Download pdf - November 23, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

LSONews.com LoneOStar Outdoor News November 23, 2012 Page 1

Galveston Bay Capt. David Harris has been catching redfi sh every time he heads out — in between deer hunting, of course.

“We’re picking up reds under birds, along with

some trout,” he said. “They are almost every-where we are going right now along shorelines and in guts. Just about every trip we are catching reds, even when targeting fl ounder and trout.”

Harris said he hasn’t bought live bait in months, and the fi sh are

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November 23, 2012 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 9, Issue 7

Fireback grouper

Testing their skillsBy Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

The challenge seemed simple enough.

Nine guides, one boat, 24 decoys, four shotgun shells, three clay pigeons and may the best man win.

That was the stage for the inau-gural Port Bay Guide Cup pre-sented by Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club near Rockport.

Guides are ultra-compet-itive, but their competition often revolves around their cli-ents’ skills, not necessarily their own. This was a chance for a year’s worth of bragging rights in a competition encompassing all the elements of being a top-notch duck guide.

The McBride blind, located sev-eral hundred yards from the main pier, was the target as the guides ran a course designed to test their skills in all things involved with taking duck hunters out for the daily hunt.

STRONG FINISH: Port Bay guide Alan Brackett races to the fi nish in an effort to win the First Annual Port Bay Guide Cup. He won a new shot-gun for beating out eight other guides on a course designed to test their skills in all things duck hunting. Photos by David J. Sams, LSON. See PORT BAY, Page 28

❘❚ LSONews.com

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 21Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 21Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 22Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 30Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 22Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 24Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 14Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 21

Inside

Deep-water bite is on.Page 23

Cold water crappie❘❚ FISHING

Buck loses fi ght with swing.Page 4

Unusual headgear

Lifelong dream fulfi lled.Page 8

Texas angler earns fi nal Classic berth

Some bright spots across the state.Page 4

Quail opener

❘❚ HUNTING

Rut is on in parts of TexasBy Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

According to area biologists, Nov. 15 marks the kickoff for the white-tailed deer rut in Jack County.

From what Texas

Game Warden Gary Hobbs has seen, that would be accurate this season.

“I tell you what, this is probably as good a rut as I have seen in the past four or fi ve years,” Hobbs

said. “They’ve been at it real hard the past fi ve days with the cold front that blew in. I’ve seen quite a few nice deer this week.”

LOVE IN THE AIR: Deer in the northern portion of the state have been rutting for several weeks, with each cold front kicking off more activity. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Rolling Plains, North Texas seeing action

See RUT, Page 15

Redfi sh bite good after cold fronts

See REDFISH Page 18

COMING ON: The redfi sh bite has been consistent on days between cold fronts. Photo by Scott Sommerlatte, for LSON.

Duck men competefor fi rst-ever Port Bay

Guide Cup

Rare, colorful fi sh caught off coast. Page 9

Page 2 November 23, 2012 LoneOStar Outdoor News LSONews.com



HUNTING

Wings whistling across the stateCOME ON DOWN: Most hunters have experienced a good first half of the season, with gadwall, wigeon, teal and redheads being the most commonly reported ducks. Photo by Scott Sommerlatte, for LSON.

By John KeithLone Star outdoor newS

After what was an exceptional teal season for most waterfowlers, hunters have headed out hoping for a continuation of the early success.

Even though a record number of ducks were reported in the breeding grounds, most hunters haven’t yet seen the above-

average push of birds that was expected.“Last year was the best year I ever had,”

said Richard Pulvino, who guides on several North Texas lakes. “This year was supposed to be good and it’s just kind of an average

year, like any other year. I haven’t seen the hordes of ducks like they were talking about, but I did see hordes of bluewings.”

Pulvino said the teal haven’t stuck around, but some bigger birds have moved in.

“It’s usually raining little ducks out on the lake, but I haven’t seen them,” he said. “I am seeing a lot of mallards in the dead timber and on one of the lakes I hunt, there’s pretty much nothing but shovelers.

“The mallards were early and there are still mallards right now.”

Now that’s a nontypical

See WINGS, Page 15

Bags have been mixed for hunters

By Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Chad Heise received a surprise when he checked his trail cameras last month.

A young buck sporting antlers that would garner serious attention in several years had an attachment of sorts — what appeared to be a tree swing, complete with ropes and all attached to its head.

“I have no idea where this buck came from,” Heise said. “He just showed up. I actu-ally got a few more pictures of the buck and the rope has now, unfortunately, wrapped around his neck. It doesn’t seem to be chok-ing him, yet.”

Heise said he sent an email to neighboring landowners to see if anyone is missing a tree swing, but nobody claimed to have had one.

“I have no idea where the swing came from,” he said.

Heise said the deer has great potential, but he will harvest the young buck if he sees him, before the animal suffers.

“I do have plans (to take him),” he said. “He’s such a nice young buck, but I imagine I will take him if I see him, before he wraps the rope around a tree or fence and dies a miser-able death.”

Buck with tree swing photographed in

Comal County

IS THAT A SWING? This young buck became entangled in a tree swing on a property in Comal County. Photo by Chad Heise.

Quail opener dim, few bright spots


The preseason quail outlook warned of low numbers of birds, and that’s what most hunters who have headed into the fields have found so far this season.

But some areas of South Texas

and the Panhandle that received timely rainfall have enjoyed some good shooting.

“We started out on opening day with three trucks of hunters and had 10, nine and seven coveys,” said Mike Wyatt of First Shot Outfitters.

Public opportunities hit or (mostly)

miss FLUSHED: Multiple ranches reported low numbers of birds, but some areas have seen a rebound after last year’s drought. Photo by First Shot Outfitters.See QUAIL OPENER, Page 20


By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

In pronghorn and desert bighorn country, West Texas ranches could learn a thing or two by looking at the fences from African “farms.”

The fences allow wild, and very large, animals that aren’t jump-

ers to easily access the other side by going under the fence without injury.

And some organizations are working to get more animal-friendly fencing installed in the U.S.

The fencing at the property of Deithelm and Katja Metzger at

Makadi Safaris in Namibia uses high tensile galvanized steel wires with no barbs, Deithelm Metzger said.

The wooden posts are about 18 meters apart, with usually five “spacers,” smaller wooden posts cut just beneath the bottom wire.

“The bottom wire is a little higher

and a little more loose so the ani-mals don’t have any problem going under the fence,” he said. “And along the game trails, we use holes by taking off the lowest two wires.”

The holes occur about every 400 meters, and are used by larger ani-mals like ostrich, gemsbok and even zebra and giraffe, Metzger said.

Gemsbok and red hartebeest are regularly observed going under the fence with ease, even with their large bodies and long horns.

“And most of the crossings are right in the middle between the two posts,” said professional hunter John Jacobs. “The animals figure out where it is easiest to cross.”

But what about the cattle, since the African “farm” is synonymous with the Texas ranch, and most mix their cattle and hunting operations.

“We haven’t had any trouble with the cattle at all,” said Katja Metzger. “The calves do go under the fence, but they just cross right back to be with their mother.”

Diethelm Metzger, who attended graduate school at Texas A&M University, is at a loss why barbed wire remains so common in Texas.

“It rusts, it sags, because you can’t pull it as tight, and it doesn’t last as long,” he said.

Organizations that support the pronghorn and wild sheep are try-ing to change the reliance on the standard, barbed wire fencing in areas where these animals live to allow for movement throughout their corridors.

In Wyoming, the Wyoming Land Trust, through its Corridor Conservation Campaign, is work-ing through its partners, consist-ing of industry, governmental and conservation groups, to install 500 miles of wildlife- and live-stock-friendly fencing.

The campaign pays to modify the fences at no cost to the land-owners if existing fences impede migration in key wildlife migra-tion routes.

So far, the campaign has modi-fied hundreds of miles of fencing with a bare lowest wire set at 18 inches from the ground and an increased spread in the top two strands.

Dr. Louis Harveson, Director of the Borderlands Research Institute

A lesson in fencesAfrica, western states promote wildlife-friendly barriers

See FENCES, Page 20

FENCES FOR ANIMALS: African fences are designed to permit the movement of large animals with even larger horns to pass underneath to the next pasture, without compromising cattle operations. John Jacobs, professional hunter at Makadi Safaris in Namibia, shows a raised area in the fence where large animals pass beneath the wire. Photo by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News.



It may not be the biggest deer harvested by a youth hunter this year, but it may be the one brought down with the least amount of noise.

Lane Haworth, 7, went hunting with his father, Chad, in Stephens County, using a suppressed .223 M4 to shoot a spike for his first deer.

“The suppressor cuts down on recoil and muzzle blast, so I knew it wouldn’t scare him,” Chad said. “It was nice and quiet. He hunted last year but I never got him on a deer, and I don’t think he was quite ready; it was prob-ably just more wishful think-ing on my part.”

Before this year’s deer sea-son, the pair spent a lot of time shooting and getting ready for Lane’s first shot at

a deer.“I knew he was ready this

year for sure,” Chad said. “At first light we saw a deer. I thought it was a doe at first, but right at enough light I could see it was a little buck.”

Chad quickly realized the deer was a spike and knew it was time for Lane to put his practice to the test.

First deer taken quietlySeven-year-old bags spike with a suppressed rifle

DOWN AND OUT: Seven-year-old Lane Haworth harvested his first deer while hunting with his father in Stephens County. Lane was using a suppressed .223 M4. Photo by Chad Haworth.

See FIRST DEER, Page 20


By Craig NyhusLone Star outdoor newS

Mule deer MLD season dates to changeThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission

approved an extension to the Managed Land Deer Program season dates for mule deer, beginning in the 2013 season.

“The majority of respondents to our sur-vey favored a January closing,” said TPWD Mule Deer Program Leader Shawn Gray. “And there is no biologic concern to extend-ing the season.”

The commission extended the season dates until the last Sunday in January.

Pronghorn hunting to go permitless in three Panhandle areas

In areas of the northwest Panhandle, the pronghorn population is expanding to the point that a permitless system can be estab-lished on an experimental basis, said Shawn Gray, mule deer and pronghorn leader with TPWD.

“It’s a three-year pilot project with closely monitored populations in these three areas,” he said. “If it’s successful and has minimal or no decrease in the buck numbers or sex ratio or buck age structure, the areas could go to a permanent permitless system.”

Reporting will still be required for the tags, just as is required in the permit system, Gray said.

“And if after one year the harvest is too heavy, we’ll pull the plug on it,” he said.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the experimental project at its November meeting.

Two East Texas lakes’ bass regulations to change

Lake Jacksonville and Lake Kurth will see largemouth bass regulation changes begin-ning in 2013.

Lake Jacksonville currently has an 18-inch minimum length rule. Under the new rules,

TPWD will allow the harvest of up to two fish measuring less than 18 inches, rules similar to those at lakes Alan Henry and O.H. Ivie that have increased tournament activity.

At Lake Kurth near Lufkin, shocking sur-veys indicate that the lake has trophy bass potential. The current limits are the state-wide, five-fish limit.

The new rules include a 16-inch maximum length for the five-fish limit. A larger fish may be retained if it is going to be weighed for pos-sible entry into the ShareLunker program.

Red drum tags made easierThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission

removed a restriction on red drum tags at its November meeting.

Current regulations allow for the purchase of a bonus tag for a large redfish only after the tag included on the fishing license has been used.

The new rule permits the purchase of the bonus tag at the time of license purchase, and anglers may have both tags in their pos-session.

Federal red snapper violations to be enforced by state

Red snapper and several other species have different regulations depending on whether anglers are in state or federal waters.

However, the federal law enforcement offi-cials occasionally do not pursue violations depending on their severity, said Brandi Reeder, a game warden with TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division.

For example, if an angler lands four red snapper in federal waters and the federal officials choose not to pursue the case, the state is currently powerless to do anything — until now.

The new regulation, approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, makes it a state violation to be in possession of aquatic products in violation of federal law.

TPWD regulation changes


FISHING

Need a bigger fishbowlBy John KeithLone Star outdoor newS

Fishing records are broken all the time. But it’s the way one angler lost his record that is unusual.

For six months, Metroplex angler John Wiseman held the state record for largest goldfish; then officials retracted their verification of the fish’s identification, deeming it a butterfly koi.

Wiseman was having a slow night of fish-ing on Lake Tawakoni this summer when he brought in the unexpected catch.

“I had been going to Tawakoni a couple of times for crappie and catfish,” he said. “I had caught a couple of nice mixed bags fishing overnight and I started bringing my stuff to make dough bait with, so that if the fishing started slowing down at night I’d have something to stretch the line out.”

Wiseman said the fishing slowed down as he had anticipated one night at Uncle Rick’s Duck Cove Marina, and his dough bait consisting of Big Red and Wheaties started attracting big-mouth buffalo.

“I caught a 41-pound bigmouth buffalo, which is the lake record,” he said. “Three days after that I went back again. I hadn’t caught a fish for about three hours when he hit and I didn’t think much of it — he felt like another 6- or 7-pound carp, until he came up and I saw his fins.

“I knew he was different.”Wiseman’s catch quickly drew a crowd. He

told everybody to finish taking their pictures because he was going to put the fish back, but Liz from the marina said she thought it was a record.

“I took it down and got it weighed,” he said. “It was 7.24 pounds, while the previous (gold-fish) record was like 5 pounds. The game war-dens came out and took a look at it a couple of days later and confirmed that it was a goldfish.”

See FISHBOWL, Page 11

A little bit of everything


Anglers who want to search for fish away from the beach should find consistent, though not outstanding, fishing the next several weeks.

Reports indicate a smorgasbord of fish, with no one species as the star of the show.

“I’d give the fishing a fair; it’s not great,” said Mona Murphy of Capt. Murphy’s Charter Fishing in South Padre Island. “We haven’t been setting the world on fire, and we’ve had some current, which

hasn’t helped.”But Murphy said the

action has been good enough for anglers to stay satisfied.

“When we go, we’re getting some sharks, amberjack, kingfish, dorado and some tuna,” she said. “Once the norther blows in, that’ll be the end of the kingfish. We were catch-ing a bunch of blacktip sharks, but they have dropped off, too.”

Murphy said they have been fishing with squid on wrecks and rocks in depths from 60 to 120 feet, 15 to 20 miles out.

Nancy Groening of Dolphin Dock, Inc. in Port Aransas also men-tioned sharks on the list.

“We’ve been going out and doing really good,” she said. “Here in the last week we’ve caught a couple of big sharks, lots of vermillion snapper, some kingfish, grouper and amberjack.”

Groening also listed African pompano, dog snapper, ling and a few dorado.

“About two weeks ago we had a few wahoos and a week ago we caught some blackfin tuna,” she said. “It’s a big variety.”

Groening said she

STATE RECORD, FOR A WHILE: John Wiseman caught this 7.24-pound butterfly koi while fishing one night on Lake Tawakoni. The fish was accepted as the state record goldfish until it was recently decertified after further review. Photo by John Wiseman.

And a whole lot of snapper

thought the cold weather would bring the mako sharks in closer, which she said happened last year. Most of their fish are being caught on squid and sardines, but they use ribbonfish for the kingfish and bonita to target big sharks.

On the upper coast, Capt. Marc Wilkerson has had some success going 50 to 60 miles out of Freeport when the wind and waves will allow it.

“When I can get around the weather I’ve been get-ting out,” he said. “We’ve done pretty good on mahi-

mahi. We’re catching blackfin tuna and wahoo, with a few kingfish thrown in there.”

Wilkerson said he uses both live and dead baits, fishing underwater structure, reefs and grasslines when he can find them.

Both Groening and Murphy reported difficulty avoiding red snapper.

Mona Murphy, (956) 761-2764Nancy Groening, (800) 393-3474Capt. Marc Wilkerson, (979) 236-8368

SEEKING STRUCTURE: Offshore fishing hasn’t been exceptional for anglers, but it has been consistent. Shark and blackfin tuna have been reported, when anglers can avoid the red snapper. Photo by Conor Harrison.

Nacogdoches angler fulfills dream, earns Classic spotBy Conor HarrisonLone Star outdoor newS

Albert Collins knew he had an advantage fish-ing his home waters of Sam Rayburn Reservoir on Nov. 7-10 at the Bassmaster Weekend Series National Championship.

Collins was throwing crankbaits and soft plas-tics to fish he knew were there. Luckily, the fish cooperated and Collins won the tournament, earning his first-ever trip to the 2013 Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees in Oklahoma.

“I know (Rayburn) pretty well,” he said, “but I also had a really good tournament. The weights were a couple of pounds higher than I thought they would be. The tournament was still tough,

but not as tough as the lake had been fishing.“We had the right weather conditions and the fish

got into places they normally go.”Covering a lot of water, Collins threw a deep-

diving crankbait by 6th Sense Lures in thread-fin-shad pattern, alternating with a Zoom Ol’ Monster worm in plum apple color.

“I just had a really great tournament,” he said. “I was fortunate to be able to get the bites.”

Along with winning $100,000, Collins fulfilled his lifelong dream of competing against the best bass anglers in the world at the Classic.

“It is going to be the experience of a lifetime,” he said. “It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and now I’m going.”

Collins fishes a lot of the local Texas tourna-ments, including Bass Champs, the ABA Weekend

Series and Bass-N-Bucks Tournament Trail. He has never fished Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, but is planning on starting right after Thanksgiving.

“I’m getting some information right now,” he said. “I just got some lake maps and I am going to go up after Thanksgiving and fish for several weeks, until they close it down.”

Collins is confident headed into the Classic, where he expects to do well.

“I want to win,” he said. “Obviously, everyone wants to win, but my plan is to go up there and compete for the win. I will be satisfied with a top five or even a top 10, but the goal is to win. I’d like to see all of the Texas boys do well.”

Collins will join the Texas contingent of Alton Jones, Todd Faircloth, Yusuke Miyazaki and Takahiro Omori at the Classic.

ALBERT COLLINS


Rare fireback grouper hauled in


It’s true that you never know what you might catch when you go fishing. And

sometimes, it may be a fish you aren’t even familiar with.

Capt. Bill Platt of Galveston is no exception, having caught a lot of fish

in his years of fishing recre-ationally as well as in tour-naments.

But this summer, he pulled in something even he had never seen before.

“We were fishing in about 300 feet of water, out of Galveston about 100 miles,” he said. “We were bottom-fishing, catching grouper and some warsaw. Then I hooked into a fish, but got hung up in the bottom.”

Platt could have easily lost the fish, but managed to free the line and bring the fireback grouper up to the surface. He said he didn’t immediately know what he had caught.

“It was quite something,” he said. “Those things are pretty rare and I had never caught one, even though I’ve been fishing the Gulf my whole life.”

The fireback grouper was caught using a small blue runner.

“You can see the colors really well and that’s why I like it so much,” he said. “I saw all the colors and was like ‘Wow, he’s all lit up.’ It’s a fluorescent, bright color.

“I’ve caught 500-pound blue marlin, and yeah they’re pretty, but this was the best-looking fish I’ve ever caught.”

FIRED UP: Capt. Bill Platt of Galveston caught this fireback grouper on a live blue runner while fishing 100 miles out of Galveston. Photo by Bill Platt.


ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 62–69 degrees; 9.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on drop-shot rigs, shaky heads, Texas rigs, jigs and medium-running shad pattern crankbaits. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 72–76 degrees; 33.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits, frogs, crankbaits and soft plastics. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp over baited holes. Yellow catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live perch.

ATHENS: Water clear, 64–68 de-grees; 3.50’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged soft plas-tics and spinner baits around shal-low cover. Some action reported on lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

BASTROP: Water lightly stained; 71–75 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse spinner baits, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows and white tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers and stinkbait.

BELTON: Water clear; 70–74 de-grees; 5.42’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon crankbaits and lipless crankbaits in coves. Crappie are good on minnows. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp and stinkbait.

BOB SANDLIN: Water clear; 65–69 degrees; 5.32’ low. Largemouth bass are good on white spinner baits and lipless crankbaits.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits and dark soft plastic worms. Striped bass are good on green striper jigs and shad. Redfi sh are good on crawfi sh, shad and shrimp.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 62–67 degrees; 14.53’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on shad-patterned crankbaits on main lake. White bass are good on slabs.

BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 70–73 degrees; 10.16’ low. Largemouth bass to 3 pounds are fair on chartreuse jigs, dark spinner baits and perch-colored crankbaits. White bass are good on soft plastics and shad-colored crankbaits off lighted docks at night. Crappie are good on

minnows and blue tube jigs over brush piles under lights at night. Channel catfi sh are good on live bait over baited holes.

BUCHANAN: Water stained; 70–74 degrees; 27.37’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse spin-ner baits, lipless crankbaits and crankbaits early and late. Striped bass are good on swim baits and silver striper jigs early.

CADDO: Water stained; 65–69 degrees; 1.05’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on Texas-rigged soft plastics in green pumpkin. White and yellow bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on blue soft plastic worms with gold fl akes. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on cheesebait and shad in 181 Cove.

CANYON LAKE: Water lightly stained; 71–75 degrees; 7.97’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shad-colored crankbaits, white spinner baits and Texas-rigged watermelon green worms and watermelon plas-tics over brush piles early. Striped bass are good on artifi cial minnows and chartreuse striper jigs over humps at daylight. Smallmouth bass are good on pumpkin jigs, green pumpkin tubes and smoke curl tail grubs. Crappie are good on minnows and green tube jigs upriver. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on juglines baited with live perch.

CEDAR CREEK: Water clear; 64–68 degrees; 3.39’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits around any shallow cover and docks. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 73–77 degrees; 16.03’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits and soft plastics in 5 to 15 feet. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on liver, nightcrawlers, and stinkbait.

COLEMAN: Water lightly stained; 70–74 degrees; 12.82’ low. Largemouth bass are good on small spinner baits and crankbaits.

CONROE: Water clear; 69–73 degrees; 3.10’ low. Largemouth bass are good on pumpkinseed soft plastics, spinner baits and crankbaits early and late. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

COOPER: Water clear; 64–69 de-grees; 5.98’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut bait.

FALCON: Water murky; 77–81 de-grees; 34.48’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored plastics and lipless crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are excellent on cut bait and stinkbait upriver.

FAYETTE: Water stained. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina-rigged soft plastic worms, top-waters and shad-colored crankbaits.

FORK: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 4.21’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on spinner baits and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 70–74 degrees; 5.08’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse spinner baits, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. White bass are good on hellbenders and pet spoons. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 63–67 degrees; 6.67’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on crankbaits around main lake points. Texas-rigged soft plastics and fi nesse jigs are effective around marina docks later in the day. White bass are good on slabs and jigs.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water stained; 69–73 degrees; 0.35’ high. Largemouth bass to 4 pounds are good on blue soft plastic worms, top-waters and shad-colored deep-diving crankbaits in 20 feet. Crappie are good on live minnows in 20 feet. Catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with shad and perch in 20 feet.

HUBBARD CREEK: Water off-color; 64–69 degrees; 19.02’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on top-waters, shad-patterned crankbaits, Texas rigs and jigs. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 64–68 degrees; 2.35’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged soft plastic creature baits in watermelon red. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 64–68 degrees; 4.06’ low. Largemouth bass are good on lipless crankbaits around grass and shallow cover. Catfi sh are good on cut trotlines.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 64–69 degrees; 8.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged crea-ture baits around shallow cover. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LBJ: Water clear; 72–76 degrees; 0.28’ low. Largemouth bass are very good on watermelon red plas-tics, chartreuse lipless crankbaits and plastic swimbaits on creek points. White bass are very good on minnows and soft plastics at night. Crappie are good on live minnows and blue tube jigs over brush piles.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 63–67 degrees; 5.77’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on weightless crankbaits and shaky heads around marinas. White bass are good on slabs and jigs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 73–77 degrees; 0.46’ low. Largemouth bass are good on water-melon/chartreuse soft plastics and spinner baits. Crappie are good on minnows. Blue catfi sh are good on shad, shrimp, and prepared baits.

MARTIN CREEK: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 5.08’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinner baits and crankbaits around shallow cover, midday switching to soft plastics in the same areas. Crappie are good on jigs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut shad.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 82–88 degrees; 0.88’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged soft plastics and black and blue jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut bait.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water lightly stained; 71–75 degrees; 2.33’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs at the fi shing docks in Liberty Hill Park.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 62–68 degrees; 33.09’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, chatterbaits and shaky heads. Catfi sh are fair

to good on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

OAK CREEK: Water stained; 63–68 degrees; 16.77’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on chrome lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, shad-patterned crankbaits and shaky heads. Crappie are good on jigs and live minnows over brush piles. Catfi sh are good on chartreuse nightcrawlers.

PALESTINE: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 1.68’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on black/blue jigs and Texas-rigged soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 63–68 degrees; 8.55’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on shallow-running crankbaits, Texas rigs, jigs and drop-shot rigs. Crappie are good on minnows.

PROCTOR: Water lightly stained; 72–76 degrees; 4.73’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red soft plastic worms and lipless crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are very good on stinkbait and frozen shrimp.

RAY HUBBARD: Water clear; 63–67 degrees; 3.61’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged plastics around shallow docks and rocks. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 3.43’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged soft plastic baits along edges of grass. Lipless crankbaits are effective at times. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait or live shad.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 4.15’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on fl ipping jigs around the docks. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs and live shad. Crap-pie are good on minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 70–74 degrees; 2.12’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair on silver striper jigs. White

bass are good on small water-melon spinner baits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on chicken livers and doughbait.

STILLHOUSE: Water stained; 71–75 degrees; 4.31’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics, crankbaits and spinner baits. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp, hot dogs and nightcrawlers.

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 65–69 degrees; 4.06’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on white, bladed jigs and fl ipping jigs around docks. White bass are good on slabs. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on white or shad-patterned artifi cials in the deeper water when suspending during the day. Drifting live bait is also producing. Catfi sh are good on cut bait and trotlines.

TEXOMA: Water clear; 63–67 degrees; 4.31’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-diving crankbaits along main lake points. Striped bass are good on slabs.

TOLEDO BEND: Water lightly stained; 69–74 degrees; 4.00’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on water-melon soft plastic worms, top-waters, and shallow-running crankbaits. White bass are good on minnows and hellbenders. Crappie are fair on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on minnows and prepared bait.

TRAVIS: Water clear; 71–75 degrees; 47.83’ low. Largemouth bass to 4 pounds are good on pumpkinseed soft plastic worms and top-waters in 10 to 25 feet. Crappie are good on minnows.

WHITNEY: Water lightly stained; 71–75 degrees; 8.49’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on water-melon red soft plastic worms with chartreuse tails. Catfi sh are good on frozen shrimp and stinkbait.

— TPWD

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTCrappie is king

CADDO LAKE — The cooler weather has helped the crappie fi shing on the lake, according to area guide Slim Quinn.

“The crappie have started biting good the last couple of days,” he said. “We caught about 75 today.”

Quinn said he has been focusing on crappie, but has seen bass staying active.

“I’ve seen them schooling in the channels,” he said.When he is fi shing for bass, anything in a shad pattern is getting the bites, including soft

plastics, spinner baits and crankbaits.Crappie are biting on both shiners and jigs, with the best fi shing on the edge of the river

channel.To contact Slim Quinn, call (318) 402-9493.

Worms for sunfi shCOMAL RIVER — The sunfi sh bite has been good in southeast

Comal County, according to area anglers.Anglers utilizing a bottom-fi shing technique with live worms are pull-

ing the fi sh in, including bluegills, redbreasts and big rios. Bass have been

a little harder to come by, though one angler said he has seen largemouth that would go over 10 pounds in the river.

One benefi t to fi shing the river this time of year is the temperature in the river stays consis-tent, meaning the fi sh stay more active throughout the cooler months, he said.

Fish have been biting in 4 to 7 feet of water.

Big blues, smaller channelsLAKE CONROE — The whiskered fi sh are still biting good,

according to area guide Carl Bostick.“We’re catching a bunch of catfi sh and large bream,” he

said. “Everything else is in a pretty slow mode.”Bostick said live bait and shad around baited holes near brush anywhere from 14 to 25 feet

is working well, with most channel cats between 1 and 5 pounds.Blue cats are averaging 5 to 10 pounds and are best drifting the main lake around humps

with cut bait.“The white bass are gone completely,” he said. “But, we’re getting some hybrids trolling.”Largemouth aren’t great but are holding steady, he said. Crankbaits and soft plastics are

working the best for the bass.To contact Carl Bostick, call (9360 718-7983.

— John Keith

SEE MOREn Saltwater fi shing reports: Page 14

Anglers utilizing a bottom-fi shing technique with live worms are pull-ing the fi sh in, including bluegills, redbreasts and big rios. Bass have been


HRI, CCA partner for research center

The Harte Research Support Foundation and the Coastal Conservation Association have committed more than $800,000 to establish, within the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the first research center for the study of sport fish in the Western Gulf of Mexico.

“Whether the challenges are catastrophic or ongoing, the HRI is at the forefront in cre-ating solutions that protect and preserve the vast resources of the Gulf of Mexico,” said University President Flavius Killebrew. “The waters off the Texas coast have long been famous for attracting recreational anglers from throughout the world, and this part-nership with CCA will ensure that the sport fishing industry will continue to thrive for many years.”

CCA Texas has pledged $500,000 in sup-port of the center and the Harte Research Support Foundation is committing more than $300,000 to build a special purpose research vessel and to purchase supporting equipment.

“This partnership creates an exciting opportunity to focus on science that supports the multi-billion dollar recreational fish-ing industry on the Texas coast and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Dr. Larry McKinney, HRI’s executive director. “I could not think of a better partner than CCA Texas to make this dream a reality.”

CCA Texas and HRI will immediately begin to build the framework that will support the center’s research activities and will include provisions to bring additional partners into the center. Like-minded conservation organi-zations, business and industry are anticipated as potential members. Other research orga-

nizations will also be able to participate and contribute to the center’s efforts to build the science base for conservation of sport fisher-ies in the Gulf of Mexico.

— HRI

Record fish now easier to weigh

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Angler Recognition Program is building a statewide network of official weigh stations that have certified scales and are willing to weigh angler’s catches in their local service areas.

The new initiative is designed to make it easier for Texas anglers to find certified scales and submit their record catches.

Official weigh stations will receive official signage, application forms and a listing on the TPWD Angler Recognition Program web-site. The initiative is voluntary, and there is no fee or contract.

In December 2012, the Official Weigh Station system will replace the current method of listing certified scales with an automated system that is updated monthly.

— TPWD

Emergency zebra mussels order made permanent

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted recently to make permanent an emer-gency order adding Lake Ray Roberts, Lake Lewisville and the section of the Elm Fork of the Trinity that connects the two reservoirs to the list of water bodies under special regula-tions intended to control the spread of zebra mussels.

The emergency order had been signed by TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith at the end of July following the discovery earlier that month of the destructive invasive species in Lake Ray Roberts, which is north of Denton.

The rule approved by the commission does allow a person to travel on a public roadway via the most direct route to another access point located on the same body of water with-out draining water from their boat.

— TPWD

Recommendations made for seagrass

An advisory group of fishing, boating and conservation interests has made nine recom-mendations to protect seagrass and five to reduce user conflicts along the Texas coast, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners were told in a briefing last week.

The 19-member Coastal User Working Group was created by TPW Commission Chairman Dan Friedkin and led by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries Director Robin Riechers, with representatives from the fishing, guiding, paddling, airboating, and birding communi-ties, TPWD Law Enforcement and various conservation organizations.

The working group’s highest priority recom-mendation, with near unanimous agreement, was for the state to develop a coastwide sea-grass protection regulation. While TPWD does not currently have authority to create such a regulation, the working group said the depart-ment should collaborate and communicate with outside organizations and the Texas Legislature to create one. The group had other seagrass protection recommendations, includ-ing creating detailed maps depicting seagrass locations, developing tide indicators and pro-moting a seagrass awareness campaign.

In an effort to reduce current and poten-tial future user conflict between increasing and diversifying recreational activities, the working group developed five recommenda-tions, including the development of a code of ethics, lowering the minimum age required for boater education, and working with other agencies to allow for more effective rook-ery signage to be placed near bird nesting islands.

“Everyone who loves the Texas coast can appreciate the work of the Coastal User Working Group, and we at Texas Parks and Wildlife will be taking a hard look at their recommendations,” Riechers said. “Some of these, such as public education and signage, are an expansion of things we’re already doing. Many will require outside help. But their report gives us a thoughtful base of sup-port to move forward.”

— TPWD

Nominations sought for Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame

Individuals or organizations that have made a lasting contribution to freshwater fishing in Texas may be nominated through Dec. 31 for induction into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

Nominations may be made in the cat-egories of industry, angler or media. The nominee must be a Texan or Texas orga-nization. Individuals may be either living or deceased. Selection will be made by an independent committee; induction will take place during the annual Hall of Fame ban-quet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.

— TPWD

Corpus pier action solid


Pier anglers along the midcoast are having good luck this month,

with reported catches of bull reds, big black drum, nice-sized floun-der, trout and croaker making up the majority of the bag.

At the Red Dot Pier, Randy Doud reported solid catches of flounder and trout under the lights, along with several big drum and croaker.

“Lots of flounder being caught right now,” Doud said. “I had a guy catch two this morning. I weighed them both and they combined to go 6 pounds. I’d say the average size of the flounder right now is about 3 pounds each.

“They are catching those on white soft plastics and live perch.”

Doud said the good numbers of slot-sized trout are going home with anglers from the pier, espe-cially at night under the lights.

“If you want dinner, you can get it here right now pretty easily at night,” he said.

Most of the redfish caught recently have been of the slot-sized variety, with 26 inches being the biggest for the past week.

“There aren’t too many of the bull reds being caught anymore,”

he said. “Those kind of ended in late October.”

Just north at the Marker 37 Pier, Kyle Breen reported flounder is the number one fish being caught the past few days.

“We’ve had a lot of flounder and a few black drum,” Breen said. “Last night, a guy caught a 20-pound black drum. That has been the big-gest so far, but we expect the really big ones in another few weeks. There are a lot of flounder right now.”

Breen said live shrimp and cut bait were eliciting the most bites.

“It’s mostly live shrimp,” he said. “We haven’t caught too many reds lately, but several weeks ago a guy caught a 40-incher. I think that was the biggest we have seen this year.”

Internet reports farther south have anglers catching big redfish at the piers, especially when it is too rough to fish the jetties.

One angler reported seeing 15 bull redfish caught at the end of the Horace Caldwell Pier, along with some big black drum, sand trout and croaker.

Wiseman said he was amused to learn his “goldfish” was a record.

“While it’s prestigious, it’s hilarious,” he said. “You live your whole life wanting to catch a record and then you catch a damn goldfish.”

But after this story was first published on LSONews.com, the “goldfish” drew interest and speculation from biologists.

And after a reevaluation of the fish, Wiseman lost his spot in the record book, said Ron Smith of the Inland Fisheries Division for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“There have been some news releases that came out just recently and in the pro-cess our biologists questioned the game warden’s field iden-tification of the fish,” he said. “We sent it to an ichthyolo-gist for visual identification and it came back as not a goldfish. It’s a butterly koi.”

Smith said some changes are being implemented as the result of this accident.

“From now on every state record and any unusual fish that comes through will be sent automatically to our dis-trict biologist,” he said. “We realize that some of our game wardens may not have biologi-cal training. I’m taking the sit-uation as a learning experience and seeing a program change that we needed to make.”

Smith said that photo documentation will still be accepted, there will just be the additional level of verification.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries Biologist Rafe Brock, of Fort Worth, said it isn’t unheard of for anglers to occasionally catch koi or goldfish.

“Especially in urban envi-ronments, you get all these pet stores and pseudo-pet owners, and when they get tired of the family pet, instead of flushing it down the toilet or throw-ing it in the backyard, they’ll release it into a pond,” he said. “We don’t see too many of them, but you’ll see one or two every now and then.

“They don’t have a spawn around here and they’re pretty vulnerable to predation.”

FLOUNDER ARE ABUNDANT: Pier action has been good along the midcoast the past week. Photo by LSON.

FishbowlContinued From Page 8


MOWING FOR NEIGHBOR WASN’T KIND GESTURE

Trespassers mowed the fence line in a very large area of an adjacent land-owner’s property in a heavily wooded area. The landowner found an aban-doned tractor with a flat tire, along with deer feeders placed along the fence line. Titus County Game Warden Jerry Ash responded and caught two men trespassing to repair the tractor tire. At the landowner’s request, both subjects were cited for criminal trespass and warned for criminal mischief for mow-ing down the property owner’s brush.

USING CHILD’S DEER TAG IS NOT YOUTH HUNTING

During the youth hunting weekend, Wood County Game Warden Derek Spitzer received a call from a land-owner who heard several shots from a nearby sweet potato field. Spitzer found a truck exiting the field and made con-tact with the hunters. A man said his 10-year-old daughter had killed a deer and that they were going to get some help getting it out of the field. The dad later confessed to shooting the 7-point buck and said he did not have enough money to buy his daughter a gun that she could shoot, so he shot the deer himself and used her license to tag the deer. Cases pending.

FOOTPRINTS GIVE AWAY TRESPASSING HOG HUNTERS

Guadalupe County Game Warden Kevin Frazier received a call from a local landowner stating that some-one had been on his ranch and left a bucket full of corn, milk and flour at one of his deer feeders. For three hours, Frazier tracked three sets of footprints that appeared to be hunt-ing all three deer blinds. Later that day, the landowner had just finished putting up some game cameras when the poachers came back onto his property. The landowner sent Frazier a text stating, “They are back.” Frazier called the landowner but

could tell from the landowner’s voice that something was not right, and that there was a standoff occurring. Frazier told the landowner to talk to the illegal hunters and buy some time while he called the sheriff’s office to send some deputies. Frazier was 45 minutes away, but was able to direct the deputies by cell phone to find the two illegal hunters. Frazier arrived shortly thereafter, and after telling the two men that their foot-prints matched those he had been tracking earlier in the day, the two men stated that they had been on the ranch hunting hogs. Cases pending.

A BUSY WEEKEND FOR THESE WARDENSA landowner contacted Hardeman/

Ford County Game Warden Matt Thompson and Wilbarger County Game Warden Dyke McMahen about a subject on his game camera who appeared to be rattling and using a grunt call on Halloween night. The wardens were able to locate and arrest the individual for hunting deer at night and hunting without landowner consent. The subject is also a convicted felon. The subject’s partner killed a 130-class whitetail

with his bow earlier in the year and is under investigation for current residency. Thompson also received a call regarding two deer carcasses dumped on the side of the road. Three interviews later, a 160-class buck was discovered, along with a 130-class buck hidden under ply-wood. The subject had killed the smaller buck and then later saw the larger one. He took the tag off the smaller buck and put it on the big-ger buck in a one-buck county.

STORIES GET CROSSED, STEPSON GOES TO JAIL

On opening weekend of deer sea-son at 9 p.m., Williamson County Game Wardens Turk Jones and Joel Campos noticed what appeared to be a deer camp. At the camp, they observed five trailers with 12 hunt-ers. Campos checked a hunter who stated his stepdad shot one buck. Jones checked the stepdad who said his stepson shot the buck. Finally, the wardens got a confession from the stepdad that he used his tag because he didn’t want to get his stepson in trouble and that the step-son shot the deer early that morning.

The stepson admitted to using a 25.06-caliber rifle to shoot the deer. He stated he wasn’t on the lease, so he didn’t want to get in trou-ble. Campos conducted a criminal history and the stepson had been convicted on a felony theft charge. The stepdad received a citation, and the stepson was taken to jail for felon in possession of a firearm.

STARTING DEER SEASON A LITTLE EARLYOn Oct. 27, a Bell County trooper,

while working an accident scene, noticed a deer in the back of the truck and notified Bell County Game Warden Chris Wilson. The subject had left the scene but was located the next day. He told Wilson that he had shot the deer last year and was taking it to a friend’s home to cook the next day. Wilson continued his investigation to try and confirm when the deer had been killed. On Nov. 1, Bell County Game Warden Justin Valchar and Wilson again interviewed the subject, who then admitted shooting the deer on Oct. 26 at his lease. The deer had not been tagged and there was no proof of sex. The wardens also discov-

ered that the person watching over the ranch had no rights to lease the property for hunting. Valchar had caught four hunters hunting deer at night on the same ranch last year.

DOVE SEASON ENDED EARLIER THIS YEARMason County Game Warden

Randall Brown heard a few shots but could not find the shooters. Later, when it was nearly dark, a pickup came out of a ranch, so Brown stopped them and asked if they had any luck. They said every year they come out the weekend before deer season, get feeders set up and then hunt dove. They said one subject had killed four dove and the other had not shot. Randall informed them dove season had ended three days earlier.

ILLEGAL BUCKS AND TOMBurleson County Game Warden

Sophia Hiatt received a call con-cerning some hunters who had illegally killed a doe. At the ranch, Hiatt noticed that it was not a doe, but rather an illegal buck deer (under 13 inches). As she talked to the hunters and looked around the camp, she found another illegal buck in the bed of a truck along with a turkey. Hiatt seized the two ille-gal deer as well as the gobbler, since Burleson County does not have an open turkey season. Cases pending.

RAISING TILAPIA IN POOLS MORE THAN JUST FOR HOME COOKING

Harris County Game Warden Jennifer Inkster received a tip from the Houston Police Department that an individual was housing live tilapia in a kiddie pool in his backyard. The officers believed the fish were for the owners’ private consumption. When Inkster arrived, the suspect had an Olympic-sized swim-ming pool filled with Mozambique tilapia, and five other pools filled with various tilapia species. The individual admitted to selling to friends and neigh-bors. Case pending.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

After midnight, Palo Pinto County Game Warden Matt Waggoner observed a truck driving in a closed portion of the Brazos River riverbed. Waggoner made contact with the occupants of the vehicle and found them to be intoxicated. Waggoner then obtained con-sent to search the vehicle and found blood, hair, and half of a quartered doe in the bed of the truck. A Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived on the scene to help. The subjects admitted to shooting a small doe with a pistol, quartering the deer and dump-ing the remainder of the carcass on a county road. Palo Pinto County Game Warden David Pellizzari arrived to help process the scene and follow up on the inves-tigation. As the wardens were leaving the scene to recover the deer parts and to transport the subjects to

jail, Pellizzari observed a vehicle cross the river, stop for a minute, and then back up into the river and begin spinning his tires. The vehicle was throwing gravel onto Pellizzari’s truck and skidding sideways at a high rate of speed. Pellizzari stopped the vehicle for driving in a closed riverbed and made contact with the driver. This driver also was intoxicated, and was arrested for felony DWI 3rd or more. Waggoner seized the meat from the doe and arrested the first subject for multiple charges ranging from public intoxication to illegal possession of a white-tailed deer. On the way to the jail, the DWI subject told Pellizzari that he was coming to pull out some of his friends who were stuck in the river. Pellizzari explained to him that Waggoner had already found them and that they would all be reunited at the Palo Pinto County Jail.

SHENANIGANS ON RIVERBED LEADS TO MEETING AT JAIL



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

SOUTH SABINE: Trout are good under the birds. Bull redfi sh are good at the jetty on crabs. Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp.

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

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good under the bird and while working pods of shad and mullet on soft plastics.

Redfi sh are good at the spill-way on crabs and mullet.

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

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Flounder are fair to good on the edge of the channel on scented plastics and jigs tipped with shrimp.

TEXAS CITY: Redfi sh are good in Moses Lake on mullet and dead shrimp. Flounder

are fair on scented plastics around the Flood Gates.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Bull redfi sh are good at San Luis pass on cracked blue crabs. Flounder are good around the pass on jigs tipped with shrimp and fi nger mullet.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp over humps and scattered shell. Redfi sh are good in the middle of the bay under diving gulls.

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

Flounder are fair to good on soft plastics over muddy bot-toms at the locks.

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

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair over grass while drifting with live shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good on the Estes Flats on mullet and shrimp. Flounder are fair to good on the edge of the channel on scented plastics.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfi sh are fair to good on the East Flats on top-waters and scented plastics. Flounder are fair around Pelican Island on scented plastics and jigs tipped with shrimp.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh are fair to good around Shamrock Cove on small top-waters and spoons. Black drum and redfi sh are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on top-waters. Redfi sh are good in the Land Cut on natural baits.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on top-waters

around sand and grass holes. Redfi sh are fair to good while drifting potholes and sight-casting to the shallows. Bull redfi sh are good at East Cut on crabs and mullet.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout, fl ounder and redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on DOA Shrimp and scented plastics. Redfi sh are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs.

PORT ISABEL: Trout are good at Airport Cove and Laguna Vista on small top-waters. Redfi sh and fl ounder are fair on the edge of the ICW on scented plastics and shrimp.

— TPWD

Sponsored by

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORTSlammed in the wind

PORT ARTHUR — Flounder, redfi sh and trout have all been hungry, but the fi sh aren’t neces-sarily huge, according to Capt. Randy Foreman.

“I’m doing good over here,” he said, “but we have a lot of small fi sh and not a lot of Texas-sized fi sh.”

Foreman said the wind has been a factor, but even when it makes fi shing tough, he has still been able to box out. The fi sh he has opened have been full of shrimp, he said.

“We still have tons and tons of bait coming in,” he said. “The salinity is still really high here; we haven’t had any rain.”

Foreman has been throwing artifi cials, including white shrimp and glow shrimp with a char-treuse tail.

To contact Capt. Randy Foreman, call (409) 719-6067.

Redfi sh action recedingPORT O’CONNOR — The redfi sh have been hungry, just not for anything on the end of a

line, according to area anglers.A fi shing guide in Calhoun County said the fi shing has slowed down in the past week, with

the bull red run mostly over. There are some good-sized reds, however, that have made their

way into the marshes to fi nd live bait.Many fi sh are shallow and will occasion-

ally hit a top-water early, but are spending a lot of their time chasing mullet.

The angler said Dec. 1 was shaping up to be an exceptionally good start of fl oun-

der gigging.

Liking live baitTEXAS CITY — Anglers have been having more and more

success around Texas City, according to Cody Sintos of Boyd’s One Stop.

“It’s really been pretty good fi shing,” he said. “The fl ounder are starting to really run and there are lots of reds being caught.”

Sintos said shrimp and mullet have been the popular choice for anglers.

“The fi shing is starting to get better,” he said. “We’re starting to see more black drum com-ing, too.”

Anglers targeting speckled trout under the lights at night are also catching good fi sh.To contact Boyd’s One Stop, call (409) 945-4001.

— John Keith

way into the marshes to fi nd live bait.

ally hit a top-water early, but are spending a lot of their time chasing mullet.

to be an exceptionally good start of fl oun-der gigging.

to be an exceptionally good start of fl oun-der gigging.

out. The fi sh he has opened have been full of shrimp, he said.

are starting to really run and there are lots of reds being caught.”Sintos said shrimp and mullet have been the popular choice for

are starting to really run and there are lots of reds being caught.”are starting to really run and there are lots of reds being caught.”


Hobbs said the majority of the deer killed in his area the fi rst few weeks of the season were does and young bucks, but several nice deer have been killed this week.

“I’ve seen two big bucks behind low fences,” he said. “They were both big old deer with swollen necks. There have been a good many deer killed here the past few weeks, but the big boys are just start-ing to show up.”

In Young County, 3 Amigos Ranch owner Frank Marino said the rut has started there, as well.

“The rut has defi nitely kicked off,” Marino said. “We killed a 178 1/2-inch buck this week and the season has been going really well. The deer are coming to feeders better than they were early in the season, but still not great.

“But every time we sit, we are seeing deer at the feeders.”

Farther south in the Hill Country, Game Warden Scott Holly in Edwards County said the deer hunting has been kind of slow the past few weeks.

“There are a lot of young bucks running around right now,” he said. “There are still a lot of acorns on the ground and a lot of natural foliage right now, so the deer have been tough to see. I think with this cold front that we just got, it should bring some of the bigger deer out.”

The rut has not kicked off in deep South Texas, although good bucks have been seen and shot, and hunters are expecting an exciting rut in about a month.

Mason County biologist Kory Perlichek said the rut

has kicked off in a big way across the northern portion of the Hill Country.

“I’ve heard from multiple landowners that the bucks are hot and heavy after the does,” Perlichek said. “And they’re pretty serious about it — noses to the ground and panting. I don’t believe we have hit peak rut yet, but I expect that in the next week or two.

“The recent cold spell really got them moving.”

Perlichek said he saw rut-ting activity this season as early as the last weekend of October, earlier than nor-mal. However, despite good rutting activity, good bucks have been hard to come by for some hunters.

“There is still a really good acorn crop on the ground,” he said. “It has been hard hunting, because the bucks would rather eat those acorns than corn. But a lot of people are seeing some good bucks.”

In East Texas, some good deer have been shot chasing does.

According to one hunter around Jasper who talked to LSON, he shot a doe that was being trailed by a young buck. After the doe had been shot, the buck tried to breed her.

“They aren’t really coming to the feeders,” the hunter said. “We did shoot the big-gest buck that has been killed on our lease in 20 years, according to the landowner. The 13-inch rule is really paying off in this part of the state. But the deer are getting harder to see as the hunting pressure gets higher.

“We aren’t seeing many deer in the fi elds.”

Internet reports have rutting activity going on in Montague, Comanche, Grayson and Erath counties.

Rut Continued From Page 1

Pulvino said, in addition to low numbers of teal, he hasn’t seen many gadwall, but the hunting has been steady with nice numbers of birds over-all. He keeps his decoy strategies consis-tent during the fi rst half of the season.

“Since I hunt public water, I always go overboard on the decoys on open water, putting out a min-imum of nine dozen decoys,” he said. “When I hunt in the dead tim-ber, I usually put out no more than two dozen for the fi rst split.”

Along the coast, hunters are see-ing ducks of a different color. Capt. Rob Peel has been seeing red hunt-ing between Matagorda and Port O’ Connor.

“I bet we saw 10,000 redheads — they were in droves,” said Peel of a recent trip. “We had about 10 or 12 guys and everybody had a limit by 7 a.m. of redheads and pintails.”

When the redheads aren’t bomb-ing the decoys, Peel said a few blue-bills, wigeon and teal have been brought down.

“The redheads are just phe-nomenal and there are quite a few pintails,” he said. “If you can get off the beaten path somewhere, you can do good. We’re using airboats to get back in the fi ngers of the marsh, and we all use laydown blinds.”

Hunters in the Panhandle are not only seeing ducks, but large groups of geese as well.

“There are lots of geese here right now,” said Terry Cook of Straight Line Outfi tters in Amarillo. “Cactus

Lake had no water last year and it got water in it this year, so the birds have their old roost pond back. We’re real excited.”

The waterfowl estimate on Cactus Lake is 30,000 snow geese and 10,000 Canada geese.

For ducks, Cook said wigeon and green-winged teal are the most numerous, along with pintail and some redheads. He hasn’t seen many mallards yet.

“It’s a good mixed bag,” he said. “I think it’ll just get better.”

Reports around Waco have touted solid numbers of birds, including pin-tail, gadwall, wigeon and redheads. Lesser numbers of ringneck and can-vasback ducks have also been seen.

Richard Pulvino, (214) 317-1492Capt. Rob Peel, (972) 897-3478Terry Cook, (806) 355-5929

WingsContinued From Page 4

BARREL BURNER: While the action hasn’t been as hot as the early teal season, hunters on area lakes and private water bodies are shoot-ing good mixed bags, with plenty of redheads and bluebills being reported along the coast. Photo by John Keith.


Win Nikon 10x42

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See a full selection of Nikon products at

Victoria All-Sports Center

1902 Houston Hwy.Victoria, TX 77901

(361) 575-0655www.victoriaallsports.com

CALEB KORCZYNSKI, 8, of Victoria had a success-ful youth weekend hunt. While hunting with his dad, big brother and little sister, he harvested his fi rst buck at 180 yards. He was hunting on the family’s deer lease in Refugio County. The deer was aged at 7.5 years old, was 20 1/2-inches wide and gross scored 124 3/8. Caleb used his dad's fi rst deer rifl e to harvest the deer.



The LSON cover curse

You’ve probably heard of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, or the Madden curse for athletes on the cover of the popular video game.

Often, the next sea-son, those same athletes get injured or have a down year.

But here at LSON, we seem to have our own cover jinx involving big bucks. But this goes a little farther than a bad game or a minor injury.

The previous two issue of LSON have featured big bucks on the cover. Within 48 hours of each issue coming out, both bucks were harvested by hunters. The buck on the cover of the Oct. 26 issue was taken at the Rafter W Ranch near Sonora. The buck on the Nov. 9 cover was harvested at a ranch in Frio County.

We hope this doesn’t carry-over to any hunters who make the

cover, but any deer for the rest of the season better head for the thickets if they make it onto the front page of Lone Star Outdoor News.

If any hunter gets a good trail camera

picture of a nice buck that has eluded them this season, send it to us. Who knows? We might put it on the cover and see if the jinx holds true.

— Staff report

Redfish Continued From Page 1

hammering 3-inch, white soft plastic shrimp on a 1/4-ounce jighead or under a popping cork.

“We are catching a few in the 16- to 18-inch range, but a lot of them are at the 25- to 26-inch limit,” he said. “We’ve also caught one or two oversized reds, but they just made it — around 28 inches. This cold front should have them bronz-ing up really good in the next week or so.”

Harris predicts the weather will turn warm again after the last major cold air blew into the region.

“There are lots of birds right now, and I think the weather is going to warm back up,” he said. “If it does, the fishing will be really good.”

Near Rockport on the Estes Flats, guide Charles Newton said the redfish bite has been outstand-ing when you can get out without being blown off the water due to high winds that have plagued the area the past few weeks.

“It was terrific last week after the cold front,” Newton said. “The fishing has been just plenty good for us. We are only using finger mullet and pin perch right now. I caught five fish myself this past Sunday and released four — all on the Estes Flats.”

Newton said while it is still fishing, if you target redfish specifically, it is almost hard not to catch them right now.

“If you just need an excuse to get out of the house and can stand the cold wind, some days it is really terrific out there,” he said. “Everything we are catching is slot size. The bigger ones can be caught, but they are in a different area than the flats right now, and they are tough to get to because of the wind.”

Farther south, the redfish action has been good as the fish head into the area from up north.

According to Capt. Cliff Fleming’s fishing report on spadre.com, the fish are migrating south in good numbers and the Laguna Madre is holding good groups of redfish.

Good bites were also reported in the South Bay and Ship Channel on live shrimp and mullet. Redfish are also good at Airport Cove near Port Isabel.

Capt. David Harris, (281) 923-1440Capt. Charles Newton, (361) 729-8220

Game Warden named Texas Wildlife Officer of the Year

Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Danny Kelso has been recognized as Texas Wildlife Officer of the Year by the Shikar-Safari Club International.

TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith presented Kelso with the prestigious award at this month’s meeting of the Parks and Wildlife Commission at the Austin headquarters. This marks the 32nd year this award has been presented to a Texas game warden.

“During Danny’s career, he has built a reputation as being a ‘go-to’ person in his community,” said Smith. “In addition to his game warden duties, he frequently assists local entities with law enforcement, firefighting, and community events.”

Kelso was a member of the 42nd Texas Game Warden Training Academy graduating class in April 1991. In his 22 years of service as a state game warden, Kelso has been sta-tioned in Aransas and Refugio counties.

— TPWD

Ruger receives awardSturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has been presented with

the Firearms Manufacturer of the Year award by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers for the sixth consecu-tive year during the association’s 39th Annual Meeting in Orlando.

The award was presented to Chris Killoy, Ruger vice president of sales and marketing, by NASGW Chairman of the Board Jack Baumler.

“We are extremely pleased and grateful to receive this award once again,” said Killoy. “We continue to strive to meet the needs of independent wholesalers and the demands of their customers, the retailers and consumers, through development and timely delivery of innovative new products.”

NASGW Wholesaler members evaluate the performance of manufacturers on distribution policy, marketing, sales and promotion, logistics and operations and NASGW and industry support. The NASGW Awards recognize top manufacturers who best demonstrate a commitment to two-step distribution and who provide outstanding value and service.

— Ruger



“We got the gun out of the window and the deer turned broadside twice and turned away twice,” he said. “(Lane) started to squeeze and I said ‘No, no, no.’”

The anticipation of his first deer started to take its toll on the young hunter.

“Lane kind of started shak-

ing and his left leg was shak-ing because he had buck fever bad,” Chad said. “I told him to sit in my lap and get off those shaky legs. The second time he was going to take the shot he got really nervous, so I told him to take three deep breaths.”

Right on cue, the spike moved into a good position.

“I told him not to jerk the shot and the next thing we know the shot goes off,” he said. “He was down 35 yards away. Lane made a perfect shoulder shot.”

Harvesting his first deer was exciting for Lane.

“I felt happy,” Lane said. “I was a little bit nervous shoot-ing at the deer. I thought I was

going to miss him.”Chad said he had to force

him out of bed the morning of the hunt, but that proba-bly won’t be a problem in the future. When Lane was asked what kind of deer he wanted to go after next, he was quick in his answer.

“A big buck,” he said.

“The covey counts the next hunt were nine, eight and six. There were 25-plus birds in every covey.”

Wyatt said good rain-fall in certain areas of his property, which includes areas from Childress to San Angelo, made the difference this year.

“I feel like it’s going to get better when the frost hits, but it was a good opening weekend hunt, anyway” he said. “I think we could have a 10- to 15-covey year.”

The hunters harvested about 30 to 35 birds on the opener, he said.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife biol-ogist Stephen Lange, some hunters had suc-cess on Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, though some went home empty-handed.

“We had pretty decent numbers,” he said. “Some

hunters came away with 10 birds apiece and they were working anywhere from six to eight coveys a hunt. But we had a lot of hunters come away with-out seeing a covey, or only seeing one or two.”

Lange said that when you compare the num-bers to last year when the WMA had to be closed, the opener was a good one.

“If you worked it out to a covey per mile, it was half-a-covey per mile last year and as much as 3.5 coveys per mile this year,” he said. “However, that’s still way below what a long-term average would be in this area of the state.”

Lange said Chaparral saw multiple quail hatches, which made all the difference.

But in many areas of the state, quail are still having problems

rebounding.“We aren’t going to

hunt for them this year,” said James Stephens of the Pitchfork Ranch in Idalou. “We probably do have pockets of birds that are huntable, but we aren’t going to go after them. We are broadcast-ing milo to keep them in good shape and hop-ing for more rain for the birds to recover.”

Stephens said he has still been walking into coveys.

“The smallest has been seven and the larg-est 16,” he said. “I’d say probably two months ago the larger coveys would have 18, but there has been some mortal-ity on a few of those for whatever reason.”

The birds that are around are in good shape, but the ranch would rather play it safe, he said.

Other ranches near San Angelo are report-ing as many as 10 coveys a hunt.

Matador WMA in

Cottle County had 37 hunters try their luck so far this season, with a total of only six quail harvested.

Quail openerContinued From Page 4

First deerContinued From Page 6

HERE AND THERE: Some private ranches have had a much bet-ter start to quail season compared to last year, but some of the public lands are still trying to recover. Chaparral WMA has had some good hunts, while Matador WMA has experienced very low numbers of birds. Photo by First Shot Outfitters.

at Sul Ross State University in Alpine said wildlife-friendly fencing has been installed in increasing numbers in Texas’ pronghorn country, especially in the Trans-Pecos region.

“NRCS (National Resources Conservation Service, a division of USDA) has a good pro-gram for improving pronghorn habitat, and it includes funding assistance for land-owners to switch out their fences,” he said. “After the wildfires last year, several land-owners used it to put in fences more favor-able to pronghorns.”

At the institute, other fencing options also are being studied.

“We’re trying to associate visual cues for the animals,” Harveson said. “We use PVC pipe as a cue to where the pronghorn can cross under the fence. We’re putting these in the areas where the relocation of pronghorn from the Panhandle to the Trans Pecos will take place in January.”

In the desert bighorn country in Texas, the Texas Bighorn Society has established its Big Bend Conservation Corridor Initiative, which director Robert Joseph of Lubbock said will include issues relat-ing to fencing.

“At one of our work projects, a land-owner asked if we could help modify the current fence, and we created 21-inch spaces at the bottom to allow the sheep to move through,” he said.

Kai Buckert, ranch manager at the Lado Ranch in Big Bend, said their fencing modifications were less complex.

“We are removing a lot of the old sheep fencing that was installed in the ’40s,” he said. “The old sheep panels held the wild sheep in and they couldn’t escape from predators. We cut the wire in 50- to 100-foot sections and rolled it up — we didn’t want to pack it down the mountain.”

The rolled-up wires had an added benefit.“We left it in piles to create habitat for the

smaller animals,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe the number of nests of quail and other small animals in the piles.”

FencesContinued From Page 5


LastDec. 6

NewDec. 13

Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 30

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

Sun Moon Tides| |

2 pounds duck breast, cubed6 cloves garlic, minced6 medium onions, chopped5 green peppers, chopped2 cans (16 oz.) tomato sauce8 red peppers, 4 or 5 chili peppers, jalapeno, etc., chopped1 1/2 tsps. Tabasco sauce2 tbsps. chili powder1 tbsp. cumin1 tsp. cayenne pepper1 tsp. salt

1 can red kidney beans, drained1 can white beans, drained

In a large skillet or dutch oven, cook the duck with the garlic, onions and green peppers until done. Add the remaining ingredi-ents except the beans. Simmer for at least one hour stirring occasion-ally. Add the beans and simmer 20 minutes longer.

— Backwoodsbound.com

6 catfi sh fi llets, cut into 1/2-inch stripsJuice of 1 lime1 package fajita seasoning mix2 tbsps. fl our2 bell peppers, cut in strips1 medium onion, sliced thick1 can black beans, drained & rinsed1/2 cup salsaTortillasShredded cheese and salsa for toppings

Drizzle the lime juice over the fi llets. Then combine the fi sh,

fajita seasoning and fl our, set aside. Mix the peppers, onion, beans and salsa together. Place 1/4 of the pepper mixture on a sheet of aluminum foil and top with 1/4 of the catfi sh fi llets. Fold and seal the foil into a packet. Leave room for the heat to circu-late. Make four packets. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 450 degrees or grill for nine to 11 minutes on a covered grill over medium-high heat. Serve on the tortillas and top with shredded cheese and salsa.

— Easyfi shrecipes.com

Catfi sh fajitas

FullNov. 28 First

Dec. 20Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 5:47 AM 0.6L 12:46 PM 2.3H 6:16 PM 1.8L 10:52 PM 2.3 HNov 24 6:16 AM 0.3L 1:49 PM 2.5H 7:16 PM 2.0L 11:07 PM 2.3 HNov 25 6:43 AM 0.0L 2:37 PM 2.6H 8:02 PM 2.1L 11:21 PM 2.3 HNov 26 7:09 AM -0.1L 3:15 PM 2.6H 8:34 PM 2.2L 11:35 PM 2.3HNov 27 7:34 AM -0.3L 3:49 PM 2.6H 8:46 PM 2.3L 11:52 PM 2.4 HNov 28 8:02 AM -0.3L 4:21 PM 2.6H 8:47 PM 2.3LNov 29 12:11 AM 2.4H 8:32 AM -0.4L 4:57 PM 2.6H 8:59 PM 2.3LNov 30 12:30 AM 2.4H 9:03 AM -0.4L 5:35 PM 2.5H 9:25 PM 2.2LDec 01 12:45 AM 2.3H 9:37 AM -0.3L 6:18 PM 2.4H 10:04 PM 2.2LDec 02 12:56 AM 2.3H 10:12 AM -0.2L 7:01 PM 2.4HDec 03 10:49 AM 0.0L 7:41 PM 2.3HDec 04 11:29 AM 0.2L 8:13 PM 2.2HDec 05 12:15 PM 0.5L 8:38 PM 2.1HDec 06 4:01 AM 1.3L 7:47 AM 1.4H 1:11 PM 0.8L 8:57 PM 2.0HDec 07 3:51 AM 0.8L 10:10 AM 1.6H 2:24 PM 1.2L 9:12 PM 2.0H

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 6:13 AM 0.5L 1:33 PM 1.8H 6:42 PM 1.4L 11:39 PM 1.8HNov 24 6:42 AM 0.2L 2:36 PM 2.0H 7:42 PM 1.6L 11:54 PM 1.8 HNov 25 7:09 AM 0.0L 3:24 PM 2.1H 8:28 PM 1.7LNov 26 12:08 AM 1.8H 7:35 AM -0.1L 4:02 PM 2.1H 9:00 PM 1.8LNov 27 12:22 AM 1.9H 8:00 AM -0.2L 4:36 PM 2.1H 9:12 PM 1.8LNov 28 12:39 AM 1.9H 8:28 AM -0.3L 5:08 PM 2.1H 9:13 PM 1.8LNov 29 12:58 AM 1.9H 8:58 AM -0.3L 5:44 PM 2.0H 9:25 PM 1.8LNov 30 1:17 AM 1.9H 9:29 AM -0.3L 6:22 PM 2.0H 9:51 PM 1.8LDec 01 1:32 AM 1.9H 10:03 AM -0.2L 7:05 PM 1.9H 10:30 PM 1.8LDec 02 1:43 AM 1.8H 10:38 AM -0.2L 7:48 PM 1.9HDec 03 11:15 AM 0.0L 8:28 PM 1.8HDec 04 11:55 AM 0.1L 9:00 PM 1.8HDec 05 12:41 PM 0.4L 9:25 PM 1.7HDec 06 4:27 AM 1.0L 8:34 AM 1.1H 1:37 PM 0.7L 9:44 PM 1.6HDec 07 4:17 AM 0.7L 10:57 AM 1.2H 2:50 PM 1.0L 9:59 PM 1.6H

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Nov 23 7:09 AM 0.3L 2:03 PM 1.1H 7:38 PM 0.9LNov 24 12:09 AM 1.1H 7:38 AM 0.1L 3:06 PM 1.2H 8:38 PM 1.0LNov 25 12:24 AM 1.1H 8:05 AM 0.0L 3:54 PM 1.2H 9:24 PM 1.0LNov 26 12:38 AM 1.1H 8:31 AM -0.1L 4:32 PM 1.3H 9:56 PM 1.1LNov 27 12:52 AM 1.1H 8:56 AM -0.1L 5:06 PM 1.3H 10:08 PM 1.1LNov 28 1:09 AM 1.1H 9:24 AM -0.2L 5:38 PM 1.3H 10:09 PM 1.1LNov 29 1:28 AM 1.1H 9:54 AM -0.2L 6:14 PM 1.2H 10:21 PM 1.1LNov 30 1:47 AM 1.1H 10:25 AM -0.2L 6:52 PM 1.2H 10:47 PM 1.1LDec 01 2:02 AM 1.1H 10:59 AM -0.1L 7:35 PM 1.2H 11:26 PM 1.1LDec 02 2:13 AM 1.1H 11:34 AM -0.1L 8:18 PM 1.1HDec 03 12:11 PM 0.0L 8:58 PM 1.1HDec 04 12:51 PM 0.1L 9:30 PM 1.1HDec 05 1:37 PM 0.2L 9:55 PM 1.0HDec 06 5:23 AM 0.6L 9:04 AM 0.7H 2:33 PM 0.4L 10:14 PM 1.0HDec 07 5:13 AM 0.4L 11:27 AM 0.7H 3:46 PM 0.6L 10:29 PM 0.9H

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 6:00 AM 0.5L 1:15 PM 1.6H 7:17 PM 1.2L 10:59 PM 1.4HNov 24 6:31 AM 0.3L 2:18 PM 1.8H 8:34 PM 1.3L 11:12 PM 1.4 HNov 25 7:03 AM 0.2L 3:08 PM 1.9HNov 26 7:33 AM 0.1L 3:50 PM 1.9HNov 27 8:03 AM 0.0L 4:29 PM 1.9HNov 28 8:32 AM 0.0L 5:05 PM 1.9HNov 29 9:01 AM -0.1L 5:41 PM 1.9HNov 30 9:31 AM 0.0L 6:17 PM 1.9HDec 01 10:01 AM 0.0L 6:52 PM 1.9HDec 02 10:34 AM 0.0L 7:27 PM 1.8HDec 03 11:09 AM 0.1L 7:59 PM 1.7HDec 04 11:50 AM 0.3L 8:28 PM 1.7HDec 05 12:40 PM 0.5L 8:54 PM 1.6HDec 06 4:37 AM 0.8L 8:39 AM 1.0H 1:46 PM 0.7L 9:18 PM 1.5HDec 07 4:33 AM 0.6L 10:36 AM 1.2H 3:26 PM 0.9L 9:40 PM 1.4H

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 5:20 AM 0.6L 1:19 PM 1.6H 5:57 PM 1.5L 9:34 PM 1.6 HNov 24 5:56 AM 0.4L 2:34 PM 1.8HNov 25 6:32 AM 0.2L 3:33 PM 1.8HNov 26 7:06 AM 0.1L 4:23 PM 1.9HNov 27 7:40 AM 0.0L 5:10 PM 1.9HNov 28 8:12 AM -0.1L 5:54 PM 1.9HNov 29 8:44 AM 0.0L 6:35 PM 1.9HNov 30 9:15 AM 0.0L 7:12 PM 1.9HDec 01 9:46 AM 0.1L 7:42 PM 1.9HDec 02 10:19 AM 0.1L 8:05 PM 1.9HDec 03 10:54 AM 0.3L 8:20 PM 1.8HDec 04 11:33 AM 0.4L 8:31 PM 1.7HDec 05 12:18 PM 0.6L 8:37 PM 1.6HDec 06 4:15 AM 1.0L 7:06 AM 1.1H 1:14 PM 0.8L 8:39 PM 1.5HDec 07 4:05 AM 0.7L 10:35 AM 1.1H 2:31 PM 1.1L 8:34 PM 1.4H

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 12:08 AM 0.9H 8:43 AM 0.5L 11:12 PM 0.9HNov 24 9:11 AM 0.4L 10:42 PM 1.0HNov 25 9:40 AM 0.3L 10:48 PM 1.0HNov 26 10:08 AM 0.3L 10:57 PM 1.0HNov 27 10:36 AM 0.2L 11:09 PM 1.0HNov 28 11:06 AM 0.2L 11:32 PM 1.0HNov 29 11:41 AM 0.1LNov 30 12:01 AM 1.0H 12:21 PM 0.1LDec 01 12:29 AM 1.0H 1:04 PM 0.1LDec 02 12:49 AM 1.0H 1:47 PM 0.1LDec 03 12:58 AM 0.9H 2:28 PM 0.1LDec 04 1:08 AM 0.8H 3:05 PM 0.2LDec 05 1:19 AM 0.8H 3:38 PM 0.3LDec 06 1:09 AM 0.7H 3:57 PM 0.4L 11:31 PM 0.6HDec 07 7:33 AM 0.4L 10:14 PM 0.6H

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 12:13 AM 0.5H 8:49 AM 0.3LNov 24 12:12 AM 0.5H 9:33 AM 0.3LNov 25 12:25 AM 0.5H 10:14 AM 0.2LNov 26 12:46 AM 0.5H 10:55 AM 0.2LNov 27 1:16 AM 0.5H 11:37 AM 0.1LNov 28 1:52 AM 0.5H 12:21 PM 0.1LNov 29 2:33 AM 0.5H 1:05 PM 0.1LNov 30 3:15 AM 0.5H 1:49 PM 0.1LDec 01 3:54 AM 0.4H 2:29 PM 0.1LDec 02 4:28 AM 0.4H 3:05 PM 0.1LDec 03 4:53 AM 0.4H 3:37 PM 0.1LDec 04 4:52 AM 0.3H 4:05 PM 0.1LDec 05 2:01 AM 0.3H 4:25 PM 0.1LDec 06 12:57 AM 0.3H 4:31 PM 0.1LDec 07 12:20 AM 0.3H 8:28 AM 0.2L 1:07 PM 0.2H 3:30 PM 0.2L

Houston2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONNov-Dec Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 12:55 7:06 1:17 7:28 06:52 05:22 2:22p 2:28a 24 Sat 1:33 7:44 1:55 8:06 06:53 05:22 2:56p 3:22a 25 Sun 2:12 8:24 2:35 8:46 06:54 05:22 3:33p 4:16a 26 Mon 2:53 9:05 3:16 9:28 06:54 05:21 4:12p 5:10a 27 Tue > 3:37 9:49 4:00 10:12 06:55 05:21 4:54p 6:03a 28 Wed > 4:23 10:35 4:47 10:59 06:56 05:21 5:39p 6:55a 29 Thu F 5:12 11:24 5:36 11:54 06:57 05:21 6:27p 7:45a 30 Fri > 6:03 ----- 6:27 12:15 06:58 05:21 7:17p 8:32a 01 Sat > 6:55 12:44 7:19 1:07 06:58 05:21 8:09p 9:16a 02 Sun 7:48 1:36 8:11 1:59 06:59 05:21 9:03p 9:57a 03 Mon 8:39 2:28 9:02 2:51 07:00 05:21 9:57p 10:35a 04 Tue 9:30 3:18 9:52 3:41 07:01 05:21 10:53p 11:11a 05 Wed 10:18 4:07 10:41 4:30 07:02 05:21 11:49p 11:46a 06 Thu Q 11:06 4:54 11:29 5:17 07:02 05:21 NoMoon 12:21p 07 Fri 11:52 5:40 ----- 6:04 07:03 05:21 12:47a 12:57p 08 Sat 12:13 6:26 12:38 6:51 07:04 05:21 1:48a 1:36p 09 Sun 12:59 7:12 1:26 7:40 07:04 05:21 2:51a 2:19p 10 Mon 1:47 8:02 2:17 8:31 07:05 05:22 3:58a 3:07p 11 Tue > 2:40 8:56 3:11 9:26 07:06 05:22 5:06a 4:01p 12 Wed > 3:38 9:54 4:09 10:25 07:07 05:22 6:14a 5:01p

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightNov 23 5:20 AM 0.5L 1:08 PM 1.6H 6:15 PM 1.3L 9:57 PM 1.4HNov 24 5:53 AM 0.3L 2:17 PM 1.8HNov 25 6:27 AM 0.1L 3:11 PM 2.0HNov 26 7:01 AM 0.0L 3:59 PM 2.0HNov 27 7:35 AM -0.1L 4:44 PM 2.1HNov 28 8:09 AM -0.1L 5:27 PM 2.0HNov 29 8:43 AM -0.2L 6:08 PM 1.9HNov 30 9:16 AM -0.2L 6:45 PM 1.8HDec 01 9:50 AM -0.2L 7:18 PM 1.7HDec 02 10:24 AM -0.2L 7:45 PM 1.6HDec 03 11:00 AM -0.1L 8:07 PM 1.6HDec 04 11:39 AM 0.1L 8:24 PM 1.5HDec 05 12:24 PM 0.3L 8:36 PM 1.4HDec 06 4:01 AM 0.7L 8:15 AM 0.9H 1:21 PM 0.7L 8:45 PM 1.4HDec 07 4:09 AM 0.5L 11:11 AM 1.1H 2:48 PM 1.0L 8:47 PM 1.4H

San Antonio2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONNov-Dec Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 1:07 7:18 1:29 7:40 07:04 05:35 2:35p 2:41a 24 Sat 1:46 7:57 2:08 8:19 07:05 05:35 3:10p 3:35a 25 Sun 2:25 8:36 2:47 8:59 07:05 05:35 3:46p 4:28a 26 Mon 3:06 9:17 3:29 9:40 07:06 05:35 4:25p 5:22a 27 Tue > 3:49 10:01 4:13 10:25 07:07 05:34 5:07p 6:15a 28 Wed > 4:36 10:48 5:00 11:12 07:08 05:34 5:52p 7:07a 29 Thu F 5:25 11:37 5:49 ----- 07:09 05:34 6:40p 7:57a 30 Fri > 6:16 12:04 6:40 12:28 07:09 05:34 7:31p 8:44a 01 Sat > 7:08 12:56 7:32 1:20 07:10 05:34 8:23p 9:29a 02 Sun 8:00 1:49 8:24 2:12 07:11 05:34 9:16p 10:10a 03 Mon 8:52 2:40 9:15 3:03 07:12 05:34 10:11p 10:48a 04 Tue 9:42 3:31 10:05 3:53 07:13 05:34 11:06p 11:24a 05 Wed 10:31 4:20 10:53 4:42 07:13 05:34 NoMoon 11:59a 06 Thu Q 11:18 5:07 11:41 5:30 07:14 05:34 12:02a 12:34p 07 Fri ----- 5:52 12:04 6:16 07:15 05:34 1:00a 1:10p 08 Sat 12:25 6:38 12:51 7:04 07:16 05:34 2:00a 1:49p 09 Sun 1:11 7:25 1:39 7:52 07:16 05:35 3:04a 2:32p 10 Mon 2:00 8:14 2:29 8:44 07:17 05:35 4:10a 3:20p 11 Tue > 2:53 9:08 3:23 9:39 07:18 05:35 5:19a 4:15p 12 Wed > 3:50 10:06 4:22 10:38 07:18 05:35 6:27a 5:15p

Amarillo2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONNov-Dec Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 1:21 7:32 1:43 7:54 07:29 05:36 2:45p 2:58a 24 Sat 1:59 8:10 2:21 8:32 07:30 05:36 3:17p 3:54a 25 Sun 2:38 8:50 3:01 9:12 07:31 05:36 3:51p 4:50a 26 Mon 3:19 9:31 3:42 9:54 07:32 05:35 4:28p 5:46a 27 Tue > 4:03 10:14 4:26 10:38 07:33 05:35 5:09p 6:41a 28 Wed > 4:49 11:01 5:13 11:25 07:34 05:35 5:53p 7:34a 29 Thu F 5:38 11:50 6:02 ----- 07:35 05:34 6:41p 8:24a 30 Fri > 6:29 12:17 6:53 12:41 07:36 05:34 7:32p 9:11a 01 Sat > 7:21 1:09 7:45 1:33 07:37 05:34 8:26p 9:54a 02 Sun 8:14 2:02 8:37 2:25 07:38 05:34 9:21p 10:34a 03 Mon 9:05 2:54 9:28 3:17 07:39 05:34 10:17p 11:10a 04 Tue 9:56 3:44 10:18 4:07 07:40 05:34 11:15p 11:43a 05 Wed 10:44 4:33 11:07 4:56 07:40 05:34 NoMoon 12:16p 06 Thu Q 11:31 5:20 11:55 5:43 07:41 05:34 12:14a 12:48p 07 Fri ----- 6:06 12:18 6:30 07:42 05:34 1:15a 1:22p 08 Sat 12:39 6:52 1:04 7:17 07:43 05:34 2:18a 1:58p 09 Sun 1:25 7:38 1:52 8:06 07:44 05:34 3:25a 2:38p 10 Mon 2:13 8:28 2:42 8:57 07:44 05:34 4:34a 3:24p 11 Tue > 3:06 9:21 3:37 9:52 07:45 05:34 5:45a 4:16p 12 Wed > 4:04 10:20 4:35 10:51 07:46 05:34 6:54a 5:16p

Dallas2012 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONNov-Dec Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 1:00 7:11 1:22 7:33 07:04 05:21 2:25p 2:36a 24 Sat 1:39 7:50 2:01 8:12 07:05 05:21 2:59p 3:31a 25 Sun 2:18 8:29 2:40 8:52 07:06 05:20 3:34p 4:26a 26 Mon 2:59 9:10 3:22 9:33 07:07 05:20 4:12p 5:21a 27 Tue > 3:42 9:54 4:06 10:18 07:08 05:20 4:53p 6:15a 28 Wed > 4:29 10:41 4:53 11:05 07:09 05:20 5:37p 7:07a 29 Thu F 5:18 11:30 5:42 ----- 07:09 05:20 6:25p 7:57a 30 Fri > 6:09 ----- 6:33 12:21 07:10 05:19 7:16p 8:45a 01 Sat > 7:01 12:49 7:25 1:13 07:11 05:19 8:09p 9:28a 02 Sun 7:53 1:42 8:17 2:05 07:12 05:19 9:04p 10:08a 03 Mon 8:45 2:33 9:08 2:56 07:13 05:19 9:59p 10:45a 04 Tue 9:35 3:24 9:58 3:46 07:14 05:19 10:56p 11:20a 05 Wed 10:24 4:13 10:46 4:35 07:14 05:19 11:54p 11:54a 06 Thu Q 11:11 5:00 11:34 5:23 07:15 05:19 NoMoon 12:27p 07 Fri 11:57 5:45 ----- 6:09 07:16 05:19 12:53a 1:02p 08 Sat 12:18 6:31 12:44 6:57 07:17 05:19 1:55a 1:39p 09 Sun 1:04 7:18 1:32 7:45 07:17 05:19 3:01a 2:20p 10 Mon 1:53 8:07 2:22 8:37 07:18 05:20 4:09a 3:07p 11 Tue > 2:46 9:01 3:16 9:32 07:19 05:20 5:18a 4:00p 12 Wed > 3:43 9:59 4:15 10:31 07:20 05:20 6:27a 5:00p

Duck chili

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

ACROSS1. A rare species of

any game 5. A popular fi sh

catch 9. Dorsal fi n acts

like this to a fi sh10. A certain fi shing

method12. Name for the

Whitetail of the North

14. A quick-to-erect type tent

15. A wingshooter’s quarry

16. The lamprey17. A dropped antler19. Another name

for a largemouth21. A term for a

fl ock of pheas-ants

23. A bear hideaway24. Name for the

wild boar25. A game pathway26. A wild boar28. A buck’s collection of does29. Term for a hookless lure31. Common name for the brook

trout

35. Good wood for arrow shafts37. A tasty northern saltwater fl at

fi sh38. Large appendage on a muley39. A good bluegill bait40. Largest fi n on a fi sh

DOWN1. The bowman’s ammo

2. Might be in a hunter’s backpack

3. Part of fi shing gear 4. A shedded antler 6. Anything that attracts

fi sh, game, wildfowl 7. Classed as a rodent 8. A lake bird10. Furs, hides11. A breed of retriever13. Field area for quail17. A breed of gundog18. Name for an in-hole

fi replace19. Propels the scow20. He checks for your

right to fi sh22. The _____ Walton

League23. Angler considers this

for some fi sh27. Worn to keep pebbles

out of shoes30. The hunting area31. A female elk

32. A bait placed in the water to lure fi sh

33. Part of a fi shline34. The quest for prey36. Bear young


HEROES

JEFF MOORE was fishing with his best friend Stuart Young on Oct. 20 when he caught this 41-inch bull red near Port O’Connor. Jeff was fishing on Stuart’s boat. “He owes me,” said Stuart.

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.

OUTDOOR BUSINESS

Fort Worth angler MICHAEL SOWARDS caught this big bull redfish near Freeport.

DONNIE BERG took this big brown bear earlier this year on

Kodiak Island.

Dallas hunter LEE PARIS watched this buck on the Standing Rock Ranch in Atoka, Okla., for two years before taking him at 23 yards with his bow this season.

Angler MIKE PARKS fought this Crevalle jack for more than 30 minutes at the Port Aransas jetty on Oct. 27.

Jack County was the destination for 16-year-old DYLAN DEAN. Dylan harvested this great 14-point buck during the youth weekend.

CLAIRE STARCHER, along with her guide, shows off the 47-inch northern pike she caught on a fly rod while

fishing at Wollaston Lake Lodge in Canada.


Crappie bite

strongin deepwater


The temperatures are drop-ping and the deep-water crap-pie bite is on, according to guides in North Texas.

“It’s been good and it is getting better with it getting colder,” said Lake Fork guide Brad Williams. “We are catching them in about 25 to 32 feet of water on deep main lake points. They are start-ing to get on the winter bite, where they hang around balls of bait in deeper water.”

Williams said he was catch-ing fish on live bait and artifi-cials, depending on what the crappie wanted that day.

“A little bit of both,” he said. “Jigs and minnows are both good. Some days it would be one or the other. Anything in chartreuse is working, but pink and pearl have been working really good lately.”

Williams said the winter bite came a little earlier this year, but his numbers have remained about the same.

On Lake Ray Roberts, guide Cliff Spindle reported an excel-lent bite over COE brush piles in 24 to 35 feet of water.

“We have been doing really good,” Spindle said. “We are hitting limits on almost every trip, including many half-days. The live bait is probably work-ing the best, but the jig bite has been good, also. Chartreuse and white are the best right now.”

Spindle said the bite should remain consistent until about mid-December.

“Good days can still be had after that,” he said,” but the bite will get more inconsistent.”

Farther south, Crappie Anglers of Texas Vice President Doug Broadway reported a good bite on Lake Livingston.

“They have been catching them really good in White Rock Creek,” he said. “There have been good numbers and some really good size to them, as well.”

On Lake Conroe, Broadway said he talked to several club members this week and reports of a strong bite near the 1096 bridge surfaced.

“They are catching them under the bridge and catching them well,” he said. “Minnows and jigs are both working.”

Brad Williams, (903) 355-1464Cliff Spindle, (940) 727-3493

HEAD DEEP: The crappie bite is going strong in deeper water near structure. Guides suggest trying both minnows and jigs to solicit bites. Photo by LSON.

Trout stockings announcedFor an inexpensive, entry-level fishing experience

the entire family can enjoy, it doesn’t get much easier than winter rainbow trout fishing in Texas.

Beginning in December and continuing through March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stock upward of 250,000 hatch-ery-reared rainbow trout at more than 100 sites across the state. Many of the fish stockings will be conducted at small community fishing lakes, state park lakes and popular river tailraces offer-ing easy angling access.

Locations such as Beal Park Lake in Midland, Eisenhower Park Pond in Houston, and Waldron Park in Corpus Christi will be stocked this winter.

Catching these hungry fish can be easy, making the experience ideal for both novice anglers and kids. The fish will bite almost immediately after stocking and typically will take a variety of baits, from whole kernel canned corn or commercial soft bait to artificial flies and even small spinner baits.

For more information about the winter trout fishing program, including tips and the 2012-2013 trout stocking schedule listed by city or county visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/management/stocking/trout_stocking.phtml.

— TPWD


PRODUCTS

>>

BLACK LED TRAIL CAMERA: The Simmons ProHunter black LED trail camera allows hunters to covertly monitor game and land activ-ity around the clock. Utilizing black LED night vision technology,

the 6 MP trail camera captures game activity up to 45 feet away, with full-color daytime images and high-quality black and white nighttime images. It also cap-

tures fi ve- to 60-second video clips complete with audio. With a nine-month battery life and a trigger speed of less than one second, the ProHunter’s time-

lapse technology allows users to confi gure the camera to capture images or video at preset time intervals (from one minute to one hour) and record game activity not within range of the camera’s sensor. The trail camera also features

date, time and moon stamps on every image. It sells for about $190.

(800) 423-3537www.simmonsoptics.com

black LED trail camera allows hunters to covertly monitor game and land activ-ity around the clock. Utilizing black LED night vision technology,

the 6 MP trail camera captures game activity up to 45 feet away, with full-color daytime images and high-quality black and white nighttime images. It also cap-

tures fi ve- to 60-second video clips complete with audio. With a nine-month battery life and a trigger speed of less than one second, the ProHunter’s time-

black LED trail camera allows hunters to covertly monitor game and land activ-ity around the clock. Utilizing black LED night vision technology,

SURVIVOR TURKEY CALL: Brothers in Arms Game Calls and Mossy Oak have teamed up to offer the Survivor Turkey Call, with a portion of the sales

going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The special Mossy Oak Pink double-sided slate makes the same sound on both sides. It includes an all-weather striker (that will work in any wet weather condition) and a wood striker. Also included is a sanding pad. The Survivor Turkey Call was named in honor of those who have battled breast cancer. The pink call sells for just under $30.

www.brothersinarmsgamecalls.com

LINE KEEPER: This fully adjustable elastic band will help anglers control 1- to 300-pound line and leader spools to minimize tangles. The elastic band is joined together by an abrasion-resistant plastic coupler that has a center hole for mono or braided line to pass through without abrading or grooving. The weather-resistant, ultraviolet-stable Line Keeper can be used in freshwater or saltwater. It sells for $7 for a three-pack.

(503) 224-0168www.linekeeper.net

AVOCET IV GOLD COMBO: Mitchell’s rod-and-reel combo features a reel with super-smooth ball bearings and a quick-stop anti-reverse for smooth operation that the company says will stop a fi sh in its tracks. The reel features a dual bearing-supported pinion gear for perfect gear alignment and a multi-disc drag system for consistent drag pressure. An aluminum handle and spool add strength while its “NeverFail Bail Spring System” promises consistent

trouble-free action. The combo is available in four models, with rod lengths ranging from 5-feet, 6-inches long to 7 feet long. The combos sell for just under $50.

(877) 502-6482www.fi shmitchell.com

HUNTING PACKAGESAT LAKE FORK

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

(903) 473-7236

TEXASARCHERY.INFO

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

(254) 485-7069

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

(214) 361-2276

HUNTING PROPERTY WITH AN INCOME STREAM! 1,140 acres for sale in Bailey County, Texas. This is a great opportunity to own a recreational property that has a C.R.P. payment. There is a healthy Mule Deer population as well as pheasant, quail, and dove. Call Vic Coker Land Company, Broker. Ask for Barry (806) 272-3100

(806) 787-0917

TEXAS DUCK STAMPCOLLECTION FOR SALE

1981 thru 2011. Call Steve Barber at

(817) 832-8078

LEARN TO FLY FISH CASTING LESSONS

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

(214) 677-6307

SIDE-BY-SIDESHOTGUN

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

CLASSIFIEDSDEER HUNTING INCALDWELL COUNTY, TX

$600 covers Friday evening through Sunday evening. Up to a 130 Boone and Crockett buck included. Primitive camp-ing and fi shing available. Call

(512) 689-5297

UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

For the fi sherman who has it all---except these: AERIAL VIEW FISHING ATLASES of the best fi shing spots near Corpus Christi. Check them out at LanmonAerial.com or call

(361) 289-1120

STATE WATERFOWLSTAMP/PRINT COLLECTION

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

(214) 361-2276

>>

>>

>>

CANNED HEAT: At Fiocchi, innovation extends beyond its ammo right to the

packaging. Canned Heat refers to ammo packed in an oxygen-free nitrogen gas atmosphere to slow dete-

rioration. An enamel coating inside and out insulates against electrolysis and prevents rust and corrosion. The specially

designed can protects ammo from the harshest of environments. The cans, which have resealable plastic lids, stack and store

easily. A variety of ammo is available in this packaging including Fiochhi’s .223 Remington caliber full metal jacket 62-grain bullets.

A round of 50 sells for about $25.

(417) 725-4118www.fi occhi.usa.com >>

2 issues minimum

Classifi ed OrderForm

PER WORD$1

CLASSIFIEDS

innovation extends beyond its ammo right to the

packaging. Canned Heat refers to ammo packed in an oxygen-free nitrogen gas atmosphere to slow dete-

rioration. An enamel coating inside and out insulates against electrolysis and prevents rust and corrosion. The specially

designed can protects ammo from the harshest of environments. The cans, which have resealable plastic lids, stack and store

easily. A variety of ammo is available in this packaging including Fiochhi’s .223 Remington caliber full metal jacket 62-grain bullets.

A round of 50 sells for about $25.

(417) 725-4118www.fi occhi.usa.com >>




NATIONALHurricane Sandy damages more than 65,000 recreational boats

The Boat Owner's Association of The United States estimates that more than 65,000 recre-ational boats were damaged or lost as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The dollar damage to all recreational boats (only) is an estimated $650 million, making the late October storm the single-largest industry loss since the associa-tion began keeping track in 1966.

“We are all reeling from the huge impact this storm has had on communities and people’s lives,” said Scott Croft, BoatUS assistant vice president of Public Affairs. “The scope of the damage to boats is unprecedented, affecting large areas from the Atlantic seaboard as far inland as the Great Lakes, with the majority of damage in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. The combination of boats stored ashore at low elevations and record high surge levels caused hundreds, if not thousands, of boats to float away into neighborhoods, parks and marshes. The tri-state coastline left no place for the surge to go, but up. While some boats that stayed in the slips did fine, other boats tied to floating docks simply lifted off too-short pilings and floated away, still tied to the dock. Some vessels never made it out of their slip and rest on the bottom.”

— BoatUs

Permanent hunting blinds not allowed on Arkansas WMAs

In August, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission amended its regulations that had once allowed leaving decoys overnight and hunting or attempting to hunt from perma-nent blinds on Big Lake, St. Francis Sunken Lands and Dave Donaldson Black River WMAs. These amended regulations are in

effect for the 2012-13 waterfowl season. Individuals may not hunt from or attempt

to hunt from permanent blinds or leave decoys overnight on WMAs, including Big Lake, St. Francis Sunken Lands and Dave Donaldson Black River WMAs. Any person found in a permanent blind on a WMA in possession of hunting gear or equipment dur-ing waterfowl season will be considered by the commission to be hunting or attempting to hunt in violation of AGFC Codes 20.06 and 24.06. Any person leaving decoys out overnight during waterfowl season will be in violation of AGFC 24.05.

— AGFC

Authorities locate missing Louisiana hunter

Search and rescue personnel located a miss-ing hunter alive Nov. 13 at 12:45 p.m., on the bank of Grand Lake in St. Bernard Parish.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and the U.S. Coast Guard found Daniel Madere, 25, of Metairie, after searching for him most of the morning.

According to Madere and his hunting partners, they were crossing Grand Lake on their way to their duck blinds at 5:15 a.m. Madere’s duck blind partner noticed that Madere was not at the blind when he was supposed to be there and doubled back to see if he was having trouble. After a brief search of the area, Madere’s duck blind part-ner called authorities to assist in the search.

Madere’s 16-foot flat-bottom boat sank in Grand Lake in rough water. Madere was wear-ing a personal flotation device and was able to grab another PFD to hold as he made his way to the bank.

Search and rescue personnel were able to get dry clothes for Madere and transported him back to the launch near Delacroix where a medical staff was waiting to check his condition.

— LDWF

NM arrests poacher who fled state

A suspected pronghorn poacher who fled New Mexico, avoiding prosecution, was arrested this month in Rio Rancho by conservation officers of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish who had tracked him across the country.

Michael Yarbrough, 22, was indicted in June by a Sandoval County Grand Jury for his role in a February pronghorn poaching case that occurred on the King Ranch west of Rio Rancho. He faces charges of illegal killing of antelope, illegal possession of antelope, criminal trespassing and a felony charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Only two buck antelope heads were taken during the crimes and the meat was left to rot on the King Ranch. The Department of Game and Fish became aware of the crimes due to an Operation Game Thief call that reported the poached animals.

“This was an egregious series of crimes,” said Game and Fish Director Jim Lane.

Yarbrough failed to appear for arraignment and the Sandoval County District Court in Bernalillo issued a nationwide felony arrest warrant in September. The warrant allowed for extradition, and Yarbrough was believed to have fled to South Carolina.

— NMGF

Medical helicopter pilot cited for harassing wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has cited a medical helicopter pilot from Arizona for harassing wildlife after a group of hunters observed him flying his ship very low over an elk herd in a canyon near the headwaters of Granite Creek, southwest of Grand Junction.

Owen Park, 35, of Page, Ariz., a pilot for Classic Lifeguard Air Medical in Page, was assessed 10 penalty points against his hunt-ing and fishing privileges and issued a fine of $200, which he paid. A medical crew was also on board but only Park received a cita-

tion. The aircraft was not carrying a patient at the time of the incident.

On Sept. 23, Park and the ship's crew were returning to their home base in Arizona after delivering a patient to a hospital in Grand Junction. It was during the return trip that the witnesses say they observed the helicopter drop into the canyon and begin harassing the elk.

“The people that saw this told me that the pilot ruined their hunt,” said Ty Smith, dis-trict wildlife officer in Grand Junction. “When I mentioned this to Park, he agreed that his actions may have done that.”

According to the witnesses, Park flew erratically, making several passes below the rim of the canyon and at treetop level, caus-ing several groups of elk to scatter in multiple directions. At times, it appeared Park was herding the elk, the witnesses said.

— CPW

Young hunters check 19,277 deer

Hunters age 6 through 15 checked 19,277 deer during the first weekend of Missouri’s youth deer hunt Nov. 3 and 4 — a 17.6-per-cent increase over last year’s figure.

“Increasing participation is probably the number one cause of the continued increases in youth harvests,” said Resource Scientist Jason Sumners. “We have had a youth hunt for more than a decade now, and we have seen fairly steady growth in the harvest since then. That’s partly because we have doubled the length of the season. But it’s also about the growth of a youth-hunting tradition. That, combined with very good weather conditions and a lack of acorns in southern Missouri, contributed to a nice bump up this year.”

Missouri held its first youth hunt in 2001. The season was two days long, and the har-vest that year was 6,277. For the first seven years, the youth hunt consisted of a Saturday and Sunday before the November firearms deer season, and the harvest averaged around 10,000 deer. Starting with the 2008-2009 hunting season, MDC added a two-day late portion in January.

— MDC


Photos by Scott Sommerlatte, for LSON

Starting at the main pier, the guides had to jump into a skiff, fire up the motor, ride to the blind, jump out of the skiff and throw 24 decoys, shoot three clay pigeons thrown by LSON Intern John Keith, shoot a decoy on the water designated as “the cripple,” run through knee-deep water to retrieve the cripple, run back to the skiff, load the 24 decoys, jump back into the boat and, finally, motor back to the main pier.

The timed event penalized the guides one minute for each clay pigeon missed, with additional penal-ties for safety violations such as removing the motor kill switch while in the boat or running with a loaded shotgun.

Guide Dillon Ramdinsky drew the number one spot and had the unenviable position of leading off the event. The other guides watched intently to pick up pointers as Dillon started.

Kill switch issues, a runaway decoy and three missed shots doomed Dillon, and he made it back to the dock with a time of 15:46 after penalties.

“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” Dillon said back at the dock.

Next up was 15-year-old James Griffis, who forgot to untie the skiff before heading to the blind. James also missed all three of his shots, resulting in a three-minute penalty and knocking his time to 16:02.

Nick Frenchak was third to go, and he had taken notes on how to improve his time. After untying the skiff and starting the engine, he moved the gas tank from the back of the boat to the front, making the skiff plane earlier and increase speed. He also threw the decoys closer to the boat to hasten the pick-up time. He made it back to the dock in 11:44, but didn’t hold the lead for long.

Alan Brackett went next after watching the action with binoculars to make mental notes. Alan was the first guide to hit all three clays, and his workout regime and eating habits came in handy as he ran back and forth to retrieve his cripple. He finished with a strong time of 9:45, with no penalties.

Tim Arditt was up next, and he came up with the idea of tying a string to the kill switch, allowing him to get in the front of the skiff to pick up speed. Tim missed one clay and attempted to mess up the next competitor by tying the decoys in a knot — a good idea and well within the rules of “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.” Tim posted the fastest raw time, but his one-minute penalty landed him in second place with a time of 9:59. He also shot the “banded” cripple, earning a $50 gift certificate donated by the club.

Veteran guide Jeremy Griffis was up next, and got off to a poor start when the engine would not crank up. Jeremy’s luck went from bad to worse after his good idea to throw five decoys at a time, but the 14-year guiding veteran huffed and puffed to his crip-ple. After a one-minute penalty for missing a clay, Jeremy finished with a time of 11:53.

Greg “Hodge” Hodson took a wide turn around the pier while attempting to steer his skiff from the front, but made up the time by throwing 12 decoys at one time. Hodge hit all three clays, with Alan muttering under his breath after each successful shot. Instead of running to his cripple, Hodge took his skiff, which saved time. However, it was relayed to the judges on the dock that Hodge had removed his kill switch, thereby adding a one-minute penalty onto his time. It proved costly, as Hodge would have had the fastest time, but settled for 10:25 and third place.

Guide John “Duck Commander” Korkos went next. His time took a hit when he threw the decoys too far, costing time on the retrieve. He made a good shot on his cripple, and saved time by running with his gun over his shoulder. John finished with a time of 11:30 after missing two clays.

The final competitor, and the odds-on favor-ite at the beginning of the competition, was Travis “Spiderman” Wilcox. Travis was the fastest to the blind, but accidently left the safety on his shotgun for the first clay, costing him one minute. He would have had the fastest running time, but inexplicably slowed down 10 yards before the finish line, costing valuable time. He finished with a time of 10:04, mak-ing Alan the winner.

“That was fun,” Hodge said. “I even left the motor flooded for the next guy.”

Alan won a new shotgun for his efforts, and was happy about the other’s miscues, especially Hodge’s kill switch penalty that cost him the cup.

“I only feel half-bad (to win like this),” he said.The event was a great success. There will be tweaks

to the format next year, with a few more surprises.LSONF Executive Director Craig Nyhus presented

the winners with their awards at dinner, and gave a quick speech about the importance of providing opportunities for others — a main focus of the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation. To learn more about the foundation, call Nyhus at (214) 361-2276.

Port BayContinued From Page 1

Dillon Ramdinsky scatters a group of decoys as LSON’s John Keith looks on, ready to throw three clay pigeons for Ramdinsky to shoot. He went 0 for 3.

Travis “Spiderman” Wilcox bails from his boat at a dead sprint, ready to unload 24 decoys. Tim Arditt leans forward and gains speed as he heads to the blind. Tim had the fastest pure time, but penalties cost him the cup.

John Korkos muscles decoys back into the boat after a grueling run. Veteran guide Jeremy Griffis powers through the water to retrieve his “cripple.”

From left, Nick Frenchak, winner Alan Brackett, Travis Wilcox, Jeremy Griffis, Dillon Ramdinsky, Greg Hodson, and Tim Arditt stand after the competition. Several of the other competitors were already headed to the duck blind for the afternoon hunt.


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

LONE STAR MARKET


Puzzle solution from Page 21

November 24Junction Chamber of Commerce28th Junction Annual Wild Game DinnerStevenson Center(325) 446-3190junctiontexas.net

November 29Delta WaterfowlFort Worth Dinner809 West Vickery Blvd(817) 475-9796deltawaterfowl.org

November 30Quail CoalitionRita Blanca BanquetRita Blanca Coliseum, Dalhart(214) 534-4122quailcoalition.org

Coastal Conservation Association4th Annual CCA Redfi sh ShootoutRio Brazos Hunting Preserve(713) 884-8100ccatexas.org

December 4Ducks UnlimitedLamar University Waterfowl Hunt Party, Beaumont(409) 782-6657ducks.org/Texas

December 5Austin Woods and Water ClubMonthly LuncheonElks Lodge, Austinaustinwoodsandwaters.com

December 6Delta WaterfowlBrazos Valley DinnerBrazos Expo, Bryan(979) 575-8257deltawaterfowl.org

December 8-9Texas Knife and Gun ShowsAmarillo ShowAmarillo Civic Center(830) 285-0575texasgunandknifeshows.com

December 10-14Archery Trade Association2012 Archery and Bowhunting SummitGaylord Texas Resort, Grapevine(507) 233-8130archerytrade.org

December 13Dallas Woods and Waters ClubChristmas PartyOrvis Sporting Goods Store(214) 570-8700dwwcc.org

Dallas Safari ClubMonthly MeetingDSC offi ce(972) 980-9800biggame.org

December 31Dallas Safari ClubNew Year's Eve PartyBallroom, Dallas Convention Center(972) 980-9800biggame.org

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

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

DATEBOOK

Austin Woods and Water Club

austinwoodsandwaters.com

December 6

LONE STAR MARKET

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

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

Advertising Call (214) 361-2276 or e-mail editor@lone staroutdoornews.com to request a media kit.

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

