December 28, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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December 28, 2012 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 9, Issue 9

INSIDE: Journeys, the 2013 Dallas Safari Club show program

Reputation holding

Big bass being caught in December on Fork

By Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Christmas means rutting time to South Texas hunters.

South Texas just needs some cool weather to really kick off the rutting festivities.

“They are trying to chase and get after it, but the weather is just shutting them down,” said Leonel Garza of the famous Muy Grande Deer Contest in Freer. “Hunters have brought in some real nice bucks, but we have just been having some lousy weather. We can’t get any cold weather.”

Zapata County Game Warden Kyle Allison said the bucks he has seen haven’t been doing much in the way of rutting activity.

“It’s pretty slow,” Allison said. “I haven’t seen a lot of movement yet. Hopefully, we will get a cold front and the bucks will start moving.”

Allison said the hunters he has checked are

THAT’S A LUNKER: Gary Sims holds the 15.02-pound largemouth he pulled from Lake Fork this month while crappie fi shing. Photo by TPWD.

See RUTTING, Page 14

Rutting in the

dark down south

❘❚ LSONews.com

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 21Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 21Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 24Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 26Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 16Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 22Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 20Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 21

Inside

Water temps getting right for trout on coast.

Page 8

Almost there❘❚ FISHING

Dallas Ducks 100 taking novel approach.Page 5

Making conservation a business

Grapevine Lake a hotspot.Page 8

Cats close to the city

Texas cookbook on wild game offers more than most.

Page 6

Afi eld

❘❚ HUNTING


Big largemouth are biting across Texas, and anglers are taking advantage.

Lake Fork is known to

produce huge fi sh, and Gunter angler Gary Sims can attest to just that.

Sims caught a 15.02-pound behemoth on Dec. 12 while fi shing with a crappie rig in 30

feet of water when the big fi sh hit.

“I thought all along that I had hooked into a catfi sh,” Sims said. “We’d

By John KeithFor Lone Star outdoor newS

It’s only the middle of quail season, but it might as well be the end for many hunters who have either already hung up their boots or never got them out to begin with.

The problem all comes

down to water, according to David Coonrod, who runs hunts in the Panhandle between Childress and Wellington.

“There’s not many quail,” he said. “We have enough water to sustain some birds, but it’s been awfully dry. I know they’re

Covey counts staying sparse

See BIG BASS, Page 17 See QUAIL, Page 18

Not much daytime activity seen; hunters blame warm weather

Quail still hard to come by

MORE HIDING THAN SEEKING: Hunters continue to report disappoint-ing quail numbers across the state, causing many to dream of better conditions for next year. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

TIME TO SHOW YOURSELF: Buck movement has been slow in South Texas leading up to the Christmas holidays. Hunters welcomed a cold front to get bucks chasing during the day. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Page 2 December 28, 2012 LoneOStar Outdoor News LSONews.com

LSONews.com LoneOStar Outdoor News December 28, 2012 Page 3


HUNTING

Mule deer check stations on target

Geese stay in big groups


Waterfowlers know to expect the unexpected, whether it be a group of teal screaming into the decoys or a pair of redheads appearing from the fog.

For Jefferson County hunter Doug Pedigo, his unexpected moment involved a few snow

geese and a piece of jewelry.“I’ve got a pretty significant

goose roost on my property,” he said. “I roost anywhere from 5,000 to as many as 10,000 snow geese.”

Pedigo said he can usually rely on the geese to arrive at the same time every year, but this season the snows arrived two weeks early.

“I got up probably 5,000 from my duck blind,” he said. “When

it’s real foggy we kill them. This day was warm, sunny with a south wind and 75 degrees.”

Three singles peeled off from a large group and headed straight to Pedigo’s 20 goose decoys he puts out with his duck spread. The one Pedigo shot happened to be banded in Nunavut, Canada.

“I didn’t even call,” he said. “Maybe (the goose) had a girlfriend

there one time. He’s definitely got some frequent flyer miles for sure.”

Pedigo said he has heard some specklebellies at night but has seen very few. He hasn’t seen any cacklers even though he usually sees some by this time most years.

Outfitter Justin Beckendorff hunts west of Houston in the Katy and Brookshire areas. The snow geese have been thick, according to Beckendorff, but hunting them has been tough.

“We’ve had quite a few geese,” he said. “For whatever reason, they’re staying in big groups. We’ve got one or two big, big con-centrations of 40,000-plus and they’re not breaking up into the smaller 5,000 or so groups.”

Beckendorff said he believes the best hunting is still to come.

“It’s been a real spotty season,” he said. “I honestly think the good hunting is just starting.”

A few groups of specks have been around, but the numbers aren’t as high as Beckendorff is accustomed to. He said the same goes for Canada geese.

“We’ve been doing fair on the goose hunts, but nothing like you’d hope,” he said. “It’s not hunts where you aren’t lifting your gun, but it’s nothing like everyone

expected with the big waterfowl numbers predicted.”

Between Lubbock and Wichita Falls, area hunter Stony Trainham has been struggling to stay on the birds.

“It’s been horrible — there’s no water,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything this bad. I think every-thing is going south of us.”

The sandhills haven’t been cooperating for Trainham.

“I’ll see them and they’ll fly over and rest here a day or two, but you can’t hunt them because the next day they’re gone,” he said. “It’s almost like they’re desperate to find water.”

Trainham said there are lesser Canada geese near Knox City, where positive hunting reports have been received.

And the geese are moving into the Panhandle in droves.

“There are millions of geese here,” said Robbie Shankle of Death Row Waterfowl. “We lim-ited on Canadas today (Dec. 21)and more coming in every day — they are mostly snow geese, though, which is unusual. Any body of water around, which aren’t that many, is holding thou-sands of geese.”

Justin Beckendorff, (281) 382-2644Death Row Waterfowl, (806) 367-0554

Lack of water hurting some hunters

COME ON DOWN: Geese have begun arriving in good numbers this season, some several weeks ahead of schedule. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Crandall High School seniors Reed Foster and Dayton Harrell have sev-eral passions in life, but none compares to their love of hunting ducks.

The pair, along with good friend and fel-

low senior Ryan Long, founded Cut em Down Outfitters after a chance encounter with a family friend at church in mid-dle school.

“A guy from our church said, ‘Hey, I’ve

got some ponds with ducks on them. Do you guys duck hunt?’” Foster said. “That was in sixth or seventh grade. We started thinking about how we could make this a lifestyle. We also have our own ponds now.”

The guys still mostly take out their friends, but the group is now sponsored by several companies, including Pacific Calls.

“We are pretty relaxed,” Foster said. “We aren’t forced into working, so we don’t really advertise that much — we do have a Facebook page.”

All three of the seniors are headed to Lubbock in the summer to attend Texas Tech University. Harrell said he plans to major in wildlife biol-ogy or wetlands manage-ment, and they will con-tinue to guide every duck season throughout their final school years.

“We plan to keep it roll-ing when we are home,” Foster said. “We also aren’t going to miss out on the duck and goose hunt-ing in the Panhandle. We might work with an out-fitter up there.”

High school friends turn passion for ducks into

outfitting business

We can do thatDOING WHAT YOU LOVE: Ryan Long, Reed Foster and Dayton Harrell show off a typical morning for Cut em Down Outfitters in Kaufman County. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON.

See YOUNG OUTFITTERS, Page 18

By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

Mule deer hunters in far West Texas dealt with either man-datory or voluntary Chronic Wasting Disease check stations for the first time this season, and it appears the process has gone without a hitch.

“The samplings went real well,” said Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Mule Deer Program Leader Shawn Gray. “We looked at about 280 mule deer and we have the results from about 80 of the animals tested.”

Hunters had no problems or complaints, Gray said.

“The hunters we talked with liked it,” he said. “We’re pretty good at taking samples, so it’s a five-minute deal. They could be in and out in 10 minutes.”

Of the 120 or so mule deer and five elk tested as of Dec. 21, all tests have been nega-tive for CWD, according to TPWD’s CWD results page on it’s website. Ages of the mule deer tested ranged from 1.5 to 7.5 years old. Approximately 20 of the tests came from ani-mals taken in each of the Containment and High Risk zones, and 40 were from the Buffer Zone that stretches up

the Texas/New Mexico border.TPWD wildlife biologist

Jason Wagner worked the Bakersfield check station.

“We had 28 mule deer brought in,” he said. “The busi-est weekend was the last week-end of the season; before that it had been really hot and windy.”

Wagner said the sampling took less than 10 minutes for most hunters, and the mule deer looked very healthy.

“The deer looked in really good condition with a lot of fat on them,” he said. “There weren’t any jaw-dropping muleys brought in to Bakersfield, but there were several 200-plus deer taken to the other check stations.”

Gray said that a few more samples are expected from ranches in the Managed Lands Deer Program system.

Mule deer hunters didn’t face any regulations regarding the movement of the carcasses, but TPWD recommended that hunt-ers in the Containment and High Risk zones bury the inedible car-cass parts at least 6 feet deep or take the parts to a landfill. If nei-ther of these options were pos-sible, it was recommended that hunters quarter their deer in the field and leave all but the quar-ters, backstraps and head at the site of harvest.

First batch of CWD testresults negative


By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

A small group of Dallas busi-nessmen plans to fund a Delta Waterfowl project in North Dakota and use marketplace principles to monitor the results.

“The project is patterned after groups in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi,” said Bruce Klingman, a founding mem-ber of the group, Dallas Ducks 100. “It’s a direct approach where we can monitor direct results.”

The group plans to “put their money where the ducks are,” and fund a site in the duck breeding grounds in North Dakota, focusing on predator management.

Delta’s years of research led the group to consider funding a project.

“We have learned that trapping predators and the use of hen houses

have proven to be the most cost-effective ways to improve hatch rates and brood survival rates,” said Frank Rowher, the acting executive director of Delta Waterfowl, who attended the group’s first meeting. “Trapping predators more than doubles nest success and duckling survival improves as well.”

With expectations of a decline in grasslands set aside through the Conservation Reserve Program,

Group to fund waterfowl project “like a business”

A novel concept in conservationDUCK, DUCK, DUCK: A group of Dallas-area businessmen plan to fund a Delta Waterfowl project in duck breeding zones designed to increase nesting success and duckling survival. Photo by Delta Waterfowl.

See CONSERVATION, Page 7

Cerberus to sell Freedom GroupSuccumbing to pressure from one of its largest investors, pri-

vate equity firm Cerberus Capital Management announced on Dec. 18 it will sell its investment in gunmaker Freedom Group.

One day earlier, The California State Teachers' Retirement System said it was reviewing its investment with the private equity firm after the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting. The system had invested $751.4 million with Cerberus by the end of March 2012, according to its website.

Cerberus acquired firearms maker Bushmaster in 2006 and later merged it with other gun companies including Remington, DPMS/Panther Arms, Marlin and Dakota Arms to create Freedom Group.

Selling Freedom Group “allows us to meet our obligations to the investors whose interests we are entrusted to protect with-out being drawn into the national debate,” Cerberus said in its release.

— Staff report

LCRA to provide some water for rice fields

The Lower Colorado River Authority board, after lengthy testi-mony dominated by a large Highland Lakes contingent, passed an emergency order that will likely provide enough water for first crop rice on approximately 50 percent of the fields in Texas’ Wharton, Matagorda and Colorado counties.

It is very unlikely second crop rice will receive water unless significant rains materialize to increase water storage in the Highland Lakes before midsummer.

Kirby Brown, conservation outreach biologist for Ducks Unlimited, testified before the LCRA board in November regarding the impor-tance of LCRA irrigation district rice for waterfowl on the Gulf Coast.

Approximately 60 percent of the estimated 1.96 million midwinter bird population for the Texas midcoast is expected to rely on ricelands (active and idle flooded rice fields) to meet their food needs.

“We realize that water allocation decisions are challenging, and that compromises have to be made,” Brown said. “However, Ducks Unlimited feels very strongly that the needs of waterfowl and wetland wildlife in the rice prairie wetlands complex must be voiced and evaluated along with other stakeholder interests. There are significant economic impacts tied to rice agriculture and waterfowl hunting, as well as natural resource and cultural heritage considerations.”

For every 10,000 acres of flooded ricelands lost, the region loses the ability to support 120,000 waterfowl.

At the hearing, Brown expressed DU’s commitment to work with LCRA and other water-management entities to find sound conser-vation solutions in the rice prairie wetlands complex.

— DU


Afi eld: A Chef’s Guide to Preparingand Cooking Wild Game and Fish


Denton native and Austin resident Jesse Griffi ths has worked in restaurants his whole life.

He knows some-thing about the value of fresh food, espe-cially wild game.

Griffi ths grew up fi shing the lakes and

rivers of North Texas, but moved to Austin 13 years ago. He began hunting six years ago when friends took him on a dove hunt.

“It was over after that,” Griffi ths said. “I learned butchering in Austin, and when I’m hunting, the butchering and cooking expe-rience really comes into play. I didn’t see a really good reference that showed people the ins and outs. But I’ve learned people are very curious about food.

“They are losing their preconceived notions about hunting, and I thought I could write something that was approachable.”

His book has a Texas fl avor, with many of the species covered living right in most peo-ple’s backyard — crappie, white bass, dove, snipe, ducks, quail, geese, deer, hogs, squirrels, fl ounder and crab.

The pictures accompanying many of the rec-ipes, along with candid shots of Griffi ths in the woods and on the bank, are well-done and have an everyman feel to them — something Griffi ths said he wanted to accentuate.

“We do the majority of our fi shing from the banks and we shoot a lot of does and hogs,” he said. “A friend of mine, Jody Horton, did the photography, and we wanted to illustrate what

hunting and fi shing is like from a food angle.

“Anyone can do this.”Griffi ths said the attitudes of

many people are shifting as the country becomes more aware of what they are eating and where their food comes from. It is a return-to-roots movement for Griffi ths.

“We are seeing a big shift,” he said. “My com-pany (Dai Due) sells stuff at a farmer’s market and that crowd wants to know where their

food comes from. It’s a big shift being able to accept a really good way to procure your food. Our grandparents did that. They grew their own, took what they needed and used it to its full extent because they had to.

“It is sustainable and it is doing it yourself.”Griffi ths said his favorite hunt is out chasing

ducks, but for food, it is hard to beat a Texas hog.“I love duck hunting,” he said. “The appeal is

awesome and I love eating them. But you can’t beat a pig for bounty. They give up so much. I even love the old boars. You can do so much with them.”

For fi sh, Griffi ths loves the coastal pompano for eating, but he said nothing beats sitting on a creek bank catching crappie.

As for the recipes, they run the gamut from the basic — grilled venison tenderloin and grilled fi sh — to the extraordinary like venison heart, smoked catfi sh terrine and teal in a jar.

Griffi ths said being a Texan gives him a unique perspective when it comes to hunting and fi shing for your own food.

“Culturally, Texans are very rooted in tradi-tion and a mind your own business outlook,” he said. “Texas is more lucid. I’m just happy to

have written the book. I’ve got to meet so many great people. And now lots

of people want to take me hunting.”The book is available through

Welcome Books in New York and retails for $40.

From the fi eld to the kitchen, book takes reader throughart of butchering, cooking wild game

JESSE GRIFFITHS

LSON tried several of the recipes in the book and they have all been outstanding. Along with the great recipes, the pictures and step-by-step instruction for butchering game (and using almost every part of the animal) were enjoyable and informative. We recom-mend this book, even to nonhunters.

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

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Griffi ths grew up fi shing the lakes and

rivers of North Texas, but moved to Austin 13 years ago. He began hunting six years ago

“It was over after that,” Griffi ths said. “I learned butchering in Austin, and when I’m hunting, the butchering and cooking expe-rience really comes into play. I didn’t see a really good reference that showed people the ins and outs. But I’ve learned people are very

“They are losing their preconceived notions about hunting, and I thought I could write

His book has a Texas fl avor, with many of


and the prohibitive cost of purchasing land for nesting grounds, focusing on the use of predator control in areas with sparse habitat and low hatch rates makes the most sense, Rowher said.

The proposed site is the size of four town-ships, and private trappers with access to more than 80 percent of the land will be used.

And the group will be watching for results.“We’re a small group of people with the

means to support a specific project,” said another of the founding members, Pat Schultz. “We’ll be looking for provable results — we’re used to running things like

a business and we’ll analyze the ROI (Return on Investment).

“If the results are there, we’ll look at sup-porting multiple projects.”

The group is looking for additional mem-bers willing to contribute at least $1,100.

“The $1,000 goes directly to the projects,” Klingman said. “The $100 is to defray costs of meetings, etc.”

And the group is off to a quick start.“We had 34 people at our first meeting

and signed up 30 of them,” Klingman said. “We’re now up to 40 — and we haven’t sent out our first email yet.”

ConservationContinued From Page 5

A SMELLY JOB: Trappers will be used in specific areas where ducks nest to remove predators of duck eggs and duck-lings. Skunks are known to raid duck nests for the eggs. Photo by Delta Waterfowl.


FISHING

Crappie bite is onFind a brush pile and get to

catching slabsBy Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

The crappie bite is hard to miss along many creeks in Texas.

Just look for the anglers lin-ing the banks, continuously pulling in slabs as they follow shad into the shallows.

North of Lake Livingston on the Trinity River and its myr-iad creek systems, guide Simon Cosper said the bite is ridicu-lously good.

“The fishing is unreal right now,” Cosper said. “We are pounding them in the creeks and river in 15 to 25 feet of water. We are hitting isolated brush piles and big logjams

with black and chartreuse jigs. Those have been the best two colors.”

Cosper said the water clar-ity this year is as good as he has ever seen it.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It is scary how clear and green the water is right now. I grew up here and the water is normally so muddy; it is like offshore fish-ing when you catch a fish — you look for color as they come up.”

Along with crappie, Cosper said the white bass are begin-ning to move up the creeks also.

“A few days ago, we caught 30 crappie and 55 white bass,” he

Cats close to the city


Almost mentioned as an after-thought when naming good lakes close to the Metroplex, Grapevine

Lake quietly and consistently pro-duces large catfish and solid sand bass action.

According to area guide Bobby Kubin, not only is the fishing good, but the access is easy for

anglers.“I think the benefit of Grapevine

is that it’s a smaller lake, so guys in a smaller craft can get out and catch bigger fish,” he said. “When the wind starts blowing on Lewisville or Tawakoni, it can really blow the smaller boats off of the water. It’s a great lake.”

Kubin mainly targets blue cats, but said the channel cats are there to be caught, too.

“The average size is pretty decent,” he said. “For channel cats, 14 or 15 inches is an average-sized catch. For blue cats, it just kind of depends on what you want to target. Over 10 pounds is very common.”

Punchbait and dipbait work well while drift fishing, with fresh shad the best for blue cats.

And this is the best time of year to get out on the water, he said.

“Weekend pleasure boat traffic on Grapevine can be pretty bad in the summertime,” Kubin said. “By 10:30 or 11:00, you need to be back on the ramp. During the win-ter when we’re chasing big blues, you’ll see some sailboats, but we’ll have the lake to ourselves.”

Kubin said that as the water gets colder the shad concentrate, which groups the big fish near the bait.

Area guide Greg Lippincott, who said he has caught multiple catfish weighing more than 50 pounds, agrees.

“It’s excellent for trophy catfish, and it gets a lot better as it gets colder,” he said. “The big (catfish) are going to be moving around

Getting closer


Capt. Ron Frasier is primed and ready for the big trout in Matagorda Bay to get into full swing.

He has seen evidence recently that it could be just around the corner.

“We have been running the gen-erator and catching some really nice trout at night on the river,” he said. “Finger mullet has been the key to catching the bigger ones. In three or four hours the other night, we caught six or eight big trout.”

Along with finger mullet, chrome and black lipless crankbaits are also hooking a lot of fish.

“Those Rat-L-Traps are just smacking

Grapevine Lake offers big blues,

active white bass

NOT SUCH A BABY BLUE: Shad and perch are some of the favorite baits for anglers targeting trophy catfish. Photo by Bobby Kubin.

See CATS, Page 16 See CRAPPIE, Page 16

WHERE ARE THEY NOT BITING? The crappie bite is strong across the state in most creeks and rivers, according to Texas anglers. Photo by LSON.

See MATAGORDA, Page 14

Matagorda water temps dropping,

big trout beginning to show up

STARTING TO SHOW UP: Water temperatures are falling in Matagorda Bay, which signals the beginning of trophy trout season. Photo by Egret Baits.


Mexican poachers caught with snapper

Mexican fishermen are finding it harder and harder these days to poach in Texas waters.

Coast Guard crews seized 151 illegally caught red snapper and the catch will be used to feed sea turtles.

A lancha and Mexican fishermen were initially found adrift in the waters of south-ern Texas by a good Samaritan aboard a fishing boat. The person attempted to assist them, but when they overheard the captain of the fishing boat call the Coast Guard to report the incident at 1:10 p.m., the lan-cha crew untied themselves and resumed drifting.

The term “lancha” refers to crudely made, open-hauled, fiberglass skiff boats, normally around 25 feet in length, that are frequently used for a variety of smuggling activities.

The Coast Guard Station at South Padre Island responded by launching a 33-foot response boat, and the crew seized the lancha and catch at approximately 2:30 p.m. The boat crew towed the lancha back to their station, where the fishermen were transferred to Customs and Border Patrol.

“Although the catches seized in cases such as this are often not suitable to be brought to market, we have been work-ing to find creative alternatives with local partners such as the Sea Turtle Inc. orga-nization, NOAA Fisheries, and the South Padre Island National Park Service to reuse these resources to best benefit the local maritime habitats that are most affected by these activities,” said Cmdr. Daniel Deptula, response officer for Sector Corpus Christi. “Illegal fishing activities, such as gill netting, for example, kill many sea turtles and other protected marine animals. Unfortunately, illegal fishing activities from lanchas coming across the border has been increasing and negatively impacts the local fishing industry at large.

“We ask that mariners assist in pro-tecting our natural resources and marine wildlife by keeping a sharp look out for any suspicious activity and immediately report sightings to the U.S. Coast Guard on marine band radio through channel 16 or call 911.”

— U.S.C.G.

TPWD seeks inputThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

has scheduled three public scoping meet-ings in January to gather input about possible regulation changes for 2013-14.

The scoping items include incorporation of a rule regarding recreational possession limit, clarification of fish harassment rules, bonus red drum tag requirement changes and new possession rules in state waters for aquatic resources in excess of federal limits.

All meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and are set for:Jan. 7 — Dickinson TPWD Regional Office, 1502 FM 517 East; Jan. 9 — Corpus Christi on the TAMU CC campus, NRC #1003, 6300 Ocean Dr.; Jan. 10 — San Antonio at Bass Pro Shops, 17907 W. IH 10.

During the regulation restructuring process, where fishing and hunting regulations were separated into their own chapters, language regarding the definition of recreational pos-session limit was not carried forward into the Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing Proclamations chapter. Though the definition currently is enforceable from the Statewide Hunting Proclamation, this pro-posal will incorporate the definition into the Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing Proclamation to make it clearer. The language to be incorporated reads:

The possession limit shall not apply after the wildlife resource has reached the pos-sessor’s permanent residence and is finally processed.

TPWD is also looking to clarify language in the regulations regarding fish harassment, which currently states that it is unlawful for any person to use any vessel to harass fish. In an attempt to clarify this definition to make it clearer, the department proposes the follow-ing language:

It is unlawful to use any vessel to harry, herd, or drive fish including but not limited to operating any vessel in a repeated circular course for the purpose of or resulting in the artificial concentration of fish for the purpose of taking or attempting to take fish.

The department is also considering remov-ing the prohibition regarding simultaneous possession of the red drum tag and bonus red drum tag. Currently anglers must obtain these two tags at separate times.

— TPWD

Coastal bite improving


Some areas are tough, but the majority of fishing holes up and down the Texas coast are producing trout, flounder and redfish for winter anglers.

Along the midcoast, Capt. David Rowsey said he has quit Baffin Bay for the next few weeks because of a brown tide outbreak, but farther north, the fishing in Corpus Christi Bay has been better.

“I’ve been having some decent catches up north,” Rowsey said. “It hasn’t been cold enough to get a true winter pattern, but the fish are anticipating cooler weather. A lot of them are hanging near deep channels.

“We’ve caught a lot of fish within 100 yards of the channels on the flats.”

Rowsey said soft plastics like Bass Assassins have been catching fish.

“The fish, especially the trout, have mostly been slot-sized,” he said. “But at least one or two times a week, we are catch-ing a big trout in the 28-inch range. It’s not going gangbusters yet — it will prob-ably be January before we hit the peak.”

At Bluff’s Landing Marina, Daniel Middleton said guides were catching good

numbers of slot fish, and the trout were get-ting bigger as it gets colder.

“People are bringing in lots of slots, and the fishing has been pretty good,” he said. “I went and checked the docks a few days ago and a big group had a lot of trout. They were all pretty decent-sized.”

A hot flounder bite was reported by sev-eral anglers around Galveston Bay, with limits being caught on white and char-treuse soft plastics. Trout action has also been picking up in the Galveston Bay com-plex, with some anglers reporting good catches on trout up to 26 inches.

In San Antonio Bay, reports of trout and redfish holding in drainages to creeks and lakes in the back of the bay emerged this week.

Near Port Arthur, reports of limits of trout emerged in cuts and drainages near the Intracoastal Waterway — fish have been holding in 3 to 7 feet of water early in the day, then moving to the flats to feed later in the day, depending on tidal movement.

Pier action has been good when the wind isn’t howling, with whiting, black drum and pompano making up most of the catch, with trout and reds also being caught with some consistency.

Capt. David Rowsey, (361) 960-0340

GOOD BITE MOST PLACES: Coastal action has been steady this month, with guides expecting winter patterns to emerge with the colder weather expected soon. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON.


ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 59–64 degrees; 9.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on drop-shot rigs, shaky heads, Texas rigs, jigs and medium-running shad-pattern crankbaits. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 71–75 degrees; 34.45’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics in 18–25 feet. Striped bass are good on jigging spoons under birds in 40–60 feet. White bass are good on jigging spoons under birds in 40–60 feet. Catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live perch in 18–30 feet. Yellow catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live perch.

ARROWHEAD: Water off-color; 66–69 degrees; 8.25’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on white crankbaits, spinner baits and Texas rigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs.

ATHENS: Water clear, 57–61 degrees; 3.68’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on lipless crankbaits around shallow grass and Carolina-rigged french fries along deeper points. Catfi sh are good on pre-pared bait and cut shad.

BASTROP: Water lightly stained; 71–75 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse and char-treuse/white soft plastics, spinner baits and crankbaits.

BELTON: Water clear; 68–72 de-grees; 6.37’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on slabs with bucktails. Crappie are excellent on minnows and blue tube jigs.

BOB SANDLIN: Water clear; 58–62 degrees; 6.02’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on lipless crankbaits and vibrating jigs around shallow cover. White bass are good on slabs.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are slow. Channel catfi sh are good on liver, frozen shrimp and cut shad. Blue catfi sh are good on cut bait and shad.

BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 10.25’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Bass Hogg spinner baits, craw Bass Hogg jigs, Persuader crankbaits, and Grande Bass Baby Rattle Snakes along the shorelines of creeks and off points in coves. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and crawdad crankbaits. Crappie are good on Li’l Fishies and tube

jigs over brush piles in 12–15 feet.

BUCHANAN: Water stained; 68–72 degrees; 27.70’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red JDC curl tail grubs on jigheads, Texas-rigged blue fl ake Scoundrel worms, and blue back Fat Free Shads along ledges and points in 10–20 feet. Striped bass are good drifting live shad, and jigging Spoiler Shad swim baits and Pirk Minnows around Garrett Island in 25–40 feet.

CADDO: Water stained; 57–61 degrees; 1.10’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged soft plastics around stumps. White and yellow bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on trotlines.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on small crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on liver, frozen shrimp and nightcrawlers.

CANYON LAKE: Water lightly stained; 68–72 degrees; 8.64’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red Brush Hogs, Texas-rigged Red Shad drop-shot worms and tubes on jigheads in the stickups and along bluffs in 15–20 feet. Smallmouth bass are good on white grubs, watermelon tubes on jigheads, and smoke drop-shot worms along main lake points and bluff ledges.

CEDAR CREEK: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 3.89’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits around any shallow docks — small Texas-rigged green pumpkin soft plastics have also been produc-tive. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 72–76 degrees; 16.84’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, heavy jigs and large soft plastic lizards in the grass. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on punchbait.

COLEMAN: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 13.28’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Channel catfi sh are good on stinkbait, liver and frozen shrimp.

COLETO CREEK: Water clear; 3.67’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on live perch and bloodbait in 12–18 feet.

CONROE: Water clear; 66–70 degrees; 3.27’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon red spinner baits and lipless crankbaits in 15–30 feet. Striped bass are good on chartreuse striper jigs. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and frozen shrimp.

COOPER: Water clear; 57–61 degrees; 7.00’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Hy-brid striper are good on live shad. Catfi sh are good on cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Largemouth bass are fair on elec-tric blue Carolina-rigged Finesse worms in 10–16 feet, and on spin-ner baits along the outside edges of grass. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp over baited holes in 14–18 feet.

FORK: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 4.60’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue 1/2-oz. jigs along channel bends and around standing timber near bends. Deep-water bite good with Carolina rigs and football jigs. Yellow bass are good on smaller spoons. Crappie are good on minnows.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon red spinner baits, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Catfi sh are good on frozen shrimp and liver.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 67–71 degrees; 5.85’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon red and pumpkinseed soft plastics. Catfi sh are good on shrimp, stinkbait, and live minnows.

GRANGER: Water stained; 68–72 degrees; 1.13’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Blue catfi sh are good on prepared baits, and on juglines baited with cut bait, shad and Zote soap.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 55–59 degrees; 7.49’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on square-billed crankbaits around main lake points and shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water stained; 60–64 degrees; 0.13’ low. Largemouth bass are very good on bream-colored jigs around brush piles in 16 feet, and on soft plastics off piers. Crappie are good on minnows in creek channels around brush.

HUBBARD CREEK: Water off-color; 58–63 degrees; 19.02’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on top-waters, shad-pattern crankbaits, Texas rigs and jigs. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 56–60 de-grees; 2.73’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged soft plas-tic creature baits in watermelon red or green pumpkin. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 57–61 degrees; 4.05’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits around grass and shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on trotlines.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 58–62 degrees; 9.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/chartreuse fl ipping jigs around shallow cover. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LBJ: Water clear; 68–72 degrees; 0.30’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on PBJ-colored Snag Proof jigs, pumpkin drop-shot worms and green pumpkin tubes off docks. White bass are good on silver Pirk Minnows and Spoiler Shads.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 55–60 degrees; 6.41’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shaky heads around marinas and football jigs along main lake points. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 67–71 degrees; 0.72’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and soft plastics. Blue catfi sh are good on shad.

MARTIN CREEK: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 5.27’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on lipless crankbaits around shal-low cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 79–84 degrees; 0.06’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Tex-as-rigged soft plastics and black and blue jigs around stumps. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on cut bait.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 2.77’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp and doughbait.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 58–64 degrees; 33.09’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, chatterbaits and shaky heads. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

OAK CREEK: Water stained; 59–65 degrees; 16.77’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on chrome lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, shad-pattern crankbaits and shaky heads. Crappie are good on jigs and live minnows over brush piles. Catfi sh are good on chartreuse (use Worm–Glo) nightcrawlers.

PALESTINE: Water clear; 55–60 degrees; 1.87’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue jigs and shaky heads around docks. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. White bass are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 58–65 degrees; 8.55’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on shallow-running crankbaits, Texas rigs, jigs and drop-shot rigs. Crappie are good on minnows.

PROCTOR: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 5.22’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on black/purple and chartreuse soft plastic worms. Crappie are good on min-nows and chartreuse/black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on frozen shad. Yellow catfi sh are slow.

RAY HUBBARD: Water clear; 56–61 degrees; 4.34’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged plastics around deep rocks. Football-head jigs and deep-diving crankbaits are effective as well. White bass are good on slabs.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 55–60 degrees; 3.85’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on lipless crankbaits and Texas-rigged soft plastic baits along edge of grass lines. Carolina rig effective on clear days. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait or live shad.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water clear; 54–59 degrees; 4.79’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on

weightless soft plastics and shaky heads around docks. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs and live shad. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 4.67’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait, frozen shrimp, and liver.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 68–72 degrees; 2.37’ low. Largemouth bass are good on silver spinner baits. White bass are good on silver spinner baits.

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 57–61 degrees; 4.66’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on white-bladed jigs and California 420-color fl ipping jigs around docks — midday bite has been best. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on cut bait and trotlines.

TEXOMA: Water clear; 54–59 degrees; 5.30’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on medium-diving crankbaits and smaller football jigs along main lake points. Good numbers of fi sh reported on lipless crankbaits as well. Striped bass are good on slabs.

TRAVIS: Water clear; 68–72 degrees; 49.40’ low. Largemouth bass are good on green shad crankbaits, electric blue worms, and smoke grubs in 10–25 feet.

WHITNEY: Water lightly stained; 67–71 degrees; 8.98’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin and tequila sunrise spin-ner baits, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs. Catfi sh are good on shrimp, nightcrawlers and stinkbait.

— TPWD

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTFalcon turning on

FALCON INTERNATIONAL RESERVOIR — The bass fi shing on arguably the country’s best bass lake is holding steady this winter, despite high pressure and low water, according to guide Tommy Law’s fi shing report.

“This lake really got pounded early this year and then the water dropped as well,” Law said. “The lake is still full of big fi sh, they just pulled off and suspended because that is where all the food was. It is going to get better, as I was seeing the bait break up and get to the bottom and scatter out. This is exactly what we need. This usually happens earlier, but with the extremely warm weather and water temp it has been delayed.”

Fishing is still spotty, but several cold fronts will make it more consistent to pattern big fi sh.“It is still hit-and-miss and you have to grind it out, but Falcon is full of big fi sh,” Law said.

“They have just been playing cat and mouse with us. A good example of what I am talking about — (a client) got on a spot yesterday and had 43 pounds on it and then nothing for two hours. It is timing, timing, timing right now.”

To contact guide Tommy Law, call (325) 439-6045.

Holy ToledoTOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR — Water levels are rising on the border lake

thanks to a good rain this past week.The rain muddied up the water in creeks and streams, according to guide Joe

Joslin’s fi shing report.“Bass already have a lot of eggs in them and will move on to pre-spawn/staging areas as

soon as the water warms a bit,” Joslin wrote. “However, if we have water temperatures that stays in the mid to upper 50s, there will be lots of bass in the deeper grass and mid-level grassy areas. That will lend itself to slow-rolling a 3/4-ounce Stanley double willow spinner bait, as well as pitching a 1/2-ounce Stanley Casting Jig, which I like to work on the outside edge of grass lines.”

Later in the morning, lipless crankbaits around the edges of grass are producing bites. If that doesn’t work, try moving to deeper water and using Carolina rigs and drop-shot rigs in 20 to 44 feet.

To contact guide Joe Joslin, call (337) 463-3848. — Staff report

country’s best bass lake is holding steady this winter, despite high pressure and

“This lake really got pounded early this year and then the water dropped as well,” Law Joslin’s fi shing report.

Holy ToledoHoly Toledo

SEE MORE■ Saltwater fi shing reports: Page 20

SEE MORE


White bass congregating

White bass are beginning to show up in rivers and streams across Texas, as well as in huge schools getting ready to move into the shallower water.

Reports of a good white bass bite are emerging from the Trinity River near Lake Livingston.

According to a report on 2coolfishing.com, guide Loy Deason said the white bass were moving into the river near Bethy Creek.

“We hit a pattern and trolled up 46 white bass from 12 to 14 inches, and a lot of them 11 inches we released,” he said. “It was relax-ing fishing and we enjoyed the beautiful river banks and birds we saw.”

Reports of deadsticking action on Lake Ray Hubbard have emerged, with anglers report-ing good catches in the early morning near the dam. The favorite colors are chartruse and white, with bigger fish being caught on flukes with 1-ounce jig heads.

Huge schools of white bass are being

reported on Stillhouse Hollow Lake in 50 feet of water by guide Bob Maindelle on the Texas Fishing Forum.

“Although I looked over many areas today, those areas holding the fish all had two things in common — they were in deep water and they were adjacent to the river channel,” he said. “As is typical as we transition into the winter these fish were in very large schools with literally hundreds of fish per school. Because my object was to find fish for upcom-ing guided trips and not catch a bunch of fish, I stayed on each area only until I boated 15 fish and then moved on to find more fish.”

Fishing slabs using a smoking technique caught most of the fish.

Solid white bass action is also being reported on Lake Texoma and in several other North Texas lakes.

On Lewisville Lake, white bass have been holding in schools in 20 to 30 feet of water.

— Staff report

ANGLERS ARE READY: The white bass have begun to congregate in big schools as they approach their late winter spawning dates. Anglers like these are already taking advantage of the schools offering easy jigging action. Photo by LSON.

Big schools, some spawning reported


IT’S NOT NICE TO INTERRUPT AGGIE WARDEN AT HALFTIME OF ’BAMA GAME

Fort Bend County Game Warden Mike Weiss received a call during halftime of the Texas A&M/Alabama football game, informing him that a local rancher had located a feeder, stand, bow and other equipment ille-gally on his ranch. Weiss contacted Brazoria County Game Warden Jason Richers for assistance, and the war-dens proceeded to the ranch. The wardens discovered a hunter sitting in the stand when they arrived. The violator’s equipment was seized, and charges for hunting without land-owner consent are now pending.

ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION LESSON NEEDED

The opening weekend of mule deer season, Hudspeth County Game Wardens Ricky May and Rocky Corona came upon two young indi-viduals driving a white Chevy Tahoe pulling a small flatbed trailer. The two youngsters told the wardens they were on the way to pick up what their father had shot. At the scene, the father asked, “What exactly did I shoot, sir?” He was informed that he had killed a pronghorn out of season. Case and civil restitution pending.

THAT’S SOME MANAGEMENT DEERWhile checking camps, Wilbarger

County Game Warden Dyke McMahen and Foard/Hardeman County Game Warden Matt Thompson noticed false informa-tion, namely a ranch and county, on a harvest log concerning a buck that was killed and taken to the taxider-mist. It was learned that the subject was only supposed to kill manage-ment bucks on this property and a non-processed carcass was later found in a creek bed. The subject said the meat had ruined since he did not find the buck until the next day, but he had traded the cape from the deer for a skull mount. Charges

were filed and a 148-inch buck was seized from the taxidermist.

ART PROJECT ATTRACTS ATTENTION

OF WARDENLubbock County Game Warden

Mallory Brodrick received a call from a landowner concerning a deer head, a dead chicken, and an altar with some very bright lights on an adja-cent property. Brodrick was greeted at the scene by two Lubbock police officers and the caller. It was indeed an altar with lights, a timer, and lock boxes with cameras inside continu-ally snapping photos of the feast of raw dead animals. Surprisingly, the white-tailed deer head was tagged, but with a mule deer tag. Brodrick learned the altar was actually an art project by an art graduate student at Texas Tech University. A citation was issued along with suggestions about posting signage warning, “Art in Progress — Do Not Disturb.”

PELLET GUN OK, DOVES SHOT NOTAt about 10 p.m., Dallas County

Game Warden Jamie Sanchez assisted the Richardson Police Department with a call regarding an individual who was seen walking around with what appeared to be a shotgun. The shotgun turned out to be a brand new pellet gun recently purchased by the individual. The man stated that he wanted to prac-tice with his air gun and that he was

not hunting. The man, who did not have a hunting license, shot three dove out of season. Case pending.

HUNTER LEAVING STAND SEES POACHERS SHOOT FROM ROAD

A hunter leaving his stand after dark called Comanche County Game Warden Mike Alexander after he observed a truck stop on the road and a shot fired. There were two people with lights searching the field across the road at that time. Alexander chased a cloud of dust for five miles and caught the suspects just as they reached a busy highway. The two juveniles had a fresh year-ling doe in the bed of the truck. The suspects said that they were leaving their lease and saw some deer cross the road. They shot the deer on their property from the road. They were both charged with hunting from a public road.

THANKS, DADShelby County Game Warden

Mike Hanson received a call regard-ing night hunting and a cooler full of deer meat that had been discarded. Hanson was able to locate a suspect who admitted to discarding the cooler and meat. He stated that it was dis-carded due to a horse knocking the cooler out of the bed of his pickup, causing the meat to ruin. But when Hanson interviewed the suspect's father, he said it was not unusual for

his son to allow deer meat to ruin. Case pending.

BOY PLAYING WITH TURKEY FOOT FOILS FAMILY’S CLAIM OF NO LUCKWhile checking a deer camp on

Thanksgiving Day, Kimble County Game Warden Tyler Zaruba made contact with a family that claimed the warm weather and steady wind kept them from having any success. During this conversation, Zaruba observed the son of one of the hunt-ers playing with a severed turkey foot. Shortly thereafter, a citation was issued for the untagged turkey.

SHOOTING DEER ON JP’S LAND BRINGS JUSTICE

Guadalupe County Game Warden Kevin Frazier received a call from Caldwell County Game Warden Joann Garza Mayberry informing him that a Caldwell County Justice of the Peace had a hunter on his land in Guadalupe County who witnessed the neighboring hunter shoot a spike buck deer across the fence line on the JP's property. Frazier made contact with the suspect on the neighbor-ing ranch, and the suspect first told Frazier that he shot the deer on his side of the fence and that it ran to the neighbor’s property and died. Frazier asked the suspect to show him where he shot the deer and the blood on his property, then he would believe his story and they could both

go on about their business. Shortly after, Frazier obtained a written con-fession. The suspect was arrested for hunting without landowner consent. Case pending.

TAG THAT TURKEYAfter inspecting hunting licenses

at a deer camp, Edwards County Game Warden Scott Holly noticed fresh turkey feathers lying around the camp. When asked who killed the turkey, one hunter said someone else had shot the turkey and used it for hog bait. But during an inspec-tion of the camp, Holly found a fresh turkey in the freezer of the camp, still warm to the touch. Charges for untagged turkey were filed.

NOT A SMART SOCIAL MEDIA POSTAn individual posted the following

question on Facebook and a caller reported it to Brazoria County Game Warden Jason Richers: “Where can someone go to have an illegal deer processed in Brazoria County?” Richers contacted the resident, who confessed to killing two illegal bucks in Wilson County. The 8- and 10-point white-tailed bucks, both of which failed to meet the 13-inch antler restriction, were seized, as well as a rifle, as evidence. Cases pending.

BAD KARMA AFTER SHOOTING DEER FROM ROAD

Uvalde County Game Warden Henry Lutz filed charges on a 19-year-old for killing a white-tailed buck from a public road at night and waste of game. The subject killed the deer and cut the head off, leav-ing the carcass behind, and drove off. After driving down the road a few miles, he blew a tire, lost con-trol of his truck and got stuck in a culvert. After the wreck, the subject attempted to hide the deer head by throwing it across the fence into a neighboring pasture.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

Matagorda County Game Warden David Janssen received a complaint con-cerning duck hunters who reportedly shot and killed some sandhill cranes. Janssen contacted Game Warden Clay Shock for

assistance, and the war-dens located the reported hunters as they left the area. The two hunters denied shooting at any-thing other than ducks, so the wardens went into the marsh on foot. The war-

dens located three freshly killed cranes hidden under some brush and grass. The cranes had been breasted out, and a plastic bag containing the breast meat was also located. Both hunters were also in

violation of the hunter edu-cation requirement, and one of the subjects was a convicted felon. Fines totaled $1,300 on each violator. In addition, felon in possession of a firearm charges are also pending.

SANDHILL SHOOTERS SNAGGED



RuttingContinued From Page 1

WILL THE COLD GET THEM MOVING? South Texas hunters are banking on late December cold fronts to push bucks into the

open. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

still looking for the bigger mature deer they know are in the brush country.

“I haven’t seen too many good ones on the ground,” he said. “I am looking for the rut — expecting it — but I haven’t seen any big bucks acting like idiots yet.”

In Webb County, the outlook is much the same, according to Game Warden Weston Burris.

“I’m starting to see some young bucks getting into it,” he said. “But the deer only seem to be moving very late in the afternoon or very early in the mornings. And the bucks aren’t hitting the corn because everything is still so green.

“We need some cold weather to get them moving to the corn.”Burris said he has seen one 160-inch buck this year, but the rest

have been management bucks no bigger than 140 inches and does.“From what I have seen, it has been pretty slow this year,”

he said. “Until we get some cold weather, I don’t expect that to change much.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Daniel Kunz said some of the ranches he works are beginning to see rutting activity.

“I haven’t seen much rutting activity, especially west of (State Highway) 16,” he said. “A couple ranches in Duval County have reported the bucks are almost there. They are chasing, but not heavy. Most people aren’t seeing a lot of activity.”

Just because hunters aren’t seeing rutting activity doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Several ranches LSON contacted said the rut is in full force, but it is taking place in low-light conditions, or at night and in the heavy brush.

MatagordaContinued From Page 8

them,” Frasier said.Frasier said the recent cold front should push the big

trout into the deeper guts and channels and finally put the fish on their normal winter pattern.

“We are all on standby ready to go,” he said. “You can bet with the new cold fronts, those trophy trout will be in there.”

Capt. Scott Reeh is also having good luck drifting with plastics over scattered shell in East Matagorda Bay.

“We are having good success using plastics,” Reeh said. “In Middle Bay, wade fishing with Corkies is good. The big-

ger fish are starting to show up along the shorelines near the guts. For drifters, some very large Gulf trout are being caught.”

Reeh said the cold front that finally hit the coast Dec. 20, should get the bigger fish going.

“With the latest cold front, the big trout are on the rebound,” he said. “The Colorado River has been good for night fishing, and the reds are plentiful.”

In West Matagorda Bay, Reeh said look for big reds and trout in the guts and grassbeds.

Also in Matagorda Bay, Houston angler John Simpson had

good success the past week using scented plastics over shell.“We were wade fishing the shorlelines, keying on guts

and grassbeds,” he said. “We caught some nice, slot-sized trout and one big fish. The really big trout are still spotty and hard to come by, but that should change as the water temperatures get colder.

“I will be back down here in a few weeks to see if the big boys are biting.”

Capt. Ron Frasier, (979) 557-9444Capt. Scott Reeh, (832) 595-5619



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GEORGE AUSTIN, 10, took this pronghorn on a hunt with his family in Hudspeth County near El Paso. The family was hunting on leased land where they have been hunting the past several years. George made a 175-yard shot with his Ruger .22-250 on the afternoon of the fi rst day of hunting.

OUTDOOR BUSINESS CatsContinued From Page 8

CrappieContinued From Page 8

and foraging. I use cut bait and shad, but I prefer perch.”The lake also offers opportunities for sand bass and black bass, according to

Lippincott.“It’s a good sand bass lake and it’s not bad for black bass,” he said. “I use the white

and chartreuse slabs and medium runners. The bass school a lot on the lake so they’re easy to fi nd.”

Taylor Clarke, who also guides in the area, said the proximity of the lake to the Metroplex makes it great for anglers who want a quick trip to catch a bunch of fi sh.

“There’s a good population of white bass,” he said. “I suspect the crappie will start pretty good within the next month, too.”

Clarke said he also experiences much of his success with blue cats, but says the channel cats can’t always be avoided.

“We fi sh for the blues, but we can’t stop the channels from feeding,” he said. “Today I had a party of four and we limited out.”

For catfi sh, crappie and white bass, Clarke prefers fresh shad.

Bobby Kubin, (817) 455-2894Greg Lippincott, (817) 874-9777Taylor Clarke, (817) 781-3613

said. “And we weren’t fi shing for white bass. They just got our jigs before the crappie could get to them.”

Farther north on Cypress Creek Lake, guide Chuck Rollins said the action has been good over brush piles, from 15 to 25 feet.

“We are throwing 8-ounce crappie jigs,” he said. “Just give it a little move-ment and wait for the light bite. We are catching 10 to 20 keepers at each brush pile.”

Rollins said he would normally be fi sh-ing the creeks this time of year, but there isn’t enough water on Cypress Creek Lake to get a boat into the creeks.

In North Texas, guide Paul O’Bier has been fi shing lakes Lavon, Ray Roberts and Fork, and said all are producing good numbers of crappie.

“It’s a pretty good bite right now,” he

said. “We are actually catching them by the dams on most of those lakes throw-ing a spider rig. We put a 1/4-ounce jig on the bottom and a 1/8-ounce jig above it.

“We just pick it up and set it down.”O’Bier said he slowly trolls along in

deeper water looking for bait balls near the bottom.

“On Lavon, we are catching them in depths between 28 and 34 feet,” he said. “On Ray Roberts, we are working in 28 to 38 feet along the points and dam. And on Fork, we are working the bridges in 32 or 33 feet of water.

“Anywhere you fi nd shad balls close to the bottom, the crappie will be right under them.”

Simon Cosper, (936) 355-2889Chuck Rollins, (903) 288-5798Paul O’Bier, (972) 816-2481


caught some big ones like that before. The fish stayed down the whole time and just pulled and pulled. I had no idea it was a fish of a lifetime.

“If I had known that, I prob-ably would have panicked.”

Sims worked the fish to the surface, where he realized he did not have a catfish.

“It ran under the boat and then floated on its side at the surface,” he said. “I got her to the boat and just reached down and lipped her. We didn’t even have a net in the boat. I thought she was a 10- or 12-pounder until she stuck her head out of the water.”

According to TPWD, genetic information shows the fish is an intergrade, or a cross between pure Florida largemouth and northern largemouth bass. Pure Florida bass are held for spawning, while intergrades are returned to the lake as soon as possible.

Sims, along with TPWD biol-ogists, released the fish at the exact spot she was caught on Dec. 18.

And it wasn’t the first time the bass has been caught. Examination revealed the fish had been caught before. Ed Carter of Broken Bow, Okla., landed the same fish on March 13, 2011. At that time, the fish weighed 14.25 pounds and was 22.25 inches in girth and 25 inches long. The fish is now 22 inches in girth and 25.25 inches long.

Also on Fork, Springtown angler Paul Nettleton caught and released a 13-pounder in December. The fish was caught on a chrome flutter spoon.

At Lake Fork Marina, Linda Benedict said the guides are all reporting solid catches of bass in 20 to 38 feet of water, depend-ing on weather and light condi-tions at the time.

“Roadbeds and lake humps are producing fish right now,” she said. “The popular baits right now are swimbaits, flut-ter spoons, magnum flukes and Carolina rigs in watermelon with gold flake color.”

Benedict mentioned the two big fish in the article, and added that a lot of good-sized bass are being caught all over the lake.

And, according to Internet reports, nice bass between 4 and 10 pounds are being caught daily.

Big bassContinued From Page 1

Marsh conservation projects coming to Texas

This fall, two Gulf Coast restoration projects are being added to a three-year agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Restoration Center and Ducks Unlimited.

The Conserving America’s Coasts partner-ship agreement aims to protect and restore approximately 5,000 acres of coastal habi-tat across the nation.

Two projects in the Gulf Coast region — a freshwater introduction project in Terrebonne Parish, La., and a shoreline protection and marsh restoration project in Galveston County — will be added to the partnership accomplishments.

Construction on the Louisiana project is scheduled to begin soon. DU, in coopera-tion with NOAA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, will begin engineering and authorization for the Texas project this fall, with construction planned for 2013.

“NOAA and DU are natural partners,” said Jerry Holden, DU director of con-servation programs. “What two better

organizations could America have work-ing together to conserve these vital coastal ecosystems?”

With this agreement, NOAA committed more than $2.6 million over three years for coastal project funding. Ducks Unlimited works with other non-federal partners to match that commitment and more than double the initial funding.

“NOAA has been entrusted to manage the nation’s fisheries, and these wetlands represent some of our most produc-tive nursery grounds,” said Sam Rauch, deputy assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “We’re pleased to work with Ducks Unlimited to rebuild these habitats because we share a common understanding that they are vital to our nation’s ecologic and economic security.”

Coastal wetlands serve as natural protec-tion from storm surge and storm-related flooding. By some estimates, approximately 3 miles of coastal wetlands shrink storm surges by 1 foot. In the face of sea-level rise, coastal marsh loss and increasingly costly hurri-canes, storm surge absorption is more vital than ever to the nation’s economic security.

— DU

CatsContinued From Page 8


still out there; they typically come into feeders a lot, but you’re just not seeing much of that this year.”

Coonrod said he has heard quail while out on deer hunts.

“I think they’ve left their normal areas they usually hang out in,” he said. “It’s all due to rain. This year it’s just so dry.”

The quail are likely staying put at water sources, according to Coonrod. Until the conditions improve, he plans on leaving them unpressured.

“I haven’t even put a dog on the ground for a second year in a row now,” he said. “I’ve seen coveys of 10 to 20 birds, and I’m going to jump birds and run into birds. But I’m just going to leave them alone for one more year.”

Despite the mostly dismal news, a few pockets are holding some birds in areas that have some cover and lucked into some timely rains.

Near Hedley in the Texas Panhandle, Robbie Shankle didn’t see many birds last year, but on Dec. 16 he kicked up eight coveys of 15-20 birds each, giving hope for a future buildup of quail numbers.

Another forum poster said he saw four coveys near Coleman while deer hunting, including one 23-bird covey that walked by his stand.

In Brooks County, the Tacubaya Ranch has also experienced some problems with the quail popula-tion, according to Ranch Manager Tony Chavez.

“Like most of the state we’re pretty dismal,” Chavez said. “We’re seeing some big coveys come out and eat the corn at each of the blinds, but that’s in kind of a thick, brushy area where you can’t really hunt them. Out in the open, I haven’t seen too many wild quail.”

Chavez said the numbers have been hurting since about seven years ago, but he is still going to put on a few hunts.

“There were quail everywhere, but not so much any more,” he said. “I am going to run some hunts; maybe just one in January and one in February.”

Office Manager Mo Chavez agreed.“You used to see coveys of quail

everywhere; now not so much,” she said. “We did have a group in late October and they had a covey come up to one of our photo blinds, which is encouraging to see. I want to say there were 20 quail and that’s the most I’ve seen in over a year.”

Other ranches shared the same experiences. One outfitter near Lubbock described quail as a “no-go” this year, even though he saw decent numbers during the spring.

David Coonrod, (806) 778-7632Tacubaya Ranch, (361) 568-3440

QuailContinued From Page 1

Harrell said there is one aspect of guiding duck hunters that he enjoys above all else.

“Some people go on duck hunts and they don’t do well,” he said. “That is why they normally come to a guide service in the first place. But I love getting peo-ple out on their first good duck hunt where every-one shoots a limit. We also get to know a lot of differ-ent people. We video all of our hunts, and it is opening up some doors for us that we wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for the outfitting.”

LSON Managing Editor Conor Harrison joined the three, along with their dads, on a hunt in December on one of their ponds in Kaufman County.

It was one of the best 45 minutes of duck hunting

in Texas that Harrison has experienced.

“We were covered up in birds from first light until about 8 a.m.,” Harrison said. “These boys know how to call ducks and have a great attitude. It was really enjoy-able to spend some time in the blind with them.”

On the hunt, Long shot his first-ever banded bird — a mallard drake.

“We had just been talking about the fact that nobody had seen a banded bird in several years,” Harrison said. “Then Ryan went to check another pond and took a great mallard. When he got back to the blind, Dayton found the band. Ryan wasn’t letting anyone near that duck the rest of the morning.”

— Staff report

Young outfittersContinued From Page 4

LUCKY HUNTER: After commenting earlier in the hunt about a lack of banded birds in Texas, Ryan Long shot a banded mallard drake. His friend Reed Foster tries to figure out a way to steal it. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON.



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

SOUTH SABINE: Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout are fair around the Reef on live shrimp. Trout are good around rafts of shad on Mir-rOlures and soft plastics.

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, Trout Killers and Sand Eels. Redfi sh are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet.

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

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Waders have taken trout in the mud and shell on MirrOlures and Corkies. Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs.

TEXAS CITY: Redfi sh are good

on the edge of the deep channels on fresh shrimp. Flounder are fair on the spoils on scented plastics and jigs tipped with shrimp.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Sheepshead are good from the piers on shrimp.

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

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good on

the south shoreline in the guts and bayous. Trout are fair on shell on soft plastics.

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

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on glow DOA Shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good on the Estes Flats on mullet and shrimp.

PORT ARANSAS: Sheepshead are good at the jetty on shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to

good on the East Flats on scented plastics and mul-let. Sand trout are good on shrimp in the channel.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are fair to good on the edge of the fl ats on live shrimp and DOA Shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and Catch 2000s Redfi sh are good in the Land Cut on natural baits.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on DOA Shrimp under a popping cork around grass holes. Redfi sh are fair

to good while drifting pot-holes and while wading spoil islands.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on DOA Shrimp and scented plastics. Redfi sh, black drum and man-grove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp.

PORT ISABEL: Trout are fair on the edge of the fl ats on scented plastics under pop-ping corks. Redfi sh are fair around the spoils on soft plas-tics and shrimp. Sand trout are fair to good in the channel on shrimp.

— TPWD

Sponsored by

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORTBig fl ounder now

GALVESTON BAY — Big fl ounder are still being caught throughout the Galveston Bay complex, according to

Capt. Craig Lambert’s fi shing report on 2coolfi shing.com

Lambert said the fl ounder run was still going strong well into December, although it has tailed off a little since the peak the week before Thanksgiving.

“We caught fl ounder on almost every fl ounder rig I had in my box,” he said. “Gulps caught most of my fi sh but I did catch a few on Flounder Pounders, and I even caught some on the Chicken Boy lures that a client had given me to try out.”

If soft plastics aren’t working, throw shrimp with a scented plastic on a tandem rig.“For those who are serious about catching trophy fl ounder now is the time to go,” he said.

“Some of the biggest fl ounder of the year are caught during the month of December and January. Don't expect to kill them, but that 8-pounder is out there waiting for you, no doubt.”

Search for the big fl atfi sh on structure and fan cast to cover lots of water.To contact Capt. Craig Lambert, call (832) 338-4570.

Trout, fl ounder near SabinePORT ARTHUR — The fl ounder are still biting and big trout are beginning to appear in

Sabine Lake, according to Ricky Lane at Luck in a Bucket Bait Camp in Port Arthur.“The anglers are mostly fi shing with mullet and mud minnows,” Lane said. “We’ve still got a

few who want live shrimp, though. They are catching fl ounder and reds, with some trout in there as well.”

Lane said the fl ounder have slowed down a little, but that depends on who you ask.

“Some guys tell me it has slowed down and others tell me it is heat-ing up,” he said. “I guess it depends on who you ask. But they are catching fl ounder in the ship chan-nel. I haven’t heard of too many big

trout, but I don’t think people tell me the truth all the time, because they know I give customers an accurate report.

“But I have a feeling they are catching the big ones on the North Levee of Pleasure Island.”

To contact Luck in a Bucket Bait Camp, call (409) 736-3486.

Whiting, sand trout from piersPort Isabel — Pier anglers are having good daytime success for whiting and sand

trout off the Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier in Port Isabel.According to Marco Rodriguez, shrimp and mullet are the most common

baits being used right now.“Along with the whiting and sand trout, they are catching some speckled

trout at night,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of big ones — mostly in the 15- to 16-inch range; barely keepers.”Along with the trout, the occasional black drum is also being brought ashore.

To contact Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier, call (956) 943-7437.— Conor Harrison

Big fl ounder noware still being caught throughout the Galveston Bay complex, according to

Capt. Craig Lambert’s fi shing report on 2coolfi shing.com

Big fl ounder now

Capt. Craig Lambert’s fi shing report on


NewJan. 11

Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 25

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 venison heart2 tbsps. olive oil1 tsp. red wine vinegar2 garlic cloves, fi nely chopped1 sprig rosemary, fi nely chopped1 sprig parsley, fi nely chopped1 sprig thyme, fi nely choppedSalt and pepper4 green onionsHandful of arugula1/4 cup pale green celery leaves

Clean and marinate the heart one day in advance. Make a cut on one

side of the heart and open it like a book. Remove any sinew and all the stringy bits inside. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic and herbs. Rub the marinade over the heart and refrigerate overnight. Make a hot fi re and season the heart with salt and pepper. Grill the heart until nicely charred and browned on both sides, but still pink inside — about 10 minutes. Grill the onions about 3 or 4 minutes. Let the heart rest for 10 min-utes, then slice thinly. Serve with the grilled onions, arugula, celery leaves and a few drops of vinegar.

— “Afi eld,” by Jesse Griffi ths

4 trout about 3/4-1 pound each1 lemon, thinly sliced1 cup crumbled cornbread1 can (8 oz.) sliced mushrooms1 medium onion, chopped1/2 cup celery, chopped4 1/2 oz. black olives, chopped1/2 cup sour cream1/4 cup butter, melted2 tbsps. bacon drippings1/2 tsp. fresh dill, fi nely choppedSalt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle the inside and out-side of each fi sh with the dill, salt

and pepper. In a skillet, sauté the mushrooms, onion and celery in the bacon drippings until soft.

Add the cornbread, olives, sour cream and melted butter. If neces-sary, add a little water to the mixture to help it hold together. Stuff each trout with the mixture and use tooth-picks to hold them closed. Place lemon slices on each side of the trout and place them in an oiled fi sh basket. Place basket on hot grill and cook about 15 minutes per side or 10 minutes per inch of thickness of the stuffed trout.

— backwoodsbound.com

Grilled stuffed trout

LastJan. 5

FullDec. 28 First

Jan. 19

Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, northDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 8:14 AM -1.0L 4:37 PM 1.9H 8:27 PM 1.6LDec 29 12:25 AM 1.8H 8:45 AM -1.0L 5:06 PM 1.8H 9:02 PM 1.5LDec 30 2:08 AM 1.0H 10:18 AM -0.5L 6:01 PM 1.2H 10:57 PM 0.8LDec 31 2:50 AM 1.0H 10:54 AM -0.4L 6:30 PM 1.1H 11:49 PM 0.7LJan 01 3:47 AM 0.9H 11:33 AM -0.3L 7:00 PM 1.1HJan 02 12:42 AM 0.6L 4:58 AM 0.8H 12:15 PM -0.1L 7:29 PM 1.1HJan 03 1:41 AM 0.4L 6:39 AM 0.7H 1:02 PM 0.1L 7:57 PM 1.0 HJan 04 2:39 AM 0.2L 8:49 AM 0.7H 1:59 PM 0.4L 8:25 PM 1.0 HJan 05 3:34 AM -0.1L 10:46 AM 0.8H 3:10 PM 0.6L 8:56 PM 1.0 HJan 06 4:27 AM -0.4L 12:11 PM 1.0H 4:29 PM 0.7L 9:36 PM 1.1HJan 07 5:19 AM -0.7L 1:14 PM 1.2H 5:43 PM 0.8L 10:24 PM 1.1 HJan 08 6:11 AM -0.9L 2:06 PM 1.3H 6:44 PM 0.9L 11:18 PM 1.2HJan 09 7:01 AM -1.1L 2:53 PM 1.3H 7:36 PM 0.9LJan 10 12:14 AM 1.2H 7:52 AM -1.1L 3:37 PM 1.4H 8:23 PM 0.8LJan 11 1:11 AM 1.3H 8:41 AM -1.1L 4:19 PM 1.3H 9:11 PM 0.8L

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 12:39 AM 1.4H 8:40 AM -0.8L 5:24 PM 1.5H 8:53 PM 1.3LDec 29 1:12 AM 1.4H 9:11 AM -0.8L 5:53 PM 1.5H 9:28 PM 1.2 LDec 30 1:43 AM 1.3H 9:42 AM -0.7L 6:24 PM 1.4H 10:15 PM 1.1LDec 31 2:16 AM 1.2H 10:14 AM -0.6L 6:52 PM 1.4HJan 01 3:05 AM 1.1H 10:48 AM -0.4L 7:19 PM 1.3HJan 02 12:07 AM 0.8L 4:21 AM 0.9H 11:25 AM -0.1L 7:43 PM 1.2HJan 03 1:14 AM 0.6L 6:42 AM 0.8H 12:06 PM 0.2L 8:02 PM 1.2 HJan 04 2:15 AM 0.3L 9:08 AM 0.8H 12:55 PM 0.5L 8:19 PM 1.1HJan 05 3:10 AM -0.1L 11:10 AM 0.9H 2:03 PM 0.8L 8:36 PM 1.2 HJan 06 4:03 AM -0.5L 12:41 PM 1.2H 3:43 PM 1.1L 9:00 PM 1.2HJan 07 4:55 AM -0.8L 1:46 PM 1.4H 5:31 PM 1.2L 9:41 PM 1.3HJan 08 5:47 AM -1.1L 2:37 PM 1.6H 6:41 PM 1.3L 10:38 PM 1.4HJan 09 6:39 AM -1.3L 3:23 PM 1.6H 7:26 PM 1.3L 11:41 PM 1.5HJan 10 7:30 AM -1.4L 4:06 PM 1.6H 8:07 PM 1.3LJan 11 12:44 AM 1.5H 8:21 AM -1.4L 4:46 PM 1.6H 8:51 PM 1.1L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Dec 28 1:09 AM 0.9H 9:36 AM -0.5L 5:54 PM 0.9H 9:49 PM 0.8LDec 29 1:42 AM 0.8H 10:07 AM -0.5L 6:23 PM 0.9H 10:24 PM 0.7LDec 30 2:13 AM 0.8H 10:38 AM -0.4L 6:54 PM 0.9H 11:11 PM 0.7LDec 31 2:46 AM 0.7H 11:10 AM -0.3L 7:22 PM 0.8HJan 01 12:01 AM 0.6L 3:35 AM 0.7H 11:44 AM -0.2L 7:49 PM 0.8HJan 02 1:03 AM 0.5L 4:51 AM 0.5H 12:21 PM -0.1L 8:13 PM 0.7HJan 03 2:10 AM 0.3L 7:12 AM 0.5H 1:02 PM 0.1L 8:32 PM 0.7HJan 04 3:11 AM 0.2L 9:38 AM 0.5H 1:51 PM 0.3L 8:49 PM 0.7HJan 05 4:06 AM -0.1L 11:40 AM 0.6H 2:59 PM 0.5L 9:06 PM 0.7HJan 06 4:59 AM -0.3L 1:11 PM 0.7H 4:39 PM 0.6L 9:30 PM 0.7HJan 07 5:51 AM -0.5L 2:16 PM 0.9H 6:27 PM 0.7L 10:11 PM 0.8HJan 08 6:43 AM -0.7L 3:07 PM 0.9H 7:37 PM 0.8L 11:08 PM 0.9HJan 09 7:35 AM -0.8L 3:53 PM 1.0H 8:22 PM 0.8LJan 10 12:11 AM 0.9H 8:26 AM -0.9L 4:36 PM 1.0H 9:03 PM 0.8LJan 11 1:14 AM 0.9H 9:17 AM -0.8L 5:16 PM 0.9H 9:47 PM 0.7L

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 8:48 AM -0.4L 5:20 PM 1.6HDec 29 9:18 AM -0.4L 5:46 PM 1.6HDec 30 9:47 AM -0.3L 6:10 PM 1.5HDec 31 10:17 AM -0.2L 6:34 PM 1.4HJan 01 10:52 AM -0.1L 6:56 PM 1.4H 2:11 AM 0.7LJan 02 5:06 AM 0.8H 11:31 AM 0.1L 7:19 PM 1.3HJan 03 2:15 AM 0.6L 6:57 AM 0.8H 12:17 PM 0.4L 7:41 PM 1.2HJan 04 2:39 AM 0.3L 8:51 AM 0.8H 1:20 PM 0.6L 8:01 PM 1.1HJan 05 3:17 AM 0.1L 10:40 AM 1.0H 3:12 PM 0.9L 8:19 PM 1.0HJan 06 4:03 AM -0.2L 12:14 PM 1.3HJan 07 4:53 AM -0.4L 1:25 PM 1.5HJan 08 5:47 AM -0.6L 2:24 PM 1.6HJan 09 6:41 AM -0.8L 3:15 PM 1.7HJan 10 7:35 AM -0.9L 4:02 PM 1.7HJan 11 8:27 AM -0.9L 4:44 PM 1.7H

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 8:29 AM -0.4L 6:16 PM 1.5HDec 29 8:59 AM -0.3L 6:35 PM 1.5HDec 30 9:30 AM -0.2L 6:48 PM 1.5HDec 31 10:01 AM -0.1L 6:56 PM 1.4HJan 01 10:39 AM 0.0L 7:06 PM 1.3HJan 02 11:17 AM 0.2L 7:11 PM 1.2HJan 03 1:55 AM 0.7L 5:34 AM 0.8H 12:00 PM 0.4L 7:12 PM 1.1 HJan 04 2:22 AM 0.4L 8:28 AM 0.8H 12:51 PM 0.6L 7:09 PM 1.1HJan 05 3:00 AM 0.1L 11:25 AM 0.9H 2:05 PM 0.9L 6:58 PM 1.0HJan 06 3:45 AM -0.2L 1:21 PM 1.1HJan 07 4:35 AM -0.5L 2:26 PM 1.3HJan 08 5:27 AM -0.8L 3:18 PM 1.5HJan 09 6:20 AM -1.0L 4:05 PM 1.5HJan 10 7:13 AM -1.0L 4:46 PM 1.5HJan 11 8:04 AM -1.0L 5:21 PM 1.5H

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 11:36 AM -0.4L 11:57 PM 0.5HDec 29 12:14 PM -0.5LDec 30 12:21 AM 0.4H 12:51 PM -0.4LDec 31 12:09 AM 0.4H 1:26 PM -0.4L 11:51 PM 0.3HJan 01 1:59 PM -0.3LJan 02 12:01 AM 0.2H 2:27 PM -0.2L 11:33 PM 0.1HJan 03 2:45 PM -0.1L 9:57 PM 0.1HJan 04 5:38 AM -0.1L 8:54 PM 0.1HJan 05 6:05 AM -0.2L 8:32 PM 0.2HJan 06 6:44 AM -0.4L 8:27 PM 0.2HJan 07 7:32 AM -0.5L 8:39 PM 0.3HJan 08 8:25 AM -0.6L 9:18 PM 0.4HJan 09 9:21 AM -0.7L 10:16 PM 0.4HJan 10 10:18 AM -0.7L 11:26 PM 0.4HJan 11 11:13 AM -0.7L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 2:29 AM 0.1H 12:53 PM -0.3LDec 29 3:07 AM 0.1H 1:30 PM -0.3LDec 30 3:40 AM 0.1H 2:02 PM -0.3LDec 31 4:06 AM 0.0H 2:30 PM -0.3LJan 01 4:36 AM 0.0H 2:58 PM -0.2LJan 02 1:01 AM -0.1H 3:19 PM -0.2L 11:39 PM -0.1HJan 03 3:27 PM -0.2L 11:03 PM -0.1HJan 04 6:48 AM -0.2L 11:39 AM -0.2H 2:46 PM -0.2L 10:41 PM -0.1HJan 05 7:22 AM -0.2L 10:33 PM 0.0HJan 06 8:05 AM -0.3L 10:43 PM 0.0HJan 07 8:54 AM -0.4L 11:12 PM 0.0HJan 08 9:46 AM -0.4L 11:56 PM 0.0HJan 09 10:41 AM -0.4LJan 10 12:47 AM 0.0H 11:36 AM -0.4LJan 11 1:43 AM 0.0H 12:28 PM -0.4L

Houston2012-13 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONDec-Jan Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets28 Fri F 4:45 10:57 5:09 11:21 07:15 05:29 6:05p 7:15a 29 Sat > 5:34 11:46 5:58 ----- 07:15 05:30 6:59p 7:57a 30 Sun > 6:24 12:13 6:47 12:36 07:15 05:30 7:53p 8:37a 31 Mon 7:15 1:03 7:37 1:26 07:15 05:31 8:48p 9:13a 01 Tue 8:05 1:54 8:28 2:17 07:16 05:32 9:44p 9:48a 02 Wed 8:56 2:44 9:18 3:07 07:16 05:32 10:40p 10:23a 03 Thu 9:46 3:34 10:09 3:57 07:16 05:33 11:38p 10:58a 04 Fri Q 10:36 4:24 11:00 4:48 07:16 05:34 NoMoon 11:34a 05 Sat 11:26 5:14 11:52 5:39 07:16 05:35 12:39a 12:14p06 Sun ----- 6:04 12:18 6:31 07:17 05:35 1:42a 12:58p 07 Mon 12:41 6:55 1:10 7:25 07:17 05:36 2:47a 1:48p 08 Tue 1:33 7:49 2:04 8:19 07:17 05:37 3:53a 2:43p 09 Wed 2:28 8:44 3:00 9:15 07:17 05:38 4:58a 3:45p 10 Thu > 3:26 9:41 3:57 10:12 07:17 05:38 6:00a 4:50p 11 Fri N 4:24 10:39 4:54 11:09 07:17 05:39 6:55a 5:57p 12 Sat N 5:24 11:06 5:52 ----- 07:17 05:40 7:45a 7:04p 13 Sun > 6:23 12:10 6:50 12:37 07:17 05:41 8:29a 8:09p 14 Mon > 7:21 1:08 7:46 1:34 07:17 05:42 9:09a 9:10p 15 Tue 8:17 2:05 8:41 2:29 07:16 05:43 9:46a 10:10p 16 Wed 9:10 2:58 9:33 3:21 07:16 05:43 10:22a 11:07p

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightDec 28 8:29 AM -0.8L 5:48 PM 1.3HDec 29 9:01 AM -0.8L 6:10 PM 1.2HDec 30 9:32 AM -0.7L 6:28 PM 1.1HDec 31 10:04 AM -0.6L 6:41 PM 1.1HJan 01 10:41 AM -0.4L 6:56 PM 1.0HJan 02 1:42 AM 0.5L 3:48 AM 0.5H 11:19 AM -0.2L 7:07 PM 1.0HJan 03 1:57 AM 0.3L 6:21 AM 0.5H 12:01 PM 0.2L 7:14 PM 1.0 HJan 04 2:29 AM 0.1L 9:11 AM 0.6H 12:56 PM 0.5L 7:16 PM 1.0HJan 05 3:08 AM -0.1L 11:47 AM 0.9H 2:33 PM 0.9L 7:08 PM 1.0HJan 06 3:53 AM -0.4L 1:15 PM 1.2HJan 07 4:42 AM -0.7L 2:12 PM 1.5HJan 08 5:33 AM -0.9L 3:00 PM 1.6HJan 09 6:24 AM -1.1L 3:45 PM 1.6HJan 10 7:16 AM -1.2L 4:25 PM 1.6HJan 11 8:06 AM -1.3L 5:01 PM 1.4H

San Antonio2012-13 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONDec-Jan Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets28 Fri F 4:57 11:09 5:21 11:34 07:26 05:42 6:19p 7:27a 29 Sat > 5:47 11:58 6:10 ----- 07:27 05:43 7:12p 8:10a 30 Sun > 6:37 12:25 7:00 12:48 07:27 05:44 8:07p 8:49a 31 Mon 7:27 1:16 7:50 1:39 07:27 05:44 9:02p 9:26a 01 Tue 8:18 2:07 8:40 2:29 07:27 05:45 9:57p 10:01a 02 Wed 9:08 2:57 9:31 3:20 07:28 05:46 10:53p 10:35a 03 Thu 9:58 3:47 10:22 4:10 07:28 05:46 11:51p 11:10a 04 Fri Q 10:49 4:36 11:13 5:01 07:28 05:47 NoMoon 11:47a 05 Sat 11:39 5:26 ----- 5:52 07:28 05:48 12:51a 12:27p 06 Sun 12:03 6:16 12:30 6:44 07:28 05:49 1:54a 1:11p 07 Mon 12:53 7:08 1:23 7:37 07:28 05:49 3:00a 2:01p 08 Tue 1:46 8:01 2:17 8:32 07:28 05:50 4:06a 2:57p 09 Wed 2:41 8:56 3:12 9:28 07:29 05:51 5:11a 3:58p 10 Thu > 3:38 9:54 4:09 10:25 07:29 05:52 6:12a 5:04p 11 Fri N 4:37 10:52 5:07 11:22 07:29 05:52 7:08a 6:11p 12 Sat N 5:37 11:18 6:05 ----- 07:28 05:53 7:57a 7:17p 13 Sun > 6:36 12:22 7:02 12:49 07:28 05:54 8:42a 8:22p 14 Mon > 7:34 1:21 7:59 1:46 07:28 05:55 9:22a 9:24p 15 Tue 8:29 2:17 8:53 2:41 07:28 05:56 9:59a 10:23p 16 Wed 9:22 3:10 9:45 3:34 07:28 05:57 10:35a 11:20p

Amarillo2012-13 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONDec-Jan Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets28 Fri F 5:11 11:23 5:35 11:47 07:54 05:41 6:21p 7:53a 29 Sat > 6:00 ----- 6:24 12:12 07:54 05:42 7:16p 8:34a 30 Sun > 6:50 12:38 7:13 1:02 07:55 05:43 8:13p 9:11a 31 Mon 7:41 1:29 8:03 1:52 07:55 05:43 9:10p 9:46a 01 Tue 8:31 2:20 8:54 2:42 07:55 05:44 10:08p 10:19a 02 Wed 9:22 3:10 9:44 3:33 07:55 05:45 11:07p 10:51a 03 Thu 10:12 4:00 10:35 4:23 07:55 05:46 NoMoon 11:23a 04 Fri Q 11:02 4:50 11:26 5:14 07:55 05:46 12:08a 11:57a 05 Sat 11:52 5:40 ----- 6:05 07:55 05:47 1:11a 12:34p 06 Sun 12:16 6:30 12:44 6:57 07:56 05:48 2:17a 1:16p 07 Mon 1:07 7:21 1:36 7:51 07:56 05:49 3:24a 2:04p 08 Tue 1:59 8:15 2:30 8:45 07:55 05:50 4:32a 2:58p 09 Wed 2:54 9:10 3:26 9:41 07:55 05:51 5:38a 3:59p 10 Thu > 3:51 10:07 4:22 10:38 07:55 05:52 6:39a 5:05p 11 Fri N 4:50 11:05 5:20 11:35 07:55 05:52 7:33a 6:14p 12 Sat N 5:50 11:32 6:18 12:04 07:55 05:53 8:20a 7:24p 13 Sun > 6:49 12:36 7:16 1:03 07:55 05:54 9:02a 8:31p 14 Mon > 7:47 1:34 8:12 2:00 07:55 05:55 9:39a 9:36p 15 Tue 8:42 2:31 9:06 2:54 07:54 05:56 10:13a 10:37p 16 Wed 9:35 3:24 9:59 3:47 07:54 05:57 10:46a 11:37p

Dallas2012-13 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONDec-Jan Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets28 Fri F 4:50 11:02 5:14 11:27 07:28 05:27 6:05p 7:27a 29 Sat > 5:40 11:51 6:03 ----- 07:28 05:28 6:59p 8:09a 30 Sun > 6:30 12:18 6:53 12:41 07:28 05:28 7:55p 8:47a 31 Mon 7:20 1:09 7:43 1:32 07:29 05:29 8:51p 9:22a 01 Tue 8:11 2:00 8:33 2:22 07:29 05:30 9:48p 9:56a 02 Wed 9:01 2:50 9:24 3:13 07:29 05:30 10:46p 10:29a 03 Thu 9:51 3:40 10:15 4:03 07:29 05:31 11:45p 11:02a 04 Fri Q 10:42 4:29 11:06 4:54 07:29 05:32 NoMoon 11:38a 05 Sat 11:32 5:19 11:58 5:45 07:29 05:33 12:47a 12:16p 06 Sun ----- 6:09 12:23 6:37 07:29 05:33 1:52a 12:59p 07 Mon 12:46 7:01 1:16 7:30 07:29 05:34 2:59a 1:47p 08 Tue 1:39 7:54 2:10 8:25 07:30 05:35 4:06a 2:42p 09 Wed 2:34 8:49 3:05 9:21 07:29 05:36 5:11a 3:43p 10 Thu > 3:31 9:47 4:02 10:18 07:29 05:37 6:12a 4:49p 11 Fri N 4:30 10:45 5:00 11:15 07:29 05:38 7:07a 5:57p 12 Sat N 5:30 11:11 5:58 ----- 07:29 05:39 7:56a 7:06p 13 Sun > 6:29 12:15 6:55 12:42 07:29 05:39 8:38a 8:12p 14 Mon > 7:27 1:14 7:52 1:39 07:29 05:40 9:17a 9:15p 15 Tue 8:22 2:10 8:46 2:34 07:29 05:41 9:52a 10:16p 16 Wed 9:15 3:03 9:38 3:27 07:29 05:42 10:26a 11:15p

Grilled venison heart

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

ACROSS1. Another name for the

cobia 3. A lure 4. A type of gun choke 8. A herd moving to

new area 9. An appendage on a

turkey’s foot10. To treat a hide11. A hunting, fi shing

regulation12. Shotgun model,

_____ and under14. A gun organization16. A part of a gun primer19. A polar bear food

source21. Hunter’s wild quarry

in Rockies22. Small boat that folds

up to carry24. A deer lure, scent ____26. Hunter’s weaponry27. Term for the whitetail’s tine31. Consider this when bowhunting35. A food source for all trout36. Term for the handle section of

a bow38. A popular fi shing lure39. Might pack the day’s catch in this

40. They say fi sh can tell this of a lure

42. A trail or game pathway43. Fish’s breathing organs44. Term for part of a stag’s antlers

DOWN1. An eel

2. Worn to keep pebbles out of shoes

3. Act of fi sh hitting a bait 4. A good fi sh bait 5. The spot on a scope 6. Name for a certain ar-

rowhead 7. The large fi n on a fi sh13. Term for antlers14. Game or wildfowl having

young15. Name for the expert fi sh-

erman17. Said to be most populated

elk state18. Bucks will do this to warn

of danger20. Code letters for a type

bullet23. A species of trout or bear25. The wingshooter’s helper28. Part of a fi shline

29. A deer habitat to hide in30. Term for a type of fl y lure32. Fish gear used in frozen lakes33. A valuable trapper’s catch34. A deer food source37. 2 down keeps small ones out

of shoes38. A catfi shing rig, _____ line41. Future fi sh


PRODUCTSPROSTAFF 5 LASER RANGEFINDER: This next-generation Prostaff 5 rangefi nder by Nikon is

designed to deliver fast and ac-curate readings. Smaller than its predecessor, this easy-to-carry rangefi nder is the ideal balance of size and power. Its 6x21 multicoated optical sys-tem boasts a huge ocular lens and optimized viewfi nder display to provide the wide fi eld of view needed for immediate subject acquisition and maximum rang-ing speed. It offers ranging preci-

sion out to 600 yards; a long eye relief of 18.3mm (great for eyeglass

wearers); and an easy-to-read LCD in virtually any light condition. Hunters will

appreciate the rangefi nder’s .1-yard display plus the ability to enhance the display when needed. The

waterproof and fogproof laser rangefi nder costs about $230 in black and about $250 in Realtree APG.

(800) 645-6687 www.nikonhunting.com

TUNA ALLEY SUNGLASSES: Costa Del Mar’s newest sunglasses offer a large, wraparound fi t to protect against glare. Its front-frame vents alleviate lens fogging. And the no-slip interior lining keeps the sunglasses comfortably

in place all day for those long fi shing expeditions. Available in tortoise, matte black, white,

crystal and the new blackout frame colors, the sunglasses come with the full spec-

trum of Costa 580 lenses. They start at about $170.

(800) 447-3700www.costadelmar.com

10XD CRANKBAIT: Strike King Lure Company has built a bigger bait to catch a bigger bass. The 6-inch deep-diving crankbait will hit the 25-foot mark on 14-pound fl uorocarbon line, allowing anglers to get the crankbait in front of fi sh that were previously unreachable. According to the compa-ny, this crankbait casts and pulls surprisingly easy for its size. Lure de-

signer Phil Marks, a tournament-winning pro angler, attributes the bait’s size, depth capability and action for its appeal to big bass:

“It catches the grade of fi sh that win tournaments and stories are told about.” The 10XD, which has an MSRP of $14.99, is available in 12 colors.

(901) 853-1455 www.strikeking.com

TOOL TAMER: TK2’s storage system, now available in Mossy Oak camo, combines versatility, dura-bility and por-tability so that hunters and fi shermen can organize equipment and objects of all shapes and sizes. The Tool Tam-er includes hooks so that the grommets along the top edge can be easily hung on any verti-cal surface (including doors or walls in hunt-ing camps, garages, deer stands and duck blinds). It also can be hung on the roll cage of an ATV or UTV. Made from tear-resistant and abrasion-resistant 900 Denier Cordura, the tool tamer is available in four sizes: small, medium, large and long. The price rang-

es from about $35 for the small (20 inches by 21 inches) to about $90 for the large (50 inches by 36 inches).

(225) 907-0993www.tooltamer.com

VARMINT X FACTOR: This new line of predator and varmint ammunition by Winchester will be offered in the most popular centerfi re

rifl e calibers for predator hunt-ing: .204 Ruger, .223 Rem., .22-250 Rem. and .243 Win.

The charcoal-colored, polymer-tipped bullets in each caliber are optimized for long-distance accu-

racy and explosive impact on coy-otes, prairie dogs and other varmints. Varmint

X, which utilizes the latest ammunition technology, boasts velocities of 3,850 to 4,000 fps, depending on caliber. Each caliber

will be available in 20-round boxes and 200-round cases.

For retailers, visit:www.winchester.com

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

Costa Del Mar’s newest sunglasses offer a large, wraparound fi t to protect against glare. Its front-frame vents alleviate lens fogging. And the no-slip interior lining keeps the sunglasses comfortably

in place all day for those long fi shing expeditions. Available in tortoise, matte black, white,

www.costadelmar.com

about.” The 10XD, which has an MSRP of $14.99, is available in 12 colors.

Available in tortoise, matte black, white,



HEROES

SHARE AN ADVENTURE■ Want to share hunting and fi shing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers? Email 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.

D’Hanis hunter THOMAS BEARD, 10, harvested this 8-year-old buck with a .243 topped with a Nikon ProStaff scope. Thomas was hunting with his dad, Warren, during the youth weekend.

CAPSULE FEEDERMost dependable, lon-gest lasting, toughest/hog proof feeder ever.

(214) 808-0780

TEXASARCHERY.INFO

LOOKING FOR DEER?Great Deal Native Whitetail Trophy and Management Hunts near Brady. Meals and lodging at Highpoint Ranch and exotics hunts are also still available. Brand new lodge and some of the best home cooking you will ever have. I’ll send you some game cam photos of our bucks. Like us on Facebook. Call Sawyer Wright.

(254) 485-7069

LEASE WANTEDLooking for a year round hunting lease. Fishing included. Camp house is needed. North, Central or West Tx.

(214) 361-2276

AXIS & AOUDAD HUNTS BARKSDALE, TEXAS (210) 287-4098

HUNTING PACKAGESAT LAKE FORK

Hunt for wild hogs, quail, pheas-ant, chukar and ducks at one of the top fi shing lodges in North America. Lake Fork Lodge

(903) 473-7236

TEXAS DUCK STAMPCOLLECTION FOR SALE

1981 thru 2011. Call Steve Barber at

(817) 832-8078

LEARN TO FLY FISH CASTING LESSONS

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

(214) 677-6307

QUAIL GUN20-gauge, 26” BBL, English stock, side by side. Smith & Wesson Elite Gold In box, never fi red. $1850 (214) 361-2276 x 201

CLASSIFIEDSVETERAN SEEKING

EMPLOYMENTSeeking employment in the Whitetail, Exotic, or hunting industry. Wildlife and hunt-ing is my passion and would like to pursue a career in the industry. Please call Rodney

(214) 723-3966

ILLINOIS WHITETAIL ARCHERY ONLY

Fair chase. Privately owned and managed. HUGE trophies. Boone and Crocket deer. Hunted only 5 weeks per year during pre-rut/rut. Booking now for 2013. Call Dave.

(719) 963-4479

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

2 issues minimum

Classifi ed OrderForm

PER WORD$1

Dallas bowhunter STEVE SLEDGE shows the red stag he harvested near Decatur. PARKER REID CARRUTH, 11, from Missouri City,

took his fi rst deer, this big 8-point, with his grandfather in Gonzales.

This 225-pound 10-point was taken by LESLIE HUMPHRIES in Red River County. It was her fi rst deer.

TRISA SMITH took this buck on her ranch outside of Lampasas. The deer won the Burnet County Big Buck Contest and had been nicknamed Nick, due to a cut on his ear when he was younger.

Westlake High School student NICK NEIGHBORS caught this bull red Nov. 17 at the Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi.

Nine-year-old CADEN ARELLANO of Jacksboro ended his Thanksgiving weekend in style by taking this big tom with a 10-inch beard and 1-inch spurs.

COLE OWEN hooked into this nice bass on Squirrel Creek Ranch in D’Hanis.


NATIONALNBC, other channels cancel gun shows

NBC Sports Network has canceled all gun-related outdoor programming, according to a press release:

“In response to the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., the NBC Sports Network has placed an indefi nite moratorium on the broadcasting of any gun-related outdoor programming. With the network’s decision, “3-Gun Nation” will no longer be airing on NBC Sports Network, effective immediately,” according to a press release.

NBC wasn’t the only broadcast company canceling shows.The Discovery Channel canceled the hit gun show

“American Guns,” along with “Sons of Guns” and Ted Nugent’s show, “Ted Nugent’s Gun Country.”

— Staff report

Delaware striper record brokenBen Smith of Bryn Mar, Penn., was surf-fi shing at Delaware

Seashore State Park on Dec. 8 when he landed a 52-pound striped bass, a new Delaware state record. The fi sh measured 51 inches long and was 30 inches in girth.

Smith’s catch was measured and weighed using a certifi ed scale and verifi ed by offi cials with Delaware’s Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation. The for-mer state record of 51 pounds, 8 ounces had been in place since 1978.

Smith, who grew up in New Jersey fi shing in the Long Beach Island area with his dad and younger brother, was enjoying a fi shing weekend with friends at Delaware Seashore State Park.

— Delaware DNR

Arkansas deer harvest record surpassed

Deer hunters in Arkansas have set a new record, and the season isn’t over yet.

Hunters this season have checked more than 196,000 deer, passing the record of 194,687 set in 1999-2000. Favorable weather conditions along with increased season limits are factors in the new deer record.

Archery season continues through Feb. 28, and a Youth Hunt is Jan. 5-6.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists estimate that the state has 1,000,000 or more deer, many times the estimated 5,000 in the entire state just before World War II.

Hunter numbers in Arkansas has remained fairly constant in recent years. Estimates are that about 300,000 people go deer hunting in the state.

— Staff report

“Made in U.S.A.” matters if price is right

How much of a difference does the “Made in U.S.A.” tag make when buying hunting of fi shing equipment? HunterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com sought to fi nd out.

Most respondents agreed that U.S. -made products were of better quality and it was important to buy them. The survey discovered, though, there is only so much most hunters and anglers are willing to pay for that label.

When asked how important it is to buy fi shing tackle or hunting equipment that is made in the U.S.A., nearly 89 per-cent of anglers said it was very or somewhat important, while 94 percent of hunters said it was very or somewhat important.

When it came to price, though, the responses changed. If the Made in U.S.A. product was fi ve percent higher or less in cost, 85 percent of anglers and 89 percent of hunters said they would buy the American-made product. Once the U.S. product becomes 20 to 30 percent higher in cost, only 34 percent of anglers and 36 percent of hunters say they were willing to pay the difference.

— Southwick Associates

National survey fi nal report released

Based on preliminary fi gures from the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Association Recreation, wildlife-related outdoor recreation increased dra-matically from 2006 to 2011. The fi nal report, issued Dec. 20, showed that the increase was primarily among those who fi shed and hunted.

Final fi gures revealed the number of sportspersons rose from 33.9 million in 2006 to 37.4 million in 2011. The data show that 33.1 million people fi shed and 13.7 million hunted.

Of the 13.7 million hunters that took to the fi eld in 2011,

11.6 million hunted big game, 4.5 million hunted small game, 2.6 million hunted migratory birds, and 2.2 million other animals.

Of the 33.1 million anglers that fi shed, 27.5 million fresh-water fi shed and 8.9 million saltwater fi shed.

While 94 percent of the U.S. population 16 years of age and older resided in metropolitan areas, 89 percent of all anglers and 80 percent of all hunters were metropolitan residents.

Male anglers comprised 73 percent (24.2 million) of all anglers while 27 percent (8.9 million) were female. Hunters were more male-dominated, with 89 percent (12.2 million) while 11 percent (1.5 million) were females.

At the request of state fi sh and wildlife agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been sponsoring the national survey every fi ve years since 1955.

— USFWS

Puzzle solution from Page 21


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

LONE STAR MARKET

January 3-6Dallas Safari Club2013 ConventionDallas Convention Center(972) 980-9800biggame.org

January 10Dallas Woods and Waters ClubMonthly Meeting and DinnerSheraton Dallas North(214) 570-8700dwwcc.org

January 10-13 Houston Safari ClubWorldwide Sporting Expo and ConventionThe Woodlands Waterway Marriott(713) 623-8844houstonsafari.org

January 11-13Texas Tackle and Hunting ShowMesquite Rodeo Arena(918) 343-4868texastackleandhuntingshow.com

January 11-12Uvalde County Hill Country RiversTrout Days, Nueces River(830) 591-1065hillcountryrivers.com

January 12-13Texas Gun and Knife ShowAbilene Civic Center(830) 285-0575texasgunandknifeshow.com

January 17Rocky Mountain Elk FoundationTexas State RendezvousLake Somerville(830) 935-4754rmef.org

January 17-202013 Austin Boat and Travel Trailer ShowAustin Convention Center(512) 494-1128austinboatshow.com

January 23-26Safari Club International2013 ConventionReno, Nevada(520) 620-1220scifi rstforhunters.org

January 24Ducks UnlimitedCorsicana Dinner and BanquetStar Hall(903) 654-7705ducks.org

January 24-27San Antonio Boat and Travel Trailer ShowThe Alamodome(512) 494-1128sanantonioboatshow.com

January 25Hallettsville Knights of ColumbusBig Buck Contest, Wild Game Supper and Outdoor ShowHallettsville Knights of Columbus Hall(361) 798-2311kchall.com

DATEBOOK

Uvalde County Hill Country RiversTrout Days, Nueces River(830) 591-1065hillcountryrivers.com

January 12-13


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

LONE STAR MARKET


Documents

December 28, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting