February 13, 2015 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

February 13, 2015 Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas Volume 11, Issue 12

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FISHING

Anglers in the Brownsville Ship Channel know what a challenge winter snook can be.

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Wintersnook

INS

IDE

HUNTING

Family hunting rifl e stolen 24 years ago returns to its rightful owner, who is putting it to use once again.

Page4

Atwo-decadesagaCONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page25Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page20Freshwater Fishing Report . Page10FortheTable . . . . . . . . Page 20Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page18Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page26Products...........Page19Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page20Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page11

LSONews.com

SeasonforfurFur prices up, trappers taking advantage in fi eld and at the bank.

Page4

ProposedchangesTPWD could change Falcon rules on alligator gar, along with bass regulations at other lakes.

Page9

Battles on the beach

ByConorHarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Winter Texans, along with the nor-mal assortment of surf anglers, have been hitting the beaches this month and coming home with plenty of tasty whiting, big redfi sh and some big black drum, along with a few pompano and others.

According to South Padre Island National Seashore angler Joe Garcia, the surf has been tough this winter, with stained water and colder tem-peratures making for a tough bite.

“I’ve only been out once this month, but the action was pretty slow,” said Garcia, who routinely catches big sharks and redfi sh from the beach.

Even though anglers have had to battle the conditions — not uncom-mon for February on the beach — nice fi sh are still being caught.

Shark_Reeler on 2coolfi shing.com has been hitting the sands recently, and reported a good whiting bite.

“I arrived at the beach late Monday night and found a decent spot to make camp for the night,” he wrote. “Woke up Tuesday morning to very low tides and glass-smooth water. Threw out a few casting rods baited with shrimp and Fishbites. Got a fresh southern ray right off the bat. For the next cou-ple hours, it was whiting after whit-ing. By noon, I had about a dozen in the cooler. Early in the afternoon, the slot reds came through briefl y. First one was an undersized 18-incher that went back in. A few minutes later, a

Surf anglers, Winter Texansbattling reds,

whiting, others from the beach

PRODUCTIVEINTHEFIRSTGUT:AlthoughFebruarycanbeatrickymonthtocatchfishoffthebeach,someTexasanglersarehavingsuccesswithtypicalwinterspeciessuchaswhiting,pompanoandbigredfish.PhotobyJoeA.Garcia.

Different kind of cat

Hunters in bobcat contest call in, shoot mountain

lion instead

NOTIMETOBENERVOUS:WestTexashunterJackyHeflinhoiststhemountainlionheandfriendscalledinlookingforbobcatsinValVerdeCounty.PhotobyJackyHeflin.


When four friends set out last month to search for a big bobcat for a contest in West Texas, they didn’t realize just how big of a cat they would call in.

Monahan hunter Jacky Hefl in, along with friend Laddan Ledbetter and two others, headed to Val Verde County to Hefl in’s deer lease to attempt to fi nd a big bobcat to place in the West Texas big bobcat contest.

“This is big, rocky country with cedars, canyons and mesas,” Hefl in said. “We started out the day and called in a few fox on the fi rst couple of sets, but after those two sets we were skunked on the next three. We decided to move

Please turn to page 15


Slow start for big bassTexas anglers struggling to fi nd lunkers this season

By this date last year, six bass weighing more than 13 pounds had been recorded in Texas Parks and Wildlife’s ShareLunker program.

This year, that number sits at one bass — a 13.88-pound largemouth caught by Frisco angler David Roulston from Lake Fork on Nov. 20.

While the program has seen some lean years, you have to

go back to 2008 to fi nd a year with fewer lunkers recorded by early February. However, pro-gram leader Juan Martinez said he has checked a lot of fi sh that just barely missed the 13-pound mark, and thinks anglers are in for a good late February and early March.

“I don’t think there is a lack of big fi sh,” Martinez said. “I’ve had a lot of calls for 11s and

12s, but nothing over 13 so far. I don’t think it is an issue of big bass not being there. I think the weather has been a little unusual, anglers are hav-ing a tougher time fi guring out where big fi sh are and a lack of access because of low water on some lakes is hurting.”

Martinez said the bulk of the program’s fi sh have historically


WHEREARETHETOADS?Anglersarestillsearchingforhugebasslikethis13-poundercaughtinNovemberbyFriscoanglerDavidRoulston.PhotobyTPWD.

Page 2 February 13, 2015 LoneOStar Outdoor News LSONews.com

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HUNTINGTexas Legislature looking at hunting bills

ByMarkEnglandLone Star outdoor newS

As the 84th Texas Legislature gets under-way, the headliner wildlife legislation early on are twin bills in the Senate and the House to let voters decide whether hunting and fi shing should be constitutional rights.

“Out of state groups are coming in and trying to infl uence our way of life, and we aim to put a stop to it,” said Lance Phillips, chairman of the Dallas Safari Club’s PAC.

DSC had input on the bill, along with other groups, according to Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, sponsor of the House bill.

Phillips and other advocates are con-

cerned that antihunting groups such as PETA are trying to roll back hunting and fi shing rights in states through “backdoor legislation.”

“We helped turn away an animal cru-elty bill,” Phillips said. “The problem with the bill, which was done intentionally, was that if you were hunting and had a young man with you and, let’s say, he accidentally shot a killdeer, a nongame animal, like a for-mer governor of Texas did, it would have fallen to the local district attorney to decide whether to prosecute the young man under animal cruelty legislation. If convicted, he could have been banned from public uni-versities in Texas.

“That’s the kind of bills we’ve been fi ght-ing off the last three legislative sessions.”

Although there’s been speculation an amendment would require bills “nega-tively” affecting hunting and fi shing to pass by a 2/3 majority, a spokesman for Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, sponsor of the Senate bill, said that’s not the case.

“The intent of the bill is to prevent a ban of hunting and fi shing.”

Similar bills have been fi led in four other states: Oregon, Indiana, Kansas and Michigan. Currently, 18 states have passed hunting and fi shing amendments.

If passed, the amendment would go before Texas voters on Nov. 3, 2015.

Almost a month into the legislative ses-sion, there’s a bill declassifying elk as an exotic animal but no bills dealing with deer. That’s expected to change before the fi ling deadline, March 13.

Joey Park, a Texas Wildlife Association legislative lobbyist, said he expects another attempt this session to extend the amount of time a breeder deer is released before hunting season (currently 10 days).

Two bills have been fi led to reclassify elk from an exotic to a native animal. More than semantics is involved as supporters fi nd themselves squaring off with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.


Long, strange trip

Stolen rifl e returns to owner years later, once again harvesting deer

ByCraigNyhusLone Star outdoor newS

Johnny Quiroz II’s father took him hunting when he was a young man, letting him shoot his fi rst deer, a 6-pointer, at age 9 or 10, using the Colt Sauer 25.06 that he planned to someday give to his son.

The rifl e, though, took quite the journey.“My father’s .25-06 rifl e was stolen from our home shortly after shoot-

ing my fi rst buck,” he said. “The gun that accompanied us on all of our hunting trips was gone. At the time, I was more terrifi ed that someone would break into our home and take our stuff.”

The pair hunted on a 100-acre lease that shared a fenceline with the famous King Ranch near Encino. Then they lost the cherished hunting lease.

“A group of doctors had come in and offered a substantial amount more money to the ranch owner to take our place,” he said. “At the time, the ranch owner was going through fi nancial problems and reluctantly had to take the doctors’ offer. My father understood and started the search for a new hunting lease, but we didn’t hunt as much after that.”

The Colt Sauer was stolen on March 28, 1990. Over the next 20-plus years, Johnny’s dad would occasionally talk about the old gun. Johnny worked as a fi shing guide in the Texas Hill Country, graduated from Southwest Texas State University and spent four summers in Alaska as a fl y-fi shing guide, fi nally returning to the Valley to work as a full-time photographer and part-time surf-fi shing guide.

Last year, though, the conversations returned to the rifl e.“I was sitting at home working on my guiding and photography web-

sites when my father called and said, ‘I need to talk to you. Can I come over?’ I told him of course he could and that he should make plans to stay for dinner. We hung up the phone and I contemplated what it was he couldn’t tell me over the phone.”

Johnny’s father came to his home with an old rifl e — the Colt Sauer 25.06.

“My father began to tell me the most unbelievable story. He told me that he received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice stating that the DEA had seized 20 assorted fi rearms during a drug raid in Edinburg (in February, 2013), and that one of the serial numbers matched a rifl e under his name from a police report submitted in 1990.”

The letter asked if Johnny’s dad would like to have his old gun back. Six months and mounds of paperwork later, the rifl e was returned to its owner.

“Twenty-four years after my father’s Colt Sauer .25-06 was stolen, it was now back in his hands and he was handing it over to me,” Johnny


ALONGTIMECOMING:JohnnyQuirozIIdragsthebuckheharvestedthismonthinSouthTexaswiththeLoneStarOutdoorNewsFoun-dation,whiletheriflestolendecadesagofromhisfamilysitsatophisback.PhotobyDavidJ.Sams,LoneStarOutdoorNews.

NICEPELT:Furpricesareupthisseason,andtrapperssayrun-ningalinewillmakeyouabetterhunter.PhotobyLSON.

Trapping prices on the rise

ByStevenBridgesFor Lone Star outdoor newS

The vast majority of Texas outdoor enthusiasts are missing out on an enjoyable and profi table opportunity — fur trapping.

“Fur trapping holds lots of advantages for the environ-ment, economy and the trapper,” said Rob Cahill, senior vice president of International Marketing for North American Fur Auctions. “Fur trapping reduces predator and nuisance species which helps desirable wildlife and livestock thrive. Trappers also act as the eyes and ears of the land, often sounding the alarm at the fi rst hint of habitat destruction or pollution. Plus, there is defi nitely value in Texas fur.”

Brian McMillan serves as vice president for Wild Fur


TPWDproposesturkeychangesThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering closing spring

eastern turkey hunting in 11 East Texas counties, restructuring the season in two other counties and extending the youth-only fall turkey season. If adopted, hunting season for eastern turkey would be closed in 11

counties (Angelina, Brazoria, Camp, Fort Bend, Franklin, Harrison, Hopkins, Morris, Titus, Trinity, and Wood) and on national forest lands in Jasper County.While closed, TPWD wildlife biologists will evaluate the prospects for

future eastern turkey restoration compatibility and restocking efforts. The agency’s goal is to reopen hunting should the eastern turkey popu-lations in the affected counties become capable of sustaining a harvest.TPWD is also proposing to restructure the existing spring turkey hunt-

ing season in Wharton and Matagorda counties. The proposal would continue to allow for a 30-day spring only, one gobbler season and eliminate mandatory harvest reporting.The department is proposing to expand by 14 days the late youth-only

season in counties having an open Rio Grande fall turkey season, to run concurrent with the late youth-only season for white-tailed deer.

— TPWD


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A comparative success

Quail hunters, land managers seeing and shooting more birds this season

ByJillianMockFor Lone Star outdoor newS

From the Rolling Plains and West Texas to the southern part of the state, this has been a heartening season for Texas quail hunters.

“It has been a therapeutic year for me and my dogs,” said Dr. Dale Rollins, executive director of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch .

In the rolling plains west of Abilene, Rollins has been averaging about 24 coveys per day, 80-percent bobwhites and 20-per-cent blues, with excellent conditions and healthy-looking birds.

“We’ve been on a downward trend for many years — for the last eight years in the rolling plains,” said Dallas hunter Joe Crafton. “These really great numbers seem to be a function of just the right rain at just the right time.”

Hunters, experts, and outfitters have echoed Crafton’s hypothesis across the state.

Jay Stine, a frequent Clay County hunter, points to the timing of the rains — spread fairly evenly across the calendar — and the relatively mild summer in 2014.

“The combination of a milder summer and well-timed rains really boosted quail popula-


GOODNUMBERSSTILLAROUND:Huntersaretalkingaboutthisquailseasonasthebestinseveralyears,althoughnumbersstillhaveawaytogotoreachhistoricalaverages.PhotobyLoneStarOutdoorNews.


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First hunt for wildlife biology grad studentNew hunter takes three deer on Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation hunt

ByCraigNyhusLone Star outdoor newS

As a graduate wildlife biology student studying Montezuma quail at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Liz Oaster has spent plenty of time with animals, both outside and in the lab.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, her father didn’t hunt after she was born. While a few of her cousins hunted, she was never invited to tag along.

At the University of Wyoming, where she completed her undergraduate degree in wildlife biology, she was interested but never got the chance to hunt.

In a previous story in Lone Star Outdoor News, professors from universities in Texas commented on the increasing number of wildlife biology students who weren’t hunters. Louis Harveson, who directs the Borderland Research Institute and is a pro-fessor at Sul Ross, recommended Liz as a prime candidate.

She was invited by the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation to participate in her fi rst-ever white-tailed deer hunt, where hope-fully she would have the chance to take a buck.

She had no idea she would get to harvest three deer.

Arriving with her boyfriend, Daniel Tidwell, also a graduate student at Sul Ross and an experienced hunter, Liz quickly showed she had indeed shot a rifl e before, and the time at the range was brief.

That afternoon, in the deer blind with guide Cole Farris and her boyfriend, Liz watched a buck step out. After studying the buck, it was agreed the buck could be taken.

“I was nervous and it took awhile to set-tle myself down,” Liz said.

The shot was pure, and after the buck was on the ground, Farris went to get the

vehicle. It was then her emotions took over.

“She jumped up and down and squealed about 10 times,” Tidwell said.

The new hunter, not unfamiliar with handling animals or getting her hands dirty, dove right into the gut-ting and skinning process and the young couple was happy to be able to take some meat for the freezer.

The next evening, though, she had even more excitement.

“We need help with reaching our numbers on does, LSONF’s Craig Nyhus said, “so let’s keep hunting.”

At a different blind, several bucks, including a spike and a fawn, were seen, but no does appeared.

“Let’s take that spike,” Nyhus told her.

It was easier said than done. Other deer were always either in front of or behind the spike, and no shot was pre-sented.

“Something else is coming,” she said. “It’s a doe.”

“Change of plans, move to the doe,” her guide whispered.

The doe wouldn’t stand still unless facing the hunter, but fi nally, the traf-fi c of other deer cleared and she stood broadside.

“Whenever you’re ready.”The shot was good and the doe moved

into the nearby brush.The hunt wasn’t over, as less than 10

minutes later, the spike nervously returned to the sendero.

“Let’s go back to the spike.”The spike stayed behind some brush and

later trotted to another open area located behind the blind.

“We need to switch places.”As quietly as possible, the hunter and

guide moved within the blind and the rifl e was out the side window, but the move-ment spooked the spike into the nearby brush.

“He’ll come back, he didn’t see us — he’s looking right into the sun.”

The spike returned, but the canvas cloth hanging over the side window of the blind blocked the guide’s view.

“I can’t see anything, but you know what to do. When he turns broadside, take him.”

It didn’t take her long and another shot rang out.

“I got him good,” Liz said. “He darted to the left and then to the right.”

“Good, let’s go fi nd your doe and come back.”

As the new hunter and guide located the two deer and her boyfriend drove up to see what she had accomplished, the new hunter was grinning from ear to ear.

“This is so much fun,” she said.

ANEWHUNTERFORLIFE:GraduatewildlifebiologystudentLizOastergotherfirstchancetohuntwiththeLoneStarOutdoorNewsFoundationinSouthTexas,andtookthisbuckalongwithadoeandaspike.PhotobyCraigNyhus,LoneStarOutdoorNews.


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Both bills seek to prevent TPWD from culling elk deemed to be in competition with bighorn sheep, a species the state is trying to rees-tablish.

“Because elk are classifi ed exotic, there’s really no regulation on kill-ing them,” said Lauren Cacheaux, legislative director for the House bill’s sponsor, Rep. Poncho Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass. “With this bill, Texas Parks and Wildlife wouldn’t be able to remove them the way they have. But they also wouldn’t be required to manage them either.”

One of the bills’ proponents, rancher Christopher Gill, of the Circle Ranch in West Texas, said TPWD would be given the “fl ex-ibility” to look at the science and act on it.

“Across the West, you fi nd big-horns with elk all the time. If you don’t believe me, go to Colorado. When you spot a bighorn, see if you don’t see an elk in the back-ground. The idea that for one ani-mal to thrive you have to wipe out another is crazy.”

TPWD reported that it’s still studying the bills. However, a spokesman questioned the bills’ effect on the agency if passed as well as Gill’s conclusion.

“We do not believe TPWD’s goal to limit the number of elk on cer-tain WMAs will be impacted by this bill,” Tom Harvey told LSON in an email. “We are not disallowed from looking at the science today, and we believe the bill does not impact our ability to consider science.”

A fl urry of bills have been fi led to waive various hunting and fi sh-ing fees for everyone from disabled military veterans to those over the age of 65.

At this point, it’s too early to know how they would impact TPWD’s budget.

“We won’t know the fi nal tally until a House-Senate conference committee approves the state budget, usually by May,” Harvey responded.

Breeder bills, elk as natives on tapContinuedfrompage4

Dallas Safari Club sets records Receipts are counted, gate fi gures tallied. By

every metric used to score events, the 2015 DSC convention and expo is going into the books as a record-setter. And it’s all translating to record fund-ing for conservation, education and hunters’ rights worldwide.

The event netted $1.4 million for this year’s DSC grants, to be announced soon, plus $1 million especially for the groundbreaking youth education program, Outdoor Adventures.

DSC’s mission — related fundraising and effec-tiveness have been steadily rising:

2015 — $1,400,000 + $1 million for youth edu-cation

2014 — $1,256,000 + $350,000 for black rhino conservation

2013 — $1,010,0002012 — $998,0002011 — $702,0002010 — $577,0002009 — $247,000 “We’re pleased with our growth, grateful to our

supporters and determined to keep making our show better than the one before,” said Ben Carter,

DSC executive director. “Over the past fi ve years, we’ve raised more than $6.7 million to benefi t wildlife and preserve traditional sporting lifestyles. That’s an amazing fi gure. And it’s a powerful state-ment about the passion of our members, support-ers and volunteers.”

Other interesting fi gures from the 2015 DSC con-vention and expo:

• Total attendance over the four days was just over 45,000; a new record.

• Record DSC membership sales with nearly 800 newcomers, bringing the club’s total membership to 6,300 (about 60 percent of DSC members are from outside of Texas).

• Record 1,000-plus exhibitors, who rented 1,730 booth spaces fi lling 850,000 square feet.

• Most-ever on-site booth renewals for next year’s show, with 60 percent of 2015 exhibitors signing contracts and paying in advance for 2016.

• More than 600 companies now on a waiting list to exhibit at future DSC expos.

• About 150 booth spaces will be added for the 2016 event — most have already been acquired by


“Red”DukereceivesCapstickAward

The Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award — Dal-las Safari Club’s highest honor — has been presented to Dr. James Henry “Red” Duke of Houston.

DSC and the Dallas Ecological Foundation present the Capstick Award to recognize exemplary leadership in conservation, education, hunting, humanitarian causes, research, permanent endowments and charitable giving.

Duke, a physician, media personality, hunter and conservationist, has been devoted to wild sheep restoration. He is a founder, past president and honorary lifetime director of the Texas Bighorn Soci-ety, which spearheaded successful desert sheep initiatives in West Texas.

The Sportsman’s Club of Texas, Shikar Safari Foundation and now DSC have presented him with their highest awards.

Duke, 84, was honored during the DSC convention and sporting expo, Jan. 15-18, in Dallas.

“This well-deserved recognition, and Red speaking from the heart about conservation, and the incredible audience response to him, was a highlight of our convention. It was a really special moment,” said Ben Carter, DSC executive director.

— Dallas Safari Club


FISHINGHeaded north

White bass running early this year, heading up Trinity, Nueces rivers already


The white bass run is spreading northwards thanks to warm days and good water conditions, according to area anglers and guides.

On the Nueces River above Lake Corpus Christi, anglers are having to fight low water conditions, but the white bass are there in good numbers.

“This warming trend has helped,” said David Sikes of the Corpus Christi Caller Times, after a trip last weekend. “Lake Corpus Christi isn’t bad — there is enough water in the Nueces for them to get up the river. We were fishing about 15 miles from the lake and we are already catching some big fish this year.”

Sikes said he caught several fish in the 2-pound range, and believes it is due to the amount of bait in Lake Corpus Christi since the lake filled back up two years ago.

“When the lake filled up in 2013, the baitfish exploded,” he said. “I spoke with a biologist who is aging the white bass, and 90-percent of the fish are 1 or 2 years old. They are just gorging on all of the bait. I haven’t seen white bass this big down here ever.”

Sikes said Choke Canyon is so low, the white bass run might not happen up the Frio River.

“The Frio is barely a river,” he said. “Access is very limited. The San Miguel Creek is almost dry, so I wouldn’t expect much this year.”

A little farther north, Lake Livingston guide Simon Cosper said the warm weather has pushed white bass into the creeks faster than he has ever seen.

“It went from zero to 100 really fast,” Cosper said. “It had been raining, and then we got the warm weather and it put fish up the creek on sandbars. This year, we are already catching big females, full of eggs, in 1-foot of water on sandbars and in creek bends. It is crazy early.”

Cosper said the bite has been very good on warm days.

“This is the earliest I have ever seen this many, this big,” he said. ‘I expect a phenomenal run this season. All the creeks are fishing good. The (Trinity) river isn’t as good because it is still a little muddy from the rains, but it will clear up.

“We have been having good success on typical white bass baits — inline spinners, Rooster Tails, white curly grubs and small lipless crankbaits.”

On message boards, anglers are also reporting success in the Guadalupe River up from Canyon Lake and on the Sabine River near Longview using live minnows.

WARMWEATHERSPARKINGEARLYRUN:WhitebassarebeginningtheirrunintosomeTexasriversthismonth,includingtheNuecesandTrinitynorthofLakeLiv-ingston.PhotobyConorHarrison,LSON.

Getting snookeredPlenty of snook roaming

Brownsville Ship Channel, but catching one a challenge

ByJillianMockFor Lone Star outdoor newS

It has been a slow season for snook in the deep waters of the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Fishing for snook in February is not for the fair-weather angler.

“They stopped biting after the fi rst part of December. I haven’t caught any snook in the last 10 or 12 trips down to the ship channel,” said Capt. Gencho Buitureia Jr. of South Padre Bay Fishing. “And I took 30 trips down there this winter.”

Experienced fi shermen like Buitureia know that snook fi shing is best April through November, when the weather is considerably warmer along the coast. Snook are extremely temperature sensitive and cold averse.

“Snook are a tropical fi sh and right where we live on South Padre is its northern-most range,” said avid South Texas angler Eric Sepulvida.

There are snook that brave winter in the safety of the Brownsville Ship Channel, however.

“Snook are an ambush-type fi sh; it hangs out in struc-ture and swims with the currents to stay in one spot like a bass,” said Capt. Todd Casey of South Texas Charters.

Therefore the pilings, walls, debris, and oyster beds that line the ship channel provide habitat for the elusive fi sh. The deeper water also allows the fi sh to hang out in warmer thermoclines, a must for the snook.

“There are fi sh to be caught,” said longtime South Texas DOYOUHAVEWHATITTAKES?WintersnookanglersintheBrownsvilleShipChannelhavetobeontheirgamewhentargetingfinickycold-waterfish.However,bigfisharearoundandbeingcaughtthismonth.PhotobyDavid.J.Sams,LoneStarOutdoorNews. Please turn to page 24

Fivefortheprize Five Texans will be shooting for bass fishing’s biggest prize when they head

to Greenville, South Carolina for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hart-well.

• Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Won BPS Northern Open #2 on Lake ChamplainThe Japanese angler who now resides in Palestine will be fishing in his first Classic.

• Todd Faircloth, Jasper, 2nd, Angler of the Year standingsThe runner-up in last season’s Angler of the Year race is looking for his first Classic win in his 12th appearance. He finished 7th in last year’s Classic.

• Keith Combs, Huntington, 6th, Angler of the Year standingsMaking his third classic appearance, Combs will look to win the big one for the first time in his career. He will try and improve on his 22nd-place finish last year.

• James Niggemeyer, Van, 27th, Angler of the Year standingsThe longtime pro will be making his third Classic appearance.

• Takahiro Omori, Emory, 38th, Angler of the Year standingsThe winner of the 2004 Classic, Omori will be making his 11th Classic ap-pearance looking for his second trophy.

— Staff report

CouncilmullingredsnapperchangesThe Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Point Clear, Alabama, January 26-

29, to discuss a number of fishery issues, including regional management for recreational red snapper and red snapper allocation. Here are some of the actions taken by the council: The council heard an update on the Red Snapper Stock Assessment, including informa-tion on the 2014 provisional red snapper catch estimates. The council reviewed a revised draft of Amendment 28, which considers reallocating a portion of the commercial quota to the recreational sector. After amending the purpose and need statement, the council added two alternatives to Action 1.

Alternative 8 — The increase in allowable harvest (due to changes in recreational data) from the update assessment will be allocated to the recreational sector. The percentage increase for the recreational sector should be that amount attributable to recalibration of MRIP catch estimates.

Alternative 9 — The increase in allowable harvest (due to changes in recreational data) from the update assessment will be allocated to the recreational sector. The percentage increase for the recreational sector should be that amount attributable to recalibration of MRIP catch estimates and the change in size selectivity. The council will review Amendment 28 again during its March/April meeting and could take final action as early as June.

— GMFMC


ChangesproposedFisheries staff with the Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department are consider-ing adjustments to bass length limits on several lakes, a change in alligator gar bag limit on Falcon International Res-ervoir and clarifi cations to commercial crab and fi nfi sh rules.

The proposed changes to the 2015-16 Statewide Recreational and Com-mercial Fishing regulations include:

BraunigandCalaverasReservoirs— Current regulations for largemouth bass consist of an 18-inch minimum length and fi ve fi sh daily bag limit. Under the proposal, the length limit would be changed to the statewide 14-inch minimum limit. Daily bag limit would remain at fi ve fi sh.

O.H.IvieReservoir— Current harvest regulations for smallmouth bass consist of an 18-inch minimum length and three fi sh daily bag limit. The limits would be changed to the statewide 14-inch minimum limit and fi ve fi sh daily bag.

LakeNasworthy— Current harvest regulations for largemouth bass consist of a 14-inch minimum length limit and a fi ve fi sh per day bag limit. The length limit would be changed to a 14- to 18-inch slot limit (no harvest between 14 and 18 inches). Daily bag limit would

remain at fi ve fi sh.FalconInternationalReservoir— The

current daily bag limit of one alligator gar would be changed to fi ve fi sh per day. The increased bag limit would be in effect in the all impounded waters of the Rio Grande from the Falcon Dam upstream to the Zapata/Webb County line.

Falcon anglers and stakeholders have become increasingly concerned about management of alligator gar in recent years. In response, TPWD conducted a comprehensive study at Falcon in 2014 to obtain the biological information nec-essary to make management recommen-dations for the species at this locale. Most (88 percent) anglers who target the species reside within 1 1/2 hours of the reservoir. The fi shery is primar-ily harvest oriented, and harvesting a trophy-size alligator gar was not a highly important motivation. Most Falcon an-glers (gar and non-gar anglers) desire an increase in the daily bag limit.

CommercialCrabandFinfishRules— These amendments seek to clarify that when a vessel is being used under a commercial fi nfi sh or crab fi sherman’s license, that the crab or fi nfi sh fi sher-men must only have one license plate on board and that the license on board the vessel must match the license plate.

— TPWD

Buchanan,KircuswinBassChampsLBJFamiliarity with a lake and each other is often a recipe for success. That was proven Saturday, when longtime fi shing partners and brothers-in-law Jason Bu-

chanan and Terry Kircus brought in a 5-bass limit weighing 23.35 pounds to win the 2015 Bass Champs Central Region Lake LBJ Tournament. The pair took home $20,000 for the win, plus a $1,000 bonus for big bass of the tournament.

“It was pretty nasty early in the morning,” Buchanan said. “We had our limit in the fi rst hour-and-a-half, though. We’ve fi shed here a bunch and know the lake pretty well. We were throwing a 10-inch Power worm and swimbaits. We’d caught a lot of fi sh previously in a few of these spots, so we had confi dence in what we were doing.”

The big bass hit at 12:30 p.m., something that was common for many of the top teams when water temperatures warmed into the mid-50s and turned on a strong afternoon bite.

— Bass Champs

RamboandClarkwinTXTTonRayburnCory Rambo, of Orange, and Rusty Clark, of Sam Rayburn, brought 29.77 pounds of bass to the

scales to win the 2015 season-opening event of the Texas Team Trail presented by Cabela’s on Jan. 31 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

Sam Rayburn lived up to its reputation as a big-fi sh factory, kicking out 14 limits over 20 pounds and nearly a 30-pound winning limit.

Approximately one month ago, Rambo and Clark found a midlake staging area that was loaded with prespawn bass. The spot was special because it had both numbers and big fi sh, and it would continually replenish.

“We’ve been sitting on this one spot,” said Rambo. “We knew it was good because the fi sh we’ve been catching are white and pale. That told us they were coming and it has just kept reloading.”

“We had a limit fi rst thing this morning,” Rambo said. “Rusty caught a 5-pounder and a little bit later I picked up an A-rig and caught a 7-pounder. At 8:30 the bite slowed a little and then we’d catch a good one every half hour or so. At about 1:30 we had a 7, two 6s, a 5- and a 3.5-pounder. Right then, Rusty caught another 5-pounder on a Carolina rig and we were done.”

— TXTT


ALANHENRY: Water stained; 42–46 degrees; 9.56’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs and shaky heads. No report on crappie. Catfi sh are fair on chartreuse nightcrawlers.

AMISTAD: Water murky; 58–62 degrees; 29.21’ low. Largemouth bass are good on football jigs, crankbaits, jig-ging spoons, and soft plastics. Striped bass are good on slabs and jigging spoons. White bass are good on slabs and jigging spoons.

ATHENS: Water clear; 48–53 degrees; 0.70’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on lipless crankbaits, bladed jigs and fl ukes near grass. Crappie are slow.

BASTROP: Water stained; 55–59 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on pumpkin-seed soft plastics and jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are fair on shrimp.

BELTON:Water murky; 54–58 degrees; 12.55’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon spinner baits and trolling lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on live shad. Crappie are fair on min-nows under lights at night in 30 feet. Channel and blue cat-fi sh are good on stinkbait.

BOBSANDLIN: Water clear; 48–52 degrees; 1.52’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on square-billed crankbaits, bladed jigs and white spinner baits. Crappie are fair on min-nows and jigs.

BONHAM: Water stained, 47–51 degrees; 2.68’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on crankbaits and jerkbaits — some fi sh being caught on jigs.

BRAUNIG: Water stained. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastics and spinner baits near the dam. Striped bass are fair down rig-ging silver and gold spoons and marble spinners near the dam.

BRIDGEPORT: Water lightly stained, 47–52 degrees; 24.18’ low. Largemouth

bass are slow on suspending jerkbaits and small spoons. Crappie are slow on minnows. White bass are fair on min-nows.

BROWNWOOD: Water clear; 52–56 degrees; 12.42’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse spinner baits, black/blue jigs, and chrome/blue lip-less crankbaits in 1–5 feet. White bass are good.

BUCHANAN: Water murky; 53–57 degrees; 33.01’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse/black lipless crankbaits and white grubs on jigheads over deeper rock piles along ledges and points in 8–20 feet.

CADDO: Water stained; 50–54 degrees; 0.85’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on lipless crankbaits, black and blue fl ipping jigs. White and yel-low bass are fair on minnows.

CALAVERAS: Water stained. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits and lipless crankbaits around reed beds. Striped bass are good on spoons and jigs.

CANYONLAKE: Water murky; 55–59 degrees; 11.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed soft plastic worms, perch-colored spin-ner baits, and shallow-running chartreuse crankbaits over 5–10 feet.

CEDARCREEK: Water clear; 47–51 degrees; 4.92’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on white spinner baits and square-billed crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows.CHOKECANYON: Water stained; 55–59 degrees; 28.41’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon crankbaits, spinner baits and lipless crankbaits.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 19.26’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin soft plastics, spinner baits and crankbaits. Channel catfi sh are good.

COLETOCREEK: Water murky; 57 degrees in main lake, 78

degrees at hot water discharge; 4.73’ low. Largemouth bass to 8 pounds are good on soft plas-tics and spinner baits.

CONROE: Water murky; 55–59 degrees; 0.05’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastics, crank-baits and spinner baits. Striped bass are fair on chartreuse striper jigs. Crappie are good.

FALCON: Water murky; 56–60 degrees; 26.19’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on perch-colored soft plastics and spinner baits. Striped bass are slow. Crappie are fair on white tube jigs.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin spinner baits, crankbaits and soft plastics.

FORK: Water clear; 48–52 degrees; 7.00’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on suspending jerkbaits, fl ipping jigs and umbrella rigs. White and yellow bass are fair on slabs and minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

FT.PHANTOMHILL: Water clear; 42–45 degrees; 17.42’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair on cut bait.

GIBBONSCREEK: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed soft plastic worms, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows.

GRANBURY: Water murky; 52–56 degrees; 10.16’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon spinner baits and soft plastic worms. Crappie are good on minnows.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 46–50 degrees; 11.85’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shaky heads, Flick Shakes and football jigs near brush piles.

HOUSTONCOUNTY: Water stained; 50–54 degrees; 0.35’ high. Largemouth bass to 3 pounds are fair on wacky worms around boat docks and in small coves.

HUBBARDCREEK: Water off-color; 42–46 degrees; 29.89’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, Texas rigs and drop-shot rigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows.

JOEPOOL: Water clear; 47–50 degrees; 1.27’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on lipless crankbaits, weightless fl ukes and fi sh head spins. Crappie are fair on minnows.

LAKEO’THEPINES: Water lightly stained; 48–52; degrees; 0.96’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on lipless crankbaits, soft jerkbaits and bladed jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows.

LBJ: Water stained; 54–58 degrees; 0.30’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on pumpkinseed crank-baits and yellow/white spinner baits over and around humps.

LEWISVILLE: Water lightly stained; 46–50 degrees; 6.95’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on jerkbaits in French Pearl, as well as umbrella rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 54–58 degrees; 0.07’ high. Largemouth bass are good on buzzbaits and crank-baits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair on lipless crankbaits and soft plastics.

MARTINCREEK: Water clear; 53–59 degrees; 0.09’ high. Largemouth bass are good on square-billed crankbaits and spinner baits. Texas-rigged craws around same cover is effective as well.

MONTICELLO: Water clear; 45–49 degrees; 0.97’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged creature baits and bladed jigs.

NAVARROMILLS: Water stained; 53–57 degrees; 1.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and spinner baits. Crappie are fair on black/chartreuse and watermelon jigs.

O.H.IVIE: Water stained; 42–46 degrees; 43.43’ low.

Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, Texas rigs and drop-shot rigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows.

OAKCREEK:Water stained; 41–45 degrees; 25.52’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, drop-shot rigs and jigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows.

PALESTINE:Water clear; 46–50 degrees; 0.21’ high. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits, shaky heads and fl ipping jigs on brushed out docks. Crappie are good on minnows.

POSSUMKINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 42–47 degrees; 14.63’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, shaky heads and jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows. White bass are fair on slabs.

PROCTOR: Water murky; 56–60 degrees; 12.64’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on spoons. Crappie are good on minnows.

RAYHUBBARD: Water clear; 47–51 degrees; 9.11’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on crankbaits, smaller umbrella rigs and suspending jerkbaits.

RAYROBERTS: Water clear; 46–51 degrees; 7.89’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on jigheads rigged with fl ukes as well as drop-shot worms near deeper timber.

RICHLANDCHAMBERS: Water lightly stained; 46–49 degrees; 10.09’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shaky heads, weight-less worms and Senkos.

SAMRAYBURN: Water murky; 54–58 degrees; 0.76’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastic worms and shallow-running crank-baits.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 57–61 degrees; 2.85’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on perch-colored lipless crank-baits.

STILLHOUSE: Water murky; 56–60 degrees; 14.72’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on

pumpkinseed soft plastic worms and small crankbaits.

SWEETWATER: Water murky; 42–46 degrees; 28.2’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs and jigs.

TEXOMA: Water clear; 45–50 degrees; 5.34’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on suspending jerkbaits, umbrella rigs and Spy Baits.

TOLEDOBEND: Water murky; 52–56 degrees; 2.98’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies. Crappie are good on minnows.

TRAVIS: Water murky; 53–57 degrees; 55.81’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse/black crankbaits and spinner baits in 25–35 feet.

WALTERE.LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair on chartreuse striper jigs in the coves and at the hot water outlet.

WHITNEY:Water murky; 54–58 degrees; 10.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse/black spinner baits, crankbaits, and lipless crank-baits.

WRIGHTPATMAN: Water lightly stained; 47–52 degrees; 3.69’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin fl ip-ping jigs and bladed jigs near shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

— TPWD

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT

n Saltwaterreports:PleaseturntoPage20

LoadingthecoolerLAKE SOMERVILLE — The crappie action has been hot

recently on Lake Somerville, according to angler Thomas Shafer.

Shafer reported limiting out on crappie in about three hours last week, throwing to fi sh in 20 to 22 feet of water near a marina with old tires.

“They put up a windbreak for the marina and used a bunch of old tires,” he said. “There are a few brushpiles in there, as well. I was fi shing with my brother and we both had a limit in a few hours.”

The pair was using gray jigs with an electric chicken trailer, and said the thump was on.“That electric chicken color works really well this time of year,” Shafer added.

AfternoonbiteLAKE LBJ — Anglers at the recent Bass Champs Central Region tournament on Lake

LBJ had a morning fog delay that ended up helping many anglers.Some focused on main lake points targeting bass with Carolina rigs in green pumpkin

color in 16 to 20 feet of water, while other fl ipped jigs under docks, but the majority of the top teams reported a strong afternoon bite.

Water temperatures rose to 54 degrees, which turned the bigger bass on.

The biggest fi sh of the tournament — a 10.5-pound largemouth — was caught with a swimbait at 12:30 p.m.

Many of the top anglers said without the morning delay giving them an extra hour to fi sh in the afternoon, they might not have gotten the bigger fi sh to bite.

GooddownsouthFALCON INTERNATIONAL RESERVOIR — The fi sh-

ing has been good when the wind hasn’t been blowing on Falcon, according to James Bendele at Falcon Lake Tackle.

“This week, the fi shing has remained steady with a lot of good fi sh caught over the weekend. Yesterday was still a good day with water temps back around 60,” he said. “The soft plastic bite is (on) these days, and shallow fi sh in the trees is where it is happen-ing. I would personally not make a cast in water deeper than 8 feet right now. The spinner bait bite is still there in the same shallow water, but you will not get bit near as often. But when you do, it is possible that it could be a giant. Our water level is still on the rise, and we are at 274.91, or 26.29 feet low.” He said. “Over the last couple of months we have been catching about a foot every 10 days, give or take.”

— Conor Harrison

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT


SolunarSuntimes

Moontimes

MoonPhases

NewFeb. 18

TEXAS SUN, MOON AND TIDESFull

March 5Last

March 13First

Feb. 25

Houston2015 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb.-Mar. Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

SanAntonio2015 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb.-Mar. Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

Amarillo2015 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb.-Mar. Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

Dallas2015 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb.-Mar. Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

Legend: Major=2 hours. Minor=1 hour. Times centered on the major-minor window. For other locations, subtract 1 minute per 12 miles east of a location, and add 1 minute per 12 miles west of a location.

TexasCoastTides

SabinePass,northDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 4:33 AM -0.3L 12:48 PM 1.1H 4:55 PM 0.9L 4:55 PM 0.9LFeb 14 5:26 AM -0.5L 1:32 PM 1.2H 6:00 PM 0.9L 10:26 PM 1.1HFeb 15 6:18 AM -0.6L 2:08 PM 1.2H 6:48 PM 0.9L 11:37 PM 1.2HFeb 16 7:08 AM -0.7L 2:42 PM 1.3H 7:32 PM 0.8L Feb 17 12:42 AM 1.3H 7:58 AM -0.7L 3:16 PM 1.3H 8:16 PM 0.7LFeb 18 1:44 AM 1.4H 8:46 AM -0.7L 3:49 PM 1.3H 9:03 PM 0.5LFeb 19 2:46 AM 1.4H 9:35 AM -0.5L 4:23 PM 1.3H 9:52 PM 0.3LFeb 20 3:49 AM 1.4H 10:23 AM -0.3L 4:57 PM 1.3H 10:44 PM 0.1LFeb 21 4:56 AM 1.4H 11:12 AM 0.0L 5:33 PM 1.2H 11:39 PM 0.0LFeb 22 6:09 AM 1.3H 12:03 PM 0.3L 6:10 PM 1.2H Feb 23 12:37 AM -0.1L 7:32 AM 1.2H 12:58 PM 0.6L 6:50 PM 1.2HFeb 24 1:40 AM -0.2L 9:08 AM 1.2H 2:06 PM 0.8L 7:37 PM 1.1HFeb 25 2:46 AM -0.2L 10:52 AM 1.2H 3:44 PM 0.9L 8:37 PM 1.1HFeb 26 3:53 AM -0.2L 12:23 PM 1.2H 5:56 PM 1.0L 9:50 PM 1.1HFeb 27 4:58 AM -0.2L 1:27 PM 1.3H 7:10 PM 1.0L 11:00 PM 1.1H

GalvestonBayentrance,northjettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 4:35 AM -0.3L 12:44 PM 1.1H 5:32 PM 1.0L 8:37 PM 1.1HFeb 14 5:34 AM -0.5L 1:42 PM 1.2H 6:16 PM 1.0L 9:35 PM 1.1HFeb 15 6:22 AM -0.6L 2:35 PM 1.3H 6:58 PM 0.9L 11:10 PM 1.1HFeb 16 7:10 AM -0.6L 3:12 PM 1.4H 7:50 PM 0.9L Feb 17 12:23 AM 1.2H 8:05 AM -0.6L 3:45 PM 1.4H 8:52 PM 0.7LFeb 18 1:47 AM 1.2H 9:03 AM -0.5L 4:14 PM 1.4H 9:42 PM 0.5 LFeb 19 3:15 AM 1.3H 9:54 AM -0.4L 4:43 PM 1.3H 10:25 PM 0.3 LFeb 20 4:15 AM 1.3H 10:41 AM -0.2L 5:11 PM 1.3H 11:11 PM 0.1 LFeb 21 5:22 AM 1.2H 11:29 AM 0.1L 5:39 PM 1.2H Feb 22 6:56 AM 1.2H 12:23 PM 0.3L 6:11 PM 1.2H Feb 23 12:58 AM -0.2L 8:09 AM 1.2H 1:16 PM 0.6L 6:52 PM 1.2 HFeb 24 1:49 AM -0.3L 9:14 AM 1.2H 2:05 PM 0.8L 7:29 PM 1.1 HFeb 25 2:42 AM -0.3L 10:34 AM 1.2H 3:01 PM 0.9L 8:01 PM 1.1 HFeb 26 3:54 AM -0.2L 11:54 AM 1.2H 6:00 PM 1.0L 8:34 PM 1.1HFeb 27 5:19 AM -0.2L 1:01 PM 1.3H 6:42 PM 1.0L 9:19 PM 1.1H

SanLuisPassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Feb 13 5:48 AM -0.2L 3:03 PM 0.8H Feb 14 6:33 AM -0.3L 3:40 PM 0.9H Feb 15 7:16 AM -0.4L 4:05 PM 0.9H Feb 16 8:02 AM -0.4L 4:23 PM 0.9H 9:48 PM 0.7L Feb 17 12:33 AM 0.8H 8:56 AM -0.4L 4:33 PM 0.9H 10:11 PM 0.6 LFeb 18 1:56 AM 0.8H 9:53 AM -0.4L 4:47 PM 0.8H 10:36 PM 0.5 LFeb 19 3:17 AM 0.9H 10:45 AM -0.2L 5:07 PM 0.8H 11:06 PM 0.4 LFeb 20 4:27 AM 0.9H 11:34 AM -0.1L 5:32 PM 0.8H 11:44 PM 0.2 LFeb 21 5:33 AM 0.9H 12:27 PM 0.1L 6:00 PM 0.8H Feb 22 6:54 AM 0.8H 1:34 PM 0.3L 6:30 PM 0.7H Feb 23 1:39 AM 0.0L 8:45 AM 0.8H 2:48 PM 0.5L 7:00 PM 0.7 HFeb 24 2:43 AM -0.1L 10:54 AM 0.8H 4:15 PM 0.7L 7:26 PM 0.7 HFeb 25 3:49 AM -0.1L 12:50 PM 0.9HFeb 26 5:02 AM -0.1L 2:14 PM 1.0HFeb 27 6:08 AM -0.2L 3:35 PM 1.0H

FreeportHarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 3:51 AM -0.2L 12:49 PM 1.2HFeb 14 4:45 AM -0.3L 1:39 PM 1.4H Feb 15 5:43 AM -0.4L 2:22 PM 1.4H Feb 16 6:40 AM -0.5L 2:57 PM 1.5H 9:19 PM 1.0L 11:37 PM 1.1HFeb 17 7:37 AM -0.6L 3:28 PM 1.4H 9:37 PM 0.9L Feb 18 1:01 AM 1.1H 8:33 AM -0.5L 3:57 PM 1.4H 9:51 PM 0.8LFeb 19 2:17 AM 1.2H 9:29 AM -0.4L 4:24 PM 1.3H 10:06 PM 0.6 LFeb 20 3:27 AM 1.3H 10:26 AM -0.2L 4:52 PM 1.2H 10:37 PM 0.4LFeb 21 4:38 AM 1.3H 11:28 AM 0.1L 5:19 PM 1.1H 11:21 PM 0.2LFeb 22 5:55 AM 1.3H 12:36 PM 0.4L 5:45 PM 1.0HFeb 23 12:14 AM 0.0L 7:28 AM 1.2H 1:54 PM 0.7L 6:10 PM 1.0HFeb 24 1:14 AM -0.1L 9:25 AM 1.3H 3:22 PM 0.9L 6:32 PM 1.0HFeb 25 2:20 AM -0.2L 11:02 AM 1.3HFeb 26 3:33 AM -0.2L 12:15 PM 1.4HFeb 27 4:48 AM -0.2L 1:15 PM 1.4H

RolloverPassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 12:00 AM 0.7H 9:10 AM -0.4LFeb 14 12:46 AM 0.7H 10:02 AM -0.5L 8:26 PM 0.7H 11:04 PM 0.7 LFeb 15 1:41 AM 0.8H 10:52 AM -0.6L 8:26 PM 0.8H 11:47 PM 0.7LFeb 16 2:41 AM 0.8H 11:39 AM -0.6L 8:34 PM 0.7H Feb 17 12:21 AM 0.7L 3:44 AM 0.8H 12:25 PM -0.6L 8:42 PM 0.7HFeb 18 12:49 AM 0.6L 4:47 AM 0.8H 1:09 PM -0.5L 8:42 PM 0.6 HFeb 19 1:15 AM 0.5L 5:53 AM 0.8H 1:53 PM -0.4L 8:40 PM 0.6 HFeb 20 1:47 AM 0.4L 7:00 AM 0.8H 2:38 PM -0.2L 8:47 PM 0.6 HFeb 21 2:31 AM 0.2L 8:13 AM 0.7H 3:27 PM 0.0L 9:00 PM 0.6 HFeb 22 3:24 AM 0.1L 9:34 AM 0.7H 4:27 PM 0.2L 9:14 PM 0.6HFeb 23 4:29 AM 0.0L 11:16 AM 0.6H 5:46 PM 0.4L 9:30 PM 0.6 HFeb 24 5:42 AM -0.1L 2:26 PM 0.7H 7:15 PM 0.6L 9:49 PM 0.7 HFeb 25 6:57 AM -0.2L 4:57 PM 0.8HFeb 26 8:08 AM -0.3L 6:00 PM 0.9HFeb 27 9:12 AM -0.3L 6:48 PM 0.9H

PortO’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 6:50 AM -0.5L 7:12 PM 0.2HFeb 14 7:52 AM -0.5L 8:03 PM 0.2HFeb 15 8:49 AM -0.6L 9:08 PM 0.2H Feb 16 9:41 AM -0.6L 10:52 PM 0.2H Feb 17 10:30 AM -0.6L Feb 18 12:48 AM 0.2H 11:16 AM -0.5LFeb 19 2:32 AM 0.2H 12:01 PM -0.5LFeb 20 4:25 AM 0.1H 12:44 PM -0.3L 7:43 PM -0.1HFeb 21 12:00 AM -0.1L 6:17 AM 0.1H 1:24 PM -0.2L 6:57 PM 0.0HFeb 22 1:10 AM -0.2L 8:09 AM 0.1H 1:57 PM -0.1L 6:26 PM 0.0HFeb 23 2:19 AM -0.3L 11:56 AM 0.1H 2:06 PM 0.1L 6:11 PM 0.1HFeb 24 3:31 AM -0.4L 6:24 PM 0.2HFeb 25 4:47 AM -0.4L 6:49 PM 0.3HFeb 26 6:06 AM -0.4L 7:23 PM 0.3HFeb 27 7:23 AM -0.4L 8:01 PM 0.3H

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 7:58 AM -0.4L 10:52 PM -0.1HFeb 14 8:53 AM -0.4L 11:36 PM -0.1HFeb 15 9:49 AM -0.4L Feb 16 12:26 AM -0.1H 10:43 AM -0.4LFeb 17 1:21 AM -0.1H 11:34 AM -0.4LFeb 18 2:22 AM -0.1H 12:21 PM -0.4LFeb 19 3:32 AM -0.1H 1:01 PM -0.3LFeb 20 4:58 AM -0.1H 1:29 PM -0.3L 8:34 PM -0.2H 11:58 PM -0.2LFeb 21 6:49 AM -0.1H 1:37 PM -0.2L 7:33 PM -0.2HFeb 22 2:12 AM -0.2L 9:24 AM -0.2H 1:02 PM -0.2L 7:24 PM -0.1HFeb 23 3:40 AM -0.3L 7:43 PM -0.1HFeb 24 4:51 AM -0.3L 8:20 PM 0.0HFeb 25 5:55 AM -0.3L 9:08 PM 0.0HFeb 26 6:56 AM -0.3L 10:03 PM 0.0HFeb 27 7:55 AM -0.3L 11:02 PM 0.0H

PortAransasDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 4:12 AM -0.2L 4:17 PM 0.7HFeb 14 5:07 AM -0.3L 4:59 PM 0.7H Feb 15 5:58 AM -0.3L 5:45 PM 0.7H 7:49 PM 0.7L 9:52 PM 0.7HFeb 16 6:48 AM -0.4L 3:47 PM 0.7H 6:25 PM 0.7L 11:16 PM 0.8HFeb 17 7:36 AM -0.4L 3:49 PM 0.7H 7:25 PM 0.6L Feb 18 12:31 AM 0.8H 8:25 AM -0.3L 3:48 PM 0.7H 8:19 PM 0.5LFeb 19 1:43 AM 0.8H 9:13 AM -0.2L 3:58 PM 0.7H 9:14 PM 0.4LFeb 20 2:55 AM 0.8H 10:01 AM -0.1L 4:18 PM 0.7H 10:12 PM 0.2LFeb 21 4:10 AM 0.7H 10:50 AM 0.1L 4:42 PM 0.7H 11:14 PM 0.1LFeb 22 5:31 AM 0.7H 11:41 AM 0.3L 5:07 PM 0.7HFeb 23 12:19 AM 0.0L 7:18 AM 0.7H 12:45 PM 0.5L 5:30 PM 0.7HFeb 24 1:29 AM -0.1L 10:14 AM 0.7H 2:36 PM 0.7L 5:51 PM 0.7HFeb 25 2:41 AM -0.1L 1:46 PM 0.8H Feb 26 3:51 AM -0.2L 2:36 PM 0.9HFeb 27 4:56 AM -0.2L 3:23 PM 0.9H

SouthPadreIslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 4:01 AM 0.2L 3:05 PM 1.4HFeb 14 4:59 AM 0.1L 3:34 PM 1.4H Feb 15 5:57 AM 0.0L 3:59 PM 1.5H Feb 16 6:53 AM -0.1L 4:15 PM 1.4H Feb 17 7:48 AM -0.1L 4:25 PM 1.4H 8:55 PM 1.3L Feb 18 12:07 AM 1.3H 8:41 AM 0.0L 4:34 PM 1.3H 9:18 PM 1.1LFeb 19 1:44 AM 1.3H 9:34 AM 0.1L 4:44 PM 1.2H 9:53 PM 0.9LFeb 20 3:13 AM 1.3H 10:27 AM 0.3L 4:56 PM 1.2H 10:37 PM 0.7 LFeb 21 4:39 AM 1.3H 11:21 AM 0.6L 5:07 PM 1.1H 11:26 PM 0.5 LFeb 22 6:09 AM 1.3H 12:19 PM 0.8L 5:15 PM 1.1HFeb 23 12:19 AM 0.3L 7:50 AM 1.3H 1:26 PM 1.1L 5:13 PM 1.2HFeb 24 1:18 AM 0.2L 10:02 AM 1.3HFeb 25 2:21 AM 0.2L 12:36 PM 1.4HFeb 26 3:28 AM 0.1L 2:01 PM 1.5HFeb 27 4:35 AM 0.1L 2:58 PM 1.5H

EastMatagordaDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 13 6:16 AM 0.0L 04:14 PM 0.4HFeb 14 6:43 AM 0.0L 11:16 PM 0.4H Feb 15 7:31 AM 0.0L 5:40 PM 0.4H 9:49 PM 0.4L 11:56 PM 0.5HFeb 16 9:20 AM 0.0L 6:56 PM 0.4H 9:55 PM 0.4L Feb 17 12:30 AM 0.5H 9:42 AM 0.0L 7:38 PM 0.4H 9:40 PM 0.3LFeb 18 1:10 AM 0.4H 10:04 AM 0.0L Feb 19 2:22 AM 0.4H 10:31 AM 0.1L 5:42 PM 0.3H 10:32 PM 0.3LFeb 20 3:45 AM 0.4H 11:02 AM 0.1L 6:33 PM 0.3H Feb 21 1:41 AM 0.2L 4:31 AM 0.3H 1:56 PM 0.2L 4:49 PM 0.3HFeb 22 2:07 AM 0.2L 7:53 AM 0.3H 2:15 PM 0.3L 5:21 PM 0.3HFeb 23 2:25 AM 0.1L 12:10 PM 0.4H 2:23 PM 0.3L 6:18 PM 0.4HFeb 24 2:55 AM 0.1L 12:44 PM 0.4H 2:47 PM 0.3L 7:17 PM 0.4HFeb 25 5:07 AM 0.1L 7:55 PM 0.4HFeb 26 5:55 AM 0.0L 2:44 PM 0.4H 6:20 PM 0.4L 8:32 PM 0.4HFeb 27 6:30 AM 0.0L 3:41 PM 0.4H 6:29 PM 0.3L 11:59 PM 0.4H

13Fri 1:00 7:13 1:27 7:40 8:02 7:07 3:01a 1:59p14Sat 1:49 8:03 2:17 8:31 8:01 7:08 3:58a 2:54p15Sun 2:40 8:54 3:09 9:23 8:00 7:09 4:54a 3:53p16Mon 3:31 9:46 4:01 10:15 7:59 7:10 5:48a 4:57p17Tue 4:25 10:39 4:54 11:08 7:59 7:11 6:40a 6:04p18Wed 5:20 11:34 5:48 12:03 7:58 7:11 7:28a 7:13p19Thu 6:17 12:03 6:45 12:31 7:57 7:12 8:15a 8:21p20Fri 7:16 1:02 7:44 1:30 7:56 7:13 8:59a 9:28p21Sat 8:17 2:03 8:44 2:30 7:55 7:14 9:43a 10:34p22Sun 9:18 3:04 9:45 3:32 7:54 7:14 10:27a 11:38p23Mon 10:18 4:05 10:45 4:32 7:53 7:15 11:12a NoMoon 24Tue 11:16 5:03 11:43 5:30 7:52 7:16 11:58a 12:41a 25Wed ----- 5:58 12:11 6:24 7:51 7:17 12:45p 1:40a26Thu 12:37 6:50 1:02 7:15 7:50 7:17 1:34p 2:36a27Fri 1:25 7:38 1:50 8:03 7:49 7:18 2:24p 3:29a28Sat 2:11 8:23 2:35 8:47 7:48 7:19 3:16p 4:17a01Sun 2:54 9:05 3:17 9:29 7:47 7:19 4:08p 5:01a02Mon 3:35 9:47 3:58 10:09 7:46 7:20 5:00p 5:41a03Tue 4:16 10:27 4:38 10:49 7:45 7:21 5:52p 6:19a04Wed 4:57 11:08 5:19 11:30 7:43 7:22 6:43p 6:55a

13Fri 1:06 7:19 1:32 7:46 8:12 7:09 3:12a 2:00p14Sat 1:55 8:09 2:23 8:37 8:11 7:10 4:10a 2:54p15Sun 2:46 9:00 3:15 9:29 8:10 7:11 5:06a 3:54p16Mon 3:37 9:52 4:07 10:21 8:09 7:12 6:00a 4:59p17Tue 4:30 10:45 5:00 11:14 8:08 7:13 6:50a 6:07p18Wed 5:25 11:40 5:54 12:09 8:07 7:14 7:37a 7:16p19Thu 6:22 12:08 6:51 12:37 8:06 7:15 8:22a 8:26p20Fri 7:22 1:08 7:50 1:36 8:05 7:15 9:05a 9:34p21Sat 8:23 2:09 8:50 2:36 8:04 7:16 9:48a 10:41p22Sun 9:24 3:10 9:51 3:37 8:03 7:17 10:31a 11:47p23Mon 10:24 4:11 10:51 4:37 8:02 7:18 11:14a NoMoon24Tue 11:22 5:09 11:49 5:35 8:01 7:19 11:59a 12:51a25Wed ----- 6:04 12:17 6:30 7:59 7:20 12:46p 1:51a26Thu 12:42 6:55 1:08 7:21 7:58 7:21 1:34p 2:48a27Fri 1:31 7:43 1:56 8:08 7:57 7:21 2:25p 3:40a28Sat 2:16 8:28 2:41 8:53 7:56 7:22 3:16p 4:28a01Sun 2:59 9:11 3:23 9:35 7:55 7:23 4:09p 5:12a02Mon 3:41 9:52 4:04 10:15 7:54 7:24 5:02p 5:52a03Tue 4:22 10:33 4:44 10:55 7:52 7:25 5:55p 6:29a04Wed 5:03 11:14 5:24 11:35 7:51 7:25 6:48p 7:03a

13Fri 1:12 7:26 1:39 7:52 8:14 7:20 3:13a 2:13p14Sat 2:02 8:16 2:30 8:44 8:13 7:21 4:10a 3:07p 15Sun 2:52 9:07 3:21 9:36 8:12 7:22 5:07a 4:07p16Mon 3:44 9:59 4:13 10:28 8:12 7:23 6:01a 5:11p17Tue 4:37 10:52 5:06 11:21 8:11 7:23 6:52a 6:18p18Wed 5:32 11:46 6:01 12:15 8:10 7:24 7:41a 7:26p19Thu 6:29 12:15 6:57 12:43 8:09 7:25 8:27a 8:34p20Fri 7:28 1:15 7:56 1:42 8:08 7:26 9:12a 9:41p21Sat 8:29 2:15 8:57 2:43 8:07 7:26 9:56a 10:46p22Sun 9:30 3:17 9:58 3:44 8:06 7:27 10:40a 11:51p23Mon 10:31 4:17 10:58 4:44 8:05 7:28 11:25a NoMoon 24Tue 11:29 5:15 11:55 5:42 8:04 7:29 12:11p 12:53a25Wed 12:00 6:10 12:24 6:37 8:03 7:29 12:59p 1:53a26Thu 12:49 7:02 1:15 7:28 8:02 7:30 1:48p 2:49a27Fri 1:38 7:50 2:03 8:15 8:01 7:31 2:38p 3:41a28Sat 2:23 8:35 2:47 8:59 8:00 7:31 3:29p 4:29a01Sun 3:06 9:18 3:30 9:41 7:59 7:32 4:21p 5:13a02Mon 3:48 9:59 4:10 10:22 7:58 7:33 5:13p 5:54a03Tue 4:29 10:40 4:51 11:02 7:57 7:33 6:05p 6:32a04Wed 5:10 11:20 5:31 11:42 7:56 7:34 6:57p 7:08a

13Fri 1:26 7:39 1:52 8:06 8:35 7:26 3:38a 2:15p14Sat 2:15 8:29 2:43 8:57 8:34 7:27 4:36a 3:09p15Sun 3:06 9:20 3:35 9:49 8:33 7:28 5:32a 4:10p16Mon 3:57 10:12 4:27 10:41 8:32 7:29 6:25a 5:15p17Tue 4:50 11:05 5:20 11:34 8:31 7:30 7:15a 6:24p18Wed 5:45 ----- 6:14 12:29 8:30 7:31 8:01a 7:35p19Thu 6:43 12:28 7:11 12:57 8:29 7:32 8:44a 8:46p20Fri 7:42 1:28 8:10 1:56 8:28 7:33 9:26a 9:56p21Sat 8:43 2:29 9:10 2:56 8:27 7:34 10:07a 11:04p22Sun 9:44 3:30 10:11 3:57 8:25 7:35 10:49a NoMoon23Mon 10:44 4:31 11:11 4:58 8:24 7:36 11:31a 12:11a24Tue 11:42 5:29 ----- 5:55 8:23 7:36 12:16p 1:16a25Wed 12:13 6:24 12:37 6:50 8:22 7:37 1:02p 2:17a26Thu 1:03 7:15 1:28 7:41 8:20 7:38 1:50p 3:14a27Fri 1:51 8:03 2:16 8:28 8:19 7:39 2:40p 4:06a28Sat 2:36 8:49 3:01 9:13 8:18 7:40 3:32p 4:54a01Sun 3:20 9:31 3:43 9:55 8:17 7:41 4:25p 5:37a02Mon 4:01 10:12 4:24 10:35 8:15 7:42 5:19p 6:16a03Tue 4:42 10:53 5:04 11:15 8:14 7:43 6:13p 6:52a04Wed 5:23 11:34 5:45 11:55 8:13 7:44 7:07p 7:26a


WARDENWATCHESROADHUNTERS Newton County Game Warden Landon Spacek observed a pickup truck driving at an extremely slow rate of speed on a county road. Spacek observed flashlights being used to shine the clear cuts on both sides of the road. After sev-eral minutes of watching the truck travel down the road and con-tinue to shine, Spacek stopped the truck and made contact. The truck was occupied by two adults and one juvenile. The adult driver was found to be in possession of a loaded .243-rifle, flashlight and spotlight. The juvenile passen-ger was in possession of a second flashlight. Confessions for hunt-ing white-tailed deer from a public road were obtained and appropriate charges filed.

DRIVER’SBIZARREBEHAVIORBLAMEDONOPOSSUM

At night, Smith County Game Warden Brad Clark was watching two pastures in the county. A car came by his location, slammed on the brakes, swerved into the bar ditch and turned around at a high rate of speed. The car accel-erated for a short distance and again swerved into the bar ditch before turning around. The vehi-cle repeated the routine two more times and then sped off. Clark caught up with the vehicle and made a stop. The driver said he was trying to run over an opossum that was trying to cross the road. An odor of marijuana was coming from the driver and he admitted to possessing a small amount. Citations issued.

DEERPROCESSORHIDESDEERHEADFROMWARDENS

Jasper County Game Wardens Morgan Inman and Justin Eddins

inspected a local deer processor. The owner began to be very unco-operative, telling the wardens they had no right to look at his business. The wardens found several viola-tions and stepped away. When they returned, the wardens noticed a deer head in question (with under-sized antlers) was missing. Felony charges were filed for tampering with evidence.

SHOOTINGCORMORANTWITHUNPLUGGEDSHOTGUNS

Four people hunting ducks on a private pond were checked by Titus County Game Warden Jerry Ash. One of the subjects was found to have no hunting license and an unplugged shotgun. While issu-ing the citations, Ash heard shots coming from another nearby pond, where three persons had unplugged shotguns and one had an illegally killed cormorant. Cases pending.

MENGIVENOUTDOORANNUALAFTERSHOOTING6-POINTERDURINGSPIKE

ANDANTLERLESSDEERSEASON Travis County Game Wardens Jeff Hill and Christy Vales, along with K9 partner Ruger, responded to a call from the Travis County Sheriff’s

Office regarding two men who ille-gally harvested a 6-point buck during the youth-only and special late spike and antlerless season. The two males were issued cita-tions and civil restitution is pending on the buck. The wardens gave the subjects an Outdoor Annual Hunting and Fishing Regulation Guide, which includes information on an app for harvest seasons and an online-only Hunters Education course.

TWOMEN,60DUCKS,OVERBAIT An anonymous tip with only a last name and photo of a sub-ject posing with 60 ducks led to several charges. Upshur County Game Warden Mark Frayser and Wood County Game Warden Derek Spitzer investigated. The tipster said two men shot a 10-man limit of ducks at an unknown location that morning. The wardens were able to identify, locate and inter-view the two subjects involved later that evening. Both subjects admitted shooting 60 ducks over a baited pond, then dumping 55 ring-necked ducks in the woods to waste. The ducks and bait were located and collected as evidence.

Multiple cases and restitution pending.

NEIGHBORSHOOTSREDSTAG,CROSSESHIGHFENCETORETRIEVE

A subject was caught hunting an exotic animal without land-owner consent in Uvalde County. Game Wardens Javier Fuentes and Rachel Kellner charged the viola-tor after he admitted shooting a red stag on the neighboring ranch property. The violator admitted to crawling over the high fence sepa-rating two ranches, field dressing the animal and taking it to town. The violator was booked into the Uvalde County Jail on Class A mis-demeanor charges. The stag’s head was returned to the landowner, who donated the meat to a local charity.

GROUPCAUGHTSHOOTINGDOVESITTINGONTELEPHONEWIRES

Lubbock/Lynn counties Game Warden Shannon Chambliss and Lubbock/Hockley counties Game Warden Mallory Mitchell responded to a complaint of road hunters in Lubbock County. Chambliss wit-nessed three subjects in a pickup truck creeping down a county road

with guns sticking out the window. The wardens initiated a stop and, after interviewing the occupants, it was discovered to be three juveniles shooting at dove on the high wire, along with other numerous viola-tions. The juveniles were detained until their parents arrived and cita-tions were issued.

TAG,HARVESTLOGSALITTLELATE Comanche County Game Warden Mike Alexander received a tip reporting violations at a local deer. Alexander checked the camp and found three untagged deer hanging. One did not have evidence of sex and a buck had a suspicious broken antler. The man in the camp said they were not his deer and called the other men to come in. An hour later, the rest of the crew arrived. They said they had a flat tire on the way back, however, they had the missing tags and their harvest logs were completed for the deer. Five citations and six warnings were issued.

MANTRIESTOGETAWAYWITHTWO-YEAR-OLDTAGONDEER

Starr County Game Warden Ryan McGinley observed an open gate leading to a ranch and decided to investigate. He spotted two vehicles and five individuals dressed in cam-ouflage standing around a hunting blind. At first, the individuals said they were working on the ranch, but after some questioning they said they were hunting. McGinley fol-lowed the men down to where one of the men had shot an 8-point buck, and helped load the deer. The tag on the deer had expired in 2012, and the man did not have a valid hunting license. The 8-point buck was seized and the meat was donated to a local family. Cases and civil restitution are pending.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTERANYBODYHOME?

While home for lunch with his truck in the drive-way, there was a knock at the door of Comanche County Game Warden Mike Alexander’s home. Expecting a UPS delivery, his wife answered the door. A young man asked her if she knew where he could hunt hogs. She said no and sent him on his way. Alexander got to the door just as the man was getting into a white truck to leave. Feeling there was something odd about the encounter, he moved his patrol truck and watched the oat field across the highway from his house. At dusk, a white truck was observed driving slowly on the highway and it stopped on the edge of the oat field. The same

man got out, removed a rifle from the back seat, snuck up to the fence and fired four shots into a herd of deer across the road. Another car was coming down the road and spooked the man. He ran back to the truck just as Alexander got to the scene. Alexander asked the man, “What were you thinking?” The man replied, “I didn’t think you would be home.” A search of the field did not reveal a deer or any blood. The man said that he had just bought the rifle and had not bothered to sight in the scope. The subject was arrested and charged with hunting from a public road and hunt-ing in a closed area. His new rifle was seized.


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come from mid-February through early March.“That is when we start seeing more tournaments,

with anglers prefi shing a lot and fi nding big bass,” he said. “But some years, over the 20-some years of the program, we’ve had years where not a lot of fi sh over 13 pounds were brought in.”

Lake Fork guide Mike McFarland said the fi shing on the famed big bass lake has been up and down with the temperatures this season.

“Those bass get in those roots of trees and they suspend in about 40 to 50 feet of water,” he said. “They are just hard to catch. The water temperature is 10 degrees warmer than it was this time last year. At this rate, I expect us to have a normal spawn in March and April.”

Texas angler and radio host Brian Hughes said he has heard from many anglers that the fi shing has not been good so far this year.

“Lake levels being down and a lack of anglers are the two biggest factors I am hearing right now,” Hughes said. “Specifi cally, Lake Fork has been tough. The lake is low, making it diffi cult to launch,

and they aren’t seeing as many anglers as they nor-mally would this time of year.”

Hughes said the fi sh are still there, they are just on a different pattern because of water levels and a lack of hydrilla.

“The bass are harder to fi nd and they are harder to catch,” he said. “Fluctuating water all over the state is having an affect, especially out west.”

Hughes said along with water levels, some anglers have not been reporting big bass because they know the publicity brings more pressure to a lake.

“I think when they caught all of those ShareLunkers in O.H. Ivie several years ago, the anglers out there saw the pressure it brought on the lake. All of a sud-den, there were a lot more boats on the water. I think the anglers learn from that and don’t publicize those big fi sh to TPWD anymore.”

Martinez said some of the lakes where double-digit bass have been caught this year include Lake Gilmer, Lake Ray Roberts, several from Fork and Lake Austin.

— Staff report

Lack of big bass so farContinuedfrompage1

LOOKINGFORNUMBERTWO:Anglersarehopingforbiggerbass,likethis13-poundercaughtlastseason,asthespawnapproachessomeTexaslakeslaterthismonth.PhotobyTPWD.

24-inch slot came calling, that went in the cooler for dinner fare. Ryan bagged a 45-inchish bull red on his fi rst cast and we caught four more rays, three of which went into my bait freezer for future use.

“All fi sh were caught in the fi rst gut casting from the sand.”Although the reports farther north also have been tough, the beaches

around Sargent have held promise for surf anglers with enough patience to wait out the bite. The salinity has risen and the baitfi sh are back in the surf, with whiting and drum following, along with a few hardheads.

“The water keeps going from one extreme to the other,” wrote 2cool-fi shing.com poster Sharkchum. “The last two weeks have been almost unfi shable due to all the freshwater runoff and strong east or west winds. Got down there around noon on Saturday and the water was crystal clear and smooth as glass, which in my opinion, is worse than being rough and muddy. Drove west for a few miles until I found some off-colored water and set a few rods out. Caught one 38-inch black drum on crab within 10 minutes, then the incoming tide pushed the dirty water out and we never got another bite.”

On the texasfi shingforum.com, posters fi shing in San Luis Pass had this suggestion.

“Cracked blue crab and cut fresh mullet are working pretty good for bull reds and black drum right now,” posted Palehorse. “Live shrimp fi shed tight to the bridge pilings will get some good bites from sheeps-head, too.”

Typical winter on beachContinuedfrompage1

GETTINGINONTHEACT:Surffishingcanbeagreatfamilyactivity,withkidsgrabbingrodswhenthefishingishot,andplayingonthebeachwhentheactionslowsdown.PhotobyJoeA.Garcia.



down into the bottom of the canyons to get out of the wind, even though it is much thicker in the bottoms.”

Hefl in and Ledbetter set up on one side of a dry creek bed, while the other team members were on the opposite side, fac-ing the opposite direction. Ledbetter had a shotgun, and Hefl in had a rifl e.

“I had a 10-foot window about 40 yards away that I could shoot through,” Hefl in said. “I set up and we called for about 15 minutes with a baby cottontail and then a jackrabbit distress call. I saw an orange fl ash for a second and thought it was something big. This something was walk-ing rather nonchalantly down a road on the opposite side of this creek bank, about 35 yards away and we only caught a half-second glimpse as she passed a nar-row opening between a couple cedars. All we could tell was it was orange and didn’t look quite right.

“Four steps and about three seconds later she hit a small clearing and that was all the time I needed.”

Hefl in had his .22-250 already shoul-dered and shot the cat as she stepped into the opening. Ledbetter followed up with two shots from his shotgun and all was quiet.

“Five seconds and it was all over,” Hefl in said. “We didn’t have time to become scared or nervous. The cat was about 10 yards from the other guys, but they were facing the other direction, so they had no idea what we had just shot.”

After the shot, Hefl in’s heart was racing and he thought he was going to hyperventilate.“The adrenaline was sure fl owing in my veins,” he said. “We took pictures, admired her for a while, and went back to

hunting. We hunted hard until the next morning, and came up short on the big bobcat, but we couldn’t really care less right now.”

Ledbetter said it is a hunt he will never forget.“After the shot, we just sat there for a few minutes,” he said. “Then we started whooping and hollering like a bunch of

teenage girls. That went on for about 15 minutes.”Hefl in said pulling up at the contest caused quite a stir.“Laddan just pulled up right in the middle of everyone, got out, slammed the tailgate down and pulled the lion out.

Jaws just dropped,” he said. The cat weighed about 90 pounds and was a young female.“This was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life,” Hefl in added.

Operations for North American Fur Auctions. “Fur prices dropped with the stock market decline in 1987 and again in 2008, but rebounded to a peak in 2013,”

McMillan said. “Over the last fi ve years, coyote prices stayed steady. East Texas coyote pelts have averaged $12 to $18, while West Texas pelts averaged $30 to $45.

“All indications are that coyote prices will be strong this year.” According to McMillan, the gray fox, raccoon and bobcat markets are tied much closer to the events in Russia and

China. “The Chinese market continues to grow while the market in Russia has been hurt with dropping oil prices and a weak

currency,” he said. Over the last fi ve years, gray fox pelts averaged $20 to $35, raccoons $8 to $14, East Texas bobcats $60 to $80 and West

Texas bobcats $130 to $180. Fur trader Chuck Redell and his family have been buying and selling furs in Texas for more than 70 years. Redell fi elds phone

calls every year from people looking to get into trapping. “The fi rst thing I always ask is where in Texas they live?” Redell said. “If you want to turn trapping into some money, where

you live has lot to do with what you should trap. If you live in West Texas, go after coyote, bobcat and even raccoons. Central Texas holds an abundance of raccoons and nice bobcats. Even if you live in Southeast Texas, you can trap valuable otter. My advice is always to call a local fur buyer or trapping organization before deciding which species to target in your area.”

Besides the money, there are lots of other reasons for Texans to take up trapping said Don Hightower, district director for Texas Trappers and Fur Hunters Association.

“Trapping is a great way to gain access to ranches otherwise closed to the public,” Hightower said. “For example, rac-coons can eat a lot of expensive protein and corn meant for deer and other wildlife. I can save a rancher a lot of money by keeping the raccoon population in check. After gaining the trust of local ranchers by trapping nuisance animals such as raccoons, ranchers started handing me keys and rattling off their gate combinations. I trap on ranches that charge deer hunters many thousands of dollars each fall.

“I have year-round access to the same ranches for the price of a phone call.”According to Hightower, trapping also builds hunting skills. “The whole game is to fi gure out how to get your quarry to place its foot onto the 2-inch diameter circle of the trap

trigger,” he said. “To get that animal to step on your trigger, you will learn to be constantly in tune with nature; looking for tracks, trails and patterns. You will be amazed at how much better a hunter you’ll become after you trap a few seasons.”

No time to get nervousContinuedfrompage1

TEAMEFFORT:Thewholecallingteamhadahandinharvestingthebigcat,althoughitwasHe-flinandLedbetterwhoactuallydidtheshooting,withHeflinconnecting.PhotobyJackyHeflin.

Fur prices risingContinuedfrompage4

MONEYTOBEMADE:TrappersinEastTexasaregettingupto$18forcoyotepelts,whiletrappersinthewesternportionofthestatearemakingupwardsof$45percoyote.PhotobyLoneStarOutdoorNews.


NATIONALCabela’sOutdoorFundgivesDWgrant

A $50,000 grant from Cabela’s Outdoor Fund to benefit Delta Waterfowl’s Hen House Program will put more mallards into the fall flight.

The grant money will fund annual main-tenance and repairs to 250 hen house nesting structures in Manitoba for the next 10 years.

“Cabela’s Outdoor Fund is proud to award this grant to Delta Waterfowl, a longtime partner in conservation with Cabela’s,” said Jeremy Wonch, vice presi-dent of Cabela’s Outdoor Fund.

Used primarily by mallards, hen houses are nesting cylinders placed over water in small wetlands. Delta focuses hen house sites in prairie wetland areas with lim-ited nesting cover where nest predators such as red foxes, raccoons and skunks can easily find duck nests in the sparse patches of grass.

Delta Waterfowl research has shown duck nesting success rates of less than 2 percent in some intensely farmed areas of Manitoba, said Matt Chouinard, water-fowl programs manager. At the same time, Delta studies have shown average nest success of 61 percent in hen houses, and that 82 percent of the structures were used in Manitoba over a five-year period.

“We estimate through our research that this grant will add 5,250 mallards to the fall flight,” Chouinard said.

— Delta Waterfowl

Floridaconsideringbearhunt

In response to rapidly increasing con-flicts and several incidents where bears seriously injured people, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is building on its long-standing, proactive approach to bear management.

At its Feb. 4 meeting in Jacksonville, the FWC approved a plan to move forward with a variety of tools to manage bears and help reduce human-bear conflicts.

“We are taking a more aggressive approach to conflict bears in neighbor-hoods and will continue to partner with counties, municipalities and homeowner associations to reduce conflicts by secur-ing bear attractants like garbage,” said FWC Chairman Richard Corbett.

The commission also asked staff to move forward with developing specific plans for a limited bear hunt in certain parts of Florida. Hunting alone is not likely to reduce human-bear conflicts in urban and suburban areas. However, in other states, hunting has proved to be an effective measure for managing bear popu-lations and can help more direct measures of reducing conflicts such as securing attractants and removing conflict bears.

— FWC

Aimpointcelebrates40thanniversary

Aimpoint, the originator in electronic red dot sighting technology, marks the company’s 40th anniversary this year.

Founded in 1975 by Gunnar Sandberg, the Aimpoint Electronic was the company’s product introduced that same year. Hunters immediately understood the advantages of this new technology, and it quickly gained acceptance by competi-tive shooters, as well. Other key product developments soon followed, including the Aimpoint Mark III, and Aimpoint 3000 during the 1980s, and the Comp Series of sights during the 1990s. The 2000s saw the development of Aimpoint’s Advanced Circuit Efficiency Technology, which pro-vides Aimpoint sights with battery life measured in years, and introduction of important new products including the CompM4, Patrol Rifle Optic, Carbine Optic, and Micro series of sights.

— Aimpoint

Highestnumberofmaturebucksever

American deer hunters are killing the highest-ever percentage of bucks age 3 1/2 and older, according to data gath-ered by the Quality Deer Management Association for its 2015 Whitetail Report.

In the 2013-14 season, the most recent

season with complete deer harvest data available from all states, 34 percent of bucks harvested in the states that collect buck age data were 3 1/2 or older. That statistic is up from 32 percent the season before, and significantly up from a decade before in the 2003-04 season, when only 23 percent of the national buck harvest was mature. These gains have been made while the percentage of yearling bucks in the harvest has steadily declined, reaching a record-low of 36 percent.

The five states with the lowest per-centage of yearling bucks in the antlered buck harvest are also the top-five states in percentage of mature bucks: Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

— QDMA

FourtoenterBassFishingHallofFame

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame will honor two pro anglers: Harold Allen and Stacey King; a successful bass fish-ing industry entrepreneur, William “Bill” Huntley; and an exceptional writer on the bass fishing scene, Don Wirth, at the orga-nization’s annual dinner on February 19 in Greenville, South Carolina — the evening prior to the first tournament fishing day for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

Being recognized for their impact upon and their support of both professional anglers and recreational bass fishing during their careers, Harold Allen is a pro bass angler and Toledo Bend guide; William “Bill” Huntley started Bumble Bee Baits and T-H Marine; Stacey King has found success on both the B.A.S.S. and FLW Tour pro; and award-winning journalist Don Wirth is best known his work in Bassmaster Magazine for more than 40 years.

— B.A.S.S

TimetoapplyforbiggamehuntsinUtah

It might be the middle of winter, but it’s already time to start applying for a permit to hunt big game animals in Utah this fall.

Applications are being accepted now and must be received no later than March 5 to be included in the draw for permits. Applications are being accepted for every big game hunt except the general-season bull elk hunt, which will be on a first-come, first-served basis starting July 14.

Go to wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks for more.

— Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

PrisontimeforWashingtonoysterpoacher

The former owner of a shellfish company based in Jefferson County was sentenced today to 5 1/2 years in prison after a poaching investigation by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife proved he and his employees had stolen mil-lions of oysters and clams off Washington beaches.

Rodney Allan Clark, 50, former owner of G&R Quality Seafood in Quilcene, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to 17 counts of trafficking in stolen property and one count of reckless endangerment for selling shellfish to the public without a state health certification.

According to the health inspector, a shellfish buyer reported buying thousands of Clark’s oysters, which made some of his customers in Yakima and the Tri-Cities sick. For the next 11 months, WDFW detectives developed a case on Clark and his employees, documenting their activi-ties as they illegally harvested shellfish at night on isolated beaches in Jefferson and Kitsap counties. WDFW Police Chief Steve Crown estimates that Clark and his employees illegally harvested more than $2 million worth of oysters and clams from publicly and privately owned beaches, but said the true value of the stolen shellfish may never be known.

— WDFW

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HEROES

GavinGuess, 9, of Cypress, took his first deer, a nice 8-pointer, on a family ranch Nov. 24 in Fayette County.

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CoyLaBuhn, 7, landed his first redfish the day before Thanksgiving at Port O’Connor.

Six-year-oldEthanYocumharvested his first deer — this 8-point buck — with his dad, Skye, as his guide using the same .22-.250 his dad used to harvest his first deer.

JasonPetter from Trinity County with a buck he harvested on a family ranch in Fayette County.

JoshuaWilson, 9, harvested his first whitetail Nov. 29 at the RRR Ranch.

TimWhorley harvested this 10-point buck in Liberty Hill, at the R & R Ranch with help from guides BobReynolds and Jeff Wallace.


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TroutintheafternoonLOUISIANA SHORELINE — The Louisiana

shoreline of Sabine Lake has been fi shing better than the Texas side recently, where water isn’t as stained, according to Dickie Colburn.

“The La. shoreline clears the quickest, but the water was decent enough by yesterday evening, even on the Neches fl ats,” Colburn wrote on sabinelake.blogs.com. “The redfi sh bite lit off again immediately, but the trout bite has just gotten a little better each day. There is no doubt that they are far more active in the afternoon hours, as we have failed to catch a single trout before noon, only to limit twice in the last hour or so of daylight. We have not found any big trout thus far, but I will never complain about 17- to 24-inch fi sh. Luke Dell’s 6 1/2-pound fi sh was the best fi sh we have caught recently. The redfi sh will eat most anything you throw in front of them, but we have caught most of our trout on bone or pink top-waters, red shad and chicken-on-a-chain tails and dayglow Fat Boys.”

To contact Capt. Dickie Colburn, call (409) 883-0723.

MixedbagnearPowderhornINDIANOLA FISHING MARINA — Anglers fi shing near the small town of Indianola are

reporting redfi sh are back in Powederhorn Lake, and pier anglers at the fi shing marina are reporting good catches of slot-sized fi sh.

Along with redfi sh, a good bite for black drum, sheepshead, fl oun-der and trout has also been reported.

The best bait has been shrimp for redfi sh and trout, along with cracked crab for black drum.

To contact the Indianola Fishing Marina, call (361) 552-5350.

FishthegutsKING RANCH SHORELINE — According to Capt. Noel Guerrero of Fin Fever Guide

Service, the trout fi shing has been very good the past few weeks along the King Ranch Shoeline.

“Trout are good in mud and grass on Corkies and MirrOlures while wading,” Guerrero said. “Trout can also be found in the guts along the King Ranch shoreline on Corkies and scented plastics.”

Along with trout, redfi sh have been caught, although the redfi sh bite has not been as hot as the wading trout bite.

Dead shrimp have been the ticket to entice redfi sh to bite, and don’t be afraid to search around South Bay for pods of feeding redfi sh. If you fi nd one, you might limit out very quickly.

To contact Capt. Noel Guerrero, call (361) 500-2687.— Conor Harrison

NORTHSABINE: Trout and redfi sh are fair while drifting mud and shell. Sheepshead are fair to good around the rocks.

SOUTHSABINE: Redfi sh are fair on the edge of the channel on mullet. Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp.

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair on the south shore-line on slow–sinking plugs. Black drum and redfi sh are fair to good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITYBAY: Trout are fair for drifters work-ing deep shell on the upper end of the bay on soft plastics. Redfi sh are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet.

EASTGALVESTONBAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on Corkies and MirrOlures. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WESTGALVESTONBAY: Sheepshead, red-

fi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Trout are fair over deep shell in the afternoon on plastics.

TEXASCITY: Sheepshead are fair around rock groins on live shrimp. Mangrove snapper and whiting are fair from the piers.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are fair on live shrimp on the reefs. Redfi sh are fair to good at San Luis pass on cracked blue crabs.

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

WESTMATAGORDABAY: Redfi sh are fair to good on the south shoreline in the guts and bayous. Trout are fair on shell and grassy shorelines on soft plastics and live shrimp. Tides are 2 feet below normal.

PORTO’CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are fair on Corkies over soft mud in waist–deep water in San Antonio Bay. Redfi sh are fair to good at the mouths of drains on soft plastics and live shrimp.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on glow DOA Shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good on the Estes Flats and in California Hole on mullet and shrimp. Tides are well below normal.

PORTARANSAS: Redfi sh are fair to good around Pelican Island on scented plastics and mullet. Sand trout are good on shrimp in the channel.

CORPUSCHRISTI: Redfi sh are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are fair to good in Oso Bay on scented plastics, top-waters and soft plastics.

BAFFINBAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and MirrOlures. Trout

are fair to good in the guts along the King Ranch shoreline on top-waters and soft plas-tics.

PORTMANSFIELD: Redfi sh are fair to good on DOA Shrimp and scented plastics under a popping cork around grass holes. Trout are fair to good on mud along the edge of the ICW on Corkies and MirrOlures.

SOUTHPADRE: 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 mangrove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp.

PORTISABEL: Redfi sh are fair to good in Cullen Bay on live shrimp and scented plas-tics. Trout are fair on the edge of the fl ats on DOA Shrimp and scented plastics.

— TPWD

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

1 1/2 pounds ground venison1, 16-ounce can refried beans1 packet burrito seasoningShredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided1 package large fl our tortillas1 can cream of mushroom soup1 small can diced tomatoes or fresh equiva-lent1/2 packet taco seasoningSour creamFillings — onions, salsa, etc.

Brown the burger in a large skillet. Drain if necessary. Mix the burrito seasoning with water per package instructions. Mix the sea-

soning and beans into the meat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Assemble the burritos using 2 tablespoons of the meat/bean mixture, some cheese and your choice of fi llings. Once rolled up, place in a 9x13 baking dish. Reserve 3/4-cup of the meat mix-ture, some cheese and fi llings (optional). In a bowl, mix the soup, tomatoes and taco seasoning together. Pour over the prepared burritos. Top with the cheese and fi llings. Bake at 325 degrees for 10–20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with the sour cream.

— backwoodsbound.com

Venisonburritocasserole

*email LSON your favorite recipe to

[email protected].

1 (5-pound) striped bass3 small white onions, sliced thin4 stalks tender white celery4 slices bacon, chopped fi ne1/2 green pepper, chopped2 tbsps. butter1 tsp. fi nely chopped pepperDash of pepper and salt1 cup dry white wine2 tsps. butter

Clean and split bass, but do not detach halves, so that fi sh will retain its shape; remove back-bone. Place onions, celery cut in thin strips, bacon and green pep-per into saucepan and sauté until

light brown. Add butter and cook over low heat, adding parsley. Blend well and add dash of black pepper. Wipe fi sh clean and salt and pepper well. Spread fi lling inside between halves, fold fi sh over and place in well-buttered casserole. Pour wine over fi sh and place the teaspoons butter in bits over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until fi sh is tender, basting frequently with the wine. Serve with own sauce. Serve with marinated cucumbers.

— cooks.com

Stuffedstripers

FORTHE

TABLE

ACROSS 1. Common name for the bowfi n 6. Action of a dry fl y on the water 8. A brand of camo 9. A breed of shark10. A wingshooter’s quarry11. Scent lure used by bear hunters15. A freshwater fi sh16. A type of arrow18. Best lure color to attract fi sh20. Electronic wear controls gundogs 21. A family of bottom fi sh

24. Name for the trout after hatching 26. Shoulder hide on a deer 27. A food source for bears 28. 17 down seeks this 29. All outdoorsmen should carry one 30. The varmint

DOWN 1. A species of the bighorn 2. Act of forcing wildfowl to fl ight 3. Trout will run smaller in this 4. Newborn elk 5. A good trap bait

6. To place feathers on an arrow 7. State boasts second most elk12. A perch13. Female deer14. A young wild turkey15. Turkey’s feet17. Otter, coon, weasel are their type quarry19. The pheasant20. A game bird22. A wounded game or fowl23. A northern saltwater fl at fi sh25. State most populated by elk

OUTDOOR PUZZLER By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen SolutiononPage26

Along with redfi sh, a good bite for black drum, sheepshead, fl oun-Along with redfi sh, a good bite for black drum, sheepshead, fl oun-


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Long day nets big makoOffshore trip for shark anglers requires patience, luckThe Fish & Fun II left the docks for a wahoo and mako trip with Scott Nelson at the helm and Eric

Ozolins at his side, along with angler Chris Sessions.The boat set a course for Southern Rock with eight pre-rigged ballyhoo on board for wahoo. It was a

cold morning with calm seas and they had a short trip of 45 or 50 miles.After running 30 miles, the group across a shrimpboat.“We trolled around the shrimp boat for 30 minutes and nothing,” Sessions said. “Before you knew

it, we were at Southern Rock. There was another boat trolling when we arrived, and we set out a spread out of ballyhoo with a lure on the bird. The water was running 64 degrees, with a green color and scat-tered weed and grass.

“We trolled four hours with no hits or runs, so it was time to pick up and run south to look for mako sharks.”

Sessions and the group pulled up to an offshore rig and immediately began marking jack fish.“We know where there are jacks, there will be mako sharks,” he said. “This time of this year, Oz and

I target wahoo and makos — December, January and February are the best months. We catch a lot of them just free jumping.”

It wasn’t long before several jacks were caught using jigs with 40-inch leaders and a 16/0 hook with a cable. That is when the shark fishing begins.

“I throw them out with a longline float on the leader and a hook in their tail,” Sessions said. “Jacks are a very hardy fish and they will stay alive and swim for a long time. Oz and I had live jacks out — his 200 yards from the boat, and mine was 100 yards from the boat, tied off to the rig with a buoy on a rig hook.”

While the boat waited for a big shark, they entertained themselves fishing for grouper.“Ihookedone,butcouldnotgethimoutoftherigand(he)brokemeoff,”Sessionssaid.“Themagictimeformakostohitis3p.m.Ozwaslookingthroughtherigandsawabigmakofreejump.Heaskedifwehadseenit?Wedidn’t.”

The anglers were on guard and watching the floats — nothing happened and after an hour went by, they started grouper fishing again.

“At 4:30 p.m., a late fish hit,” he said. “The first run was long and gave us enough time to run a hook from the rig. We went into action — Scott Nelson on wheel and Oz picking up and cleaning the deck. They put a billy plate around me and asked if it was OK? ‘Yes, it’s a mako,’ I said.”

About that time, the big shark jumped 20-feet high and tried to throw the hook. When he landed, he thrashed the water and ran straight for the boat.

“When he got to the boat, he dove down 200 feet deep and stayed deep,” Sessions said. “He was try-ing to knock the hook out by rubbing on the bottom. When he came up, he was a tired fish with mud on his nose and a hook that was not set. The hook and cable were wrapped around his upper jaw and the barb of the hook was hooked to cable. This was what was holding the fish.”

The big mako was beside the boat thrashing with very little connecting him to the angler.“We thought for sure we were going to lose the fish,” Sessions said. “Oz got a tailrope on fish and we

got it in the boat the best we could. Before you knew it, it was dark and we had a live mako in boat with Scott driving toward home and Oz taking photos.The shark measured 8-feet, 8-inches long.“What a long day — we made it in with no jetty lights on at Packery and the fog set in one hour later at the boat ramp.”

— Staff report

DEEPSEAPREDATOR:ChrisSessionsshowsthe8-footsharkthatwascaughtafterthehookslippedoutofitsmouthandwrappedaroundacablecaughtontheshark’steeth.PhotobyChrisSessions.


March 21-22AMARILLOAmarillo Civic Center

March 28-29ABILENEAbilene Civic Center

April 18 -19KERRVILLE Hill Country Youth Event Center

May 16 -17ABILENE Abilene Civic Center

July 11-12AMARILLO Amarillo Civic Center

August 15-16ABILENE Abilene Civic Center

February 21-22 FREDERICKSBURG - Gillespie County Fairgrounds

said. “My father choked up as he told me he had always intended to pass the rifl e down to me as a family heirloom and now was the moment he could do so. It was a very special moment, and the rifl e that I had shot my fi rst buck with was back in my hands.”

After hearing the story, the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation invited Johnny on a deer hunt, with the old rifl e.A week or two before the hunt, the unthinkable happened.“My wife and I bought a home and had just moved in,” Johnny said. “Then it got broken into. The only thing the thieves

took was a brand new TV, though. They didn’t take the rifl e — it was the fi rst thing I looked for.”During the late January hunt, and after two days of seeing young deer that didn’t result in a shot, an older buck fi nally

appeared and the rifl e was about to be used.“I was calm until I got the go-ahead to shoot,” Johnny said. “Then my heart was pounding.”After looking at his buck and posing for some photos, Johnny knelt and said a prayer, thankful for the hunt and showing

respect for the animal he had just harvested.“I couldn’t help but think of where this rifl e has been or what it has shot at,” he said. “My Colt Sauer .25-06 has taken an

incredible journey from the hands of a loving father to a greedy thief, collected by a drug traffi cking compound, seized by the DEA, returned to it’s rightful owner and now passed down to an only son.”

And 24 years after being stolen, the 25.06 is serving its intended and lawful purpose.It was used to take another deer.

tions,” Stine said.Rollins confi rmed this combination has led to a

bountiful crop of fi laree and broom weed, two plants that provide important nutrients and cover for the quail year-round.

“If we can sustain this weather pattern through June, I think it will mean a really good situation for quail hunting, at least in West Texas next year,” Rollins said, striking a cautiously optimistic tone.

Bird counts are generally up, but hunting conditions still varied across the region.

Dewey Stockbridge, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biolo-gist at the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, said he is seeing more quail, almost entirely blues, now than he has in years but the hunting remains tough.

The blues aren’t sticking to their reg-ular pattern of run-ning and busting,” he said. “They’re just coveying up and staying put or they’re running on the ground and you never see them, which has made the plentiful cov-eys somewhat diffi cult to hunt.”

Others, like West Texas hunter Brad Bates, are having great success going after blues.

“My hunting buddy and I go out two days a week for three and a half to four hours and together we shoot 15 to 25 birds a day,” Bates said.

In South Texas, David Green of Infl ight Outfi tters advises hunters to pay attention to local conditions.

“South Texas is a pretty big area and different areas see different amounts of rainfall,” Green said. “Places that saw more rainfall sustained better levels of native grass, which made for better nesting grounds and more abundant bird populations. While the coveys seen in some southern regions were considerably greater than others, across the board, South Texas has done well compared with last year for wild birds.”

Gun back to rightful ownerContinuedfrompage4

TOOKAWHILEFORTHESECONDDEER:JohnnyQuirosIIposeswiththetwodeerhehasnowtakenwithhisfather’soldgun—onewhenhewasayoungboy,andthebuckheharvestedafewweeksago.PhotobyJohnnyQuirosIIandDavidJ.Sams,LoneStarOutdoorNews.

Happy bird dogsContinuedfrompage5

PhotobyDavidJ.Sams,LSON


existing exhibitors.• Record number of tickets sold (1,400) for DSC’s fi nal night banquet and auction.• Record attendance at the prestigious Weatherby Award banquet hosted by Weatherby

Foundation International.One of the most memorable highlights of the DSC convention was raising $1 million in

one minute for Outdoor Adventures, a Texas-born program that introduces students to tra-ditional outdoor activities. The curriculum is now being taught in more than 170 secondary schools — many of them public — across Texas and in a growing number of other states.

— DSC

DSC beats record attendanceContinuedfrompage7

OwensOutdoorSalesnamedNSOGroupoftheYearNikon Sport Optics recently recognized its top sales representatives for 2014 during their

annual meeting in Las Vegas to kick off the 2015 SHOT Show. These awards are chosen by taking into consideration sales number increases, but also factor in unique aspects of a representative’s given territory and the efforts they put forth.

Salesman of the Year — Joe Palermo, Professional Marketing Inc. Rep Group of the Year — Owens Outdoor Sales, BoerneTravis Fox of Owens Outdoor Sales was also recognized as an Elite Salesman.“We select our top sales reps by more than just sales increases. We want them to know

and understand not only the product, but the Nikon brand, and we also like to receive posi-tive feedback from their customers,” said Randy Garrison, general manager at Nikon. “It’s important the representatives we have in the fi eld truly represent the core characteristics that make them valuable assets to the Nikon family. Their overall efforts in planning, execu-tion, analysis and follow through are the components which separate Nikon salesmen from the rest.”

— Nikon Sport Optics

AWINNINGTEAM:ThesalesteamatOwensOutdoorSalesinBoernewasawardedwiththisyear’sNikonSportOpticsRepGroupoftheYear.PhotobyOwensOutdoorSales.


Patience required for snookContinuedfrompage8

Capt, Daly Fridy, “but you are going to have to be fairly methodi-cal to catch them.”

The fi rst major challenge in try-ing to land a snook in the winter months is the depth.

“You probably need to probe deeper water,” Fridy said, “and while you might start by fi shing your lure in a surface or subsurface manner, you will probably need to depth charge your offering.”

The second major challenge is the structure under the surface of the channel. “You’ll start getting more break-offs,” Fridy said, alluding to the depths the fi sh occupy this time of year. “There is so much structure and rock and trash that the chance of losing a line goes up dramatically.”

To hold on to hooked snook, Sepulvida suggests ditching the regu-lar light tackle.

“Go with heavy, heavy tackle because once you hook them you have to get them out of the struc-ture,” he said.

The third challenge is patience, generally true of angling and especially true if you are targeting winter Texas snook.

“You are going to have your work cut out for you,” Fridy chuckled.

While not the best time of year to go searching for it, Fridy asserts that “the snook

fi shing (in the Brownsville Ship Channel) is healthy and not declining in any form or fashion.”

To keep it that way, Sepulvida encourages anglers to practice snook catch and release.

“It’s a beautiful fi sh,” he said. “If you ever get your hands on one, you really under-stand why I don’t kill them.”

Schoolholdssportingclayshoottoraisemoneyfornewtrack

The Woodlands Christian Academy Booster Club raised approximately $30,000 at a sport-ing clays shoot held at Creekside Shooting Range in Conroe.

“I’m very proud to be in charge of a school that allows 120 people to come out and shoot guns,” said Julie Ambler, head of school for Woodlands Christian Academy.

The four-person team led by James Hanigan, DO, fi nished fi rst, followed by the team led by Mark Bennett. Will Reich, a member of Bennett’s team, won the individual title, hitting 73 of 75 targets. Ethan Bennett, also a member of Bennett’s team, won the highest junior award.

— Staff report

PhotobyDavidJ.Sams,LSON


CLASSIFIEDS

TROPHY BASS AND BIRD HUNTING

Fish famous Lake Guerrero.Hunt Dove, Quail, Ducks.Please contact Lago Vista

Lodge today!dickyn@

lagovistalodge.com(713) 376-3938 or

(281) 495-9296

ARROWHEADS AND ARTIFACTSI buy and sell authentic

Texas artifacts. Please call Nick.

(210) 557-9478

SOUTH PADRE FISHING

Reds, Trout, Flounder, Snook. Everything sup-

plied but food and licenses. Multiple trip discounts. Call Capt. Thomas for details or

[email protected]. CustomSportsAnglers.com

(956) 551-1965

TROPHY WHITETAIL BUCK HUNTS

Intensive Management Program. Lodging included.

(940) 362-4219

TEXAS DOVE HUNTERS ASSOC

Scholarship application now available at

TexasDoveHunters.com for high school seniors who are

hunting enthusiastsNine $500 scholarships will

be awarded this yearApplications must be post-

marked by April 2, 2015(210) 764-1189

DECOYS WANTED WOODEN

Duck and Goose. Top prices paid. Ask for David.(214) 361-2276

POETRY SHOOTING CLUB

700-yard range, range target camera, quail hunt-ing preserve, dog training,

shooting classes, day leasesDove, duck & deer

Poetryshootingclub.com(214) 728-2755

FISHING

HUNTING

VEHICLES

MISC.AERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHS & MAPPING

RANCH & HUNTING,AGRICULTURE,

ENVIRONMENTAL,2014 IMAGERY AVAILABLE

BalboaMapCompany.com(806) 777-8840

VLE HUNT CLUB5,300-acre Val Verde County lease for 4 hunters. $3,000 per hunter for deer, turkey, quail and small game. Lots of deer stands and feed-ers provided or bring your

own. Must be management minded. Family and guests are allowed. Nice campsite with power and water. Call

(832) 435-6226.1.23.15TPWD

RANCHO SIERRA VIEJA

Aoudad Hunters — World class — not hunted in 20 years in Sierra Vieja moun-tains. (432) 386-7702.

Ask to speak with Antanicio. Mule deer in Sierra Vieja Mountains below Marfa in Presidio County. (512)

327-5753. Ask to speak with Bob.

1.23.15TPWD

CLARKSVILLE RED River County

Untouched wooded 85 acres surrounded by pasture land and split in half by a creek. One week/7-day leases from Wed to Tue — giving you a full weekend to hunt. $100 gets you a one-week hunt.

HUNTCLARKSVILLETX.COM

1.23.15TPWD

PECAN SPRINGSBandera County property includes a pecan orchard. We offer weekend dove

hunting packages, whitetail, blackbuck and axis packages.

We have newly remodeled, fully furnished cabins. Please

contact Stacie at

(830) 780-4609.1.23.15TPWD

HAECKER SAFARI RANCH

Family-friendly environment on this 1,000-acre Real

County property with meals and lodging on-site. Come

hunt hogs and predators for just $250 per day and add

any other animal for a reason-able harvest fee. All Inclusive Packages for whitetails and exotics start at only $2000 for 3 days of hunting and 2 nights lodging. Call us today

(830) 660-4933.1.23.15TPWD

HUNT/FISH/RELAX Texas Hill Country. Ideal Cor-porate Retreat for entertaining key customers, prospects and

employees. 15,000 acres, year-round use of headwaters lodge and game room, fully furnished, accommodates

20+ guests. Hunt deer, turkey, dove, javelina, wild hogs and

some exotics. Great bass fishing in spring-fed lakes bounded by pecan groves.

Near Junction, TXCall Maynard Ranch (512) 477-7774

1.23.15 JCOC

MASON COUNTY High Fenced Package

Hunts: 3 days fully guided with accommodations and meals included. Trophy,

management, and doe hunts available. Father and Son

packages encouraged. Spring turkey semi-guided with lodg-ing Call Ranch Branch Ranch

(830) 981-42251.23.15 JCOC

DAY LEASE DEER AND TURKEY

Located in Kimble County. Lodging available with water and electricity. Blinds and

feeders. Can accommo-date five hunters. Call Ivy Ranch days (361) 648-

2922, nights (830) 583-2407

1.23.15 JCOC

WHITETAIL JUNCTION RANCH 3-day fully guided whitetail

hunts on a 2,900-acre ranch located between Junction &

Menard.Limited availability on 200+ class bucks. All lodging and meals provided. Can accom-

modate up to eight hunters ei-ther individually or a corporate group. Also has spring turkey

hunts available and year round axis, blackbuck and red

stag hunts. Call for further information or for a complete list of Exotic Game Available.CALL (210) 247-8317

1.23.15 JCOC

SPRING TURKEY HUNTS

$400 Per Hunter — Includes 2 Nights Lodging Wild Hog

Hunts $200 Per Hunter — Includes

2 Nights LodgingNear Junction

CALL (325) 475-2901 1.23.15 JCOC

TROUT FISHINGCamp Huaco SpringsGuadalupe River rain-bow and brown trout. This site is stocked by

TPWD with rainbow trout though February. Latitude:

29.759801 Longitude: -98.140090

(830) 625-54111.23.15TPWD

LEASED FISHING ACCESS

Brazos River downstream from Lake Whitney

Located on the east bank of the Brazos River in northern McLennan County near the

town of Gholson, approximate-ly 6 miles downstream of the

FM 2114 bridge crossing. Lease period: January 1,

2013 through October 31, 2016

Phone: (254) 290-0029 Latitude: 31.738457

Longitude: -97.270316This 120-acre property offers 2,051 feet of river frontage

for bank fishing and serves as a day-use and camping area for canoe and kayak anglers that launch upstream. There is no road access to this area;

paddlers can reach it only from the river. Free public

parking is available by reserva-tion at Dick’s Canoes, 6 miles upstream on the west bank at the FM 2114 bridge crossing. Call (254) 622-8364 for

more information. 1.23.15TPWD

UMBRELLA RANCHING

4200 acres in northwest Kimble County. Remote. Electricity & Water avail-

able. Hunting Rested Last Year. Protein Feeders & Pens

already set up. Drop Tine Genetics. Other leases also

available. For info CALL (325) 456-0130

1.23.15 JCOC

WHITE BASS FISHING

Neches River, upstream from Lake Palestine Chandler River

ParkSpring run (Feb-April) 2,650 feet of river frontage to the north and 3,000 feet to the south for bank fishing. Lati-

tude: 32.315014 Longitude: -95.452488 no cost fishing.

(903) 849-68531.23.15TPWD

COLORADO RIVER FISHING

Located in east Austin on the north bank of the Colorado

River, Latitude: 30.256179 Longitude: -97.634178

1-acre leased-access fishing, boating, and camping area. It offers 225 feet of bank access and serves as a boat launch, and overnight campground. Advance reservations must

be secured through the Texas River School. Call for rates

(512) 289-0750. 1.23.15TPWD

LOOKING FOR A FORD F-150 OR

F-250 SUPER DUTY?I’m a lifelong hunter and can help you hunt for your next

truck.Call Bobby at Rockwall Ford,

(214) 632 7963. I have a great selection of preowned trucks, as well.

2007 Ford F-150 SuperCrew Cab 4x4 5.4L — $21,990

2012 Ford F-150 SuperCrew Cab 4x4 — $31,500

2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4-door — $34,980

RANCH PROPERTIES

Looking for a ranch or want to sell one?

Contact Chris Susilovich, Agent,

Hortenstine Ranch Company

[email protected](903) 503-5961

DALLAS SAFARI CLUB MEMBERS

Are you 21 to 40 years old?Join the new Conservation

Society(a young professional

group) We are a fun group and

want you to learn about us.Contact Crystal at (972)

989-9800 or [email protected]

dscconservationsociety.org

NAMIBIA HUNTINGChapungu-Kambako

Hunting Safaris PH Herman Coetzee will

guide you to your next plains game or dangerous

game trophy.

[email protected]

chapungu-kambako.com

FINE GUNS Patrick Willoughby-Mccabe has opened his new store in

Albany, TexasStop by and see what it has

to offer140-144 S. Main Street

Albany.Call for an appointment

(469) 759-6146

BOAT FOR SALE!2012 Panga Marine 22’ Marquesa - Yamaha 11536volt iPilot Minn Kota

Coastline trailer Humminbird 998

(979) 415-4379

BOATS

14’X48’ MOBILE HOME

Choke Canyon Lake.8 acres, 2 bedroom,

1 bathCalliham, TX

$65,000Call Don

(361) 318-4774


LONE STAR MARKET

DATEBOOKFEBRUARY 13

TexasDeerAssociationSuperior Genetics Deer AuctionPedrotti’s North Wind Ranch, Helotes(210) 767-8401texasdeerassociation.com

DucksUnlimitedBrazos Valley DinnerThe Brazos Center, Bryan(79) 255-8507ducks.org/texas

FEBRUARY 14BassChampsEast DivisionToledo Bend Reservoir Tournamentbasschamps.com

FEBRUARY 17DucksUnlimitedHouston County DinnerLovelady Exes Building(936) 544-9826ducks.org/texas

FEBRUARY 19DallasSafariClubMonthly MeetingStonebriar Country Club(972) 980-9800biggame.org

DeltaWaterfowlRogue Waterfowl ChapterStone Oak Ranch, Murchison(903) 752-3764deltawaterfowl.org

FEBRUARY 21-22TexasGunandKnifeShowsGillespie County Fairgrounds, Fredericksburg(830) 285-0575texasgunandknifeshows.com

FEBRUARY 21TexasTeamTrailToledo Bend Reservoir(210) 788-4143texasteamtrail.com

BassChampsSouth DivisionFalcon Lake Tournament(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

FEBRUARY 24DucksUnlimitedGilmer DinnerGilmer Civic Center(903) 576-6680ducks.org/texas

FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1PrimeTotalArcheryChallengeNatural Bridges Caverns(801) 380-6442totalarcherychallenge.com

FEBRUARY 28SafariClubInternationalNorth Texas Chapter fundraiserGrapevine, Embassy Suites Outdoor World(214) 226-1944scinorthtexas.com

BassChampsNorth DivisionLake Fork Tournament(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

DeltaWaterfowlAbilene ChapterTaylor County Expo Center(650) 465-3190deltawaterfowl.org

QuailTechAllianceBird Dog SupershowCircle A Ranch, Archer City(214) 679-9781

MARCH 5ParkCitiesQuailDinner and AuctionFrontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas(214) 632-7460parkcitiesquail.org

MARCH 6-8TexasStateRifleAssociationAnnual Foundation Banquet, Members

MeetingAustin(512) 615-4115tsrafoundation.com

MARCH 7TexasDoveHuntersAssociationShooting For ScholarshipsNational Shooting Complex, San

Antonio(210) 764-1189texasdovehunters.com

DallasWoodsandWatersClub36th Annual Dinner and AuctionPlano Centre(214) 570-8700dwwcc.org

MARCH 12-14TexasGameWardensAssociationWhiskers and Reds Fishing Tournament(979) 257-6508texasgamewarden.com

MARCH 13-14ExoticWildlifeAssociation48th Annual Membership MeetingEmbassy Suites, San Marcos(830) 367-7761myewa.org

MARCH 21-22TexasGunandKnifeShowsAmarillo Civic Center(830) 285-0575texasgunandknifeshows.com

PuzzlesolutionfromPage20

Advertising:Call(214)[email protected].

Forhomedeliverysubscriptionswww.LSONews.com•(214)361-2276

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Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300,apublicationofLoneStarOutdoorNews, LLC, publishes twice a month. Amailed subscription is $30 for 24 issues.Newsstandcopiesare$2, incertainmar-ketscopiesarefree,oneperperson.Copy-right2015withallrightsreserved.Repro-ductionand/oruseofanyphotographicorwrittenmaterialwithoutwrittenpermissionbythepublisherisprohibited.Subscribersmay sendaddress changes to: LoneStarOutdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas,[email protected].

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Good for Private Property Rights

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Good for Texas’ Rural Economies

Good for Preserving Our HuntingHeritage

Good for Agricultural Jobs

Good for Promoting Conservation

Good for Sharing Our Passion forthe Outdoors

Good for Promoting a SustainableRural Lifestyle

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February 13, 2015 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting