW HE WAS THERE: Trapper Emmitt Woods knew this big aoudad was on a ranch where he worked, and he was lucky enough to harvest the big ram recently. Photo by Emmitt Woods, for LSON.

BIRDS ARE TALKING: A recent April cold snap got some birds fired up, like this one for a hunter near San Angelo. Photo by Double Barrel Outfitters.

By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on March 25 released a draft rule purporting to clarify the ex-tent to which Clean Water Act protec-tions may apply to wetlands, streams, tributaries and “other waters.”

While some conservation groups were eager to praise the proposed rule, Texas landowners and ranchers weren’t so quick to dive in with their support.

“The release of the draft rule gets us one step closer to better defining Clean Water Act regulations in regard to wetlands,” said Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall. “EPA’s draft science report last year showed many catego-ries of wetlands, including prairie pot-holes, may be geographically isolated but are still connected to, and have a significant impact on, downstream waters.”

The draft rule was prepared in re-sponse to several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that restricted the agency’s ability to protect certain waters. The agency seeks to define “Waters of the

United States” in the rule in order to clarify protection for streams and wet-lands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources.

Some conservation organizations joined environmental groups in in-dicating their support of the rule, including Trout Unlimited, the Theo-dore Roosevelt Conservation Partner-ship and the National Wildlife Fed-eration.

Texas landowners and ranchers aren’t so sure, saying the devil of the rule is in the details.

The draft rule’s proposed defini-tion of “Waters of the United States” includes expected items such as all interstate waters and wetlands, navi-gable waters and their tributaries and waters affected by tides.

The description of waters “adjacent to” a navigable river or stream and

“other waters”, though, have the at-tention of Texas landowners, remind-ing them of issues they have fought, and won, in the past. Other waters are suggested to be waters that include those having “a significant nexus to a traditional navigable water.”

Greg Simons, president of the Texas Wildlife Association, said there were some inherent concerns for land-owners.

“It appears to similar to the naviga-ble waters issue from a few years ago, only at a federal level,” he said. “From what I’m hearing, the interpretation could be far-reaching and permitting requirements for landowners could be affected.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef As-sociation expressed its opposition, stating it is “deeply concerned by this vast overreach by the EPA and the ad-

ministration.”NCBA President Bob McCan of Vic-

toria said the proposal will hinder producers’ ability to undertake neces-sary tasks and could result in ranchers leaving the field.

“This proposal by EPA and the Corps would require cattlemen like me to obtain costly and burdensome per-mits to take care of everyday chores like moving cattle across a wet pasture or cleaning out a dugout,” McCan said.

Carmen Fenton, communications director with the Texas and South-western Cattle Raisers, put it another way.

“It’s like, here we go again,” she said. “It seems the EPA is out of touch with the everyday activities on a ranch. Ranchers are all about conservation, that’s what they do.”

Water warsNew EPA draft

rule brings varying

responses


PROTECTION OR OVERREACHING? The EPA’s new definition of “Waters of the United States” help protect wetlands, say some groups, but causes problems for farmers and ranchers that don’t have navigable waters on their land, say others. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

USFWS bans elephant

imports from two African

countries

See IMPORTS, Page 15

Scott O’Grady, a decorated war hero and best-selling au-thor from Dallas, just returned from living his dream as an avid hunter. O’Grady traveled to Zimbabwe and harvested a bull elephant.

His dream, though, turned into more of a nightmare when he returned home to learn the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, on April 4, had announced a suspen-sion of imports of sport-hunt-ed African elephant trophies taken in Tanzania and Zimba-bwe during calendar year 2014. The suspension, if maintained, would prevent O’Grady from bringing any part, including the tusks, of the trophy home.

“This is a tragedy for the Afri-can elephant,” O’Grady said. “It will only open the doors for more poaching in Zimbabwe and Tanzania because safari operations are critical to the anti-poaching efforts.

USFWS cited questionable management practices, a lack of effective law enforcement and weak governance as rea-sons for the suspension that it said has resulted in population declines of African elephants in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.


USFWS.Parramore noted that allocations

for both Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson take into account a state’s area in square miles and the number of hunting and fishing li-censes sold.

Texas (with 268,596.46 square miles — land and water — and 1,036,946 licensed hunters) and Alaska (with 665,384.04 square miles and 101,547 licensed hunt-ers) both received the maximum wildlife restoration allocation of $31,129,125. However, Texas’ total funding ended up being almost $3 million higher than Alaska’s once hunter education monies as well as sequestered funds were distributed.

USFWS officials reported that 2014 Pittman-Robertson funding included $20 million withheld last year during the government shut-down.

Dingell-Johnson had $18.5 mil-

lion returned to it.Texas (1,615,426 licensed anglers),

Alaska (412,830 licensed anglers) and California (with 163,694.74 square miles and 1,600,054 licensed anglers) all received the maximum Dingell-Johnson allocation of $16,287,011 this year.

TPWD used recent Pittman-Rob-ertson funds for everything from buying land for a Panhandle habi-tat to shelter lesser prairie-chick-en, to upgrading shooting ranges across Texas.

“Across the state, we’re also rein-vesting in shooting ranges, which we weren’t doing when times were lean, so people have a place to go practice their shooting,” Wolf said.

However, Wolf said the Wildlife Division will not fund new ongo-ing programs — given TPWD sees its bounty as “onetime funds.”

“Over the years, we’ve gotten more than $300 million in P-R funding,” he said. “This year, we got 10 per-cent of that. I’m not sure we’ll ever see such a jump again.”

FundingContinued from Page 4

Permits required for trapping turkeys

Although illegal to go about it on your own, private landowners can trap, transport and relocate Rio Grande turkeys with the proper permit from Texas Parks and Wild-life Department, along with a $750 fee.

All of the permitting is done through TPWD’s Texas Wildlife Information Management Services

(TWIMS).According to TWIMS, relocation

operations may utilize one or more of the following trapping methods: rocket net; cannon net; stationary drop net; or walk-in trap.

“It’s not very common, but we do get (requests),” said Tyler My-ers, a permit specialist with TPWD. “We have permits for all game ani-mals in Texas — deer, javelina and turkeys, to name a few. We’ve had two applications in the past six months.”

Landowners work with their local biologists to survey turkey num-bers, including how many adults, juveniles and gobbler to hen ratios and check habitat conditions.

“If all of the data looks good, a biologist will then go to the pos-sible release site and analyze that property,” Myers said. “If a land-owner is looking to get rid of or has excess turkeys, they talk to a biolo-gist. They can get with landowners who want turkeys — most of the time the biologists just bring it up in meetings to let other biologists know if someone is looking to get rid of or looking to add some tur-keys.

“It is pretty much word of mouth.”Only two ranches have applied

for turkey relocation permits in the past year, so the practice is not common.

— Staff report

New SWFA store opens in MidlothianTexas hunters who have shopped the online sporting goods website swfa.com

can now head over and view merchandise in person at the newest SWFA store located on Highway 287 in Midlothian.According to Skylar McMahon, a salesman for SWFA, the retail location will

help the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex outdoorsmen meet all of their needs for riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, range finders, night vision and ther-mal sights, cameras and accessories.“We still do most of our business with online and phone orders,” McMahon

said. “But with the new store, we now have a retail location where we will be able to meet face to face with customers and be able to sell.“We will still carry all of our brands — Nikon, Leupold, Vortex, Swarovski

and many others.”The new store is approximately 6,000-square feet and will be open from 8

a.m. to 5 p.m.The location is 5840 East U.S. Highway 287 in Midlothian.Go to swfa.com for more information.

— Staff report

RED TAPE FOR TURKEYS: Private landowners who meet several requirements must get approval through Texas Parks and Wildlife Department before attempting to relocate Rio Grande turkeys. Photo by LSON.

TurkeysContinued from Page 4

Guide Alan Hutchins with Double Barrel Outfitters has properties from Ozona to north of San Angelo and reported a mix of success during the first week of the season.

“They have been completely on and off,” Hutchins said. “Once you hear a gobble, it’s game on. But when they have been quiet, it’s been making for some long sits. As a whole, it has been get-ting better and better each day.”

Once Gillam was done with his North Zone hunt (he took an-other mature tom on the second day of the season, as well), he headed to the Tilden area for a South Zone hunt.

He reported lots of hens had the gobblers’ attention, so changing tactics was needed.

“Lots of hens,” he said. “You

have to work the hens to get the gobblers to respond and come in. It is still pretty early in the program down here. I shot a bird with 1 3/8-inch spurs and called in two more for another guy, but he missed.

“Both sets of birds I called in were strutting, though.”

Internet reports said much of the same — if a hot gobbler responds to the calls, hunters had a good chance of killing him. But all too often, gobblers were henned up and hunters were left frustrated they couldn’t pull the big birds away from the ladies.

Cooler temperatures and rain greeted many hunters last week-end, but many reported good gob-bling and fired up birds when the rain held off.

Even though higher winds made hearing gobblers tougher, birds were definitely more receptive than they were opening weekend in the North Zone.

Mule deer, squirrel seasons extendedThe Texas Parks and Wildlife

Commission approved expanded mule deer hunting in several coun-ties and extended squirrel season across parts of East Texas.An archery-only open season and

16-day general season for mule deer in Knox County, and a nine-day general season for mule deer in Castro, Hale and Lubbock coun-ties will be in effect for the 2014-15 hunting seasons. The mule deer season had previously been closed in these counties. The com-mission also clarified that use of antlerless mule deer permits would not count against a hunter’s county bag limit, nor require an antlerless mule deer tag from a hunting li-cense. In addition, the use of the

permit was extended to be used in archery season with archery equip-ment only.The commission also approved

extending squirrel hunting season in 51 East Texas counties to the end of February and permitting the use of air rifles meeting minimum standards of 600 fps (feet per sec-ond) muzzle velocity, fired from the shoulder (no handguns) and having projectiles of at least .177 caliber. The commission also eliminated bag and possession limits on squir-rel in 12 counties in north-central Texas.In other commission action, ef-

fective for the spring 2015 season, turkey hunters in East Texas can use mobile technology for manda-tory reporting of harvested East-ern turkeys. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is developing a mobile app and a web-based har-vest reporting form to facilitate the process electronically.

— TPWD

Many Texas Ducks Unlimited chapters earn place in President’s EliteThe President’s Elite are among Ducks

Unlimited’s most prestigious volunteer chapters throughout the nation. Every year, the list is reserved for the chapters that raise $100,000 or more for DU’s habitat conservation work. In 2013, 18 Texas chapters made the list as one of the organization’s best fundraising chapters.“These fundraising events are the

backbone of DU’s habitat conservation efforts, and the volunteers who make up these chapters are the grassroots force making a difference for North American waterfowl populations,” said DU Presi-dent George Dunklin. The Denton, Dallas, Ft.Worth, Hous-

ton, Galveston, Sabine, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Ellis County, Midland, Shelby County, Big Thicket, Winnie-Stowell, Tomball, Navasota, Mexia, Ag-gieland and Lamar University chapters earned a spot in the President’s Elite out of the more than 2,600 DU chap-ters nationwide.

— DU

sible that some exotics escaped high-fenced ranches during the fire, but there have always been a resident herd of aoudad in the area.

“I talked to my biologist in that area and we have not heard about any increases in aoudad num-bers,” Mote said. “He said the aou-dad have been up there for many years. A couple of ranches up there do surveys on them and they have found the numbers to have actu-ally been declining slightly.”

Mote said the fires did make vis-ibility in many areas better, so hunters could be seeing more of them without an increase in over-all numbers.

“Also, the drought has pushed some of them down to the shore-line of the lake and out on exposed ground,” he said. “Locally, there might have been a few fences burn and the next door landowner might see some more than in past years, but aoudad have a much broader diet than a white-tailed deer, so they do better in drought conditions.

“There are no real hard numbers (about herd size).”

AoudadContinued From Page 4


FISHING

See GAR, Page 11


By Steve SchwartzLone Star outdoor newS

Anglers at Falcon International Reservoir have strong opinions about new alligator gar regulations set by Texas Parks and Wildlife De-partment— both sides agree there is a substantial lack of informa-tion.

The most recent regulation gives TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith authority to close any fish-ing for gar during any possible spawning period. Anglers at Fal-con believe the regulations are be-

ing placed before TPWD has all of the facts.

“These fish need to be studied for each specific body of water,” said Cody Soele, owner of Extreme Bowfishing, which targets gar on Falcon. “The bass population ac-cording to a lot of people has de-clined because of the alligator gar.”

That is where concerns have been raised. Bass populations have been in decline at Falcon for several years, TPWD biologist Randy My-ers said. Soele, along with avid Falcon angler James Bendele, said the regulations are increasing the

population of the gar in the lake and they “are overrun.”

“They’re spawning like crazy right now and they are all over the place,” Bendele said. “We are over-run with them.”

Myers said any closures are not likely at Falcon in the near future, due to the apparent large popula-tion of the gar.

“In all likelihood, there will be no closure at Falcon,” Myers said. “The chances are pretty slim, be-cause we just don’t know.”

Lack of gar information an issue for officials, anglers


Crappie anglers across the state are beginning to see crappie move up into a prespawn position on many lakes, with many slabs being caught in the 10- to 14-foot range.

Although weather has made for an up and down start to the spring, water temperatures are finally hit-ting the magic mark when the crappie move from deep water to shallower areas.

“We are catching them shallow,” said Lake Fork guide Paul O’Bier. “We have been catching them in 1 to 3 feet of water. The water temperatures have warmed up to between 58 and 59 degrees on Fork.”

O’Bier said chartreuse and black tube jigs have been the ticket, along with a 1/4-ounce pink jighead.

“We have been fishing stumps, blowdowns and boat docks,” he said. “We fished a tournament last week and our best seven went 15.19 pounds.”

O’Bier said he has been catching all males until this week, when a few females began showing up.

“When the next full moon hits (April 15), it will be on,” he said.

On Lake Livingston, guide Simon Cosper said he has been catching fish, but inclement weather has made finding fish tougher than normal this time of year.

“The rain messed up a lot of creeks on the lake,” Co-sper said. “But I have started to catch some nice slabs shooting jigs under main lake boat docks next to creek channels. I think it will break wide open in a week or two before they start to spawn.”

Other reports farther south indicate fish ready to spawn in places like Choke Canyon and Falcon Inter-national Reservoir. Live minnows and chartreuse jigs are also catching fish in less than 10 feet.

Internet reports a good bite on Cedar Creek Reser-voir.

“They were in 13 feet of water and 14 feet down where the water was deeper,” said angler Bud Baker on Texasfishingforum.com. “I caught them on a 2-inch smoke glitter tube, on a 1/8-ounce tube jighead in 71- to 74-degree water.”

Feeling the thumpCrappie moving shallow with full moon coming


It has been a tough month for anglers in the Matagorda Bay complex.

Strong winds, high tides and fish that haven’t transitioned into the major spring patterns have all contributed to a tough-er-than-normal April bite.

“It’s been drizzling for two days and the fishing has been tough,”

said Capt. Ken Sabin. “Most of us are fishing in the river or the di-version canals because the wind has been so bad.

“The high tides brought the bait back, and we’ve been having good luck in the canals catching flounder and redfish.”

Sabin said soft plastics have been working, with fish feeding in the deeper drainages and cuts

Waiting for changeMatagorda anglers waiting for spring patterns to kick off

See MATAGORDA, Page 17

SLABS ARE MOVING: Plenty of good crappie are being caught this month, although the spawn is looking a little later than normal. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

NOT DOWN HERE: Falcon anglers think TPWD should not restrict gar angling on Falcon, where numbers are rising, according to locals. Photo by Conor Harrison, Lone Star Outdoor News.

HERE COMES THE RUSH: Matagorda guides and anglers report good fishing, although weather patterns haven’t been steady enough for fish to switch to full-blown spring patterns. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Steve SchwartzLone Star outdoor newS

The March 22 oil spill is having little-to-no effect on the redfish conditions in the Galveston area, contrary to what some clients may believe.

Guides throughout the area are seeing slot redfish in large num-bers on the jetties across the is-land.

“With this cold, everything is running a few weeks behind,” said

Capt. Adam Kreczkowski, of Sea Wolf Fishing Charters, about the conditions. “Things will be better if we could just get some warmer weather.”

With colder temperatures, bull reds are hitting live bait in a fren-zy, according to Capt. Rusty Foster, with Get U Sum Fishing Charters. Guides have seen numerous can-cellations in reaction to the oil spill, but Foster said the fishing has

See REDFISH. Page 11


UP-AND-COMING: According to guides in the Galveston area, redfish are still good around jetties and rocky areas. Cool temperatures have kept them near to the shore, and they have been biting heavily on live shrimp and crab. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News

Oil spill has little effect on redfish in Galveston


DeWayne Thomas has been fishing all his life and likes to fish a few tournaments every year — a few Bud Light tournaments, maybe the Legends of Lake Fork or the Skeeter tournaments.

But when a friend asked him to fish the Ford Mega Bass Tourna-ment presented by Bass Champs, he agreed, never realizing it would be the biggest tournament win of his career.

“It’s a little overwhelming,”

Thomas said. Thomas caught a 9.94-pound

bass during the second hour of the event, and the weight held up throughout the day, giving the Ferris angler the overall vic-tory, a pile of cash and a Skeeter bass boat.

Not bad for a couple hours of fishing.

The self-described shallow-water fisherman only got one bite, but it was the only one he needed.

“It was a pretty short day,” he said. “We’d only been fishing

about two hours. It was the only bite I had. I caught her and got her in the livewell but we headed to the dock. I wasn’t going to take any chances with that fish.”

When Thomas arrived at the weigh-in site, there were already three “over” bass at the docks. Lake Fork is a slot lake, so fish be-tween 16 and 24 inches must be thrown back.

“I weighed my fish on another guy’s scale, and mine was big-ger than his,” Thomas said. “He

Ferris angler wins Mega Bass on Fork

See MEGA BASS, Page 19

THE WINNING FISH: Ferris angler DeWayne Thomas holds the winning, 9.94-pound largemouth bass he caught last weekend on Lake Fork. The fish won Thomas a truck and boat package. Photo by Bass Champs.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTERLOOKING FOR DEER AND GATORS,

WARDEN FINDS MOONSHINE STILLJasper County Game Warden Justin Eddins was investi-

gating a local resident for killing alligators and white-tailed deer out of season. When Eddins pulled up in the yard he was greeted by the man’s wife, who said, “What has he done now?” Eddins met the resident in his backyard and

noticed the subject did not want Eddins to see inside his shop. Eddins immediately noticed a 55-gallon drum and several other high dollar pieces of stainless equipment used for making moonshine. Eddins seized the evidence and turned it all over to TABC. Charges are pending.

HOG-DOG GROUP IN CONTEST DQ’D, TICKETED FOR TRESPASSING

Atascosa County Game Wardens Derek Iden and Brian Scott received a call that some hog-dog hunters might be hunting illegally. The war-dens were told that the hunters were going to hunt on some property along the Atascosa River where the war-dens have had reports of trespassing and theft of game cameras. The war-dens went to a 70-acre tract of land and located several trucks and ATVs where the hunters began their hunt-ing adventure. Around 11 p.m., Scott located nine subjects running hog-dogs, scattered as far as three prop-erties outside of where they had per-mission to be hunting. Scott used his handheld GPS to mark where he found the hunters and the wardens trans-posed the tracks onto a Google Earth application, and three landowners executed non-consent affidavits. Class A misdemeanor charges are pending for hunting without landowner con-sent and criminal trespass. The eight subjects had entered into the Los Cazadores Hog Dog Hunting contest and were subsequently disqualified from the “weigh-in” for violating the terms of the contest.

A WARDEN IS NEVER TRULY “OFF DUTY”On his day off, Val Verde County

Game Warden Dustin Barrett had just finished a day of fishing on Lake Amistad when he ran across a retail truck dealer selling aquatic products door-to-door in his neighborhood. He stopped and inquired if they were selling any fish and asked them to stop by his house down the street so that he could look the fish over. After they arrived, he identified himself as a game warden and proceeded to inspect the dealer, who was from out of town. Cases pending for no retail fish truck dealer license and for the vehicle not being properly marked.

NEPHEW LEAVES ILLEGALLY TAKEN DEER WITH UNCLE, BOTH GET

CITATIONSLimestone County Game Warden

Trent Marker received information that a local man had possession of a deer illegally, but he was only given a nickname of the man. He located and went to the man’s home, where a butchered deer was found. The man said his nephew’s friend had brought it over. Both the nephew and his friend were contacted and it was determined that the nephew had shot the deer out of season, at night, with artificial light and then the deer was transported by the nephew’s friend to the uncle’s house. Citations were issued for pos-session of white-tailed deer in closed season and the nephew was charged with hunting at night and with an arti-ficial light.

VEHICLE STOP FINDS NUMEROUS VIOLATIONS, WEAPONS

While returning from an in-service training, Dimmit County Game Warden Gene Fernandez and Zavala County Game Warden Chris Stautzenberger conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was turning its lights on and off at nighttime while driving on a state highway. After removing the individual from his vehicle due to his nervous demeanor, a K-9 unit was requested from another agency and it was dis-covered that the driver had a semi-automatic pistol in the center console of his vehicle. The individual, a con-

victed felon, had previously spent time in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 11 years of age, 2nd degree rape, injury to a child less than 17 years of age, aggravated burglary, unlawful use of a credit card (all con-victions), and a most recent charge by the U.S. Marshal’s Service for failing to register as a sex offender in Texas. During the time he was out of the vehi-cle, he pled with the wardens to allow him to get his phone from the center console in order to call his boss and let him know he was going to be late to work. While searching the vehicle, a machete was discovered between the driver seat and console. Cases pend-ing.

WARDENS RESCUE GRANDFATHER, GRANDSON AFTER BOATING ACCIDENTJasper County Game Wardens Justin

Eddins, Brooks Yeates and Morgan Inman responded to a 911 call on the Angelina River. There had been a boat accident where both of the occupants of the boat were severely injured. The wardens helped transport the injured from the river to a helicopter where they were transported to Beaumont. The wardens secured all evidence, including the wrecked boat. It appears a grandfather and his grandson were returning to the boat ramp after fishing and hit a floating log while travelling around 50 mph. The boat went out of control and hit a bluff bank.

GROUP OF YOUNG DUCK SHOOTERS SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN MATH CLASS

Taylor County Game Warden James Cummings was handed an envelope, addressed to him, that arrived at the Abilene office. The letter had no return address and contained a brief, three-line statement and three pho-tographs copied from Instagram. The photos showed several local teens who claimed to have shot 42 ducks on the last day of duck season. The statement named two individuals. Cummings and Abilene Administrative Tech Merry Schwarz located the indi-viduals through Internet searches. Cummings contacted the two individu-als, who said they had two other hunt-ers with them, so they could not have shot the ducks. Cummings obtained statements from all four teens admit-ting they were hunting and shot too many ducks. One subject said that since there were four people hunting, they shouldn’t be over the limit and wondered why they were still receiving tickets. Cummings informed them the total limit for four hunters would be 24 ducks.

LICENSE NUMBER LEADS WARDEN TO CAST-NETTERS

Denton County Game Wardens received a tip that three men were using a cast net to catch white bass. Witnesses were able to provide a license plate. Griffin tracked the sus-pects to a Dallas apartment complex.

After contact and a short interview, multiple citations were issued.

IT HELPS TO UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE

Williamson County Game Warden Joel Campos was checking fisher-men along the San Gabriel River at the Dickerson River Bottom. Campos heard one man tell another in Spanish to hide the casting net. Several citations were issued for no fishing license, undersize crappie/white bass and fishing with illegal means and method. Cases and resti-tution pending.

OFF-DUTY WARDEN HELPS NAB BOW-FISHERMEN SHOOTING BASS

Zapata County Game Wardens received information from an off-duty warden who was fishing on his day off. The off-duty warden had talked to several bow-fishermen who said they had shot one gar and one large-mouth bass with a bow. The wardens located the boat described by the off-duty warden, and after a brief water safety check and investigation, multi-ple water safety violations were pres-ent, along with the one illegally taken largemouth bass. Cases and restitu-tion pending.

SOMEONE PUT THOSE SMALL CRAPPIE IN MY BASKET

Taylor County Game Wardens Roy Johnson and James Cummings received a call informing them about a man at Lake Fort Phantom keep-ing undersized crappie. The wardens made contact with the man, who said he had caught a few fish but not many. A fish basket was located nearby that contained seven crappie, four of which were undersized. The man claimed that he leaves his fish basket at that location and sometimes people leave fish in it. Citations were issued for undersized crappie.


Both Bendele and Soele, along with Myers, said TWPD doesn’t have the information to halt fishing of alligator gar at Falcon. In 2009, TPWD set a one-gar limit for anglers across the state, and Soele said that alone has affect-ed both the gar and bass populations across the area.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said. “The worst thing Texas Parks and Wildlife has done for the gar is the limit. It turns everyone into a trophy hunter.”

He said the population of medium-sized gar — 3 to 5 feet — has increased, and they are “bass assassins.” The trophy-sized fish are generally too slow to catch any sort of bass, Soele pointed out.

Both sides of the argument agreed the issue is a lack of information, and Myers said Fal-con could see regulation changes in the future following a several-week study by TPWD this month.

“We are going to need data before we make any change,” Myers said.

The survey of the fish population will in-clude examinations of the size, numbers and diet of the fish to see what effect they are hav-ing on the ecosystem. But the information will not be limited to the fish; they are going to talk to anglers as well.

They should get an earful.“I hold out hope that after they do a little

research we’ll see things change,” Bendele said. “You can’t compare Falcon to the Trinity River or Sam Rayburn — they’re completely different regions.”

For now, Myers said his TPWD region is in a holding pattern before they make any sort of plans to change the regulations. He reiterated that spawning closures at Falcon are unlikely — they are optional — but possible.

“We’ll try to answer as many questions as we can about the gar,” Myers said. “There’s no guarantee an area will be shut down, but there’s also no guarantee an area won’t be shut down.”

GarContinued from Page 8


not been impacted, and they are bringing in good numbers.

“It’s been pretty rough because of the oil spill, but hasn’t slowed down as far as the fishing goes,” Foster said.

Foster and Kreczkowski, along with Capt. Mike Short of Get Hooked Fishing Char-ters, have been having luck throwing live shrimp and crabs near the rocks lining the jetties.

Foster said he tends to fish for the larger

bull redfish near the jetties that have a wave break, speculating that small fish are pushed along the rocks.

“It’s not hard to catch a redfish when you’ve been doing this as long as I have,” Foster said.

As for artificials, the guides said it has been slower, because of the cooler tem-peratures, but that could change with any warm spell.

Warmer temperatures will begin to push the fish out towards the causeway bridge, Kreczkowski said. He has been using crankbaits, along with blue and white soft

plastics. Short said the fishing has been excellent

across the island, especially considering they have cool temperatures and oil to contend with. His crew is hoping the neg-ative press from the oil spill will fade away in the near future.

“The truth is, the fishing is better than ever,” he said. “(The negative perception) should be changing any day now.”

Capt. Adam Kreczkowski, (903) 390-6652Capt. Rusty Foster, (409) 750-2430Capt. Mike Short, (409) 698-7112

RedfishContinued from Page 9

BEATING THE ROCKS: Redfish anglers are finding good numbers of fish this month as winds push baitfish toward the Galveston jetties. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.


2 | LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

Whether you are drifting for trout along the Texas coast or throwing plastics to spawning bass, keeping your fi sh,

ice, food and drinks colder longer is paramount. The ICEHOLE High-Per-formance Cooler sets the standard for toughness and long-lasting cold food and drink.The family owned business has sup-

plied the U.S. military with products for an array of combat vehicles and equip-ment. Using the same military specifi -cations when deciding to manufacture coolers, ICEHOLE’s design features a custom engineered one-piece exclusive freezer seal design with no adhesives or seams causing air infi ltration, assuring a tight fi t that makes the cold stay in and the warm air stay out. Other features include non-skid feet, a leak-proof drainage system and latches from the U.S. military’s M2 Bradley fi ghting vehicle.ICEHOLE takes pride in its coolers

being 100-percent American made, removing the risk of foreign com-ponents compromising the coolers. To prove it, every cooler has its own serial number and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Lone Star Outdoor News put the ICEHOLE 60-quart cooler to the test on several hot South Texas days this past season. After long days of fi lling feeders, checking game cameras, scouting for deer and doing other chores, the drinks were gone but the ice was hardly affected. We suggested a new slogan for when you aren’t driving or handling a fi rearm, “You’ll run out of beer before you run out of ice.”

Make the adventure last with ICEHOLE coolers

hether you are drifting for trout along the Texas coast or throwing plastics to spawning bass, keeping your fi sh,

formance Cooler sets the standard for

The family owned business has sup-plied the U.S. military with products for an array of combat vehicles and equip-ment. Using the same military specifi -cations when deciding to manufacture

custom engineered one-piece exclusive freezer seal design with no adhesives or seams causing air infi ltration, assuring a tight fi t that makes the cold stay in and

drainage system and latches from the

ICEHOLE 60-quart cooler to the test on several hot South Texas days this past season. After long days of fi lling feeders, checking game cameras, scouting for deer

ICEHOLE Coolers / iceholecoolers.com / (830)-895-4405

Amberjack, Greater 1 34 - No Limit

Bass: striped, hybrids 5 18 - No Limit

Catfi sh: channel, blue 25 12 - No Limit

Catfi sh, fl athead 5 18 - No Limit

Catfi sh, gafftopsail No Limit 14 - No Limit

Cobia 2 37 - No limit

Drum, black 5 14 - 30 in.

Drum, red 3 20 - 28 in.

Flounder 5/2 14 - No limit

Gar, alligator 1 No limit

Grouper, gag 2 22 - No limit

Grouper, goliath Catch and release only

Mackerel, king 2 27 - No limit

Mackerel, Spanish 15 14 - No limit

Marlin, blue No limit 131 - No limit

Marlin, white No limit 86 - No limit

Mullet No limit No limit - 12

Sailfi sh No limit 84 - No limit

Seatrout, spotted 10 15 - 25 inches

Sharks:

• Atlantic sharpnose, 1 24 - No limit

blacktip, bonnethead

• Other shark species 1 64 - No limit

• Prohibited species Catch and release only

Sheepshead 5 15 - No limit

Snapper, lane No limit 8 - No limit

Snapper, red 4 15 - No limit

Snapper, vermilion No limit 10 - No limit

Snook 1 24 - 28 inches

Tarpon 1 85 - No limit

Triggerfi sh, gray 20 16 - No limit

Tripletail 3 17 - No limit

Species Daily Bag

Length Inches

Bass:• largemouth and 5 14 inches smallmouth• spotted & Guadalupe 5 No min.

Bass, striped & 5 18 incheshybrid striped

Bass, white 25 10 inches

Bass, yellow No limit No min.

Catfi sh: channel & blue 25 12 inches

Catfi sh, fl athead 5 18 inches

Crappie: white & black 25 10 inches

Paddlefi sh No harvest allowed

Gar, alligator 1 No min.

Saugeye 3 18 inches

Sunfi sh: various No limit No min.species included

Trout: rainbow & brown 5 No min.

Walleye 5 No min.

Species Daily Bag

Length InInches

Consult www.tpwd.state.tx.us for additional regulations.EXPIRES AUG. 31, 2014

2014 TEXAS BAG LIMITSSaltwater Freshwater

With Rapala’s release of new shallow- and deep-running Scatter Raps, bass can run, but have nowhere left to hide. “I’ve fi shed them both and they are incredible,”

said Rapala Pro Ott DeFoe, the 2011 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. “I like the originals, but these two new ones are very exciting. The actions are just out of this world.”While the initial Scatter Rap models covered the mid-depth

range, the new Scatter Rap Crank Shallow brings Scatter Rap action to the 4-foot depth range and the Scatter Rap Crank Deep dives 10 to 12 feet. But the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story — Scatter Raps not only cover the water column vertically, they extend coverage horizontally as well.“That allows you to cover so much more water and so much more effi ciently,” said Rapala Pro Brandon

Palaniuk, the 2013 Bassmaster Classic runner-up. Featuring what’s best described as evasive action, Scatter Raps “perfectly mimic a spooked baitfi sh

fl eeing attack, moving from one side to the next, triggering reactive bites,” said Rapala Pro Mike “Ike” Iaconelli, the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion. Built on classic Rapala balsa body shapes, Scatter

Raps derive their name and signature sweep-ing action from an innovative, patent-pending, curved Scatter Lip.Both the Scatter Rap Crank Shal-

low and Scatter Rap Crank Deep measure 2 inches and weigh 5/16 oz. They run silently, fl oat when paused and come with No. 5 black-nickel round-bend VMC hooks. They come in 18 color patterns, includ-ing four new “Ike’s Custom Ink” patterns — Bruise, Girlfriend, Mule and Rasta. The suggested retail price is $8.99.

Rapala unveils shallow- and deep-water scatter raps

ith Rapala’s release of new shallow- and deep-running Scatter

range, the new Scatter Rap Crank Shallow brings Scatter Rap action to

Rapala / rapala.com

| 3LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

Cats on HoustonLAKE HOUSTON — For anglers hoping to get in some early spring

catfi shing trips, the guides at Lake Houston Catfi shing Guide Service report a good bite for blues.“Channel cats are hitting mostly shallow water near bulkheads and weeded shorelines,” they said.

“Blues are in deeper water — 11 to 25 feet. Channels are averaging around 2 pounds with blues averaging around 4 pounds. Several blues are being caught each day to around 10 pounds. “The crappie are also biting well in 5 to 10 feet of water.”To contact Lake Houston Catfi shing Guide Service, call (832) 439-7103.

Tough biteLAKE ALAN HENRY — According to angler Thad Rains on the Texas Fishing Forum, the Working

Mans Tournament was a tough one this year on Alan Henry, with many bass in the 1- to 2-pound range being caught.Rains said water temperatures were in the mid-50s, with some bass

being caught on crankbaits, shaky heads and a few on buzzbaits.

Deeper is better WHEELER BRANCH RESERVOIR — This small reservoir near Glen Rose has been producing solid

catches of largemouth and smallmouth bass, according to Steve Schwartz of LSON who fi shed the lake last weekend. Bass were caught in 15 to 25 feet of water using small silver spoons and crankbaits. The shallow bite near cover did not produce, as colder weather pushed fi sh back off of spawning fl ats to deeper cuts.

— Conor Harrison

AMISTAD: Water fairly clear; 63–67 degrees; 35.26’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, jerk-baits, soft plastics and jigs. Striped bass are fair on slabs and small crankbaits.

ATHENS: Water clear; 58–63 degrees; 0.13’ high. Largemouth bass are good on white spinner baits and shad-pattern shallow crankbaits along the shoreline. Some fi sh being caught on watermelon soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

BASTROP: Water clear; 62–66 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on dark soft plastics, crankbaits and spinner baits. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs over brush piles.

BELTON: Water clear; 58–62 degrees; 9.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits and spinner baits. Hybrid striper are good on downriggers. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows around structure under lights at night.

BOB SANDLIN: Water clear; 59–63 degrees; 2.89’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged lizards and creature baits. Some fi sh are being caught from beds as well. Crappie are good on minnows and white jigs. White bass are good on slabs.

BONHAM: Water stained, 57–62 degrees; 2.04’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits and spinner baits as well as soft plastics. Crappie are good. Catfi sh are good on jug lines.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits and Lipless crankbaits near the dam. Striped bass are fair down rigging silver and gold spoons and marble spinner baits near the dam.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear, 56–60 degrees; 21.46’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Bahama milk-color crankbaits. Crappie are good on chartreuse jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair on slabs. Channel catfi sh are good on trotlines.

BROWNWOOD: Water stained; 59–63 degrees; 10.77’ low. Largemouth bass to 10 pounds are good on crankbaits, chatterbaits, spinner baits and jigs around docks in 4–8 feet.

BUCHANAN: Water stained; 61–65 degrees; 31.08’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkin jigs, jerkbaits and Carolina-rigged lizards along break lines and ledges. Striped bass are good drifting live bait in

25–35 feet, and trolling white/char-treuse striper jigs and crankbaits. White bass are fair on slabs and crankbaits in creeks.

CADDO: Water stained; 58– 63 de-grees; 0.99’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits and weightless soft plastics. White and yellow bass are fair on slabs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on cut perch and shad along the shoreline.

CANYON LAKE: Water murky; 61–65 degrees; 8.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jerkbaits and Texas-rigged worms on shaky jigheads in 20–25 feet. Striped bass are slow.

CEDAR CREEK: Water clear; 58–62 degrees; 3.97’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on spinner baits and square-billed crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and white jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and trotlines.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 63–67 degrees; 23.80’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits and heavy jigs in grass. White bass are good on minnows and jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on stinkbait and live perch.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 60–64 de-grees; 16.32’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows over brush piles. Channel catfi sh are good on stinkbait and nightcrawlers.

COLETO CREEK: Water clear; 68 degrees in main lake, 94 degrees at hot water discharge; 3.87’ low. Largemouth bass to 6 pounds are good on soft plastics and spinner baits in 6–10 feet.

CONROE: Water stained; 59–63 degrees; 0.47’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed soft plastics, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Striped bass are fair on silver striper jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and blue tube jigs.

COOPER: Water clear; 66–70 de-grees; 12.55’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium crankbaits and Carolina-rigged plastics up to 15’ deep. Crappie are fair on jigs. White bass are fair on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good.

FALCON: Water clear; 62–66 degrees; 24.24’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red Brush Hogs,

6” Yumdingers and spinner baits. Striped bass are slow. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on frozen shrimp, stinkbait, and cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin Carolina-rigged soft plastics off deep points. Channel and blue catfi sh are good.

FORK: Water clear; 59–63 degrees; 4.24’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged plastics in super bug around shallow stumps. Bed fi sh being caught on white Zoom Speed Craws.

FT. PHANTOM HILL: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 13.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear. Large-mouth bass are good on pumpkin-seed soft plastics, spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and pink tube jigs.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 59–63 degrees; 10.02’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse/black soft plastics and lipless crank-baits over grass. Striped bass are fair on silver striper jigs. White bass are fair on minnows.

GRANGER: Water clear; 61–65 degrees; 0.16’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on white spinner baits and soft plastic worms upriver. White bass are good on pet spoons and spinner baits at Dicker-son’s Bottom. Crappie are slow. Blue catfi sh are fair on juglines baited with shad.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 57–61 de-grees; 10.04’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits in pumpkin-seed and white spinner baits. Crap-pie are good on jigs. White bass are good on slabs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and trotlines.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water stained; 63–67 degrees; 0.09’ high. Large-mouth bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and grubs in coves near the dam. Bream are slow.

HUBBARD CREEK: Water off-color; 57–61 degrees; 24.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on Senkos, fl ukes, Texas rigs and shallow-running crankbaits in 1–5 feet. Crappie are fair on minnows. JOE POOL: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 1.40’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shallow crankbaits and spinner baits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are

good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 59–63; degrees; 1.28’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on fl ipping jigs and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on jigs. Catfi sh are fair on trotlines and cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 57–61 degrees; 12.36’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on black/blue fl ipping jigs and green pumpkin creature baits. White bass are fair on slabs. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on trotlines.

LBJ: Water stained; 62–66 degrees; 0.30’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on white striper jigs. White bass are fair jigging jigs and Pirk Minnows.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 7.97’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged craws in green pumpkin near shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair on jigs. Hy-brid striper are fair on slabs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 60–64 degrees; 0.32’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits, spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are very good on minnows. Blue catfi sh are good on shad.

MARTIN CREEK: Water clear; 68–71 degrees; 0.03 high. Largemouth bass are fair on shallow crankbaits and weightless soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on minnows.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 59–65 degrees; 0.94’ high. Largemouth bass are good on black and blue fl ipping jigs and Texas-rigged green pumpkin creature baits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water murky; 59–63 degrees. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies. Crappie are good on min-

nows and pink tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are fair on chicken livers and stinkbait.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 56–61 degrees; 46.69’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on Senkos, jigs and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows.

OAK CREEK: Water stained; 56–61 degrees; 22.77’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, weightless soft plastics and jigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair to good on cut bait and nightcrawlers.

PALESTINE: Water clear; 56–61 degrees; 0.31’ high. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin wacky worms. Crappie are good on jigs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. White bass are good on jigs. Catfi sh are fair on trotlines.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 56–62 degrees; 13.93’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on fl ukes, jigs and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows. White bass are fair to good on slabs. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers.

PROCTOR: Water stained; 60–64 degrees; 8.58’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon lipless crank-baits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair trolling crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows. Chan-nel and blue catfi sh are good on live shad and shrimp.

RAY HUBBARD: Water clear; 57–61 degrees; 7.52’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits and Texas-rigged soft plastic craws. Crappie are good on chartreuse jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on trotlines and cut shad.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 8.06’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged watermelon red creature baits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water lightly stained; 57–62 degrees; 7.44’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on me-dium- and deep-diving crankbaits. White bass are good on jigs and minnows. Hybrid striper are good on minnows. Crappie are good on min-nows. Catfi sh are good on trotlines and cut shad.

SAM RAYBURN: Water murky; 61–65 degrees; 2.73’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina-rigged green pumpkin soft plastics, crankbaits and spinner baits. White

bass are good on live minnows and watermelon jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and green tube jigs. Bream are fair on worms.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 61–65 degrees; 2.46’ low. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on silver striper jigs. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies.

STILLHOUSE: Water stained; 60–64 degrees; 11.24’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on minnows and spinner baits. Crappie are good on minnows and yellow tube jigs.

SWEETWATER: Water murky; 55–59 degrees; 24.46’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Senkos, lipless crankbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait.

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 57–61 degrees; 9.85’ low. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin or black and blue fl ipping jigs. Crappie are good on jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on slabs.

TEXOMA: Water clear; 57–60 degrees; 8.81’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shaky heads and Texas-rigged worms. Crappie are good on chartreuse jigs. Striped bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and trotlines.

TOLEDO BEND: Water murky; 59–63 degrees; 1.99’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon and watermelon red soft plastics and spinner baits. Striped bass are fair on live bait.

TRAVIS: Water murky; 61–65 degrees; 53.62’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on smoke grubs, white jigs, and crawfi sh crankbaits in 8–20 feet. Striped bass are fair on white spoons in 20–40 feet. White bass are fair on white spoons and chrome crankbaits. Crappie are fair on min-nows and pink tube jigs.

WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are fair on white crankbaits and chartreuse soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on silver slabs. White bass are good on perch colored spinner baits.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 58–62 degrees; 12.23’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on white striper jigs. White bass are fair on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers and stinkbait.

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTRains said water temperatures were in the mid-50s, with some bass Rains said water temperatures were in the mid-50s, with some bass


SEE MORE■ Saltwater fi shing reports: Page 8

PROCTOR:degrees; 8.58’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon lipless crank-baits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair trolling crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows. Chan-nel and blue catfi sh are good on live

Uncle Josh, the original manufac-turer of pork baits, has kicked things up a significant notch by creating a new and improved

series of pork baits made out of pork fat and 100 percent natural ingredients. The baits get their scents from leeches, minnows, and real night crawlers providing a lure that caches fish like live bait with none of the prob-lems of live bait.

Kurt Kellogg, owner of

Uncle Josh, said they created the new pork baits as an alternative to live bait.

“We wanted a product that catches fish like live bait but doesn’t have all the hassle and cost of live bait,” he said. “Let’s face it, a juicy crawler will catch about anything that swims — we wanted that type of fish catching ability in a product that is much more user-friendly. Our pork baits are made with real crawlers, minnows, and leeches but they never die, stay on the hook longer, and are easier to rig.”

Have the best fishing bait for the job when you can quickly switch from Uncle Josh’s Meat Night Crawler or Leech to the Meat Craw or Meat Frog. The lifelike scent trail left by Uncle Josh’s Meat fishing baits will have a line of fish following your hook.

Available for fresh or saltwater in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors, check out the new line of Meat freshwater and saltwater fishing baits at unclejosh.com.

The ‘live’ bait that never diesNew pork baits from Uncle Josh like the real thing, but better

baits get their scents from leeches, minnows, and real night crawlers providing a lure that caches fish like live bait with none of the prob-lems of live bait.

Kurt Kellogg, owner

Uncle Josh Bait Company / unclejosh.com / (866)-BIG-BASS

| 5 LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

PRODUCTS


HYPER-LIFT BAY BOAT: Xpress Boats starts with

its Hyper-Lift Hull to build this agile and durable boat. Xpress Boats promises that in sea of options, its “HBay” platform rides and performs better than any other in its category. A guide favorite, this striking fi shing boat offers plentiful storage, includ-ing a live well, bait well and rod holders. It offers comfortable, dry seating. And, it is available in 18-foot, 20-foot, 22-foot and 24-foot lengths. The H22B with F150LA, shown, sells for about $27,895, which does not include dealer prep or freight charges.

(501) 262-5300www.xpress.com >>

PHANTOM SERIES: Waterloo Rod Company U.S.A. has introduced the Phantom Series, designed specifi -cally for the avid universal angler.Offered in 6-foot, 6-inch medium light, 6-foot, 6-inch medium fast, 7-foot medium light, 7-foot spin-ning medium action and 7-foot, 6-inch medium action, these rods are very lightweight and sensitive.They are manufactured in North

America with a split-grip model, Fugi reel seats, 3:16 stainless steel Keegan guides and are the most versatile rods Water-loo makes. Anglers can fi sh with tails, plastics, popping corks, spoons and many more baits with these rods.Available at Academy, Rock-port Tackle Town and Tackle

Box in Victoria.>>

SCATTER RAP CRANK DEEP & SHALLOW LURES: Rapala’s lure series with the one-of-a-kind Scatter Lip and evasive, erratic swimming action now offers the Scatter Rap Crank Deep, whose elongated lip allows the lure to dive quickly and work the deep side of the water column, and the Scatter Rap Crank Shallow, whose shorter lip design takes the action to the shallow 4- to 5-foot depth range. Both come armed with premium VMC Hooks and are available in 18 color patterns. Especially potent when targeting bass, the lures’ compact balsa body delivers a responsive action that searches from side to side on the retrieve, mimicking a spooked baitfi sh fl ee-ing attack and triggering strikes from multiple game species. The MSRP is $8.99.

For information, visit:www.rapala.com >>

HYDRO-FLO FLEX ‘N GO SATCHEL: This ver-satile tackle case from Plano Mold-ing features a deep storage bin

with adjustable compartments on one side and two 3600 Hydro-Flo StowAway Utility Boxes on the other. This innovative confi guration enables anglers to quickly customize their gear for each outing. And its utility boxes, which are easy to clean between fi shing trips, will keep gear dry. The double-sided storage box of-fers fi xed and removable storage

options. The Flex ’N Go Satchel, which measures 15.375 inches

by 11.875 inches by 4.875 inches, is available in blue and yellow and tan and brown. It costs

about $38.(800) 226-9868

www.planomolding.com >>

MAGELLAN OUTDOORS POLARIZED SUNGLASSES: Academy Sports + Outdoors’ lightweight sunglasses offer tough black TR90 frames and high-fi delity, encapsulated REVO blue mirror glass lenses that provide 100 percent protection against UV rays on those all-day sunshine-fi lled fi shing trips. The lenses have an antirefl ective and scratch-resistant coating. The sunglasses sell for just under $100.

(888) 922-2336www.academy.com >>(361) 573-0300

www.waterloorods.com

Life is a workstation. The world is laid out before you and it’s how you manipulate the components that governs success or failure. Successful individuals organize and manage life’s bits and pieces, keeping factors and faces compartmentalized and within reach. Signifi cant to sporting types is maintaining control and organization of one’s gear. In

fi shing, that means isolating tackle by species, technique, season and lure size. Since tackle fi rst went in boxes, Plano has given anglers the organizational tools to manage perhaps the most diverse and potentially chaotic collection of things — fi shing lures.For 2014, improving upon the improved, Plano brings the reengineered Guide Series Tackle

Bag collection. For years, the Guide Series has yielded the utmost in tackle storage solutions. But unwavering in its pursuit of perfection, Plano has implemented a game-changing feature: a work surface.Instead of being just the top tray, the new Guide Series tackle bags provide a workbench

surface to individualize the way you fi sh. A StowAway tackle box rests in an accessible, molded depression on the top while fi ve additional boxes stand at the ready inside. Tackle storage visionary Tom Neustrom gives the new design his respected seal of approval.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “The top of the bag has been converted into the workingman’s plat-form. I can study jig sizes and colors for bass, and by just swapping a StowAway, be instantly rerigging for crappies.”Other features include a molded, impact-resistant waterproof base that makes the Guide

Series as rugged as it is ingenious. The outside features two padded pockets for sunglasses, a smartphone and other valuables;

cavernous easy-access compart-ments fl ank its sides and a clear, zippered pocket under the top cover is ideal for maps and that often mis-

placed fi shing license. Available in four sizes, the

Guide Series model and coming with up to six

StowAway boxes. And that makes fi shing more

fun.

New Guide Series bags keep the fun in fi shing

smartphone and other valuables; cavernous easy-access compart-

ments fl ank its sides and a clear, zippered pocket under the top cover is ideal for maps and that often mis-

placed fi shing license. Available in four sizes, the

Guide Series model and coming with up to six

StowAway boxes.

fun.


Anglers looking to catch a 10-trout limit after Sept. 1 need to head to the Upper Coast of Texas.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commision-ers approved a measure that extends a fi ve-fi sh bag limit currently in effect in the Lower Laguna Madre up the coast through the Highway 457 bridge near Sargent with a fi ve-year sunset date. The commission also modifi ed the original proposal to set the possession limit on spotted seatrout for the area from the Lower Laguna Madre to the Highway 457 bridge to twice the daily bag limit (10 fi sh in possession).

The changes were not met with smiling faces in the new areas, although the regu-lations that were changed several years ago in the Lower Laguna Madre have had a positive effect on the fi shery, according to area guides.

“A number of our guides attended the meeting(s) and, based on the fact that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s own gill-net surveys show no shortage of trout or fl ounder in our area from Port O’Connor to Port Mansfi eld, we are against any changes that would affect bag limits or changing season dates,” said Coastal Bend Guides Association Direc-tor Chuck West.

In other changes to saltwater fi shing regulations, the commission extended the two fl ounder per day bag limit restric-tions currently in effect for the month of November into the fi rst two weeks of

December. During these fi rst two weeks of December, however, harvest would be allowed by any legal means.

For freshwater, the commission ap-proved changes to the rainbow and brown trout fi shery along a section of the Guadalupe River below Canyon Reservoir establishing a 12- to 18-inch slot length limit with a fi ve-fi sh daily bag limit, har-vest by artifi cial lures only, and only one trout over 18 inches could be retained. The new regulation zone would begin 800 yards downstream from the Canyon Dam release and extend downstream to the easternmost Highway 306 bridge crossing.

The commission also granted author-ity for TPWD’s executive director to im-pose temporary prohibition of alligator gar fi shing in specifi ed areas to provide additional protection during spawning activity. Closures would be invoked in a selected area, limited to no more than 30 days, and occur only in areas having an active moderate fl ood event with water temperatures within an optimum range for alligator gar spawning.

In other freshwater fi shing regulation changes, the commission adopted the following:

• Texas/Louisiana Border Waters (Tole-do Bend Reservoir, Caddo Lake, and the Lower Sabine River in Newton and Or-ange Counties): regulations for blue and channel catfi sh changed to no minimum length limit and a 50-fi sh daily bag limit in any combination, of which no more than fi ve blue or channel catfi sh 30 inch-

Lower seatrout limits creeping up coastFive-fi sh daily bag approved by TPW Commission

See REGULATIONS, Page 9

Plano / planomolding.com

| 7LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good on the Louisiana shoreline on top-waters and Corkies. Flounder are fair on jigs tipped with shrimp around marsh drains. Redfi sh are good in the marsh.

SOUTH SABINE: Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout are fair to good around Blue Buck Point on top-waters and live shrimp.

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on soft plastics and plugs. Black drum and redfi sh are good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on soft plastics, Trout Kill-ers and Sand Eels. Trout are fair for waders on the east shoreline on top-waters.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are good on the south shoreline on soft plastics and twitchbaits. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. Black drum are fair to good in the Ship Channel on crabs.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good for drifters working shell on live shrimp. Trout, sheeps-head, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and croakers. Redfi sh are good in the back lakes on shrimp and scented plastics.

TEXAS CITY: Redfi sh are fair to good in Moses Lake on shrimp. Trout and black drum are good on the reefs on live shrimp.

FREEPORT: Trout are fair at San Luis Pass on live bait. Sand trout, trout, redfi sh and sheepshead are

good on live shrimp on the reefs in Christmas Bay and at the jetties. Bull redfi sh are good just off the beach on crabs.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair to good over deep shell on pumpkinseed plastics, scented plastics and live shrimp. Trout and redfi sh are fair for drifters in the back lakes on live shrimp.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of Oyster Lake on shrimp and crabs. Black drum and redfi sh are fair to good at the jetty on crabs.

PORT O’CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are fair on soft plastics over sand and grass. Trout and redfi sh are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp. Trout, black drum and redfi sh are good at the jetty on mullet.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair to good in Morris–Cummings Cut on free–lined shrimp. Black drum are good in the Lydia Ann Channel on crabs. Redfi sh are fair to good on the Estes Flats on mullet and crabs.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfi sh are fair to good at East Flats on gold spoons and small top-waters. Black drum are good in the Shrimpboat Chan-nel on crabs and fi nger mullet. Redfi sh, trout and sheepshead are fair to good at the jetty on shrimp.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Trout are fair to good on the edge of the spoils on scented plastics and live shrimp. Black drum and redfi sh are fair to good in the Packery Channel on crabs. Trout are good in Oso Bay on top-waters.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good over sand and grass on soft plas-

tics and other paddle–tailed baits. Black drum are good in the Land Cut on crabs. Redfi sh are fair on mullet at Yarborough.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on top-waters around sand and grass. Redfi sh are fair to good while drifting pot holes. Black drum and redfi sh are good on crabs at East Cut.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout are good around the spoil islands, channel edges and color changes on artifi -cial shrimp and live shrimp. Black drum and redfi sh have been taken at the jetty on shrimp.

PORT ISABEL: Trout are fair to good on sand bars on DOA Shrimp and live shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good at in the back lakes on DOA Shrimp and live shrimp.

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORTAfternoon biteROLLOVER PASS — The best trout bite has been on an incoming tide with strong mov-

ing water pushing bait through the pass, according to multiple Internet reports.The trout have been hitting better in the afternoons on jigs

and shrimp, along with some twitchbaits.Also, fl ounder are becoming more plentiful fi shing soft plas-

tics and dead shrimp, along with the occasional redfi sh.

Few, but good onesBAFFIN BAY — The weekend trout bite was tougher than in past weeks, but anglers re-

ported if you had a strike, it was likely a good fi sh.Multiple reports on 2coolfi shing.com confi rmed the big fi sh are biting in Baffi n, but pa-

tience is needed.Fat Boys in pink have been working, along with

soft plastics in Morning Glory color. The trout are shallow and on some sort of structure like rock or shell.

Shallow is best SABINE LAKE — With a north wind blowing,

Capt. Lindy Hebert headed for the north end of Sabine Lake and found trout, redfi sh and fl ounder.Most of the fi sh the past few weeks have been caught shallow in less than 4 feet of water.

Scented plastics have put plenty of redfi sh in the boat and trout are beginning to start their Sabine springtime pattern.High tides have pushed in plenty of bait and higher winds, but Hebert said just go to the

side of the lake that doesn’t have as much wind — usually the fi sh will also be there.

To contact Capt. Lindy Hebert, call (409) 720-8148.— Conor Harrison

Most of the fi sh the past few weeks have been caught shallow in less than 4 feet of water. Sabine Lake and found trout, redfi sh and fl ounder.Sabine Lake and found trout, redfi sh and fl ounder.

ing water pushing bait through the pass, according to multiple Internet

Shallow is best Capt. Lindy Hebert headed for the north end of Sabine Lake and found trout, redfi sh and fl ounder.

ing water pushing bait through the pass, according to multiple Internet ing water pushing bait through the pass, according to multiple Internet


es or longer could be retained.• Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir: the spe-

cial limits for freshwater lakes where red drum have been stocked are removed and regulations revert to statewide length limits (20-inch minimum length limit, 28-inch maximum length limit, and harvest of up to two red drum 28 inches or longer per year with trophy drum tag). Bag limit re-mains at three.

• Lake Kyle: regulations changed to catch and release (no harvest) of channel and

blue catfish, largemouth bass, or any sun-fish species.

• Canyon Lake Project #6: Harvest regula-tion for channel and blue catfish changed to no minimum length limit and a five-fish daily bag and anglers restricted to only two poles.

• North Concho River from O. C. Fisher Dam to Bell Street Dam and the South Con-cho River from Lone Wolf Dam to Bell Street Dam: Anglers restricted to using two poles.

• Recreational anglers who fish with jug lines will be allowed to use floats of any col-or, except orange. Commercial anglers will continue to be restricted to using orange-colored floats.

RegulationsContinued from Page 7

Spring is upon us and summer is fast ap-proaching. What could be better than spending a couple

of days on a floating cabin in the Upper Laguna Madre, Land Cut or Baffin Bay?Captain Carl and Judy Wentrcek have four dif-

ferent floating cabins in the Corpus Christ-area available for single night or weekend rentals. Two are located in the Upper Laguna Madre,

one is in Baffin Bay and the other is in the Land Cut.People have the time of their lives fishing

from these cabins, especially at night when the surrounding waters come alive with baitfish at-tracted to the cabin’s lights.Below is a sample of what happy clients had to

say after spending a night or two on the water.• Greetings Capt. Carl and Judy,I just wanted to express my thanks for provid-

ing my group with a fishing experience we’ll always remember. We had such a good time. I’m ready to schedule another outing. Again, thank you.• Judy,We all had a wonderful time catching fish and

my wife truly enjoyed her birthday bash. We plan to visit the cabin again in the near future. Rhod, San Antonio, Nov. 2013• Capt. Carl and Judy,We had a lot of fun. The water was “boiling”

with trout and skip jack Saturday night before the front. The cabin was in top shape and a great new generator! Thank you, Carl, San Antonio, March 5, 2014• Capt. Carl and Judy,We had another memorable experience on the

floating cabin. The night fishing is amazing! Thank you very much!Rene, San Antonio • Judy,Just wanted to let you know that we had a won-

derful, wonderful, wonderful time at the cabin. We will be booking it again — thanks so much! We were fishing fools! Thanks again, Cindy, Victoria, Feb., 2014 captaincarl.com(800)-368-8175

Capt. Carl’s floating cabins offer fun, fishing


10 | LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 201410 | LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS O Texas Fishing Spring Annual 2014

You would think it would be all high fi ves — after all, you just landed the behemoth bass that gobbled your crankbait moments ago.

But it’s no Kodak moment.On the fl oor lies your fi sh, now wound

tighter in the net than a fl y in a black-widow’s web. The lure’s hooks have sewn the now encased fi sh shut well beyond what any surgeon would suture. The fi sh needs to be released. Pocket knife here you come. Your net is about to meet its maker. Talk about creating a cranky situation... But this unhooking horror story’s a thing of

the past with Frabill’s new Crankbait Net. Designed for quick removal of multiple-hook lures, the specialty netting takes the sting out of crankbaits, topwaters, swimbaits and any other bait sprouting hooks. “This isn’t just another rubber net. In fact,

it’s not just another coated net. This netting was developed after several years of trial and error to perfect its design,” said Freshwater Hall of Fame inductee and Frabill prostaffer Tom Neustrom. “From the way the material is woven, to the shape of the loop and the composite of the coating, this netting makes untangling hooks a breeze.”It all starts with the Crankbait

Net’s unique hexagonal mesh that resists snarls from all styles of hooks. Second is the fabric’s knotless composition that further denies

hook-points. Third, the meshing is sealed in poke-resistant double-dipped fl at-black vinyl coating, which means there’s nothing for even the most razor-sharp hook’s point to penetrate. The Crankbait Net is now offered in three

sizes and on a number of Frabill’s most admired hoop and handle options, including the Conservation Series 9517, 9521 and 9522, and the Conservation’s saltwater-safe 9510, 9512 and 9515, as well the Tru-Trax 3813 and 3814 and Sportsman Net’s 3443 and 3444. Don’t be afraid to ladle up a lunker next

time one smashes a crankbait. Frabill’s new Crankbait Net takes the crankiness out of fi shing — and that’s defi nitely a high-fi ve moment.

Frabill’s Crankbait Net – the angler’s dream

Frabill/frabill.com

any other bait sprouting hooks. “This isn’t just another rubber net. In fact,

it’s not just another coated net. This netting was developed after several years of trial and error to perfect its design,” said Freshwater Hall of Fame inductee and Frabill prostaffer Tom Neustrom. “From the way the material is woven, to the shape of the loop and the composite of the coating, this netting makes untangling hooks a breeze.”It all starts with the Crankbait

Net’s unique hexagonal mesh that resists snarls from all styles of hooks. Second is the fabric’s knotless composition that further denies

Frabill/frabill.com



Prairie chickensContinued from Page 1

Paper tourneyContinued from Page 1


LAST HARVEST: Todd Baxter of Austin unknowingly participated in Texas’ last lesser prairie-chicken hunt more than six years ago and preserved his trophies. Photo by Todd Baxter.

A BELIEVER: Johnny Allen holds a bass he caught recently in a bass club tournament where anglers catch, weigh and immediately release the fish. Photo by Johnny Allen.

ment and Natural Resource Conserva-tion Service, was issued several per-mits, and filled all of the tags.

“After that, the numbers just dropped,” he said. “Each year, we would see only a few.”

The ranch has since been sold to The Nature Conservancy and TPWD, and is still managed for lesser prairie-chickens. Joint conservation efforts have been established in the five states making up the birds’ range: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado, involving each of the state agencies, landowners and industry.

“We are justifiably proud that 32 companies, particularly in the oil and gas sector, have voluntarily com-mitted to enroll more than 3.5 mil-lion acres and provide more than $21 million to conserve prairie-chicken habitat, as part of a comprehensive, science-based conservation strat-egy under the range-wide plan,” said Carter Smith, TPWD executive direc-tor and president of the Western Asso-ciation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Despite the massive conservation ef-fort, on March 27, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

“We at Texas Parks and Wildlife, along with all of our partners who have worked tirelessly to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat, are obviously disappointed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s deci-sion to list the bird as threatened,” Smith said.

USFWS praised the states’ efforts, but it didn’t stop the agency from mak-ing the lesser prairie-chicken the first game bird listed in Texas. However, the agency did issue a special rule exempting those participating in the conservation efforts from further reg-ulation of activities.

“The special rule will allow the five range states to continue to manage conservation efforts for the species and avoid further regulation of ac-tivities such as oil and gas develop-ment and utility line maintenance that are covered under the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen-cies’ range-wide conservation plan,” USFWS said in its release announcing

the listing.The special rule, TPWD announced

on its website, does provide some good news for landowners.

“There are still several avenues for landowners such as ranchers and in-dustry groups like oil and gas com-panies to obtain assurances that will protect them from the regulatory constraints of the Endangered Species Act,” the site said.

Landowners who have not volun-tarily enrolled in conservation pro-grams may be subject to regulation, though, and TPWD suggests they get with TPWD and/or their local NRCS office for details to get involved in the conservation effort.

“There will be another sign-up for the range-wide plan this fall,” said Calvin Richardson, wildlife district leader with TPWD. “And the NRCS program is similar, just at a federal level.”

Other states weren’t as congenial. Oklahoma and Kansas sued USFWS over the decision.

“It’s the declaration of ‘threatened.’ That’s the line that we did not want them to come across,” Kansas Gover-nor Sam Brownback said. “They went ahead and did it.”

Islett, a former chairman of the Texas Legislature’s Sportsman’s Caucus, was saddened by the listing.

“As a sportsman and a conservation-ist, it’s sad the opportunity to see and

hunt these birds may be lost,” he said. “It’s a fascinating bird and very diffi-cult to hunt — and it wasn’t hunting that had anything to do with the de-cline.”

Islett said the management should be left to the states.

“The feds superseding us frustrates me as a sportsman,” he said. “Some people don’t understand that sports-man are the first line of protection — nobody cares about an animal more than a person that hunts it, and no-body cares about a stream more than a fly-fisherman.”

Smith said the focus now shifts to the bird’s recovery.

“The significance and gravity of a game bird being added to the endan-gered species list should not be lost on anyone,” he said. “It is sobering and not a precedent any of us wanted to see established. Rest assured we will continue to do everything we can with our private landowner, business, government, and nonprofit partners to recover this species to huntable numbers again. Anything else would be a disservice to the species and sportsmen of Texas.”

And what became of the two birds Is-lett took years ago?

“I had them mounted and they are at the National Windmill Museum (now the American Wind Power Center) in Lubbock,” he said.

erlive.com, that is available for bass clubs to purchase and use in their own tournaments.

“It runs off of our servers,” Rucks said. “It is not an app, though. We got such a demand from fans to be able to duplicate our scoring system. We have a different business model where we don’t depend on huge

numbers of anglers to make money. I think it is the wave of the future.”

Rucks said along with all of the an-glers being able to see real-time scor-ing at all events, the “conservation value of this is huge.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife Depart-ment Inland Fisheries East Texas Dis-trict Leader Craig Bonds said the de-

partment has been advocating paper tournaments for years because of the conservation benefits to largemouth bass.

“We’ve been advocating as many (tournaments) as possible to enact a catch-and-release model,” Bonds said. “Since 2007, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic has adopted that. The fish are weighed by an on-boat judge and released. Since then, MLF pros are doing it. From what I’ve seen, it has taken fish conservation to a whole new level.”

Bonds said when an angler catches a fish and releases that fish imme-diately, it has a 90 percent chance of survival. That number drops sig-nificantly when a bass is put in a livewell and taken to a weigh station.

“During warm weather, especially, if you put a big bass in a livewell, then in a weigh-in bag, then on scales, it puts a lot of stress on the fish,” he said. “We aren’t consider-ing any changes to regulations, but we have been working with tourna-ment directors trying to advocate this approach. I understand the crowds love to see big fish — I get that.

“The TTBC lets the anglers bring their biggest fish over a certain size to the weigh-in. The crowds don’t want to see a bunch of 2- and 3-pound bass, so I think it is a great compromise.”

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only. Mail prints to Heroes,

Lone Star Outdoor News,

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TANNER PETTITT harvested his fi rst deer in Jack County with a perfect 133-yard shot.

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Dallas angler PARKER MORGAN caught this 39.6-pound catfi sh on Lake Athens.

KAYLA HUGHS, 3, caught her fi rst crappie March 28 in Frisco.

WILL SHARP nabbed this 5-pound bass on a popper with a fl y rod while fi shing with guide ALVIN DEDEAUX on the Colorado River.

Eight-year-old BRILEY and her uncle, JAMES NUGENT, with her fi rst deer — this 8-pointer taken on Nugent’s deer lease near Junction.

Brothers MIKE AND TOM KIEFER, along with Tom’s son EVAN, 13, and several others shot limits of green-winged teal and one mallard drake on a hunt at Cedar Creek Resevoir.

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PoachedContinued from Page 1

LSONews.com LoneOStar Outdoor News April 11, 2014 Page15

MISSING SINCE JANUARY: Both of these bucks went missing from Port Mansfield. Both are believed to have been killed by poachers, according to local residents. Photo by Howard Steussy.

time poacher who shot the buck between 1 and 4 a.m., leaving him to rot near a county road.

And Christmas wasn’t the only buck that has disappeared in the last few months. Two more bucks, Big Able and Able Jr., each sporting 160-class antlers, turned up missing without a trace. While he can’t prove it, Lavelle is con-vinced the other bucks met the same fate as Christmas.

“The last time I saw Able, a 10-point with massive antlers, was Jan. 6 when he came into my yard, ate corn off my table and then slept for three hours. Able Jr. was a massive 16-point non-typical. My theory is this — everyone who does something underhanded like this, they brag about it. They might tell some-one and then they might have a falling out.

“We’re going to be real-ly vigilant if this person makes a mistake.”

According to Willacy County Game Warden Oscar Casteneda, Christ-mas appeared to have been shot in an open pas-ture near the airport.

“We are running a metal detector to see if we can find any bullet fragments in the buck’s body,” Cas-teneda said. “By all ac-

counts, it looks like the buck was shot. There was a pretty good blood trail from where we believe he was shot to where he was found.

“There aren’t many deer left with antlers.”

Another Port Mansfield resident, Howard Steussy, said he has many pic-tures and memories with the deer presumed to be poached.

“We’ve got some qual-ity deer with some age on them down here,” he said. “A lot of them have

been hand-fed and they have some quality ant-lers — 160- to 180-class bucks. I think it is the same group or same guy.

“The other two deer that disappeared, I know they went the same way.”

Residents of Port Mans-field have posted a reward for information leading to an arrest, along with an Operation Game Thief reward.

If anyone has any infor-mation, call OTG, (800) 792-GAME, or Casteneda at (956) 245-9964.

Imports Continued from Page 5

in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.“Given the current situation on the ground

in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the Service is unable to make positive findings required un-der the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act to al-low import of elephant trophies from these countries,” USFWS said in its release. “Addi-tional killing of elephants in these countries, even if legal, is not sustainable and is not cur-rently supporting conservation efforts that contribute towards the recovery of the spe-cies.”

USFWS said it would reevaluate the suspen-sion for calendar year 2015, and acknowledged that sport hunting can benefit the conserva-tion of listed species.

“Legal, well-regulated sport hunting, as part of a sound management program, can benefit the conservation of listed species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed rev-enue back into conservation,” the agency said in its release. “At this time, the Service does not have conservation concerns with African elephant sport hunting in Namibia, South Af-rica, or Botswana; though it should be noted that Botswana is not currently open to sport hunting.”

O’Grady is best known for his experience while in the U.S. Air Force in June of 1995. While helping enforce the NATO no-fly zone policy in the skies over Bosnia, he ejected af-ter a Serbian anti-aircraft missile slammed into his F-16. Presumed lost for several days, O’Grady relied on his survival training to narrowly evade capture by Bosnian Serbs. Signaling his presence to overhead American aircraft, O’Grady was picked up several hours later in a flawless Marine rescue effort that brought him to safety and soon after a White House celebration. His story, told in his book, “Return With Honor,” spent six weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.

— Staff report

Solunar | Sun times | Moon times

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 22

Legend: Major=2 hours. Minor=1 hour. Times centered on the major-minor window. F=Full Moon, N=New Moon, Q=Quarter > = Peak Activity. For other locations, subtract 1 minute per 12 miles east of a location, and add 1 min-ute per 12 miles west of a location.

Sun Moon Tides| |

1 pound wild turkey breast Cucumber stripsOlive oil (for frying) Tomato, thinly slicedExtra-virgin olive oil (for seasoning) Carrot stripsFresh-squeezed lemon juice Endive or lettuce leavesFresh ground pepper Thai rice spring roll wrapper (round)Salt Sweet chili sauceWatercress sprigs Peanuts, crushedCilantro sprigs

Lightly pound wild turkey breast to 3/4-inch thick. Season with salt, pep-per and lemon juice. Pan-fry it in

olive oil until both sides are lightly browned and meat juices run clear. Let cool, slice into 1/2-inch strips and soak turkey breast in dressing made from three parts lemon juice, one part extra-virgin olive oil, pep-per and salt. Refrigerate meat until chilled. Soak one rice wrapper in water until soft, lay on plate or cut-ting board and assemble roll. Use turkey meat, watercress, cilantro, cucumber, tomato and carrot combi-nations as fi lling and use lettuce and rice paper as the outer layers of the spring roll wrap. Chill spring rolls in refrigerator and serve with sweet chili sauce and crushed peanuts.

— NSSF

4 crappie, cleaned and scaledSalt and pepperFlour8 tbsps. butter3 cloves garlic, chopped1/2 tsp. marjoram2 tbsps. lemon juiceSalt and pepper the fish to taste. Roll the fish in the flour. Melt the

butter in a skillet. Stir in the garlic and the marjoram. Add the floured crappie. Brown both sides of the fish. Add the lemon juice. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove the fish and save any of the lemon butter to pour over the fish when it’s served.

— backwoodsbound.com

Crappie with lemon butter

Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, northDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 11 2:07 AM 1.5H 8:04 AM 0.6L 2:41 PM 1.5H 8:24 PM 0.8LApr 12 2:51 AM 1.6H 8:45 AM 0.7L 2:59 PM 1.5H 8:51 PM 0.6LApr 13 3:32 AM 1.7H 9:24 AM 0.8L 3:16 PM 1.5H 9:22 PM 0.4LApr 14 4:12 AM 1.8H 10:01 AM 0.9L 3:33 PM 1.5H 9:56 PM 0.3 LApr 15 4:52 AM 1.8H 10:38 AM 1.0L 3:50 PM 1.5H 10:32 PM 0.1 LApr 16 5:35 AM 1.9H 1:15 AM 1.1L 4:08 PM 1.5H 11:12 PM 0.0LApr 17 6:22 AM 1.9H 11:54 AM 1.2L 4:28 PM 1.6H 11:56 PM 0.0LApr 18 7:14 AM 1.9H 12:36 PM 1.3L 4:52 PM 1.6H 12:45 AM 0.0LApr 19 8:14 AM 1.8H 1:25 PM 1.4L 5:24 PM 1.6H 1:40 AM 0.0LApr 20 9:22 AM 1.8H 2:30 PM 1.4L 6:11 PM 1.5HApr 21 2:41 AM 0.1L 10:34 AM 1.7H 3:56 PM 1.4L 7:41 PM 1.5HApr 22 3:50 AM 0.2L 11:38 AM 1.7H 5:19 PM 1.2L 10:12 PM 1.43 HApr 23 5:02 AM 0.4L 12:28 PM 1.7H 6:19 PM 1.0L 12:04 AM 1.5HApr 24 6:13 AM 0.5L 1:08 PM 1.7H 7:06 PM 0.8L 1:25 AM 1.7HApr 25 7:19 AM 0.6L 1:43 PM 1.6H 7:49 PM 0.5L 2:31 AM 1.8H

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

Apr 11 2:32 AM 0.6H 10:17 AM 0.4L 6:02 PM 0.6H 10:17 PM 0.5LApr 12 4:43 AM 0.7H 11:19 AM 0.5L 4:20 PM 0.6H 10:39 PM 0.4LApr 13 6:49 AM 0.7H 12:29 PM 0.6L 2:40 PM 0.6H 11:07 PM 0.39 LApr 14 8:09 AM 0.8H 11:40 PM 0.3LApr 15 9:20 AM 0.8HApr 16 12:16 AM 0.2L 10:30 AM 0.9HApr 17 12:56 AM 0.2L 11:41 AM 0.9HApr 18 1:40 AM 0.1L 12:56 PM 0.9HApr 19 2:30 AM 0.1L 2:14 PM 1.0HApr 20 3:27 AM 0.2L 3:22 PM 0.9HApr 21 4:30 AM 0.2L 4:06 PM 0.9HApr 22 5:40 AM 0.3L 4:29 PM 0.9HApr 23 6:54 AM 0.3L :43 PM 0.8HApr 24 8:11 AM 0.4L 4:44 PM 0.7H 9:28 PM 0.6LApr 25 2:43 AM 0.7H 9:29 AM 0.5L 3:22 PM 0.7H 9:54 PM 0.5L

Thai turkey spring rolls

*email LSON your favorite recipe to [email protected].

ACROSS 1. Mr. goose 5. A pheasant food source 8. Female bear 9. Outdoor activity laws11. Part of an antler12. Boat designed for solo fi shing13. Lures by mouth14. Act of reading freshness of tracks17. A still hunter’s locale21. Arrows and shells22. A female pheasant23. A name for a goose species24. The ____-necked pheasant25. Trail food26. Name for a certain lure29. Main fi n on a fi sh32. Letter code for grain measurement33. A long-armed tree dweller34. A snare is one type35. A wildfowl resting place36. To down a game37. A line grommet on a fi shrod

38. The rear end of a gun barrel42. A game bird43. The hunter’s prey44. Color hunter wears for safety DOWN 1. Wild ones are in the Rockies 2. The scoter can do this 3. Fish to be 4. A kind of fi replace 5. The male pheasant 6. An archery organization 7. Sheep have them, deer don’t10. A fi shing catch15. A fl ock of geese16. A part on a fi shline17. Refers to strength of a fi shline18. Code letters for type bullet19. Dogs that fetch20. A large group of animals

26. Appendage on a turkey’s feet27. A quick-to-erect type tent28. Used to fry fi sh over open fi re30. A mammal trapped for the fur31. Term for crack in a

bow stave32. Axis are classed as this38. A name given an owl39. It is thought that fi sh have this sense40. Good wood for arrow shafts41. To treat a hide

Rollover PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 11 12:07 AM 0.8L 4:41 AM 1.1H 12:06 PM 0.5L 6:09 PM 1.1HApr 12 12:30 AM 0.7L 5:41 AM 1.2H 12:48 PM 0.6L 6:19 PM 1.1HApr 13 12:49 AM 0.6L 6:36 AM 1.3H 1:32 PM 0.7L 6:33 PM 1.1HApr 14 1:03 AM 0.5L 7:31 AM 1.3H 2:19 PM 0.8L 6:46 PM 1.1HApr 15 1:22 AM 0.4L 8:26 AM 1.4H 3:10 PM 0.9L 6:59 PM 1.1HApr 16 1:51 AM 0.4L 9:25 AM 1.4H 4:11 PM 1.1L 7:13 PM 1.2HApr 17 2:28 AM 0.3L 10:32 AM 1.4HApr 18 3:13 AM 0.3L 12:03 PM 1.3HApr 19 4:07 AM 0.3L 5:05 PM 1.4HApr 20 5:18 AM 0.3L 5:40 PM 1.4HApr 21 6:59 AM 0.4L 5:34 PM 1.3HApr 22 8:34 AM 0.4L 5:13 PM 1.3H 10:08 PM 1.1LApr 23 1:08 AM 1.2H 9:46 AM 0.5L 5:04 PM 1.2H 10:35 PM 1.00 LApr 24 3:03 AM 1.3H 10:49 AM 0.6L 4:58 PM 1.2H 11:05 PM 0.8LApr 25 4:34 AM 1.4H 11:47 AM 0.7L 5:05 PM 1.2H 11:36 PM 0.7L

East MatagordaDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

Apr 11 1:49 AM 0.4H 10:22 AM 0.2L 3:25 PM 0.3H 10:33 PM 0.2LApr 12 1:38 AM 0.4H 10:54 AM 0.2L 1:42 PM 0.3H 10:41 PM 0.2LApr 13 4:52 AM 0.4H 11:09 AM 0.2L 4:48 PM 0.3H 10:45 PM 0.2 LApr 14 8:38 AM 0.4H 11:13 AM 0.3L 2:34 PM 0.3H 11:08 PM 0.1 LApr 15 9:18 AM 0.4H 11:35 PM 0.1LApr 16 1:12 PM 0.4HApr 17 12:10 AM 0.1L 11:59 AM 0.4HApr 18 2:07 AM 0.1L 12:45 PM 0.5HApr 19 2:58 AM 0.0L 1:16 PM 0.5HApr 20 3:32 AM 0.0L 1:46 PM 0.5HApr 21 4:12 AM 0.0L 2:20 PM 0.5HApr 22 5:51 AM 0.1L 3:17 PM 0.4HApr 23 6:51 AM 0.1L 01:31 PM 0.4H 7:48 PM 0.3LApr 24 1:11 AM 0.4H 7:16 AM 0.1L 1:50 PM 0.4H 7:44 PM 0.2 LApr 25 1:49 AM 0.4H 7:47 AM 0.2L 2:04 PM 0.4H 10:00 PM 0.2 L

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 11 1:34 AM 1.3H 8:10 AM 0.6L 2:18 PM 1.4H 8:45 PM 0.7LApr 12 2:32 AM 1.4H 9:00 AM 0.7L 2:37 PM 1.3H 9:00 PM 0.6LApr 13 3:24 AM 1.5H 9:49 AM 0.8L 2:54 PM 1.3H 9:16 PM 0.4LApr 14 4:13 AM 1.6H 10:38 AM 0.9L 3:10 PM 1.2H 9:38 PM 0.3LApr 15 5:01 AM 1.7H 11:30 AM 1.0L 3:23 PM 1.2H 10:05 PM 0.1LApr 16 5:51 AM 1.8H 12:31 PM 1.1L 3:31 PM 1.2H 10:38 PM 0.0LApr 17 6:43 AM 1.9H 11:17 PM -0.1LApr 18 7:40 AM 1.9HApr 19 12:04 AM -0.1L 8:42 AM 1.9HApr 20 12:57 AM -0.1L 9:45 AM 1.9HApr 21 2:00 AM 0.0L 10:47 AM 1.9HApr 22 3:15 AM 0.1L 11:41 AM 1.8H 7:09 PM 1.1L 9:18 PM 1.2HApr 23 4:40 AM 0.3L 12:25 PM 1.7H 7:12 PM 1.0L 11:21 PM 1.3HApr 24 6:09 AM 0.5L 1:01 PM 1.6H 7:32 PM 0.8LApr 25 12:56 AM 1.4H 7:31 AM 0.6L 1:30 PM 1.5H 7:58 PM 0.6L

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

Apr 11 12:44 AM 1.1H 7:57 AM 0.6L 2:30 PM 1.1H 8:31 PM 0.8LApr 12 2:08 AM 1.1H 8:50 AM 0.7L 2:30 PM 1.1H 8:47 PM 0.7LApr 13 3:15 AM 1.2H :43 AM 0.8L 2:30 PM 1.0H 9:06 PM 0.5 LApr 14 4:15 AM 1.3H 10:36 AM 0.9L 2:25 PM 1.0H 9:31 PM 0.3 LApr 15 5:13 AM 1.4H 11:32 AM 1.0L 2:16 PM 1.1H 10:01 PM 0.2 LApr 16 6:11 AM 1.5H 10:38 PM 0.1LApr 17 7:12 AM 1.5H 11:20 PM 0.0LApr 18 8:18 AM 1.5HApr 19 12:07 AM -0.1L 9:31 AM 1.5HApr 20 1:01 AM -0.1L 10:45 AM 1.5HApr 21 2:02 AM 0.0L 11:43 AM 1.4HApr 22 3:11 AM 0.1L 12:19 PM 1.3HApr 23 4:30 AM 0.3L 12:41 PM 1.3H 6:55 PM 0.9L 10:18 PM 1.0 HApr 24 5:51 AM 0.4L 12:57 PM 1.2H 7:16 PM 0.7LApr 25 12:37 AM 1.0H 7:09 AM 0.6L 1:10 PM 1.1H 7:46 PM 0.5 L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Apr 11 2:09 AM 1.0H 8:42 AM 0.5L 3:02 PM 1.1H 9:04 PM 0.6 LApr 12 3:08 AM 1.1H 9:21 AM 0.6L 3:18 PM 1.1H 9:24 PM 0.5LApr 13 4:01 AM 1.2H 9:57 AM 0.7L 3:34 PM 1.1H 9:49 PM 0.3LApr 14 4:52 AM 1.2H 10:34 AM 0.8L 3:49 PM 1.1H 10:18 PM 0.2LApr 15 5:42 AM 1.3H 11:11 AM 0.9L 4:02 PM 1.1H 10:52 PM 0.1LApr 16 6:33 AM 1.4H 11:49 AM 0.9L 4:13 PM 1.1H 11:29 PM 0.0LApr 17 7:27 AM 1.4H 12:29 PM 1.0L 4:24 PM 1.1H 12:12 AM 0.0LApr 18 8:25 AM 1.4H 1:11 PM 1.1L 4:36 PM 1.2HApr 19 12:59 AM -0.1L 9:28 AM 1.4H 2:02 PM 1.2L 4:52 PM 1.2HApr 20 1:53 AM 0.0L 10:34 AM 1.3H 2:55 AM 0.1LApr 21 11:36 AM 1.3H 4:07 AM 0.2LApr 22 12:29 PM 1.3H 6:58 PM 1.0L 9:59 PM 1.0HApr 23 5:27 AM 0.3L 1:09 PM 1.2H 7:24 PM 0.8LApr 24 12:09 AM 1.1H 6:49 AM 0.4L 1:42 PM 1.2H 7:58 PM 0.7LApr 25 1:45 AM 1.1H 8:04 AM 0.5L 2:11 PM 1.2H 8:35 PM 0.5L

Port AransasDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

Apr 11 12:16 AM 1.1H 8:04 AM 0.6L 2:06 PM 1.0H 8:34 PM 0.8LApr 12 1:34 AM 1.1H 8:55 AM 0.7L 2:05 PM 1.0H 8:57 PM 0.7LApr 13 2:45 AM 1.1H 9:43 AM 0.8L 2:20 PM 1.0H 9:14 PM 0.6 LApr 14 3:48 AM 1.2H 10:29 AM 0.9L 2:36 PM 1.1H 9:30 PM 0.5 LApr 15 4:46 AM 1.2H 11:13 AM 1.0L 2:50 PM 1.1H 9:56 PM 0.4LApr 16 5:41 AM 1.3H 11:53 AM 1.1L 3:02 PM 1.2H 10:30 PM 0.3LApr 17 6:38 AM 1.3H 11:19 AM 1.2L 3:14 PM 1.2H 11:11 PM 0.2 LApr 18 7:41 AM 1.3H 11:21 AM 1.2L 3:29 PM 1.3H 11:57 PM 0.2 LApr 19 9:03 AM 1.3H 11:50 AM 1.3L 2:27 PM 1.3HApr 20 12:50 AM 0.2L 2:38 PM 1.3HApr 21 1:50 AM 0.3L 11:38 AM 1.3HApr 22 3:01 AM 0.3L 12:14 PM 1.2H 6:04 PM 1.1L 8:11 PM 1.2 HApr 23 4:28 AM 0.4L 12:34 PM 1.2H 6:38 PM 1.0L 10:12 PM 1.1HApr 24 5:57 AM 0.5L 12:43 PM 1.2H 7:15 PM 0.8L 11:59 PM 1.1HApr 25 7:13 AM 0.7L 12:55 PM 1.1H 7:53 PM 0.7L 1:49 AM 1.2 H

Galveston Bay entrance, north jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 11 2:07 AM 1.4H 7:55 AM 0.7L 2:50 PM 1.4H 8:16 PM 0.7LApr 12 3:11 AM 1.5H 8:41 AM 0.8L 3:21 PM 1.4H 8:51 PM 0.6LApr 13 4:05 AM 1.6H 9:39 AM 0.9L 3:42 PM 1.4H 9:32 PM 0.4LApr 14 4:48 AM 1.8H 10:31 AM 1.0L :42 PM 1.4H 10:12 PM 0.3LApr 15 5:28 AM 1.8H 11:12 AM 1.1L 3:50 PM 1.4H 10:49 PM 0.1LApr 16 6:13 AM 1.9H 11:51 AM 1.2L 4:12 PM 1.5H 11:26 PM 0.0LApr 17 7:14 AM 1.9H 12:36 PM 1.3L 4:37 PM 1.5H 12:06 AM -0.1LApr 18 8:20 AM 1.9H 1:30 PM 1.4L 5:01 PM 1.6HApr 19 12:54 AM -0.1L 9:12 AM 1.9H 2:22 PM 1.4L 5:24 PM 1.6HApr 20 1:50 AM 0.0L 10:00 AM 1.9H 3:08 PM 1.4L 5:47 PM 1.5HApr 21 2:45 AM 0.1L 10:52 AM 1.8H 4:05 PM 1.3L 8:15 PM 1.4HApr 22 3:41 AM 0.2L 11:46 AM 1.8H 6:13 PM 1.2L 9:40 PM 1.4HApr 23 5:00 AM 0.4L 12:32 PM 1.7H 6:46 PM 1.0LApr 24 12:15 AM 1.4H 6:23 AM 0.6L 1:10 PM 1.7H 7:18 PM 0.7LApr 25 1:36 AM 1.5H 7:20 AM 0.7L 1:46 PM 1.6H 7:54 PM 0.5 L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

Apr 11 2:44 AM 0.3H 10:09 AM 0.2L 4:03 PM 0.3H 9:17 PM 0.3LApr 12 4:20 AM 0.3H 10:37 AM 0.3L 3:53 PM 0.3H 10:38 PM 0.2LApr 13 6:16 AM 0.3H 10:59 AM 0.3L 3:47 PM 0.3H 11:42 PM 0.2LApr 14 8:46 AM 0.4H 11:01 AM 0.4L 3:41 PM 0.4HApr 15 12:37 AM 0.2L 3:34 PM 0.4HApr 16 1:28 AM 0.2L 3:37 PM 0.4HApr 17 2:20 AM 0.2L 4:07 PM 0.4HApr 18 3:13 AM 0.2L 5:02 PM 0.5HApr 19 4:10 AM 0.2L 6:11 PM 0.5HApr 20 5:08 AM 0.2L 7:28 PM 0.5HApr 21 6:06 AM 0.2L 8:49 PM 0.5HApr 22 7:00 AM 0.2L 10:17 PM 0.5HApr 23 7:49 AM 0.2LApr 24 12:00 AM 0.4H 8:28 AM 0.3L 3:42 PM 0.4H 7:52 PM 0.4LApr 25 2:06 AM 0.4H 8:51 AM 0.3L 2:49 PM 0.4H 9:32 PM 0.3L

Moon PhasesLast

Apr. 22

FullApr. 15

NewApr. 29 First

May 7


Houston2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApril Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets 11 Fri 3:00 9:11 3:22 9:33 6:59 7:44 4:42p 4:40a 12 Sat 3:39 9:50 4:01 10:12 6:58 7:45 5:36p 5:14a 13 Sun > 4:19 10:30 4:42 10:53 6:57 7:46 6:31p 5:49a 14 Mon > 5:02 11:14 5:26 11:38 6:55 7:46 7:29p 6:26a 15 Tue F 5:49 ----- 6:14 12:02 6:54 7:47 8:27p 7:05a 16 Wed > 6:41 12:28 7:07 12:54 6:53 7:47 9:28p 7:48a 17 Thu> 7:38 1:24 8:05 1:52 6:52 7:48 10:28p 8:34a 18 Fri 8:39 2:25 9:07 2:53 6:51 7:49 11:28p 9:25a 19 Sat 9:41 3:27 10:10 3:56 6:50 7:49 NoMoon 10:20a 20 Sun 10:44 4:30 11:12 4:58 6:49 7:50 12:24a 11:20a 21 Mon 11:44 5:30 ----- 5:59 6:48 7:50 1:18a 12:22p 22 Tue Q 12:17 6:28 12:41 6:55 6:47 7:51 2:07a 1:25p 23 Wed 1:07 7:20 1:34 7:47 6:46 7:52 2:52a 2:29p 24 Thu 1:56 8:09 2:22 8:35 6:45 7:52 3:35a 3:32p 25 Fri 2:42 8:55 3:08 9:20 6:44 7:53 4:16a 4:34p 26 Sat 3:27 9:40 3:52 10:05 6:43 7:54 4:56a 5:36p 27 Sun > 4:13 10:25 4:38 10:51 6:42 7:54 5:36a 6:37p 28 Mon > 5:00 11:13 5:26 11:39 6:41 07:55 6:17a 7:38p 29 Tue N 5:51 ----- 6:17 12:30 6:40 07:56 7:00a 8:37p 30 Wed > 6:45 12:32 7:10 12:58 6:39 07:56 7:45a 9:35p

San Antonio2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApril Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets 11 Fri 3:13 9:24 3:35 9:46 7:11 7:57 4:55p 4:52a 12 Sat 3:51 10:02 4:14 10:25 7:10 7:57 5:49p 5:27a 13 Sun > 4:31 10:43 4:54 11:06 7:09 7:58 6:44p 6:02a 14 Mon > 5:15 11:26 5:38 11:50 7:08 7:58 7:41p 6:39a 15 Tue F 6:02 ----- 6:27 12:14 7:07 7:59 8:40p 7:18a 16 Wed > 6:54 12:41 7:20 1:07 7:06 8:00 9:40p 8:01a 17 Thu > 7:51 1:37 8:18 2:04 7:05 8:00 10:41p 8:48a 18 Fri 8:51 2:37 9:19 3:05 7:04 8:01 11:40p 9:39a 19 Sat 9:54 3:39 10:22 4:08 7:03 8:01 NoMoon 10:34a 20 Sun 10:56 4:42 11:25 5:11 7:02 8:02 12:37a 11:33a 21 Mon 11:57 5:43 ----- 6:11 7:01 8:03 1:30a 12:35p 22 Tue Q 12:30 6:40 12:54 7:08 7:00 8:03 2:19a 1:38p 23 Wed 1:19 7:33 1:46 8:00 6:59 8:04 3:05a 2:42p 24 Thu 2:09 8:22 2:35 8:48 6:58 8:04 3:48a 3:45p 25 Fri 2:55 9:07 3:20 9:33 6:57 8:05 4:28a 4:47p 26 Sat 3:39 9:52 4:05 10:18 6:56 8:06 5:09a 5:49p 27 Sun > 4:25 10:38 4:51 11:03 6:55 8:06 5:49a 6:50p 28 Mon > 5:13 11:26 5:39 11:51 6:54 8:07 6:30a 7:51p 29 Tue N 6:04 ----- 6:29 12:42 6:53 08:08 7:14a 8:50p 30 Wed > 6:57 12:44 7:23 1:10 6:52 08:08 7:59a 9:47p

Amarillo2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApril Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets 11 Fri 3:26 9:37 3:48 9:59 7:20 8:15 5:07p 5:09a 12 Sat 4:05 10:16 4:27 10:38 7:19 8:15 6:03p 5:41a 13 Sun > 4:45 10:56 5:08 11:19 7:18 8:16 7:01p 6:14a 14 Mon > 5:28 11:40 5:52 ----- 7:16 8:17 8:01p 6:49a 15 Tue F 6:15 12:04 6:40 12:28 7:15 8:18 9:02p 7:26a 16 Wed > 7:07 12:54 7:33 1:20 7:14 8:19 10:04p 8:06a 17 Thu> 8:04 1:50 8:31 2:18 7:12 8:19 11:06p 8:51a 18 Fri 9:04 2:50 9:33 3:19 7:11 8:20 NoMoon 9:41a 19 Sat 10:07 3:53 10:36 4:21 7:10 8:21 12:06a 10:36a 20 Sun 11:10 4:56 11:38 5:24 7:09 8:22 1:02a 11:36a 21 Mon ----- 5:56 12:10 6:24 7:07 8:23 1:55a 12:39p 22 TueQ 12:43 6:53 1:07 7:21 7:06 8:24 2:42a 1:44p 23 Wed 1:33 7:46 2:00 8:13 7:05 8:24 3:25a 2:50p 24 Thu 2:22 8:35 2:48 9:01 7:04 8:25 4:05a 3:56p 25 Fri 3:08 9:21 3:34 9:46 7:03 8:26 4:44a 5:01p 26 Sat 3:53 10:06 4:18 10:31 7:02 8:27 5:21a 6:05p 27 Sun> 4:38 10:51 5:04 11:17 7:00 8:28 5:59a 7:09p 28 Mon> 5:26 11:39 5:52 12:05 6:59 8:28 6:38a 8:12p 29 TueN 6:17 ----- 6:43 12:56 6:58 8:29 7:19a 9:13p 30 Wed> 7:10 12:58 7:36 1:23 6:57 8:30 8:03a 10:12p

Dallas2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApril Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets 11 Fri 3:06 9:17 3:28 9:39 7:02 7:52 4:47p 4:47a 12 Sat 3:44 9:55 4:07 10:18 7:01 7:53 5:42p 5:20a 13 Sun > 4:24 10:36 4:47 10:59 6:59 7:54 6:39p 5:54a 14 Mon > 5:08 11:19 5:31 11:43 6:58 7:54 7:37p 6:29a 15 Tue F 5:55 ----- 6:20 12:07 6:57 7:55 8:37p 7:07a 16 Wed > 6:47 12:34 7:13 1:00 6:56 7:56 9:39p 7:49a 17 Thu > 7:44 1:30 8:11 1:57 6:55 7:57 10:40p 8:34a 18 Fri 8:44 2:30 9:12 2:58 6:53 7:57 11:40p 9:25a 19 Sat 9:47 3:32 10:15 4:01 6:52 7:58 NoMoon 10:20a 20 Sun 10:49 4:35 11:18 5:04 6:51 7:59 12:36a 11:19a 21 Mon 11:50 5:36 ----- 6:04 6:50 8:00 1:29a 12:22p 22 Tue Q 12:23 6:33 12:47 7:01 6:49 8:00 2:17a 1:26p 23 Wed 1:12 7:26 1:39 7:53 6:48 8:01 3:02a 2:31p 24 Thu 2:02 8:15 2:28 8:41 6:47 08:02 3:43a 3:36p 25 Fri 2:48 9:00 3:13 9:26 6:46 08:03 4:22a 4:40p 26 Sat 3:32 9:45 3:58 10:11 6:44 08:03 5:01a 5:43p 27 Sun > 4:18 10:31 4:44 10:56 6:43 08:04 5:39a 6:46p 28 Mon > 5:06 11:19 5:32 11:44 6:42 08:05 6:20a 7:48p 29 Tue N 5:57 ----- 6:22 12:35 6:41 08:06 7:02a 8:48p 30 Wed > 6:50 12:37 7:16 1:03 6:40 08:06 7:46a 9:46p

Nikon will send your 10x42 ProStaff 7

binoculars. You can check out

the entire line at the nearest dealer:

See a full selection of Nikon products at:

Ray’s Sporting Goods730 Singleton Blvd,

Dallas, TX 75212(214) 747-7916

www.rayssportinggoods.com

Eleven-year-old

Dallas hunter Tommy Kay recently harvested these

two big gobblers

during the opening day of

youth season with a single shot from his 20-gauge on family land near

Coleman. They

were Tommy’s

fi rst birds, and

they sported beards of 8 and

10 inches.


MatagordaContinued From Page 8

SOME NICE TROUT WADING: Matagorda anglers getting out and fi nding wadeable water have been rewarded with some nice trout this month. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

Faircloth on early season rollB.A.S.S. pro Todd Faircloth is off to strong start in

2014, posting back-to-back top 10 fi nishes in the fi rst two tournaments of the season. The Jasper native took second place in the Dick

Cepek Bassmaster Elite Series March 13-16 kick-off event on Lake Seminole, following that up with a 10th-place fi nish in last week’s Bassmaster Elite Series event, March 20-23, on the St. Johns River.In the season opener on Seminole, Faircloth

weighed in a four-day total of 84.10 pounds, fi nish-ing second to Brett Hite, who bagged 97.10 pounds of bass to win the tournament. Faircloth found most of his Seminole bass around the lake’s lily pads, hy-drilla and milfoil in anywhere from 1 to 6 feet of water.“On Seminole, there were plenty of bass on the

beds, but I also encountered some fi sh that were in pre- and postspawn modes,” said Faircloth. “I was able to do some sight fi shing, but for the most part, I was casting to open pockets of water within the pads where I couldn’t actually see the fi sh.”

— CastAway Rods

adjacent to shallow fl ats.“Anything in plum color,” he said. “That is my

go-to bait and I fi sh it a lot.”Capt. “Matagorda” Matt David said the fi shing

has been slow due to high winds, although some decent trout are being caught.

“There has been a lot of wind,” David said. “But when we can get out, we’ve been putting some

5-pound trout in the boat on soft plastics. There are also good numbers of redfi sh and fl ounder in the back bays.”

David said he is waiting on the spring pattern to take shape.

“We still haven’t had a good transition into spring,” he said. “We are catching a lot of redfi sh in the back lakes and I’ve caught fl ounder from the north to the south shoreline. Not a lot of people fi sh the spring fl ounder run, but it can be

a good time.“I’ve caught at least one on every trip and I’m

not really targeting them.”Internet reports show anglers catching good

boxes of redfi sh and the occasional big trout on paddle tails, spoons and scented plastics in less than 4 feet of water over scattered shell.

Capt. Ken Sabin, (281) 814-3531Capt. Matt David, (832) 549-8183

Henne Jr., White win IFA Redfi sh eventRon Henne Jr., of Corpus Christi,

and Brad White, of San Antonio, weighed a two-redfi sh limit that to-taled 17.44 pounds to win the fi rst regular-season event for the Texas Division of the IFA Redfi sh Tour pre-sented by Cabela’s at Port Aransas, on April 5.Starting the day off late due to

battery issues, the anglers fought tough, windy conditions all day. One the way across Corpus Christi Bay the team’s boat took a huge wave over the bow, breaking their trolling motor. “Despite battery issues, weather

condition and the toll taken on the boat and equipment, we kept our fo-cus and game plan,” Henne Jr. said.The anglers long drifted scented

plastic jerk shads in the upper La-guna Madre area for their winning limit.

Lopez wins Port A kayak event Rene Lopez, of Port Aransas, measured a combined limit of 51 inches to win the fi rst regular-season event for the Texas Divi-sion of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing at Port Aransas, on April 6. After a windy Saturday at the IFA

Redfi sh Tour event, the weather calmed to give the kayak anglers great fi shing conditions.Fishing top-water baits and scent-

ed plastics around Piper Channel and the Island Moorings area, the angler hugged the shoreline to fol-low the bait. — IFA


NATIONALMontana’s wolves continue to growMontana’s verified wolf population re-

mained stable last year while livestock dep-redations by wolves continued to decline, dropping about 27 percent from 2012. A total of 627 wolves were counted in

Montana at the end of 2013, compared to 625 last year, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ federally required an-nual wolf conservation and management report released today.The report shows that 231 wolves were

taken by hunters and trappers in the 2013 calendar year — or between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2013 — compared to 175 taken in 2012.The additional 94 wolves harvested in

2014 — as a result of the trapping season, which concluded Feb. 28, and the hunt-ing season, which ended March 15 — will be considered in the 2014 minimum wolf counts. — MFWP

Louisiana approves hunting changesThe Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Com-

mission approved the 2014-16 hunting season dates and the 2014-15 General and Wildlife Management Areas rules and regu-lations at their April 3 meeting. The season dates approved include the 2015 Turkey season and associated rules and regula-tions.The notices of intent presented in Janu-

ary by the Louisiana Department of Wild-

life and Fisheries for the upcoming hunting seasons were approved with amendments made subsequently in February and March, and following the public comment period.Changes in the final approvals include but

are not limited to:• Allowing small game hunters to carry

buckshot and/or slug while small game hunting on private lands.• Beginning with the 2014-2015 small

game season, increasing the possession limit for rabbit, squirrel, and quail from two to three times the daily bag limit. The daily bag limit will remain eight for rabbits and squirrels, and 10 for quail.To view all of the changes, go to wlf.louisi-

ana.gov/action-items. — LWFD

Oklahoma lake turns out huge bagIf not for the two that got away, tourna-

ment anglers Marco Vaca and Doyle Idle-man might possibly have weighed in a five-bass stringer of nearly 50 pounds. As it turned out, their 42.71-pound sack on March 23 at Lake of the Arbuckles was enough to win the Future Bass Team Trail’s first 2014 divisional contest, Trail Director Joe Copeland said.The giant stringer also eclipsed Arbuckle’s

heavy-sack record: 42.04 pounds caught by former Elite Series angler Jeff Reynolds and Johnny Thompson in January 2013.For the past several years, Lake of the

Arbuckles in the Chickasaw National Rec-reation Area has been giving up lunker largemouth bass. Vaca and Idleman’s larg-est fish bent the scale at 10.93 pounds, but even that did not win the biggest-bass honor at the tournament. The second-place

team of Terry Alsup and Brad Hill had the day’s big bass at 11.69 pounds, with a five-fish stringer totaling 34.16 pounds.Six bass at the tournament weigh-in went

more than 10 pounds. And only 14 boats were entered.“I’ve been fishing tournaments for 30

years in Oklahoma, and I’ve never seen any-thing like it,” Copeland said of the south-central Oklahoma lake. “With what’s com-ing out of it now, there’s no doubt a state record is in there.” — ODWC

Cormorant hunt in S.C. removes 11,000 birdsSouth Carolina hunters, more than 1,000

of them, received special permits this win-ter to hunt double-crested cormorants on two lakes in the state. During the season in February and March, hunters killed 11,653 of the birds.The South Carolina Department of Natural

Resources responded to the requests of lo-cal anglers who asserted that the cormo-rants eat enough fish to negatively impact game fish populations by introducing a special hunting program this year on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, part of the San-tee Cooper lakes habitat.Hunters participating were required to at-

tend a training program and agree to strict regulations.Cormorants are traditionally considered a

non-game migratory species, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has permitted special removal programs in past years. Similar hunts occurred in Indiana, Michi-gan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin last year, resulting in a com-

bined harvest of 21,312 cormorants, ac-cording to USFWS.In Texas, Nuisance Double-crested Cormo-

rant Control Permits may be obtained from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to remove cormorants if specific criteria are met by the applicant.

— Staff report

Ken Hammond elected new board chairman of RBFFThe Recreational Boating and Fishing

Foundation announced Ken Hammond as the organization’s new board chairman. Hammond, who currently serves as chair-

man and CEO for independent sporting goods and outdoor product sales company The Hammond Group, will work closely with RBFF leadership to advance its mission.Hammond has been on RBFF’s board of

directors since 2003 and has more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience in the fishing and outdoor recreation industry.“It’s an honor to have been asked to serve

again as chair of the RBFF board,” said Hammond. “The work RBFF does to pro-mote participation in boating and fishing is critical to the industry and state conserva-tion efforts, and I’m proud to be involved.”Hammond is active in anti-drug and stay-

in-school campaigns including “Hook a Kid on Fishing.” He has served on several in-dustry boards including the American Fish-ing Tackle Manufacturers Association, the American Sportfishing Association and the Sport Fishing Institute. Hammond attended Baylor University. — RBFF

Rock Is-land - New TK


knew that his was bigger than the other two, so I knew mine was the best so far.”

Once Thomas weighed his fish, he won the hourly prize for biggest bass — a truck.

He and his partner decided not to go back out once they were leading the tournament. The bad weather helped make the decision an easy one.

Thomas caught the fish in a prespawn posi-tion.

“I caught her on a Texas-rigged Zoom Ol’ Monster in red shad color,” he said. “She was in a prespawn position on a point in 8 to 12 feet of water. I’ve fished that point for years and with the lake being low, it was a good spot.”

Thomas said he’s never won anything like this tournament in his life, and he began to think he had a shot to win the whole thing once the noon hour rolled past.

“After about 1 p.m., I knew unless someone got lucky and caught a big one during the last hour, I felt a lot better,” he said.

Thomas held on for the win, and received a new boat to go along with his new truck, al-though he declined the truck and took the cash option, splitting it 50/50 with his part-ner.

“I took the boat, although I need to call the dealer today and see what my options are,” he said. “I’m unsure at this time. I’ve got a boat that is currently in the shop getting an engine rebuilt. I’ve got two boys, so I might just give it to them to fish.”

The rest of the hourly truck winners were:

Archie Haley. Mount Vernon, 9.51Richard Carroll Magnolia, Ark., 9.05Gary Jackson, Flower Mound, 8.38Chris Sinkey, Lewisville, 2.77Robert Cooksey, Amity, Ark., 2.62James Burrow, Conway , Ark., 2.57

Mega BassContinued from Page 9

Deaver wins Walmart BFL on Toledo BendRandy Deaver of Blanchard, La., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday

to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of the season on Toledo Bend Lake. For his victory, Deaver earned $4,963.Deaver, a part-time guide on Caddo Lake and 2012 BFL Cowboy Division angler of the year,

picked up the first BFL win of his career despite losing a fish the he estimated at nearly 9 pounds. “It felt really good to win,” Deaver said. “I’ve been trying to get this for several years now. I’ve

been real close but still, I didn’t have a win. I’m pumped. One of the fish I weighed in came on a V&M swimjig, but the rest I caught off of beds. I had several fish marked on beds, but I couldn’t get to several because of the wind. “All the bigger fish that I weighed in were ones I’d marked in practice. I targeted the south end

of the lake all day, in the clear water.“My biggest fish was only about five and a half pounds. The one that I lost was close to 9

pounds, and I had fished for her for about 45 minutes trying to get her to bite. At the time I had a 2-pounder in my livewell, and I knew that fish would have put me way up.”Deaver said that his primary baits were a white-colored craw and a white V&M Split Tail Beaver.Rounding out the top 5 pros were:2nd: Randy Despino, Colfax, La., five bass, 18-9, $1,9813rd: Andy Gaia, Tomball, Texas, five bass, 18-6, $1,1233rd: Bob Vote, Kingwood, Texas, five bass, 18-6, $1,123 + $300 Evinrude Bonus5th: Dean Lee, Longview, Texas, five bass, 18-4, $793

— Walmart BFL


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WORLD FISHING NETWORKReel AnimalsLindner’s Ultimate AnglerBill Boyce’s BajaGeorge Poveromo’s Saltwater FishingWomen’s Pro TarponFlorida Adventure QuestCanadian Sportfi shingJarrett Edward’s OutdoorsFishing 411Extreme Angler TVBill Boyce’s BajaGeorge Poveromo’s Saltwater Fishing

WORLD FISHING NETWORK Musky Hunter The Fishi’n’ Crazee ShowSilent InvadersThe Kayak Fishing ShowOutdoor PassionWorld Fishing JournalFishing with Bill MIllerBig Coast Sportfi shingFish TVHookin’ Up with Nick and MarikoSilent InvadersThe Kayak Fishing Show

WORLD FISHING NETWORK Fish’n CanadaJimmy Houston OutdoorsInside Sportfi shingCarolina’s Perfect CastJohn Gillespie’s Water & WoodsLunkerville ClassicsFishing the FlatsThe Bass DoctorFLW TourInside Sportfi shingKrappie KingsJohn Gillespie’s Water & Woods

WORLD FISHING NETWORK Inside Sportfi shingThe New Fly FisherWomen’s Pro Tarpon TourSkeeter Bass ChampsThe Next Bite TVTimmy Horton OutdoorsKrappie KingsThe Hook and the CookJarrett Edward’s OutdoorsThe Fish FindersWomen’s Pro Tarpon TourSkeeter Bass Champs

WORLD FISHING NETWORK King of the RiverThe Scott Martin ChallengeLindner’s Ultimate AnglerGame Fisher’s DiaryBreaking Boundaries Bill Boyce’s BajaGeorge Poveromo’s Saltwater FishingBass 2 Billfi shLunkerville ClassicsThe Fish FindersLindner’s Ultimate AnglerGame Fisher’s Diary

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Breaking Boundaries Breaking Boundaries

Season on the Edge

PURSUIT CHANNEL

Prime Time | April

New shows highlight WFN this monthWorld Fishing Network delivers

26 new and returning series — including fi ve World Fishing Net-work original productions — start-ing Sat., April 5.World Fishing Network originals

JP DeRose Breaking Boundaries and Bill Boyce’s Baja debut Sun., April 6 at 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. CT, respectively, preceded by a new monthly episode of World Fishing Journal at 10:30 a.m. CT. Season premieres of Guided with Mark Melnyk (11 p.m. CT) and Force on Force (11:30 p.m. CT) air Sat., April 19. Shows making their World Fish-

ing Network debut in April in-clude: Jimmy Houston Outdoors, Carolina’s Perfect Cast, Women’s Professional Tarpon Tournament, Jack Link’s Major League Fishing, The Hook & The Cook, Fishing with Bill Miller, King of the River, Lindner’s Ultimate Angler and Lunkerville Classic.New seasons of In the Loop,

Outdoor Passion, Skeeter Bass Champs, The Kayak Fishing Show with Jim Sammons, The Fish’n Crazee Show, George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing, Cana-dian Sportfi shing and Flats Class are joined by continued new epi-sodes of Inside Sportfi shing, The New Fly Fisher, John Gillespie’s Waters & Woods and Bass 2 Bill-fi sh with Peter Miller.“I’m thrilled about the spring

programming we’ll be presenting to our audience starting April 5,” said Ana Rodrigues, director of programming for World Fishing Network. “Not only does World Fishing Network have fi ve out-standing original productions that we’ll see go from script to screen, but we’re pleased to have several new shows making their fi rst ap-pearance on the network along with new seasons of many other viewer favorites. Our goal is to have every angler tune in and fi nd something he or she will enjoy at any time of the day, and I’m con-vinced that will be the case this spring.”World Fishing Network is avail-

able to cable, satellite and telco subscribers in the U.S. and Can-ada as part of a free preview now through April 30.

— WFN


LONE STAR MARKET

DATEBOOK

Dallas CCA 33rd Annual Banquet

Frontier Flight Museum - DallasDoors open at 5:30pm

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Tickets Include: TABLE SEATING • OPEN BAR • DINNER BY TJ’S SEAFOOD

Tables of 8 $1,000 • Individual Tickets $125

Le� y Kreh - Conservation Sportsmen of the Year

For tickets and more information please contact: John Hansen, [email protected] – 214-243-9435

Ra� e Item Highlights: Rolex and Polaris Ranger

Live Auction Highlights:O� shore Tuna in Canada, Montana Fly Fishing, 7 Days in Colorado,

Bahamas, Argentina Dove Hunt and Sea of Cortez � shing.

To advertise in this section, call Mike Hughs at (214) 361-2276 or email him at [email protected].


APRIL 12Safari Club InternationalNorth Texas Chapter Dinner, Ban-quet and AuctionEmbassy Suites Outdoor World, Grapevine(817) 605-1010scinorthtexas.com

Coastal Conservation AssociationNortheast Houston Chapter Annual BanquetHumble Civic Center(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Texas Team TrailLake Texoma Tournament(210) 788-4143texasteamtrail.com

Bass ChampsCentral Series, Belton Lake(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

APRIL 12-13Cinnamon Creek RanchRinehart R100 Shoot(817) 439-8998cinnamoncreekranch.com

APRIL 17Coastal Conservation AssociationDallas Chapter Annual BanquetFrontiers of Flight Museum(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Dallas Safari ClubMonthly MeetingDouble Tree Hotel(972) 980-9800biggame.org

APRIL 24Ducks UnlimitedSeguin DinnerRio Cibolo Ranch(830) 832-0855ducks.org/texas

Ducks UnlimitedTomball DU Texas Hold’em Tourna-mentWilt Ranch(713) 724-2639ducks.org/texas

Coastal Conservation AssociationBrenham Chapter Annual BanquetSilver Wings Ballroom(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Coastal Conservation AssociationFort Bend Chapter Annual BanquetFort Bend Fairgrounds(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Coastal Conservation AssociationRio Grande Valley Chapter Annual BanquetPharr Events Center(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Coastal Conservation AssociationTri-County Chapter Annual BanquetAtascosa County Show Barn(713) 626-4222

APRIL 26Ducks UnlimitedWinnie DinnerWinnie-Stowell Community Building(409) 267-7116ducks.org/texas

Kimble County Chamber of CommerceOutdoor Women Gone Wild(325) 446-3190junctiontexas.com

Bass ChampsSouth Series, Falcon Lake(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

Orange Grove Area MuseumPioneer Days Celebration(361) 384-1300

APRIL 26-27Mud Hole Rod Building and Tackle Corp.Rod Building ClassCrowne Plaza Houstonmudhole.com

APRIL 30Ducks UnlimitedWest Houston Dinner Chateau Crystale Ballroom(713) 966-0884ducks.org/texas

MAY 1Coastal Conservation AssociationCentral Houston Chapter Annual BanquetBayou City Event Center(713) 626-4222

Coastal Conservation AssociationSan Antonio Chapter Annual Ban-quetFreeman Coliseum Expo Hall(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Coastal Conservation AssociationFort Worth Chapter Annual BanquetJoe T. Garcia’s(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org

Ducks UnlimitedThe Woodlands Crawfi sh boilRob Fleming Park(281) 636-4883ducks.org/texas

Ducks UnlimitedKaty-Brookshire Patos de Mayo Crawfi sh BoilThe Cotton Ranch, Katy(713) 858-7669ducks.org/texas

MAY 3Dallas Safari ClubSpring S.A.F.E.T.Y. EventGreystone Castle, Mingus(972) 980-9800biggame.org

Ducks UnlimitedGulf Coast Greenwing Conservation DayDewberry Farms, Brookshire(713) 501-5584ducks.org/texas Texas Team TrailLake Livingston Tournament(210) 788-4143texasteamtrail.com

Bass ChampsEast Series, Sam Rayburn Reservoir(817) 439-3274basschamps.com Meals on WheelsErath County Annual Sporting Clay ShootRough Creek Lodge, Glen Rose(254) 965-3510erathmow.org

MAY 8Coastal Conservation AssociationAustin Chapter Annual BanquetPalmer Event Center(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org Coastal Conservation AssociationMid Coast Chapter Annual BanquetVictoria Community Center(713) 626-4222ccatexas.org MAY 10Ducks UnlimitedDripping Springs BanquetHog Heaven(512) 496-8333ducks.org/texas Bass ChampsNorth Series, Cedar Creek Lake(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

MAY 14Duck UnlimitedHouston DinnerThe River Oaks Country Club(713) 775-0423duck.org/texas

APRIL 26Ducks UnlimitedWinnie DinnerWinnie-Stowell Community Building

Puzzle solution from Page 16

Seguin DinnerRio Cibolo Ranch(830) 832-0855ducks.org/texas

Ducks Unlimited



Documents

April 11, 2014 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting