June 27, 2014 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

LSONews.com LoneOStar Outdoor News June 27, 2014 Page 1

By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

For Mark Cano and his Rio Grande Valley friends that make up the team Fishing Locos in the Texas Shark Rodeo, signing up for the nine-month-long event was just for fun — until they had a really good day.

“We caught 16 blacktips in one day and moved all they way to second place,” he said. “We hap-

pened to be there when a migrating school came in.”

The team didn’t enter the tournament for the prizes, though.

“We were tagging fish already, so we entered,” Cano said. “Some people are out there almost every day. We had one lucky day, though, and now we’re itching to get back out there.”

The Texas Shark Rodeo does more than just

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Many hunters turn to exotic hunts during the summer season.

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An exotic alternativeFISHING

Youth conservation program turning students into leaders.

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A bright brigade

CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 26 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 21Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 21Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 18Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 26Prime Time . . . . . . . . Page 28Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 20Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 14Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 21

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Trinity River angler catches large paddlefi sh below Lake Livingston dam.

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Quite a fi sh

The Fowler family is a three-generational collective of experienced fl y-fi shermen.

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Family on the fl y

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June 27, 2014 Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas Volume 10, Issue 21

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A TANGLED MESS: The experts’ consensus? A backlash is a com-bination of several processes, happening at rates faster than many anglers can react. The good news? It happens to just about everybody. Photo by Steve Schwartz, Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Steve SchwartzLone Star outdoor newS

Paul Moore has seen it all when it comes to backlash — bird’s nests that have to be cut out, end a day on the water or even break a reel.

Moore is the owner of Southwestern Parts & Service in Dallas, and has been working on fi shing reels since he started the company in 1970. Lone Star Outdoor News tracked him down to fi nd out not just why a backlash happens, but how.

“The reason we get a backlash (or what Moore and his co-workers jokingly refer to as a “professional overrun”), is because of the law of physics — ‘an object in motion tends to stay in motion,’” Moore said.

Facing the backlashWe’ve all seen it before, but how did the line do that?

See BACKLASH, Page 19

FUN AND FIELDWORK: Noah Cortez Escamilla, 12, of Brownville, landed this shark as the junior member of team Fishing Locos partici-pating in the Texas Shark Rodeo. The shark was measured, photographed, tagged and released. Photo by Gilbert Guttierez.

BRINGING MORE HOME: After a recent USFWS decision, trophy hunters can now bring home trinkets carved or made from their trophies, such as hide purses and carved tusks. Photo by Marina Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Mark EnglandLone Star outdoor newS

On June 26, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service changed its def-inition of “hunting trophy.”

That means life just got a little eas-ier for international hunters.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken as many years to come into effect, but should hunters be excited about it? Yes,” said Nelson Freeman, dep-

uty director of government affairs for Safari Club International. “It’s a very benefi cial new regulation that will allow a lot more clarity for exporting countries, hunters and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to ensure there’s not as much confusion at the point of importa-tion.”

The old defi nition restricted the

USFWS makes adjustments that benefi t hunters

See ADJUSTMENTS, Page 7

A game of tag

Texas Shark Rodeo provides research information

See RODEO, Page 19

Page 2 June 27, 2014 LoneOStar Outdoor News LSONews.com



HUNTING


Programs providing fi nancial assistance to Texas landowners are often among the fi rst to be victims of budget cuts, but there are still plenty of options.

“There is quite a bit of money out there to help Texas landown-ers achieve their wildlife manage-ment goals,” said Jon Hayes, Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture conser-vation delivery specialist.

Hayes presented options to landowners at a Texas Wildlife Association Webinar on June 19.

“The biggest is still the Farm Bill administered by USDA,” Hayes said.

Falling under the auspices of the Farm Bill, the Conservation Reserve Program, designed to remove highly erodible land from production, still covers 3.2 million acres in Texas.

“The new Farm Bill passed by Congress reduced the total CRP acreage from 32 to 24 million acres, but 2 million of those acres were converted to the grazing lands program,” Hayes said.

CRP payments are up to 75 per-cent of the grazing value of the land, and average $25 to $35 per acre in Texas. Most require man-agement practices such as pre-scribed burning, disking, inter-seeding with native grasses or establishing woody species.

CAMP CADETS: Youngsters at the Bobwhite Brigade, a fi ve-day camp near Coleman that teaches students about quail habitat, management and leadership skills, take a break to practice their clay shooting before the fi nal day’s competition. Photo by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Turning youth into leaders

Bobwhite Brigade teaches about quail, life


The enthusiasm of 30 young Texans masked their weari-ness during this year’s five-day Bobwhite Brigade at the Centennial Lodge near Coleman. And the camp is no picnic.

“They get about five hours of sleep each night — maybe,” said camp founder Dr. Dale Rollins of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “The agenda is pretty intense.”

A glance at each day’s activi-ties showed that every minute of each day is accounted for, with activities ranging from the classroom, where the cadets learn about quail, quail habi-tat, predators and management, to the field, where the cadets check dummy quail nests, locate bobwhites with transmitters through the GPS technology, and shoot clay targets.

Volunteers include wildlife biologists, county extension agents, landowners and educa-tors who act as team leaders and instructors. Many cadets, after completion of the camp, return for several years to act as assis-tant leaders.

Begun by Rollins in 1993, the Brigade was established with a mission to educate and empower youths with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource leg-acy.

Since that time, the model has been used in five other states, and the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society models its own summer camp after the Brigade. Other camps, sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas

See BRIGADE, Page 17

Wildlife habitat dollars still therePrograms provide assistance to landowners

See ASSISTANCE, Page 6

GOOD TIME FOR AN AXIS: Axis deer are rutting during the summer across much of Texas, and big bucks like the one taken by Heather Ray near Freer are falling daily. Photo by Mike Ray.

By Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

When the white-tailed deer hunting is tak-ing a hiatus in Texas, many hunters turn their attention to exotics — usually axis, blackbuck and fallow, but many other rams, African plains game and others can be hunted year-round in Texas.

And summer is the time to shoot a big axis buck.

Mike and Heather Ray recently took advan-

tage of the summer hunting season to take a trophy axis and blackbuck at the Living the Dream Trophy Ranch near Freer.

“The blackbuck were moving well and coming to water holes really well,” Mike said. “The axis were on the move, but didn’t seem to be in full rut yet. They were moving early morning and late evening.”

Near Gatesville, Bobby Greiger of Los Robles Exotic Ranch said his season is going great, although he’s telling people to bring

mud boots to the ranch to deal with the water.“We are drowning,” Greiger said with a

laugh. “It is either too hot or too wet to hunt some days. But the axis are going crazy right now. I was on the ranch this weekend and it seemed like every time I turned a corner, another axis was standing there.”

Greiger said the elk are growing like crazy with the lush grass and he is taking some big blackbuck.

See EXOTICS, Page 24

Summertime means exotics

Hunters switch gears in the heat


Coryell County man dies while hog hunting

A Central Texas man died after his ATV fell on him while he was hunting feral hogs.

The Coryell County Sheriff’s Office identified the accident victim as 73-year-old William King from Oglesby.

Sheriff Johnny Burks says King was dead at the scene along a riverbank southeast of Gatesville.

Investigators say King was with several other hunt-ers when his ATV approached the banks of the Leon River. Officials say King’s ATV slid down a 20-foot embankment and landed on top of him.

— Staff report


The Muy Grande Deer Contest held its annual celebration on June 14, and the world’s oldest deer contest is gearing up for its upcoming 50th anniversary.

The contest began in 1965 in Freer, when Leonel “Muy” Garza was the manager of the Center Circle Gas Station. Garza, known as “the deer hunt-er’s friend” for his willingness to help hunters and deliver emer-gency messages to deer leases in a time before cellphones and email, began the contest with one category, “The Widest Spread.” The first win-ner was Homer Garza, who still attends the event each year.

Leonel Garza didn’t have a prize for Homer in 1965, so he gave him his w r i s t w a t c h . Forty years later, Homer was pre-sented with a new, engraved watch to make up for the snafu.

Now, Muy Grande has nearly 80 catego-ries and donates scholarships to students in Duval and Freer counties, and past cate-

gory winners include country music legend George Strait and other celebrities.

The contest is run by Garza’s daughter, Imelda Sharber, and her husband, Kenneth, who in 2007 left his full-time job to work at Muy Grande. Leonel is still there and still scoring deer, though.

“Ten years ago, we figured he had scored about 18,000,” Imelda said. “There’s no tell-ing what the number is now.”

And he is still hunt-ing for big, typical whitetails.

“This year he shot the buck nxamed the ‘Duke of Duval’ on Ty Detmer’s T14 Ranch. It scored in the 170s.

This year’s event featured two Hall of Fame inductees.

“We had about 360 people this year,” Imelda said of the event, held at the Freer High School audi-torium. “We inducted Ty Detmer, the 1990 Heismann Trophy winner, and Jerry Tkac, the long-time guide at the Sombrerito Ranch in Webb County.”

The contest awarded jackets to about 200 winners

in the 80 categories, and every youth hunter with an entry received a trophy.

“We really want to encourage them,”

Imelda said, “and we have a great sponsor in TTT Ranch in Encinal that provides all of the trophies.”

In 2008, the Muy Grande opened its brand new building, which is part grocery store, sporting goods store, feed store, gas station and restaurant.

Next year, a celebration is planned for the 50th anniversary.

“It’s such a secret that we haven’t really figured it out ourselves,” Kenneth Sharber said. “We just know that we’re going to have a big blowout, we’re expecting about 1,500 people and the auditorium won’t be big enough.”

Imelda was short on details, but said South Texas hunters should watch and mark their calendars for the event.

“There is too much to tell,” she said. “We want to surprise our winners, but we’re going to have some great entertainment and lots of surprises. We have some extra deer scorers lined up. This is the year you’re going to want to win.”

World’s oldest deer contest enters 50th year

GOLDEN: Leonel Garza, left, who started the Muy Grande Deer Contest in 1965, visits with his friend, Jerry John-ston, at the contest’s award ceremony. This season will mark Muy Grande’s 50th anniversary. Photo by Karl Garcia.


EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program), administered by the local NRCS offi ce, may apply to wildlife work on the property. Primarily targeted at livestock, there is $4 million available in Texas for wildlife. It funds erosion control, water con-servation, wildlife and brush management, as well as bottomland hardwood restoration.

For a do-it-yourself landowner, NRCS may be the best choice for wildlife habitat work.

“NRCS has an estimated cost for types of work in the area, and pays one-half of the estimated cost,” Hayes said. “If you do all of the work yourself, it may pay for it all.”

EQIP applies in designated areas, where dedicated funds exist for bobwhite quail and lesser prairie chicken habitat, and prong-horn grassland restoration.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adminis-

ters Partners for Fish and Wildlife, designed to restore species that fall under their realm, including endangered species, and control-ling invasive species is a priority. The local USFWS biologist is the contact for land-owners desiring to participate. The program reimburses up to 60 percent of the actual cost of work performed.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department pro-grams include the Landowner Incentive Program that aids landowners interested in providing or improving wildlife habitat, and the Pastures for Upland Birds Program that assists landowners in restoring native grasses. Both are limited to areas of focus within the state, and the local TPWD biolo-gist is the contact to determine eligibility in the cost-sharing program.

The OPJV administers a Grassland Restoration Incentive Program in designated areas, with bobwhite habitat as a priority, and maps of eligible areas are available at its website.

AssistanceContinued from page 4


By the time most readers will put their eyes on this issue, there will be less than 65 days until the opening of dove season in the north zone.

Sixty-five days — A welcome number until the unofficial first hunting holiday in the state every year.

And, according to biologists, the state is doing reasonably well when it comes to growing crops dove love, such as sunflow-ers.

“Overall, the last few months have been pretty good,” said Robert Burns of the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension office. “Sunflowers are a later-planted crop, but they are doing very well now. However, the soil profile is down, still, so we need some rain in July or August to really get them through.

“East of Interstate 45 is good, west is not so good, but recent rains are helping.”

Shaun Oldenburger, migratory game bird specialist from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said he is hearing good things about the upcoming season.

“We have our annual dove surveys done, but we haven’t had a chance to analyze them,” Oldenburger said. “We’ll have those ready the first week of August, but there have been both positives and nega-tives with the recent storms. On the posi-tive side, the rain in South Texas has been very timely for the sunflowers.

“Those rains will help to delay matu-ration of the seeds, so they should be around in September instead of maturing in August.”

Oldenburger said the rains in the Rolling Plains and Panhandle regions helped fill stock tanks, where the majority of dove hunters focus during the season.

“Overall, we think numbers are up, both for whitewings and mourning dove,” he

PLENTY OF SUNFLOWERS: Dove hunters are watching a good crop of sunfl owers mature across the state as rains help crops take hold. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

Dove crop looks goodMoisture helping after recent rains

See CROP, Page 30

HELP AVAILABLE: State and federal programs still provide assistance for wildlife management, including disking fi elds, planting native vegetation and conducting prescribed burns. Photo by Marina Sams, LSON.


items a hunter could bring into the United States after an international hunt. Hunters could bring in the raw or tanned parts of an animal (such as the hide, horns and teeth). But items manufactured from an animal were not considered part of the hunting trophy.

“There were lots of instances where tusks, for example, had a protective brass band on the bottom and were seized because U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff considered them a ‘worked item,’” Freeman said. “It was a bla-tant overreach of authority.”

The intent was to discourage the com-mercial trade of items manufactured from animals, particularly endangered species, according to a USFWS release.

It states there were “concerns about the possible import of fully manufactured prod-ucts as part of a hunting trophy that were actually purchased at a store or from a taxi-dermist, for example, and were not made from the sport-hunted trophy animal.”

Laura Noguchi, a biologist who works in the USFWS’ Wildlife Trade and Conservation Branch, said the federal agency’s definition of a hunting trophy was adopted in the absence of one from CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

“That actually began the debate within CITES on what constituted a hunting tro-phy,” Noguchi said.

She said the USFWS did not bar hunt-ers from bringing items manufactured from their trophy animal into the coun-try. However, they had to bring them in as a “personal item.”

“It was a bit of a nuance,” Noguchi said. “Sometimes there was different paperwork involved. Sometimes there were different regulations involved, depending on the animal.”

CITES, made up of 180 countries, adopted its own definition of a hunting tro-phy in 2010. USFWS officials participated in working group discussions on the topic

and “agreed” with CITES’ definition, which allowed the importing of manufactured items made from a trophy animal.

However, it took four more years for USFWS to officially adopt a new definition.

“It had to go through our regulatory pro-cess,” Noguchi said. “We published the proposed rule in 2012, opened it to public comment, got a fair amount of input and now the final definition has just been pub-lished.”

Freeman said SCI and other hunting organizations lobbied hard for a new defini-tion the entire time.

“If you can’t keep your nose to the grind-stone, you’re not going to get anything done,” he said.

The new USFWS definition of hunt-ing trophy isn’t an exact copy of the one adopted by CITES, however. It contains what Noguchi calls “caveats” intended to tamp down the commercial trade of items made from endangered species.

“The manufactured items have to be in the same shipment as the raw or tanned parts of the sport-hunted animal and have to be for the personal use of the hunter,” Noguchi said. “The items have to be in num-bers that would reasonably be expected for the number of animals imported. Not in commercial quantities, basically. And the CITES’ document has to specify all the items included in the shipment, including the manufactured ones.”

While the new definition makes things more convenient for hunters, it could also serve a larger purpose, according to Freeman.

By allowing easier importation of items manufactured from hunting trophies, such as clothing or jewelry, it could encourage the employment of local artisans in host countries and reduce poaching.

“Potentially, this definition could result in building more jobs into the local com-munities involved in the safari business, the people around wildlife management areas,” Freeman said. “The more value financially that communities realize from wildlife, the greater incentive they have to be protective of wildlife in a sustainable manner.”

AdjustmentsContinued from page 1


FISHING

Awhale of a fi shAngler lands a large paddlefi shbelow Lake Livingston dam A UNIQUE SURPRISE: Houstonite Sam Brown caught this estimated 75-pound paddlefi sh near the Lake Livingston dam. More than 300,000 paddlefi sh were stocked

in the ’90s, but showed no signs of reproducing. Photo courtesy of Sam Brown.


Angler Sam Brown was a bit surprised with his catch in early June below Lake Livingston dam, thinking he had a hard-fi ghting alligator gar on the line.

“I was fi shing for alligator gar, and I had something on my line,” he said. “When it got closer to the boat, I thought I had a big catfi sh or something.”

In fact, Brown had a large paddlefi sh on his line. He estimated it weighed around 75 pounds, though he has no exact measurement. He had a chance to take a brief photo with his catch, then released it into the water.

Brown is originally from England, but has been liv-ing in the Houston area for a few months working as an engineer. He said he likes to spend time fi shing in the rivers north of Houston. He never expected to bring in a behemoth paddlefi sh, however.

“I didn’t even know we had them (paddlefi sh) around here,” he said, and pointed out that the fi sh put up quite a fi ght.

While the catch is rare, it’s not unheard of, said Texas Parks and Wildlife Department District Supervisor Mark Webb.

“For the most part, it’s pretty uncommon, and it’s especially uncommon for them to go for a hook and line,” Webb said.

Brown’s fi sh was caught on shrimp, and was hooked in the mouth. He didn’t know if the fi sh took the bait or was simply foul-hooked in the mouth.

Webb said TPWD stocked around 317,000 pad-dlefi sh between 1991 and 1999 in Lake Livingston, and the fi sh have shown no signs of reproduction. He assumed Brown’s catch was one of the original stocked fi sh.

“We haven’t seen any reproduction, so all of the fi sh in there are stocked,” Webb said. “Basically we aren’t sure, but some of those fi sh are between 15 and 24 years old. They’re typically big water, big river fi sh. Occasionally we will have an angler contact us, and

See PADDLEFISH, Page 11


Texas flounder are affected by water temperature more than most other fish.

Anglers and biologists on the Gulf Coast have noticed changes in where they find the fish over the past few decades, and things are changing once again.

“It’s very much about temper-ature,” Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Mark Fisher said. “There’s a direct relationship between it (temperature) and the juvenile’s survival.”

Fisher is the science direc-tor for the Coastal Fisheries Department of TPWD, and they have been noting this relation-

Away from the warmth

Flounder populations

changing with the weather

See FLOUNDER, Page 23

WHAT IS THAT? Largemouth bass and alligator gar are exhibiting sores with a black bug-like creature inside. Biologists say the sores are caused by fi sh lice, a small crustacean that feeds of the fi sh, and are usually not harmful to the fi sh. Photo by Mike Hughs, Lone Star Outdoor News.


There was something differ-ent about the bass landed from Falcon Lake in early June. Red spots, mostly on or toward the tail of the fish, were observed with a black spot inside.

“We’ve been seeing this all year,” said Falcon guide Stan Gerzenyi. “When you push on the red areas, a little bug like a mite comes out.”

Nearly all of the bass landed

over two days had one or more of the spots, and when the group reached the launch after the second day, game wardens were waiting.

“Did you see any of the red spots with mites?” they asked.

Randy Myers, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fish-eries biologist for the region, was at Falcon at the time col-lecting alligator gar to see if they were eating bass.

Bass, gar on Falcon hit by fi sh lice

See LICE, Page 23

PREFER IT CHILLY: Biologists and anglers have been noting changes in fl ounder populations when temperature changes. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Out-door News.


An angler’s legacy

Family shares love of

fly-fishing over three generations


“If I ever have sons, they are going to do all of the hunting and fishing they want,” Alfred Fowler said.

More than 80 years later, three generations of his off-spring sat down together to bring Alfred’s promise to fruition.

B.C., Benson and Burton Fowler are three generations of sportsmen; together they have been fly-fishing for a collective 160 years. Nestled in the woods of East Texas, their family has amassed a homestead surrounding a small 22-acre lake — they’ve also shared a lifetime of outdoor experiences together.

“In a Montgomery Ward catalog, I saw a Heddon Black Beauty rod and a Southbend rod, along with a pair of waders,” B.C. said, sitting at his home just off the lake. “I think I spent $66 on everything.”

That’s where it started, selling enough of his chickens and ducks to afford the gear, B.C. (now 80) jump-started what would become a generational tradition.

Benson, 58, began fly-fishing in Texas as a young boy, as well, with a 1970 Heddon fiberglass rod. His son, Burton, 22, got an even earlier start.

“There’s pictures of me on that dock, 1-year-old, catching crappie — on a fly rod even,” Burton said, sit-ting across from his father and grandfather.

“I had to tell him a hunting or fishing story every night

See FOWLERS, Page 29

A TRIO’S TRADITION: B.C., Benson and Burton Fowler (front to back) represent three generations of fly-fishermen. B.C.’s father, Alfred, began fishing in East Texas in the early 1900’s. Photo by Steve Schwartz, Lone Star Outdoor News.


n Saltwater reports: SEE MOREPage 14

Saltwater reports:

Live bait the choiceLAKE RAY HUBBARD — The hybrid stripers and sand bass fi shing have been steady on Lake

Ray Hubbard when the wind doesn’t blow anglers off the lake.According to multiple reports on the Texas Fishing Forum, hybrids are being caught over deep

lake humps and near the dam with Alabama-rigged soft plastics in white and chartreuse colors.However, the best success is coming with live bait.

The morning bite has been more consistent than the afternoon bite.The water temperature is about 82 degrees, with the crappie bite

being good on minnows and the largemouth bass bite decent near riprap on crankbaits.

East bank actionLAKE WACO — The popular summer catfi sh lake is producing again, especially in protected

coves out of the wind.According to anglers, the blue and channel cat bite has been good in the evenings along

the east bank using punchbait and stinkbait. The best bite has been in about 25 feet of water with baits fi shed near the bottom.

Along with a good catfi sh bite, the crappie bite has turned on for anglers using minnows and small jigs.

Water temperatures are around 80 degrees.

Heating up on HoustonLAKE HOUSTON — The catfi sh bite is on at Lake Houston, according to the Lake Houston

Catfi shing Guide Service.The spawn is ending, but catfi sh are being caught in all depths down to 20 feet, with some fi sh

on the bottom and others suspended. Water temperatures are rising to 90 degrees in the shallow areas during the afternoon.

Limits are being caught before noon on some days, while others it takes up to 8 hours to fi ll the boat. More blues are being caught than channels.

Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits and swimbaits, while crappie and bream are fair on live bait and small spinner baits.

To contact Lake Houston Catfi shing Guide Service, call (832) 439-7103.

— Conor Harrison

ALAN HENRY: Water stained; 74–82 degrees; 16.54’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on top-waters, fl ukes, Texas rigs and jigs.

AMISTAD: Water stained; 79–83 degrees; 45.69’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters, spin-ner baits, crankbaits and soft plas-tics. Striped bass are good on Red Fins, crankbaits and top-waters.

ATHENS: Water clear; 81–85 degrees; 0.20’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters and swim jigs early. Later in day Texas-rigged 7” worms in watermelon red are effective.

BASTROP: Water stained; 81–85 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on pumpkinseed crankbaits, spinner baits and soft plastics.

BELTON: Water murky; 75–79 degrees; 8.53’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits in coves and on perch-colored lipless crankbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on live shad. White bass are good on blue jigs.

BOB SANDLIN: Water clear; 82–85 degrees; 0.84’ low. Largemouth bass are good on poppers and shallow crankbaits in shad pat-terns.

BONHAM: Water clear, 80–84 de-grees; 2.14’ low. Largemouth bass are good on swimjigs, soft plastics and crankbaits on boat docks, ridges, creek channels and rocky points up to 15’ deep.

BRAUNIG: Water stained. Large-mouth bass are fair on spinner baits and dark soft plastic worms near the dam. Striped bass are good on liver and perch off points.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear, 78–82 degrees; 22.41’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on white medium crankbaits near riprap and green pumpkin shaky head worms on deeper docks.

BROWNWOOD: Water stained; 78–82 degrees; 10.82’ low. Large-mouth bass are good on green pumpkin and redbug soft plastic worms in 8–15 feet. White bass are good on minnows and small jigs off lighted docks at night in 10–12 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and white or shad Li’l

Fishies.

BUCHANAN: Water murky; 76–80 degrees; 27.33’ low. Largemouth bass are good on weightless wacky-rigged green pumpkin soft plastics with chartreuse tails, watermelon top-waters and white/chartreuse spinner baits along lake and creek points in 8–15 feet.

CADDO: Water stained; 81–84 degrees; 0.60’ high. Largemouth bass are good on bladed jigs and hollow-body frogs. White and yel-low bass are good on top-waters.

CALAVERAS: Water stained. Large-mouth bass are fair on watermelon soft plastics. Striped bass are slow. Redfi sh are fair down rigging silver and gold spoons in 10–20 feet.

CANYON LAKE: Water murky; 77–81 degrees; 8.06’ low. Large-mouth bass are good on tomato red grubs, green pumpkin Whacky Sticks on shaky head jigs, and Texas-rigged pumpkinseed fi nesse worms in 8–16 feet.

CEDAR CREEK: Water clear; 80–83 degrees; 3.08’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged craws and medium crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs.

CHOKE CANYON: Water stained; 78–82 degrees; 24.65’ low. Largemouth bass are good on wa-termelon crankbaits and large soft plastic lizards and worms.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 75–79 degrees; 17.20’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crank-baits, spinner baits, and soft plastic worms and lizards.

COLETO CREEK: Water stained; 84 degrees in main lake, 98 degrees at hot water discharge; 0.91’ low. Largemouth bass to 6 pounds are good on soft plastics and spinner baits in 6–8 feet. White bass are slow.

CONROE: Water stained; 77–81 degrees; 0.20’ high. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse lipless crankbaits and Carolina-rigged soft plastics, crankbaits and spinner baits.

COOPER: Water clear; 80–84 de-grees; 7.29’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on shallow crankbaits and top-waters.

FALCON: Water stained; 79–83 degrees; 32.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits and shallow-running crankbaits.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Large-mouth bass are good on shad-pat-terned shallow-running crankbaits and Texas- and Carolina-rigged soft plastic worms.

FORK: Water clear; 80–84 degrees; 3.18’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on football jigs, deep-diving crankbaits and Carolina-rigged soft plastics along deeper ledges.

FT. PHANTOM HILL: Water clear; 74–82 degrees; 14.26’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on black/blue jigs, lipless crankbaits and Texas rigs.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon red and chartreuse soft plastics and small crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows. Cat-fi sh are very good on stinkbait and frozen shrimp.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 78–82 degrees; 11.23’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red and chartreuse soft plastics, crank-baits and spinner baits.

GRANGER: Water stained; 77–81 degrees; 0.56’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are fair on lipless crankbaits along the roadbed at mid lake. Crappie are good on white tube jigs in 6–15 feet.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 79–83 degrees; 11.04’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shakyhead worms near main lake points and fl oating docks. Crappie are good on tube jigs.

HUBBARD CREEK: Water off-color; 75–84 degrees; 25.66’ low. Large-mouth bass are good on jigs, Texas rigs and weightless soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 80–83 degrees; 0.42’ low. Largemouth bass are good on fi nesse jigs and weightless worms. Crappie are slow on minnows and chartreuse jigs. White bass are good on slabs.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 81–84; degrees; 2.31’

high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits and worms. Crappie are good on tube jigs and minnows.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 81–85 degrees; 11.52’ low. Large-mouth bass are slow on deep-div-ing crankbaits and football jigs.

LBJ: Water stained; 77–81 degrees; 0.39’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon top-waters, watermelon jigs, and weightless watermelon red Texas-rigged Whacky Sticks in 6–10 feet early.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 79–83 degrees; 8.02’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on shaky heads and fl ick shake worms. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs and minnows.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 76–80 degrees; 0.37’ high. Large-mouth bass are fair on crankbaits and soft plastics. Striped bass are fair on white striper jigs.

MARTIN CREEK: Water clear; 80–83 degrees; 0.09’ high. Largemouth bass are good on bladed jigs and hollow-belly frogs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on minnows and slabs. Catfi sh are fair on trotlines and punch bait.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 80–85 degrees; 0.04’ high. Large-mouth bass are good on Texas-rigged green pumpkin paddletails and hollow-body frogs near shallow cover. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on trot-lines and prepared bait.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water stained; 77–81 degrees; 0.25’ high. Large-

mouth bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair but small on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs. Channel catfi sh are good on minnows and stinkbait in baited areas.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 75–81 degrees; 37.45’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, jigs and weightless fl ukes. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs shallow.

OAK CREEK: Water stained; 73–83 degrees; 22.12’ low. Largemouth bass are fair Texas-rigged lizards or worms, jigs and Senkos. Crappie are fair to good on live minnows.

PALESTINE: Water clear; 79–83 degrees; 0.14’ high. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin shaky heads and weightless plas-tics near docks. Crappie are good on white jigs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 74–81 degrees; 15.36’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on drop-shot rigs, jigs, lipless crankbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

PROCTOR: Water murky; 78–82 de-grees; 9.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits off points. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair on live shad and jigging spoons. Crappie are good on min-nows. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on cut bait.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 80–84 degrees; 8.83’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on Texas-rigged green pumpkin soft plastics near shallow timber. Crappie are slow on jigs and minnows.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water lightly stained; 79–83 degrees; 7.15’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium crankbaits and Carolina-rigged worms. White bass are good on top-waters and minnows. Hy-brid striper are good on minnows.

SAM RAYBURN: Water murky; 77–81 degrees; 0.09’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are good on silver spoons and slabs. Crappie are good on min-nows over brush piles and baited holes.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 76–80 degrees; 0.49’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. Hybrid striper are good on live shad off points. White bass are good on live shad off points.

STILLHOUSE: Water murky; 77–81 degrees; 8.99’ low. Largemouth bass are very good on watermelon spinner baits and lipless crank-baits.

SWEETWATER: Water murky; 75–82 degrees; 25.18’ low. Large-mouth bass are fair to good on fl ukes and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait.

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 81–85 degrees; 8.53’ low. Largemouth bass are good on hollow-body frogs and swim jigs near shallow cover. Crappie are fair on minnows.

TEXOMA: Water clear; 78–82 degrees; 7.89’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-water walking baits and Texas-rigged plastics. Crappie are fair on minnows and tube jigs.

TOLEDO BEND: Water murky; 78–82 degrees; 0.74’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastic worms and crankbaits. Striped bass are fair on bucktail jigs. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and slabs in the river.

TRAVIS: Water murky; 78–82 degrees; 50.55’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse lipless crankbaits, watermelon worms and smoke grubs in 8–24 feet. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair on white grubs and minnows.

WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are good on shad. Hybrid striper are fair on shad and spoons. White bass are fair on Charlie slabs and pet spoons.

WHITNEY: Water murky; 77–81 degrees; 11.45’ low. Largemouth bass are slow.

WRIGHT PATMAN: Water lightly stained; 81–85 degrees; 7.68’ high. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters and hollow-body frogs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs.

— TPWD

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT


By Shannon DraweFor Lone Star outdoor newS

Most Texans know about the great fly-fishing opportunities in the state.

It’s a little-known fact nationally that often gets overshadowed by some of the more traditional states for fly anglers like New Mexico, Colorado and Montana.

But savvy anglers made a harmonic convergence of Texas fly-fishing at the Texas Fly Fishing Expo held in New Braunfels.

The event, held June 12-14, sponsored by fly-fishing ven-dors and the International Federation of Fly Fishers, com-bined vendors, outfitters, fly shops, club representatives, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, lecturers, dem-onstrations and lessons for a weekend of showing people what fly-fishing in Texas is all about.

The area around New Braunfels, and reaching to Austin, is considered by many to be the epicenter of fly-fish-

ing in Texas fresh waters, with so many rivers and lakes to wet a line year-round. In fact, many fly-fishing guides call it home.

Along with the grow-ing guide business, there’s a healthy number of fly shops for anglers to get their hands

on products they may have only seen online.

The EXPO included lec-tures ranging from informa-tion about fly-fishing for Guadalupe River trout (the southernmost trout fishery in the USA), to fly-fishing the saltwater at the tip of the

Lower Laguna Madre.Dr. Rey Ramirez, of San

Benito, calls the Lower Laguna Madre home. His lecture offered a glimpse into the many places and ways to fly-fish the Lower Laguna Madre.

MEETING OF THE MINDS: Texas fl y-anglers recently gathered at at the Texas Fly Fishing Expo in New Braunfels to discuss fl y-fi shing throughout the state. Photo by Shannon Drawe, for LSON.

Expo a

wrapFly-fi shermen

converge in New Braunfels

See EXPO, Page 23

we do see them in our gill nets.”He said while the fi sh are surviv-

ing in the Trinity River, their lack of reproduction is most likely due to the silt conditions — loose soil covers up the eggs of the fi sh.

“It has to do with their spawn-ing habitats, because obviously they are surviving, but some-thing’s missing,” Webb said.

Other TPWD offi cials have speculated that the fi sh are repro-ducing in the Nueces and Sabine Rivers, but there is no conclusive evidence for spawning conditions. After Brown posted the image of his catch to Facebook, East Texas Woods and Waters shared the photo and received some feedback from other anglers in the area.

“Just so you know, the Sabine River is full of those things…big ones, small ones, little baby ones. Someone should do a study on them in the Sabine,” commenter Brady Green said on the page.

Victor Alfonso Padilla posted a photo of a smaller paddlefi sh he caught on Feb. 3.

“I caught one there in the morn-ing and didn’t know what it was,” he said. “It was a rare catch.”

Either way, paddlefi sh are sur-viving in Texas, for now.

“As far as survival in the stock-ings, we do have a good popu-lation,” Webb said. “But the question is, will we ever have reproduction to sustain a popula-tion?”

If that’s the case, Brown’s catch is more rare than ever these days.

“It was pretty cool, it fought pretty hard, especially since I caught it on light tackle,” he said.

The fi sh is currently listed as “threatened” by TPWD. It is illegal to purposely “catch, kill or harm paddlefi sh in Texas.”

PaddlefishContinued from page 8


HAND FISHERMEN CAUGHT USING POLE DURING TOURNAMENT

Smith County Game Warden Chris Swift was working Lake Palestine, at night, observing hand fisherman. He noticed a boat parked by some large rocks and went down the hill to investigate. After considerable sur-veillance, he observed a pole being used to help find catfish in the holes between the rocks. All four subjects were cited for violating hand fishing laws, as well as other citations. The group was also disqualified from the tournament they were fishing.

GILL-NETTERS CAUGHT ON BOLIVARGalveston County Game Warden

Jennifer Provaznik received a call about four individuals running a 150-foot gill net off the beach at Bolivar Peninsula. Provaznik and other wardens responded to the call. When they arrived at the location, the violators were identified and multiple citations were issued.

CALL TO WARDEN HELPS CATCH ROAD HUNTER

Burnet County Game Wardens Braxton Harris and Ronnie Langford responded to a call where a person was seen shooting at deer from the roadway. The Marble Falls Police Department located the vehicle. Charges were filed on the individual for hunting deer in closed season and discharging a firearm from a public roadway.

MAN STOPPED WITH 11 SNAKES AND A LIZARD IN VEHICLE

Williamson County Game Warden Turk Jones received a midnight phone call informing him that a state trooper had pulled over a vehi-cle’s driver for potential driving while intoxicated. When the driver exited, he approached the trooper with a live snake in his hand. The trooper drew his weapon, moved to dark-

ness, and ordered the man to put the snake down. Once in custody, the driver informed the trooper that his van was full of venomous snakes. Jones arrived at the scene to iden-tify the snakes. The subject had 10 nonvenomous snakes, consisting of milk snakes to boa constrictors and pythons. He had one rattlesnake, which supposedly had the venom sacs removed. He also had one tegu lizard that was over 3-feet long. The man was arrested for DWI and his van was impounded. The snakes and lizard were loaded up in the Williamson County animal control truck and Jones’ truck to be trans-ported to the Williamson County Animal Shelter.

HOG HUNTER SHOOTS HIMSELF IN FOOT

Lavaca County Warden Kerry Peterson investigated an accident in which a man discharged a rifle into his foot while hog hunting.

GATOR SHOT AFTER EATING CATTLE EGRET PLACED ON GATOR LINE

A subject pled guilty to two

charges filed by Chambers County Game Warden David Vannoy. One case stemmed from a complaint of a dead alligator in the front yard of a residence. Vannoy responded to find the alligator there, but no one was home. The alligator had cut marks indicating that someone had tried to skin it out, but had not finished the job. Vannoy spoke with several sur-rounding neighbors, but none had knowledge of the alligator. A subject contacted TPWD dispatch the next morning to confess to killing the alli-gator. Vannoy met with the subject later that day and recognized him because he had issued him a cita-tion for fishing without a license just 10 days earlier. The subject said his motivation for killing the alliga-tor was because it was going to eat the ducks on a private pond. When Vannoy asked him how he knew a 4-foot alligator was going to eat the ducks, the subject said he knew it would eat them because the alliga-tor had already eaten the cattle egret that he placed on a gator line. He also told Vannoy that he didn’t fin-ish skinning the alligator because

his cousin cut himself while skinning the alligator and had to go to the ER.

BASS USED AS GAR BAITZapata County Game Wardens Kyle

Allison and Bryan Dulock, along with Jim Hogg County Game Warden Carlos Maldonado, were patrolling Falcon International Reservoir when they stopped a vessel for a water safety inspection. During the inspection, a largemouth bass was discovered in an ice chest with the head removed. When the wardens asked the fisher-men what they did with the head, they replied, “We were using it as gar bait.” A citation and a warning were issued.

BLOOD ON HANDS DURING TRAFFIC STOP: PASSENGER SAYS FROM DEER,

DRIVER SAYS FROM A LAMBStarr County Game Warden Brad

Whitworth assisted a state trooper on a traffic stop. The passenger in the vehicle had fresh blood on his hands. When the trooper asked about the blood, the passenger said they had just cleaned a deer. The driver, however, said it was a lamb and that

they were going to buy ice to put the meat in a cooler. After the stop, the trooper and Whitworth followed the vehicle back a their residence. They observed the two men packing meat in an ice chest. After a few questions, they admitted to having just cleaned a whitetail deer. Cases pending.

MEN FISHING WITHOUT LICENSE BLAME MAN SLEEPING IN TRUCK FOR

CATCHING BASSTravis County Game Warden Jeff

Hill was observing bank fishermen on the opposite shore of Lake Austin when two men walked by his patrol vehicle carrying three largemouth bass and fishing rods. Upon contact, the subjects said they did not have a fishing license. When ask whose fish those were, they said, “They’re not mine.” When asked whose they were, they pointed at each other and then pointed to their friend that was sleep-ing in the pickup truck. Citations were issued to the men in possession of the bass.

OWNER GRATEFUL HIS STOLEN PONTOON WAS RETURNED

Williamson County Game Warden Turk Jones and the Marine Investigation Unit received a call from Travis County Game Warden Theron Oatman concerning a boat. Oatman responded to a disturbance with police officers, and one of the subjects had a pontoon boat hooked up to his truck. Oatman discovered the pontoon boat and trailer were reported stolen the day before and called Jones. Oatman obtained a statement from the man, took pos-session of the boat and transported it to the Temple Regional Office. Jones made contact with the owner and was able to get the boat back to him. The boat had been stolen a few weeks earlier from a storage facility but had not been discovered missing for several days.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTERPRONGHORN POACHER CAUGHT AFTER

GIVING BUSINESS CARD TO LANDOWNERA carcass of a buck pronghorn was discovered by

a landowner in Carson County, who notified Carson County Game Warden Lance Lindley. The carcass had been left lying in the field with its head gone. The landowner had stopped to help two men in the area who were stopped with the hood of their truck raised, but didn’t discover the pronghorn until three hours later. The men in the vehicle said they were checking their radiator fluid and gave the landowner a business card for welding services. Lindley found evidence at the scene showing these individuals illegally shot the pronghorn and used the business card, with assis-tance from Hemphill County Game Warden Mark Collins, to locate the subject. Collins obtained a ver-

bal confession from the driver. Lindley later obtained a written confession that implicated the passenger, a convicted felon, as the shooter. An arrest war-rant was obtained for the passenger but was unable to be served. A neighbor called when the passenger returned to his trailer, and asked the wardens to hurry because he had been target shooting and the wanted subject shot back at his residence, leaving a hole in the garage door. Lindley, along with two deputies, arrested the subject without incident and a search warrant revealed the rifle and casings, methamphet-amines and drug paraphernalia. The subject, who had previous charges for pronghorn poaching, was taken to jail.



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

SOUTH SABINE: Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout are fair to good around Lighthouse Cove and around the jetty rocks on top-waters.

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on soft plastics and plugs. Black drum and redfi sh are good at Rollover Pass. Croakers are good on dead shrimp in the channel and around the pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on soft plastics. Trout are fair to good at the wells on live bait and plastics. Redfi sh and trout are fair to good at the spillway on shrimp.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are good while work-ing the edges of reefs on soft plastics and top-

waters. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. Trout are good on croakers in the Ship Channel.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good for drifters working shell on live shrimp. Trout, sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp. Tarpon are showing on the beachfront. Kingfi sh, ling and dorado are good offshore.

TEXAS CITY: Trout are good on the channel on croakers. Trout are good on the reefs and wells on live bait.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Trout and sand trout are good at the jetties on shrimp and DOA Shrimp.

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

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of Oyster Lake on shrimp and crabs. Trout are fair on sand and grass on soft plastics and croakers.

PORT O’CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are good on croakers on the reefs in San Antonio Bay. Trout and redfi sh are fair at the mouths of bayous on the outgoing tide. Redfi sh are good at the jetty on shrimp and mullet.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair in Big Bayou on free–lined shrimp. Trout are fair over grass while drifting with live shrimp. Redfi sh are good on the edge of the ICW on mullet.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfi sh are fair to good at East Flats on shrimp. Redfi sh and sheepshead are fair to good at the jetty on shrimp. Offshore is good for sharks, ling and kingfi sh.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Trout are fair to good on the edge of the spoils on scented plastics and live shrimp. Trout are good in the sand and grass

holes and humps on croakers and shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair in mud and grass on Corkies and top-waters. Trout are fair to good in the Land Cut on live shrimp. Trout are fair to good while drifting with top-waters at Rocky Slough.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are good on top-waters around sand and grass and pods of mullet. Red-fi sh are fair to good while drifting potholes and sand fl ats with scented plastics under a popping cork.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout are good around the spoil islands, channel edges and color changes on DOA Shrimp. Tarpon, snook, trout and Spanish mackerel are good at the jetty on live bait.

PORT ISABEL: Trout and redfi sh are fair to good at Gas Well Flats on live shrimp. Trout are fair to good around the channel edges by the causeway on shrimp under a popping cork.

— TPWD

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORTFinding clearer water

REDFISH BAY — Even though high winds and muddy water has made fi shing tougher than normal, anglers are still reporting a good trout bite in spots around Redfi sh Bay, especially near the Cali Hole and Hog Island.

When anglers can fi nd pockets of clearer water, throwing live shrimp and drifting with cut menhaden or skipjack have caught lots of keeper-sized trout, with the occasional fi sh over 24 inches.

Along with speckled trout, sand trout have been plentiful, along with fl ounder on some days. Soft and scented plastics, along with some top-water action was reported by multiple anglers on 2coolfi shing.com.

Fit for a kingOFFSHORE ARANSAS PASS — Charter boats have been having good success offshore tar-

geting oil rigs and structure out to 50 miles off of the midcoast.Dolphin Dock Deep Sea Fishing reported a good trip last week in which kingfi sh were the

main species caught. Along with a large num-ber of kingfi sh, African pompano, blacktip

sharks, ling and vermilion snapper were also hauled aboard.

Cut bait was the main choice,

along with some squid.Red snapper are also still plentiful on just about any structure the boat pulls up to fi sh.To contact Dolphin Docks, call (800) 393-3474.

Chasing gullsEAST SHORELINE SABINE — The east shoreline of Sabine Lake has clearer water and bet-

ter fi shing, according to Capt. Dickie Colburn.However, other areas of the lake are slow.“The extreme north end of the lake as well as the ICW and river was pretty dirty and we

could put nothing together while fi shing those areas early on a slow outgoing tide,” Colburn said. “Until the water gets a litle clearer (salinity has not been a problem) catching may require joining the crowd chasing gulls or fi sh south of the Causeway for us to consistently catch fi sh, and the wind is still a major factor in deciding which option to exercise.”

Colburn said bigger trout are being caught on big soft plastics with a longer tail and lighter head.

But, a lot of moving, chasing and looking is required to stay on the trout in Sabine.

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

— Conor Harrison


Sometimes the best lessons in life are the ones that are learned the hard way.

Fourteen-year-old John Fuentes, a rising fresh-man at Veterans Memorial High School in Mission, was recently on a fishing trip with his family near Arroyo City.

After his first time on a boat, where he caught a small redfish, the family returned to their house, where they had a fishing pier. The group decided to spend the evening fishing from the dock.

“They stayed up all night,” said Fuentes’ mom, Yvonne Gulley. “It was right after mid-night, about 12:15 a.m., when he caught another redfish.”

Fuentes said he wanted to go to bed after a long day on the boat, but decided if the family was staying up to catch fish, he would also.

“It was fun when we started because we were catching a ton of hardhead catfish,” he said. “Within five minutes of baiting a hook, I got another bite. As I was bringing it in, it looked like another hardhead. We put it in the net and saw a tag on the side of a redfish.

“Nobody knew what it was

— I thought it was injured.”After reading the tag, the

group, with nobody registered for the Coastal Conservation Association Texas STAR Tournament, began to realize the rarity of their catch.

“It didn’t really hit me until I learned how rare it is to catch one,” Fuentes said.

Gulley said the group called CCA to notify them they had caught a tagged redfish, but no thought was ever given to registering the next morning and attempting to collect the prize — a scholarship in lieu

of the truck and boat package because Fuentes is under 16 years old.

“I was really bummed, because this fish could have been worth up to $100,000,” Gulley said. “Of course, we were bummed, but we were not going to lie about it.”

Fuentes said some jokes were made about trying to collect the prize, but he was always going to do the right thing.

“The right thing to do was tell the truth,” he said. “But, we are registered now.”

— Staff report

LESSON LEARNED: John Fuentes holds the tagged redfi sh he caught that would have won him a big scholarship if he had been entered in the STAR Tournament. Photo by STAR Tournament.

Missed opportunityAngler catches tagged STAR redfi sh, takes honest routeCCA Star leaderboard

Two straight for Bebber, Wilson

The red-hot team of Charles Bebber and Kris Wilson won their second Platinum Team Trail event of the season on Lake Ray Roberts with a winning weight of 35.86 pounds.

The pair took home $36,400 in cash for taking the second event of the PTT season.

This was their second win in a row

after winning the Sam Rayburn event back in December. The next tourna-ment will be Aug. 9-10 on Amistad International Reservoir, where the duo will look to make it three straight before heading to the season fi nale on Lake Texoma in September.

The big bass of the tournament was caught by the team of Terry Peacock and Red McPeak and weighed 9.72 pounds.

— Staff report




Water temperatures were just comfortable enough to go sans waders as Capt. Ted Springer stepped onto a grassy bed in the Lower Laguna Madre near Port Mansfield.

Bites were sparse as he twitched his silver MirrOrlure over the shallow area of the underwater island, but the bites that did come counted. A 27-inch trout hit the twitchbait as it sank and he got a solid strike, planted the hook firmly and eventually brought the 8-pound fish to the net.

“Alright big mama, there you go,” Springer said, as he released the fish after a quick photo oppor-tunity.

This is the common scene on the Gulf Coast as of late. Trout bites are a bit slow, but they are trending bigger, according to Springer.

“We haven’t seen fish like this in a long time (in the Lower Laguna Madre),” he said, prior to heading out for a full day of fishing.

Throughout the day, fish were hitting on sinking twitchbaits, flukes and swimbaits — oftentimes the deeper the better. Smaller trout grouped up along the Intracoastal Waterway, hitting on top-waters worked quickly along the surface.

According to Capt. Mark Talasek, the bite has been sporadic in Matagorda Bay, but there have been some trophy fish hitting their bait.

“I’ve been mainly drifting the East Bay with live shrimp,” Talasek said, stipulating that when the winds allow, they take advan-tage of the calmer weather. “When the winds laid, I had three days in a row of trophy trout over 25 inches.”

He said temperatures are soar-ing quickly after a cool stretch, and fresh water coming into the estuar-ies are producing plenty of bait for the trout.

“We went from wearing waders in May to 90-degree temperatures in a matter of no time,” he said. “We are reaping the benefits of a wet winter. The freshwater influx into our estuaries has produced a good shrimp crop for our fish to eat.”

Outlooks aren’t quite as bright in the Rockport area.

Capt. Jay Watkins said the fish-ing hasn’t been up to par during the past few weeks — high winds and rough conditions are keeping the fish at bay, so to speak.

“It’s been tough, extremely tough considering the time of year it is,” Watkins said. “Even the seri-

ous croaker guys are struggling.”Still, that doesn’t mean they

aren’t catching any. Conditions just aren’t up to Aransas Bay stan-dards. He said soft plastics and top-water twitchbaits have been bringing in some small, but slot-sized trout, along with some red-fish. Water temperatures are warm, 85-88 degrees, coupled with winds gusting to 30 mph.

“We’ve just got to weather this little storm,” he said. “I’ve been here 35 years and I’ve seen it great and terrible. Just right now, the tough days far outweigh the good ones.”

Captain Mark Talasek, (979) 479-1397Captain Ted Springer, (832) 724-5463Captain Jay Watkins, (361) 463-1074

Wildlife Association Foundation, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, have been established in Texas, including the Buckskin Brigade, Bass Brigade, Ranch Brigade and Waterfowl Brigade.

Tests and presentations fill the remainder of the hours of the 13- to 17-year-olds, with other projects being completed in the wee hours, eliminating any

thoughts of free time. Cadets give mock radio and television interviews, learn about journalism in pre-paring their camp essay to submit to the media, par-ticipate in teambuilding exercises and learn public speaking methods to share the message of the Brigade with others.

“It’s amazing to see the difference in these kids after five days,” Rollins said. “They come here shy and reserved and leave with confidence.”

One cadet shared her favorite moment of the camp.“I felt the soft feathers and the quivering body of

a bobwhite in my hand,” she said. “Then I released him.”

BrigadeContinued from page 4

SOME BIGGER THAN OTHERS: Capt. Ted Springer, above, has been reporting some slow bites, but when they do hit — they hit big, like this 27-inch trout. Conditions have been windy and rough, but they are taking advantage of fi shable conditions when they can. Photo by Steve Schwartz, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Trout bite a mixed

bagResults, opinions vary on the Gulf Coast

Harrell, Reavis win high school tournament on Rayburn

Dillon Harrell, from Porter, and Brendan Reavis, of Corrigan Camden High School, teamed up to win the 2014 Sam Rayburn Open High School tournament June 22 at Cassells Boykin Park on Sam

Rayburn Reservoir.“We had a good limit by 7 a.m.

this morning and were able to cull a few times to get us over the 20-pound mark,” said Harrell, as the two anglers brought an impres-sive 22-pound, 11-ounce sack to outdistance the 66-boat field at the second annual event.

Finishing second was the team of Michael Snook and Josh Perrin, who also had a limit of bass that weighed in at 16 pounds, 14 ounces to claim the runner-up spot.

Hunter Curry and Josh Russell from host Broaddus High School also had a nice limit of Rayburn bass that weighed in at 15 pounds even to finish third.

All three of these teams claimed qualifying berths in the Southern Conference Regional Championship, which will be held on the Red River in Shreveport, La. later this fall.

Tanner Cox of Buna High School claimed the Lew’s Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 3-ounce kicker.

— Staff report


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

HEROES

WHITT HORTON of Fort Worth took this 225-pound boar with his .243 while hunting with his dad in Palo Pinto County.

JESSICA CLYMER har-vested this javelina on a recent Ladies Wounded Warrior Hero Celebration with Trinity Oaks.

BETTE CARTER, of Murphy, with this year’s toms taken 10 minutes into the hunt.

The COHN fam-ily — ANNA, JOE and dad, DONALD — recently tried a small fishing rod made by Awesome Rods and were impressed with the results, es-pecially ANNA’S 5-pound bass.


The process is fairly simple, but involves numerous processes hap-pening in the blink of an eye.

“You have to get something heavy enough to make the spool spin, like a lure, but if you don’t stop the spool when the lure hits the water, that spool keeps spinning,” he said. “The line that is no longer moving creates loops, which con-tinue to wrap around the spool.”

He said the loops eventually begin to wrap around themselves, creating slipknots on top of the line — and this all happens in a fraction of a second.

“The loop is the line that has stopped spinning, if you haven’t feathered the spool with your thumb,” he said. “The knot (created by the loop) is not your conven-tional square knot that you would tie. It’s throwing that line out and it has no place to go.”

James Niggemeyer, a professional angler and guide on Lake Fork since 2001, has seen his fair share of the business end of backlashes, and he said the issues don’t stop at the loop.

“You’re generating a lot of spool rotations and the line isn’t leaving fast enough,” Niggemeyer said. “It sends the loops underneath the line when it puffs up. The line is parallel with the line at the top of the spool.”

It’s a lot happening very quickly; overlapping loops rotating over themselves and also tucking under-neath expanding line off of the reel.

And there’s your backlash — the bane of an angler’s existence. It could be worse, Moore pointed out. In fact, it used to be a lot worse, before reel manufacturers incorpo-rated brakes and anti-backlash fea-tures using magnets.

“Older reels used to have a lot more gears and moving parts,” he said. “They were a lot harder to slow down. We had a lot of backlashes, and they were more prevalent back then.”

Niggemeyer said anglers feel like they need to cast heavy lures as hard as they did when reels had more moving parts, and more resis-tance. It puts exponentially more force on the line when it leaves the reel.

Moore has seen line get looped inside the casing of the reel and do some signifi cant damage, but in the least it causes some frustration to the angler. Over the years, some of the worst backlashes have sent some business his way.

“That line can get behind the spool and bend the spool shaft, then you have to come see me,” he said. “You can do some pretty good damage if you’re not careful. You just have to fi nd some way of slow-ing that spool down as fast as pos-sible.”

That’s the key — stopping the process, Niggemeyer said.

“That’s the issue; creating a big-ger problem than you already have,” he said. “I’ll try and get the rod away from a client before they get impatient.”

As far as getting the line out, that answer is not quite as clear.

“There’s no magic bullet for get-ting that line out,” Moore said. “I’ve done everything from jerking on the line to cutting the dadgum thing out.”

Niggemeyer said all it takes is time and patience, which can per-turb some anglers, especially since a backlash squeezes so much chaos into such a short period of time. One thing that both Moore and Niggemeyer pointed out, however, is that backlashes aren’t just for novices.

“They can, and will, happen to anybody,” Niggemeyer said.

BacklashContinued from page 1

RodeoContinued from page 1

catch sharks to win prizes. Through partnership with and tags supplied by the Harte Research Institute, researchers are able to examine seasonal migration, habitat use, and movement patterns of coastal sharks through traditional mark-and-recapture techniques to understand their migration and habitat use.

“Overall, we’re looking at shark distribution in the Gulf,” said Greg Stunz, endowed chair for fisheries and ocean health with HRI. “This allows us to have a tagging effort that is unprece-dented — it’s great information to have all of these fishermen tagging for you — we couldn’t afford to do without their help.

We’ll exceed 2,000 sharks that are tagged this year.”

The Rodeo was held years ago out of Corpus Christi, but became too much work for its founder, Lou McEachern. The event was brought back to life by Sharkathon, the large, annual shark tournament that will take place in September this year. The Rodeo began March 21 and ends Dec. 31.

The rules of the event are pretty simple. Anglers must fish from a Texas shore or jetty, as pier fishing and fishing from a boat are not allowed.

“Once we catch a fish, we tag it, photograph it with a ruler and release it,” Cano said. “Depending on the quantity and size of the fish, points are awarded.”

Fishing Locos, who fish out of South Padre Island, has since slid to fourth place, and team

Rockstar out of Corpus is cur-rently running away with the lead.

“They are blowing us out of the water,” Cano said, “but in August, the tiger sharks should come in. They are catching some really big ones, though.”

Fishing Locos use 10- to 12-foot surf rods spooled with 120-pound-test line, using fresh whiting, stingray or jack cre-valle as bait. When casting for sharks, they make and attach stainless steel leaders.

“We usually kayak the bait out,” Cano said, “but we’ve had trouble with all of the sar-gassum this year; when there is a long stretch of line in the water it catches the grass. A tower on top of the truck helps — less line is in the water.”

The team rarely fishes the jetties, as the jagged rocks make the sharks hard to land.

“The rocks are tough on the sharks,” he said. “If we catch one, it’s best to walk them toward the beach.”

There have been added ben-efits to the team in joining the Rodeo.

“We’ve met a lot of guys through social media,” Cano said. “One guy in Corpus got his leg bit by a shark when he was releasing it. And we’re try-ing to get the younger kids that are out there fishing into it so they will understand identify-ing the sharks and catch and release.”

Other fishermen seek out the group when they are fish-ing, too.

“People catch a shark and ask us whether they can keep it,” Cano said. “We help them iden-tify it, but we usually tell them if they don’t know for sure what it is, they should throw it back.”


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WILD ESTROUS BOMB SCENT AND VISUAL ATTRACTANT:

Wildgame Innovations’ scent at-tractants can lure deer in, run

them away or lead them astray during the rut. Its newest, the

Wild Estrus Bomb, appeals not only to a deer’s sense of smell but also to the swift animal’s keen eyesight. In addition to

containing pure whitetail deer urine, the attractant includes

the company’s UV additive, which works as a visual attrac-

tant to deer. The scent is de-livered via aerosol can, which

utilizes a specialized nozzle to emit either a continuous

spray or a burst of spray. A fi ve-ounce can sells for about $10.

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RAIL MASTER PRO UNI-VERSAL GREEN LASER

SIGHT & TACTICAL LIGHT: Crim-son Trace combines two tactical tools in

one compact unit that is designed to fi t most mod-ern pistols, rifl es and shotguns with an M1913 Picatin-

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ECHO 301C FISHFIND-ER: This unit by Gar-

min is a powerful, simple-to-use fi sh-fi nder featuring a built-in advanced

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kHz transducer. The bright 3.5-inch color display is readable in sunlight. Its peak-to-peak power provides clear target separa-

tion and structure de-tails down to about 1,750 feet maximum. The unit’s graphics provide uninter-

rupted imagery when switching between depth-range scales, and wide

viewing-cone angles optimize perfor-mance for use in deep or shallow wa-

ter. The fi shfi nder comes with a quick-release tilt/swivel mount and transom/

trolling transducer mount kit. A portable kit also is available so that anglers can

take the Echo 301c on any boat, kayak, canoe, etc. The fi shfi nder sells for about

$200.

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STAINLESS STEEL STRINGER: Lone Star Outdoor News’ Steve Schwartz had a chance to test drive Stinky Pants’ premier stainless steel stringer while wade fi shing the Laguna Madre. These things are as solid as a string-er gets. While they may be more rigid than a normal

rope model, owner Jason Paul has nailed this solid 12-foot design. A 920-pound stainless steel cable is

wrapped in either a nylon or vinyl coating, and had al-most no friction when stringing on some trout. The metal tip threaded the fi sh clean, and did no dam-

age to fi sh that were eventually released into the bay. The cables did not kink in any form or fashion, and the fi shermen never had to worry about getting tan-gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid

across the entirety of the cable. This stringer can take a beating and retails for $26.99 in several different colors.

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gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid across the entirety of the cable. This stringer can take a across the entirety of the cable. This stringer can take a

the fi shermen never had to worry about getting tan-gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid gled up in the stringer.The foam fl oater is easily slid


Andrew Klein and his dad, Martin, are no strangers to fi nding hybrid striped bass on their home waters of Lake Palestine.

Most summer afternoons, you can fi nd the pair out and about chasing fi sh.

It was there several weeks ago when Andrew, 8, felt a bigger-than-normal tug on his line with a white Sassy Shad on the other end.

“I was fi shing for hybrids and this one pulled me around the boat,” Andrew said. “I fought the fi sh for about seven minutes.”

Martin said it was probably seven minutes in Andrew time, but more like two or three actual minutes, but “it really did take him all around the boat.”

Once the big hybrid got to the boat, it was time to get the fi sh in the net and see how far it pulled the scale in the boat.

“We defi nitely had to net it,” Martin said. “When we got it into the boat, he was stoked, but not quite as stoked as when he caught a 39-pound yellow catfi sh last year.”

The big hybrid pulled the scales down to the 8-pound range — big enough the anglers had a decision to make.

“Dad asked if I wanted to keep fi shing or go to the marina to put it on the scales there,” Andrew said. “I told him, ‘Let’s go.’ I was so happy. I knew the fi sh would break my friend’s record.”

At Creekside Sports in Chandler, the hybrid tipped the scales at 7.1 pounds, making it the new junior angler record hybrid for Lake Palestine.

“The previous record was 7.03 pounds,”

Martin said, “and one of his best friends had the lake record previously. We’ve been trying to catch the record for a while.”

Instead of the usual fi sh mount or plaque, Andrew’s mom made him a painting to com-memorate the new record.

Did catching the new record slow Andrew down from fi shing this summer? Absolutely not,

according to his dad.“We were out today and caught another 40,”

he said. While Andrew might currently hold the

record, he knows his friend is out to reclaim the top spot.

“Yes, sir, I’ll be out there a lot this summer,” Andrew said.

Besting a friendYoung angler catches lake record held by buddy

NEW RECORD: Andrew Klein caught the new Lake Palestine junior lake record for hybrid striped bass at 7.1 pounds. His mom made the fi sh por-trait he is holding. Photo by Martin Klein.


Moon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 28

Sun Moon Tides| |

40-50 shrimp1 zucchini, chopped1 14 oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts, well drained1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes1 tbsp. capersJuice of one lemon (about 2 tbsps.)1-1/4 cups uncooked orzo pasta (may substitute rice)

Heat large 12’’ skillet for 1 minute on medium high heat. Add shrimp and zucchini sauté for 8 minutes, stirring periodically. Add artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, capers and lemon juice and stir. Continue sautéing for 3-5 minutes (or until shrimp is fully cooked) stirring periodically. Serve over orzo pasta.

— aboutseafood.com

1 lb. ground venison1 packet taco seasoning1 package frozen mixed vegetables1 28 oz. can tomatoes, undrained1 15 oz. can kidney beans, und-rained1 cube beef bouillonTortilla chips, regular or flavoredshredded cheese

Brown the meat in a skillet, Dutch oven, or large pot. Drain if neces-sary. Place meat in a soup pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir together. Add a little water if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10–15 min-utes. Dip into bowls and top with cheese. Use the chips for dipping or as spoons.

— backwoodsbound.com

Venison taco soup

Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, northDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 5:48 AM 1.6H 11:07 AM 1.2L 2:36 PM 1.3H 10:22 PM -0.3LJune 28 6:19 AM 1.6H 11:33 AM 1.2L 3:03 PM 1.3H 10:58 PM -0.2LJune 29 6:48 AM 1.6H 12:07 PM 1.2L 3:35 PM 1.2H 11:35 PM -0.1LJune 30 7:19 AM 1.5H 12:50 PM 1.1L 4:18 PM 1.2HJuly 01 12:12 AM 0.1L 7:50 AM 1.5H 1:41 PM 1.0L 5:16 PM 1.1 HJuly 02 12:51 AM 0.3L 8:22 AM 1.4H 2:36 PM 0.9L 6:46 PM 1.0 HJuly 03 1:32 AM 0.5L 8:52 AM 1.4H 3:29 PM 0.7L 9:00 PM 0.9 HJuly 04 2:20 AM 0.7L 9:21 AM 1.3H 4:16 PM 0.5L 11:07 PM 1.0 HJuly 05 3:19 AM 0.8L 9:45 AM 1.3H 5:01 PM 0.3LJuly 06 12:36 AM 1.2H 4:32 AM 1.0L 10:09 AM 1.3H 5:43 PM 0.1LJuly 07 1:38 AM 1.3H 5:51 AM 1.1L 10:35 AM 1.3H 6:26 PM -0.1LJuly 08 2:25 AM 1.5H 7:01 AM 1.2L 11:12 AM 1.4H`7:10 PM -0.3LJuly 09 3:07 AM 1.6H 7:55 AM 1.3L 11:58 AM 1.4H 7:55 PM -0.5LJuly 10 3:47 AM 1.7H 8:41 AM 1.3L 12:50 PM 1.5H 8:41 PM -0.6LJuly 11 4:26 AM 1.8H 9:23 AM 1.2L 1:46 PM 1.5H 9:29 PM -0.7L

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 11:34 AM 0.6HJune 28 12:42 AM -0.3L 11:49 AM 0.6HJune 29 1:11 AM -0.2L 11:54 AM 0.5HJune 30 1:41 AM -0.2L 12:05 PM 0.5HJuly 01 2:13 AM -0.2L 12:20 PM 0.4HJuly 02 2:46 AM -0.1L 12:24 PM 0.4HJuly 03 3:18 AM 0.0L 11:20 AM 0.3HJuly 04 3:38 AM 0.1L 10:55 AM 0.3H 6:51 PM 0.0LJuly 05 10:00 AM 0.3H 7:18 PM -0.1LJuly 06 9:33 AM 0.4H 7:53 PM -0.2LJuly 07 9:05 AM 0.5H 8:34 PM -0.2LJuly 08 9:03 AM 0.5H 9:18 PM -0.3LJuly 09 9:34 AM 0.6H 10:05 PM -0.4LJuly 10 10:17 AM 0.6H 10:53 PM -0.4LJuly 11 11:05 AM 0.6H 11:42 PM -0.4L

Bowtie shrimp pasta and red wine vinaigrette

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

Rollover PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 1:46 AM 0.0L 11:10 AM 1.4HJune 28 2:19 AM 0.1L 11:40 AM 1.3HJune 29 2:42 AM 0.2L 11:51 AM 1.3HJune 30 3:00 AM 0.2L 11:36 AM 1.2HJuly 01 3:23 AM 0.3L 11:33 AM 1.2HJuly 02 3:53 AM 0.4L 11:47 AM 1.2H 7:33 PM 0.8L 10:27 PM 0.9 HJuly 03 4:29 AM 0.5L 12:07 PM 1.2H 8:03 PM 0.6LJuly 04 12:11 AM 0.8H 5:10 AM 0.6L 12:29 PM 1.2H 8:33 PM 0.5LJuly 05 2:06 AM 0.9H 6:01 AM 0.8L 12:52 PM 1.1H 9:06 PM 0.3LJuly 06 4:46 AM 1.0H 7:18 AM 1.0L 1:15 PM 1.1H 9:43 PM 0.2LJuly 07 6:35 AM 1.1H 11:16 AM 1.1L 1:39 PM 1.1H 10:25 PM 0.1LJuly 08 7:35 AM 1.3H 11:12 PM -0.1LJuly 09 8:26 AM 1.3HJuly 10 12:00 AM -0.1L 9:13 AM 1.4HJuly 11 12:48 AM -0.2L 9:54 AM 1.4H

East MatagordaDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 2:22 PM 0.4H 11:34 PM 0.0LJune 28 1:11 PM 0.4HJune 29 12:04 AM 0.1L 4:43 PM 0.4HJune 30 2:42 AM 0.1L 12:23 PM 0.4HJuly 01 3:05 AM 0.1L 12:47 PM 0.4HJuly 02 3:15 AM 0.1L 1:13 PM 0.4HJuly 03 3:37 AM 0.2L 1:35 PM 0.4HJuly 04 4:08 AM 0.2L 12:08 PM 0.3H 7:01 PM 0.2LJuly 05 12:58 AM 0.3H 6:58 AM 0.3L 12:33 PM 0.4H 7:22 PM 0.2LJuly 06 4:30 AM 0.4H 7:10 AM 0.3L 12:53 PM 0.4H 7:27 PM 0.1LJuly 07 5:11 AM 0.4H 7:12 AM 0.4L 11:00 AM 0.4H 7:44 PM 0.1LJuly 08 12:15 PM 0.4H 8:27 PM 0.0LJuly 09 6:41 AM 0.5H 10:13 PM 0.0LJuly 10 8:01 AM 0.5H 11:11 AM 0.4L 1:19 PM 0.5H 10:36 PM 0.0LJuly 11 8:45 AM 0.5H 10:49 AM 0.4L 1:48 PM 0.5H 11:02 PM -0.1L

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 6:06 AM 1.7H 10:08 PM -0.3LJune 28 6:34 AM 1.7H 10:38 PM -0.2LJune 29 7:00 AM 1.6H 11:07 PM -0.1LJune 30 7:25 AM 1.6H 11:36 PM 0.1LJuly 01 7:50 AM 1.5HJuly 02 12:06 AM 0.2L 8:14 AM 1.4H 4:11 PM 0.7L 7:05 PM 0.8 HJuly 03 12:39 AM 0.4L 8:37 AM 1.4H 4:22 PM 0.6L 8:52 PM 0.8 HJuly 04 1:16 AM 0.6L 8:58 AM 1.3H 4:37 PM 0.5L 10:43 PM 0.9 HJuly 05 2:06 AM 0.8L 9:17 AM 1.2H 4:58 PM 0.3LJuly 06 12:27 AM 1.1H 3:43 AM 1.0L 9:30 AM 1.2H 5:27 PM 0.1LJuly 07 1:43 AM 1.3H 6:03 PM -0.1LJuly 08 2:38 AM 1.5H 6:45 PM -0.3LJuly 09 3:24 AM 1.7H 7:30 PM -0.5LJuly 10 4:08 AM 1.8H 8:17 PM -0.6LJuly 11 4:51 AM 1.9H 9:07 PM -0.7L

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 7:49 AM 1.1H 10:12 PM -0.5LJune 28 8:13 AM 1.0H 10:45 PM -0.5LJune 29 8:21 AM 1.0H 11:16 PM -0.4LJune 30 8:25 AM 0.9H 11:48 PM -0.3LJuly 01 8:33 AM 0.9HJuly 02 12:20 AM -0.1L 8:45 AM 0.8HJuly 03 12:53 AM 0.0L 8:59 AM 0.8H 4:19 PM 0.4L 7:27 PM 0.4HJuly 04 1:27 AM 0.2L 9:10 AM 0.8H 4:41 PM 0.2L 10:11 PM 0.4 HJuly 05 2:01 AM 0.4L 9:13 AM 0.7H 5:07 PM 0.1LJuly 06 9:03 AM 0.7H 5:38 PM -0.1LJuly 07 4:14 AM 0.8H 6:16 AM 0.8L 8:49 AM 0.8H 6:13 PM -0.3LJuly 08 4:27 AM 0.9H 6:53 PM -0.5LJuly 09 5:06 AM 1.1H 7:38 PM -0.6LJuly 10 5:46 AM 1.1H 8:25 PM -0.7LJuly 11 6:23 AM 1.2H 9:15 PM -0.7L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height June 27 6:42 AM 1.2H 12:13 PM 1.0L 2:23 PM 1.0H 10:54 PM -0.3LJune 28 7:11 AM 1.2H 12:26 PM 1.0L 2:54 PM 1.0H 11:24 PM -0.2LJune 29 7:40 AM 1.1H 12:53 PM 0.9L 3:24 PM 0.9H 11:55 PM -0.1LJune 30 8:09 AM 1.1H 1:46 PM 0.9L 3:51 PM 0.9HJuly 01 12:26 AM 0.0L 8:39 AM 1.1HJuly 02 12:57 AM 0.1L 9:08 AM 1.0HJuly 03 1:30 AM 0.2L 9:35 AM 1.0H 5:10 PM 0.5L 9:20 PM 0.6 HJuly 04 2:05 AM 0.4L 9:58 AM 1.0H 5:32 PM 0.4L 11:34 PM 0.6 HJuly 05 2:45 AM 0.6L 10:16 AM 0.9H 5:57 PM 0.2LJuly 06 1:26 AM 0.8H 3:44 AM 0.7L 10:28 AM 0.9H 6:27 PM 0.0LJuly 07 2:42 AM 0.9H 5:21 AM 0.9L 10:38 AM 1.0H 7:02 PM -0.1LJuly 08 3:31 AM 1.0H 7:14 AM 1.0L 10:54 AM 1.0H 7:41 PM -0.3LJuly 09 4:13 AM 1.1H 8:30 AM 1.0L 11:34 AM 1.1H 8:24 PM -0.4LJuly 10 4:52 AM 1.2H 9:14 AM 1.1L 12:32 PM 1.1H 9:10 PM -0.5LJuly 11 5:31 AM 1.2H 9:53 AM 1.0L 1:36 PM 1.1H 9:57 PM -0.6L

Port AransasDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 8:44 AM 0.9H 10:51 AM 0.8L 1:30 PM 0.9H 10:13 PM -0.2LJune 28 2:17 PM 0.8H 10:38 PM -0.2LJune 29 7:20 AM 0.8H 10:00 AM 0.7L 3:04 PM 0.8H 11:04 PM -0.2LJune 30 7:20 AM 0.8H 11:02 AM 0.L 3:51 PM 0.7H 11:33 PM -0.1LJuly 01 7:27 AM 0.7H 1:45 PM 0.6L 4:45 PM 0.7HJuly 02 12:04 AM 0.0L 7:49 AM 0.7H 3:03 PM 0.5L 5:54 PM 0.6 HJuly 03 12:37 AM 0.1L 8:15 AM 0.7H 4:03 PM 0.4L 7:25 PM 0.5 HJuly 04 1:08 AM 0.2L 8:40 AM 0.7H 4:48 PM 0.3L 9:11 PM 0.5 HJuly 05 1:31 AM 0.4L 9:02 AM 0.7H 5:25 PM 0.2LJuly 06 9:18 AM 0.7H 5:58 PM 0.0LJuly 07 9:25 AM 0.7H 6:30 PM -0.1LJuly 08 5:58 AM 0.8H 7:04 PM -0.2LJuly 09 6:34 AM 0.8H 7:43 PM -0.4LJuly 10 7:20 AM 0.9H 8:26 PM -0.4LJuly 11 12:27 PM 0.9H 9:11 PM -0.5L

Galveston Bay entrance, north jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 5:55 AM 1.7H 12:16 PM 1.2L 2:29 PM 1.2H 10:51 PM -0.3LJune 28 6:33 AM 1.7H 12:59 PM 1.2L 3:33 PM 1.2H 11:25 PM -0.2LJune 29 7:18 AM 1.6H 1:41 PM 1.1L 4:18 PM 1.2H 11:59 PM -0.1LJune 30 8:02 AM 1.6H 1:54 PM 1.0L 4:54 PM 1.1HJuly 01 12:34 AM 0.0L 8:38 AM 1.5H 2:17 PM 0.9L 5:31 PM 1.1 HJuly 02 1:12 AM 0.2L 9:05 AM 1.4H 2:45 PM 0.8L 6:30 PM 1.0 HJuly 03 1:49 AM 0.4L 9:24 AM 1.4H 3:16 PM 0.6L 9:15 PM 0.9 HJuly 04 2:20 AM 0.5L 9:18 AM 1.3H 3:55 PM 0.5L 10:54 PM 1.0 HJuly 05 2:43 AM 0.7L 9:19 AM 1.3H 4:50 PM 0.3LJuly 06 12:26 AM 1.1H 3:07 AM 1.0L 9:37 AM 1.3H 5:51 PM 0.1LJuly 07 1:30 AM 1.2H 6:02 AM 1.1L 10:01 AM 1.4H 6:37 PM -0.2LJuly 08 2:35 AM 1.4H 7:02 AM 1.2L 10:33 AM 1.4H 7:17 PM -0.4LJuly 09 3:39 AM 1.5H 7:47 AM 1.3L 11:32 AM 1.4H 7:59 PM -0.5LJuly 10 4:23 AM 1.7H 8:43 AM 1.3L 12:36 PM 1.5H 8:50 PM -0.6LJuly 11 4:59 AM 1.8H 9:59 AM 1.3L 1:34 PM 1.5H 9:46 PM -0.6L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightJune 27 1:00 AM -0.1L 3:23 PM 0.3HJune 28 1:43 AM -0.1L 4:11 PM 0.3HJune 29 2:24 AM -0.1L 4:59 PM 0.2HJune 30 3:00 AM 0.0L 5:45 PM 0.2HJuly 01 3:30 AM 0.0L 6:36 PM 0.2HJuly 02 3:54 AM 0.0L 12:15 PM 0.1H 5:39 PM 0.1L 7:57 PM 0.1HJuly 03 4:09 AM 0.0L 11:50 AM 0.1H 6:56 PM 0.1L 10:32 PM 0.1HJuly 04 4:10 AM 0.0L 11:40 AM 0.2H 7:40 PM 0.0LJuly 05 11:36 AM 0.2H 8:19 PM 0.0LJuly 06 11:37 AM 0.2H 8:58 PM -0.1LJuly 07 11:44 AM 0.2H 9:40 PM -0.1LJuly 08 12:02 PM 0.2H 10:26 PM -0.1LJuly 09 12:32 PM 0.2H 11:15 PM -0.1LJuly 10 1:14 PM 0.2HJuly 11 12:06 AM -0.2L 2:04 PM 0.2H

Moon PhasesLast

July 19FullJuly 12

NewJune 27

FirstJuly 5

Houston2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONJune Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

San Antonio2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONJune Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

Amarillo2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONJune Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

Dallas2014 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONJune Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets

ACROSS 1. A game bird 4. Term for color bands on arrows 6. The archer’s weapon 8. Lab term for fi sh eggs 9. Term for a bow part10. A game bird12. Animal at rest13. A brand of arrow14. Part of some fi shlines16. Wild packs of these kill deer18. A device on a reel to tire a fi sh20. Wild turkeys have had these shot off23. An art of the fl y-fi sherman25. An animal lair29. Angler term for a large perch31. A wild turkey sound22. Good item to have on hunting trips34. A boat that can be folded and carried36. Device on a fl y lure, ____ guard38. Shell that fails to fi re39. The bowman’s ammo44. A game trail

45. Color worn by hunter for safety46. Appendages on turkey feet47. Hunter’s mountain area quarry DOWN 1. A male goose 2. Eiders, mallards, teal 3. To prepare for a shot 4. The North American reindeer 5. Used to wash out gundog’s eyes 6. Prevents easy removal of an arrow 7. This has great effect on arrows11. The wild tusker15. Act of a fi sh hitting a hook17. A line grommet on a fi shrod18. The female deer19. A hunter’s quarry in Florida21. The camp pest22. Deer can do this to escape danger24. A very good walleye bait26. A good pheasant gun,

_____ musket27. Good item to have in blinds28. Brings a catch into the boat29. Name refers to the wild turkey30. Scow, dinghy32. Term given to some old

gobblers35. An action on a repeating gun37. Term for a type deer drive40. A good trap bait41. A female bear42. To treat a hide43. A type of fl y lure

Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesLegend: Major=2 hours. Minor=1 hour. Times centered on the major-minor window. For other locations, subtract 1 minute per 12 miles east of a loca-tion, and add 1 minute per 12 miles west of a location.

27Fri 6:50 ----- 7:14 13:26 7:22 9:24 7:48a 9:39p28Sat 7:39 1:27 8:03 1:51 7:23 9:24 8:39a 10:21p29Sun 8:29 2:18 8:52 2:40 7:23 9:25 9:31a 10:59p30Mon 9:19 3:08 9:41 3:30 7:23 9:25 10:23a 11:36p01Tue 10:07 3:57 10:29 4:18 7:24 9:25 11:15a NoMoon02Wed 10:55 4:45 11:17 5:06 7:24 9:25 12:06p 12:10a03Thu 11:42 5:31 ----- 5:53 7:24 9:24 12:58p 12:43a04Fri 12:04 6:17 12:28 6:39 7:25 9:24 1:50p 1:17a05Sat 12:49 7:02 1:13 7:25 7:25 9:24 2:44p 1:51a06Sun 1:35 7:47 1:59 8:11 7:26 9:24 3:41p 2:28a07Mon 2:20 8:32 2:45 8:58 7:26 9:24 4:39p 3:08a08Tue 3:06 9:19 3:33 9:46 7:26 9:24 5:40p 3:52a09Wed 3:54 10:09 4:23 10:37 7:27 9:24 6:42p 4:42a10Thu 4:46 11:01 5:16 11:31 7:27 9:24 7:42p 5:38a11Fri 5:42 11:57 6:12 ----- 7:28 9:23 8:40p 6:38a12Sat 6:41 12:32 7:11 12:56 7:28 9:23 9:34p 7:44a13Sun 7:42 1:27 8:12 1:57 7:29 9:23 10:24p 8:51a14Mon 8:45 2:31 9:13 2:59 7:29 9:23 11:10p 9:59a15Tue 9:47 3:33 10:14 4:01 7:30 9:22 11:53p 11:06a16Wed 10:48 4:34 11:14 5:01 7:30 9:22 NoMoon 12:11p

27Sun 5:18 11:31 5:44 11:57 7:44 9:04 6:40a 7:46p28Mon 6:06 ----- 6:32 12:45 7:43 9:05 7:20a 8:48p29Tue 6:57 ----- 7:23 13:36 7:42 9:06 8:02a 9:48p30Wed 7:50 1:37 8:16 2:03 7:41 9:06 8:46a 10:46p01Thu 8:46 2:33 9:11 2:59 7:40 9:07 9:33a 11:41p02Fri 9:42 3:29 10:07 3:54 7:39 9:08 10:22a NoMoon03Sat 10:37 4:25 11:02 4:49 7:38 9:09 11:12a 12:31a04Sun 11:30 5:19 11:54 5:42 7:37 9:09 12:04p 1:17a05Mon ----- 6:09 12:21 6:32 7:36 9:10 12:56p 1:58a06Tue 12:44 6:57 1:08 7:19 7:35 9:11 1:49p 2:36a07Wed 1:30 7:41 1:52 8:03 7:34 9:12 2:42p 3:12a08Thu 2:12 8:23 2:34 8:45 7:34 9:12 3:36p 3:46a09Fri 2:52 9:03 3:14 9:25 7:33 9:13 4:30p 4:18a10Sat 3:31 9:42 3:53 10:04 7:32 9:14 5:25p 4:52a11Sun 4:10 10:22 4:34 10:45 7:31 9:15 6:23p 5:26a12Mon 4:52 11:04 5:17 11:29 7:30 9:15 7:23p 6:03a13Tue 5:38 11:51 6:04 ----- 7:30 9:16 8:24p 6:43a14Wed 6:28 12:18 6:55 12:42 7:29 9:17 9:27p 7:28a15Thu 7:24 1:10 7:52 1:38 7:28 9:17 10:29p 8:17a16Fri 8:24 2:10 8:54 2:39 7:28 9:18 11:29p 9:12a

27Fri 7:02 ----- 7:26 13:39 7:36 9:36 8:01a 9:51p28Sat 7:52 1:40 8:15 2:03 7:36 9:36 8:53a 10:33p29Sun 8:41 2:30 9:04 2:53 7:36 9:36 9:45a 11:12p30Mon 9:31 3:20 9:53 3:42 7:36 9:36 10:36a 11:48p01Tue 10:20 4:09 10:41 4:31 7:37 9:36 11:28a NoMoon02Wed 11:08 4:57 11:29 5:18 7:37 9:36 12:19p 12:22a03Thu 11:55 5:44 ----- 6:05 7:38 9:36 1:11p 12:56a04Fri 12:16 6:30 12:40 6:51 7:38 9:36 2:03p 1:30a05Sat 1:02 7:14 1:26 7:37 7:38 9:36 2:57p 2:04a06Sun 1:47 7:59 2:11 8:23 7:39 9:36 3:53p 2:41a07Mon 2:32 8:45 2:57 9:10 7:39 9:36 4:52p 3:21a08Tue 3:18 9:32 3:45 9:59 7:40 9:36 5:52p 4:06a09Wed 4:07 10:21 4:36 10:50 7:40 9:35 6:54p 4:56a10Thu 4:59 11:14 5:29 11:43 7:41 9:35 7:55p 5:51a11Fri 5:54 ----- 6:25 12:09 7:41 9:35 8:53p 6:52a12Sat 6:53 12:44 7:23 1:08 7:42 9:35 9:47p 7:57a13Sun 7:55 1:40 8:24 2:09 7:42 9:35 10:37p 9:05a14Mon 8:57 2:43 9:26 3:11 7:43 9:34 11:23p 10:13a15Tue 10:00 3:46 10:27 4:13 7:43 9:34 NoMoon 11:19a16Wed 11:00 4:47 11:27 5:13 7:44 9:34 12:06a 12:24p

27Fri 7:16 ----- 7:40 13:52 7:34 10:04 8:03a 10:16p28Sat 8:05 1:53 8:29 2:17 7:35 10:04 8:56a 10:56p29Sun 8:55 2:43 9:18 3:06 7:35 10:04 9:50a 11:33p30Mon 9:44 3:33 10:07 3:55 7:35 10:04 10:43a NoMoon01Tue 10:33 4:23 10:55 4:44 7:36 10:04 11:37a 12:08a02Wed 11:21 5:11 11:42 5:32 7:36 10:04 12:31p 12:40a03Thu ----- 5:57 12:08 6:19 7:37 10:04 1:24p 1:11a04Fri 12:30 6:43 12:54 7:05 7:37 10:04 2:19p 1:43a05Sat 1:15 7:28 1:39 7:50 7:37 10:04 3:15p 2:15a06Sun 2:01 8:13 2:25 8:36 7:38 10:03 4:14p 2:50a07Mon 2:45 8:58 3:11 9:24 7:38 10:03 5:14p 3:28a08Tue 3:32 9:45 3:59 10:12 7:39 10:03 6:17p 4:10a09Wed 4:20 10:35 4:49 11:03 7:39 10:03 7:19p 4:58a10Thu 5:12 11:27 5:42 11:57 7:40 10:02 8:20p 5:53a11Fri 6:08 ----- 6:38 12:23 7:41 10:02 9:18p 6:54a12Sat 7:06 12:58 7:37 1:22 7:41 10:02 10:10p 8:01a13Sun 8:08 1:53 8:37 2:23 7:42 10:01 10:57p 9:10a14Mon 9:11 2:56 9:39 3:25 7:42 10:01 11:41p 10:21a15Tue 10:13 3:59 10:40 4:27 7:43 10:01 NoMoon 11:30a16Wed 11:14 5:00 11:40 5:27 7:44 10:00 12:21a 12:38p


NATIONALGeorge H.W. Bush honored for conservation efforts

Helping former President George H. W. Bush continue to celebrate his 90th birthday, a group of conservation lead-ers, headed by Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris, gathered in Maine to go fi shing with Bush to celebrate his 90th birthday and to honor him for his lifetime commitment to conserva-tion.

“Most people aren’t fully aware of all that President Bush has done for conservation,” Morris said. “During his presidency, he established 56 new wildlife ref-uges, more than even President Theodore Roosevelt, conserv-ing more than 3 million acres of nationally signifi cant public land.”

Jeff Trandahl, executive direc-tor and CEO of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, used the June 17 event to announce a part-nership to provide a $1 million dollar gift to the new President George H. W. Bush Conservation Fund. The fund will support conservation projects that are important nationally and that can produce signifi cant benefi ts for fi sh, wildlife and their habitats.

Another honor bestowed upon Bush at the celebration was the KeepAmericaFishing Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his leadership and lifelong per-sonal commitment to recreational fi shing and the conservation of our nation’s fi sheries and wetlands.

Bush established the fi rst

national policy goal of “no net loss” of wetlands, which replaces any wetland newly affected by draining or developing with another wetland of the same size and function.

Another conservation accom-plishment was the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by Bush in 1989. This legislation provided federal funding to implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in the United States, Canada and Mexico. NAWCA has funded more than 2,250 projects on more than 26.9 million acres in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico.

—Bass Pro Shops

Potential world-record desert bighorn

In January 2013, Brian Benyo traveled from his home state of Ohio to Tiburon Island in Sonora, Mexico, to hunt desert bighorn sheep. A successful stalk on the second day of the hunt yielded a 25-yard shot at a giant ram that may possibly eclipse the current Pope & Young world record.

The current world record desert bighorn sheep measured 178 6/8 inches from Hidalgo County, New Mexico in 2007 by hunter Jim Hens.

Benyo’s sheep has an initial entry score that is 4/8-inch higher than the current world’s record. It is yet subject to panel judging verifi cation, which may change the fi nal accepted score for a vari-ety of reasons, including unusual

shrinkage, initial mis-measure-ment, etc.

“I am always amazed that in each Recording Period we have several animals entered that exceed the present world records,” said Glenn Hisey, direc-tor of Records for the Pope & Young Club.

— Pope and Young

Salmon return in Wash. best since 1938

According to preliminary forecasts, Washington wildlife offi cials expect more than 3 mil-lion Columbia River Chinook and coho salmon to return to the state, making for one of the best fall forecasts in recent decades. Anglers are already anticipating the highest number of chinook salmon in the Columbia River since 1938 — more than 1.6 mil-lion.

The ocean abundance for coho is also expected to reach nearly 1 million fi sh, more than three times that of last year’s.

—Staff report

Minn. holds world’s largest youth trap shooting event

The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League held its 2014 championship in Alexandria, drawing 3,948 high school athletes shooting over the course of five days.

“It’s the fastest-growing high

school sport in Minnesota — more than 6,100 participants,” Gov. Mark Dayton said at the opening ceremonies. “It’s just grown exponentially from when it started.”

The Minnesota Legislature recently approved more than $2 million in trap shooting sports facility cost-share grants. The money will go toward developing or rehabilitating public facilities that provide opportunities for trap shooting across the state.

The league featured just three teams and 30 participants from 2001 through 2008. Since then, it has grown to 185 teams from 275 schools and about 6,100 competitors for the 2014 season.

Gun ranges have benefited from the league’s surge, as the league has reawakened gun clubs across the state. Many of the gun clubs are maxed out and waiting lists are growing.

This year, teams turned away 1,800 kids because of limited shooting range time, said Jim Sable, the league’s founder and executive director.

— Staff report

Iowa program aims to boost pheasant habitat

After a tough winter and spring for pheasants, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is recruiting landowners for par-ticipation in a project that could save up to 50,000 acres for pheasant habitat. The State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program is reopening enrollment for landowners who want to return

pheasants to their property. As a continuous Conservation Reserve Program, landowners will be reimbursed based on the quality of their land and length of their contract. So far, 4,000 acres have been registered.

“There will not be a general CRP signup this year so this is an option that landowners with expiring general CRP should con-sider,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR.

The program is designed to restore the native grasslands and wetlands vital to ring-necked pheasants, especially in areas where suitable habitat had been previously eliminated.

— IDNR

New Jersey lawmakers pass total ivory ban

In a surprising move, the New Jersey Legislature quietly passed an ivory ban bill with no exemp-tions for existing legal ivory and even bans 10,000-year-old mam-moth ivory.

The NJ Ivory Ban Bill outlaws all ivory from any animal (ele-phant, hippo, mammoth, narwhal, walrus, whale, etc.). It makes it illegal to import, sell, offer for sale, purchase, barter or possess with intent to sell any ivory or ivory product with no exceptions for antique or legal ivory imported decades ago, prior to the existing U. S. ban on ivory imports.

The ban now awaits a signature from Gov. Chris Christie.

— Staff report


“The spots aren’t just on the bass,” he said. “They were thick on all of the gar we col-lected.”

So what causes the spots?“It is fish lice,” Myers said.

“Called Argulus, they are flat-looking, flounder-shaped creatures (actually small crus-taceans) with a little eye on them. They occur throughout Texas but are highly abundant at Falcon this year. Some years they are there and not others.”

The fish lice generally don’t represent a problem for the bass, Myers said.

“They are rarely harmful,” he said. “They do feed on the flesh of the fish, though, and that can open the door for other diseases such as bacte-rial infections. We haven’t been seeing any large sores on the fish, though.”

LiceContinued from page 8

ship for decades. They started seeing the first major change in the winter of 1992-93.

“Starting in 1992 and 1993, we started seeing a trend of increas-ingly warmer winters,” he said, when the average low temper-atures in the Gulf Coast bays raised several degrees. “They really started declining after that, and that has been the trend since. We didn’t catch a single flounder in ’07.”

In an effort to bring the popu-lations back, TPWD banned gig-ging during November, hoping it would bolster the flatfish’s num-bers. Now, scientists are starting the see a change.

“Down here in the Lower Laguna Madre, since the no-gig-ging regulation, there has been a

noted change,” said Mark Lingo, the Lower Laguna Madre fishery manager for TPWD.

His team has been seeing more and more flounder in their gill-net surveys since that point, and he believes there is still more change to come, across the entire coast.

“It’s been hard to see a pattern down here,” he said. “It’s more of something that we are seeing coastwide.”

Following a cold winter, expec-tations are high for the next year — and some are already seeing the effects.

“I’ll tell you one thing, this year has been phenomenal; we are gigging 20 fish a day,” Capt. David Dupnik, owner of Surrender at Sunrise Charters, said of the 2014 season thus far. “That (the cold winter) and the November closure has a lot to do with it, in fact.”

It hasn’t always been that way,

he said. He has been taking gig-ging trips in the Rockport area for 10 years, and spent 17 years as a commercial fisherman before then.

“It was definitely in a decline for sure,” he said. “We are seeing a lot more juvenile fish from the boat.”

Fisher said the upper sur-vival range of a juvenile floun-der hovers around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was no sur-prise that there was a decline in the past few years. Inversely, his crews began seeing more snook, permit and bonefish along the Texas Coast, which he believes makes his point — they thrive in warm water.

“We’ve started seeing them in more northerly bays, like San Antonio and Galveston,” Fisher said.

The temperature does not directly affect where the fish appear, Fisher said, simply how

many of them survive. They come in from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico, then return to spawn.

Whatever the cause for the temperature change, Fisher said they can count on the fact that cooler waters will bring more flounder. New gigging regula-tions don’t hurt, either.

“Last year wasn’t worth a flip — it was horrible,” Dupnik said. “This year has been totally dif-ferent.”

Interestingly enough, Fisher said it isn’t just Texas that is see-ing the changes.

“We expect the tempera-ture changes to have a positive impact, and it’s not just here,” he said. “Other flat fishes are seeing the same pattern. In France, of all places, they have been reporting the same type of data for their flat fish.

“It’s all about that tempera-ture.”

FlounderContinued from page 8

“Wading, drifting, kayak-ing and skiff methods are used to find, hook, and land red-fish, sea trout, flounder, and a variety of other inshore spe-cies targeted by fly-rodders,” Dr. Ramirez said. “My favor-ite part of the Expo was the outdoor casting events for beginning, intermediate and advanced groups.”

Artist and fly-fisher Shawn Bischel, of Georgetown, had a booth at the Expo and said meeting other artists from the industry was a huge bonus for him.

“My wife and I actually had a few minutes to sit and chat with Dave and Emily Whitlock about the busi-ness side of being an artist,” he said. “That opportunity alone made the show worth it for me.”

Bischel has graphics fea-tured on the new Temple Forks Outfitters’ “Esox Rod,” and is currently working on T-shirt art for Abel Fly Reels.

The president of the Texas Council of International Federation of Fly Fishers, Russell Husted, said, “Everyone had good things to say about the casting lessons, and our auction and awards banquet were highlights for a lot of us.”

Vice president of the Council, Jerry Hamon, said next year’s Expo is already on the books for May 29-31, 2015.

ExpoContinued from page 11


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Brennan Moore,

7, harvested his

fi rst turkey with

family friend Jamil Johnson.

According to his dad, James

Moore, the bird

came within four

steps before strutting out to

25 yards, where

Brennan made

a perfect shot.

The bird sported

a 9 1/16-inch beard with 1-inch

spurs. The hunt

was celebrated

over Dr. Peppers

and DQ Blizzards.

GO AWAY SARGASSUM: Many surf anglers are fi ghting high winds and lots of fl oating sargassum on Gulf Coast beaches. Photo by Andy Phillips for LSON.


Surf anglers have been catching fi sh along the Texas coast, when they can get their lines out through mats of sargassum and howling winds along the beaches.

According to Ron Gentry, director of the Beach Masters Tournament, which was held the weekend of June 14-15, the fi shing was good when anglers could fi nd places to get baits

out.“It went great,” he said. “We had

152 entries and they earned every-thing they caught. The seaweed was rough in places and many got weeded out and had to move to bet-ter spots. The surf was about 3-feet with 4-footers mixed in there.”

Most of the teams centered around the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, but some went as far south as

Cluttered upAnglers dealing with

wind, sargassumfrom beaches

See SURF, Page 29

“I probably lead the industry in big blackbuck this season,” he said. “We’ve taken one straight-line 24-inch blackbuck, three 23s and fi ve 22s. We’ve really got some amazing blackbuck.”

Greiger said prices for exotics are leveling out after rising the past few years, especially non-super exot-ics and scimitar-horned oryx and addax.

“For a while, it was unreal what prices were doing,” he said. “Thankfully, they’ve started to level out and it is really looking good for the rest of summer.”

In the Hill Country near Comfort, Diane Reiner, manager of the Circle NA Ranch, said the 800-acre ranch hadn’t been hunted in more than six years, and the exot-ics were looking very good with the recent rains.

“Our axis bucks are in rut,” Reiner said. “And the red deer are all in velvet. We’ve got some really nice axis, along with lots of rams. This ranch hasn’t been hunted in six years, so we are still fi nding out what we have. We’ve had a lot of kids out this summer taking their fi rst animals.”

For hunters who think an exotic hunt is just a walk in the park, think again, according to Greiger, espe-cially with current range condi-tions.

“The rain really makes the hunt-ing harder,” Greiger said. “They just don’t have to come to the feeders and expose themselves. I’ve been telling people, be prepared for a hard spot and stalk hunt or a safari-style hunt.

“These animals are tough to fi nd.”

Los Robles Exotic Ranch, (254) 495-0799Circle NA Ranch, (281) 723-9989

ExoticsContinued from page 4



DATEBOOKJUNE 28

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

Sportsmen Shooting CenterCatered BBQ EventGrapevine(817) 310-8382sportsmenshootingcenter.com

Texas Big Game AwardsTBGA Sportsmen’s Celebration Banquet Regions 5,6,7Fireman’s Training Center, Brenham(210) 236-9761texas-wildlife.org

SCI HoustonYouth Hunter Education CourseSan Jacinto College North Campus, Houstonscihouston.org

JUNE 29Texas Archery AcademyTexas Archery Indoor League shootPlanotexasarchery.info

JULY 2Tomorrow’s HunterOperation Military Kids Archery ShootArmy Reserve Center, Seagoville(505) 360-3336youthoutdoors.org

Austin Woods and Waters ClubMonthly MeetingBen Hur Shrine [email protected]

JULY 2-6Freeport Host Lions Club67th Annual Fishin’ FiestaFreeport Municipal Parkfi shinfi esta.com

JULY 4Kimble County Chamber of CommerceFreedom CelebrationHill Country Fairgrounds, Junction(325) 446-3190

JULY 5Gun Show TraderBelton Gun ShowBell County Expo Center(254) 933-5353bellcountyexpo.com

JULY 9-12Bastante John Uhr Memorial Billfi sh TournamentRockportrockporttournament.com

JULY 10Texas Wildlife AssociationPrivate Lands SummitJ.W. Marriott Resort, San Antonio(800) 839-9453texas-wildlife.org

JULY 10-13Texas WildlifeAssociation2014 Annual MeetingJ.W. Marriott Hill Country Resort, San Antonio(210) 826-2904texas-wildlife.org

JULY 11Dallas Safari ClubWine Pairing DinnerChamberlain’s, Dallas(972) 980-9800biggame.org

JULY 12Bass ChampsNorth Series, Lake Fork(817) 439-3274basschamps.com

JULY 17Dallas Safari ClubMonthly MeetingThe Westin Stonebriar, Frisco(972) 980-9800biggame.org

JULY 18-20Texas Hunter AssociationTexas Hunter’s and Sportsman’s ExpoMcAllen Convention Center(956) 664-2884texashuntersassociation.com

JULY 19-20Texas Gun and Knife ShowAmarillo ShowAmarillo Civic Center(830) 285-0575texasgunandknifeshows.com

JULY 24Dallas Safari ClubNew Member Lobster BoilPlace TBD(972) 980-9800biggame.org

JULY 25-269TH Annual Ladies Fishing TournamentAransas Pass Civic Centercbga.org

JULY 26Galveston Bay FoundationLadies Casting for Conservation Fishing TournamentStingaree Restaurant and Marina, Crystal Beach(713) 598-8338galvbay.org

JULY 26-27Lake Fork OpenOak Ridge Marina(903) 878-2529lakeforkopen.org

JULY 27Texas Archery AcademyTexas Archery Indoor League shootPlanotexasarchery.info

JULY 30 - AUGUST 3Texas International Fishing TournamentPort Isabel(956) 943-8438tift.org

JULY 31Ducks UnlimitedNorth Houston DinnerShirley Acres(281) 541-9263ducks.org/Texas

AUGUST 1Texas Dove Hunters AssociationThird Annual Pullin’ for KidsRio Brazos, Simonton(210) 764-1189texasdovehunters.com

National Wild Turkey FederationNorth Texas ChapterThe Courses at Watters Creek, Plano(432) 352-3257nwtf.org/Texas

AUGUST 1-3Texas Trophy Hunters Association2014 Hunter’s ExtravaganzaReliant Center, Houston(210) 523-8500ttha.com

AUGUST 2Mule Deer FoundationBrown County Chapter Banquet(817) 565-7121muledeer.org/events

AUGUST 6Delta WaterfowlNorth Houston banquetHouston Distribution Company(281) 914-8954deltawaterfowl.org

AUGUST 7Ducks Unlimited Allen DinnerCross Creek Ranch, Parker(214) 455-3082ducks.org/Texas

$1PER WORD 2 issues minimum CLASSIFIED

Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, pub-lishes twice a month. A mailed subscription is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are $2, in cer-tain markets copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2014 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 email them to [email protected].

Advertising: Call (214) 361-2276 or email [email protected] to request a media kit.

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Executive EditorManaging EditorAssociate EditorGraphics EditorBusiness/Products EditorOperations ManagerAccountingNational AdvertisingAutomotive AdvertisingWebsiteFounder & CEO

ContributorsWilbur LundeenErich SchlegelDavid Sikes

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Call: (214) 361-2276 orEmail: [email protected]

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call Capt. Nino Gonzalez (361) 332-1568

CANADIAN MOOSE HUNTS

REMOTE FLY IN Trophy moose hunts in Alberta and Saskatchewan Canada. We still have openings for this coming fall of 2014 and need hunters. These hunts take place at very remote wil-derness lakes and we camp on the edge of these lakes in wall tents and use canoes to access the surrounding area. Our hunts consist of 2 hunt-ers with 1 guide for 9 days hunts and a cost of $7,500

per hunter. Call Ken (306) 422-8459

SOUTH PADRE FISHING

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

(956) 551-1965

TDHA - JOIN TODAYTEXAS DOVE HUNTERS ASSOC.www.texasdovehunters.com

(210) 764-1189

FLOATING CABIN RENTALS

HAVE THE FISHING TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Lots of fi sh, fun and 17 years of Repeat business.

800-368-8175

POETRY SHOOTING CLUB

CLOSE TO DALLAS700 yards range, quail hunting, dog training,

shooting classes, range target camera. Venue for

your fete. Shooters and bird dog retirement community, overnight camping, take a

youth shooting.poetryshootingclub.com

(214) 728-2755

3,000 ACRESNO BUCKS LESS THAN 130

SCOREFive protein stations, fi ve fall food plots, eight water

sources, 8 years MLD$40,000

(325) 660-1009

ARROWHEADS AND ARTIFACTSI buy and sell authentic

Texas artifacts. Please call Nick.

(210) 557-9478

DOVE HUNTINGOver Sunfl ower and Sesame Seed Fields in Uvalde County. Contact Mark Roberts. w w w . M a r k R o b e r t s

DoveHunting.com(830) 261-9467

JULY 24

Series, Belton Lake

The Westin Stonebriar, Frisco

$$ONLY



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TRAILING THE HUNTER’S MOON WINS FOUR TELLY AWARDS

Trailing the Hunter’s Moon has been awarded two silver and two bronze Telly Awards in the 35th Annual Telly Awards program.

There were more than 12,000 entries from 50 states. Only a select few outdoor television shows/series receive a single Telly Award. Trailing the Hunter’s Moon was awarded four for the series that aired on The Sportsman Channel during 2013.

The show’s title spon-sor is Dallas Safari Club; it received a Silver Telly for Nature/Wildlife, a Silver Telly for Best Use of Music, a Bronze Telly for Documentary Series and a Bronze Telly for Editing.

The Telly Awards were established in 1979. Winners represent the best and finest work of the most respected advertising agencies, produc-tion companies, television stations and corporate video departments in the world.

A prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals — each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of the Silver Telly Council — evaluate the many entries. Rather than competing against each other, entries are judged against extremely high standards of merit. Only a small percent-age is awarded the Bronze Telly and even fewer receive a Silver Telly, the highest award.

“The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, executive director of Telly Awards.

“I could not be prouder of our team, which includes extremely talented camera-men, producer, editor, and all those who participated in our 2013 shows, as well as the best sponsors in the world,” said Larry Weishuhn, the show’s owner and host.

— BWB Hunt Productions

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Puzzle solution from Page 21


Matagorda to fi nd open water and big fi sh.

“An 8-feet, 4-inch lemon shark won the tournament,” Gentry said. “An 85-inch bull shark and a 78-inch blacktip shark also placed.”

Along with the sharks, several big redfi sh were caught, including two over 44 inches.

Many other species were also caught off the beach, including a 72-inch, wingtip-to-wingtip, sting-ray, several big trout, whiting, sand trout and fl ounder.

South Padre Island angler Javier Martinez spent the June 21 week-end on the beaches on the north end of the island, and reported the sargassum is beginning to thin out, although the breeze was still an issue.

“The wind was still pretty bad,” he said. “But we managed to get some baits out — mostly cut bait and squid — and caught a few whit-ing, along with a redfi sh and several small sharks. It has been a tough year from the beach. The wind just hasn’t stopped much.”

That report has been echoed up and down the coast — lots of wind making fi shing tough from the beach.

“The closest guts are where you have to concentrate,” Martinez said. “It is really tough to get a bait all the way out to the deeper cuts. You have to deal with the seaweed a lot more further out. It’s been a tough year.”

Other catches reported on the Internet and message boards said the weeds have been so bad, many peo-ple aren’t even getting lines in the water.

However, a few anglers around San Luis Pass used the shoreline as a windbreak and found fi sh in the leeward side of rocks and jetties and came home with solid catches of trout on croakers.

SurfContinued from page 24

before he went to sleep,” Benson chimed in. “Burton loves to fish, and he’s also a good hunter.”

The first Fowler home was built on their land in 1921. Alfred Fowler was a sharecropper in the area before he bought the land, located near Daingerfield.

Burton, Benson and B.C., spent a recent late-June morn-ing in their boat, casting their fly rods for bass. While they use conventional tackle as well, B.C. started the fly-fishing trend.

“It was always more sporting to catch fish on a fly rod,” he said. “But I started fishing before I could talk with my brother.”

As time went on, B.C. invested more and more time with the sport. He was one of the first to inspect the construction of Lake Fork, eyeing potential hotspots where he would later pull in large bass.

“It was just very exciting to me,” he said. “I’ve never seen or fished anything like Lake Fork.”

The trio has traveled the nation and parts of the world in search of fish on a fly rod. Of course, they have spent much of their time in East Texas, but also fish the Lower Mountain Fork River in southeast Oklahoma. They have taken frequent trips to Colorado, fished in Alaska, and Benson and Burton recently returned from a hunting and fishing trip in Africa.

B.C. said he has slowed down his fishing in recent years; Benson is retiring from his posi-tion with Garland ISD in August and moved to Daingerfield, off of Lone Star Lake. Burton is moving to Denton to study at

the University of North Texas. Despite their different paths,

the trio can always count on the outdoors to bring them together.

“We just enjoy doing things together, fishing together,” Benson said.

Burton added that his father and grandfather don’t need much to have a good time.

“They’re both fishermen — they just love to throw a lure out there and reel it back in,” he said. “There don’t even have to be fish in the lake — maybe one — and they’d still have fun

trying to catch something.”It’s about being together, B.C.

said. They try to make a trip up to Arkansas’ White River once a year. Despite catching double-digit bass, Atlantic salmon and other types of fish, B.C.’s favor-ite memories are some of the simplest — particularly of his grandson.

“I can tell you this, the most fun I’ve ever had is watching this boy (Burton) fish,” he said, smiling. “That little boy would catch those big ol’ brown trout in that river.”

Benson said he’s looking for-

ward to spending more time fishing with his father, now that he lives in the area, just about a mile away. His home has a 180-degree view of the eastern skyline on Lone Star Lake.

As for B.C., he still makes good use of his own private lake, though he admitted that he’s enjoying watching the action as much as anything these days. It seems his father got his wish after all.

“I’m just enjoying existing,” B.C. said, “watching the legacy continue.”

THE FAMILY HOMESTEAD: B.C. Fowler and his family are fortunate enough to have a 22-acre lake on his property, which he had put in 25 years ago. His property is located near Daingerfi eld, where his father was a sharecropper in the early 20th century. Photo by Steve Schwartz, Lone Star Outdoor News.

FowlersContinued from page 9


LONE STAR MARKET

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

said. “For mourning dove, it should be very similar to last year.”

The negatives of the storms meant some dove nests were lost to wind or hail, but the rain came early enough for those birds to possibly renest.

“We are still hearing a lot of calling around Austin,” he said. “Nesting should continue well into July this year. Overall, we are look-ing good, just need some more moisture.”

Even in a bad season in Texas, hunters will still shoot up to 4.5 million doves, so the season will still be good, even if conditions go downhill from here.

“Doves are a lot more consis-tent than waterfowl,” Oldenburger added. “So even in a down year, it will still be pretty good.”

CropContinued from page 6

Brothers take Bass Champs on Rayburn

Brothers Jason and Jared Dean, from Lufkin and Huntington, quickly took the lead position with their 17.39-pound sack on Sam Rayburn Reservoir and cruised to victory in the season’s fi nal east regional event.

“We started catching fi sh at the fi rst place we pulled up to,” Dean said, targeting deep water near 20 feet with jigs. “We caught a lot of good fi sh. You know it’s a good day when you cull two 4-pounders.”

The second place team of Brian Shook, China, and Danny Iles, Hemphill, came in with 15.53 pounds, and climbed to the top of the Angler of the Year standings with the championship still to come.

In third, Doug and Mason McCain from Lake Charles, La., brought three bass weighing 14.93 pounds to the scales.

— Staff report

DSC continues elephant fi ght

The Dallas Safari Club continues to pursue an aggressive approach to reversing a U. S. ban on importing ivory from lawfully hunted elephants from Tanzania and Zimbabwe in 2014.

Along with its partners, DSC is providing the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the data it needs to assuage concerns about regulated elephant hunting in the two African nations.

For example, elephants in areas of Zimbabwe are severely overpopu-lated and destroying their habitat.

Regulated hunting provides needed management. DSC is hopeful that this and other evidence will help the agency see that broad-brush actions such as nationwide bans have no basis in science or law and are bad public policy.

Combating criminal ivory traffi ckers by regulating legal hunter-conservationists, DSC offi cials say, is an ill-conceived, knee-jerk response by regulators.

“Regulating the lawful, in order to change the behavior of the unlawful, always fails,” said Ben Carter.

— DSC



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June 27, 2014 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting