NOVEMBER 2020
National Archery Champ Bustin’ Bass Going Great Guns
NOVEMBER 2020 $3.99
EXPLORE THE OUTDOORS GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020
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LIFE, HEALTH, HOME AND AUTO VIDA, SALUD Y MÁS “It’s About Family”
1102 N. BEDELL AVE • DEL RIO, TEXAS 2413 VETERANS BLVD • DEL RIO, TEXAS 830.422.3232 ahiadelrio.com 2
GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020
We’d love to see you in Grande! MARCH 2020
APRIL 2020
Feather Festival
Fiesta of Flight Returns
Amazing Del Rio Birds
Laughlin’s Thunderbird
APRIL 2020
$3.99
Birding the Border
GRANDE / APRIL 2020
Dallas Dog Whisperer Class Act Proposal
Bringing Marfa Spirit
Romantic Dinners Making Memories
FEBRUARY 2020
MARCH 2020
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$3.99
Celebrating Laughlin GRANDE / MARCH 2020
DECEMBER 2019
Sculpting Her Life
Air Wear
Building Habitat
JANUARY 2020
FEBRUARY 2020
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Love is in the Air GRANDE / FEBRUARY 2020
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Home For The Holidays Life’s Better In Pajamas
Bloom Where You Are JANUARY 2020
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Planted GRANDE / JANUARY 2020
City, County Set To Celebrate DECEMBER
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Happy Holidays GRANDE / DECEMBER 2019
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WE ARE LOOKING FOR MEN AND WOMEN TO MODEL IN FUTURE ISSUES OF THE MAGAZINE. If you are interested, send photos and contact information to Brian Argabright at the following email: brian.argabright@delrionewsherald.com or call 830-775-1551. For story and photo ideas, email Karen Gleason at the following: karen.gleason@delrionewsherald.com
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FROM THE EDITOR GET OUT THERE!
PUBLISHER David Rupkalvis EDITOR Karen Gleason CREATIVE DIRECTOR Atzimba Morales WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS Brian Argabright Donnie Bynum Del Rio Chamber of Commerce Karen Gleason Matt Haven Myer Lee Atzimba Morales ADVERTISING Xochitl Arteaga PRODUCTION Roland Cardenas EDITORIAL karen.gleason@delrionewsherald.com 830-775-1551, Ext. 247 ADVERTISING xochitl.arteaga@delrionewsherald.com 830-775-1551, Ext. 250 STORY IDEAS karen.gleason@delrionewsherald.com
2205 North Bedell Avenue • Del Rio, TX 78840 delrionewsherald.com Del Rio Grande is published by the Del Rio News-Herald. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without written permission of the publisher. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher of this magazine. Editorial and advertising does not constitute advice but is considered informative.
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For as long as I can remember, I have always been more comfortable out-of-doors than in, and I know many of you feel the same way. As most of you know, I love to spend time outside bird- and nature-watching, taking photographs, occasionally drawing and painting. Others find their solace in hunting, fishing, sailing, hiking and camping and a thousand other ways to recreate outside. I love to see the passion of friends like Derome West, an avid hunter, and Karla Bullard, an avid bass angler, both of whom have helped us with previous issues. Getting out of the four walls has been especially important over the past 10 months to counter the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and all its restrictions and the changes we have faced in our work environments. Instead of a pure hunting issue this November, the Grande staff and I decided to do an outdoors issue, allowing us to explore other aspects of the outdoors experience. I spoke with Matt Haven, a competitive archer “of a certain age,” who has become a state, regional and national champion in his sport, despite coming to it lately. Brian Argabright talked with two local anglers, Jon Ducharme and Gail Criswell, and I know you will enjoy their stories. This month we bid farewell to creative director/writer/ photographer Atzimba Morales, who is moving to Missouri to take up her big life with her husband Joseph Alarcon. We wish them both well, and we are very sad to see them go. In the same spirit, we also welcome the newest member of our staff, Myer Lee, a Georgia native who comes to us via Chicago, Ill. Please join me in giving him a big border bienvenida. We encourage all of you to get outside and recreate in whatever manner calls to you. Happy trails! Karen Gleason Del Rio Grande Editor
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CONTENTS 6
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RIGHT ON TARGET
WILD FOR TACOS
BUSTIN’ BASS
Del Rio’s Matt Haven is one of nation’s best senior archers.
Game chef Donnie Bynum serves up wild pig tacos.
Gail Criswell is one of Lake Amistad’s top anglers.
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GOING GREAT GUNS
GEAR FOR THE OUTDOORS
Annual Del Rio Chamber fundraiser still on.
Pick up these products for a great time outside.
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BORDER BASS BATTLE
CAPTAIN AMISTAD
Del Rio Chamber hosts fall fishing blow out.
Fishing guide extraordinaire Jon Ducharme does it all.
LEASES, GUIDES Let these local pros take you afield.
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LAST LOOK Creative Director Atzimba Morales wraps up the issue.
ON THE COVER: Del Rioan Gail Criswell has been bass fishing on Lake Amistad for decades. Here, she shows off an 8-pound lunker caught by her daughter Heather. Gail and husband Jim Criswell own Amistad Marine on U.S. Highway 90 near the lake. • Photo by Karen Gleason
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Del Rio archer Matt Haven is one of the best senior archers in the country. Haven took up archery in 2006.
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Right
on
Target
Del Rioan works to become one of best archers in the nation Story by KAREN GLEASON; Photos by KAREN GLEASON and MATT HAVEN
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el Rioan Matt Haven came lately to the sport of archery and bowhunting, but he has since worked hard to make up for lost time and is now one of the best senior archers in the country. Haven, 61, has been a competitive archer since 2015, when he began shooting 3-D targets with the Del Rio Archery Club. Haven is originally from the Corpus Christi area, living there from the time he was in the fourth grade until graduating from high school. He joined the Air Force when he was 21 years old. “I was stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base while I was still active duty. I retired here in 2002, and I’m still working at the base,” Haven said. Haven served in the Air Force for 20 years, most recently working on radar equipment. Haven said he moved to San Antonio and lived there for a year after he retired from the Air Force. “I was working a job where I was gone all the time, and my job here at Laughlin, which used to be military, converted to civilian. They knew me, so they hired me. I really like what I do,” Haven said. Although he still works with radar, Haven is now in more of a leadership role. “I’m in charge of a section that works on airfield equipment and radar, landing systems and the weather equipment,” Haven said. He took up archery in 2006, after going hunting for the
very first time. “My father-in-law was coming down to hunt at a friend’s place here in the county, and my wife badgered me to get a hunting license and hunt with him. I’d never hunted before, so I did, and I shot a deer, and then I thought, ‘This really needs to be more challenging for me to really enjoy hunting,’” Haven said. He said he shot his first deer with a rifle in 2005, then began practicing with bow and arrow with the goal of harvesting a deer using that method the following year. “It wasn’t long after that that I ran into someone at Russell’s True Value, a guy by the name of Fred Berg, who told me about the Del Rio Archery Club. I had no idea there was such a thing as 3-D archery, so I went to my first shoot on the Saturday after that, and basically, I was hooked on 3-D archery,” Haven said. He began competing immediately. “I did shoot a few tournaments here in Texas, but I didn’t get serious about competitive archery until 2015. I was kind of challenged at the local club,” he said with a chuckle. He said that year he set his goal as earning “Shooter of the Year” honors in Texas. “The category I shoot in is senior hunter, and it’s for anybody over 50 years old, so my goal was to be the best in the state for that category, and I did it. I won ‘Shooter of the Year’” he said.
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Not only did he win the award for that year, 2015, he followed up with wins in 2016, 2017, 2018. “In 2019, I changed categories, but used the same equipment. I moved to a target category, just to challenge myself. So, more sophisticated equipment, but yet I used this little hunting stuff to see if I could win ‘Shooter of the Year’ in that category, and I did. So I’ve won ‘Shooter of the Year’ five years in a row,” Haven said. Competition this year has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “This year, I did not compete because I could not go to enough tournaments because of the COVID-19 limitations and travel restrictions. They had enough tournaments, but the base had travel restrictions that prevented me from going,” Haven said. Haven isn’t just a force to be reckoned with in the Lone Star State. In 2016, he began competing nationally.
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Matt Haven with an aoudad he harvested with bow and arrow. Haven said he took up archery to make hunting more of a challenge.
I wanted to win ‘Shooter of the Year’ at a national level, and I did.
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“I really didn’t have any goals or expectations that first year, but in 2017, I wanted to win ‘Shooter of the Year’ at a national level, and I did,” Haven said, noting such a competition typically includes 30 or 40 top archers from all over the country. “And they’re the best of the best,” he added. He said the organization that puts on the tournaments is headquartered in Georgia, and there are seven national tournaments. “They’re mostly centered around Georgia. The farthest one for me was London, Kentucky. There’s also tournaments in Metropolis, Ill.; Foley, Ala.; Ft. Benning, Ga.; Augusta, Ga.; Coleman, Ala.; and they hold them at the same place every year, so the venue is the same. You’re not shooting exactly the same course, but it’s in the same physical
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Haven began competing in 3-D archery with the Del Rio Archery Club. Here he is with a whitetail buck he harvested with bow and arrow.
Del Rio’s Matt Haven with a whitetail buck he harvested during a draw hunt at Laguna Atascosa on the Texas coast. Haven won his first national “Shooter of the Year” award in 2017.
location,” he said. Haven said in the national competitions, each of the competitors must shoot with a bow that cannot shoot an arrow faster than 290 feet per second (FPS). “So that levels the playing field,” Haven said. “It’s kind of like golf. You’ll get paired with three or four people, so there will be three or four or five of you in one group, and you’ll alternate taking the shot. You only shoot one arrow at a target,” Haven explained. “You walk over to a stake, and it’s the color of your card, so you have to either straddle or touch the stake, and you can touch it with your right foot or your left foot, and there’s one of the 3-D targets out in front of you. It used to be that on the first day you would shoot 20 targets, all unknown, not knowing what they are, and then the second day would be your known day, but now
they’re all known,” he added. Haven said the targets are a maximum of 40 yards from the shooter. “We alternate turns, we only shoot one arrow into the target, and the max score you can get on a target is 12,” Haven said. The targets are made of a heavy foam and shaped in the form of various animals. There are scoring rings on each of the targets, each with a number value, and an archer’s final score is tallied from the numeric value of the rings he hits. Haven said one of the things he likes best about 3-D target shooting is the people he shoots with. “They’re all Christian. They’re all good people. Everybody wishes the best for you. In 2017, I fell and I tore my rotator cuff, after the 2017 season, so I really
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Matt Haven with an axis buck he harvested during a Val Verde County hunt.
tried to compete in 2018 and tried to shoot, not shooting too well, although I still won shooter of the year for Texas, but the national stuff, no. But everybody seemed to care about how I was doing,” Haven said. “I love hunting, but I love 3-D archery, too,” he said. “When you’re hunting, you can get overwhelmed by nerves, and it’s the same with 3-D archery, so I think one really helps you with the other,” Haven said. “I’ve always been outdoorsy, and I was really into fishing, and when you’re fishing, it’s always right there on the water. With hunting, you’re in the woods, you’re different places. “In bowhunting, you can’t move, because the deer are made to see you. I’ve had birds land on my bow, so it’s cool that
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Some of the belt buckles Del Rioan Matt Haven has won in 3-D archery competitions. These buckles are awarded for state champions, and Haven has won the award both for Texas and New Mexico.
you’re out there, and even if you’re not shooting at an animal, you’re out there watching them, and sometimes they don’t even know you’re there, and you’re out there in nature,” Haven said. He said he also loves the competition. “I’ve always been competitive, too. I grew up with two brothers, and we played backyard football and we were as competitive as anything. I’ve played competitive tennis, even some Air Force-level competitive tennis,” he said. “So really, 3-D target shooting fuels that competitive spirit that’s inside of me,” he said. What advice would he give to a hunter wanting to explore bowhunting and 3-D archery or a young person interested in learning the sport? “It’s like golf. You’re playing with three or four people, and the camaraderie you get from
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You can shoot with your kids, with your friends, husband and wife.
Matt Haven in his gear and awards won in the 2017 Eaton Southwest Shoot Out.
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that, plus you don’t have to be competitive. You can enjoy it just as much without being competitive. Everyone wants you to do well. Even the national level, they want you to do well. The thing is, you don’t even have to be competitive to enjoy it,” Haven said. He encouraged fledgling archers to check out the Del Rio Archery Club, a fun and inexpensive way to get started. “You can shoot with your kids, with your friends, husband and wife,” he said. Haven, who lives near lake, also works on other archers’ bows, having become an expert on how to tune them. He encouraged anyone interested in learning more about the sport to call the Del Rio Archery Club, of which he is vice president, at (830) 719-9284. •
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GOING Great Guns
Annual Del Rio Chamber fundraiser still on Story by MYER LEE; photos by ATZIMBA MORALES
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here won’t a be Wild Game Dinner this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the area’s firearms aficionados will still get a chance to win an array of guns. The running joke in Miguel Zuniga’s family is that he only buys five gun raffle tickets for himself, but purchases hundreds for his wife and children. Zuniga is co-chair of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce’s major annual fundraiser, known in previous years as the Wild Game Dinner, and he says the ticket
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purchases are all part of his winning strategy. After buying hundreds of tickets and repeatedly losing, he bought five one year and finally won, taking home a .22250 rifle. “It’s not about how many tickets you buy, it’s about a good opportunity. All it takes is one ticket. You never know,” he said. Zuniga has spent a lot of money on the raffle tickets, but said he doesn’t mind because the money goes to support the work of the chamber.
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The year, the Wild Game Dinner has changed to the Wild Game Gun Raffle, but the event will still raise funds for the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. The chamber couldn’t exist without it,” Blanca Larson, executive director of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, said about the event. Larson said some of the funds will also be donated to the event’s volunteers, which include the Del Rio High School Mighty Ram Band Booster Club, as well as to the school district’s Career and Technical Education Center and organizations at Laughlin Air Force Base. Typically, the army of volunteers serves in a variety of capacities, including seating and serving hundreds of dinner guests. This year, Larson said, the event will be held virtually, on Facebook. There will still be guns, but no congregating to build camaraderie and make new
Volunteers from the local public school district serve up a variety of wild game dishes, including venison, alligator and wild boar during the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce’s Wild Game Dinner in 2019. This year, the Wild Game Dinner becomes the Wild Game Gun Raffle. The dinner and in-person portions of the event have been waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the Del Rio Host Lions Club cook up vast batches of wild game and sides for the 2019 Wild Game Dinner outside the Del Rio Civic Center, where the event is traditionally held. Chamber officials said the event could not be held without the dedicated assistance of an army of volunteers.
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connections, something former Wild Game Dinner Co-Chair Tod Townsend said he will miss. “You get to see people you really only see maybe one or two times a year because your paths don’t cross, but the Wild Game Dinner brings out people from every walk of life,” Townsend said. He said he’s never missed a Wild Game Dinner during the entirety of its 31-year existence. He usually cooks a hog for the event and purchases hundreds of raffle tickets. Townsend has won more than 26 guns. One year, he won six guns in one night, a feat he said he still can’t believe. An even sweeter reward for Townsend, a welding instructor for the school district’s CTE program, is seeing his students win scholarships that come from the money donated by the chamber. Gary Humphreys, owner of Del Rio’s Humphrey’s Gun Shop, supports the Wild Game Dinner
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every year as its gun supplier. Humphreys Gun Shop has provided the guns raffled for the event since its inception. He said he is still happy to support the event even after three decades. “(The best part of the event) is when the winners come in and pick up their guns, and they’re all happy. That’s always fun,” he said. Humphreys also recently won his first gun from the raffle after 28 years of buying tickets, something he said made the event even more special for him. Zuniga said the Wild Game Dinner has always held a special place in his heart. He said the best part of the event is seeing new faces get involved in the community event. The Del Rio Chamber of Commerce recently began hanging plaques to honor volunteers who have helped support the event over the years. Zuniga said he believes the recognition will serve as an incentive motivates new people to join and keep the tradition going. He said he is already looking forward to next year’s event. “I’m looking forward to seeing everybody back. Hopefully, we’ll have an even bigger year next year, being as how we didn’t get to see and feed everybody this year. Hopefully next year everybody will be ready to kick it and go,” Zuniga said. •
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BORDER
Bass
BATTLE
Story by ATZIMBA MORALES; photos by DEL RIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
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Jonathan Garcia of Midland was the 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. weigh-in winner at the 2019 Border Bass Battle with 6.60 pounds. Garcia also won the youth division of the Border Bass Battle.
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t seems like there is no end in sight for the year 2020, as face masks become part of the norm and social distancing the new manner to see each other, but that won’t prevent some little competition to take place. The Del Rio Chamber of Commerce’s Special Projects Committee will host the Border Bass Battle on Nov. 14, with last year’s event hosting over 400 anglers in the oneday tournament. The tournament was previously cancelled due to the Fiesta of Flight 2020 Airshow scheduled to take place during the same dates in March 2020. The airshow was cancelled out of concerns for safety of the public with the novel coronavirus at the time. This time around, anglers can look forward to the tournament taking place twice within a span of five months. After the November tournament, the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce will host another one on March 13, 2021. Registration fee for each angler is $125; only those competing in the tournament are allowed to be on a boat the day of the competition. The eight-hour tournament features weigh-ins every hour, giving anglers more opportunities to win an award. Anglers can weigh only one fish per weigh-in, though, so the strategy has become to wait as long as possible before bringing their fish to the scales. This year, the tournament will award three winners per hour. Awards will be paid out to the biggest overall bass brought to the scales, the biggest largemouth and biggest
Milton Bennett of San Angelo was the 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. weigh-in winner at the 2019 Border Bass Battle with 8.80 pounds. Bennett also won the prize for having the heaviest largemouth bass overall.
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Border Bass Battle volunteer Danny Thompson looks on as Joshua Wilson of Lubbock shows off his 10.14-pound bass he weighed-in at the 2017 Border Bass Battle. Wilson won his hourly weigh-in and had the tournament’s largest bass.
Border Bass Battle volunteer Danny Thompson presents a check to Joshua Wilson of Lubbock at the 2017 Border Bass Battle awards dinner. The threat of COVID-19 has canceled this year’s dinner.
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Chelsey Jorde of New Mexico took home $750 as the Hour 5 runner-up at the 2018 Border Bass Battle. Her bass weighed in at 4.51 pounds.
Kris Bosley of Amarillo, left, was the Hour 1 winner of the 2018 Border Bass Battle with a 6.98-pound bass. Pictured with Bosley is Kurt Dove, a pro angler who oversees all the weigh-ins at the Border Bass Battle.
Mason Hanselman of Del Rio won Hour 2 of the 2018 Bass Battle on Lake Amistad with this 4.28-pound bass.
smallmouth bass weighed in, and to the top anglers in the youth division. The youth division is for anglers ages 15 and below. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are both species of freshwater fish that can be found at Lake Amistad. Anglers from all over the nation come to Del Rio for the tournament, Blanca Larson, Del Rio Chamber of Commerce Executive Director said, adding approximately 70% of participants are from out of town. The tournament also helps out the city, as out-of-town visitors purchase gas, food and other items locally. The tournament economically impacts the community with a $40,000 revenue in one day, according to Larson. The tournament will be broadcasted every 30 minutes of the day of via the local radio station KDLK 94.1 FM. All weigh-ins will take place at the Diablo East Marina and
a shuttle will be provided to transport participants to the weigh-in site. Per the tournaments, rules and regulations, anglers can only use artificial bait, all bass must be alive and a minimum of 15 inches in order to be weighed. This year’s award ceremony will also be different, as it will be held at Devil’s River Beer Barn. Larson added attendance is optional for the ceremony, thus any awards will be mailed out to any anglers not present during the ceremony. The Special Projects Committee puts on projects that help local groups such as Del Rio High School’s JROTC program, Career and Technical Education program and the Mighty Ram Band Booster Club amongst others. Students involved in those groups return the favor by helping the chamber of commerce during the yearly Wild Game Dinner. The Wild Game Dinner is another event hosted by the chamber and takes place during this time of the year. •
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WILD WILD for TACOS
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Game chef Donnie Bynum’s recipe is easy and full of flavor
Recipe and photo by DONNIE BYNUM
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el Rioan Donnie Bynum has been hunting all his life. After retiring from a career in federal law enforcement, Bynum now has time to concentrate on his passions: raising livestock on his small ranch north of Del Rio, traveling, photography and cooking. Bynum said he adapted this recipe for wild pig carnitas tacos from a recipe he found years ago for sticky ribs made with Coca-Cola. He said the meat in these tacos will taste “slightly sweet with a hint of spice.” He assured Grande readers that they are as easy to make as they are tasty.
Ingredients
Method
• Wild pig meat – any and all parts, including neck meat, ribs, ham, shoulder • 1 large yellow onion • 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce • 2 handfuls of brown sugar • Salt to taste • Dr Pepper
• Quarter an onion and place in crockpot.
For garnish and service • • • •
Red corn tortillas Cilatro – roughly chopped Pico de gallo Avocado – sliced or diced
• Arrange wild pig meat on top. • Add a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, two handfuls of brown sugar, salt and cover with Dr Pepper. • Turn crockpot on high and cook for five hours. • Shred meat and make wild pig carnitas tacos. • Top with pico de gallo, cilantro, avocado. (I prefer red corn tortillas.)
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November Picks
Gear For The Outdoors Carry your morning joe in style with this 17-ounce ceramic travel mug featuring a whitetail deer painting. Pick it up for $18.99 at Russell’s True Value.
Perfect for a snuggle during the cooler weather, this 50-by-80 inch red buffalo plaid throw from Viv&Lou is ultra soft, comfy and warm. It’s $36.99 at Russell’s True Value.
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Take your grilling game to the next level with this line of specialty salsas and relishes from Maine’s Stonewall Kitchen. Try them with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken or fish. Find these and others for $6.95 apiece at Russell’s True Value.
A fire pit is a great way to stave off the chill of a Texas autumn night. Find a variety at The Home Depot, including this 30-inch Texas model by Montrose, available for $99.
Say goodbye to boring with Texas Sweet Heat Salsa, winner of the first place in “Peoples Choice” in the 2019 Fiery Food Challenge and – rumor has it – Clayton Davenport’s favorite. Get a jar for $7.95 at Russell’s True Value.
Whether you’re hunting, bird watching and plein air painting, this lightweight camo dovechair from Realtree Edge will make your trip outdoors more comfortable. Get it for $32.49 from Russell’s True Value. Perfect for an outdoor picnic, this Flip 18 Yeti cooler can carry your lunch, dinner and a few bottles of your favorite beverage. Like all Yeti coolers, the Flip 18’s superior insulation keeps the cold for days. Get it at Russell’s True Value for $299.99.
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Jon Ducharme is at home in the great outdoors.
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Jon Ducharme, owner and operator of Ducharme Guide Service, offers tours of Lake Amistad, guides fishing trips and is licensed to tow boats, making him a man of many captain’s hats.
Captain
Amistad Story and photos by BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
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he railroad brought Jon Ducharme to Val Verde County. His love of the outdoors kept him here. Ducharme, who has called Del Rio home on three separate occasions, spends most of his time operating Ducharme Guide Service, a marine business that caters to people who want to spend time on the water or whose boat may need a helping hand. Looking for a fishing guide? He can do that. Want to take a tour of Lake Amistad? He can do that. Boat break down and you need a tow back to shore? He can do that, too. Ducharme first came to this area in February 1971, working for Southern Pacific Railroad. The rugged beauty of the county and the glass-like surface of Amistad provided just the lure Ducharme needed to make this his home. Hunting and fishing have been a part of Ducharme’s life since he was a child. He said growing up he did a lot of bass fishing with his father and because his father was in the US Army, it gave him plenty of chances to see more places and experience more of the outdoors. “I grew up fishing saltwater and freshwater bodies of water. Some of my favorite memories were coast fishing with friends near Rockport,” Ducharme said. His life doesn’t just revolve around fishing. A tour of the home he shares with his wife Starr, a fellow outdoors enthusiast, offers a glimpse of Ducharme’s life. There are elk and moose heads mounted on the wall. Trophies of a variety of deer dot empty spaces in a variety of rooms. There are wild fowl, a variety of fish and a pair of bearskin rugs in front of the fireplace, which the Ducharmes say gets used every winter. The trophies tell the story of where they’ve been, across the state and across the country, and what they’ve seen. In 1978 Ducharme decided to get involved in the hunting and commercial fishing business. It wasn’t a hard decision
Jon Ducharme and his wife Starr are both avid outdoors enthusiasts. Their collection of mounted fish offers a glimpse of the different species they’ve caught across the country.
for him to make. It was the chance to take something he loved and try to make a little bit of money from it. “I started by guiding hunts. I still do occasionally, but the majority of my business now is fishing,” Ducharme said. “I love to hunt, but fishing was something I always did. I’ve always loved both.” Ducharme guided hunts for one of the ranches in Val Verde County. He said for a fee he would load up the hunters and the necessary gear and take them to find a suitable deer to shoot. “Most of the people I guide for are city people. They just want to shoot a deer, but I try and educate them as well,” Ducharme said. “After the hunt, I’d bring the deer back and gut and quarter the deer for them. If they want their deer processed, we’d take care of that, too.” “I get along good with people. When we’re out there on a hunt, I’m not just a guide, but I try to educate the client on what we’re doing, too. I try and teach them enough so that they can do it themselves,” Ducharme continued.
“Fishing is much the same. I’ve had friends who would like to assist me because they like what I do. Some of those friends liked it so much they’d become guides.” After 43 years with the railroad, from Southern Pacific to Union Pacific, Ducharme retired and moved to Corpus Christi. He would guide anglers on the coastal waters there, and still does occasionally, but then the lure of Amistad became too much too ignore once again. Always a welcome destination for anglers throughout Texas, Lake Amistad became an overnight sensation worldwide in 2006 when BASS made it the inaugural stop on the brand new Bassmaster Elite Series, a sort of NASCAR-style series that featured the top 100 anglers in the world competing to earn enough points to qualify for the series championship at the end of the year and a spot in the annual Bassmaster Classic. That inaugural tournament, dubbed the Battle on the Border, shined a spotlight on Amistad. And with anglers bringing record-breaking bags of bass to the weigh-ins,
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the reservoir on the US/Mexico border suddenly became a mustvisit place for anyone chasing the big ones. Lake Amistad hosted an Elite Series event for four consecutive years and that exposure led to a boom in business around the lake. From restaurants to motels to real estate, it seemed like there was money to be made for anyone associated with the fishing business. Ducharme noticed it, too, and he decided to return the place he once called home, but his return coincided with a huge release of water from the lake to benefit agriculture further down the Rio Grande. Amistad went from boom to bust in a matter of months. “Eight years ago Amistad was the number one lake in the country for bass fishing. We moved back here and that next summer, they let 70 feet of water out of the lake and the bass disappeared,” Ducharme said. Instead of accepting defeat, Ducharme simply switched gears. “I decide to focus on catfish since about 90 percent of the guides on Amistad were doing bass,” Ducharme said. It was a decision that has made him one of the leading authorities on catfish in the area including yellow catfish, blue catfish and channel catfish. So what’s the allure of catfish? Ducharme said it’s pretty simple once you break it down. “Most people want to fish bass for sport. They’ll catch the fish, take the photo and then let it go. I call it CPR – catch, photo and release,” Ducharme said. “With catfish, if they want to bring their wife and kids and make it a family thing then that’s fine by me. Your limit with bass is five, but you can catch and keep more catfish, up to 25 for each person. And they’re excellent to eat.” A trip with Ducharme begins at around 6:45 a.m., but he’s already been up and about since 4:30. He gets in five miles on a treadmill, usually catching up on a good book.
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An angler on a fishing trip guided by Jon Ducharme shows off his blue catfish. Ducharme estimates about 90 percent of his guides on Lake Amistad are for catfish.
An angler smiles as she holds up a yellow catfish during a guided fishing trip with Jon Ducharme. Ducharme said his guided trips draw not just male anglers, but female anglers and entire families looking for fun on the water.
He’ll then load up the truck and boat and meet his clients at the dock. After a safety briefing, and an explanation of what will be taking place that day, they launch and away they go. They’ll be on the water until about 3 p.m. when he’ll bring everyone back. Ducharme will also clean the fish and then spend time cleaning his boat, checking his gear and putting everything back in its proper place. A typical day for him will be 12 to 14 hours of work. Though he is now 68 years old, he said he will be booked with fishing trips at least 20 days out of each month and for eight hours each of those days. Ducharme said he has to leave blanks in his calendar for his family, but said the word of mouth surrounding his business has been so positive and so strong that he already has bookings for 2021 including people who want him to guide for him Oct. 30, 2021. “When you book a trip with me, everything is included, even lunch and drinks. All you have to do is reel in the fish,” Ducharme said. “I bait the hooks, I take the fish off the hooks and even filet it. When you pay me for the trip I want you to enjoy the experience. That’s something I picked up along the way and that’s how I’ve always wanted to do it. I want you to have a good experience because you’re paying for a service. You’re paying your hard earned money, so you deserve a memorable experience and something you can look back on and say, ‘That was a good trip.’” Ducharme isn’t afraid to share what he’s learned over the years when it comes to fishing for catfish. He said October is a good month to fish for catfish because the fish are congregating and ready to move. During the winter months they’ll move into deeper water, about 90 to 100 feet. Come spring, they’ll come back up. “My job is to know where they are during that particular period of the year and follow them up and down,” Ducharme said. “On a typical day,
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LEFT - Whether it’s blue catfish, yellow catfish or channel catfish, Jon Ducharme said people comes from all across the state to catch these fish at Lake Amistad. CENTER - This young angler holds a channel catfish aboard Jon Ducharme’s boat. Ducharme said he does his best to keep younger anglers entertained and welcomes anglers of all ages on his guided trips. RIGHT - Jon Ducharme is pictured with his Bluewave fishing boat. Ducharme said he washes and cleans his light blue boat after every guided trip, meaning a work day of 12-14 hours.
I’ll have about 10 different spots I’ll want to hit. We’ll spend about 20 minutes at each spot and then move on.” When it comes to catching fish, Ducharme said there’s really only one rule – do what your guide tells you. “All of us learned how to fish at one point and it can be correct or it can be incorrect. The worst thing people do is they hold their rod tips really high. When you hold it low and you feel that jerk from the fish, you have that arc of leverage to set the hook. When you hold it high, you only have a foot or so to do the same thing. Whether you’re fishing in 30 feet or 100 feet of water, you need that leverage to penetrate that hook into that cat’s mouth,” Ducharme said. Ducharme also said that he teaches the anglers about conservation. He said the larger fish that are caught are for photos and should be released back into the water. He
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said those fish help keep the population in the lake steady. “If everyone would do that then we’d have a good fish population forever,” Ducharme said. “Besides, the little ones are better to eat.” And how does Ducharme recommend you eat your catfish? Stick to the basics. “Heat up your grease to about 350 degrees. Coat your fillets in corn meal, salt and pepper and fry them in the grease for about seven to eight minutes. They come out pretty tasty, and that’s for all three types of catfish. You can bake them, sauté them in olive oil and butter … there are so many different ways, but we like the traditional fish fry,” Ducharme said. He said that even with COVID limiting people being able to travel, and causing the temporary closure of Amistad for part of 2020, this has been the best year for
This alligator gar is one of Starr Ducharme’s trophies. The lure in its mouth is the lure used to land this lake monster.
“
Fishing is the primary reason people come to Amistad, but catching is the bonus.
the lake in the past seven years. Ducharme added that the quality of fish is back up because of the return of hydrilla which is home to both bait fish and game fish. He said several nine- and 10-pound bass have already been caught at Amistad this year. “The diehards are always looking for the big ones, but it’s like I tell people – ‘Fishing is the primary reason people come to Amistad, but catching is the bonus.’ People get consumed with the number of fish they catch, but you have to learn to just enjoy the experience. You can’t replace that. You can always catch another big fish, but being with friends and family something you just can’t duplicate,” Ducharme said. •
”
Various trophies from hunts across the country can be found inside the home of Jon and Starr Ducharme. Aside from guiding folks across the water, Ducharme, who has been a lifelong outdoorsman, also guides hunts.
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Bustin’ Bass Gail Criswell is one of Lake Amistad’s top anglers
Story and photos by BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
I
Amistad Marine coowner Gail Criswell stands next to a fullyloaded Ranger bass boat parked on the show floor of her business. Criswell and her husband Jim have owned and operated Amistad Marine for nearly four decades.
n a sport dominated by men, Gail Criswell stands out because of one simple belief. “It’s true that mostly men fish, but fish don’t know if that’s a man or a woman on the other end of that line, and they don’t care,” Criswell said. Criswell, a lifelong angler and co-owner of Amistad Marine along with husband and fishing partner Jim Criswell, greets her customers with a smile and a simple, “What can I help you with?” She can be found in the store every day except Tuesday. That’s her and Jim’s day to get out on Lake Amistad and get some fishing in, as long as the weather cooperates. “We used to be out there every Tuesday, rain, cold, heat, whatever. Now we’re older and a little bit wiser,” Criswell joked. Gail and Jim have been a part of Del Rio for nearly 40 years. They came here originally from Ozona because of Jim’s work. The small town and beautiful landscape was something Gail couldn’t get enough of as they arrived. “I loved the outdoors, always have. I grew up in Pecos and just started fishing with worms. When we came down here, I thought it was so beautiful and couldn’t wait to go fishing,” Criswell said. “Out there on the water, you’ll see deer and some of the most beautiful flowers and cactus blooming … I’ve never thought about leaving,” Criswell added, wiping tears from her eyes. The couple opened Amistad Bait and Tackle shortly after arriving, but when a business partner wanted to open a marine business, their store became Amistad
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Marine and they started out by selling Nitro boats. Now, Amistad Marine has a larger home and is a Ranger boat retailer, selling and fixing boats and selling a variety of lures and other products to aid anglers in landing the fish of their dreams. Though fishing has been a part of her life since she was a child, Criswell said she didn’t start fishing competitively until she started competing in club tournaments in the mid 1980’s with the Del Rio Bass Club. In 1988, Criswell decided to start fishing professionally, and it was all because of one phone call. As Criswell recalls, Bass N’ Gals, which was once described as the women’s equivalent of BASS, was holding a tournament at Lake Fork. A close friend of hers called her and let her know that female anglers were needed to fill out the field. By the time Criswell made the trip, a total of 188 women had been registered to compete.
Gail Criswell makes sure the stock of lures for sale at Amistad Marine are in order. Criswell said one of the problems she’s seen this year is the lack of tackle due to reduced manufacturing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Gail Criswell helps customers, from left, Joe Cappel, John Harris and Barry Stovall in their purchase of fishing licenses to fish in Mexico. Cappel, Harris and Stovall traveled to Del Rio from Ft. Worth to fish on Lake Amistad.
“It was amazing to see so many women there, ready to fish. It was wonderful,” Criswell said. That was the beginning of Criswell’s professional career. She fished the whole circuit in 1989, which consisted of about five tournaments all over the United States. “We fished at lakes in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi. We never went West while I was there. They did that before I started,” Criswell said. Being from Del Rio meant new challenges for Criswell. She lived the farthest away from the tournament sites, so she would drive several hours to another city before connecting with one of her fellow anglers and then driving on together to the tournament. In 1998, her work paid off as she won her first Bass N’ Gals tournament at an event held on Lake Sam Rayburn. “It felt amazing to finally win one. Everyone basically said the same thing, ‘We don’t know what took you so long!’” Criswell joked. Despite not earning many tournament wins, Criswell’s consistency made her a familiar face on the tour. In fact, in the 10 years she fished Bass N’ Gals, she qualified for the tour’s championship event each of those years. “I was one of five women to do that,” Criswell said, putting her in the same company as legendary angler Chris Houston and Bass Fishing Hall of Famer Penny Berryman, who passed away in 2012. “The first time I qualified the tournament was held on the Hudson River in New York. That was a big change from Del Rio. I got on a plane in San Antonio in shorts and after a layover in Dallas I got to New York and realized I hadn’t packed any cold weather gear.” After Bass N’ Gals ceased operations, Criswell said she fished another professional circuit for about a year before her
Gail Criswell and BASS announcer Steve “Lurch” Scott watch as Criswell weighs in her bass during the Women’s Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Amistad in 2007. Criswell finished 23rd at that event with a three-day total weight of 27 pounds, 2 ounces.
husband Jim decided he wanted to fish on the FLW tour as part of what was then known as the EverStart Series. She joined him, competing as a non-boater. Despite leaving the women’s tour, Criswell said it was a time she would never forget. “It really was an enjoyable time. I still keep in contact with some of them. To us, we didn’t care what people thought about us. We enjoyed doing what we were doing,” Criswell said. Though she has retired from the professional side of bass fishing, she did make one more return to the competitive ranks when she fished in the first stop of the 2007 Women’s Bassmaster Tour, which was held on her home waters of Lake Amistad. Criswell was one of 103 pro anglers to compete in the event. She made it to the final day of competition and finished 23rd overall with a three-day weight of 27 pounds, 2 ounces. “It was awesome! I really enjoyed that tournament. I was disappointed in myself for how I finished,” Criswell said. “All of the people at the tournament complained about how far away
Amistad was and how far they had to travel, but I reminded them it was no further for them then it was for me to travel to them.” While Criswell could have hit the road once again, the family business came first. With Jim still competing with FLW, Gail knew she had to stay behind to oversee things at Amistad Marine. “I only fished that one tournament with the BASS women’s tour. We were really getting busy at work, so I knew it was best if I stayed here,” Criswell said. “I have no regrets on missing out on the rest of the tour and on fishing with everyone.” Criswell hasn’t completely abandoned competitive fishing. She and Jim recently completed their first circuit with the Sun Country Team Trail with a tournament at Possum Kingdom. They finished sixth at the event, but they won Anglers of the Year after their showings at tournaments on Amistad, Possum Kingdom and Hubbard Creek. As another year winds down, Criswell said she remains busy with the business. She said there are some weekends where more than 150 people will come into the shop, and there are weekends
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Gail Criswell is all smiles as she shows off her check for $750 for finishing 23rd at the 2007 Women’s Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Amistad. Criswell is a veteran of several fishing circuits including Bass N’ Gals and the Sun Country Team Trail.
where maybe 30 people will come in, but she remains steadfast in her goal to help as many people as she can. Even if that means hearing the same questions over and over. “The one thing I get asked the most about Amistad is, ‘What are the fish biting?’ I just tell people to fish what they have confidence in fishing. Everyone has a favorite lure or color and this lake is so diverse – from deep water to rocks to flats to ledges – that it doesn’t matter what you throw,” Criswell said. “The last time I was on the water here, and that’s been quite a while back, probably in July, I had a top water bite. You really just have to have patience when it comes to fishing. When it gets really tough, you just have to slow down. People just want to rush, rush, rush and that won’t work.” This year has presented its own unique challenges for Criswell and the other folks who depend on Lake Amistad as a source of income. The shutdown of the Amistad National Recreation Area, which Lake Amistad is a part of, due to the threat of COVID-19 meant a decrease in traffic. But Criswell said that as people realized they couldn’t be cooped up indoors anymore, they began to come down and fish more. Some, she said, just came down to enjoy the lake and the outdoors. “I can tell you that boat sales are all gonna be up this year,” Criswell said as she stood next to a near $100,000 bass boat that had already been purchased by a businessman in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. “The bad part is that manufacturing is down, so it’s hard to get tackle. It’s hard to get product in general. People come in looking for things and tell me the shelves are empty at stores here and there. The big sellers right now are the Yamamoto sinkos and the Zoom flukes and the most favorite are watermelon green and pumpkin seed.” For now, Criswell said she will continue to enjoy her life near Amistad and spending time with her family, including her children John and Heather and her grandkids. As for folks who may want to take up fishing, Criswell has one simple piece of advice. “Just get out and go do it! You have to start somewhere. Bank fishing is where I started as a kid,” Criswell said. •
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Gail Criswell said she began her love of fishing as a child, growing up in Pecos and fishing with a simple worm. She has found plenty of success in club tournaments and professional tours both on Lake Amistad and across the country.
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CWD Hunter Requirements Information by TEXAS PARKS and WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Ryan Schmidt, left, and an assistant get ready for Val Verde County hunters to check in their deer carcasses during the 2019-2020 hunting season after chronic wasting disease was discovered in a local deer. The check station is located on the grounds of the old Fisherman’s Headquarters at the “Y” just north of the Del Rio city limits.
D
eer hunters in certain parts of Val Verde County designated as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Containment Zone are required to stop at a check station set up on the grounds of the old Fisherman’s Headquarters at the “Y” intersection of U.S. Highways 277 and 90 just north of the Del Rio city limits. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, “Hunters who harvest mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk or other exotic CWD-susceptible species within the CWD Zones are REQUIRED to bring their animals to a TPWD check station within 48 hours of harvest. Hunters must check each animal harvested and receive a CWD receipt before taking
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any part of that animal from the CWD Zone, including any meat or quartered parts.” CWD was discovered in Val Verde County deer during the 2019 hunting season. CWD is a fatal disease that affects corvids – a variety of deer species. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has set up a series of designated CWD zones. The department notes that CWD was first discovered in Texas deer in 2012. For complete information about the disease and to read more about it and hunter requirements, please visit the following web site: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/ diseases/cwd/
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Hunting Leases By News-Herald Staff
The following is a list of hunting leases and taxidermists as provided by the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. Acorn Outfitters 210-416-2263 acornoutfitters.com Package Hunts B.E. Wilson Corporation 830-775-1837 Package Hunts Ball & Struck Partners LTD 432-292-4537/979-820-7448 hudspethriverranch@bigbend.net hudspethriverranch.com Seasonal Lease
Double T Outfitter 210-413-1597 info@doublethunting.com doublehunting.com Day Hunts – Dove Package Hunts Flying Dutchman Ranch 469-995-5382/214-320-1243 nellieanna.com/ranchvisit Package Hunts HKR Ranch 281-723-3226 hkrabalais@hotmail.com hkrranches.com Package Hunts
Continental Ranch II LLC Hudspeth River Ranch 830-719-2190/830-734-2444 432-292-4537 Slots/Gun on 1,000 hudspethriverranch@bigbend.net acres plus electricity hudspethriverranch.com Package Hunts Crystal Creek Ranch 830-591-8266/903-930-2001 Indian Head Ranch crystalcreekbowhunting.com 830-775-6481 Bow and Arrow Day Hunts office@indianheadranch.com Package Hunts indianheadranch.com Day Hunts and Corporate Hunts Deadmans Pass Ranch M & D Complete 713-851-4979 Deer Lease Service info@deadmanspassranch.com 830-313-8173 deadmanspassranch.com zunigam5276@gmail.com Package Hunts Day Hunts – Deer, Hog, Exotic and Predator 40
GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020
McKenna Ranch 830-395-2288/601-692-3224 mckennaranch.com Day Hunts and Package Hunts Rancho Ojo de Agua San Antonio, Texas 210-872-7054 info@elojodeagua.com Sindomar Ranch 281-932-9156/832-283-2651 sindomartrophyhunts.com Package Hunts Southwest Texas Trophy Adventures 210-508-7522 bstoddard@gvec.net sttaranch.com Day Hunts and Package Hunts West Texas Hunt Organization 915-328-0645 westtexashunt.com Package Hunts TAXIDERMY RC Taxidermy 304 E. 4th Street Del Rio, Texas 78840 830-778-1200
LICENSED FISHING GUIDES, KAYAK RENTALS AND SHUTTLE SERVICES FOR LAKE AMISTAD By News-Herald Staff
The following is a list of licensed fishing guides, kayak rentals and shuttle services for Lake Amistad as provided by the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
FISHING GUIDES Amistad Anglers, LLC Fishing Guide William Estes: 512-705-0044 Amistad Bass Fishing Guide Stan Gerzsenyi: 830-768-3648 sg3@live.com Amistad Bassin Adventures Fishing and Tour Guide James Burkeen: 830-309-9720 Backlash Guide Service Fishing Guide Vincent Andreas: 830-688-1276 Capt. Leonard Fishing Guide Services Fishing Guide Leonard Rodriguez: 830-317-2061 lenny19562@icloud.com Ducharme Guide Service Fishing Guide Jon Ducharme: 830-719-9097 jonmducharme@gmail.com
Ed’s Fishing Guide Service Fishing and Tour Guide Ed Schoening: 830-459-1036 edsfishingservice@gmail.com Far West Guide Service Fishing Guide Raul Cordero: 830-422-7674 farwestguide@gmail.com Good Times Fishing Guide Service Fishing Guide Jimmy Medina: 830-257-7557 goodtimesmedina@gmail.com Ray Hanselman’s Outdoors Fishing Guide Ray Hanselman: 830-317-9942 reelnray@hotmail.com
KAYAK GUIDES AND SHUTTLE SERVICES Camp Eagle Inc. Touring, Kayak Guide, Shuttle Services Adam Betterton: 830-683-3532
River Run Guide Service Kayak and Tour Guide Shane Davies: 214-418-9786 shanedaviesguide@gmail.com West Texas River Shuttle Kayak Services James Depenbrock: 832-655-5301 jamesdepenbrock@yahoo.com
RENTALS Ruthie’s Rentals Kayak Rentals Nick Dacy: 830-774-5377 cnd32669@gmail.com TG’s Water Rentals Jet Ski and Kayak Rentals Rodney Hughes: 830-357-6349 tgswaterrentals@gmail.com
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Last Look We’ve made it through the majority of the year without seeing
each
other,
learned
new skills and appreciated the little moments we have gained with those close to us. As we approach the end of 2020, and hopefully the end of the ongoing dumpster fire as some say, GRANDE staff focused on the return of the hunting issue with an added bonus; fishing. Don’t worry, no black bears were involved in the making of this issue. Like all good things, some must come to an end. It is a bittersweet moment as I write this out, for this shall be the last time I will be contributing to GRANDE magazine. There’s a saying that life takes us on unexpected paths, and mine just so happens to go in a direction that will take me away from the editorial staff. The various people I have met throughout this time and the stories I have heard within my hometown have truly made me appreciate the little place that is called Del Rio. Thank you so much for reading about the little snip bits of my personal life, as a functioning introvert it’s not always easy sharing that information. To GRANDE and Del Rio News-Herald staff, thank you so much for the many lessons I have learned; it was a wonderful experience. To my successor; Del Rio is unique and I hope you come to enjoy its friendliness and various personalities. Atzimba Morales Creative Director 42
GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020
From top: - Gail Criswell and Grande Editor Karen Gleason ham it up after the cover shoot at Amistad Marine. - Del Rio News-Herald Sports Editor Brian Argabright, center, officiates at the wedding of Grande Creative Director Atzimba Morales and Joseph Alarcon at the Whitehead Memorial Museum. (Yes, Brian is an official minister, along with his many other hats.) - Always check your back yard! This 10-point white-tailed buck took a nap in a northside back yard in December 2019. These adaptable animals make use of many different types of humaninfluenced habitat, so always keep your eyes peeled.
GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020
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Qualifications: • Over 10 years of Medical Experience • Experienced National Pediatric Educator • Board Certified in General Pediatric medicine • General Pediatric Healthcare for your child • Compassionate and Caring • Able to communicate in Spanish Dr. de la Cerda is dedicated to serving the health needs of children in our community.
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living our mission, focused on our vision and empowered by our legacy 44
GRANDE / NOVEMBER 2020