February 24, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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February 24, 2012 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 8, Issue 13

Reverse mentoringFriends share deer tracking

adventure. Page 20

Inside

❘❚ LSONews.com

Mule deer set to be Texas Big Game Awards record.

Page 5

A not-so-typical typical

❘❚ HUNTING

Bass are spawning on Falcon, and still staging on other lakes.

Page 8

Spawn watch

Modern airguns are catching on with hunters.

Page 4

Air power

Surf anglers are reeling in whiting, trout and redfi sh while dodging rainy days.

Page 8

Hitting the surf

❘❚ FISHING

By Craig NyhusLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Teen-age girls and their moms who watch “Twilight” movies, “True Blood,” “The Vampire Diaries” and other blood-

sucking shows may want to steer clear of Frio County. The vampire bucks are there.

Not really, but the examination of the upper

GOOD EVENING: Although rare, occasionally white-tails appear with pronounced upper canines, thought to be a genetic throwback from their Asian ances-tors. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

See VAMPIRE BUCKS, Page 23

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 25Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 24Fishing Report . . . . . . . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 24Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 17Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 26Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 18Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 25Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 24

Whitetails with upper

canines roam South Texas

Vampire bucks — go fi gure

Trout massing in Lower Laguna MadreLATE WINTER BITE: Kyle Druschel of Houston holds a fat winter trout near Port Mansfi eld. Expect fi sh to feed wherever the water is warming near shorelines or submerged spoil banks. Photo by Mike McBride, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Lower Laguna Madre Capt. Mike McBride is known for putting clients on big trout, especially in late winter.

McBride said this year

has been outstanding around Port Mansfi eld.

“All remains well in Port Mansfi eld, with fi shing just about as good as could ever be expected anywhere upon this blue earth,” McBride said, “weather permitting of course. An

unusual warm spell dur-ing January had our big-ger trout dazed and con-fused, but we caught them by applying spring patterns rather than more tradi-tional colder water efforts.”

High numbers of fi sh have made choosing a pattern for

them easier, McBride said.“The bottom line is that if

the area looks good, it prob-ably is,” he said. “The most consistent efforts, how-ever, have been about knee- to-thigh deep near sand and grass edges bordering deeper water. Shorelines

with good breaks, fl ats near deeper depressions and basically anywhere you see bait lined up with color changes and a few curious birds has held quality fi sh.”

See TROUT, Page 18

White bass running in East Texas; rainfall

churns northern creeksBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Fort Worth angler Nelson Jones looked at the muddy creek running into Grapevine Lake Feb. 19 and shook his head.

“We had started to see the white bass showing up,” he said. “But good luck catching them in this water.”

The water had risen and turned into some-thing that resem-bled chocolate milk. Weekend rains in North Texas turned a lot of the area creeks into roiling, muddy messes.

See WHITE BASS, Page 19

Page 2 February 24, 2012 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com



HUNTING

Not your daddy’s

Daisy

AIRGUN SAFARI: Eric Henderson of Sachse shot this exotic moufl on ram with a .308-caliber air rifl e in Clay County. Airguns, while powerful, have limitations; Henderson recommends that hunters to keep shots around 50 yards. Photo by Eric Henderson.

By Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

The 2,000-pound American bison was hit hard, having absorbed two shots behind the shoulder from a range of about 50 yards.

But dropping this spot-and-stalk buffalo on a Kerr County game ranch did not involve a magnum cartridge from a high-powered rifl e.

The hunter, Stephan Boles of California, used an air rifl e.

Airgun afi cionado Eric Henderson of Sachse, who vid-eotaped Boles’ hunt in 2007, said people are frequently amazed to learn large ani-mals are taken with air rifl es.

“This is what I hear: ‘You mean like a BB gun, or like a pel-let gun?’” he said. “I tell them, ‘Well, kind of.’”

But unlike the popular “Red Ryder” youth model from Daisy, which ushered many a hunter into the shooting sports, modern “big bore” air rifl es don’t shoot BBs.

Henderson used a Quackenbush .457-caliber air rifl e to take plains game in South Africa — the same rifl e Boles used to drill the buffalo in both lungs with 510-grain bul-lets at 700 feet per second.

See AIR RIFLES, Page 6

Big bore air rifl es catching on with hunters, but not yet legal

for game animals in Texas

AIRha

Henderson of Sachse, who videotaped Boles’ hunt in 2007, said people are frequently amazed to learn large ani-mals are taken with air rifl es.

lets at 700 feet per second.

See AIR RIFLES, Page 6

EnsnaredWire loops set for predators


A hole in a fence is a rancher’s headache.

But it’s also an opportunity, if the landowner is serious about trapping predators.

Steve Hudson has a West Texas ranch with two partners, and they’ve high-fenced it to enhance white-tailed deer. Predator con-

trol, Hudson added, is part of the partners’ Managed Lands Deer Permit program.

This ranch has sandy soil, which makes it easy for preda-tors to dig beneath the fence and chase fawns. These gaps are where Hudson places wire snares.

“All kinds of animals — coyotes and coons — were digging holes under our fence,” Hudson said. “My father-in-law said that’s the perfect place to snare animals coming through the fence.

“I have 35 (snares) set up on six-and-a-half miles of fence. I prob-

ably catch anywhere between 15 and 25 a year.”

Hudson estimated that his grand total is about 150 coyotes, 10 bobcats and 10 raccoons, some porcupines and even a badger, which dug a hole of about 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep.

“I probably caught some hogs,” he said. “Quite a number of times, I’ve found the wire was broken, as

if a small hog went through it.“Other times it looks like some-

thing was packing a wire cutter. The end of the wire was clean cut and it wasn’t frayed. Sometimes the wires look like they’ve been bitten through, and I don’t think a coyote or a bobcat can do that.”

Hudson doesn’t live on the ranch, so he confi nes his trapping to fall and winter when he is on the property nearly every week-end. Thus, he can regularly check the snares to ensure an animal doesn’t face prolonged suffering.

He builds snares from parts purchased online from a trapping supplies company, which is about 25 percent cheaper than buying them preassembled.

The snares are lightly fi xed in place over the holes with bobby pins. His kit also includes spare parts and orange fl agging tape to mark snare locations.

WIRED: Steve Hudson removes a coyote caught in a snare — one of 35 set up on six-and-a-half miles of fence on his ranch to help control predators. His kit (right) includes bobby pins to hold the snares over holes in the fence. Photos by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

See ENSNARED, Page 14

Photo by AirForce Airguns


Hunter hopes muleywill be new record


Fog clung to the West Texas landscape, pro-viding easy cover for the big mule deer to sneak to and from an alfalfa fi eld.

And it was this fog Dec. 11 on the McGuire Ranch in Gaines County that kept hunter Rick Meritt from believing that a unique trophy had just disappeared in the mist.

Trail camera pho-tos taken earlier and video footage from the morning hunt did not impress Rick — at fi rst.

But the animal would ultimately score high enough to unseat the current top typical mule deer in the Texas Big Game Awards, which has not changed in 15 years.

“You couldn’t see much,” Rick recalled of the soupy morning hunt. “He came out of the fog, then he stopped and thrashed a mes-

quite tree. Then he drifted back into the fog.”

Rick is an East Texas busi-nessman, but he’s well schooled in West Texas mule deer.

In 2009, he downed a buck that netted 193 2/8 — the No. 2 all-time typi-cal muley recognized by

PENDING: Rick Meritt’s Gaines County mule deer buck, taken last December, has a net score of 197 4/8 — enough to be a new record, if confi rmed through the Texas Big Game Awards. Photo by Rick Meritt.

See MULEY RECORD, Page 26

Park Cities Quail names Ted Turner as lifetime award winner

Park Cities Quail has announced media mogul Ted Turner as its 2012 T. Boone Pickens Lifetime Sportsman Award recipient.

The award will be given at PCQ’s annual dinner and auction March 8 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.

Another highlight of this year’s auction will be a classic English pheasant hunt with rock legend Steve Winwood.

The hunt will take place in Jan. 2013, at Winwood’s 1,000-acre Lower Dean Manor in the Cotswolds of Central England.

Joe Crafton, PCQ chairman, said the group is proud to honor Turner with the Pickens award.

“He has a global reputation as a conserva-tionist and humanitarian,” Crafton said. “Ted is a man of action who uses his considerable resources and infl uence to make this world a better place. Lesser known is Ted’s passion for quail hunting.”

Crafton said Turner owns several ranches and plantations, where he has restored habitat, funded research and “created opportunities for hundreds of youth and sportsmen to get out-doors and share his favorite pastimes.”

Turner is chairman of the Turner Foundation, an independent foundation, which supports efforts for improving air and water quality, developing sustainable energy and protecting and maintaining wildlife habitat.

— Park Cities Quail

Texas couple recognized for helping wild turkeys

Dale and Kitty Bounds of Lufkin were recently presented the C.B. McCleod Award during the National Wild Turkey Federation’s convention in Nashville.

The award is given each year to a NWTF volunteer who has dedicated his or her life to wildlife conservation. This year, a husband-wife team was the recipient.

Dale joined the NWTF in 1987. He was a videographer for the U.S. Forest Service and tasked with documenting the fi rst effort to

reintroduce eastern wild turkeys in the Davy Crockett National Forest, located in East Texas.

“It was my fi rst exposure to the NWTF,” Dale said. “James Earl Kennamer (NWTF chief conservation offi cer) brought the tur-keys from South Carolina via Delta Airlines. After that, I was hooked.”

Dale chartered the NWTF’s Piney Woods Chapter, which has become a stalwart in Texas, according to Shawn Roberts, NWTF district fi eld supervisor.

“The Piney Woods Chapter has been a trend setter and bar raiser for the many local NWTF chapters in the state (and) in the country,” said Roberts. “They were the fi rst chapter to raise $1 million for conserva-tion. They were the fi rst to recruit 100 NWTF sponsor members at a single fund-raising banquet.”

Dale served as president of the Piney Woods Chapter for eight years.

Kitty organized the fi rst Women in the Outdoors event in Texas and coordinated it for four years.

— NWTF

Quail Tech Alliance celebrates ‘Bird Dog Superbowl’

Feb. 18 turned out to be a wet day across much of the state, but that didn’t stop nearly 30 quail hunting enthusiasts from enjoying a fun day on the Esperanza Ranch East near Santo.

The “Bird Dog Superbowl” featured a just-for-fun fi eld trial and a fi sh fry.

“It was a great day,” said Charles Hodges of Quail Tech Alliance, which sponsored the event. “We were plenty wet, but we still had a lot of fun.”

The event was geared toward dog owners who haven’t been able to get out much this hunting season because of low quail numbers in Texas.

“We asked people not to shoot quail this year,” Hodges said. “So we just wanted to give guys a chance to get out and work their dogs and edu-cate people to what Quail Tech Alliance is doing. We had some good one-on-one time with the fi eld biologists and got a lot of questions answered.”

Dr. Brad Dabbert met with participants and answered questions about the status of quail and what the future may hold.

“It gave everyone a good chance to talk about a lot of ideas,” Hodges said. “This is defi nitely an annual thing, and I’ve already had people e-mailing me about next year’s event.”

— Staff report

Time to think aboutoutdoor summer camps

Deadlines to apply for youth outdoor sum-mer camps are fast approaching, and there are some new offerings in the mix.

The fi rst Texas Brigades Waterfowl Camp will take place this summer at BigWoods on the Trinity in Tennessee Colony, near Palestine.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biolo-gist Jared Laing has been saving and freezing ducks of numerous species throughout the hunting season to be studied.

“It’s at a good facility and we will have some wild ducks even though the camp is in July,” he said. “There will be wood ducks and whistling ducks around.”

The Texas Brigades programs offer intensive

leadership skills training and wildlife devel-opment studies for quail (Bobwhite Brigade), quail and turkey (Feathered Forces), bass (Bass Brigades) and deer (Buckskin Brigade).

The application deadline for all of the bri-gade camps is March 15.

A different organization, the Outdoor Texas Camp, also stresses outdoor skills and it offers a waterfowl camp at the Haydel Duck Club near Lake Charles, La.

Also offered are weeklong camps in hunt-ing (including hunter education certifi cation), fi shing, deer hunting, saltwater fi shing, river fi shing, fl y-fi shing and archery.

There is still time to apply, but many of the camps are fi lling up fast.

For information on the brigades, call (210) 332-3560, or e-mail Helen Holdsworth at [email protected]. The group’s Web site is www.texasbrigades.org.

For information on Outdoor Texas Camps, call (830) 562-3354, (512) 217-1587 or e-mail [email protected]. The Web site is www.outdoortexascamp.com.

— Staff report

MUCH NEEDED EXERCISE: Quail hunters brought their bird dogs to Quail Tech Alliance’s “Bird Dog Superbowl” Feb. 18 near Santo. Because quail hunting was down this year, owners got to run their dogs in a just-for-fun fi eld trial. Photo by LSON.

SEE MORE■ TBGA scholarships: Page 26


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MATTHEW BAKER, 13, of Rockwall hunted during the Christmas break with his

uncle, Brett Giles, on a ranch near Leakey. During the adventure, Matthew har-

vested this exotic Corsican ram. “Matthew also took a nice whitetail doe later

that day,” Brett said. “It was a great day! Both uncle and nephew were thrilled.”

That’s plenty enough short-range power to kill a white-tailed deer, which Henderson has done in Missouri, but not in his home state.

It’s currently illegal in Texas to hunt any game animal with airguns — every-thing from a squirrel to a trophy buck.

But Texas hunters can use them to take exotics, like the bison, and other non-game species, including hogs and coyotes.

Henderson, who hosts “Adventures Afi eld,” an Internet TV series (adven-turesafi eld.tv), wants Texas to become like Missouri.

In that state, according to its hunting regulations, deer can be hunted with air-guns “.40 caliber or larger, and charged from an external high compression power source” like an air compressor,

heavy-duty hand pump or air tank. “I cannot hunt a squirrel with an air

rifl e in Texas,” Henderson said, “but I can shoot a buffalo. It doesn’t make sense.”

John McCaslin, president of Fort Worth-based AirForce Airguns, also wants that changed.

He envisions petitioning the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to con-sider legalizing airgun hunting of game animals.

His company makes futuristic looking guns in calibers .20, .22, .25 and .177 — suitable for hunting small game. He is also thinking about developing big bore rifl es.

McCaslin started AirForce in 1998 as a part-time venture. It became fulltime in 2006 when he retired as a Dallas-based

investigator for the U.S. Treasury Department.

The company grew from his garage to a manufacturing plant in southeast Fort Worth. McCaslin now ships airguns across the U.S. and overseas.

“They’re catching on,” he said. “Gun guys will buy our stuff and shoot them more than their fi re-arms, because the urge will take them to the backyard. They don’t need to go to the range.”

Airguns, he added, improve marksmanship.

“The recoil issue is not there, but everything else is,” McCaslin said. “You still have the same breath con-trol, trigger control and concentra-tion issues that you need to shoot a fi rearm.

“You still need to understand tra-jectory and how to compensate for various ranges.”

People who hunt with them need to understand their limitations, Henderson said. Lethal shots can be taken at a 100 yards, but he recom-mends half that distance.

A lot of big bores are custom made from gunmakers like Dennis Quackenbush of Urbana, Mo. These typically are single-shots that

launch heavy bullets at velocities much slower than fi rearms.

Compare Boles’ shot of 700 fps to a .30-06-caliber rifl e, which can fi re a 150-grain bullet at nearly 3,000 fps.

And although air rifl es are powered by a burst of air, they’re still loud enough to spook an animal.

So there is no apparent advantage to hunting with airguns.

But that, said Henderson, is their appeal.“People into archery and black pow-

der will be attracted to air rifl es,” he said. “Hunting with an air rifl e is more diffi -cult. It’s more fun because, in my opin-ion, it is more sporting.

“It brings the challenge back into the hunt.”

Air riflesContinued From Page 4

BLACK RIFLE: John McCaslin, president of AirForce Airguns of Fort Worth, shows one of his Condor air rifl es, which sport a “tactical” look. “What has helped us a lot is that they turn heads,” he said. “People think they look wicked.” Photo by Bill Miller, LSON.

Barrientos to fund wildlife graduate students with $1 million gift

Rene R. Barrientos, Eagle Pass native and La Salle County rancher, has joined with Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute to create the Educational Assistance Fund for Wildlife Graduate Students.

Barrientos has committed $1 million to the fund that will offset the cost of tuition, books and fees for wildlife graduate students.

Stretched over a 10-year period to pro-vide $100,000 per year to graduate students, Barrientos’ vision is that his gift will help to diminish the accrual of debt and accelerate the professional career of those students whose pas-sion is wildlife.

“This gift is intended for deserving individuals who are the best we have,” Barrientos said. “Whether they choose careers with private enterprise, state or fed-eral agencies or academic institutions, they are the ones who will infl uence the future of our native habi-tat and wildlife in South Texas.”

Barrientos is a member of the Texas White-tailed Deer Advisory Committee and was the 2003 Lone Star Land Steward Award Winner in South Texas and a state-wide award winner for 2004.

Dr. Fred Bryant, Executive Director of CKWRI, said the gift will help the institute to recruit and retain the best and brightest minds in wildlife disciplines.

“Rene shares our vision of sending out the next generation of wildlife biologists and range man-agers,” he said. “And, when they leave here with their M.S. or Ph.D. degree, they won’t have to worry about a lot of debt hanging over them like a big black cloud. This is a very special gift.’’

—Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Texan named to RMEFboard of directors

Curtis Christiansen of Giddings recently was named one of fi ve new directors of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation at its annual convention in Las Vegas.

Christiansen has served RMEF in a variety of volunteer jobs including cofounder and past chair of the RMEF Dime Box Chapter, state chair and regional chair. He was honored in 2007 as a RMEF Chairman’s Award recipient. Christiansen also is a life member and habitat partner.

—RMEF



FISHING

Surf anglers catching whiting up and down coastBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Twylia O’Shea, or Lee as she is known to her friends, has been fi shing since she was 5 years old.

The 66-year-old winter Texan remembers vacations when she was a child, fi shing from her native Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach to the Jersey Shore.

It was on those trips that she honed her surf fi shing skills, and she has been catching fi sh in the surf ever since.

“I’m in Port Isabel right now,” O’Shea said. “I have to be honest, the surf fi shing in January was pretty lousy. But the fi shing was fantastic between September and December.”

O’Shea said she has been catching mostly ladyfi sh, pompano, jack crevalle and whiting during winter from the beach.

“In the past month the fi sh got kind of small,” she said. “It was almost like catching fi nger mullet. The water turned cold and the wind blew hard out of the east. It was diffi cult to get out and cast far enough and keep your weight on the bottom.”

O’Shea reported that she had a successful outing from the beach on Feb. 20, when she caught a 20-inch pompano and a dozen whiting.

“The bite is back on,” she said.O’Shea said she salts her baits, including shrimp and mullet, to

preserve them longer and keep them on the hook.“It makes it like a gummy bear,” she said. “I can keep it in the

fridge and not have to worry about it falling apart on the hook like a lot of frozen bait. We did meet a gentleman recently who fi shes with an artifi cial bait called Fish Bites.

“We purchased some and fell in love with it. It stays on forever.”O’Shea said she likes to eat whiting, even though some people

on the coast think they are trash fi sh.Fans of whiting say they are delicious when fried using a mixture

of corn and wheat fl ower or with commercial fi sh-fry ingredients.Whiting taste similar to pollock, according to angler Eddie

Jimenez of Brownsville.“I caught nine whiting the other day and my friend caught

seven using dead shrimp,” he said. “A week earlier I caught three black drum.”

Jimenez said he usually fi shes on the canal halfway between the Bahia Grande and the Port of Brownsville along Texas 48.

Good reports of whiting being caught came from the 61st Street Pier in Galveston throughout February. Anglers were catching them on Carolina-rigged shrimp fi shed on the bottom. Multiple hook-ups of whiting have also been reported using shrimp on a multi-bait rig.

Despite rough conditions and muddy water around San Luis Pass, anglers reported good catches of redfi sh and trout from the beach using dead shrimp.

Editors note: Antonio Vindell contributed to this report.SURF'S UP: Whiting has been the main catch for surf anglers along the Texas coast the past few weeks, despite some days of poor weather. Photo by Erich Schlegel, for LSON.


Late winter bass fi shing can be unpredictable due to changes in the weather.

A week of warm weather

heats water temperatures up and sends bass into the shal-lows. But a few days of cold weather, like that experienced across much of Texas in mid-February, can just as quickly

send them deeper.“Two weeks ago I would

say that was a defi nite,” said Robin Johnston at NeedMore

Spawn closing in as bass move into shallows

See SPAWN, Page 16

HEADING TO THE BEDS: Ricky Boyd holds a bass from Falcon Reservoir caught recently with guide Tommy Law. On warm days, the bass are moving to the shallows, according to local guides. Photo by Tommy Law.

By Antonio VindellFOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Bouts of rain slowed February fi shing in the Lower Laguna Madre area, but the clear days were very productive from Port Mansfi eld to South Padre Island.

Speckled trout, red fi sh, black drum, sheepshead and whiting were biting on artifi cial and live bait.

Luis Tijerina likes fi shing at “the dead end,” where Texas 186 runs out of concrete in Port Mansfi eld. After a break in the weather, he scored with live shrimp.

“I caught a 21-inch redfi sh, a

19-inch black drum and a 18-inch trout,” the Raymondville resident said on a recent day last week. “I caught them between 6 and 8 a.m.”

Tijerina said he always uses live or dead shrimp because lures wear him out. The dead-end spot, which is at the end of the highway facing the bay, is his favorite place to fi sh.

“I come here on and off all year- round,” he said.

On the other side of Port Mansfi eld, 72-year-old Jim Heistand fi shes from

South coast fi shing on the rise

MEAL QUEST: Jim Heistand, who moved to the Texas coast from Michigan, tries to fi sh every day at Port Mansfi eld, hoping for at least two trout — enough for a meal. Photo by Antonio Vindell.

See SOUTH COAST, Page 16


Texoma fi shing helped bysummer algae scare?


The end of the rod bent as the fi sh pulled tight against the 20-pound test line.

Montana angler Donna Harrison put pressure on the fi sh and, a minute later, landed a chunky, 18-inch-long white bass.

Guide Chris Carey remarked he’d seen more big white bass and stripers being pulled from Texoma this winter than ever before. The reason, he believes, was because the lake received

about half the normal fi sh-ing pressure during the sum-mer because of a blue/green algae warning that scared people away.

“What it did,” he said, “was allow them to grow. This was the fi rst time in

Some guides say yes

STRIPER TIME: Because of a blue/green algae scare last summer, Lake Texoma saw less pressure

and, according to guide Chris Carey, with this nice striper, the fi shing improved because of it. Photo by Conor Harrison, Lone

Star Outdoor News.

See LAKE TEXOMA, Page 16

Groups step up efforts to secure habitat on old offshore platformsBy Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Conservation groups are marshaling efforts aimed at keeping obsolete offshore oil and gas platforms — considered prime fi sh habitat — from being completely dis-mantled in the Gulf of Mexico.

These old structures support a variety of marine life like red snapper, ling and tuna, but the federal government has accelerated calls for their removal out of safety concerns.

About 650 platforms have been targeted over a fi ve-year period, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The conservation groups, however, say that’s too many.

Speaking out are various chapters of the Coastal Conservation Association and the Corpus Christi-based Saltwater-fi sheries Enhancement Association.

“One of our primary objectives is to do everything we can to maintain artifi cial reefs in the form of the old platform,” said

Mike Hurst of the SEA. “It’s senseless to remove it. It’s critical marine habitat.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep David Vitter (R-La.) and U.S. Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-Miss.) have introduced bills aimed at keeping the structures available for fi sh habitat.

State agencies have recognized the effec-tiveness of the artifi cial habitat. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department currently administers a “rigs-to-reefs” program.

See HABITAT, Page 16

Amistad gets 160 Christmas trees for fi sh structure

A “fi sh-attraction” structure made of Christmas trees donated by a building supply retailer was installed recently at Amistad International Reservoir near the Governor’s Landing camping area.

Collaborating on the project were Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Del Rio Home Depot and the National Park Service, according to a TPWD news release.

Home Depot provided about 160 unsold Christmas trees, and National Park Service staff bundled them together and con-structed concrete anchors. TPWD provided the expertise to identify the location to sink the trees, according to the news release.

Compared to the bare lake bottom around it, the hump is a paradise for fi sh and anglers, TPWD said.

“We selected a small hump off a point between the Diablo East boat ramp and the Highway 90 Bridge,” said Randy Myers, TPWD fi sheries biologist. “We expect many species to be attracted to the area — largemouth bass, baitfi sh, sunfi sh and catfi sh.”

— TPWD


ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 45–53 degrees; 7.65’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, shaky heads and jigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 54–58 degrees; 15.30’ low. Largemouth bass are good on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits and Senkos. White bass are fair on crankbaits, grubs and slabs. Striped bass are fair on crankbaits, grubs and slabs. Catfi sh are fair on cheesebait and chicken livers in 40–60 feet over baited holes. Yellow catfi sh are fair on trotlines and throw-lines baited with live perch.

ARROWHEAD: Water off-color; 42–51 degrees; 8.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits and shaky heads. White bass are good on slabs and minnows. Blue catfi sh are good on live shad.

ATHENS: Water clear, 47–52 degrees; 3.55’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on watermelon shaky head worms and black/blue football jigs around brush piles. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

BASTROP: Water clear; 54–58 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and pink tube jigs over brush piles. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on stinkbait, shrimp and nightcrawlers.

BELTON: Water fairly clear; 53–56 degrees; 9.27’ low. Largemouth bass are good on nightcrawlers in coves. Hybrid striper are good trolling lipless crankbaits, and on minnows and white riversides. White bass are good trolling lipless crankbaits, and on minnows and white riversides. Crap-pie are good on minnows and white riversides. Channel and blue catfi sh are fair on doughbait and stinkbait.

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 48–34 degrees; 7.48’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on black/blue jigs, shaky heads with fi nesse worms and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows and jigs. White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters. Catfi sh are fair to good on trotlines or juglines with Redneck’s Catfi sh Bait Soap.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse crankbaits and soft plastic worms in the reeds. Striped bass are fair on liver and shad at Dead Tree Point and near the pier. Channel catfi sh are good on liver, shrimp, cheesebait and cut bait. Blue catfi sh are good on cut bait.

BRIDGEPORT: Water lightly stained; 47–53 degrees; 8.74’ low. Largemouth bass are good on jerkbaits along main lake points and watermelon candy worms around deeper docks. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs (best action mid-day). Channel catfi sh are fair on cut and prepared bait.

BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 51–55 degrees; 13.81’ low. Largemouth bass are good on water-melon jigs and crankbaits over brush piles in 10–15 feet.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 54–58 de-grees; 30.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed jigs, water-melon jerkbaits and Carolina-rigged lizards along break lines in 15–25 feet. Striped bass are good trolling watermelon/chartreuse striper jigs and perch-colored crankbaits. White bass are fair on slabs and minnows in creeks. Crappie are fair on minnows over brush piles in 12–20 feet.

CADDO: Water stained; 47–52 degrees; 1.02’ high. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue jigs around isolated cover. Shad pattern lipless crankbaits in the same areas are effective. Yellow bass are good on minnows.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits near the dam. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on liver, shrimp and nightcrawlers.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 54–58 degrees; 9.88’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on white/chartreuse jigs, jerkbaits and pumpkinseed Texas-rigged worms in 20–30 feet. Striped bass are good vertically jigging min-nows and plastic shad. White bass are good on slabs along the main river channel. Smallmouth bass are fair on chartreuse curl tail grubs and watermelon tubes. Crappie are fair on minnows and blue tube jigs upriver.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 47–53 degrees; 4.29’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, shaky heads and black/blue fi nesse jigs around docks (green pumpkin soft plastics sug-gested). White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. Crappie are fair to good on minnows. Catfi sh are fair drifting cut shad.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 53–57 degrees; 15.89’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are good on minnows and chartreuse striper jigs. Channel catfi sh are good on stinkbait and cut bait.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 54–58 de-grees; 6.53’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Striped bass are fair on minnows.

COOPER: Water lightly stained; 47–52 degrees; 7.36’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse shallow crankbaits and Texas-rigged craw worms later in the day. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair to good on Sassy Shad and live shad. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut bait.

FALCON: Water stained; 58–62 degrees; 24.61’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics and spinnerbaits in shallow areas. Chan-nel and blue catfi sh are excellent on shrimp, stinkbait, and cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin and redbug Carolina-rigged soft plastics and spinnerbaits off deep points.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 47–53 degrees; 5.89’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue or green pumpkin fl ipping jigs — concentrate on the wood cover near creek chan-nel bends. Lipless crankbaits are effective as well. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

FT. PHANTOM HILL: Water clear; 43–52 degrees; 9.87’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on shallow-running crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs and jigs. Crap-pie are fair to good on live minnows. White bass are fair to good on slabs and Rooster Tails. Catfi sh are fair to

good on nightcrawlers.

GRANBURY: Water clear; 52–56 degrees; 0.42’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits.

GRAPEVINE: Water lightly stained; 46–52 degrees; 1.33’ high. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon Texas-rigged worms, watermelon fi nesse jigs, lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits along main lake points. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are

good on slabs. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 55–59 degrees; 2.36’ low. Largemouth bass to 7 pounds are very good on water-melon red Brush Hogs around points, boat houses and docks in 7 feet.

JOE POOL: Water lightly stained; 47–52 degrees; 0.34’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, lipless crankbaits, and smaller jigs — midday bite has been best. Deep brush piles are best later in day. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared baits.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 47–51 degrees; 3.40’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms and lipless crankbaits along main lake points. Isolated cover is the key. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 48–52 degrees; 4.88’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, black/brown jigs and square-bill crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LEWISVILLE: Water stained; 46–51 degrees; 1.27’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on medium-running crankbaits and suspending jerkbaits along riprap near the dam. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair on slabs and Sassy Shad. Cat-fi sh are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 55–59 degrees; 0.42’ high. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse crankbaits, soft plastics and spinnerbaits. Striped bass are good but small on spec rigs and troll tubes. White bass are fair on spec rigs and troll tubes in the north end of the lake. Crappie are good on min-nows. Blue catfi sh are good on shad.

MACKENZIE: Water stained; 44–53 degrees; 85.65’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs and slow–rolled spinnerbaits. Striped bass are fair to good on live shad.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 72–88 degrees; 0.65’ high.

Largemouth bass are good on square-bill crankbaits, weightless worms, chatterbaits and Texas-rigged creature baits on shallow wood cover.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water lightly stained; 53–57 degrees; 0.14’ high. Largemouth bass are good on min-nows. Crappie are good on minnows and white jigs.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 46–52 degrees; 3.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black and blue jigs, shaky heads and chatterbaits. Crap-pie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 44–54 degrees; 10.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, chatterbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and small swimbaits. Striped bass are fair to good on live shad. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

PROCTOR: Water fairly clear; 51–55 degrees; 1.44’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits and soft plastic worms off points. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on live shad and minnows in 20–25 feet.

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 47–52 degrees; 2.20’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, square-bill crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and swim jigs are good around riprap also. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water stained; 47–52 degrees; 4.34’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shaky heads and creature baits around docks. Square-billed crankbaits are producing numbers as well. White bass are fair on slabs and live shad. Hybrid striper are fair on slabs and live shad. Crappie are fair on min-nows and jigs. Catfi sh are fair on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 48–52 degrees; 4.12’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue 1/2 oz. jigs and sun perch-colored chatter jigs. White bass are excellent on white slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4” to 6” white or shad pattern plastics in the shallows early then suspending deep during the day — drifting live bait is also produc-ing. Catfi sh are excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

TEXOMA: Water fairly clear; 46–52 degrees; 1.43’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on suspending jerkbaits and medium-running crankbaits along rocky points with larger rock. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on slabs.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 53–57 degrees; 7.55’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on dark red soft plastics, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on frozen shrimp, cut bait and stinkbait.

TRAVIS: Water lightly stained; 53–57 degrees; 53.93’ low. Largemouth bass are good on smoke grubs, char-treuse jigs and watermelon crankbaits in 10–20 feet. Striped bass are fair on chartreuse spoons and minnows in 20–35 feet. White bass are fair on silver spoons and dark red crankbaits in 20–30 feet.

WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are fair on minnows. Hybrid striper are good on minnows and cut bait. White bass are good on minnows and jigging spoons. Crappie are good on minnows.

WEATHERFORD: Water stained; 46–51 degrees; 3.00’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas-rigged creature baits — target any shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 52–56 degrees; 4.99’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and pink tube jigs. Catfi sh are fair on liver and stinkbait.

NORTH SABINE: Trout and redfi sh are fair while drifting mud and shell. Sheepshead are fair to good around the rocks. Runoff is fl owing down the rivers with the recent rains.

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

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

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on soft plastics. Redfi sh are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet. The mouth of the Trinity River is fresh from recent rains.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on slow-sinking plugs. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Trout are fair to good for wader on the shorelines in the afternoon. Flounder are beginning to show on the edge of the channel.

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

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

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp and plastics over humps and scattered shell. Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on crabs and mullet. Some redfi sh have been found schooling in the middle of the bay.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good on the south shoreline in the guts and bayous. Trout, black drum and redfi sh are fair on shell on soft plastics and live shrimp.

PORT O'CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are fair on plastics 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 slow–sinking plugs.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on plastic shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good on the Estes Flats and in California Hole on mullet and shrimp.

PORT ARANSAS: Sheepshead, black drum and redfi sh are fair to good at the jetty on fresh shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good around Pelican Island on scented plastics and mullet. Sand trout are good on shrimp in the channel.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh and black drum are fair to good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are fair to good for waders in Oso Bay on soft plastics.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on hard baits. Trout are fair to good in the guts along the King Ranch shoreline on slow-sinking plugs.

PORT MANSFIELD: Redfi sh are fair to good on scented plastics under a popping cork around grass holes. Trout are fair to good on mud along the edge of the ICW on hard baits.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on scented plastics. Redfi sh, black drum and mangrove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp and small plastics.

PORT ISABEL: Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the fl ats on scented plastics. Trout are fair on the edge of the fl ats on shrimp and soft plastics.

TEXAS FISHING REPORT

HOT BITES SALTWATERSCENE

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LARGEMOUTH BASS

BRIDGEPORT: Good on jerkbaits along main lake points and watermelon candy worms around deeper docks.

FALCON: Good on soft plastics and spinnerbaits in shallow areas.

FORK: Good on black/blue or green pumpkin fl ipping jigs — concentrate on the wood cover near creek chan-nel bends.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Very good on watermelon red Brush Hogs around points, boat houses and docks in 7 feet.

JOE POOL: Good on Texas-rigged creature baits, lipless crankbaits, and smaller jigs — midday bite has been best.

CRAPPIE

COOPER: Good on minnows.

GRAPEVINE: Good on minnows.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Good on minnows and jigs.

Sponsored by

ON BAY: Sheepshead

CATFISH

BRAUNIG: Channel catfi sh are good on liver, shrimp, cheesebait and cut bait. Blue catfi sh are good on cut bait.

CALAVERAS: Channel and blue catfi sh are good on liver, shrimp and nightcrawlers.

COLEMAN: Channel catfi sh are good on stinkbait and cut bait.

LIVINGSTON: Blue catfi sh are good on shad.

TAWAKONI: Excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

air to good around

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

BELTON: Hybrid striper are good trolling lipless crankbaits, and on minnows and white riversides. White bass are good trolling lipless crankbaits, and on minnows and white riversides.

CANYON LAKE: Striped bass are good vertically jigging minnows and Spoiler Shads. White bass are good on slabs along the main river channel.

RAY HUBBARD: White bass are excel-lent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in.

HOT SPOT

Lower Laguna MadreThe big trout bite is on, and with the fi ve-fi sh limit in effect, the winter fi shing has never been stronger. Reports of solid days with plenty of trout from the mid-20s and up are the norm when the weather cooper-ates. Throw soft plastics and top-waters to entice bites. Photo by Mike McBride. See related cover story.



What goes around comes around.That was the message from Wills Point

resident Tim Wooldridge after his son,

Lucas, caught the pend-ing state junior record striped bass Feb. 19 on Lake Tawakoni.

The 31-inch striper weighed 14.34 pounds, which should eclipse the current junior state record 11.84-pounder, also caught on Tawakoni in 2011 by Jayden Randall.

Lucas “Luke” Wooldridge, 15, was fi shing on the boat of family friend, Greg Clark on Feb. 19, a Sunday. Several years ago, Clark’s son, Cody, caught the Lake Fork junior record large-mouth bass while fi sh-ing on Tim Wooldridge’s boat.

Sunday was payback time.

“Greg invites us out a lot,” Tim Wooldridge said. “We met at the lake and checked three or four spots and scratched out a few. Then about noon, Luke tied into the big one. He catches a lot of fi sh, so I didn’t

pay a lot of attention at fi rst. He said he had a good one, and I was still thinking about a 5-pounder.

Returningthe favor

HECK OF A STRIPER: Lucas “Luke” Wooldridge holds the pending junior state record striper caught Feb. 19 on Lake Tawakoni in the boat of family friend Greg Clark. The fi sh weighed 14.34 pounds. Photo by Tim Wooldridge.

See PENDING RECORD, Page 15

Angler, 15, boats pending junior state record


MAYBE THE DEER STEPPEDIN FRONT OF THE TREE

After receiving a call regarding shots fi red from a county road, Harrison County Game Warden Todd Long and Harrison County deputies contacted four oilfi eld workers who claimed they shot a tree to settle a shooting bet. The investigation led to confessions about dropping off hunters to pursue a deer they shot at earlier. Two fi re-arms were seized and citations issued for hunting from a public roadway, hunting during closed season and trespassing. Cases pending.

BIRD IDENTIFICATION COURSE NEEDEDFayette County Game Warden Calvin

Harbaugh was checking waterfowl hunters when one individual showed the warden his “sandhill crane” that he had harvested. The man was issued a citation for taking a great blue heron.

TRESPASSER LEAVES MOUNTAINOF EVIDENCE

Milam County Game Warden Charlie Mayer received a call from a landowner who had information from another landowner regarding drag marks he found on his property. Mayer responded along with Bell County Game Warden Justin Valchar. The two wardens were able to fi nd the drag marks and follow them back to where they originated. Along with the drag marks, there was deer blood and hair. Mayer and Valchar then followed the drag marks and blood the other direc-tion to the back of a third property. There the trail ended and four-wheeler tracks began. The four-wheeler tracks led to a residence. The four-wheeler, along with a trailer with blood stains on the fl oor, was observed. The war-dens made phone contact with the owner of the house. When the owner arrived and saw the evidence, he con-fessed. The individual was arrested and taken to jail for hunting without landowner's consent.

RANCHER BUSTED FOR POISONING VULTURES

A die-off of black vultures in Brazoria County was reported to District 1 Capt. Nick Harmon. A large number of dead or dying black vultures had been found in a U.S. wildlife refuge, as well as on adja-cent refi nery property. Suspecting the use of poison in a baited car-cass, Brazoria County Game Warden Jason Richers patrolled the area for cattle carcasses. The Brazoria County Environmental Crimes inves-tigator requested a Department of Public Safety helicopter to survey the area from the air. The DPS chop-per crew spotted a cow carcass with several dead vultures around it on a nearby ranch. The location was in Matagorda County, so Richers con-tacted Game Warden Clay Shock for assistance. The wardens drove to the location and gathered speci-mens to be used for testing. Shock was able to obtain a confession from the rancher, as well as directions to the location of a calf carcass (the carcass spotted from the air had not been baited) that had been injected with a poison that the rancher had hoped would thin the number of buz-zards in the area. Several charges

of killing protected nongame birds were fi led, which the rancher pled guilty to and paid fi nes totaling $1,000. Civil Restitution in excess of $12,700 is pending for 214 dead black vultures.

UNDERSIZED CRAPPIECATCHERS CAUGHT

Tarrant County Game Warden Clint Borchardt stopped a boat on Eagle Mountain Lake. After checking the livewell, he determined that there were 21 crappie on board — 16 undersized. Appropriate cases fi led.

TRESPASSERS RETURN TO THE SCENEMilam County Game Warden Charlie

Mayer received a call from an indi-vidual who was hunting and noticed drag marks near his deer stand. Mayer responded and was able to fi nd where the deer had been killed. There was also fresh corn scattered around the area that the hunter said was not there the day before. Mayer decided to come back that evening, hoping the suspects would come back and hunt the spot the last evening of the season. Mayer, along with Bell County Game Warden Justin Valchar, waited in the brush that afternoon for their hunters. Three indi-viduals showed up. One of the men

confessed to retrieving a deer from the adjoining property. The individual was fi led on for criminal trespass.

WARDEN HELPS RESCUE DUCK CAUGHT IN POWER LINE

Freestone County Game Warden John Thorne received a call about a duck hung in a power line just out-side Corsicana in a residential area. The gadwall drake was found with one end of a long piece of fi shing line wrapped around his leg and the other end tangled in the power line. With assistance from the county commis-sioner and the power company, the duck was released without incident.

A NEW BUT ILLEGAL WAY TO JUMP TANKSWilliamson County Game Wardens

Turk Jones and Joel Campos spot-ted a truck near a private tank. In the back of the truck were two males with shotguns and an unidentifi ed driver. As they made their way through the pasture from one tank to the other, several ducks were fl ying over. The truck stopped and the two men jumped out of the bed of the truck. As soon as their feet hit the ground, they started shooting at the ducks. The wardens entered the pasture and stopped the truck. The two shooters

and the driver were cited for hunt-ing ducks with the aid of a motorized vehicle. Cases pending.

OWNER LEARNS THAT WARDENS HANDLE MORE THAN HUNTING AND

FISHING CASESWilliamson County Game Warden

Turk Jones received a call from a local police department requesting assis-tance with a possible illegal burn. The burn ban had been lifted but a dark black plume was coming from the burn pit. When Jones arrived, he asked the property owner if that was his fi re. The owner replied, “Yeah, but there ain’t no dead animals in it.” The contents included plastics, house shingles, cable with the insulation burned off, a tire and several other products that aren’t allowed to be burned. Jones issued the property owner a citation for violation of the Texas outdoor burning rule. The property owner was educated on the fact that game wardens handle more than just hunting and fi shing cases. Cases pending.

CAMERAS AID WARDENS IN POACHING, TRESPASSING CASES

Harris County Game Wardens Jennifer Inkster and Kevin Malonson fi led several criminal charges for the Harris County Flood Control District in Northeast Harris County. The prop-erty is approximately 1,400 acres and is posted for “No Trespassing.” The cases involve hunting in a county with a population of 2 million or more without consent, criminal trespass, evading arrest or detention, and operation of certain motor vehicles on or near public facilities. The aid of surveillance cameras assisted in apprehending poachers and trespassers hunting game with arti-fi cial lights, shooting rabbits from a vehicle and feral hog hunting. Surveillance cameras also caught several suspects in possession of white-tailed deer. Cases pending.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

Near Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Grayson County Game Warden Michael Hummert observed a driver parked on an oil fi eld road near a wheat fi eld. The vehicle was using the vehicle’s headlights to illu-minate several deer that were standing in the fi eld. Hummert then watched as the passenger of the vehi-cle retrieved a compound bow from the back seat. The subject began to stalk the deer using the nearby brush line as cover. As the subject got closer, the deer spooked and headed farther into the fi eld. The sub-

ject then returned to the vehicle. The two occupants of the vehicle then drove through the wheat fi eld at a high rate of speed while the driver swerved at deer attempting to hit them with his car. With no luck, the subjects left the area and pulled onto a nearby county road. Hummert stopped the vehicle, and the two occu-pants immediately said they knew they were in trouble. Both subjects were arrested and placed in the Grayson County Jail on charges of hunting deer at night and hunting deer with the aid of a light.

NIGHT POACHERS TRY CROSSBOW THENVEHICLE AS WEAPON OF CHOICE



Trappers typically anchor the ends of the wires to stakes or the fences. When preda-tors slide through the holes the wires cinch down, snaring them.

“Some people use leg-hold traps or spring traps,” Hudson said, “but I don’t like any of those because we still quail hunt out there and I don’t want to catch a dog by mistake.”

Such considerations are appropriate for ethical trapping, said Don Hightower, a professional trapper in East Texas.

He is also the public relations direc-tor for the Texas Trappers and Fur Hunters Association.

These issues, he added, are important while setting snares on “low” fences.

He explained that trappers look for pred-ator tracks to determine where to put their

snares on fi ve-strand fences, but they should avoid spots that also have hoof prints.

“Does will go under the fence and so will bucks when they don’t have their headgear on,” Hightower said. “But if it looks like a place where you’ll catch a deer, abort it.

“Use judgment.”There are even more steps that can be taken,

like a “deer stop.”“It’s a clip on the snare,” Hightower said. “If a

deer walks into it and it starts to tighten, it won’t tighten up right away; they can back out of it.

“Also, most people use relaxing-lock snares, which are not lethal. If a coyote goes ballistic, he may end getting tighter than you want it to, but most the time everything will be alive.

“That’s important to me because I don’t want to catch something I don’t want.”

EnsnaredContinued From Page 4

PREDATOR SNARE: Coyotes take advantage of sandy West Texas soil to easily burrow beneath fences and attack fawns.Trappers use these gaps to set snares. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.


“But he was all over the boat, so I got the net.

“Then the fi sh came up and he looked like he was 3 feet long.”

Wooldridge said sev-eral boats were in the vicin-ity of the 46-foot ledge the group was fi shing; boaters applauded and hollered when the fi sh was fi nally netted.

“A guy pulled up with scales on his boat that he knew were accurate,” Wooldridge said. “We knew the lake record was around 11 pounds, so we were pretty sure this fi sh would beat that, even if the scale was off by a pound.”

The fi sh was certifi ed on scales in Wills Point and paperwork has been sub-mitted to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“I knew it was a big fi sh when I hooked it,” Lucas

said. “I told them we’re going to need the net — only half the fi sh fi t in the net.

“I was proud that I caught the lake record, but the fi rst time I started thinking about the state record was when my older brother sent a text saying we needed to check on the state record.”

It turns out the Tawakoni record was also the current state record.

“There was a lot of high-fi ving when we found out it was also a state record,” Lucas said. “I was with Cody when he caught his record fi sh, so this was pretty neat.”

Tim Wooldridge said another good deed preceded the landing of the big fi sh.

“As we were leaving Holiday Marina, we noticed someone way out in the lake on a sandbar waving at us,” he said. “It was a weird-look-ing deal with a boat nearby

but someone standing in the 48-degree water waving his arms frantically.

“His boat had gotten stuck on a sand bar and the owner went into the water to try to push it off. He was unable to dislodge the boat and it appeared that he was trying to make it to shore by walk-ing in on the sand bar with no life jacket on.

“When we got to him he could hardly move. We got him back in his boat and towed it back to where his wife was waiting on him.”

Tim said he was happy when Cody caught his record fi sh because he is a polite, well-raised young man, and to have his son catch a record on Greg’s boat just brought it full circle.

“Luke is very patient and persistent,” he said. “I really enjoy watching my boy fi sh.”

Several Texans take Billfi sh Foundation awards

Stephen Gegenheimer of Corsicana took home two top prizes at The Billfi sh Foundation International Tag & Release Awards recently in Miami. Gugenheimer won the age 16-17 age class and the overall top youth angler awards.

Other Texans recognized were John Richardson of Bellville for Pacifi c Billfi sh in the Top Tag Anglers category and Alolfo Grajales of Bellville and Jimmy Kitchell of Galveston in the Top Tag Captains category.

In the Top Release category, Wayne Short of Corinth was recognized as a top angler and Wade Richardson of Bellville was recognized as a top captain.

TBF’s program, committed to billfi sh tag and release, helps supply valuable data. Since 1990, the captains and anglers have helped marine researchers in learning the migratory habits of the world’s billfi sh species.

Each year, TBF members from more than 70 countries are invited to participate. The competition ran from Nov. 1, 2010 to Oct. 31, 2011 with “tagging data reports” and “release notifi cation cards” generated from the temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacifi c and Indian Oceans.

To be eligible to receive an award, active TBF members must have tagged and/or released fi ve or more of a species to qualify. The Youth Program, created in 2001, requires a three-fi sh minimum in three age groupings.

—The Billfi sh Foundation

Pending recordContinued From Page 11


Tackle Shop on Sam Rayburn Reservoir when asked if bass were moving into a pre-spawn position. “Some of them possibly are headed back, but with the recent cold front, it pushed them back down.”

Johnston said the bass fi shing has been “pretty good” on Sam Rayburn, despite the colder weather.

“Lipless crankbaits in red and gold are working,” she said.

On Lake Fork, guide John Tanner said the fi sh are def-initely moving into a pre-spawn position.

“The weather is dictating the bite right now,” Tanner said. “They are moving up and we are starting to catch them shallower. The bigger fi sh are beginning to move up.”

Tanner said lipless crankbaits in red, black and blue jigs, Texas-rigged

worms and any color spinnerbaits are catching bass.

“The fi sh are really hold-ing tight to the wood,” he said. “The more trees you can bump in a day the better. The mouths of creeks and lake points are also a good bet.”

Tanner said with the recent cold snap, the spawn was pushed back to its nor-mal date around the fi rst week of March.

Down south along the border, Falcon Reservoir has begun its recent trend for February by turning out a large number of double-digit bass.

Falcon guide Tommy Law, who caught the current lake record last February, said the fi shing is up or down every-day, depending on weather conditions.

“There has been some spawning happening on warmer days,” Law said. “It happens as early as January down here. It is just so up and down right now because the weather is changing, which

is typical this time of year. “I think we still have a big

wave (of spawners) coming, but I’ve also caught some fi sh that were post spawn.”

Law said he is still fi sh-ing deeper water in front of spawning fl ats and looking for rocky points.

“Rock is real important,” he said. “The fi sh are sus-pended and they are react-ing to crankbaits bouncing along the rocks. There aren’t piles of fi sh anywhere, but that is also typical for this time of year.”

Law said along with crankbaits, football jigs are catching fi sh. And despite the up-and-down fi shing, the lake is the most crowded he has seen it in 40 years.

“I put in at daylight today and there were already 40 boats at the ramp,” he said. “By later today, there will be 100 boats at the ramp. It has been super busy since Christmas.”

Guide John Tanner, (903) 569-7451 Guide Tommy Law, (325) 439-6045

And federal agen-cies have encouraged such efforts.

But in the fall of 2010, the Department of the Interior reit-erated its “idle iron” policy that requires oil and gas companies to decommission and dismantle dormant platform structures.

“As infrastructure continues to age, the risk of damage increases,” said Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement .

“That risk,” he added, “increases substantially during storm season.”

But groups like SEA have countered that these struc-tures are not just

“idle iron,” but “a needed resource that enhances the marine habitat,” according to the group’s petition to members of Congress.

“This will negatively affect tourism, fi sh har-vest and economies of the communities on the Gulf Coast,” the petition stated.

The groups also favor the practice of “reefi ng in place” by plugging the old well and remov-ing only the top part of the platform, about 85 feet below the surface.

Hurst, however, said his group and others would like to preserve structure “through the full water column.”

“If we can save the upper 85-foot por-tion, that would be outstanding,” he said. “The best habitat is up there, where most of the sunlight is.”

South coastContinued From Page 8

a retaining wall across from the local chamber of commerce offi ce.

“I generally catch one or two a day for a meal,” he said. “I fi sh pretty much every day, and trout is my favorite fi sh.”

Heistand moved to the fi sh-ing community from Michigan, where he worked for General Motors, about a year ago.

“I started coming down here in 1994 during the winter,” he said, “but we decided to sell our house to live here permanently.”

In Michigan, Heistand fi shed for walleye and perch. He said he never uses live or dead bait, but instead throws lures and spoons.

“When I fi sh here I use a red-and-white tail and watermelon (col-ors),” he said, referring to fi shing from the retaining wall. “But when I am in the bay, I use spoons.”

On South Padre Island, about 25 miles to the south, anglers are reporting good catches of speckled trout, sand trout and whiting.

Bait shop operators from Port Mansfi eld to Port Isabel said the fi shing is picking up, largely because they started selling live bait this month.

“We did not have live bait for nearly three months,” said an employee at the Port Mansfi eld Bait Shop, “but the rains early this month put a lot of fresh water in the bay and that helped the shrimp.”

the 18 years I have been guiding that (the stripers) didn’t thin out and get skinny. During the sum-mer, they almost refuse to eat. They will come up to the surface chasing shad, but so many boats see them and push them back down.”

Carey said the lack of pressure also carried over to the bait — mostly shad — on Texoma.

“Think about how many cast nets didn’t get thrown,” he said. “I think there is 35 percent more shad in the lake right now. It’s real simple. I know my guide service, Striper Express, lost 50 trips that I know of because of the scare. Conservatively, the lake probably saw 500 less trips this summer.

“And that’s not counting all of the bank fi sher-men that didn’t come.”

Carey said an explosion in big fi sh is the result — something he hasn’t seen since at least 2006.

“That year we had a major peak,” he said. “But I think this year is going to explode. It’s just a phenomenal fi shery and the stripers get so big so fast. I expect a lot of 20-pound fi sh and hopefully a couple above 30 pounds.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department District Biologist Brian Van Zee said the scare could have a positive affect on the lake down the road, but, in his opinion, it was too early in Feburary to say one way or another.

“I’m sure the blue/green algae warning had an impact on the utilization of the lake,” Van Zee said. “But we won’t see an impact on fi sh this early. I can’t say one way or another yet.”

Van Zee added that any positive side effects of the scare could have been negated by the severe drought last summer.

POST-RAIN PUSH: Trout and redfi sh are bitting near Port Mansfi eld. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Lake TexomaContinued From Page 9

HabitatContinued From Page 9

SpawnContinued From Page 8


HEROES

JOSHUA NEILL of Blanco was 10 during the youth season last October when he, along with his dad, TERRY,

started catching glimpses of a fi ne buck that made a habit of trotting

over to the neighbor’s property. Their solution: a pile of salt blended

with some dirt. Sure enough, the buck stopped to sniff and paw at it; then Joshua dropped him with his

.223-caliber rifl e.

SHARE AN ADVENTURE■ Want to share hunting and

fi shing photos with other Lone

Star Outdoor News readers? E-mail them with contact and caption

information to editor@lonestarout-

doornews.com. High-resolution origi-

nal jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes,

Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box

551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

TOWNSEND VOGT, 7, of Corpus Christi, killed his fi rst deer in November on property in

Jim Hogg County. The doe was taken at 150 yards with a .22-250-caliber rifl e.

TINO MALOUF, 6, of Boerne was guided by his dad on his fi rst deer hunt last October in Blanco County. They stalked into range and Tino shot this six-point buck at 90 yards from the prone position with a .223-caliber rifl e.

While hunting with his family last November in Gillespie County, CADE STEPHENS, 9, of New Braunfels (left) shot his fi rst buck — an eight-pointer. His shot was 105 yards with a .243-caliber Remington Model 700. Dad, RYAN, and little brother, BEAU, joined him for the photo.

San Antonio resident RANDY WYATT downed this big mule deer buck Dec. 3 near Alpine. Its rack measured 196 inches.

JORDAN BURGES, 13, of Cleveland got her fi rst deer recently in Blanco County with a .270-caliber rifl e. According to a note from her family, “Her daddy has never been more proud.”

Lake Texoma fi shing guide JAY STALEY recently caught this striper on his home lake. The fi sh was 38 inches long.

ERIC RAMIREZ of Weslaco landed these redfi sh recently while wading the waters of the Lower Laguna Madre. He fi shed the cool morning with soft plastics. His limit measured 22-24 inches and all fi sh were caught on the fl ats.


OUTDOOR BUSINESS

Louisiana duo take win on rainy Rayburn

Fishing through torrential rains and rising waters levels, Louisiana anglers Jerry Silmon and Brett Hortman beat the fi eld with nearly 30 pounds to win the Bass Champs East Texas tournament Feb. 18 on Sam Rayburn.

Among the fi rst to the scales, Silmon and Hortman weighed fi ve fi sh for 29.61 pounds, then had to wait almost two hours to see if their lead held. It did.

The pair caught their fi sh on a red lipless crankbait.

“It started out rough this morning with the weather, but once we fi nally made it to our spot, we power poled down,” Silmon said. “We never left that spot, the fi sh were there. In the pounding rain we continued to catch, then cull, until 11:30. Our last cull was at 11:30.

“At that point we had all of our weight.”The duo won by more than six pounds, eas-

ily defeating the other 218 teams and taking home the top prize check of $20,000.

Nacogdoches, Texas teammates Jonathan Garrie and Keith Morris fi nished in second place with 23.33 pounds, and the Livingston, Texas team of Wade Ellis and Joey Martin III took third with 22.36 pounds.

—Staff report

Paradise angler wins on Palestine

Catching only four bass during a tournament is usually a bad sign.

But not when one of those fi sh is a 7.59-pound largemouth.

Chase Markum of Paradise on Feb. 11 over-came cold, windy conditions on Lake Palestine to win an ABA Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series tournament. The event was the season opener for the East Texas Division 11.

Markum caught only four bass all day, but it was enough to beat out 69 other anglers with a 16.22-pound bag.

“I was simply looking for a place to get out of the north wind,” Markum said. “I was look-ing for tall trees that would block the wind so I could actually make casts and feel the fi sh when it hit.

“About fi ve minutes into the tournament, I had a 7.59-pounder on that hit a Rat-L-Trap in 2.5 feet of water. I just stayed in 2.5 feet of water all day and threw a Rat-L-Trap most of the day. Later, I threw a small grub at docks.

“I only caught one bass in the afternoon.”Terry Peacock of Royse City fi nished second

with a fi ve-bass limit totaling 14.56 pounds.

In the Co-Angler Division, Kent Andries, 24, of Tyler only found two fi sh, but won the tourna-ment with 10.46 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 7.69-pounder and collected $1,420.

— ABA

Ducharme and Carr take Amistad in Bass Champs tournament

Jean “JJ” Ducharme had a good couple of weeks in February.

The angler from Brackettville won the EverStart Series Texas Division tournament on Lake Amistad Feb. 2, and followed that victory with the Bass Champs South Region win Feb. 11 on the same lake with partner Gary Carr of San Angelo.

“We’ve been on some good fi sh for about a month now,” Carr said. “This is a tough group to fi sh against. There are a lot of top-notch anglers. We just cranked them all day. (The fi sh) had moved up a bit since practice. We had been catching them in about 25 feet (of water), but we found them today in 15 to 16 feet.”

Hitting multiple areas throughout the day, the pair boated a few fi sh early, then several more midday, and fi nally they were able to cull the rest of the afternoon.

“We really had a great day and didn’t lose any,” Carr added.

Their fi ve fi sh totaled 30.54 pounds, win-ning the tournament by almost 3 pounds.

The pair bested 227 other teams to win $20,000.

Big bass honors for the event went to Tim and Judy Reneau with a 10.46-pound toad.

—Staff report

Chapman survives on brutal Lewisville

Brent Chapman clinched the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open on Lake Lewisville Feb. 12 by winning a tie-breaking fi sh-off against Josh Bertrand.

Chapman caught a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass to win the title.

The angler from Lake Quivira, Kan., and Bertrand, of Mesa, Ariz., were tied for the lead on day three and had to go into a tie-breaker fi sh-off.

Before the fi sh-off, Chapman weighed in three keepers, and Bertrand brought one fi sh to the scales. That put them tied for fi rst with 20 pounds, 9 ounces after three days of fi shing.

Chapman won a check for $52,160, but the tournament victory also brought him a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Chapman’s home water: Grand Lake.

— Staff report

TOURNAMENT BRIEFS

McBride said lures also work with anglers who know how to fi nd them.

“It’s usually going to be one of a few simple tech-niques which will get us bit most consistently during Spring — plas-tic tails hopped low in the grass, Corkies stalled over sand pockets, or top-waters worked outside of rafting mullet.”

Lower Laguna Capt. Mac Newton said he has been shut down by the weather, but guides he has talked to said the trout fi shing has been good on days when the weather cooperates.

“The trout are real hot,” Newton said. “I talked to a guide yester-day that had a good day catching a lot of nice ones in the mid-20s.”

Newton said artifi cials and cut ballyhoo have been putting fi sh in the boat.

“The trout are just in such good shape right

now,” he said. “I think the fi ve-fi sh limit helped a lot, and I wouldn’t be opposed to going to a three-trout limit. A lot of people are releasing the bigger trout now, which helps also.

“We’ve seen more big trout and redfi sh the past year than anytime in the last 10 years.”

Capt. Dave Edwards said he has been focusing on the Texas 100 shelf near Laguna Vista for mid-20s trout.

“There are a lot of nice-sized trout,” he said. “Smaller trout are hang-ing on the shoals near South Padre and the shal-low potholes aren’t pro-ducing a lot, but the qual-ity is really good. There are a lot of trout in the area.”

McBride agreed that the fi shery is in great shape.

“The entire system is full of life, and TPWD just announced that we have the biggest concen-tration of juvenile trout

on record,” McBride said. “The shear numbers of trout over 24 inches are inspiring to say the least, and when our fi ve fi sh will outweigh most 10-fi sh stringers farther north, something posi-tive has happened.”

Mark Lingo, ecosystem leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife on the Lower Laguna Madre, said all bay systems in Texas had high trout counts.

“In our bag seine col-lections in 2011, every bay system had the larg-est number of juve-nile trout we’ve seen,” Lingo said. “On the Lower Laguna Madre, the change in bag limit has a lot to do with it and hatcheries have also ramped up production.”

Capt. Mike McBride, (956) 746-6041Capt. Mac Newton, (956) 873-0444Capt. Dave Edwards, (956) 524-3002

TroutContinued From Page 1

TROUT CITY: Minnesota angler Lynn Harker holds a nice, 26-inch trout he caught recently while fi shing with Capt. Dave Edwards near Laguna Vista. The duo had good success in mid February throwing Coca-hoe Minnows on 1/4-ounce jig heads. Photo by Dave Edwards.


ADVERTISEMENT

White bassContinued From Page 1

“In another week or two it should really be time to get in here and catch those whites,” he said. “This place usually gets hot the fi rst week or two of March.”

Jones said Road Runners and small jigs work the best when the creeks become fi shable.

In East Texas, well-known Sabine River and Toldeo Bend guide Jane Gallenbach said her clients were on the whites and catching limits daily.

“Both the males and females (bass) are here,” Gallenbach said. “The females are pretty full of eggs also.”

Gallenbach also said Road Runners were putting fi sh in the boat.

“The water level is workable,” she said. “We are still about 7 1/2 feet low, but we can get to places we sure couldn’t last summer, so it is getting a little bit better.”

Guides on Lake Livingston said weather was also playing havoc with lake levels and water clarity, but the white bass run was going strong when they could get to the fi sh.

One guide called it “an all-out pig fest before the rains.”

Water temperature on Livingston has been hovering above 60 degrees — not normal for this time of year — making fi shing “iffy,” according to one guide.

Reports from South Texas on the Nueces River near Lake Corpus Christi stated that the males had started to show up, but water levels were still so low that anglers were worried that the run might not happen at all this year. No females were reported in the area yet.

Solid reports of running white bass did come in from Cedar Creek, Tawakoni and the Neches River near Palestine at the Kickapoo Bridge.

Guide Jane Gallenbach, (903) 693-4441

Texas wildlife manager wins national award

For his dedication to wildlife and to the staff of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, Randy Fugate of Falfurrias was recently honored at the National Wild Turkey Federation’s convention in Nashville.

Fugate was given the Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award, which honors wildlife man-agers who have proven themselves as exceptional stewards of wild tur-key populations and habitat.

Fugate began his involvement with TPWD more than 38 years ago. He works closely with private landowners to ensure the success of many programs for the wild turkey and other wildlife.

The Joe Kurz award is named in honor of a former Georgia Department of Natural Resources wildlife chief for his leadership and the vital role he played in improving wildlife management.

—NWTF

New hunting forum getting off the ground

Rob Lay knows what it takes to get a successful Internet forum off the ground.

Almost a decade ago, he started an auto trading forum in North Texas and watched it explode into a thriving community of like-minded people.

He’s hoping to working up the same magic in his latest venture, FreeRangeHunter.com.

“When I started the automotive one, people latched on pretty quick,” Lay said. “Now, everything has been done before and people have their own social communi-ties. They’re comfortable with it and know the other guys’ personalities.

“It’s an uphill battle that I see with a lot of forums.”

FreeRangeHunter.com has been online since September, and the community is starting to grow, Lay said.

“My personal preference is low-fence hunting,” he said. “I don’t have any issues with high fence, but it is not my personal preference. I just see a lot of like-minded people out there and a lot of people that feel the same way I do. I saw an opportu-nity there to bring these folks together.”

Lay said his site doesn’t throw stones at high-fenced hunters. In fact, the forum has a section for hunters who prefer high fence.

“Texas is where high fence is the most accepted and the most popular,” he said. “Low-fence hunting is just our niche.”

Lay said the site is an international forum and not totally Texas-based, or deer-based.

The site has several forums, including one for outfi tters, bird hunting, fi shing and off-topic posts.

“This is for all big game,” he said. “We are growing in small steps. Three to four new posts per day will slowly grow into 40 or 50 new posts each day. That is when people start checking it every day.

“If we can get a couple hundred users post-ing regularly, that is when it really takes off.”


By Craig NyhusPhotography By David J. SamsLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

The hunter and guide approached the blind at the 2,100-acre Highpoint Ranch near London, but fi rst light had already arrived. Behind the blind were four deer that scattered off with the movement, stopping about 200 yards out.

“See that one? He’s wide — he’s the one we’re looking for,” the guide said. “Let’s crouch down and get a rest on one of these shin oaks. Let’s see what they do.”

Three of the deer moved away, but the widest buck stood still, then moved toward the blind and stared straight at it.

“He’s coming toward us — get ready,” the guide said.“He’s facing straight at us,” the hunter replied.“Are you comfortable with a neck shot?”“Not from this tree.”“Let’s wait.”The buck eventually turned broadside.“Take him,” the guide said.The shot rang, followed by a loud thump.“He turned right as you shot,” the guide said. “Where did you

hit him?”“Way too far back,” the hunter replied. “He turned away.”“Let’s get in the stand; we’ll give him an hour and then go

look,” the guide said.The guide was 26-year-old Sawyer Wright. The hunter, on a

dove- and duck-hunting lease near Sawyer’s home in Duster, met Sawyer when he was a 7-year-old silent visitor to the hunt-ing camp.

Sawyer’s father didn’t hunt much. His grandfather did, but was too busy working cattle and the farm to get out much. A few years later, Sawyer was tagging along with the lease mem-bers on bird hunts, and proved to be a better shot than most of the adults. When he started driving, varmints and other critters were regularly thinned by Sawyer “shining the light.”

He killed a few deer in his high school and college years, and he became a top ranch hand working with his grandfather. But he was having trouble fi nding his way.

“I kind of wandered for a few years there,” Sawyer said.The hunter and a friend met Bob Zaiglin, who heads the wild-

life management program at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde. Zaiglin described the program, his students and the jobs they found upon completion.

“We know a young man we think would be perfect for you,” the hunter and his friend told Zaiglin. “He might need a little discipline at fi rst, though.”

“Send him to me,” Zaiglin said.Sawyer applied, was accepted and moved to Uvalde. He

thrived in the program.“He was one of my top students,” Zaiglin said.Listening to Sawyer describe all of the plant life, informa-

tion on whitetails, and other animals and terms the hunter and friend had never heard, gave them a sense of pride that they helped a young man fi nd his place.

While waiting in the blind, the hunter and Sawyer talked about the memories of his best friend, his grandfather. They

See A LESSON, Page 23

Getting back on trackLife lessons learned

on the blood trail



LONE STAR MARKET

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


talked about his work at Artemis Outdoors, a deer management consultant fi rm based in Three Rivers, and about the summer Sawyer spent as an apprentice professional hunter at Numzaan Safaris in South Africa, where he honed his skills.

“We learned how to track everything, espe-cially ‘off track’ where there is no blood,” Sawyer said. “And it’s muddy from the rain so the tracks should be easier to fi nd.”

“Do you think there will be much blood?” the hunter asked.

“Depends where the bullet went after it hit; it could have gone anywhere,” Sawyer said.

The hour was up, and when the area of the shot was reached, the news wasn’t good.

“There are bone fragments,” Sawyer said. “You hit some of the back leg.”

Fair amounts of blood made the trailing easy — at fi rst. After about 100 yards, a large amount of blood mixed with air was seen and helped ease their minds.

“You caught some lung,” Sawyer said. “He should be close.”

But he wasn’t. And the blood trail thinned, with small amounts observed every 30 to 50 yards.

Text messages to and from the friend, in another blind, told the story.

“Shot one before getting to the blind. He turned as I shot and hit him too far back.”

“Sounded like a solid hit from here — come get me, nothing going on here.”

Later, the three studied the trail, now about 300-400 yards long.

“He stopped several times and there was some clotting,” Sawyer said. “But every time he started again the clot blew out — look here.”

“It shouldn’t be much farther,” the friend said. The hunter, though, was getting concerned.A small road crossed the path ahead. The

friend noticed more blood and the trio was back on the trail. And after 100 more yards or more, the friend said the magic words.

“You guys can stop worrying,” he said after two hours of meticulously studying and following the trail. “There he is.”

The hug between hunter and guide told the story. Twenty years of time spent together, and now the student was educat-ing the teachers.

Back near the blind, the group observed the tree from which the hunter had taken the shot.

“Look down,” the friend said. “There’s a huge scrape on this tree. Maybe that’s why the buck was so curious; you were standing on his scrape.”

The hunter was me. The friend was Lone Star Outdoor News CEO David J. Sams. And the guide will remain a lifelong friend to both.

jaw of a Frio County white-tail surprised Shiner Ranch manager Jason Sekula.

“It had pronounced upper canines,” he said.

After the fi rst set was noticed a few years ago, Sekula started looking more care-fully at the upper jaws, which is not typically examined as closely because the lower jaws are used for aging purposes.

“We have found a fair number, but we kill quite a few deer,” he said.

At the 15,000-acre ranch, “we kill or transport 300 deer per year, but we had one or two with canines this year and two last year,” he said.

“And that’s what we noticed.”Curiosity caused him as a

wildlife biologist to look for research on the phenomenon, and he learned the trait was extremely rare, involving far less than 1 percent of the animals.

“I would say that our per-centage is a hair higher than elsewhere,” Sekula said. “I reviewed some check-station research, and it seems the southern states have a few more than the northern states.”

Chris Huey, a wildlife biol-ogist, consultant and ranch manager at the Chaparrosa Ranch in La Pryor, said he’s never seen the phenomenon.

“I’ve been around at least 10,000 dead deer in my career — and we look,” he said. “I’ve never seen it.”

Huey said he has seen pictures

of the upper canines in maga-zines, but never in the wild.

“It’s defi nitely a trait, but that’s all I know,” he said.

Sekula checked with some of the large South Texas ranches to see if they were observing the canines.

At the King Ranch and the Machen Ranch, managers reported one whitetail each with upper canines in the past six to eight years.

“At ranches that large and well-managed, that would involve looking at thousands of deer,” Sekula said.

Wildlife biologists at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute have heard of the trait, but like most have not seen it much or studied it.

“It happens occasionally,” said research scientist Randy DeYoung. “And there have been a few reports of a concen-tration of the canines in cer-tain areas. There was a report in San Patricio County in the 1960s of something in the neighborhood of 17 percent of the whitetails with canines.”

The Quality Deer Management Association looked at the issue in 2002, and Executive Director Brian Murphy wrote of one theory:

“Upper canines are a rare but documented phenomenon in whitetails, and researchers believe it is an evolutionary throwback to the ancestral form of the whitetail which occasionally surfaces today.”

DeYoung said that was the most popular theory for the trait.

Other researchers looked

back even further. A 1963 report by Lawrence Ryel from the Michigan Department of Conservation found upper canines were identifi ed in whitetails from Central America to Saskatchewan, ranging from 0.14 percent of deer in New York to 4.2 percent in Florida. Ryel’s report also mentioned the frequency of upper canines appeared to increase from north to south as these teeth are more prevalent in Central American whitetails.

The researchers referred to upper canines in ancestral deer and in some modern deer cousins. Elk, Chinese water deer, muntjacs (males only), musk deer, Peré David’s deer, sambar and tufted deer are said to be modern relatives of whitetails with upper canines.

Since the researchers believe the whitetail evolved from deer that originated in Asia, and some of those early species had canines, they believe the genetic link has weakened but not com-pletely disappeared.

Sekula believes there are more deer with the trait, but they go unnoticed.

“A lot of hunters don’t check the upper jaw,” he said. “And some may have seen it but not realized it was out of the ordinary.”

Hunters may want to start looking, and if they come across a whitetail with upper canines, keep the skull — it’s rare. Except maybe at the Shiner Ranch, where it’s not quite so rare.

Vampire bucksContinued From Page 1

PHOTO SESSION: After the adventure of tracking the buck, Sawyer Wright photographs his friend and mentor, Craig Nyhus, with his buck. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

A lessonContinued From Page 20


LastMarch 15

NewMarch 22

Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

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

1. Indian name for deer

6. Main fi n on a fi sh 9. The arrow recep-

tacle10. Sounds made by

the wild turkey11. A hunting quarry

in Africa12. Type of fi shline

with many hooks14. Install a drag on

this to tire fi sh15. Venison20. A fi sh guiding

organ21. The bowmaker22. A good bait for

bear traps25. A wildfowl at bed

having young27. A fi shing lure29. A good trap bait31. A young quail33. The dall is one34. A clay pigeon ejec-

tor station36. Usual routine of

game or fowl37. The tip of a bullet39. Of the sunfi sh family41. Hunter's quarry in

Florida44. Act of stringing a

bow

45. They are found above tree line in Rockies

46. A type of camp fi replace

DOWN1. Name for a certain

bass 2. The spread of a

shot shell 3. Of the strength of

a fi shline 4. The rifl e stock 5. Lab name for fi sh

eggs 6. Arrow does this

because of wind 7. Term for a crack in

a bow stave 8. Prepare for another

shot13. May be an eagle's

prey16. Female bighorns17. A graceful wildfowl18. Handy item to

have in strange areas

19. A wildfowl night-time perch

20. Valued part of some game

23. A good walleye bait24. Act of fi sh hitting

a hook

26. A breed of setter28. This controls a

shot spread29. A type of sight30. A grouse species32. Name for salmon

species in Wyoming

33. Name for a certain fi shing lure

35. Large on a muley38. Bucks with single

antlers39. Buck domain

marks on tree

trunks40. Device on a reel to

tire a fi sh42. The point of an

arrow43. Best lure color to

attract fi sh

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

Sun Moon Tides| |

Season the fi llets with salt and pepper and dust lightly with fl our. Sauté fi llets until golden brown — about four minutes per side. Transfer fi sh to plates and keep hot. Add 1/2 tbsp. oil, onion and bell peppers to same skillet and sauté about four minutes. Add white wine and jalapeño chilies, salt and pepper. Stir for one min-ute, then pour over fi sh and serve.

Serves 2; can be doubled.— easyfi shrecipes.com

2 lbs. venison round steak sliced and marinated in buttermilk then washed clean 1 tsp. salt 1 diced onion 1 tsp. pepper 1/2 box sliced mushrooms 1 tbsp. fl our 1 minced garlic clove 1 chopped bell pepper 1 tbsp. bacon fat or olive oil 1 cup red wine or sherry

Salt and pepper eight to 10 pieces of venison steak and roll in fl our. Place in baking con-tainer and sauté in hot oil until brown. Add all other ingredients and stir. Bake in oven at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Add water as needed.

Serve with buttered carrots and rice or mashed potatoes.

— wildgamerecipes.org

Baked venison steak

FullMarch 8First

March 1Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 4:15 AM 1.6H 10:02 AM 0.5L 4:17 PM 1.5H 10:24 PM 0.2LFeb 25 5:20 AM 1.5H 10:30 AM 0.8L 4:31 PM 1.5H 11:05 PM 0.1LFeb 26 6:31 AM 1.5H 10:57 AM 1.1L 4:41 PM 1.5H 11:50 PM -0.1LFeb 27 7:53 AM 1.5H 11:23 AM 1.3L 4:39 PM 1.6HFeb 28 12:41 AM -0.1L 9:30 AM 1.6H 11:46 AM 1.5L 4:00 PM 1.6HFeb 29 1:40 AM -0.2L 3:20 PM 1.7HMar 01 2:44 AM -0.2L 2:54 PM 1.8HMar 02 3:47 AM -0.3L 1:20 PM 1.9HMar 03 4:43 AM -0.4L 1:33 PM 1.9H 6:37 PM 1.8L 8:52 PM 1.8HMar 04 5:33 AM -0.4L 1:49 PM 1.9H 6:01 PM 1.7L 10:32 PM 1.9HMar 05 6:19 AM -0.4L 2:04 PM 1.9H 6:25 PM 1.4L 11:48 PM 2.0HMar 06 7:03 AM -0.3L 2:19 PM 1.8H 7:01 PM 1.1LMar 07 12:58 AM 2.1H 7:46 AM -0.1L 2:35 PM 1.8H 7:42 PM 0.8LMar 08 2:07 AM 2.2H 8:30 AM 0.2L 2:52 PM 1.8H 8:26 PM 0.4LMar 09 3:17 AM 2.2H 9:15 AM 0.6L 3:08 PM 1.8H

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 5:02 AM 1.3H 10:28 AM 0.4L 5:04 PM 1.2H 10:50 PM 0.2LFeb 25 6:07 AM 1.2H 10:56 AM 0.6L 5:18 PM 1.2H 11:31 PM 0.0LFeb 26 7:18 AM 1.2H 11:23 AM 0.9L 5:28 PM 1.2HFeb 27 12:16 AM 0.0L 8:40 AM 1.2H 11:49 AM 1.1L 5:26 PM 1.2HFeb 28 1:07 AM -0.1L 10:17 AM 1.3H 12:12 PM 1.2L 4:47 PM 1.3HFeb 29 2:06 AM -0.1L 4:07 PM 1.4HMar 01 3:10 AM -0.2L 3:41 PM 1.4HMar 02 4:13 AM -0.2L 2:07 PM 1.5HMar 03 5:09 AM -0.3L 2:20 PM 1.5H 7:03 PM 1.4L 9:39 PM 1.4 HMar 04 5:59 AM -0.3L 2:36 PM 1.5H 6:27 PM 1.3L 11:19 PM 1.5HMar 05 6:45 AM -0.3L 2:51 PM 1.5H 6:51 PM 1.2LMar 06 12:35 AM 1.6H 7:29 AM -0.2L 3:06 PM 1.4H 7:27 PM 0.9LMar 07 1:45 AM 1.7H 8:12 AM -0.1L 3:22 PM 1.4H 8:08 PM 0.6LMar 08 2:54 AM 1.7H 8:56 AM 0.2L 3:39 PM 1.4H 8:52 PM 0.3LMar 09 4:04 AM 1.8H 9:41 AM 0.5L 3:55 PM 1.4H 9:39 PM 0.0L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Feb 24 5:32 AM 0.8H 11:24 AM 0.2L 5:34 PM 0.7H 11:46 PM 0.1LFeb 25 6:37 AM 0.7H 11:52 AM 0.4L 5:48 PM 0.7HFeb 26 12:27 AM 0.0L 7:48 AM 0.7H 12:19 PM 0.5L 5:58 PM 0.7HFeb 27 1:12 AM 0.0L 9:10 AM 0.7H 12:45 PM 0.6L 5:56 PM 0.7HFeb 28 2:03 AM -0.1L 10:47 AM 0.8H 1:08 PM 0.7L 5:17 PM 0.8HFeb 29 3:02 AM -0.1L 4:37 PM 0.8HMar 01 4:06 AM -0.1L 4:11 PM 0.9HMar 02 5:09 AM -0.1L 2:37 PM 0.9HMar 03 6:05 AM -0.2L 2:50 PM 0.9H 7:59 PM 0.8L 10:09 PM 0.9HMar 04 6:55 AM -0.2L 3:06 PM 0.9H 7:23 PM 0.8L 11:49 PM 0.9HMar 05 7:41 AM -0.2L 3:21 PM 0.9H 7:47 PM 0.7LMar 06 1:05 AM 0.9H 8:25 AM -0.1L 3:36 PM 0.9H 8:23 PM 0.5LMar 07 2:15 AM 1.0H 9:08 AM 0.0L 3:52 PM 0.8H 9:04 PM 0.4LMar 08 3:24 AM 1.0H 9:52 AM 0.1L 4:09 PM 0.8H 9:48 PM 0.2LMar 09 4:34 AM 1.1H 10:37 AM 0.3L 4:25 PM 0.9H 10:35 PM 0.0L

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 4:51 AM 1.1H 11:04 AM 0.4L 4:44 PM 1.0H 11:04 PM 0.2LFeb 25 5:52 AM 1.1H 11:43 AM 0.6L 4:55 PM 0.9H 11:34 PM 0.1LFeb 26 6:58 AM 1.1H 12:32 PM 0.8L 4:58 PM 0.9HFeb 27 12:10 AM 0.1L 8:17 AM 1.1HFeb 28 12:55 AM 0.0L 9:56 AM 1.2HFeb 29 1:51 AM 0.0L 11:49 AM 1.2HMar 01 2:57 AM -0.1L 12:53 PM 1.3HMar 02 4:05 AM -0.1L 1:29 PM 1.4HMar 03 5:08 AM -0.2L 1:57 PM 1.4HMar 04 6:03 AM -0.2L 2:20 PM 1.4H 8:58 PM 1.0L 11:04 PM 1.0HMar 05 6:54 AM -0.2L 2:40 PM 1.4H 8:43 PM 0.9LMar 06 12:27 AM 1.1H 7:43 AM -0.2L 3:00 PM 1.3H 8:43 PM 0.8LMar 07 1:38 AM 1.2H 8:33 AM 0.0L 3:19 PM 1.2H 8:57 PM 0.6LMar 08 2:44 AM 1.3H 9:24 AM 0.1L 3:37 PM 1.2H 9:22 PM 0.3LMar 09 3:50 AM 1.4H 10:18 AM 0.4L 3:54 PM 1.1H 9:55 PM 0.1L

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 4:27 AM 1.0H 10:40 AM 0.5L 4:08 PM 0.8H 10:36 PM 0.2LFeb 25 5:41 AM 1.0H 11:16 AM 0.6L 3:58 PM 0.8H 11:15 PM 0.1LFeb 26 7:08 AM 0.9H 11:48 AM 0.8L 3:41 PM 0.9H 11:57 PM 0.0LFeb 27 9:09 AM 1.0H 12:09 PM 0.9L 3:14 PM 1.0HFeb 28 12:45 AM 0.0L 2:23 PM 1.1HFeb 29 1:41 AM -0.1L 1:55 PM 1.2HMar 01 2:42 AM -0.1L 2:07 PM 1.3HMar 02 3:44 AM -0.1L 2:22 PM 1.3HMar 03 4:42 AM -0.1L 2:35 PM 1.4HMar 04 5:36 AM -0.2L 2:46 PM 1.4HMar 05 6:28 AM -0.1L 2:55 PM 1.3H 7:40 PM 1.1L 11:05 PM 1.2HMar 06 7:19 AM -0.1L 3:02 PM 1.2H 7:51 PM 0.9LMar 07 12:41 AM 1.2H 8:10 AM 0.0L 3:06 PM 1.0H 8:16 PM 0.6LMar 08 2:06 AM 1.2H 9:02 AM 0.2L 3:06 PM 0.9H 8:49 PM 0.3LMar 09 3:28 AM 1.2H 9:57 AM 0.4L 3:03 PM 0.8H 9:28 PM 0.0L

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 12:35 AM -0.1L 6:33 AM 0.0H 12:42 PM -0.1L 6:14 PM 0.0HFeb 25 1:08 AM -0.2L 8:03 AM 0.0H 12:56 PM 0.0L 5:31 PM 0.1HFeb 26 1:42 AM -0.2L 5:26 PM 0.1HFeb 27 2:22 AM -0.3L 5:30 PM 0.2HFeb 28 3:13 AM -0.3L 5:28 PM 0.2HFeb 29 4:18 AM -0.3L 5:40 PM 0.3HMar 01 5:37 AM -0.3L 6:16 PM 0.3HMar 02 6:57 AM -0.3L 7:03 PM 0.4HMar 03 8:08 AM -0.3L 7:57 PM 0.4HMar 04 9:06 AM -0.3L 9:15 PM 0.3HMar 05 9:56 AM -0.3LMar 06 12:09 AM 0.3H 10:40 AM -0.2LMar 07 2:35 AM 0.3H 11:21 AM -0.1L 7:41 PM 0.1H 10:03 PM 0.1LMar 08 4:32 AM 0.3H 12:02 PM 0.0L 5:15 PM 0.1H 10:54 PM 0.0LMar 09 6:07 AM 0.3H 12:43 PM 0.1L 4:06 PM 0.2H 11:44 PM -0.1L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 12:16 AM -0.2L 7:17 AM -0.1H 1:01 PM -0.2L 6:35 PM -0.1HFeb 25 1:50 AM -0.2L 9:41 AM -0.1H 12:38 PM -0.1L 6:43 PM -0.1HFeb 26 3:01 AM -0.2L 7:07 PM -0.1HFeb 27 4:03 AM -0.2L 7:45 PM 0.0HFeb 28 5:04 AM -0.3L 8:32 PM 0.0HFeb 29 6:04 AM -0.3L 9:25 PM 0.0HMar 01 7:05 AM -0.3L 10:18 PM 0.0HMar 02 8:04 AM -0.2L 11:09 PM 0.0HMar 03 8:59 AM -0.2L 11:59 PM 0.1HMar 04 9:48 AM -0.2LMar 05 12:50 AM 0.1H 10:33 AM -0.2LMar 06 1:50 AM 0.1H 11:15 AM -0.2LMar 07 3:07 AM 0.0H 11:54 AM -0.1LMar 08 4:53 AM 0.0H 12:26 PM -0.1L 5:49 PM 0.0H 11:30 PM -0.1LMar 09 7:18 AM 0.0H 12:38 PM 0.0L 4:58 PM 0.0H

Houston2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb-Mar Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets24 Fri > 6:46 12:35 7:07 12:57 06:52 06:16 8:05a 9:01p 25 Sat 7:34 1:23 7:56 1:45 06:51 06:16 8:38a 9:55p 26 Sun 8:23 2:12 8:45 2:34 06:50 06:17 9:12a 10:49p 27 Mon 9:13 3:01 9:36 3:24 06:49 06:18 9:49a 11:43p 28 Tue 10:03 3:51 10:27 4:15 06:48 06:19 10:30a NoMoon 29 Wed Q 10:53 4:41 11:18 5:05 06:47 06:19 11:14a 12:36a 01 Thu 11:43 5:30 ----- 5:55 06:46 06:20 12:03p 1:27a 02 Fri 12:06 6:19 12:31 6:44 06:45 06:21 12:56p 2:17a 03 Sat 12:53 7:06 1:19 7:32 06:44 06:21 1:52p 3:05a 04 Sun 1:39 7:52 2:05 8:18 06:43 06:22 2:52p 3:50a 05 Mon 2:25 8:38 2:51 9:04 06:42 06:23 3:53p 4:32a 06 Tue > 3:11 9:24 3:36 9:49 06:40 06:23 4:56p 5:12a 07 Wed > 3:58 10:11 4:23 10:36 06:39 06:24 6:00p 5:50a 08 Thu F 4:47 11:00 5:13 11:26 06:38 06:25 7:05p 6:28a 09 Fri > 5:41 11:54 6:07 ----- 06:37 06:25 8:11p 7:07a 10 Sat > 6:39 12:25 7:06 12:53 06:36 06:26 9:19p 7:48a 11 Sun 8:41 2:27 9:10 2:55 07:35 07:26 11:28p 9:33a 12 Mon 9:45 3:31 10:15 4:00 07:34 07:27 NoMoon 10:23a 13 Tue 10:50 4:35 11:20 5:05 07:32 07:28 12:34a 11:17a 14 Wed 11:53 5:38 ----- 6:07 07:31 07:28 1:37a 12:14p

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightFeb 24 4:27 AM 0.8H 10:40 AM 0.2L 4:17 PM 0.6H 10:34 PM 0.0LFeb 25 5:41 AM 0.9H 11:21 AM 0.5L 4:06 PM 0.7H 11:11 PM -0.1LFeb 26 7:06 AM 0.9H 12:03 PM 0.7L 3:45 PM 0.8H 11:54 PM -0.1LFeb 27 8:59 AM 1.0H 12:57 PM 0.9L 3:00 PM 0.9HFeb 28 12:45 AM -0.2L 11:38 AM 1.0HFeb 29 1:45 AM -0.3L 12:59 PM 1.1HMar 01 2:49 AM -0.3L 1:33 PM 1.2HMar 02 3:53 AM -0.4L 1:57 PM 1.2HMar 03 4:50 AM -0.5L 2:16 PM 1.2HMar 04 5:43 AM -0.6L 2:33 PM 1.1HMar 05 6:32 AM -0.6L 2:47 PM 1.1H 7:58 PM 0.8L 11:30 PM 0.9HMar 06 7:20 AM -0.4L 2:59 PM 1.0H 8:09 PM 0.6LMar 07 1:00 AM 1.0H 8:09 AM -0.2L 3:08 PM 1.0H 8:32 PM 0.4LMar 08 2:20 AM 1.1H 8:59 AM 0.1L 3:14 PM 1.0H 9:03 PM 0.2LMar 09 3:38 AM 1.3H 9:51 AM 0.4L 3:16 PM 1.0H 9:41 PM 0.0L

San Antonio2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets24 Fri > 6:58 12:48 7:20 1:09 07:04 06:28 8:18a 9:14p 25 Sat 7:46 1:36 8:08 1:57 07:03 06:29 8:51a 10:08p 26 Sun 8:36 2:24 8:58 2:47 07:02 06:30 9:26a 11:01p 27 Mon 9:25 3:14 9:48 3:37 07:01 06:31 10:03a 11:55p 28 Tue 10:16 4:04 10:39 4:27 07:00 06:31 10:44a NoMoon 29 Wed Q 11:06 4:53 11:30 5:18 06:59 06:32 11:28a 12:48a 01 Thu 11:55 5:43 ----- 6:08 06:58 06:33 12:17p 1:40a 02 Fri 12:18 6:31 12:44 6:57 06:57 06:33 1:09p 2:30a 03 Sat 1:06 7:19 1:31 7:44 06:56 06:34 2:06p 3:17a 04 Sun 1:52 8:05 2:18 8:31 06:55 06:35 3:05p 4:02a 05 Mon 2:38 8:50 3:03 9:16 06:54 06:35 4:07p 4:45a 06 Tue > 3:23 9:36 3:49 10:02 06:53 06:36 5:09p 5:24a 07 Wed > 4:10 10:23 4:36 10:48 06:52 06:37 6:13p 6:03a 08 Thu F 5:00 11:13 5:26 11:38 06:51 06:37 7:18p 6:41a 09 Fri > 5:53 ----- 6:20 12:07 06:49 06:38 8:24p 7:20a 10 Sat > 6:51 12:38 7:19 1:05 06:48 06:38 9:32p 8:01a 11 Sun 8:53 2:39 9:22 3:08 07:47 07:39 11:40p 9:47a 12 Mon 9:58 3:43 10:27 4:13 07:46 07:40 NoMoon 10:36a 13 Tue 11:03 4:48 11:33 5:18 07:45 07:40 12:47a 11:30a 14 Wed ----- 5:50 12:05 6:20 07:44 07:41 1:50a 12:28p

Amarillo2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb-Mar Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets24 Fri > 7:12 1:01 7:33 1:22 07:23 06:36 8:28a 9:33p 25 Sat 8:00 1:49 8:22 2:11 07:22 06:37 8:58a 10:29p 26 Sun 8:49 2:38 9:11 3:00 07:21 06:38 9:31a 11:25p 27 Mon 9:39 3:27 10:02 3:50 07:20 06:39 10:06a NoMoon 28 Tue 10:29 4:17 10:53 4:41 07:18 06:40 10:45a 12:21a 29 Wed Q 11:19 5:07 11:43 5:31 07:17 06:41 11:28a 1:15a 01 Thu ----- 5:56 12:09 6:21 07:16 06:42 12:16p 2:07a 02 Fri 12:32 6:44 12:57 7:10 07:15 06:43 1:10p 2:57a 03 Sat 1:19 7:32 1:45 7:58 07:13 06:44 2:07p 3:44a 04 Sun 2:05 8:18 2:31 8:44 07:12 06:44 3:09p 4:27a 05 Mon 2:51 9:04 3:17 9:29 07:11 06:45 4:13p 5:07a06 Tue > 3:37 9:50 4:02 10:15 07:09 06:46 5:19p 5:44a 07 Wed > 4:24 10:36 4:49 11:02 07:08 06:47 6:26p 6:19a 08 Thu F 5:13 11:26 5:39 11:52 07:07 06:48 7:34p 6:54a 09 Fri > 6:07 ----- 6:33 12:20 07:05 06:49 8:44p 7:30a 10 Sat > 7:05 12:51 7:32 1:19 07:04 06:50 9:55p 8:08a 11 Sun 9:07 2:52 9:35 3:21 08:02 07:50 NoMoon 9:51a 12 Mon 10:11 3:57 10:41 4:26 08:01 07:51 12:06a 10:38a 13 Tue 11:16 5:01 11:46 5:31 08:00 07:52 1:14a 11:30a 14 Wed ----- 6:04 12:19 6:33 07:58 07:53 2:18a 12:28p

Dallas2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONFeb-Mar Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets24 Fri > 6:51 12:41 7:13 1:02 07:01 06:18 8:09a 9:10p 25 Sat 7:39 1:29 8:01 1:50 07:00 06:19 8:40a 10:05p 26 Sun 8:29 2:17 8:51 2:40 06:58 06:20 9:13a 11:00p 27 Mon 9:18 3:07 9:41 3:30 06:57 06:21 9:49a 11:55p 28 Tue 10:09 3:57 10:32 4:20 06:56 06:22 10:29a NoMoon 29 Wed Q 10:59 4:46 11:23 5:11 06:55 06:22 11:13a 12:48a 01 Thu 11:48 5:36 ----- 6:01 06:54 06:23 12:01p 1:41a 02 Fri 12:11 6:24 12:37 6:50 06:53 06:24 12:54p 2:30a 03 Sat 12:59 7:12 1:24 7:37 06:51 06:25 1:51p 3:18a 04 Sun 1:45 7:58 2:11 8:24 06:50 06:26 2:52p 4:02a 05 Mon 2:31 8:43 2:56 9:09 06:49 06:26 3:55p 4:42a 06 Tue > 3:16 9:29 3:42 9:55 06:48 06:27 5:00p 5:21a 07 Wed > 4:03 10:16 4:29 10:41 06:46 06:28 6:05p 5:57a 08 Thu F 4:53 11:06 5:19 11:31 06:45 06:29 7:12p 6:33a 09 Fri > 5:46 ----- 6:13 12:00 06:44 06:29 8:20p 7:11a 10 Sat > 6:44 12:31 7:12 12:58 06:43 06:30 9:30p 7:50a 11 Sun 8:46 2:32 9:15 3:01 07:41 07:31 11:39p 9:34a 12 Mon 9:51 3:36 10:20 4:06 07:40 07:32 NoMoon 10:22a 13 Tue 10:56 4:41 11:26 5:11 07:39 07:32 12:47a 11:15a 14 Wed 11:58 5:43 ----- 6:13 07:37 07:33 1:51a 12:12p

Spicy sweet pepper catfi sh

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

2 6-ounce catfi sh fi llets Salt and pepper to taste All purpose fl our2 1/2 tbsps. olive oil 1 medium thin-sliced onion

1/2 large diced green bell pepper 1/2 large diced red bell pepper2 1/2 tbsps. white wine 1/2 tbsp. chopped, drained, canned pickled jalapeño chilies


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TEXAS BIG BITES

THE RETURN OF 481: Landon Glass of Jarrell caught this 13.03-pound bass Feb. 14 on Lake Austin, which is the same fi sh that was caught two years ago and labeled No. 481 in the ShareLunker program. Its new name: ShareLunker 528. Photo by Ryan Fontana, TPWD.

LAKE AUSTIN ROCKS: Three of the fi rst fi ve

ShareLunkers caught this season were from

Lake Austin. Wes Hayden’s 13.22-pound

bass, ShareLunker 527, was hooked on Feb. 11 in about 5 feet of water. The angler from Round Rock was fl ipping a jig with a soft-plastic craw

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DATEBOOKFebruary 24-26B.A.S.S.Bassmaster ClassicRed River, Bosier City, La.bassmaster.com

Trout UnlimitedGuadalupe River TU Troutfest 2012Rio Raft Resort, Canyon Lake(210) 654-6220grtu.org

February 25Borger Ducks Unlimited DinnerGraceland East, Borger(806) 898-6389ducks.org

February 29-March 3Lake Fork Carp and Buffalo ChallengeLake Fork(315) 427-7109wildcarpcompanies.com

February 29-March 4Houston Fishing ShowGeorge A. Brown Conv. Center(713) 853-8000houstonfi shingshow.com

March 2Ducks UnlimitedEl Paso DU DinnerAl Maida Shrine Temple, El Paso(915) 227-0363ducks.org

March 2-3Texas Deer AssociationTDA Spring Gala Banquet and Auction, Grapevine(210) 767-8300texasdeerassociation.com

March 2-4Los CazadoresHog Tournament2012 Marranos Muertos, Pearsall(830) 334-5959loscazadores.net

Texas Dog Hunters Association7th Annual TDHA Hallettsville Hunting ExpoWilbur Baber Memorial Complex, Hallettsville(361) 798-5135tdha.org

March 3Mule Deer Foundation1st Annual Fund-raiserParker County Sheriff's Posse Event Center, Weatherford(817) 565-7121muledeer.org

Dallas Woods and Waters Club33rd Annual BanquetPlano Center, Plano(214) 570-8700dwwcc.org

Ducks UnlimitedAnna/Hurricane Creek BanquetHurricane Creek Country Club, Anna(214) 478-9512ducks.org

Ducks UnlimitedArlington Casino NightSt. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, Arlington(469) 446-4176ducks.org

March 8Quail CoalitionPark Cities Dinner and AuctionFrontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas(214) 632-7460parkcitiesquail.org

Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research InstituteDeer Associates MeetingJ.W. Marriott Resort, San Antonio(361) 593-4120ckwri.tamuk.edu

Ducks UnlimitedBoerne DinnerKendall County Fairgrounds(210) 710-0153ducks.org

Ducks UnlimitedGreenville/Hunt County DinnerNational Guard Armory, Greenville(214) 476-8662ducks.org

March 15Dallas Safari ClubAnnual MeetingWyndham Hotel, Dallas(214) 980-9800biggame.org

March 15-17North American Deer Farmers Association23rd Annual NADFA Conference, Dallas(330) 454-3944nadefa.org

March 23-24Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentBass Management WorkshopTexas Freshwater Fisheries Center, Athens(979) 845-2604tpwd.state.tx.us

March 23-25SCI North Texas ChapterOutdoor Expo ShowBass Pro Shops, Grapevine(940) 612-1928scinorthtexas.com

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

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ContributorsKyle CarterAlan ClemonsDavid DraperWilbur LundeenAaron Reed

Erich SchlegelDavid SikesScott SommerlatteChuck UzzleRalph Winingham

Puzzle solution from Page 24

Muley recordContinued From Page 5

the Texas Big Game Awards. That deer was also taken from the McGuire Ranch.

He didn’t take one in 2010 because he couldn’t fi nd one he liked.

But Rick, who operates Outback Wildlife Feeders in Gilmer, accelerated his mule deer quest in 2011.

Before the Gaines County hunt, he took three big bucks in Nevada, Idaho and New Mexico and two more in the Big Bend region of Far West Texas. The scores ranged from 187 to 218.

Before arriving on the McGuire Ranch, Rick hunted the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico where he got a buck that scored 194.

Fog persisted when he returned for the after-noon hunt on the McGuire Ranch, but the big deer re-emerged from the haze.

This time was different. The fi ve-by-fi ve buck looked much bigger.

And there was no mistaking that this was the same deer. Rick identifi ed it by one G3 being shorter than the other.

“He came out 45 minutes before dark and he was totally different coming to us instead of walking away,” Rick said. “There was no doubt then that we were going to shoot it.”

The trophy was taken at 411 yards with a 180-grain Nosler Accubond bullet fi red from Rick’s .30-378 Weatherby Magnum.

The deer’s gross score was 209 7/8, and the net was 197 4/8; Rick hopes that will be enough to be the new fi rst-place record holder in the Texas Big Game Awards.

David Brimager of the Texas Wildlife Association, which oversees the awards program, said the score is high enough to be No. 1.

The current titleholder is the Potter County buck harvested during the 1996-1997 season by Mickey VanHuss. That deer’s net score was 196 5/8, according to TWA records.

Brimager said he was waiting for Meritt’s paper-work to arrive at the TWA offi ce in San Antonio. But while Rick awaits word on that, he is faced with a downside.

His buck from 2009 will no longer hold second place.“This one,” he said of his latest Gaines County

trophy, “bumps it down to third.”

Golden alga bloom hits Brady Creek Lake

A toxic bloom of golden alga was found recently in Brady Creek Lake near Brady, a popular destination for bass, crappie, and catfi sh.

This is the fi rst time Brady Creek Lake has been struck by this harmful alga, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

This type of alga, which doesn’t hurt humans or other mammals, has caused sub-stantial fi sh kills in more than a dozen lakes in West and North Central Texas since 2001.

Included have been E.V. Spence and Possum Kingdom reservoirs.

TPWD offi cials on Feb. 13 received complaints of dead fi sh fl oating on Brady Creek Lake. Biologists conducted a fi sh kill count and collected water samples the following morning.

“Some lakes that are hit with golden alga tend to be affected year after year, and the fi sheries are severely impacted,” said Mandy Scott, assistant fi sheries biologist in TPWD’s San Angelo Inland Fisheries Management offi ce. “But, other lakes, like Sweetwater or Whitney, experi-ence blooms once or every few years, and the fi sheries are able to rebound.”

—TPWD

March 1 deadline to apply for latest TBGA scholarships

Deadline is March 1 to apply for the 12th Annual Texas Big Game Awards (TBGA) Wildlife Conservation College Scholarship Program.

More than $15,000 will be awarded in college scholarships for the 2012-2013 school year. All applicants must be agri-culture or natural resource-related majors.

One $1,500 will be awarded in each of the eight TBGA Regions, and the over-all top scholarship applicant will receive a $3,000 college scholarship.

Any entering college freshman (graduat-ing high school senior), or entering college sophomore, or entering college junior is eligible to apply for one of the available scholarships. The scholarship applications will be reviewed and ranked by a statewide scoring committee using set criteria.

Applicants do not have to participate in the TBGA to be eligible for the schol-arships.

To download the application, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

All applications must be postmarked by March 1.

— TBGA



Documents

February 24, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting