Outdoor Adventures Hunting & Fishing Guide 2022

BRIAN

Local Adventures

Their Fun Memories

Rheagan Karisch of La Grange with her 9-point buck

Braycen Zapata fly fishing Oak Creek in Sedona, AZ

Rilan Karisch of La Grange and his first deer! An 8-pointer

Ally Canada, with her Bass age 8. Moravia, TX

Brittany Canada, Mahi Mahi caught off the coast of Jaćo, Costa Rica

Oscar Rios hanging out with his aunt’s pet goat

Rylee Mozisek and Elise Schovajsa taking a spin on Lake Travis

Dawson Canada, with his catfish, age 7, Moravia, TX

Krugher Smidovec, age 6 Coastal Fishing Matagorda, TX

Justin and Ace Jasek 4-wheeling in Warrenton, TX

Dove hunt September 2022 in Sealy, Tx. Left to right is Mason Harbers (10), Caden Karonika (11), and Jensen Von Minden (7)

Michael Crisler with his big catch at Matagorda Bay, TX

Ryder Wagner shooting bow and arrows at his Mimi and Pawpaws

Rylee Mozisek enjoying the water at Galveston, TX

Smidovec Family: Joey, Alyssa, Makayden, Krugher at the deer lease Comstock, TX

The Reel Deal

Lifelong resident Kenneth Henneke has bred and distributed game fish to many creeks, ponds, lakes, and rivers in Texas for over 40 years.

Written by Kirsten Cornell

Many songs and art pieces have been influenced by the beloved pastime of fishing—and with good reason. There’s a lot to appreciate from a relaxing day on the banks with family to sport fishing with friends.

For Kenneth Henneke, this meant turning his love of fishing into a business that would benefit the communities across the state for decades.

Hatching An Idea

An avid fisherman and fan of underbanking (a method of fishing for catfish), Kenneth came up with an idea to roll his passions into a successful business an idea—a hatchery.

Fish hatcheries produce quality fish species that clients can purchase and stock recreational ponds or lakes with, as well as offer pond and lake management services to keep water and fish healthy and sustainable.

And in 1980, Kenneth did exactly that.

2006

Keys to Design

An additional service that Henneke offers is the design of your fish’s home. When constructing a pond, lake, or water feature, there is a lot to consider and it’s best to consult the experts.

The

For example, depending on the type of pond or lake you are looking for, Kenneth will assess the size, depth, and other landscape features required to make a successful and healthy lake.

Designing a pond or lake includes selecting a location that has the potential to hold a large amount of water, such as a low spot on a piece of property that will catch a good amount of rainfall or an area where water can be pumped into easily from a well. “Soil type is also important to consider, as certain soils retain water better than others,” adds Brian Henneke, Operations Manager. “Digging a pond or lake needs to be done by someone familiar with the soil layers of the area to create a shape and depth that will be most effective for retaining water.”

A key element many forget to consider is vegetation. For instance, too much of any species is a bad thing. Native aquatic plants such as Chara and Bladderwort provide food, shelter, and dissolved oxygen to fish; however, when vegetation grows out of control an array of issues arise that affect water quality (sharp pH increases and decreases, ammonia issues/uncontrollable nutrient levels). Keeping vegetation growth in check is essential to avoid these issues, which can be done through chemicals, physical removal, or the introduction of species that consume large amounts of vegetation (grass carp and tilapia).

“It is important to consider vegetation and species when designing a pond because of the issues that can arise if it is poorly managed,” says Kenneth. “If vegetation growth is uncontrollable, be it a native or invasive species, it could very well lead to a large fish kill. Invasive species pose the threat of major nutrient depletion that would allow for changes in water quality.”

Fish Facts

A huge factor when stocking is considering your fish species and how they cohabitate, or how they may not. Species that should never be put together are predators with similar mouthparts and diets. A good example of this is Hybrid Perch and Native Bass.

“A Hybrid Perch is a cross between a Coppernose Bluegill and a Green Sunfish, and their mouth is much larger than that of the standard Coppernose. Because of this, Hybrid Perch can aggressively feed on the same prey/bait as bass. This typically leads to either the bass or the hybrid populations outcompeting the other and leading to a decline in both,” explains Field Technician and Fisheries Biologist Jordan Moore.

Henneke Hints

Up your fishing game with these tips from the experts!

• Take fishing gear that is geared toward the species you are trying to catch (lures, spoons for bass, stink bait or cut bait for catfish, proper line, etc.).

• Fish early in the morning or late in the evening when fish are most active.

• If using a lure, try to make the lure “swim” as life-like as possible.

• Be conscious of where the species you’re pursuing might be found; near big rocks or logs, overhanging trees, deep water, etc.

•Cast your line past the area you want it and ease it into that area instead of planting your bait or lure directly onto the location you think a fish may be.

• Always keep a cooler with you while fishing to ensure your fish stay fresh and your refreshments stay cold!

Did you know?

There is a multitude of benefits to eating farmed fish, such as a clean and healthy production of the fish, traceability from hatch to plate, increased meat production of species such as the Hybrid Catfish, and greater quality vs. frozen or imported options.

For personal ponds, the best fish species to introduce are multiple forage fish options such as fathead minnows, golden shiner minnows, bluegill, and redear sunfish, along with the introduction of one to two predator species such as bass, catfish, or a combination of the two.

On average, the hatchery has nine to 10 species of fish available with the facilities to hold high densities as well. Among those are Fathead minnows, Golden Shiner minnows, Native Bluegill, Coppernose Bluegill, Redear Sunfish, Hybrid Perch, Hybrid Striped Bass, Native and Florida Bass, Hybrid Catfish, Triploid Grass Carp, Mozambique, and Hybrid Tilapia, and Koi.

Ultimate Catch

While the hatchery boasts a varied mix of swimmers, one unique fish stands out.

“Our most popular species request is our Hybrid Catfish which is a species I had a hand in developing myself,” says Kenneth. “A Hybrid Catfish grows 30% faster than other catfish species and has a particularly aggressive nature that makes them a lot of fun to catch.”

Well over a decade after its introduction, the hybrid blue cat continues to draw more and more fans. From its insatiable appetite to its tackle-busting tenacity, the hybrid blue catfish is ultra-aggressive. Prowling upper-level waters, prone to attack artificial lures, and on occasion even jump like a bass, hybrid blue cats are spectacular fighters that make for superb-quality fillets.

“They also get big and do it fast,” Brian says with a wide grin. With managed feeding, a 5-to-7-inch fingerling can weigh five pounds within a year.

Kenneth’s takeaway on the ultimate catfish? “To stop catching them, you normally have to walk away.”

Feeding Time

Hatchery fish are given a high protein extruded pellet called Triton that is created by Cargill. They also sell the 3/16 size to customers as it produces increased growth in their fish.

OVERTIME RANCH

A foundation born of family values

Written by Cindy Stephens l Photography by Lindsey Fojtik

Overtime Ranch began as a labor of love—love of family and kinship. An initial family effort evolved into a successful collaboration among friends with the same values. The business partnership between Barry Hughes and Warren Henneke is just a few years old, but their combined expertise in raising Fallow and White-tailed deer goes back several years.

As a young man, Barry had a vision for the business after his father took him hunting. “The owners of the ranch had bought a bunch of deer that day. I just started out with the idea that this was cool that people get paid to do this and I’d like to try it. My dad, uncle and I high fenced 1½ acres next to my aunt and uncle’s house in Brazoria in 2010. We bought Fallow deer and Red deer with the intention of breeding and selling them,” he explained. “In a few years, we had over 100 acres just outside Brazoria. I enjoyed the business side of it, but it was really about enjoying each other’s company. Back then, we called our place H30. It stood for Hughes Three Outdoors.”

“I’ve been raising deer for close to 30 years,” commented Warren. “Similar to Barry’s background, my dad was a big believer in working together. My kids, inlaws and grandchildren are all in this together. Soon after I met Barry through my dad, he brought clients to purchase deer from me. He had the background knowledge on animals, and I had the land and resources. It just made sense that we do business together.”

At the 40-acre ranch, Barry and Warren breed and sell Fallow deer (Dama dama) to a wide range of buyers: other breeders, hunting ranches, drive-through zoos and safari parks. Fallow deer are the most widespread exotic deer in the world and come in various colorations: white, spotted, chocolate and black. Fallow deer velvet, the fuzzy, soft covering on a Fallow deer’s antlers is especially valued by hunters. The hearty breed can grow to be over three hundred pounds and live till they’re 15 years old.

The genetics of the breed are fundamentally important to the progress of the breed. From the start, the partners wanted to ensure they had the best Fallow deer they could find. They found them through Bryarwood Ranch owners Jill and Donny Wood. Jill’s deer are from the largest bloodline in Texas and her ranch produces some of the biggest deer anywhere. They bought up all they had.

At Overtime Ranch, the newest genetics are consistently being introduced so their clients receive the best animal available. All Fallow does over the age of two are artificially inseminated around two weeks prior to the actual breeding itself. And it’s all hands-on deck. The does are brought into the barn, sedated, shaved on their belly, laparoscopically inseminated, cleaned up and brought out to their pen to have their baby in a few months.

“We have close to 425 pedigreed animals and a great production. The quality of clients we’ve had has been exceptional. They are very interested in breeding these animals and watching them grow. Often, they bring their kids and their grandchildren with them,” stated Warren.

Visit them on Facebook!

Adventures

Krugher Smidovec, 6fishing Matagorda,inTX

Braycen Zapata hiking the Grand Canyon, July 2022.

Makayden Smidovec Age 9

Spike with Crossbow

Makayden & Krugher Smidovec (9,6) Matagorda Beach

Justin Jasek-9 Ace Jasek-7 kayaking on Port Bay, Rockport

Chrisy Simons caught Marlin in Cabo Mexico

Brady Wagner trying his luck in Matagorda, TX

Rylee Mozisek enjoying the water at Splashway

Rylee Mozisek and Elise Schovajsa on the Colorado River

Braycen Zapata, Bianca Veitch & Roman Veitch enjoying the summer in Matagorda, TX

Oscar Rios and his father Noel Rios fishing in West Point, TX

Ace Jasek-7 crabbing in Port Bay Rockport, TX

Sawing Logs

Written by Larry Hatfield

Sleep Solutions of Central Texas, LLC (SSOCTLLC) is a new business born out of the need of trying to help people get the proper sleep they require, in order to live a better, healthier life. Sleep is so important to our health and the health of those around us. For many people getting proper sleep or healthy sleep is not easy to achieve, if it is ever achieved. For some people it never happens. Proper sleep enables you to wake up with your body and brain recharged and ready to face the day. When your sleep is inadequate or improper, you wake up tired, sometimes more tired than when you went to bed, and your energy level for the day is not where it needs to be.

Proper sleep allows your body to recharge and do a number of things, like the following, but not limited to just these examples. With proper sleep your brain does a daily backup of activities, creating memory. Improper sleep does not allow this to fully happen. With proper sleep, your brain does a chemical dump, especially those chemicals that seem

to be found in excess for people suffering from dementia. Improper sleep does not allow for total dumping of the chemicals that need to be gotten rid of so with time they accumulate in excess and may cause problems that could have been prevented or at least more minimal in severity. Proper sleep allows injured tissues to heal and get better

quicker, because there is adequate oxygen present to give the cells the fuel they need to do their work. Improper sleep deprives cells of adequate fuel to do their jobs. The cells struggle to just keep themselves alive.

With proper sleep we wake up refreshed, our senses are sharper and we are ready to take on the day. With improper sleep we wake up tired, not ready to or wanting to face the challenges of the day. With improper sleep, you just feel tired, you may accidentally doze off at work or while driving or by just sitting down and being still for a few minutes.

When your sleep is improper or inadequate, your body is trying to tell you that things are not good and that it needs some help. So what causes these issues of sleep and the many more that haven’t been mentioned? It is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and it is the intense snoring people do that is the result of their airway being reduced in size or fully closed off for segments of time so that little to no oxygen is available for you to breathe.

That’s where SSOCT, LLC can help. We offer screening, at home sleep studies, consultations with board certified sleep doctors, and treatment with oral adjustable positioners (OAP), if indicated. We use appliances that fit in your mouth to do the job necessary to keep you properly breathing during sleep. We place the OAP and monitor you afterwards to be sure the desired results are being achieved. We work with you to make this happen and work to get your OSA under control and return you to being able to breathe better, so that the oxygen you need is there for you.

If you don’t know if you suffer for OSA, ask the people around you. They can surely tell you! Since OSA will cause them to alter their sleeping habits, they can suffer from a lack of sleep or they will sleep in other rooms. This is called second hand OSA. Just like second-hand smoke affects the non-smoker, second-hand OSA affects the non OSA person by not allowing them to get the sleep they need. Obstructive sleep apnea has different levels of severity and can be complicated by lifestyle habits and changes. Obesity and alcohol are two bad characters. Obesity causes a reduction of our airways because it puts pressure on

the airway due to the buildup of extra tissue. Alcohol is a depressant for our brain, so when alcohol is consumed the brain does not have its full ability to operate at its normal level, so it may actually not tell us we need to breathe or when we need to breathe. Therefore, people with OSA may snore more intensely, more frequently and more loudly when they are under the influence of alcohol, or they may quit breathing altogether. This is serious and deadly. Untreated OSA has serious repercussions.

Don’t let OSA ruin your life or end your life. Get it diagnosed, get it treated and begin to get the sleep your body needs. We at Sleep Solutions of Central Texas, LLC will be glad to help you.

Give us a call at 979-702-1528 and discuss your con cerns with us. Dr. Larry Hatfield and his staff at 220 W. Guadalupe Street in La Grange are ready to help you.

Wake up REFRESHED and RECHARGED in the morning instead of more fatigued than when you went to bed!

If you snore or stop breathing while you sleep, or you know someone who does, get these issues treated before it is too late.

Snoring

Sleep Apnea

wearers

979-702-1528

220 W. Guadalupe Street, La Grange, TX

A CALL OF THE

at Rivers Edge Taxidermy the goal is to treat every trophy like it was our own. Specializing in game heads and life-size predators, with over 13 years of experience serving Fayette and surrounding counties. The ability to recreate memories from that hunt of a lifetime for all to share is what it’s all about for us.  Best of luck to everyone chasing dreams and furry critters this fall! Big or small, your trophies are our trophies. Be safe, shoot straight and contact Rivers Edge Taxidermy for all your taxidermy needs. Preserving every trophy with quality, integrity and trust.

Since 2007 Dustin Faske has been working on taking raw property and making it a productive and beautiful piece of land. From clearing brush and trees to welded pipe fence, made just the way you want it. We can build it! We are focused on taking your property to its full potential! Give us a call to set up your meeting today!

TAKE DEAD AIM

JIGSAW WEAPONERY

Written by Andy Behlen

How would you like to shoot a light-recoiling rifle that can hit targets at a mile? What if it can kill hogs at 500 yards? With semi automatic follow-up shots?

Let me introduce you to The Reaper by Jigsaw Weaponry – a modern sporting rifle chambered in .223 Wylde and 6mm ARC, designed and manufactured in Lee County.

“It’s built on what most people would call an AR,” said Britton Karisch, manager of Jigsaw Weaponry. “We don’t call it an AR. It’s a modern sporting rifle.”

Karisch and Jigsaw Weaponry owner Jose Garza designed The Reaper. The gun looks like an AR from a distance. But up close, and when you pick it up and feel it, the resemblance melts away. First of all, it doesn’t rattle. You can’t see daylight through it. It just feels like a sturdier platform.

“We wanted to make one that was ridiculously accurate, but one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg,” Karisch said.

The .223 Wylde version retails for $1,850. The 6mm Arc version retails for $2,350.

Even the smaller-bore version was designed for accuracy in hunting situations. Karisch said Jigsaw Weaponry chose a .223 Wylde barrel designed for shooting heavier bullets suitable for mediumsize game like wild hogs.

“It’s designed so you can sit in your hay pasture and hit all 20 or 30 acres from one spot,” Karisch said.

The 6mm ARC version is where the gun really shines. This new cartridge was developed a few years ago by Hornady at the request of the Department of Defense for a multipurpose combat rifle program. Civilian shooters quickly noticed the cartridge’s potential for hunting. The projectile is essentially a .243 bullet – a slug that has claimed a great many whitetail deer in North America. Hornady coupled that bullet with a cartridge that fits an AR platform.

Karisch said the idea for The Reaper came to him one day during an impromptu hog hunt.

“I was sitting in my deer stand doing a deer count for my MLD permits,” Karisch said. “The only gun I had with me was my .300 Winchester Magnum. I figured, ‘What am I going to shoot? A pig

or two?’ I’m sitting there counting deer. There’s several nice bucks in the pasture and they look up. There’s a pig coming from out of the creek. Well, next thing I know, there’s 50 pigs in the pasture, and they’re still coming.

“The deer have since moved on,” he continued. “So I’ve got this .300 Win. Mag., bolt action with three shots. I got two pigs in the first shot, missed the second shot but got a third one. Now I’m out. I grabbed three more rounds and shot the front pig. That turned them around. I did that again, and before I knew it I shot 10 times, as fast as I could feed them in there. That’s a good way to burn out a $5,000 rifle real quick and ruin a barrel. Then I look down and see all this brass. I need to figure out a cheaper way of doing this.”

Jigsaw Weaponry designed the gun for use with highquality optics. Karisch said they built the gun around the Huskemaw Blue Diamond line of scopes.

Semi automatic rifle platforms are not exactly known for being accurate.

“It was always told to me that either they work and don’t shoot worth a damn, or they shoot worth a damn but they don’t work,” Karisch said. “So the trick was to get it to do everything.”

That involved painstaking attention to detail in the manufacturing process.

“It goes all the way down to the paint,” Karisch said. “Even the cerakote comes into play.”

Jigsaw Weaponry manufactures the lower and upper receivers used in The Reaper. They designed the gun’s custom handguard. The Reaper uses titanium pins in place of steel. The .223 Wylde version comes with a 1-in-8 twist heavy stainless steel fluted barrel. The 6mm ARC version comes with a Helix 6 carbon fiber barrel. Both barrels are 18 inches long and come threaded, and the guns are designed to be shot suppressed, though they shoot just fine unsuppressed as well. The .223 Wylde version comes with a mid-length gas system. The 6mm ARC version comes in a rifle-length gas system.

The guns aren’t terribly heavy either.

“With a scope, suppressor and a full mag, you’re at around nine pounds and some change,” Karisch said.

Back in September, Jigsaw Weaponry lended a 6mm ARC Reaper to a group of long-range shooters who tested the gun against some competing firearms at a mileplus range in West Texas.

“There were three rifles – a CheyTac, one I’m not going to name, and we had ours,” Karisch

said. “Ours was cheapest across the board. The next one was the one I’m not going to name, and it costs $4,200, and then there was the CheyTac, which I didn’t think ours would be even close to that rifle. Let’s just say that they shot that other rifle about 30 times, and they shot our rifle about 400 times.”

Karisch said The Reaper offers a great value.

“You can get a Reaper and put a scope and suppressor on it, compared to the competition’s price for just a gun,” he said.

But just how accurate is it? Jigsaw Weaponry claims the 6mm ARC Reaper can hit consistent four-inch groups at 800-900 yards. I’m no sharpshooter, but I was shooting three-inch groups at 400 yards.

The Reaper in 6mm ARC offers ballistics and stopping power similar to the venerable .243 Winchester, but with quicker followup shots that don’t require the shooter to break grip, and at a price that won’t break the bank. It could be the gun of the future for deer hunting in Fayette County – plus it’s made right down the road.

A Family Man

An endearing tribute to a father

Written by Jacki Short

in Houston. While I was young, he got to where he didn’t want to be gone back East as much, especially without it paying what he felt like he was worth... He asked for more per- diem per day, and his boss said no. So, he got on his Harley (my dad always had a motorcycle) and rode it home from the East coast and then told my mom he quit his job.

Another quality of my dad’s is determination. He was determined to find work in the Houston area and determined to provide for his family. He rented a sign (image that!) advertised on it that he was a “carpenter and could build anything”. He was hired to build a Subway store. This impacted the rest of his career. Over his life he ended up building 50 Subway stores between the ones he and my mom owned and for others as well.

LLa Grange business owner and avid outdoorsman Tom Hudson died in a deer stand accident on his property near Winchester Sept. 13, 2021 a week shy of his 61st birthday. His daughter Jacki Short wrote this tribute to him:

Since my dad died the words just seem to come. My Dad Tom Hudson, was a simple man, believed in right and wrong and was always there to lend a helping hand to friend and stranger alike.

When you live in this area, people ask you where you came from if they find out you didn’t grow up here. My family moved to Bastrop when I was 7 years old in 1991. My parents opened and have operated 4 Subway stores in this area since 1991. In 2005 my husband and I along with my parents moved to Fayette County.

When I think about my dad this is what comes to my mind, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” He always found a way to figure out any problem that presented itself to him. Whether it was with building things or fixing things My Dad could always figure out a way to make it work. He also was a teacher of hard work and determination. He never just gave me an answer or told me exactly what to do, he made me think. He gave me the tools to figure things out on my own which has helped me so much now that he is gone. It was like he was preparing me all of those years so I could carry on without him.

Here is one of my favorite Tom Hudson stories. Dad was a finish carpenter by trade. He worked on the East Coast in high rise office buildings. My mom was a secretary at an oil company

After he had built so many for others, he went home and told my mom that he thought they needed to look into building their own stores. With much discussion and planning. My Mom and Dad opened their first store in 1991 in Bastrop. I had the opportunity to grow up in those stores, learning to talk to customers, make change and of course learn the value of hard work. I still remember the employees that impacted me over the years. Since my dad has passed, I’ve had former employees come up to me and say what my dad did for them. He pushed them to be better, encouraged them to make good choices and always had an open ear to listen. He was an honest man and would give you his honest opinion.

My Dad modeled many things for me that I try to emulate every day. Take the time to show compassion and patience with people. Hold the door open for whoever it is. Feel the wind on your face, the heat on your skin, and keep looking at the cloud searching for those loved ones we have up there. Don’t just give others the answers, teach them, make them think, and show the patience that is needed to encourage others. Don’t let yourselves get upset over little things, especially things that are out of your control. I encourage you to, “figure it out” as my dad would.

Thank you to each of you that have supported my mom and I over this past year. Some people don’t know what they have until they lose it. I am so thankful that I knew what I had and got to learn from him every day for 37 years. So now I am going to do what my dad always said, get busy livin’ or get busy dying. He sure was someone that lived his life to the fullest.

Local Adventures

Ted Hoffmann picking persimmons

Emerson and Addison Fojtik at the beach in Port Aransas, TX

Katie Hoffmann with a Small Mouth Bass caught on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri

Cullen Maupin fishing in High Hill

Micayla Harden shot this deer in the backyard in High Hill

Micah Harden bottom picture fishing in back stock tank behind house in High Hill

My sons first kill! Bo Brossmann

Christopher Roensch Speckled Trout, Corpus Christi, TX

Frank Haynie on his first dive at Lake Travis, TX

Steven Haynie with an alligator he killed that was in his private lake. He got tags from the state so it was a legal kill. The alligator was over 7 feet long

Jack Kokes fishing with his dad in family pond in Praha

Gauge Pilat made a great shot while thermal hunting with his dad, Alan

Lexi Pilat taking down some boar hogs

Charlee Kokes fishing with his dad in family pond in Praha