April 27, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

LSONews.com Lone✯Star Outdoor News April 27, 2012 Page 1

❘❚ LSONews.com

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 25 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 24Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 24Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 18Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 19Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 20Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 25Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 16Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 24

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April 27, 2012 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 8, Issue 17

Port Bay ClubCelebrating 100 years

on the coast. Page 17

Inside

Calculate the number of big bucks on your property.

Page 4

Deer on a bell curve❘❚ HUNTING

Company forms in Texas man's bedroom.Page 8

New coastal lures

North Zone turkey hunters battle wind, weather.

Page 4

Tough turkeys

Lake McQueeny holds some monster catfi sh.

Page 9

McQueeny cats

❘❚ FISHING

Turkeys 2012: big bodies, small beards and spurs

By Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Ling are in full swing early this year.Anglers in the know usually begin looking for the

ling in early May. But this season they are showing up in numbers from Galveston to South Padre Island, and anglers are taking advantage with some solid inshore and offshore action provided by these great fi ghting fi sh.

Galveston deep sea charter Capt. Shannon La Bauve noticed ling around the jetties a little early this year, and he has been putting clients on the fi sh.

“We are catching a lot of them on the jetty and near buoys,” La Bauve said. “We are using live shrimp as bait,

SPRING LING: Ling are showing up along

the coast right now in good numbers.

Many anglers have reported catching them near jetties,

along with their normal haunts near wrecks, oil rigs and

buoys. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Ling in early

Like most out-door events this spring, the crappie spawn was about three to four weeks early in most parts of Texas, probably due to a mild win-ter and unusually warm water tem-peratures.

Even if crap-pie anglers were caught off guard, the fi shing has been solid the past few weeks and promises to con-tinue that way due to rising water lev-els and plenty of food.

“The fact that most of the lakes are full for the fi rst time in two

years means we are having great fi shing that will continue,” said Jay Don Reeve, president of the Crappie Anglers of Texas. “The rains really helped the spawn and pro-vided good, shal-low-water cover for the crappie to spawn in. Because of the early spawn, the fi sh are on multiple patterns right now and fairly scattered, making fi shing a little tough.”

Fluctuating water levels held the early spring fi shing back in some lakes like Lake Texoma.

“It’s been a little tough on Texoma because the water has gone up and down,” Reeve said. “When you start dropping water levels, it sends those fi sh deeper and can make them tougher to catch. They either want to spawn or go deep. In some lakes, the fi sh never came shal-low this year.”

Reeve said the better bite on lakes with fl uctuating water levels has been in the 10-14 feet range.

“A lot of good

Crappie scattered with rising,

falling lake levels

See CRAPPIE, Page 13

See LING, Page 13


Much like antlers on a deer, beards on a turkey are ornamental.

They use their spurs for fi ghting, but things that aren’t necessary for survival are often the fi rst things that suffer during periods of high stress, such as drought or lack of food.

Hunters are killing plenty of tur-keys across Texas and almost all of

them are mature birds after a pitiful breeding season last spring. While many of the mature toms have good body weight, many are lacking beard length and spur size.

Case in point, Marina Sams was hunting on her father’s lease in the North Zone when she har-vested a huge-bodied bird weigh-ing 25 pounds. The old tom had a

See BIG TURKEYS, Page 13

BIG BODIES, SMALL BEARDS: This old, 25-pound Rio Grande tom sported only a 7 1/2-inch beard and its spurs measured less than one inch. Drought and high stress from fi ghting are thought to be reasons for the abnormally short beards and spurs. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

NICE STRINGERS: Crappie fi shing has been steady, despite fl uctuating water levels putting fi sh on multiple spring patterns. Photo by LSON.

Page 2 April 27, 2012 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com



HUNTING

North Zone toms still breaking off from hensBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

The birds at the bottom of the draw were cluck-ing, yelping and gobbling loudly as a storm blew across the southern plains.

Each distant boom of thunder was followed by the cackle of hens and an equally loud gobble.

As the wind picked up, hail began to rain down, along with light-ning strikes. The storm only lasted 15 minutes before blowing through Hall County and causing widespread hail damage and fl ooding in counties to the north.

However, during those 15 minutes, the turkeys went quiet and did not

gobble for the remainder of the two-day hunt.

Many hunters com-plained that the birds had shut down from gob-bling due to rain and high winds across the North Zone during the middle portion of the season.

Jason McAnnally, vice president of the Panhandle Region for the National Wild Turkey Federation, said the hunting was good until the bad weather rolled into the area.

“They shut down,” he said. “Before that, we were killing 3- and 4-year-old birds. They were henned up, but the hunting was still good.”

McAnnally confi rmed what other hunters told LSON about beard length and spurs (see related cover story).

“We have yet to kill a bird with good spurs this year,” he said. “We are kill-ing mature birds, but just not seeing any length on

Bell curve for bucksPredicting number of big bucks on a ranch

By Craig NyhusLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Each year hunters fi nd new leases or, for those fortunate enough to do so, buy some acre-age that hasn’t been managed or extensively hunted.

One of the fi rst questions that pops up is, how many big bucks are on this place?

Thanks to researchers at Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, hunters now can make a highly educated guess.

Stuart W. Stedman, a member of the advisory board at CKWRI, has studied how mature buck antlers are distributed since 1986. That year, he shot a 236

3/8-inch buck on the Faith Ranch, a 5,000-acre South Texas ranch that had not been hunted and no supplemental feeding had taken place.

“Naturally, I wanted to shoot another one like that,” he said. “We started looking hard at random capture data of mature bucks.”

What they discovered was an almost-perfect bell curve of antler scores, and Stedman recorded his fi ndings in a sev-eral-part series through the CKWRI e-newsletter.

“The averages of the scores of randomly captured mature bucks varied with spring rain-fall totals, but the average B&C

score was 133 — the low average was 121 and the high average was 143,” he said.

The ends of the bell curve dropped off.

“The bell curve tells us that most mature bucks are aver-age,” he said. “At this South Texas ranch, 68 percent of the mature bucks scored between 115 and 151, and 95 percent scored between 97 and 169.”

The ends of the curve repre-senting really poor deer or really great racks are rare.

“Many ask how many big bucks are on my ranch?”

See BELL CURVE, Page 21

See NORTH ZONE, Page 21

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? Toms across the North Zone have been coming to the calls. Jake decoys are working this season because of an abun-dance of mature birds. Photo by John Erikkson.

HOW MANY BIG BUCKS? Most white-tailed bucks are average, according to a Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute study. Managers can increase the chances of having big bucks, though, through supplemental feeding and increasing the deer density of adult bucks. Graphic by Amy Moore, LSON.

Roundup removes 750 hogs


Pig Thrillers. That’s the name of the winning team in the 2nd Annual Wild Hog Roundup in East Texas. But the astounding feat was what they accomplished — taking 235 hogs over the 11-day contest period.

“We pre-baited our traps,” said team leader Nathan Phelps, of Center, after receiving the win-ning checks at the award ceremony. “That and our trap placement were the keys.”

The bait of choice was a mixture

of corn and sour corn.Wulf Outdoor Sports, the sport-

ing goods chain with locations in Athens and Center, created the event last year, and prize money this year totaled $28,000.

“The goal is to bring more aware-ness to the feral hog issue and to get more hunters out there to help landowners remove them from their land,” said Wulf’s Marketing Director Virginia Solgot. “And we hope it will help create relationships between the landowners and hunt-ers to keep hunting hogs.”

Wulf created a list of landowners that wanted help removing hogs to give to the teams prior to the event.

The contest, open to pre-regis-tered teams of up to four members, ran April 11-21 in 20 East Texas counties. Teams who killed the most hogs over the course of the contest

battled for the $10,000 fi rst place prize.

The total take was 750 hogs, up from last year’s total of 726. And the contestants weren’t all sporting boots and beards.

“We had a team of two doctor’s wives from Athens who won one of the $500 daily prizes for the most hogs,” said Wulf CEO John Ball.

After their polygraph tests, the Pig Thrillers team took home $18,750 between the grand prize, a $5,000 Shelby County bonus offered by the city of Center and daily prizes.

The contest was open for wild hogs taken on open range only, and the pigs could be taken by any legal means, including trapping.

The prize money was made pos-sible by sponsors including Under Armour, Lacrosse Boots, Nikon, the city of Center, Farmers State Bank

and Shelby Savings Bank.The $2,500 prize for the biggest

hog went to the team of Attoyak River Boys, with a 303-pound boar. Team member Brian Sample said they targeted the biggest-hog prize while hunting with dogs.

“We hunted both weekends and a few times during the week,” Sample said. “We got this one during the day. He wasn’t as big as the one we won with last year, though — that one weighed 400 pounds.

In Shelby County alone, 355 hogs were taken.

“They’re still all over the place,” Sample said. “I don’t think we made a huge dent in the population.”

Winning team brings in $18,750

BIG PIG: Contestants in the Wild Hog Roundup weigh in their entry. Photo

by Wulf Outdoor Sports.


Win Nikon 10x42

PROSTAFF 7 binoculars

See a full selection of Nikon products atAlpine Range

5482 Shelby Rd. Fort Worth, TX 76140www.alpinerange.com

(817) 478-6613GABE PHILLIPS, 13, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was hunting near Breckenridge,

Texas on New Year’s morning with his uncle and brother when he took this great

9-point buck with his .243 Remington. The mature buck stepped out moments after

Gabe had passed on a younger 12 point. He stopped the buck with one shot. The

deer scored around 120 B&C.

The black holes of TexasWhy some areas hold lots of game and others don’t


Driving along the Interstate 35 corridor between Waco and Dallas, Texans usually don’t notice wild game like they observe along roadways in other portions of the state.

What is the reason for the lack of game animals in certain areas, while others, like the Hill Country, seem to be overfl ow-ing with animals?

In a word — habitat.Animals such as deer, tur-

keys, quail and other game spe-cies need several things in order to survive, including a suffi cient water source, enough cover to hide and readily available forage.

According to John Davis, head of wildlife diversity for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas is one of the leading states in wildlife diver-sity across the country.

“If you just look at natural requirements (to hold high con-centrations of game), any place that has a diversity in topo-graphic features and higher rain-fall will have good numbers of wildlife,” he said. “But there has to be a distinction between natu-ral and man-made ecosystems.”

The area east of I-35 between Waco and Hillsboro, known as the Blackland Prairie, is known for agriculture and lots of Bermuda grass pastures. These areas are not conducive to har-boring big game.

“There’s not a lot of deer hab-itat remaining there,” said Alan

Cain, TPWD’s white-tailed deer leader. “Farming has taken over in that region and what deer are there are confi ned to small woodlots. There isn’t a lot of good habitat.”

But, if deer have ample cover, agricultural areas can pro-duce huge bucks. This situa-tion occurs across the Midwest, where corn and soybean farms are interspersed with pockets of timber big enough to hold deer.

Cain said deer densities from different areas of the state may be misleading because one ranch might have great habitat, while a ranch next door could be devoid of deer.

“One thing is for sure,” he said, “it depends on the scale you look at things. It could be a host of factors including the size of the ranch, section, county or even bigger areas. Habitat quantity and quality are the biggest factors.”

Cain said an interesting ques-tion has arisen recently with deer and other game being seen in places that traditionally did not harbor game, such as Dallas, Rockwall and Collin counties. Those counties will implement a hunting season for the fi rst time during the upcoming season.

“Is that a function of habitat or deer numbers growing, or is it pockets of habitat being squeezed by development?” he said. ‘We don’t know. But deer will shift over time to fi nd those areas.”

Other areas that have lower game densities include parts of East Texas, where a high canopy

created by pine trees has created less than ideal habitat in the understory and hunter pres-sure is higher. Also, parts of the Trans Pecos and the Panhandle have lower wildlife densities due to harsher climates.

However, for the deer hunter, there could be a silver lining in

places like the Panhandle with low deer densities — one deer per 128.22 acres.

“It’s not traditional deer hab-itat out there,” Cain said. “The trade-off is when there aren’t a lot of deer, they tend to have a better age structure and grow bigger bodies and bigger racks.”

Texan wins 2012 CA Upland Game Bird Stamp Art competition

A painting of a band-tailed Pigeon has been chosen by a panel of judges as the winning entry in the 2012 Cali. Upland Game Bird Stamp Art Contest. The painting, by Clemente Guzman of Lockhart, defeated seven other entries from across the country to become the offi cial design for the 2012 stamp.

“I feel extremely excited and honored to win this contest,” said Guzman, who is a graphic artist. “I am tickled to death. I paint in my spare time at home and have entered these types of contests before, but this is the fi rst time I have won. My thought was to show a scene in early morning where the pigeon is fl ying through the mist. It is very challenging to paint a fl ying bird.”

The competition was sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game.

— CDFG

Henrietta celebrates Turkey Fest 2012

The North Texas town of Henrietta has a population of 3,600.

So when 2,000 people turn out for an event, it gets noticed. That’s how many showed up for Turkey Fest the weekend of April 21-22.

According to Betty Ellsworth, execu-tive director of the local chamber of commerce, the event was “spectacular.”

A hunt for celebrities and locals followed the festival, with 21 birds shot during the weekend from celebri-ties such as Michael Aho from the TV show “Huntin’ the World.” Aho won the celebrity division with a turkey that scored 60.75 on the National Wild Turkey Federation scoring system.

The overall winner was 11-year-old Blaine Martin, who killed a triple-bearded bird scoring 71.56.

— Staff report

HERE, BUT NOT EVERYWHERE: Some areas of the state hold huge numbers of game, while others seem devoid of large animals. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.



A riparian area usually composes less than one percent of a property own-er’s total acreage.

But its importance to wild-life is much higher, accord-ing to Sky Lewey, resource protection and education director at the Nueces River Authority in Uvalde.

The riparian area is defi ned as the fringe of vegetation that separates the water in a river, creek or stream and the upland. Lewey has studied them for more than a decade, and has discovered some myths that have proven untrue.

“It is an interaction of vegetation, soil and water,” she said at a webi-nar hosted by the Texas Wildlife Association and Texas AgriLife Extension. “Understanding it has changed some people’s thinking.”

Vegetation is the key, according to Lewey.

“The most important thing the vegetation does is dissipate the water’s energy,” she said. “It slows the fl owing water down, allowing the water to drop the sediment it is carry-ing and build up the fl ood plain.”

Good things follow, like erosion reduction, bank stabilization and water

storage, producing better fi sh, aquatic and wildlife habi-tat. Without the vegetation, fl oods deepen the channel and carry the sediment away.

Despite the hassles of fl oods and drought, both are essen-tial for healthy riparian areas.

“If there is vegetation, fl oods leave sediment and seeds,” Lewey said. “Drought causes plant roots to go deeper and cradle the stream, hold-ing the channel in place.”

The primary recommenda-tion to landowners and man-agers was to fi rst examine the areas near creeks and streams.

“The streams will heal themselves, we just need to remove the hindrances that inhibit the stream’s ability to recover,” Lewey said.

Hindrances can be farming

or mowing to the stream’s edge, grazing in the riparian area, spraying unwanted veg-etation, burning or removing large dead wood.

And getting the bulldozer out during a drought is usu-ally a bad idea.

“Deepening or widen-ing the channel drains the water table and you’ll have less water,” she said. “And the water won’t have access to the fl oodplain to deposit the sediments.

“The stream wants to recover. Just remove the hin-drance and allow vegetation to get high enough to dissipate the water’s energy. We have seen streams recover in Texas, and the process has been used to restore blue-ribbon trout streams in the West.”

Management of creeks and streams for wildlife

VEGETATION IS KEY: The areas along rivers, streams and creeks are wildlife ha-vens. Allowing grasses and trees to grow helps hold water and increases the size of the fl ood plain, while overgrazing can do the opposite. Photo by Steve Nelle.


Nugent busted for Lacey Act violation

Hunter, rocker and activist Ted Nugent has agreed to plead guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in southeast Alaska.

Nugent made the admission in signing a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that was fi led April 20 in U.S. District Court.

The plea agreement says Nugent illegally shot and killed the bear in May 2009 on Sukkwan Island, days after wounding a bear in a bow hunt, which counted toward a state sea-sonal limit of one bear.

According to the agreement, fi rst reported by the Anchorage Daily News, the six-day hunt was fi lmed for his Outdoor Channel television show, “Spirit of the Wild.”

The document says Nugent knowingly possessed and transported the bear in misde-meanor violation of the federal Lacey Act.

According to CNN, Nugent’s attorney told the Anchorage Daily News that his client, who has previously hunted in the same area, was unaware of the law, which was introduced less than fi ve years ago. He told the newspaper he watched the video clip from Nugent’s show and the arrow “touched” the bear and stuck in the ground.

“There wasn't any blood trail that they could fi nd,” Ross said. “There was a little blood apparently at the spot, but nothing that indi-cated the bear was hard hit.”

Nugent agreed to pay a $10,000 fi ne, accord-ing to the agreement, which says he also agreed with a two-year probation, including a special condition that he not hunt or fi sh in Alaska or Forest Service properties for one year. He also agreed to create a public service announcement that would be broadcast on his show every sec-ond week for one year, the document states.

— Staff report

Texas students aim for nationals

The National Archery in the Schools Program concluded its 2011-2012 tournament for Texas high, middle and elementary schools.

More than 60 schools from across the state competed in the tournament, with the top fi n-ishers in each category moving on to the ninth

annual National Archery in the Schools National Tournament in Louisville, Ky.

Top teams at the Texas state tournament included the elementary school cham-pion team from Lamar Middle School in Lewisville with a team score of 3118, fol-lowed by S&S Elementary in Southmayd at 2665 and Union Grove ISD at 2543.

The Middle School Division was led by Kaufman ISD with 3274 points, followed by Lamar Middle School with 3159 and Arbor Creek Middle School with 3082.

High school teams were led by Canton High School with a record-high team score of 3332, followed by Argyle with 3265 and Allen with 3178.

A record 181 students from 21 Texas schools are signed up to attend the national tournament in May.

Justin White, an eighth-grader from Kaufman, and Rhiannon Kosla, a sixth-grader from Argyle, won the top boys and girls titles.

“Texas-NASP is now the second largest state in-school archery program in the nation with more than 660 schools and 2100 instructors statewide” said Burnie Kessner, Texas-NASP state coordinator.

— Staff report

Boyt Harness partners with SHE Outdoor Apparel

Boyt Harness Company has announced a joint venture with SHE Outdoor Apparel, a Texas-based company that designs and pro-duces women’s outdoor clothing in safari, upland, camoufl age, shooting, adventure and lifestyle collections.

The new partnership will utilize Boyt’s strengths in apparel manufacturing and distribution and will rely on SHE Outdoor Apparel to provide design, research and mar-keting support.

“One of our key strengths has always been our ability and focus to design functional and attractive apparel specifi cally fi tting women who enjoy the outdoors,” said Brian Zaitz, CEO of SHE Outdoor Apparel. “We are proud to be partnered with Boyt to bring women a full range of safari, upland and shooting apparel and products.”

— Staff report


FISHING


Madisonville Elite series angler Matt Reed was in contention going into the fi nal day of the Professional Angler’s Association Lake Ray Hubbard event last spring.

The lake was fi shing tough, but Reed knew where he could get off to a good start on the last day — fl ipping a swim jig around marina boat docks early in the morning.

The reason he was there?“The shad are spawning around

the docks,” Reed told LSON. “It

won’t last too long, but it is a good place to fi sh early.”

Two types of shad are prominent in Texas waters — gizzard shad and threadfi n shad.

According to Rafe Brock, Texas Parks and Wildlife district biolo-gist for the Fort Worth area, the shad begin to spawn in Texas when water temperatures hit 70 degrees.

“Current water temperatures on North Texas lakes are between 69 and 72 degrees,” Brock said. “Shad usually spawn near sandy beaches or sandy bottoms. Anglers can

look for glistening on the surface. “They are tough to see spawning,

but focus on sandy areas and around structure near sandy bottoms.”

According to TPWD, threadfi n shad are found in waters with cur-rent and often found at a depth of less than 5 feet below the surface. Spawning can continue into the summer months, with females accompanied by several males when they release eggs.

Brock said threadfi n shad are less temperature resistant than gizzard shad, and a mild winter

meant large numbers of threadfi ns survived, providing game fi sh with a large forage base this spring.

“Threadfi ns came through the winter really well,” he said. “Two years ago when surface tempera-tures hit 33 or 34 degrees, there were a lot of threadfi n that died.”

Gizzard shad are heartier than threadfi ns and traditionally spawn later in the spring, usually in shal-low protected waters, according to TPWD.

The eggs attach to submerged objects — often Styrofoam boat

docks — where they hatch within four days. Other spawning loca-tions often include riprap, pilings, seawalls and bulkhead points.

Gizzard shad are found in all major streams and reservoirs in Texas, providing forage for most game fi sh species.

Spinner baits or jigs are great ways to catch feeding bass when the shad spawn is going strong. Throw a bait parallel to the shore and be ready to set the hook, as bass will often hit as soon as the bait touches the water.

Shad spawning across Texas


Will a new lure created in his bedroom by a Texas fi sherman take the coast by storm?

The few that have tried the lures from Skinny Water Arsenal think it just might.

Henry Stokes, an electrician in San Antonio, who lives in Von Ormy, has been a kayak tour-nament fi sherman on the coast for 8 years.

“It was frustrating — you were pitching top-waters and the treble hooks would catch the grass and spook the reds,” he said.

Inspired by his father, who died four years ago, Stokes decided to try to do something about it.

“I grew up fi shing with him at Rockport,” he said. “In the ’70s, he was one of the fi rst to create a livewell for shrimp and he had all sorts of fi shing creations. He never would patent anything he created, though.

“I decided to try to make a soft plastic lure with action that had a slow sink rate and would stay weedless.”

The process involved a lot of trial and error.“I looked at all the lures out there and saw

what parts I liked and what was missing,” Stokes said. “I had never made lures before, so I had to teach myself. I learned about materi-als for the molds and the lures, and formulas to harden or soften the plastic.”

The hardest part was making the hard casts out of the resin needed to make the molds.

“They looked terrible at fi rst,” he said. “It took until December before I was satisfi ed with them.”

Skinny Water Arsenal was born, with lures named the Stoker TT (Twitch Tail) and the Stoker RT (Rat Tail) in four colors: Airborn Assassin (purple), Bean & Cheese (brown/chartreuse), Gold Rush (shrimp with gold fl akes) and Moon Glow.

The Stoker ST (shrimp tail) lure is coming out soon.

Stokes took the lures to Dean Thomas, owner of Slowride Guide Services in Port Aransas and currently the exclusive dealer of the lures, for testing.

“It’s a soft plastic body with the hook rigged inside,” Thomas said. “It has a real natural action and swims very buoyantly.”

The weedless nature impressed Thomas.“The trick is the shape of the hook and

the wire — it rides with the point of the

hook against the body of the lure,” he said. “People have been modifying lures for years to deal with grass, but hiding hooks in plas-tic costs you fi sh.”

The hook-up ratio passed the test as well.“The hook moves like a hinge when the

fi sh hits it,” he said. “The lure is grass-free but the hook is exposed when the fi sh hits it. “We release a lot of fi sh, and this hook gets them right around the lips.”

Stokes tested the lures himself, but also sent them to Port Mansfi eld guide Ruben

Garza Jr. of Snookdude Charters.“At fi rst, I thought it was just another bait

to try,” Garza said. “The fi rst day, I fi shed with Dean and we caught trout 28, 27 and 26 inches long and good numbers of 4- to 5-pound trout. The next day a customer caught a 28-incher, and I caught a 30 1/2-inch trout that weighed more than 9 pounds.”

Garza said the lure is truly weedless and durable.“There were fl oating grass mats and I cast

into them just to see,” he said. “The lure came back without any grass on it. And it’s very durable. I used one for several days and caught a lot of fi sh on it before it was too torn up.”

Most of the fi sh were hooked on the side of the mouth just like a circle hook, Garza said.

“And the ones that sucked it in, the single hook was easy to remove. I was able to release the 30 1/2-incher and it had swallowed it.”

Stokes said new equipment will allow him to move out of his bedroom and make more lures, and he hopes their success could eventually replace his day job.

Thomas, though, was waiting on Stokes to ship him more lures.

“We can’t keep them in stock,” he said. “There are cars sitting here with people waiting to buy them when we pull up.”

Capt. Ruben Garza, Jr. (832) 385-1431Slowride Guide Services (361) 758-0463facebook.com/skwars

New lures from a Texas bedroom take shapeSkinny Water Arsenal lures a hit along coast


Will new lure created in his bedroom by t by storm?

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tic costs you fi sh.”The hook-up ratio passed the test as well.“The hook moves like a hinge when the

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By Craig Nyhus

hook against the body of the lure,” he sai“People have been modifying lures for yeato deal with grass, but hiding hooks in pla

MORE SHAD COMING: The shad spawn is occurring in Texas lakes now through May. Bass will congregate near spawning shad, spelling opportunity for the angler. Photo by LSON.

Bass anglers who know what tolook for catching fi sh

TEXAS TROUT LURE: Jennifer Thomas landed this 28-inch speckled trout on a Stoker RT, one of the new Skinny Water Arsenal lures created by Texan Henry Stokes. Photo by Henry Stokes.


By Ralph WininghamFOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Even with as many as 15 fi shing rods stick-ing out from the side of his boat like a pin cushion and each line offering a tasty live or big chunk of shad as bait, Ray Austin knows the big cat odds are stacked against him.

“I know there is at least a 60-pounder out there — the genetics are here so we just have to fi nd the right place at the right time,’’ said

the veteran guide of TopCat Professional Fishing Guide Service.

Austin specializes in big blue and fl at-head catfi sh — lunkers tipping the scales at 20, 30 and 40 pounds are not uncom-mon — at Lake McQueeney and other lakes on the Guadalupe River, in addition to the Highland Lakes.

The 396-acre Lake McQueeney, built seven miles east of New Braunfels in 1928, is his go-to spot for hooking up with the big cats this time of year. Both the blues and fl at-heads, sometimes called yellow catfi sh, are spawning in April and May with females full of eggs often being the most aggressive.

The lake record for a blue catfi sh, a 41.70-pound, 45.25-inch long monster, was caught last year on May 14, and the record fl athead weighing 44.70 pounds and 45.5 inches long was landed last April 3.

Many of the anglers on this small impoundment devoid of public access and surrounded by million-dollar homes release the big fi sh caught on rods and reels, leaving

LakeMcQueeny a hotspot

for cats

See LAKE MCQUEENY, Page 11

TIGHTEN THE NET: Fresh bait caught each day in a cast net like this one being tossed by guide Ray Austin is the key to the guide’s success in hauling in big catfi sh at Lake McQueeney. Photo by Ralph Winningham, for LSON.


AMISTAD: Water clear; 67–71 degrees; 20.37’ low. Largemouth bass are very good on jerkbaits, spinner baits, crankbaits, spin-ner baits and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cheesebait, shrimp and nightcrawlers over baited holes in 12–15 feet. Yellow catfi sh are good on trotlines, throwline, and droplines baited with live perch.

ARROWHEAD: Water off-color; 71–76 degrees; 7.7’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square-billed crankbaits and jigs. White bass are good on Road Runners and minnows. Blue catfi sh are good on live shad.

ATHENS: Water lightly stained, 70–75 degrees; 1.14’ low. Largemouth bass are good on square-billed crankbaits and Tex-as-rigged soft plastics. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

BELTON: Water stained; 67–71 degrees; 0.61’ high. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastic worms on the bottom. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. White bass are good on light blue jigs. Crappie are good on min-nows under lights at night. Chan-nel and blue catfi sh are good on summer sausage and hot dogs.

BOB SANDLIN: Water stained; 70–76 degrees; 2.77’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on soft plastics and shallow crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows and jigs. White bass are good on Humdingers. Catfi sh are fair to good on trotlines or juglines with Redneck’s Catfi sh Bait Soap.

BRIDGEPORT: Water stained; 70–75 degrees; 5.04’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged green pumpkin creature baits and shallow-running large body crankbaits along secondary points. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs (best action midday).

BROWNWOOD: Water murky; 72–78 degrees; 10.04’ low. Largemouth bass to 6 pounds are excellent on Shaky heads with plastic rattlesnakes and green pumpkin jigs along rock cuts in 1–4 feet. Crappie are excellent on

Li’l Fishies and black/chartreuse tube jigs in 8–15 feet under lights at night.

BUCHANAN: Water murky; 66–70 degrees; 23.80’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits, chartreuse spinner baits, and pumpkinseed plastics over grass in creeks.

CADDO: Water stained; 70–76 degrees; 1.00’ high. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue soft plastics and soft plastics around isolated cover. Spinner baits in the same areas are effective. Yel-low bass are good on minnows.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on min-nows over grass. Channel catfi sh are good on liver, shrimp, and cheesebait. Blue catfi sh are good on cut bait and liver.

CANYON LAKE: Water stained; 67–71 degrees; 6.72’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse top-waters and spin-ner baits, and on root beer/red fl ake soft plastics in creeks, and main lake fl ats in 10–18 feet. Smallmouth bass are good on chartreuse tubes on jigheads, white curl tail grubs, and Bleeding Shad small lipless crankbaits along main lake points and ledges.

CEDAR CREEK: Water stained; 70–74 degrees; 0.02’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Tex-as-rigged creature baits, spinner baits and black/blue fi nesse jigs around main lake points and into the backs of creeks. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. Crappie are fair to good on minnows.

COLETO CREEK: Water fairly clear; 1.67’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored lipless crankbaits and soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows in 10–20 feet.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 67–71 degrees; 2.06’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon Carolina-rigged soft plastics, and on small spinner baits. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and cheesebait.

COOPER: Water lightly stained; 70–75 degrees; 0.84’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse shallow crankbaits and Texas-rigged craw worms later in the day. Green pumpkin

soft plastics are best. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut bait.

FALCON: Water stained north, clear from marker 12 south; 70–74 degrees; 21.48’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon and chartreuse soft plastics, spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. Crap-pie are very good on minnows. Channel and blue catfi sh are very good on frozen shrimp, stinkbait, nightcrawlers and cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Largemouth bass are good on char-treuse Carolina-rigged soft plastic worms and shallow-running perch-colored crankbaits over grass.

FORK: Water stained; 71–76 degrees; 1.91’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastic baits. Shallow crankbaits on windy points are working well later in the day. Some reports of top-water bites being reported. Spawning fi sh are being reported on beds. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics, spinner baits and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows.

GRANBURY: Water murky; 66–70 degrees; 0.38’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastics, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

GRAPEVINE: Water lightly stained; 70–74 degrees; 1.16’ high. Largemouth bass are slow on watermelon Texas-rigged worms, watermelon fi nesse jigs, spinner baits and crankbaits along main lake points. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water stained; 67–71 degrees; 0.58’ high. Largemouth bass are good on June bug soft plastic worms on the south side of the lake in 8–15 feet. Crappie are good on live minnows off piers and over brush piles in 15 feet. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on stinkbait off piers and on trotlines

baited with perch.

JOE POOL: Water lightly stained; 69–75 degrees; 0.23’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Tex-as-rigged creature baits, spinner baits and smaller jigs — midday bite has been best. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared baits.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 70–76 degrees; 0.74’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms and shal-low crankbaits along main lake points. Isolated cover is the key. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 71–76 degrees; 0.85’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Tex-as-rigged creature baits, black/brown jigs and square-billed crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water clear; 67–71 degrees; 0.59’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored top-waters, watermelon red lipless crankbaits and green pumpkin tubes in 12–25 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse crappie jigs over brush piles.

LEWISVILLE: Water stained; 69–75 degrees; 0.39’ high. Largemouth bass are slow on shallow crankbaits along main lake points. Larger rock along main lake points producing as well. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 65–69 degrees; 0.20’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on char-treuse crankbaits, spinner baits and soft plastics. Blue catfi sh are good on stinkbait, shrimp, and shad.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 79–88 degrees; 0.64’ high. Largemouth bass are good on square-billed crankbaits, medium crankbaits and Texas-rigged crea-ture baits on shallow wood cover. The shallow bite is best early in the morning with occasional schooling reported.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water stained; 72–78 degrees; 1.45’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on soft

plastic worms and spinner baits along the bank. White bass are good on silver slabs in 10–11 feet. Channel catfi sh are good on shad and stinkbait. Blue catfi sh are good on cut shad.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 70–76 degrees; 40.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, jigs and swim jigs. White bass are fair to good on tail spinners and live bait. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut bait.

PALESTINE: Water stained; 70–75 degrees; 0.13’ high. Largemouth bass are good on black and blue jigs and Texas-rigged soft plas-tics. Crappie are good on min-nows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 69–74 degrees; 5.28’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on Texas rigs, spinner baits, fi nesse jigs and weightless soft plastics. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good slabs and Road Runners. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

PROCTOR: Water stained; 66–70 degrees; 0.12’ high. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon spinner baits and crankbaits off points. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp and shad.

RAY HUBBARD: Water lightly stained; 70–75 degrees; 0.05’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, square-billed crankbaits and medium crankbaits. Swim jigs are good around riprap also. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

RAY ROBERTS: Water stained; 70–75 degrees; 0.17’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged watermelon/candy 5” plastics, rigged with a 3/16 oz. bullet weight, pitched to stand-ing timber in 6–12 feet of water around the mouths of creeks. Chrome/Blue 5/8 oz. rattle baits worked around grass in 4–8 feet of water near secondary points. Crappie are good on minnows in standing timber in 12–18 feet of

water. White bass are excellent on slabs in 15–20 feet of water on humps and points toward the mouths of major creeks; watch for the gulls. Catfi sh are good around baited holes on punch bait.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 66–70 degrees; 0.61’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastic lizards and worms. White bass are good on min-nows and silver spoons. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs over grass. Catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live bait.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 67–71 degrees; 2.77’ high. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse spin-ner baits and crankbaits. White bass are good on minnows and slabs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp and stinkbait.

STILLHOUSE: Water murky; 66–70 degrees; 2.20’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse crankbaits and spinner baits. White bass are good on pump-kinseed soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

TEXOMA: Water stained; 70–75 degrees; 0.08’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits and medium crankbaits along main lake points. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on slabs.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 68–72 degrees; 40.80’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chrome top-waters, watermelon plastics, and white grubs.

WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse spinner baits, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on minnows and shrimp.

WRIGHT PATMAN: Water stained; 70–76 degrees; 7.32’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, shallow crankbaits and chatterbaits along main lake points. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are fair to good on cut shad and prepared bait.

—TPWD

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTRising waters

TOLEDO BEND — Bass fi shing on Toledo Bend has been steady the past few weeks in-between cold fronts, according to Ronnie Greer at the Holly Park Marina.

Greer said the conditions have been windy, but bass fi shermen are doing well fi shing shallow with soft plastics and deeper with crankbaits, boating several 7-pounders and a 9-pound bass last weekend.

“We’ve had 3 inches of rain the past week,” Greer said. “The lake is a little dingy, and I’ve been surprised (bass anglers) have done as well as they have.”

The crappie fi shing has been good, with anglers catching them in deep holes and around boat docks. The bream fi shing has also been outstanding, according to Greer.

A 51-pound catfi sh was also caught recently on a trotline.

To contact Holly Park Marina, call (409) 625-4424.

Hybrids really goodRICHLAND CHAMBERS RESERVOIR —

“Fishing on Richland Chambers for whites and hybrids has been really, really good,” said guide Mark Parker. “The crappie fi shing

is just so-so.”Parker also said the

largemouth bass fi sh-ing has been average and the blue cat bite

is going strong.Parker said he has been putting a lot of

white bass and hybrids in the boat using Sassy Shad and slabs in chartreuse colors.

The crappie bite has been trickier.“This season has been tough on the shal-

low-water crappie guys,” Parker said. “With water levels up, there have been so many places for the crappie to go. They are starting to move to the brush piles, though.”

For blue cats, fi shing with cut shad has been the ticket.

To contact guide Mark Parker, call (254) 479-0550.

Stripers hotLAKE TAWAKONI — The striped bass and

hybrid bite on Lake Tawakoni has been fan-

tastic, according to longtime guide Dennis States.

States said the wind and

weather have not been ideal, but when the weather

cooperates, the bite has been awesome.“A north wind affects this lake badly,” he

said. “But the hybrids and stripers have been great and I am seeing a lot of sand bass that are bigger than normal. We’ve had a lot of great family trips the past few weeks.”

States said that he has been catching most of his fi sh on swimbaits, slabs and Sassy Shad on deep humps and lake points.

To contact guide Dennis States, call (903) 473-2039.

— Conor Harrison

■ See Saltwater fi shing reports: Page 16

ly


the waters fertile with line-busting fi ghters.“The key is in the bait,’’ Austin said. “You

want to use bait that you have caught today and the bigger the better.”

His bait of choice is large gizzard shad and bluegills that have been captured using a cast net. The larger, 4- to 6-inch shad are kept in a separate livewell from the smaller shad in order to keep the delicate baitfi sh alive.

“If you mix the lit-tle ones with the big baits, they will all die from the excess waste in the water,” he said. “Even doing that, the shad just don’t stay alive very long.”

Because some of the shad die, Austin alternates his fi sh-ing rods with both live and cut bait that seem to have an equal ability to entice the big cats into biting.

Both live and cut baits are threaded on large hooks and held on the bottom with 1-ounce weights. Stiff action rods and 30-50 pound test line are essential to fi ght-ing any big cat that grabs onto a bait.

On a recent evening trip, multiple lines were cast about 50 feet from the boat to mussel beds that Austin found after years of combing Lake McQueeney in search of big fi sh. Other favorite fi shing holes include areas near the multiple boat docks that line the lake banks.

“What you have to watch for is the McQueeney Walk,’’ Austin said after all the rods were carefully placed in rod holders.

“Sometimes, the big cats will scoop up a bait and swim sideways. One minute the line will be straight out and the next it will be way over to the side.

“When that happens, you have to crank up the slack with about fi ve quick turns of the reel handle and then set the hook.”

The big cats also have a reputation of grab-bing a bait and bending a fi shing rod double as they make a run.

“I’ve got a couple of rods and reels at the bottom of the lake because they weren’t put back in a rod holder when someone checked a line,’’ he said.

While Lake McQueeny is hard to access, the lake pro-duces for those who manage to fi nd a way on. Ram Medrano, a biologist techni-cian with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said there has been some preliminary discus-sion about the con-struction of a public boat ramp at Lake McQueeney, but he

did not anticipate any work would begin in the near future.

“It is really hard to say why Lake McQueeney is such a good lake for big catfi sh,” Medrano said. “There is a lot of good vegetation there and I understand a lot of good fi sh came into the lake during the fl ood that happened in the 1990s. Since there is no public boat ramp, we have not been monitoring the lake for the past three or four years.”

Guide Ray Austin, (512) 663-1766.

HIDDEN CATFISH LAKE: Just a few pounds shy of the lake record, this 38-pound fl athead catfi sh was caught by Bill Koehler of San Antonio during a trip this spring at Lake McQueeney with Guide Ray Austin. Photo by Ray Austin.

Lake McQueenyContinued From Page 9


HIGH WATER RESCUETwo women attempted to cross a

road in Palo Pinto County through high water caused by heavy rain. The women were able to get out of the car before it was swept away. They made it to shore but were trapped on an island. A third person used a small boat to get to them but could not get back. Palo Pinto County dep-uties contacted Palo Pinto County Game Wardens Matt Waggoner and Cliff Swofford. The wardens set up ropes across the creek and tethered a boat. One by one, the three sub-jects were brought across to safety and checked out by fi re department personnel.

APRIL FOOL’S DAY FOOLSBriscoe/Swisher County Game

Warden Clint Hunt came into contact with two Arkansas men hunting tur-keys. One man was carrying a sack. When he saw the warden approach-ing, he stepped into the mesquites and came out without his sack. When asked what he left behind, the man said he was tired and needed to set his stuff down. The sack con-tained two turkey breasts without proof of sex. The second man had tags removed from his license and the tags fell. Hunt asked the subject where the turkeys were located. The subject responded the turkeys were at a hotel in Childress. After a short interview, it was found that the sub-jects had dumped three turkeys on a Hall County road on their way to hunt in Briscoe County. Hunt con-tacted Childress/Hall County Game Warden Gary Self, who searched for the dumped turkeys. Hunt asked the subjects to show him where the car-casses of the two turkeys they had were located. The subjects walked along a boundary fence of a neigh-boring landowner’s fence, but could not show Hunt the carcasses. Self

located the four turkeys and all edible parts that the subjects had dumped. Hunt returned to the area where he initially located the Arkansas hunters. Using skills that he had recently learned at a tactical tracking school, he tracked the men onto the neighboring landowner’s property and found the carcasses of the two turkeys. Multiple cases pending.

MORE APRIL FOOL’S DAY FOLLIESMason County Game Wardens

Randall Brown and Cody Hatfi eld caught two subjects stealing a boat on the Llano River on April 1. Randall observed the subjects take the boat from a dock, walk up to a shed, steal two paddles, pull the boat to a gravel bar while leaving a trail of beer cans and load the boat and kayaks on their pickup. Hatfi eld approached the subjects with a deputy and when Brown got to the scene, they questioned the men about the boat. One subject said the boat had been sunk for a year and he salvaged it. Charges for littering,

no PFDs, theft and trespassing are pending.

OFFER TO HELP CLAIM A FISH LIMIT FALLS SHORT

Tarrant County Game Warden Clint Borchardt apprehended two individuals with 96 white bass in the bottom of their boat. A third person arrived to claim some of the fi sh. This still left the group 21 fi sh over the limit. Cases pending.

BOY TELLS TRUTH, DAD PAYS FINEAt Falcon Reservoir, Zapata

County Game Wardens Sam Padgett and Jerry Norris spoke with a young boy as his father looked for water safety equipment. The wardens complimented the boy for catch-ing the fi sh in the livewell. Not to be undersold, the boy remarked that this wasn’t near as many as they had in the truck. Cases pending.

NOODLERS CATCH A BEAVER, CITATIONS

Along Village Creek, Tarrant County Game Wardens Clint

Borchardt and John Padgett noticed several vehicles at a bridge and someone loading catfi sh into the back of a truck. Members of the group said they had been noodling, since it was now legal in Texas. Borchardt smelled marijuana and, while searching the vehicle, heard rustling in the brush behind the vehicle. To the warden's surprise, he located a beaver that was tied up. The noodlers had not obtained fi shing licenses, didn't realize that they could not use grappling hooks for hand fi shing and no one had a hunting license for the beaver that they’d caught, tied up and eventu-ally killed. Multiple cases pending.

UNDERSIZED CRAPPIE KEEPERS CAUGHT

Rusk County Game Warden Kirk Permenter received information regarding individuals who were keeping undersized crappie from a pier at Lake Striker. Permenter and fellow Game Warden Chad Gartman used the cover of darkness to

observe the individuals fi shing from the pier. When checked, the sub-jects had several undersized crappie and largemouth bass. Citations were issued.

FISH LOOKED GOOD TO HIM, NOT SO GOOD TO WARDEN

Aransas County Game Warden Karen Simmons observed a man fi shing and catching what appeared to be small fi sh. When asked about the fi sh, the subject stated that he was throwing them back, but did keep three fi sh that looked good to him. The subject was issued a citation for possession of three undersized speckled trout.

MAN CAUGHT SETTING THROW LINES IN LAKE STOCKED FOR KIDS

After a community lake had been stocked for a Kidfi sh event, Scurry County Game Warden Trey Kram received information on an individ-ual setting throw lines in the lake. Kram located the lines and observed the location from a distance. After a couple of hours, the suspect returned to run the lines. The sus-pect admitted to setting the lines and to knowing that the lake had a pole and line only restriction. Cases are pending.

CAGED BUCK BROUGHT TO MUSIC FESTIVAL

Travis County Game Warden Christy Vales received a call regard-ing a 11-point white-tailed buck in a cage being fed from beer cans fi lled with corn at a music festival in Austin. Vales contacted wildlife rescue and made arrangements to tranquilize and transport the buck to a nearby rehabilitator once the ant-lers dropped. Several weeks later, the deer was transported safely. Cases are pending for illegal posses-sion of a live game animal.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

Wood County Game Wardens Derek Spitzer and Kurt Kelley and Van Zandt County Game Warden Steve Stapleton wrapped up a case known as “30 Deer,” that began in late 2010 with the discovery of a dead deer hanging from a gushing oil well pump. The deer had been found with only the backstraps removed, dangling from the pump, surrounded

by oil. The investigation uncovered an extensive amount of poaching in both Wood and Rains counties. The wardens were able to detail the killing of approx-imately 30 deer by four individuals. All of the deer had been killed at night from public roads with the aid of a spotlight during a three-month time span. One incident occurred when two of the subjects

shot two deer from behind a high fence at night and returned later with a pair of bolt cutters, which they used to cut a hole in the fence and remove the deer. Along with the killing of the deer, wardens were also able to identify the subjects who originally shot the deer that caused the oil spill. Multiple sto-len items were recovered and several theft cases

were solved. A total of 22 charges were brought in Wood and Rains counties. It is estimated that the three wardens spent 270 man-hours on the investi-gation. The four subjects received more than $41,000 in fi nes, 3,000 hours of community ser-vice and a combined total of 12 years of jail and pro-bation time and loss of hunting privileges.

EAST TEXAS POACHERS RECEIVE BIG FINES, JAIL


fi sh have been caught,” he said. “Even though they might be scat-tered, we have seen and should see more of some really good days.”

Reports from Cedar Creek and Lake Tawakoni have been good on quality, if not on numbers the past few weeks.

“My goodness, I have never seen so many beautiful homes and literally thousands of docks,” said one angler on The Texas Fishing Forum who recently fi shed Cedar Creek. “The shadows are your friend. On day one we kept 64 crap-pie and released at least 30 more. Day two was windy, so we only spent half a day there. We managed to catch 17 nice fi sh and then

drove to Tawakoni to get out of the wind.

“We picked up seven more big fi sh on Tawakoni.”

Another trip to Cedar Creek produced 64 fi sh in four hours.

“The fi rst two days the fi sh wanted rubber with blue or purple,” he said. “They wouldn’t touch anything with yellow or chartreuse in it. Yesterday all the really big fi sh were caught on chartreuse and white and feather jigs that were char-treuse with a bright blue tail.

“All the fi sh were sus-pended between 10 and 15 feet.”

Granger Lake guide Tommy Tidwell said the fi sh were tough to fi nd to because of high water.

“It’s harder for peo-

ple that only fi sh in the spring. Here, we had areas of willow trees in 1 to 3 feet of water (the lake was 3 feet high but is normal now),” he said. “Humans can’t get in there but the fi sh can. These are prime spawning areas, but people don’t think the fi sh are there because they can’t get to them.”

Tidwell said despite the tough conditions fi shing the spawn, the big fi sh are there.

“The big fi sh have gone to the brush piles and it’s the best in fi ve years,” he said. “The lake is loaded with crappie from the size of your hand and up.”

Guide Tommy Tidwell, (512) 365-7761

— Staff report

CrappieContinued From Page 1

but I had a client catch one on a fl y-rod this morn-ing. They will eat anything from cut shad to a salt-water fl y.”

La Bauve said ling, or cobia, are normally around in spring, but he did notice them a few weeks early this year.

“They often come in here at the end of April, but they were maybe a few weeks early this year,” he said. “We are also catching a lot of kingfi sh out on 35-mile rocks. You sometimes fi nd kings and ling in the same area.”

Ling like to hang around struc-ture, making them fun targets of anyone fi shing rocky bottoms, buoys, oil rigs or jetties.

Wyatt Hickman at Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Aransas said they have been picking up ling on their 12-hour trips.

“They are defi nitely starting to show up and we have caught a few,” Hickman said. “The last cou-ple of weeks, they have been close in (to shore). We are seeing about four or fi ve dozen coming in on a weekly basis.

“On calm days, we are catching them near rigs, but with the high winds the past week, it has been

hit or miss.”Hickman said they have been using arti-

fi cials such as large Rat-L-Traps and feather jigs, along with squid and sardines to entice the hard-fi ghting fi sh to bite.

One trick to entice a big ling to bite is to troll in and out of weed lines with a large artifi cial lure, such as a 7- or 8-inch Rapala. The crew from LSON caught several ling by zigzagging through weed lines instead of run-ning alongside.

Down south in Port Isabel, Capt. Todd Lohry said he has seen schools, which isn’t uncommon for his area this time of year.

“The ling are hit and miss all the time in this area,” he said. “They move through about now every year. I’ve seen a lot of schools of smaller ones.

“There are more now at wrecks and buoys.”Capt. Shannon La Beauve, (713) 962-7502Capt. Todd Lohry, (956) 299-0444

LingContinued From Page 1

7 1/2-inch beard and spurs less than 1 inch, shocking other hunters in camp due to the large body size of the bird.

Although many birds having short beards, some hunters have taken the occa-sional ground dragger.

Facebook fan of LSON Robert Steenbeke, from Schertz, killed a huge, double-bearded bird on April 18 that sported a 10 1/2-beard and another 7-inch beard with good spurs.

So there are some old toms still dragging around a long beard.

“Beards are hair,” said Dr. Bret Collier, a wild-life research scientist at Texas A&M University. “They are an ornament and after a year under the food stress, the ornament characteristically will suffer. I’m not sure I would say it was spe-cifi cally from the drought.

“There is an inherent variability in the species.”Collier said more than the drought, the

fact that toms are actually strutting, fi ght-ing and breeding this spring could be a big-ger factor for shorter beards on many toms.

“With so much breeding and fi ghting going on, toms will be rubbing and knock-ing the beard,” he said. “That could lead to shorter beards, especially if they were already brittle after the rough year last year.”

Jason Hardin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department lead turkey biologist, said every-

thing was stressed after last year, turkeys included.“We are seeing a lot of discoloration and

smaller beards,” Hardin said. “The birds were severely stressed last year. It is nothing they can’t recover from with a good spring this year, but the turkeys were in bad shape.”

Hardin and Collier said the vast majority of the birds killed this spring have been two years old or older, because almost no breed-ing took place last year.

Big turkeysContinued From Page 1




NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under the birds when the wind allows on soft plastics and scented plastics. Redfi sh are fair to good in the marsh on small top-waters and Stanley Ribbits.

SOUTH SABINE: Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout are fair to good around the Reef on live shrimp and scented plastics under a pop-ping cork.

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 plas-tics and soft eels. Redfi sh are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet. Catfi sh are good in the marsh on shrimp.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on top-waters and soft plastics on the incoming tide. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Bull redfi sh and sharks are

good on the beachfront on natural baits.

TEXAS CITY: Redfi sh are fair in Moses Lake on shrimp and mullet. Sand trout and a few black drum are fair in the channel off the dike.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs in Christmas Bay. Black drum and redfi sh are fair to good at San Luis Pass on cracked blue crabs.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair to good for drifters on live shrimp over humps and scattered shell. Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of

the Intracoastal on crabs and mullet.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good in Oyster Lake on shrimp. Trout are fair on shell and grass on soft plastics.

PORT O'CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are fair on top-waters over mud and grass in San Antonio Bay. Trout and redfi sh are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp.

ROCKPORT: Black drum are fair to good in the Lydia Ann Chan-nel on crabs. Trout are fair over grass while drifting with live shrimp and scented plastics.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh are fair to good around Shamrock Cove on small top-waters and spoons. Trout are fair to good on the edge of the spoils on scented plastics and live shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and top-waters. Redfi sh are good while cast-ing to sand holes along the shorelines. Trout are fair to good on the King Ranch shoreline on top-waters and soft plastics.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on top-waters around sand and grass holes

and along ICW spoils. Redfi sh are fair to good while drifting potholes.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on plastics shrimp and scented plastics. Jack crevalle, redfi sh, sheepshead and trout are fair to good at the jetty on live bait.

PORT ISABEL: Snook are fair in the Brownsville Ship Channel on free–lined shrimp. Trout and redfi sh are fair to good in South Bay on live shrimp. Redfi sh are fair while drifting sand and grass fl ats on live shrimp and scented plastics.

—TPWD

Windy daysKEITH LAKE — According to guide Lindy

Hebert of Lucky Lindy Charters, the wind has been blowing strong on Sabine the past few days.

“After all the wind and weather, Sabine Lake has two sides,” Hebert said on his fi sh-ing report. “East side looked like coffee (not bad — brown but clear). The West side of Sabine Lake looked more like chocolate milk (real bad).” After getting blown around in the coffee side, Hebert only caught a huge gaff-top under a popping cork.

After a trip to calmer waters near Pleasure Island, Hebert said, “the wind was calmer and we actually caught a couple of nice speckled trout. I decided since we were out of the water, I would try Keith Lake. My second

cast, I thought I was hung up and caught a nice fl ounder. After fi shing that area really hard, that was it.”

Hebert ended the day with a nice mess of trout and several redfi sh after fi nding a group of seagulls over bait.

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

Port A-verageARANSAS PASS —The fi shing has been

average in Port Aransas, but very good in Copano and Port Bay, according to Capt. Cady’s Bait House in Aransas Pass.The manager said she got her fi rst shipment

of croaker last week and guides have been buy-ing a lot of it, as well as mullet and shrimp.

She said crabs have been in short supply, and they sell quickly when they have them in the store.

Other reports from the Port Aransas area had black drum being caught in the Shrimpboat

Channel on crabs and fi nger mul-let, along with good catches of

sheepshead and redfi sh near the jetties.

Trout are also beginning to show up at the jetty as well.

To contact Cady’s Bait House, call (361) 688-3731.

Nice troutMARKER 67 — Capt. Mac Newton said

the fi shing around South Padre Island is just coming into the peak time, with the spring bite going strong for trout and redfi sh.

“We had a trip last week and caught two trout over 20 inches,” Newton said. ‘My cli-

ent from New Braunfels had a personal best 25- incher. We also caught another one that

went 22 and a nice redfi sh that went almost 28 inches. We had ten total trout over 15 inches, so it was a good trip.”

Newton said scented plastics and other artifi cials were catching fi sh.

“The reds have been a little fi nicky,” he said. “But one big red will make it worthwhile.”

Newton said more and more boats are out on the water, especially on the weekends, which is usual for the area in the spring.

Newton has been focusing on the north end of the island near Marker 67, south of the Gas Well Flats.

Other reports had Jack crevalle, redfi sh, sheepshead and trout being fair to good at the jetty on live bait.

To contact Capt. Mac Newton, call (956) 873-0444.

— Conor Harrison

Sponsored by

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

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By Craig NyhusPhotography by David J. SamsLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

A dozen redheads approached the spread of decoys, while two hunters waited in the “Middle” blind, located in virtually the same spot where hunters sat a century ago. One of the hunters wondered if the fast-fl ying ducks were the descendants of the huge fl ocks of redhead that swarmed Port Bay in 1912.

Both the birds and the bird hunt-ers have been returning to The Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club at least that long, as the oldest contin-uously running hunting and fi shing club in Texas will soon begin its 100th year. Much has changed in a century at the club, near Rockport, but amaz-ingly, much has stayed the same.

The club began as a camp operated by Andy Sorenson, who purchased the property around 1900 and later decided to turn it into a club.

Longtime member John Cooper of Houston has a copy of the original deed showing it was incorporated on May 25, 1912.

Unfortunately, records and photo-graphs going back that far are either long gone or were never there.

The membership has remained near the century mark since the club’s inception, and initially was made up of a lot of out-of-staters.

“The fi rst 10 stock certifi cate hold-ers were from the North, places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois and New York,” Cooper said.

Early members rode the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad to Gregory.

Duck hunting methods, though, haven’t changed much. A launch boat pulling a row of skiffs transported the hunters to blinds set in the bay.

Today’s launch boat is a converted shrimper, and the skiffs have motors, but the practice still continues.

“Some of our members who came out as kids still recall rowing the skiff to the blinds,” Cooper said.

Lead shot has been replaced by steel shot, the old wooden decoys have

Port Bay Huntingand Fishing Club

celebratescentennial

See 100 YEARS, Page 22

OLD TRADITIONS, NEW BEGINNINGS: Historical photos from 1950 taken by the San Antonio Express News Magazine show the Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club clubhouse, launch and skiffs carrying hunters. Eric Nelson of The Woodlands may have been the last member to hunt over the old wooden decoys. A skiff is about to leave the historic “Middle” blind while yet another fl ock of redheads approach. The club hosts more families than ever before, like club president Ralph McDade, who has made the club’s Thanksgiving feast a family tradition. And fi shing has remained a popular pastime throughout the year.

Time testedtraditions


HEROES

While hunting in Freer this season, Eagle Pass hunter RACHEL DRAEGER shot her fi rst turkey. The mature tom had an 11-inch beard, 1-inch spurs and weighed 19 pounds.

SHARE AN ADVENTURE■ Want to share hunting and fi shing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers? E-mail them with contact and caption information to [email protected]. High-resolution original jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

Garland angler MICHAEL JUSTUS caught this toad in March fi shing Lake Fork. The big bass weighed 13.1 pounds and was caught fi shing a fi nesse worm drop-shot rig in 7 feet of water.

STACEY BROOKINGS of Midland caught this 13.22-pound bass on March 25 fi shing on O.H. Ivie Reservoir. The big female was 26.5 inches long and had a 20-inch girth. Brookings caught the bass on a spinner bait in 8 feet of water.

Florida hunters WILEY, 11, and BRAXTON GILLAM show two toms they recently harvested while hunting at the Plaska Ladge in Hall County.

The Whodathunkit Ranch near Brackettville produced this big aoudad on a Thanksgiving hunt for CHAD LAY.

RALPH VETTER from New Braunfels holds the 12-point buck he killed in December on a ranch in Comal County, weeks before his 69th birthday. The deer scored 140 B&C.

ERIK MCCOWAN holds a nice 13-pound yellow

catfi sh that he caught in the Colorado River near Smithville on a limb line

baited with live perch.


April 27Coastal Conservation AssociationEast Texas Chapter Annual BanquetBanita Creek Hall, Nacogdoches(936) 559-5500ccatexas.org

YO RanchGame Ranching SeminarYO Ranch, Mountain Home1-800-YORanchyoranch.com

April 28Ducks UnlimitedWinnie/Stonewall DinnerWinnie-Stonewall Community Center(409) 267-7116ducks.org

Central Texas Safari ClubAnnual GalaAustin Crowne Plaza(512) 773-5674centexsci.org

Dallas Safari ClubBig Bore ShootTexas Pistol Academy, Whitewright(214) 980-9800biggame.org

Bass Champs TournamentEast Region #4Sam Rayburn Reservoir(817) 439-3274 basschamps.com

April 28-29Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentBowhunter Education ClassTyler and Garland(903) 292-7014 and (214) 382-6087tpwd.state.tx.us

May 3Coastal Conservation AssociationFort Worth Chapter Annual BanquetJoe T’s, Fort Worth(817) 291-1302

Coastal Conservation AssociationSan Antonio Chapter Annual Banquet Freeman Exhibition Hall(210) 837-5500ccatexas.org

Houston Safari ClubShoot for the TroopsGreater Houston Gun Club(713) 623-8866houstonsafariclub.org

May 4-5Tails and TunesFishing Tournament and Music FestivalGalveston County Fairgrounds, Hitchcocktailsandtunes.com

May 5Dallas Safari ClubYouth SAFETY EventGreystone Castle, Mingus(214) 980-9800biggame.org

Bass Champs TournamentCentral Region #4Lake Travis(817) 439-3274 basschamps.com

Texas Team Trail TournamentLake Livingston(210) 788-4143texasteamtrail.com

May 10Ducks UnlimitedNew Braunfels DinnerNew Braunfels Civic Center(830) 660-2007ducks.org

CASA of Denton County12th Annual Pulling for Kids Sporting Clay TournamentDallas Gun Club, Lewisville(940) 243-2272casadenton.org

May 11Texas Deer AssociationCorpus Christi Chapter Casino FundraiserRichard M. Borchard Fairgrounds(210) 767-8300texasdeerassociation.com

May 11-13Great Outdoors ExpoHorseshoe Center, Midland(806) 253-1322goetx.com

May 12Bass Champs TournamentNorth Region #4Lake Tawakoni(817) 439-3274 basschamps.com

May 18-20Legend of Lake Fork8th Annual Open Bass TournamentLake Fork(903) 383-7748legendofl akefork.com

May 19Bass Champs TournamentSouth Region #5Choke Canyon(817) 439-3274 basschamps.com

Arabia Shrine Sportsmen8th Annual Fishing TournamentMatagorda Harborshrinesports.com

UV CountryGrand Opening CelebrationAlvin(281) 824-1198uvcountry.com

May 19-20Creekside Christian Fellowship7th Annual Creekside Hunting and Fishing ShowCreekside Christian Fellowship Facility, Needville(832) 287-5217creeksideshow.com

Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentBowhunter Education ClassPottsboro and Weatherford(903) 821-7640 and (817) 999-8585tpwd.state.tx.us

May 22Ducks UnlimitedPlano Chapter BanquetLove and Peace, Plano(903) 372-6089ducks.org

May 24Texas Deer AssociationSan Antonio Chapter BanquetPearl Brewery Stables(210) 767-8300texasdeerassociation.com

May 26Hooked for LifeKids Fishing TournamentBrownsville Event Centerhookedforlife.us

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Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscrip-tion is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand cop-ies are $2, in certain markets are free, one per person. Copyright 2012 with all rights reserved. Reproduction and/or use of any photographic or written material without writ-ten permission by the publisher is prohibited. Subscribers may send address changes to: Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355 or e-mail them to [email protected].

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Contributors Kyle CarterDavid DraperShannon DraweWilbur LundeenAaron ReedErich SchlegelDavid SikesScott SommerlatteChuck UzzleRalph Winingham

Polar bear bill takes a step forward

Forty-one hunters who took polar bears in Canada four years ago but have been unable to bring the bears back into the U.S. got one step closer to recovering their trophies yesterday.

House Republicans and several Democrats voted 262-151 in favor of letting the hides back into the U.S. The bill still must pass the Senate.

Dallas Safari Club applauded the passage of the bill in a news release.

“For Dallas Safari Club, which has been working with Congress for three years to allow importation of legally hunted polar bears, yes-terday’s passage of H.R. 4089 in the House of Representatives is especially gratifying.”

DSC has been most intensively involved in the polar bear issue. Since 2009, the club has provided Congressional committees with witnesses, information and support for leg-islation to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in Canada prior to the spe-cies being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Alaska Rep. Don Young cited the Second Amendment and the fact that two of the hunters were wounded American troops.

“They were in Iraq, in that heated area. The one dream they had when they got back was to be able to go and hunt a polar bear. And I can understand that,” Young said.

— Conor Harrison

Pennsylvania state record elk offi cial

The largest elk ever recorded in Pennsylvania, a bull taken in Clearfi eld County by William Zee of Doylestown, Pa., in 2011, has been confi rmed as the new state record.

An offi cial measurer determined a fi nal score of 442 6/8 B&C non-typical points, which ranks ninth among all non-typical elk in Boone and Crockett records.

The bull had nine points on the right ant-

ler and eight on the left, with a 47-7/8 inside spread. The antlers are unusually wide — an impressive 69 inches at their widest point.

The record elk is a result of a long elk res-toration and habitat conservation effort that by the late 1990s began to generate signifi -cant tourism, wildlife watching and hunting opportunities.

The previous Pennsylvania state record for a non-typical American elk was a bull scoring 441-6/8 taken in 2006.

— Boone and Crockett Club

CA poachers busted with steelhead

While conducting a search warrant for drugs, Mendocino County law enforcement offi cials were surprised when they also found endangered wild steelhead and poached ducks.

Department of Fish and Game Warden Don Powers seized 18 wild steelhead and 56 ducks from freezers in two locations while assisting the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department in serving search warrants for illegal marijuana propagation. The wild steel-head, 17 of which were spawning females, are believed to be from the Garcia River in Mendocino County, where they are protected and listed under the Endangered Species Act.

“Enforcement efforts are critical to ensur-ing the threatened wild steelhead stocks are able to rebuild by returning and com-pleting their spawning cycle on the Garcia River,” said Nancy Foley, DFG’s Chief of Enforcement.

— CDFG

Oklahoma bass records fall

Just days after Poteau angler Benny Williams Jr. landed a new state record large-mouth bass from Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma, an angler in the opposite south-ern corner of the state reeled in a new state

record smallmouth bass.Ryan Wasser of Pocasset was fi shing March

31 at Lake Lawtonka in preparation for an upcoming local tournament when he hooked a fi sh that he knew was special.

“The fi sh came to the top where I could see it, and I knew that I had a potential record-type smallmouth on,” he said.

At 8 pounds, 7 ounces, the fi sh outweighs the previous record smallmouth by four ounces.

Wasser caught the bass on a 1/4-ounce Shaky head rigged with a fi nesse worm and 10-pound test line. The fi sh measured 23 1/8 inches in length and 18 inches in girth.

“I was fi shing in less than 5 feet of water when the bass bit,” Wasser said.

The new smallmouth record comes weeks after the Oklahoma state largemouth record was broken by Williamson Cedar Lake.

Williams was fi shing with a Strike King jig when the 14-pound, 12.3-ounce bass hit.

Williams’ fi sh broke a state record held since 1999 when William Cross caught a 14-pound, 11.52-ounce bass from Broken Bow Lake.

— ODWC

Quail restoration efforts in Kansas

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is launching a new quail restora-tion initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations.

The state initiative includes the designa-tion of two large quail management focal areas and as much as $500,000 of KDWPT wildlife fee funds over fi ve years to attract landowner participation.

Primary objectives are a 50 percent increase in bobwhite populations and a 5 percent increase in suitable quail habitat in each focus area.

“Bobwhite populations in eastern Kansas have declined by 50 percent or more in the past three decades or so and even more across other parts of its range nationally,”

says Jim Pitman, small game coordinator for KDWPT. “Biologists have associated the declines primarily with land use changes and resultant habitat loss, and they have joined forces across the nation as the National Bobwhite Technical Committee to counter the trend at a landscape scale with the hab-itat-based National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.”

— KDWPT

Youngster lands big record

Andrew Quinn, 8, caught an Alabama state-record king mackerel while fi shing with his family over spring break.

The family was fi shing with Capt. Billy Neff about 20 miles offshore.

After the 30-minute fi ght, Neff called and learned the standing record was 67 pounds, 15 ounces, caught in 2002. Quinn’s fi sh weighed 68 pounds, 3 ounces. Quinn will have to share the record with the previous record holder because of a state rule that fi sh that are 25 pounds or more must beat the standing record by at least a half-percent to dislodge the current record.

— Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

AGFC director announces retirement

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Loren Hitchcock today announced his retirement effective June 30. Hitchcock, who began his career with the AGFC in 1985, has served as director since January 2011. Before that, Hitchcock had served as the interim director.

Hitchcock began his AGFC career as a wildlife offi cer. In 1989, he became chief of the Enforcement Division, a position he held until 2003. In 2001, he took on additional duties as deputy director.

— AGFC


North zoneContinued From Page 4

Stedman said. “According to the bell curve, there is a 7 per-cent probability of a 160-plus buck in South Texas. If you know how many mature bucks (41 percent of all bucks will be 5 1/2 years or older according to the study) are in your herd, multiply by 7 percent.”

Can you increase the number of big bucks?

“You can shift the bell curve to the right,” Stedman said. “You’re managing the bell curve. Good rainfall shifts it to the right, drought to the left. Nutrition and supplemental feeding will shift the curve to the right. Supplemental feed-ing also increases the number of buck fawns on the ground, which will increase the size of the bell curve.”

Another way to increase the number of big bucks is to increase the number of total mature bucks on the property.

“When we started at the Faith Ranch, the deer density was one adult deer per 25 acres,” Stedman said. “That results in 36 mature bucks on 5,000 acres. Seven per-cent of that number is 2.5, so two or three big bucks. If the deer den-sity is increased to one adult deer per 12.5 acres, that would result in 73 mature bucks. Seven percent of that means fi ve big bucks.”

The full series of reports may be viewed at ckwri.tamuk.edu.

the beards or the spurs. Weights are up, but I don’t know if the drought affected the spurs and beard lengths.”

Florida hunters Braxton and Wiley Gillam killed three birds on a hunt in Hall County between storms.

“The dominant toms were henned up,” Gillam said, “but the subdominant birds were readily called. And we hunted one dominant bird one after-noon. He came into our setup, but Wiley, 11, couldn’t get a shot. So we went back the next afternoon, set up in a different spot, and called the same bird right back to us.

“This time, Wiley was ready and dropped the bird with one shot, so mature birds can be called with patience.”

Martin, Stanley named HOFers

Professional angler Tommy Martin of Hemphill and lure manufacturer and angler Lonnie Stanley of Huntington will be inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame June 2, at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.

Martin began guiding on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in 1968 and fi shed in his fi rst tour-nament the following year. He turned pro in 1972 and won the prestigious Bassmaster Classic just two years later.

He was inducted into the National Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Stanley, owner of Stanley Baits, Inc., started building jigs in 1979 after winning a tourna-ment on Toledo Bend Reservoir with one he had made. In 1980 he founded Stanley Lures, manufacturing jigs, spinner baits and other products. While continuing to build jigs in his garage in College Station, he won six more tournaments in 1980 and 1981.

Innovative ideas such as interchangeable skirts, silicone skirts and multi-colored skirts helped Stanley build his company into a multi-million-dollar organization.

— TPWD

Bell curveContinued From Page 4


been replaced by plastic, the bag limits are lower than in the early years, and most mem-bers are now Texans that drive to Rockport.

But there has always been a drawing held each morning for blinds, and now mem-bers draw a number from a custom-carved wooden redhead decoy with a hinged open-ing, donated to the club by Dr. Tom Nelson.

The rooms at the lodge sport names of ducks, with the last reservation usually receiving the Spoonbill room.

Early members included some interest-ing characters, such as Gov. G.W. Peck of Wisconsin and Tris Speaker, a Baseball Hall of Famer with a 22-year career mostly with the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians. Admiral A.L. Mertz, retired from the U.S. Navy, came down from 1921 to 1936.

Jon Clarkson of Houston is a current member, but his family connections go back to the club’s inception.

“We’re pretty sure my great-grandfather, William Clarkson Sr., was a charter mem-ber of the club,” Clarkson said. His son and my grandfather was a member for 20 years beginning in 1930. My dad, William Clarkson III, went to Port Bay as a child and joined after World War II. He remained at the club until his death last year at age 90 — a 65-year member. I joined in 1975, so I’m at 37 years.”

Jon Clarkson’s brother, William Clarkson IV, was a member for 10 years until mov-ing to Atlanta, but Jon has two sons and a daughter and expects the family string of membership to continue.

“I hope they will be applying for member-ship soon,” he said.

Two stalwarts who helped make the club what it is were former managers Milton Harrell and David “Bubba” Davis.

“They were incredible — true outdoors-men, accomplished hunters and David was the best trout/redfi sh guy I have ever been around,” Clarkson said. “Best of all, they did better with the members' children than they did with the grouchy members.”

Dr. Bill Cox of Galveston, a 42-year club member and a regular duck hunter, called Harrell “the best hunter and fi sherman ever.”

“The blinds were perfectly placed and he would tell you how to place your allotted 18 wooden decoys.

“But he wasn't much on maintenance.”In the 1970s, the club’s facilities began

declining, Cox said.

“Paint was peeling and the bathroom facilities were in bad shape,” Cox said. “It was so bad that once I decided to go out in the bushes outside the building. Once my pants were down, I noticed four other people doing the same thing.”

The duck hunting was good, though, albeit less convenient.

“We rarely had guides back then and members brought their own outboard motors from home,” Cox said. “Some of the old skiffs leaked. Harrell’s reply to that was ‘a leaky boat is more stable and easier to shoot from.’”

Although the late 1980s brought an eco-nomic downturn and a loss of members, the remaining members responded.

“We issued Port Bay Bonds to get money to fi x the place up,” Cox said. “The revenue was used to perform structural work on the buildings and build a dining hall.”

In the ’90s, members donated their out-boards to the club and new bathrooms were built. The manager at the time, Robert Atkins, built new skiffs.

Improvements continued in the 2000s under former manager Jeff Kucera.

The changes have drawn new families to the club while maintaining the century-long traditions.

And families are showing up in numbers, with the youngsters free to roam the club and renew friendships each year while the adults gather by the nightly campfi re that burns whether the temperature is 30 or 80 degrees.

Alan Skrobarcek, who has worked at the club for years and is known for being able to fi x any mechanical problem in short order, is now the club manager and is overseeing the construction of the Bubba Davis Memorial Rec Room. And assistant manager Jeremy Griffi s has worked at the club more than half of his entire life, devoted to keeping the club going.

Showing their desire to preserve marsh areas and the hunting opportunities they create, club members recently purchased 450 acres of marsh adjacent to the club.

“The club is in better shape now that it ever has been,” Cox said.

The redhead ducks missed the Centennial Celebration for members of the club on Apr. 27. But rest assured, come November, they will be back.

100 yearsContinued From Page 17

GOOD AS NEW: An overview of The Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club exemplifi es the commitment of mem-bers of the club and its current and former club managers.



LastMay 13

NewMay 21

Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 26

ACROSS1. Home to a rodent

4. This holds the charge 8. A species of deer in Florida 9. Good boat for lake fi shing10. They don’t kill but feast on the

carcass

12. A duty of the gundog13. Angler’s term for a large crappie14. A type of fl y lure16. This prevents easy arrow removal18. An appendage on a turkey’s foot20. Term for a scouting method22. Good to have in a duck blind

24. Name for the large lake trout27. Forward end of a gun barrel28. A male elk29. A large game of the plains33. To move to a new area for food source35. A large grouping of animals36. Name for the leader on a fl y rod37. Indian name for deer

DOWN1. Name for a cold weather tent

2. The ocean stinger 3. The wintertime ermine 4. A large member of the deer family 5. Firing pin crushes against this 6. Commercial boats use very large ones 7. To expel a used shell casing11. The fur seeker’s gear13. The largest bass, ____ bass14. Term for a bass species15. The hill-building pest17. Fish eggs19. The practice shooting area20. A North American waterfowl21. The hunting area23. Protects from skin slap on arrow

release25. Certain area where a game is found26. A wild sheep30. Part of a fi shline31. A brand of bowhunter’s optic32. Term for a shedded antler34. An animal resting place

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 lb. tuna cut into 4 portions 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. mixed garlic power and salt 2 tbsps. honey 1 tsp. mustard lemon wedges

Mix honey, mustard, garlic powder and salt. Brush both sides of each piece with mix. Broil or grill until tuna fl akes easily with a fork (about 4 to 6 minutes to a side depending on thickness and how rare you want the tuna to be). If the tuna is more than 1-inch thick, gently turn it halfway through grilling. Serve garnished with lemon wedges. Yields 4 servings.

— easyfi shrecipes.com

3 lbs. boneless venison cut into bite-sized portions 1 tbsp. sugar 2 large diced onions Flour 2 large minced garlic cloves Salt and pepper to taste 3 tbsps. bacon fat 2 tsps. rosemary 2 cups meat stock

Marinate venison in buttermilk overnight to soften meat and clean taste. Wash thoroughly, dust with fl our, salt and pepper. Brown meat on all sides in bacon fat over medium heat; add onions and remaining ingre-dients. Cover and simmer approximately 1 1/4 hours or until tender.

— wildgamerecipes.org

Venison stew with rosemary

FullMay 6First

April 29Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 12:39 AM 0.3L 9:52 AM 2.6HApr 28 1:31 AM 0.5L 10:42 AM 2.6HApr 29 2:32 AM 0.7L 11:18 AM 2.5HApr 30 3:41 AM 0.9L 11:42 AM 2.4H 5:51 PM 1.7L 10:58 PM 2.1HMay 01 4:58 AM 1.2L 12:00 PM 2.4H 6:06 PM 1.3LMay 02 12:35 AM 2.3H 6:14 AM 1.4L 12:17 PM 2.3H 6:38 PM 0.7LMay 03 1:51 AM 2.7H 7:24 AM 1.7L 12:34 PM 2.3H 7:17 PM 0.2LMay 04 2:56 AM 3.0H 8:28 AM 2.0L 12:53 PM 2.4H 8:00 PM -0.3LMay 05 3:56 AM 3.3H 9:26 AM 2.3L 1:16 PM 2.5H 8:46 PM -0.6LMay 06 4:55 AM 3.4H 10:20 AM 2.5L 1:44 PM 2.6H 9:35 PM -0.8LMay 07 5:52 AM 3.4H 11:12 AM 2.6L 2:17 PM 2.7H 10:26 PM -0.8LMay 08 6:51 AM 3.3H 12:08 PM 2.6L 2:54 PM 2.7H 11:20 PM -0.6LMay 09 7:52 AM 3.1H 1:26 PM 2.6L 3:33 PM 2.6HMay 10 12:17 AM -0.3L 8:52 AM 2.9HMay 11 1:20 AM 0.1L 9:48 AM 2.8H

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 1:05 AM 0.3L 10:39 AM 2.1HApr 28 1:57 AM 0.4L 11:29 AM 2.1HApr 29 2:58 AM 0.5L 12:05 PM 2.0HApr 30 4:07 AM 0.7L 12:29 PM 1.9H 6:17 PM 1.4L 11:45 PM 1.7HMay 01 5:24 AM 0.9L 12:47 PM 1.9H 6:32 PM 1.0LMay 02 1:22 AM 1.9H 6:40 AM 1.1L 1:04 PM 1.9H 7:04 PM 0.6LMay 03 2:38 AM 2.1H 7:50 AM 1.4L 1:21 PM 1.9H 7:43 PM 0.2LMay 04 3:43 AM 2.4H 8:54 AM 1.6L 1:40 PM 1.9H 8:26 PM -0.2LMay 05 4:43 AM 2.6H 9:52 AM 1.8L 2:03 PM 2.0H 9:12 PM -0.5LMay 06 5:42 AM 2.7H 10:46 AM 2.0L 2:31 PM 2.1H 10:01 PM -0.6LMay 07 6:39 AM 2.7H 11:38 AM 2.1L 3:04 PM 2.2H 10:52 PM -0.6LMay 08 7:38 AM 2.6H 12:34 PM 2.1L 3:41 PM 2.2H 11:46 PM -0.5LMay 09 8:39 AM 2.5H 1:52 PM 2.1L 4:20 PM 2.1HMay 10 12:43 AM -0.3L 9:39 AM 2.3HMay 11 1:46 AM 0.1L 10:35 AM 2.2H

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Apr 27 2:01 AM 0.2L 11:09 AM 1.3HApr 28 2:53 AM 0.2L 11:59 AM 1.2HApr 29 3:54 AM 0.3L 12:35 PM 1.2HApr 30 5:03 AM 0.4L 12:59 PM 1.2H 7:13 PM 0.8LMay 01 12:15 AM 1.0H 6:20 AM 0.6L 1:17 PM 1.1H 7:28 PM 0.6LMay 02 1:52 AM 1.1H 7:36 AM 0.7L 1:34 PM 1.1H 8:00 PM 0.4LMay 03 3:08 AM 1.3H 8:46 AM 0.8L 1:51 PM 1.1H 8:39 PM 0.1LMay 04 4:13 AM 1.4H 9:50 AM 1.0L 2:10 PM 1.2H 9:22 PM -0.1LMay 05 5:13 AM 1.6H 10:48 AM 1.1L 2:33 PM 1.2H 10:08 PM -0.3LMay 06 6:12 AM 1.6H 11:42 AM 1.2L 3:01 PM 1.3H 10:57 PM -0.4LMay 07 7:09 AM 1.6H 12:34 PM 1.2L 3:34 PM 1.3H 11:48 PM -0.4LMay 08 8:08 AM 1.6H 1:30 PM 1.3L 4:11 PM 1.3HMay 09 12:42 AM -0.3L 9:09 AM 1.5H 2:48 PM 1.2L 4:50 PM 1.3HMay 10 1:39 AM -0.2L 10:09 AM 1.4HMay 11 2:42 AM 0.0L 11:05 AM 1.3H

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 12:57 AM 0.2L 10:13 AM 1.8HApr 28 1:50 AM 0.2L 10:57 AM 1.7HApr 29 2:55 AM 0.4L 11:34 AM 1.7HApr 30 4:13 AM 0.5L 12:05 PM 1.6H 7:06 PM 0.9L 11:34 PM 1.2 HMay 01 5:42 AM 0.6L 12:32 PM 1.5H 7:05 PM 0.7LMay 02 1:03 AM 1.4H 7:13 AM 0.8L 12:55 PM 1.4H 7:23 PM 0.5LMay 03 2:17 AM 1.7H 8:38 AM 0.9L 1:16 PM 1.3H 7:53 PM 0.2LMay 04 3:23 AM 1.9H 10:00 AM 1.1L 1:33 PM 1.3H 8:30 PM -0.1LMay 05 4:25 AM 2.1H 11:25 AM 1.2L 1:46 PM 1.3H 9:13 PM -0.3LMay 06 5:26 AM 2.2H 10:00 PM -0.4LMay 07 6:26 AM 2.3H 10:51 PM -0.5LMay 08 7:28 AM 2.2H 11:45 PM -0.4LMay 09 8:29 AM 2.1HMay 10 12:43 AM -0.2L 9:27 AM 2.0HMay 11 1:46 AM 0.0L 10:17 AM 1.8H

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 12:44 AM 0.0L 11:01 AM 1.6HApr 28 1:37 AM 0.1L 11:30 AM 1.6HApr 29 2:39 AM 0.3L 11:49 AM 1.5HApr 30 3:50 AM 0.4L 12:01 PM 1.4H 6:38 PM 1.0L 10:31 PM 1.1HMay 01 5:10 AM 0.6L 12:07 PM 1.3H 6:36 PM 0.7LMay 02 12:45 AM 1.2H 6:36 AM 0.8L 12:07 PM 1.2H 6:58 PM 0.3LMay 03 2:19 AM 1.4H 8:06 AM 0.9L 11:59 AM 1.1H 7:31 PM -0.1LMay 04 3:37 AM 1.5H 8:10 PM -0.4LMay 05 4:47 AM 1.7H 8:54 PM -0.7LMay 06 5:55 AM 1.7H 9:42 PM -0.9LMay 07 7:02 AM 1.8H 10:33 PM -0.9LMay 08 8:07 AM 1.8H 11:26 PM -0.8LMay 09 9:08 AM 1.7HMay 10 12:21 AM -0.6L 9:59 AM 1.6HMay 11 1:18 AM -0.3L 10:35 AM 1.5H

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 3:59 AM 0.2L 3:21 PM 0.9HApr 28 4:57 AM 0.3L 3:56 PM 0.9HApr 29 5:55 AM 0.4L 4:20 PM 0.8HApr 30 6:54 AM 0.4L 4:30 PM 0.8HMay 01 7:58 AM 0.6L 2:33 PM 0.7H 9:21 PM 0.5LMay 02 5:50 AM 0.7H 9:24 AM 0.7L 12:22 PM 0.7H 9:31 PM 0.4LMay 03 7:12 AM 0.8H 9:59 PM 0.3LMay 04 8:22 AM 0.9H 10:38 PM 0.1LMay 05 9:29 AM 1.0H 11:25 PM 0.0LMay 06 10:40 AM 1.1HMay 07 12:17 AM 0.0L 12:01 PM 1.1HMay 08 1:15 AM -0.1L 1:28 PM 1.1HMay 09 2:16 AM 0.0L 2:43 PM 1.1HMay 10 3:19 AM 0.0L 3:30 PM 1.0HMay 11 4:20 AM 0.1L 3:15 PM 0.9H

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 5:32 AM 0.2L 8:14 PM 0.5HApr 28 6:19 AM 0.2L 9:17 PM 0.5HApr 29 7:03 AM 0.3L 10:42 PM 0.4HApr 30 7:42 AM 0.3L 3:46 PM 0.4H 7:54 PM 0.4LMay 01 12:51 AM 0.4H 8:13 AM 0.3L 2:52 PM 0.4H 9:13 PM 0.3LMay 02 3:52 AM 0.4H 8:20 AM 0.4L 2:06 PM 0.4H 10:11 PM 0.3LMay 03 1:29 PM 0.5H 11:04 PM 0.2LMay 04 1:19 PM 0.5H 11:57 PM 0.2LMay 05 1:43 PM 0.5HMay 06 12:50 AM 0.2L 2:30 PM 0.6HMay 07 1:46 AM 0.1L 3:30 PM 0.6HMay 08 2:44 AM 0.1L 4:38 PM 0.6HMay 09 3:41 AM 0.2L 5:51 PM 0.6HMay 10 4:36 AM 0.2L 7:05 PM 0.5HMay 11 5:25 AM 0.2L 8:20 PM 0.5H

Houston2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApr-May Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets27 Fri 10:55 4:43 11:20 5:07 06:42 07:55 11:27a 12:38a 28 Sat Q 11:47 5:35 ----- 5:59 06:41 07:55 12:24p 1:20a 29 Sun 12:12 6:24 12:36 6:48 06:40 07:56 1:22p 2:00a 30 Mon 12:59 7:11 1:23 7:35 06:39 07:57 2:22p 2:38a 01 Tue 1:44 7:56 2:09 8:21 06:38 07:57 3:24p 3:14a 02 Wed 2:28 8:40 2:53 9:06 06:37 07:58 4:27p 3:51a 03 Thu 3:12 9:26 3:39 9:53 06:36 07:58 5:34p 4:30a 04 Fri > 4:01 10:15 4:29 10:43 06:36 07:59 6:43p 5:12a 05 Sat > 4:54 11:09 5:24 11:39 06:35 08:00 7:53p 5:58a 06 Sun F 5:54 ----- 6:25 12:09 06:34 08:00 9:04p 6:50a 07 Mon > 6:59 12:43 7:31 1:15 06:33 08:01 10:10p 7:48a 08 Tue > 8:07 1:52 8:39 2:23 06:33 08:02 11:11p 8:50a 09 Wed 9:15 3:00 9:45 3:30 06:32 08:02 NoMoon 9:54a 10 Thu 10:19 4:06 10:47 4:33 06:31 08:03 12:04a 10:59a 11 Fri 11:18 5:05 11:44 5:31 06:30 08:04 12:50a 12:01p 12 Sat ----- 5:58 12:10 6:22 06:30 08:04 1:30a 1:00p 13 Sun Q 12:34 6:45 12:56 7:07 06:29 08:05 2:06a 1:57p 14 Mon 1:16 7:27 1:37 7:48 06:29 08:06 2:39a 2:51p 15 Tue 1:55 8:05 2:16 8:26 06:28 08:06 3:11a 3:44p 16 Wed 2:32 8:42 2:53 9:03 06:27 08:07 3:42a 4:37p

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightApr 27 12:54 AM -0.1L 10:48 AM 1.6HApr 28 1:49 AM 0.0L 11:23 AM 1.6HApr 29 2:51 AM 0.1L 11:47 AM 1.5HApr 30 4:03 AM 0.3L 12:05 PM 1.4H 6:40 PM 0.9L 11:10 PM 1.0HMay 01 5:22 AM 0.6L 12:17 PM 1.4H 6:45 PM 0.6LMay 02 1:05 AM 1.3H 6:44 AM 0.8L 12:24 PM 1.4H 7:08 PM 0.4LMay 03 2:29 AM 1.6H 8:08 AM 1.1L 12:25 PM 1.4H 7:40 PM 0.1LMay 04 3:40 AM 1.9H 9:38 AM 1.4L 12:16 PM 1.4H 8:18 PM -0.1LMay 05 4:45 AM 2.2H 9:01 PM -0.4LMay 06 5:48 AM 2.3H 9:47 PM -0.5LMay 07 6:51 AM 2.3H 10:37 PM -0.6LMay 08 7:52 AM 2.2H 11:29 PM -0.6LMay 09 8:51 AM 2.1HMay 10 12:23 AM -0.5L 9:43 AM 1.9HMay 11 1:21 AM -0.3L 10:25 AM 1.7H

San Antonio2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApr-May Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets27 Fri 11:08 4:55 11:32 5:20 06:55 08:07 11:41a 12:50a 28 Sat Q 11:59 5:47 ----- 6:12 06:54 08:07 12:38p 1:33a 29 Sun 12:25 6:37 12:49 7:01 06:53 08:08 1:36p 2:12a 30 Mon 1:12 7:24 1:36 7:48 06:52 08:09 2:35p 2:50a 01 Fri 3:01 9:16 3:30 9:44 06:34 08:28 5:41p 4:00a 02 Sat > 3:53 10:08 4:23 10:39 06:34 08:29 6:51p 4:48a 03 Sun > 4:50 11:05 5:21 11:37 06:34 08:29 7:59p 5:43a 04 Mon F 5:51 ----- 6:23 12:07 06:34 08:29 9:04p 6:43a 05 Tue F 6:56 12:40 7:27 1:11 06:34 08:30 10:02p 7:47a 06 Wed > 8:01 1:46 8:30 2:16 06:33 08:30 10:53p 8:53a 07 Thu > 9:04 2:51 9:32 3:18 06:33 08:31 11:38p 9:58a 08 Fri 10:04 3:51 10:29 4:17 06:33 08:31 NoMoon 11:01a 09 Sat 10:58 4:47 11:22 5:10 06:33 08:32 12:17a 12:00p 10 Sun 11:48 5:37 ----- 5:59 06:33 08:32 12:52a 12:57p 11 Mon Q 12:09 6:22 12:33 6:43 06:33 08:32 1:25a 1:51p 12 Tue 12:53 7:04 1:14 7:25 06:33 08:33 1:57a 2:44p 13 Wed 1:32 7:43 1:54 8:05 06:33 08:33 2:30a 3:37p 14 Thu 2:11 8:22 2:33 8:44 06:33 08:34 3:04a 4:30p 15 Fri 2:50 9:02 3:13 9:25 06:33 08:34 3:40a 5:24p 16 Sat 3:31 9:43 3:55 10:07 06:33 08:34 4:19a 6:17p

Amarillo2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApr-May Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets27 Fri 11:21 5:09 11:46 5:33 07:00 08:28 11:43a 1:17a 28 Sat Q ----- 6:01 12:13 6:25 06:59 08:29 12:42p 1:57a 29 Sun 12:38 6:50 1:02 7:14 06:58 08:30 1:42p 2:34a 30 Mon 1:25 7:37 1:49 8:01 06:57 08:31 2:45p 3:09a 01 Tue 2:10 8:22 2:34 8:47 06:56 08:31 3:50p 3:43a 02 Wed 2:54 9:06 3:19 9:32 06:55 08:32 4:56p 4:18a 03 Thu 3:38 9:52 4:05 10:18 06:54 08:33 6:06p 4:53a 04 Fri > 4:26 10:41 4:55 11:09 06:53 08:34 7:18p 5:32a 05 Sat > 5:20 11:35 5:50 ----- 06:52 08:35 8:31p 6:16a 06 Sun F 6:20 12:11 6:51 12:35 06:51 08:36 9:43p 7:06a 07 Mon > 7:25 1:09 7:57 1:41 06:50 08:36 10:50p 8:02a 08 Tue > 8:33 2:18 9:05 2:49 06:49 08:37 11:50p 9:04a 09 Wed 9:41 3:26 10:11 3:56 06:48 08:38 NoMoon 10:09a 10 Thu 10:45 4:31 11:13 4:59 06:47 08:39 12:42a 11:15a 11 Fri 11:44 5:31 ----- 5:57 06:46 08:40 1:26a 12:20p 12 Sat 12:12 6:24 12:36 6:48 06:45 08:40 2:04a 1:22p 13 Sun Q 12:59 7:11 1:22 7:33 06:45 08:41 2:37a 2:21p 14 Mon 1:42 7:52 2:03 8:14 06:44 08:42 3:07a 3:18p 15 Tue 2:20 8:31 2:42 8:52 06:43 08:43 3:36a 4:13p 16 Wed 2:58 9:08 3:19 9:29 06:42 08:44 4:05a 5:09p

Dallas2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONApr-May Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets27 Fri 11:01 4:48 11:25 5:13 06:43 08:04 11:27a 12:51a 28 Sat Q 11:52 5:40 ----- 6:05 06:42 08:05 12:25p 1:32a 29 Sun 12:18 6:30 12:42 6:54 06:41 08:06 1:24p 2:10a 30 Mon 1:05 7:17 1:29 7:41 06:40 08:07 2:26p 2:46a 01 Wed 11:43 5:29 ----- 5:57 06:39 08:07 1:20a 12:19p 02 Thu Q 12:14 6:25 12:38 6:51 06:38 08:08 2:04a 1:23p 03 Fri 1:03 7:15 1:27 7:40 06:37 08:09 2:43a 2:25p 04 Sat 1:48 8:00 2:12 8:23 06:36 08:09 3:19a 3:25p 05 Sun 2:30 8:41 2:53 9:04 06:35 08:10 3:54a 4:24p 06 Mon 3:10 9:22 3:33 9:44 06:35 08:11 4:27a 5:21p 07 Tue 3:51 10:02 4:14 10:25 06:34 08:12 5:02a 6:19p 08 Wed > 4:33 10:45 4:56 11:08 06:33 08:12 5:38a 7:15p 09 Thu > 5:18 11:30 5:42 11:54 06:32 08:13 6:16a 8:11p 10 Fri N 6:06 ----- 6:30 12:42 06:31 08:14 6:57a 9:05p 11 Sat > 6:56 12:44 7:20 1:08 06:30 08:15 7:42a 9:56p 12 Sun > 7:48 1:36 8:12 2:00 06:30 08:15 8:28a 10:44p 13 Mon 8:41 2:29 9:05 2:53 06:29 08:16 9:18a 11:29p 14 Tue 9:34 3:22 9:57 3:45 06:28 08:17 10:09a NoMoon 15 Wed 10:25 4:13 10:48 4:36 06:28 08:18 11:02a 12:10a 16 Thu 11:14 5:03 11:37 5:25 06:27 08:18 11:56a 12:47a

Easy grilled honey glazed tuna

*E-mail LSON your favorite recipe to [email protected].


PRODUCTSGAME SPY D-551RXT:

Moultrie Feeders’ infrared digital game cam-era was redesigned for serious hunters in a smaller size that is easier to handle and to conceal. The 5.0 megapixel camera has a night range of up to 50 feet and operates as a hybrid time-lapse plot camera by day and an

infrared-triggered game camera by night. Among its features are a continuous shooting mode that captures up to three photos per second; three picture resolu-tions and two video resolutions; a picture delay; and more. The game camera comes with a weather-resis-tant camo casing and mounting strap plus an exter-

nal power port. It sells for about $135.

(800) 653-3334www.moultriefeeders.com

asing and mounting strap plus aan exter-rt. It sells for about $135.

34eeders.com

HEARING SYSTEMS, INC.We make premium cus-tom shooting earplugs, made with an innovative diaphragm to reduce loud impulse shot noise while permitting normal sound. Call for an appointment.

(281) 855-8916

DESERT HIDEOUTPrivate: 3 bedroom, 1 bath, waterfront home. On Falcon Lake. Great hunting and fi shing. $60,000 cash.

(512) 777-9377

SOUTH PADRE FISHING

Reds, Trout, Flounder, Snook. Everything sup-plied but food and licenses. Multiple trip discounts. Call Capt. Thomas for details or [email protected].

(956) 551-1965

DECOYS WANTEDWOODEN

Duck and Goose. Top prices paid. Ask for David.

(214) 361-2276

LAKEFORKLODGE.COMRecognized as one of the top fi shing lodges in North America. Also booking upland bird, duck, deer, and hog hunts.

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FOR SALELEOPARD

Full body mount, open mouth. $3,250. Must sell to Texas buyer. Bob (972) [email protected]

LEARN TO FLY FISH CASTING LESSONS

Lessons by a certifi ed cast-ing instructor in Dallas. Group lessons available.

(214) 677-6307

DEER LEASE WANTEDLone Star Outdoor News is looking for a hunt-ing and fi shing lease with all hunt and fi sh rights. Central or Northwest Texas. Camphouse is needed.

(214) 361-2276

STATE WATERFOWLSTAMP/PRINT COLLECTION

FOR SALE 32 total signed and num-bered state prints and stamps from around the country12 state fi rst; Louisiana, Vermont, Arizona,Kansas, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Connecticut, Idaho, Virginia, Nebraska, Canada, Australia. 10 from South Carolina. All unframed.Great art work for any water fowlers offi ce wall or hunting camp. Call and ask for David.

214-361-2276

HOUSE FOR SALE INKERRVILLE

Come to the mecca of Texas hunting in the heart of the Hill Country.Awesome 3/3 with a guest house close to down-town and the ranches.505 Elm St. Call

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SIDE-BY-SIDESHOTGUN

Smith & Wesson Elite Gold20-gauge, 26” BBL, English stock. In box, never fi red. (214) 361-2276 x 201

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THE FISHERMAN’S ASSISTANT: This noncorrosive deep-hook remover from Caliber Outdoor Products will help catch-and-release anglers remove that hook — hopefully without killing the fi sh. Rather than leaving the hook inside the fi sh or using such implements as needle-nosed pliers that can harm the fi sh, this instrument is specifi cally de-

signed to extract swallowed hooks without causing additional trauma to the fi sh. Accord-ing to the company, the hook remover allows anglers to dislodge and fl ip the hook 180 degrees for easy removal. It works on circle and “J” hooks — even when the line has broken off. The hook remover sells for about $25.

(855) 263-2990www.caliberoutdoors.com

NECKLACE: Fishermen who want to unburden themselves

should turn to Dr. Slick. The company, which produces instruments for anglers, sells an

adjustable elastic shock cord with a pad-ded collar designed to hold gear. The

cords has a tippet spool caddy, two RPD retractors, a fl oatant holder, and a wa-

terproof fl y box that accepts existing tools, fl y boxes and gear. Extra features include a 10-pound

breakaway safety connec-tor, compression “O” ring

clips that allow portability of gear, and shirt clips to keep the necklace from swinging when deep wading or cast-

ing. The fully loaded neck-lace includes a nipper, a hook fi le, a clamp and a

bug jelly fl oatant. It sells for about $60.

(800) 462-4474www.drslick.com

SEMI-STRUTTING JAKE DECOY: Part of Carry-Lite’s Pretty Boy Series, this jake decoy in a semi-strutting position will taunt those domi-nant toms into stepping up to a challenge. The de-coy’s head is molded from a freeze-dried turkey head and is hand-painted in a true-to-life scheme to ensure realism. The decoy, which is made from a soft and pliable material, also features a synthetic beard that adjusts for length to go from jake to ma-ture gobbler in seconds. It sells for about $50.

(800) 653-3334www.carrylitedecoys.com

NIGHTFIRE: This 3-inch-long fl ashlight emits 100 lumens of light. Made by River Rock Designs, this 1-ounce fl ash-light is just slightly longer

than its AAA battery, about the size of a .30-06 round of ammo. Easy to clip onto a shirt pocket or tuck into a back pocket or hunting pack, this is a serious little fl ash-light that utilizes an advanced high-tech LED to project light up to 50 yards or to light up a 30-foot by 30-foot sized room. It will run up to

one hour. The Nightfi re sells for about $30.

To purchase, visit:www.riverrocklights.com

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LONE STAR MARKET

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

Puzzle solution from Page 24

Fish stockings set to begin in Texas lakes

Catfi sh anglers in Texas can begin checking gear and getting ready to hit the water after the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department released its fi rst catfi sh-stocking schedule of the season last week.

Sites in Amarillo, Austin, San Antonio, Wichita Falls and Waco will be stocked April 26.

Lakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will also be stocked April 26, except Lakeside Park in Duncanville where the dam is being repaired. Stockings will occur there in early May.

Sites in Houston, Katy and College Station will be stocked with catfi sh on Friday, April 27.

According to TPWD’s Athens hatchery manager Jim Matthews, three bass from the ShareLunker program have been spawned so far this year — two from Falcon Reservoir and one from Lake Ray Roberts. The fry from those fi sh will be placed back into those lakes within the next few weeks.

Other lakes scheduled to receive largemouth

bass fry in early May are Cisco Lake, Lake Ray Hubbard, Tyler East, Lake Worth, Hubbard Creek, Caddo Lake, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Lake Arrowhead, Millers Creek and Coleman City.

Stockings in those locations will run through the middle of June.

“Due to some western lakes not receiving enough rainfall, some stockings have been cancelled,” Matthews said.

Lakes not receiving stockings this summer include Lake Clyde, Lake Trammell, Wards Creek and Lake Pfl ugerville.

According to Rafe Brock, TPWD biologist in Fort Worth, they have requested Florida-strain largemouth bass for Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Worth, hybrids for Lake Ray Hubbard, Lewisville Lake and Benbrook Lake.

They have also asked for smallmouth bass to be stocked in Lake Grapevine.

“We are trying to get enough smallmouth bass in Grapevine to get a natural spawn,” Brock said. “We are in the developmental stage, but we think Grapevine could be a very good smallmouth fi shery in the future.”

— Conor Harrison

Husband-wife team win Bass Champs

Tim and Judy Reneau of Del Rio topped the fi eld of 184 teams to win $20,000 at the South Region Bass Champs event at Lake Amistad. The husband-wife duo boated fi ve bass totaling 27.89 pounds. Trailing with 24.82 pounds was the team of Tim and James Griffi n of Zapata, who took second place.

— Bass Champs

Former deputy dies in fi shing accident

A 63-year-old former Brazos County sheriff's deputy and College Station police offi cer drowned on April 22 after a canoe capsized on private property. Tommy Ray Preston of College Station was fi shing with his nephew. The landowner reported to the Brazos County Sheriff’s Offi ce that Preston did not resurface after his canoe capsized.

— Staff report



Documents

April 27, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting