August 12, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

August 12, 2011

Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper

August 12, 2011

Volume 7, Issue 24

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

❘❚ HUNTING

Mystery bird Few hunters bag the white-tipped dove, a South Texas rarity.

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Forb shortage

NICE SLAB: Anglers using minnows, jigs, or combinations of both have been catching crappie in traditional spots: brush piles and timber. Photo by Anh Nguyen.

The crappie bite has been an arduous one of late, but the reward for enduring 100-plus-degree heat can be a livewell full of fish.

Live bait anglers on Lewisville Lake and Lake Ray Roberts have reported good numbers of crappie, while fishing hard targets like timber and brush piles.

Angler Chris Waters of

Denton said that although it has been tough on Ray Roberts, the payoff of 25 or so keeper crappie has made the heat somewhat bearable.

“I have been going out in the afternoon,” Waters said. “It’s kind of grueling, but when they're biting like that, it can be pretty fun.”

Fishing in 20 to 25 feet of water, Waters has had both the numbers — 150 fish each on two different outings — and the qual-

Parched habitat is forcing deer to switch foods.

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No slack The antler restriction is rigid, even for mature deer with narrow inside spreads.

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❘❚ FISHING

Trapper’s high-tech system targets multiple hogs

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Senior rate Legislator still wants all seniors to fish for free.

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Sport of kings Anglers are boating kingfish way offshore.

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GPS mess Boaters fear wireless network will block GPS signals.

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❘❚ CONTENTS

Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210

❘❚ LSONews.com

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Anglers beat the heat, land loads of crappie

Inside

Classifieds . . . . . . . .

Crossword . . . . . . . .

Fishing Report . . . . . .

For the Table. . . . . . .

Game Warden Blotter . . .

Heroes. . . . . . . . . .

Outdoor Datebook . . . .

Outfitters and Businesses .

Products . . . . . . . . .

Sun, Moon and Tide data .

INSIDE: Hunting Texas 2011 Annual

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Page 29 Page 18 Page 10 Page 18 Page 12 Page 14 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 18

Late-night e-mails excite Brandon Tilford.

They usually signal a new chance for this Austin businessman to make money, but they don’t come from customers or vendors.

Feral hogs cause the e-mails to reach Tilford’s smartphone.

M ot i o n - a c t i v a t e d surveillance cameras detect pigs as they enter Tilford’s traps, even if they are hundreds of miles away.

The pole-mounted cameras send him See TRAPPER'S, Page 15 SOUNDER QUEST: Brandon Tilford of Austin has developed a system that notifies him by e-mail if hogs are in his trap.

A signal from his smartphone can spring the trapdoor shut, even if he is hundreds of miles away. Photos by Bill Miller, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Lower coast trout limit works, some guides, anglers say

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Port Mansfield guide Charlie Stewart has been guiding the better part of 56 years — the last 15 in the Laguna Madre.

Even with all of that experience, the past five years have been the best he’s seen.

“I don’t know what caused it, but it is so good right now,” Stewart said. “This is twice as good or better before the change.”

Big trout are what anglers head to the Laguna Madre bay system for, and after Texas Parks and Wildlife Department implemented a five-trout

limit almost five years ago, guide and angler opinions remain torn on the regulation. That was evident by the turnout at scoping meeting earlier this year along the middle and upper coasts about implementing a five-trout limit.

Guides and anglers vehemently opposed the measure being implemented north of the See TROUT LIMIT, Page 15 MORE TO CHOOSE FROM: Guides in the Laguna Madre said the five-trout limit implemented several years ago

by TPWD is helping produce more and bigger fish in the system. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

ity. The fish were in the 1to 2-pound range. Waters has focused on that depth range because very few fish have been landed deeper than that.

“I have tried some deeper stuff but I think the thermocline is the cutoff,” Waters said. “There just isn't enough oxygen down low so the magic depth has been 20-22 feet.”

See BEAT THE HEAT, Page 15

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HUNTING

Deer diet taking a hit this summer

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

DOVE STORY: The white-tipped dove is a ground-dwelling bird found only in far South Texas. Hunters can harvest two birds per day, according to TPWD. Many hunters in the Central and North zones have never seen one and often wonder what they are. Photo by Fred Walsh.

White-tipped dove offers rare bird in bag Hunters have to travel to far, far South Texas to find them

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The white-tipped dove is a seldom seen bird in deep South Texas, but when hunters see one, they need to shoot fast.

Edward Mathers, owner of the Mathers Ranch in Brownsville, said his guests shoot one every two or three years while hunting white-winged doves.

“They are like a ground dove,” Mathers said. “They are big, like a pigeon, but they stay in the brush and fly real low to the ground. I’ve only ever shot a couple of them myself.”

The white-tipped dove, or whitefronted dove, ranges into Texas from its home range in Central America and Mexico according to Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department. Texas hunters harvest about 5,000 white-tipped doves each season. The daily bag limit is two birds.

Texas began hunting white-tipped doves in 1984.

According to an Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Migratory Shore and Upland Bird Support Task Force report in February, the whitetipped dove was historically found in only the four southern most counties in Texas — Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron.

But they have expanded their range into seven additional counties — Zapata, Brooks, Kenedy, Webb, McMullen, Dimmit and Live Oak. Mathers said the white-tipped dove has reddish meat that tastes more like a Eurasian dove than a mourning dove.

Corey Mason, lead dove biologist at TPWD, said the white-tipped dove has similar habits to other dove species, although they are a little bigger in body size than mourning dove.

They are also considerably lighter colored on the breast, giving them

one of their common names, the white-fronted dove.

“They are year-round residents and they don’t really move around much (like other doves),” Mason said. “It is not uncommon for birds to spend the entire year in a five- or 10-mile radius.

That makes it hard to get a lot of information about the species.

“We’ve gotten a couple of reports of these birds in other parts of the state, but not many.”

Mason said biologists don’t really have a great estimate for how many birds actually reside in Texas.

Much like other doves, the whitetipped dove feeds on grass and wildflower seeds. It also takes advantage of the fruit of local trees, including citrus and hackberry, as well as grain crops like corn and sorghum.

“They will venture into the sunflower fields near thick brush occasionally,” Mathers said. “But they are very unpredictable and fly low to the ground. I tell my hunters to be careful when shooting them because it can be dangerous with other hunters

Nutritionists say people are healthiest when they eat a variety of foods: fruits and vegetables, protein and grains.

But in the deer world, diversity can mean skinof-the-teeth survival when the animals’ preferred forbs, sedges and grasses have shriveled beneath an unrelenting sun and no rain.

Many of these foods, however, fail to provide optimal nutrition.

Deer normally eat green grasses in the summer, said Dr. Philip Gipson, a professor of natural resource management at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

“But we don’t have it this time of year,” he said.

“All we have is leftover grasses from last year.”

He likened the old grasses to humans eating junk food, but worse.

“It’s like eating the wrappers of junk food,” he said. “It will fill them up, but they just can’t get the nourishment they need.”

But deer in West Texas don’t stop looking, and some have turned to cedar plants. Gipson said white-tailed deer and mule deer have been seen recently gnawing on their berries.

“They also eat the green on the cedars,” Gipson said. “But those are very poor rations for deer.

“It’s kind of a last resort, and it means they are hurting.”

As bad as that sounds, Gipson said there are bright spots on the range.

He noted that a lot of the shallow playa lakes on the High Plains have dried up, but many of their edges still support the growth of plants that deer will eat, even if they have to bite through the dirt to reach the roots.

Food is also found at the edges of agricultural fields that grow corn, grain sorghum and sunflowers, Gipson said.

South Texas deer are also switching to secondary foods, said Dr. See DEER DIET, Page 16

No exemptions for old antler-restriction bucks

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

NARROW SPREAD: This buck can’t be shot in an antler-restriction county if the inside spread of his rack is less than 13 inches, even if he’s old. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

The hunter had about given up on rattling when a broadfaced buck with very tall antlers burst into the clearing, looking for a fight.

The big deer saw the hunter and froze. He snorted, stomped, turned left and then right.

Hunters have seen the buck for a few years now on this ranch in DeWitt County, but only occasionally. Still, his antlers, and his attitude, have inspired various nicknames.

He has been called: the “Lincoln Buck,” because his rack is like a stovepipe hat; the “Cathedral Buck,” because the tines are like spires; and “that

ornery guy on the north side of the property.”

Finally the deer just glared at the hunter, as if to say, “You going to shoot?

“Do it.”

The deer’s rack may have been tall, but its inside spread was narrow; the antlers did not extend outside his ears.

The hunter worried that the buck was not legal under the antler restriction, which was set for this county in 2005.

The deer snorted his disgust at the hunter, flagged and disappeared into the trees.

Back at camp, hunters said they’ve heard that a game warden or a state See NO EXEMPTIONS, Page 6

IN A PINCH: This mule deer doe is eating cedar berries, a common sight this summer in West Texas. Drought has purged their habitat of summertime forbs and grasses. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

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Dallas lawyer says he had permission to hunt big gator A Dallas lawyer disputes accusations that he killed a 13-foot alligator on private property in Leon County without the landowner’s permission — a Class A misdemeanor.

Levi McCathern, 42, killed the big gator June 11, which resulted in the landowner’s complaint and a subsequent investigation by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Also charged were his three guides: Steve Barclay, 47; Sam Lovell, 56; and Ryan Burton, 21. Barclay and Lovell operate a guide business called the Gar Guys, TPWD said.

McCathern was described in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article as “a Baptist-minister-turned-lawyer who has represented Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.”

His attorney, George Milner III of Dallas, told the newspaper that McCathern believed he had “the landowner's permission to use his property.”

—Staff report

Two more Texans indicted in ‘Operation Cimarron’ Two Texas hunters have been indicted on federal poaching charges, said Barry Grissom, the U.S. attorney stationed in Wichita, Kan. Justin Klein, 29 of Center, was indicted in July on three counts of transporting deer across state lines after the deer were illegally taken in Kansas, according to a news release from Grissom’s office.

Johnny Risinger, 43, of Mount Enterprise, was indicted on the same type of charge, but only on one count.

The indictments are related to a federal investigation that led to the convictions of James Bobby Butler,

Jr., and Marlin Jackson Butler on charges of conspiracy and interstate trafficking of game illegally taken in Kansas.

James Butler was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and Marlin Butler was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.

The investigation of the brothers was called “Operation Cimarron,” and is considered the largest case in the history of wildlife law enforcement in Kansas, officials said.

—Staff report

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Teal numbers at record highs, but water is the key this year

TPWD: No diseases at Powell’s ranch No diseases were found in the more than 300 deer on an illegal East Texas breeding facility, state wildlife officials said.

Billy Powell, 77, pleaded guilty June 14 in Tyler to smuggling white-tailed deer over a three-year period. He admitted to bringing the deer from Midwestern states to his ranch in Cherokee County.

The test results mean deadly aliments like chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis have not been discovered in any Texas deer, according to an Aug. 1 news release from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The news also lets several deer breeders who bought deer from Powell to resume normal operations, the officials said.

“We take disease issues very seriously because of the potential impacts to Texas’ natural resources, the public’s wildlife, and the multibillion dollar hunting and deer breeding industries,” said Carter Smith, TPWD's executive director.

State wildlife officials said they had to kill Powell’s herd of deer, about 334 of them, in order to test them for diseases.

Powell said Aug. 1 that he could not discuss the case until after he has been officially sentenced, but he didn’t know when that would be.

—Staff report

LOOKING FOR WATER: Record numbers of teal will be searching for water and food when the season begins next month. If they don’t find any, they will continue south to Mexico. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Record numbers of teal this year in their Canadian breeding grounds in Canada and the prairie pothole region could spell tremendous opportunity for Texas hunters with one caveat — water.

Like many species of migratory birds, teal need water — something Texas is severely lacking at the moment.

“This year is looking phenomenal from a numbers standpoint,” said Jared Laing, East Texas district waterfowl biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

“But we are bone-dry here. If we don’t get rain, hunters won’t

have much to shoot at.

“We’ve got a record number of birds and record drought.”

Laing said many of the bigger reservoirs in East Texas are well below normal capacity, but the flats along the current shorelines are producing tons of forage.

Still, the ducks won’t be drawn to the food unless the lakes get water before the season opener on Sept. 10. It ends on Sept. 25.

“If we get rain to push water into the flats, it could be phenomenal,” he said. “If the water level comes up, ducks will flock to those areas.”

Bigger lakes could be the ticket for hunters, especially during the opening days of the season before

pressure pushes birds away.

“Scouting will be key this year,” Laing said.

Along the coast, hunters can expect birds to pass through quickly if water levels remain at current depths.

“It’s dry,” said Kevin Hartke, central coast waterfowl biologist for TPWD. “The marshes are really salty, and unless they get some runoff from rain or rice fields, there won’t be a lot of suitable habitat for teal.

“If they do come, they will be passing through quickly.”

Hartke said Texas should see waves of birds from up north See TEAL NUMBERS, Page 6

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Teal numbers

No exemptions

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biologist can give special permission to shoot a buck that’s obviously mature, nearing the end of his breeding capabilities.

“I hear that,” said Alan Cain, white-tailed deer program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “The short answer is no.”

Cain said some people might be confused by the state’s Managed Lands Deer Permit program, which gives incentives to landowners for making wildlife habitat improvements.

Antler restrictions are waived in higher levels of MLDP, Cain said.

But, he added, the program is primarily meant to improve habitat, not to avoid the antler-restriction regulation.

Now in 113 counties, the rule was created to take pressure off of immature male deer in one-buck counties. The idea was to let those bucks get older so that they could breed more efficiently.

The regulation states that a mature buck is legal to shoot if

Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

this season, so the chances are there for good shoots. However, just because birds are in a spot one week doesn’t guarantee anything the next week.

“This season won’t be as easy as maybe some in the past have been,” Hartke said. “Many groups of birds will fly in and then head farther south pretty quickly.”

Adding to the water issues, the Lower Colorado River Authority has suspended supplemental water outputs near the coast, commonly known as “duck pond water.”

Outfitters are getting nervous about the season due to the lack of water.

“What water?” asked Robert Steenbeke, owner of 1A Hunting in Texas Guide Service Inc., when asked how the water looked in his hunting spots. “I was fishing on Choke Canyon this morning and the only water is in the channels; none on the flats.

“Unless we get a major rain, we are screwed for teal season.”

Steenbeke said he has two ponds around San Antonio that had historically produced very good duck hunts, but “there isn’t a drop of water in either of them this year.”

MLB players warned about 'antler spray' Last year the Texas Rangers embraced deer antlers as the iconic symbol of their race for a World Series title.

Images of deer appeared Rangers’ t-shirts and some of the fans used shed antlers to fashion unusual headgear.

And now this: Major League Baseball is warning players to avoid a spray made from deer antlers, according to national media reports.

A USA Today article stated that the spray “is being marketed as a potential replacement and dodge for would-be users of steroids.”

The substance is made from ground-up antler velvet and it is sprayed under the tongue, the news organization reported.

Makers of the spray say it does “performance enhancing” things like building strength and endurance. It can only be detected with blood tests, not drug tests that check urine.

Sports Illustrated reported that before the warning was made, baseball players were using the substance in the same manner as body-builders and NFL players.

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its antlers have an inside spread of 13 inches or more.

That’s hard to judge in the field, but if the antlers extend past the buck’s ears, there’s a good chance the spread is the right length.

Cain said 2008 was the last year that new counties were put under the regulation.

“It’s too early to tell right now if more will be added,” Cain said. “We haven’t had any new requests, but more importantly, we haven’t seen any counties where there are problems with age structure.”

As for the Cathedral Buck, he’ll probably keep giving dirty looks to hunters for a few years to come.

His tall but narrowly spaced antlers no doubt will keep him from winding up on someone’s wall, which puts him in a rare fraternity.

Cain said data shows that only 4 to 5 percent of mature bucks in some surveys have antler spreads less than 13 inches.

The NFL, however, banned the spray.

Antlers from Texas white-tailed deer apparently aren’t desired to make this spray.

According to reports, this substance is ground from the velvet of red deer from New Zealand.

—Staff report

Houston Safari Club awards scholarships Houston Safari Club has announced the 2011 recipients of the club’s scholarship program.

Recipients, $2,000 scholarships: Kory Gann, Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville; R. Douglas Holt, Lubbock, Texas Tech.

Recipients, $4,000 scholarships: Brian Bielfelt, Robstown, Texas A&M Kingsville; Phil Borsdorf, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Byron Buckley, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Brian Chandler, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Brandi Crider, Tilden, Texas Tech; Chase Currie, Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville; Lauren Dobson, College Station, Texas A&M; Adam Duarte, San Marcos, Texas State; Cord Eversole, Needville, Texas A&M Kingsville; Justin Hoffman, Alpine, Sul Ross; Thomas Janke, Bartlett, Sul Ross; and David Kramer, Lubbock, Texas Tech.

Congratulations, Carson! You can claim your Nikon 10x42 Trailblazer ATB binoculars at the Nikon Sport Optics dealer nearest you: Glick Twins 419 W Us Highway 83 Pharr, TX 78577 (956) 787-4291

tchmber while wa tience last Dece pa k. of e oo tu cC vir M e learned th a ranch near ES, 8, of Donna h the brush on e trail CARSON HUGH e its way throug “Gordo” becaus av d we me ck na bu ck nt ni oi s -p wa ne rds d, ni ol ya d s 0 ol ar 11 an ing 5 1/2 ye e deer, about s buck, aged at belly. Finally th 2-250-calier .2 e be th tle m The South Texa lit fro a d d it. The roun ng showed he ha and Carson took ter while climbi camera images oadside target er. Moments la br ld a ou d . sh te ck ’s en bu ck t es bu rs pr away, behind the It was his fi uarely placed gs feel funny.” ber rifle was sq his dad, “My le ld to on rs Ca d, blin down from the

Also, Joseph Lewis, Klondike, Texas A&M; Dawson Lilly, Kingsville, Texas A&M; Clint Mabrey, Nacogdoches, Stephen F Austin; David Morgan, Dallas, Texas State; Christopher Niebuhr, Stephenville, Tarleton State; Whitney Priesmeyer, Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville; Andrew Reid, College Station, Texas A&M; Peter Schlichting, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Donnelle Schwalm, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Grant Sorensen, Lubbock, Texas Tech; Sara Weaver, San Marcos, Texas State; and James Weaver, Alpine, Sul Ross.

—Staff report

Hunters for the Hungry recruiting processors Texas Hunters for the Hungry is already signing up qualified meat processors to handle venison donations for the 20112012 deer season.

From last season, the program provided 178,662 pounds of venison to more than 100 organizations that serve low-income people across Texas.

Interested processors and hunters may call 1-800-992-9767, ext. 506.

—Staff report

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FISHING

Summer cats boated with cut bait, patience

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS It was almost time to reel up the lines and head in when Chuck Patterson had something strike his bait.

“We were drifting for a while and I was just about to give up when that rod doubled over and it was the best catfish I had ever caught,” Patterson said.

After spending most of the day drifting with cut bait, Patterson had only landed one other catfish on Lake Texoma. The 20-pound blue that was on the end of the line was Patterson’s personal best.

He said there has been a dip in larger fish thus far this summer, which he attributed to the heat causing the fish to be sluggish.

“A few weeks ago it was pretty easy to boat 30 in a day, but now most anglers are catching eight to 10 in a day,” Patterson said.

Fishing with cut shad in 12 to 20 feet of water is where most of the Patterson’s strikes have come, with fair numbers of blue cats.

Patterson also reported channel cats in the 6- to 8-pound range in similar presentation styles.

Despite this fish being caught on Texoma, Patterson said that most of this fishing occurs on his home lake of Lewisville, where he has applied similar techniques to catfish and has found them along similar humps while drifting.

Anglers also reported the western side of Lewisville, south of the Hickory Creek arm and Oakland Park as being constructive starting points for drifting.

Drifting with cut shad on Lake Waco has gotten results recently for guide James Tucker.

“We have been using shad, fishing midrange depths between 18-20 foot and that’s where the best bite has been,” Tucker said.

The daytime bite has centered on the main lake humps. As the day wears on the bite has shifted to shallow waters, as low as 2 feet.

For nighttime action, drifting with cut shad has been productive, but anglers may want to lighten the weights of their rigs, Tucker said.

Other reports stated that channel cats and blues were excellent at Falcon Reservoir where they were being boated with cut bait, shad and shrimp.

At Lake Tawakoni, cut bait and fresh shad were also productive while drifting over deep water.

Tucker has noticed a dip in the quantities of fish being taken on Waco. He said that it has taken patience to land fair numbers of fish during the daytime.

He did report, however, that his boat landed a 37-pound blue cat on a trip in early August, as well as several larger-than-average channel cats.

“The midday bite is pretty slow; you just have to get out there and stick with it until you find them,” Tucker said. “But just being at the right place at the right time has a lot to do with it.”

Guide John Gilbert reported a vastly slower bite on Lake LBJ as the heat in the area has limited his fishing. He said that of the few clients that have wanted to fish, they recorded only a handful of blue cats.

Nightcrawlers, liver and stinkbait have been the most productive baits for LBJ, Gilbert said.

To contact guide James Tucker, call (254) 495-6726 To contact guide John Gilbert, call (512) 913-2757

Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

Clear water key for kingfish

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Clear water and structure are key for anglers targeting kingfish in the 30- to 50-pound class, according to Capt. Shannon Labauve.

Fishing anywhere between 30-65 miles offshore, Labauve said that his boat has consistently caught bigger kings. Fishing out of Galveston, Labauve has been See KINGFISH, Page 20

TUNE-UP: Bow fishing for gar — including needlenose, alligator and the one shown here, spotted — is an excellent tune-up for the archery deer season, anglers say. Photo by Bill Miller, LSON.

Shooting gar a different archery challenge Helps get ready for regular bow season

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

PERSONAL BEST: Angler Chuck Patterson of Lewisville presents a 20-pound blue cat he caught while fishing on Lake Texoma. Patterson has had decent luck lately with channel cats, but this was his largest blue cat. Photo by Chuck Patterson.

The water swirled, quickly followed by an arrow launched from the slow-moving boat several yards away.

The shooter saw the arrow slice through the murky water at the disappearing target before feeling the tip hit something solid. The line connected See ARCHERY, Page 23

Legislator won’t abandon effort to get free fishing for all seniors

By Mark England LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

SENIOR RATE: Anglers age 65 and older can buy discounted senior fishing licenses, but one Texas legislator said he would be back next session to reintroduce a bill that would let them all fish for free.

Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Patience is a virtue for anglers and politicians, especially politicians angling to change Texas law to permit more senior anglers to fish for free.

After failing the two previous sessions, Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-Houston, persuaded the Legislature to lower the age limit for anglers to obtain free fishing licenses — which they did by a whopping four months.

Legislators amended state law to waive fishing licenses for those born on or before Jan. 1, 1931, effective immediately. The law previously restricted free fishing to those born on or before Sept. 1, 1930.

In an e-mail interview with Lone Star Outdoor News, Dutton said he had hoped to convince fellow legislators to let all Texans 65 years and older fish free.

Dutton said lowering his sights “was one of the considerations I had to make to pass the bill.”

At one point, the Senate had proposed letting

those 75 or older fish free. That was before the Legislative Budget Board said passing such a law would cost the state $712,000 by fiscal year 2016.

Dutton wasn’t happy with the LBB’s estimate.

“Personally, I think their estimates were designed to kill the bill, and I just don’t have any faith in their numbers,” Dutton told LSON. “But let’s suppose they’re right. It’s a relatively small expense for providing seniors in Texas with an opportunity to avoid the fishing license fee.

What else did we do for seniors in the past session? Nada.”

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department official said Dutton’s original bill, letting those 65 or older fish free, would have cost TPWD millions of dollars annually.

“It would have been $2.3 million cut from our agency or about 2 1/2 percent of Fund 9,” said Gene McCarty, deputy executive director for administration. “It would have been a significant budget cut.”

See SENIORS, Page 22

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Boaters fear wireless network might disrupt GPS signals

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Plans to build a new nationwide broadband wireless telephone network is worrying boaters who fear it will disrupt signals used by their global positioning system devices.

Boat Owners Association of the United States has collected comments from 15,000 people that were presented to the Federal Communication Commission to oppose the plans of the company, LightSquared.

The company, based in

Reston, Va., wants to build a 4G wireless broadband network with satellite coverage across the U.S. But the boaters association claims the network “could cause significant interference with most GPS signals.”

Margaret Podlich, the group’s vice president of government affairs, said the comments are meant to promote a reliable GPS See GPS, Page 21

Going for a stroll Technique helps cover more water

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Sometimes a deep-diving crankbait won't hit that target depth where fish are suspended.

Sometimes the 50-foot cast required to get a lure to a specific depth just isn’t plausible.

That’s why B.A.S.S. pro and Lake Fork guide Lance Vick has adapted a strategy to quickly and efficiently get baits to desired depths.

Using a method known as “strolling,” Vick

will cast a lure out and use his trolling motor to pull out line. After releasing enough line, Vick will close the bail, then either troll or crank the lure over the selected area.

This technique came about for two reasons: first to cover a lot of water at very deep depths; the second, to accommodate clients who are unable to consistently hit casting distances of 50 feet or more.

See STROLL, Page 20

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TEXAS FISHING REPORT Sponsored by

HOT BITES LARGEMOUTH BASS

BROWNWOOD: Excellent on watermelon buzzbaits, crankbaits and soft plastic worms along shorelines.

CEDAR CREEK: Good on Texas rigs, shaky heads and shallow square-bill crankbaits around docks.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Good on Yellow Magics early, later switching to Texas rigs, shaky heads and deep-diving crankbaits.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Good on Texas-rigged worms, crankbaits and topwaters.

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

MACKENZIE: White bass and striped bass are good on slabs, live bait and Rat–L–Traps.

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

RAY ROBERTS: White bass are excellent — schooling early from the dam to the marina.

TAWAKONI: White bass are excellent on chartreuse and white SSS Slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late.

CATFISH

FALCON: Channel and blue catfish are excellent on cut bait, shrimp and shad.

FORK: Good on cut shad and prepared bait.

LBJ: Channel catfish are very good on nightcrawlers, liver and stinkbait.

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

CRAPPIE BROWNWOOD: Excellent on white tube jigs over brush piles.

FALCON: Excellent on jigs and minnows.

GRAPEVINE: Good on minnows.

LIVINGSTON: Good on minnows.

ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 86–90 degrees; 5.41’ low. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters early, later switching to shaky heads, Texas rigs and Carolina rigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair to good on prepared bait.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 84–87 degrees; 5.15’ low. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and jigs over grass. Crappie are slow. Catfish are fair on cheesebait over baited holes in 12–30 feet.

ATHENS: Water clear, 88–93 degrees; 3.14’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, jigs and mediumrunning crankbaits — midday concentrate on deeper brush piles. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

BASTROP: Water clear; 82–85 degrees.

Largemouth bass are fair on spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp and nightcrawlers.

blue flake worms along break lines.

Yellow and blue catfish are good on goldfish and perch.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 88–93 degrees; 4.53’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, shaky heads and shallow square-bill crankbaits around docks. The best action is in early morning with deep brush piles producing throughout the day. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on live shad.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 79–82

JOE POOL: Water clear; 88–92 degrees; 1.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, topwaters early and mediumrunning crankbaits. Deeper brush piles are best later in day. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on prepared baits.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 88–93 degrees; 1.64’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, topwaters early and jigs later in the day off brush piles. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good

HOT SPOT

BELTON: Water murky; 82–86 degrees; 6.31’ low. Hybrid striper are fair on silver slabs. White bass are fair on minnows, white Riversides and silver slabs. Channel and blue catfish are good on summer sausage, stinkbait, and frozen shad.

Yellow catfish are very good on trotlines and throwlines baited with live perch.

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 88–93 degrees; 6.29’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits and football jigs off ledges and in brush piles. Crappie are good on live minnows. White bass are good on Humdingers and topwaters. Catfish are fair to good on trotlines or juglines with Redneck’s Catfish Bait Soap.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and dark soft plastic worms in reeds. Striped bass are good down-rigging silver and gold spoons near the jetty and dam. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp, cut bait, and cheesebait near the dam.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 88–93 degrees; 9.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits in shad patterns and Texas-rigged LFT Hyper Worms along main lake points and deeper docks. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on slabs. Channel catfish are fair on cut and prepared bait.

BROWNWOOD: Water clear; 14.39’ low.

Largemouth bass are excellent on watermelon buzzbaits, crankbaits and soft plastic worms along shorelines. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies off lighted docks at night. Crappie are excellent on white tube jigs over brush piles. Channel catfish are good on stinkbait over baited holes. Yellow catfish are fair on trotlines baited with perch.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 78–81 degrees; 22.18’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Chug Bugs, green buzzbaits and Texas-rigged 5” watermelon Whacky Sticks in Silver Creek in 5–10 feet early. Striped bass are good on plastic swim baits and Rat–L-Traps near Lighthouse Point.

White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies and swimbaits. Crappie are fair on chartreuse crappie jigs and live minnows. Channel catfish are good on shrimp, minnows, and dipbait. Yellow and blue catfish are good on goldfish and perch.

CADDO: Water stained; 88–92 degrees; 1.04’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs and topwaters early, later switching to shallow crankbaits around isolated cover. White bass are fair on Rat–L–Traps. Yellow bass are good on minnows.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits near the dam. Striped bass are good on spoons and striper jigs near the dam. Channel catfish are good on liver, cheesebait, shrimp, and shad.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 78–81 degrees; 5.93’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon flukes, topwaters, and

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 85–89 degrees; 33.66’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Senkos and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on Rooster Tails. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 88–93 degrees; 4.03 low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, Texas-rigged blue fleck worms and black/blue jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrid stripers are fair on slabs, Sassy Shad and live shad. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water stained; 83–89 degrees; 5.9’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Yellow Magics early, later switching to Texas rigs, shaky heads and deep-diving crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and Little Georges. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Catfish are fair to good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 88–93 degrees; 3.26’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, finesse jigs and hollow-belly swimbaits.

Crappie are fair on minnows and Road Runners. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catfish are good on prepared baits.

Laguna Madre: Guides have reported catching good numbers of keeper trout despite the heat and high-water temperatures. Although August can be a tough month on the coast, anglers have caught trout and redfish on topwaters and underneath popping corks. Photo by LSON.

degrees; 9.36’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shallow-running crankbaits, chartreuse spinnerbaits, and green pumpkin Whacky Sticks with chartreuse tails along main lake points in 5–10 feet. Channel catfish are good on shrimp and live bait in 5–15 feet. Yellow and blue catfish are good on live bait upriver.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 81–84 degrees; 3.67’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse Carolina-rigged soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. Striped bass are fair on minnows and silver striper jigs.

Catfish are good on stinkbait, hot dogs, and shrimp.

FALCON: Water stained to clear; 87–91 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse jigs and spinnerbaits. Crappie are excellent on jigs and minnows. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on cut bait, shrimp and shad.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 88–94 degrees; 5.13’ low. Largemouth bass are good on 3/4 oz. football head jigs with LFT Hyper Freak trailers and Carolina rigs in deeper water along main lake humps, drops and brush piles, deep-diving crankbaits and watermelon/green pumpkin 1/2 oz. flipping jigs in 12–15 feet along creek channels. The night bite has been good after midnight.

Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

GRANGER: Water clear; 84–88 degrees; 2.70’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastic worms upriver around flooded timber. White bass are good on Rat–L–Traps along shallow roadbeds in the main lake early and late. Crappie are good on white marabou jigs in 6–12 feet.

Blue catfish are good on juglines baited with fresh shad.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 88–93 degrees; 1.77’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, finesse jigs, and medium-running crankbaits along main lake points — docks are productive as well. Crappie are good on minnows.

White bass are good on topwaters and Rat–L–Traps. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 88–93 degrees; 6.68’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, topwaters and medium-running crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfish are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water fairly clear; 81–84 degrees; 0.38’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on perch-colored crankbaits and green pumpkin tubes around docks and lay downs. Striped bass are good on Li’l Fishies and Spoiler Shads at night.

White bass are fair on minnows at night.

Crappie are good on blue tube jigs and live minnows over brush piles. Channel catfish are very good on nightcrawlers, liver and stinkbait.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 88–93 degrees; 3.12’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas-rigged plastics on main lake points in 10–15 feet, or football head jigs along same areas. Weightless Senkos around boat stalls are producing too. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are fair on slabs and Sassy Shad. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 85–88 degrees; 1.32’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Striped bass are good, but small, on slabs and pet spoons. White bass are good on pet spoons, troll tubes and slabs. Crappie are good on minnows. Blue catfish are good on shad.

MACKENZIE: Water stained; 84–89 degrees; 82.97’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits, Texas rigs and shaky heads. White bass and striped bass are good on slabs, live bait and Rat–L– Traps. Smallmouth bass are good on live bait. Catfish are good on live bait.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 88–94 degrees; 0.20’ high. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits, chatterbaits and Texas-rigged worms.

Concentrate on deeper creek channels for best results.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 88–92 degrees; 2.65’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina-rigged watermelon/red flukes on main lake points in 8–17 feet.

Crappie are good on jigs and minnows in brush in 20–25 feet. White bass are excellent — schooling early from the dam to the marina.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water fairly clear; 88–93 degrees; 4.75’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, crankbaits and topwaters. White bass are fair on slabs and live shad. Hybrid stripers are fair on slabs and live shad. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 78–82 degrees; 10.34’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on minnows and dark soft-plastic worms and lizards. White bass are fair on minnows. Crappie are fair on minnows over baited holes.

Bream are fair on nightcrawlers. Catfish are good on trotlines baited with live bait and cut bait.

TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 88–93 degrees; 4.43’ low. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters early, later switching to black/blue Firewater 1/2 oz. jigs, soft plastics and medium-diving crankbaits.

Crappie are fair on 1/16 oz. curl tail grubs and small minnows on docks, bridge pilings and deep timber. White bass are excellent on chartreuse and white SSS Slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4” to 6” white- or shad-pattern Sassy Shad in the shallows early, then suspending deep during the day — drifting live bait is also producing.

Catfish are excellent in deep-water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

TEXOMA: ater fairly clear; 88–93 degrees; 4.34’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits in shad patterns, Texas-rigged finesse worms, shaky heads and topwaters. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Striped bass are good on live shad. Catfish are good on cut and live shad.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 77–80 degrees; 9.76’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon Rat–L–Traps and soft plastic worms. Striped bass are fair on minnows. White bass are good on pet spoons. Channel and blue catfish are good on trotlines baited with live bait, stinkbait, and nightcrawlers.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 80–83 degrees; 41.37’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Rat–L–Traps and spinnerbaits. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies. Channel and blue catfish are fair on shrimp and liver.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 80–83 degrees; 13.84’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on minnows and small spinnerbaits.

SALTWATER SCENE NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair in the river on live shad. Redfish are good in the cuts and drains leading to the marsh on shrimp and jigs tipped with shrimp.

SOUTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good while drifting the reefs on live shrimp and soft plastics. Trout, sheepshead and redfish are fair to good at the jetty and nearshore rigs on live shrimp and shad.

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair on the south shoreline on small topwaters and soft plastics.

Black drum, sand trout and redfish are good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working wells and shell pads on shrimp and mullet. Redfish are good on live bait around the reefs and at the spillway.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are good for drifters working deep shell on plastics and live bait. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead Sheepshead, redfish redfish and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Trout are fair in Christmas Bay on live shrimp over reefs. Offshore is good for tarpon, kingfish and ling.

TEXAS CITY: Trout are fair on the reefs on live shrimp and croakers. Trout are fair along the edge of the Ship Channel on croakers and shrimp. Redfish are fair in Moses Lake on shrimp and mullet.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs in Bastrop Bay. Trout, Spanish mackerel and sand trout are good at the jetties on soft plastics and shrimp.

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

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair on sand and grass humps on soft plastics and topwaters. Redfish are fair on live shrimp in Oyster Lake and Crab Lake. Giggers have taken limits of flounder.

PORT O’CONNOR: Trout and redfish are fair on live bait over sand, grass and shell in San Antonio Bay. Kingfish and tarpon have been showing at the jetty.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair in the guts and channels on free–lined shrimp. Redfish are good on mullet and shrimp around Dagger Island and in South Bay. PORT ARANSAS: Trout, redfish and sheepshead are fair to good at the jetty on shrimp and croakers. Trout are fair around Shamrock Cove on topwaters, piggies and croakers.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Trout are fair to good on the edge of the spoils on soft plastics and live shrimp. Redfish are good in the potholes on shrimp.

Kayakers have found trout and reds in protected waters on small mall topwaters.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good on live shrimp around rocks and grass near the Land Cut. Trout are fair to good on the King Ranch shoreline on croakers, topwaters and plum Bass Assassins, Sand Eels and Trout Killers.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout and redfish are fair on topwaters around sand and grass near spoil islands. Redfish are fair to good while drifting potholes on topwaters and plastics under popping corks. Offshore is good for kingfish and tuna.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout are fair in South Bay and Mexiquita Flats on shrimp and plastics corks. stics under rattling corks Tarpon have been showing at the jetty.

PORT ISABEL: Trout and redfish are fair to good on the flats on live shrimp and DOA Shrimp under a popping cork. Snook are good early in the morning in the Brownsville Ship Channel on live shrimp.

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

All boaters responsible for safety, officials say

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Reports on a popular Texas fishing forum recently described an incident involving fishing boats and pleasure yachts on Lewisville Lake in which several of the smaller boats were overtaken by wakes created from the larger boats.

Some of the smaller boats, according to the commenters, were swamped.

No serious accidents or

injuries were reported to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

However, more than 10 people commented on this incident the last weekend of July, claiming to have witnessed the actions of the larger boats.

Some commenters said this was not an isolated incident on Lewsiville. None of the commenters, however, responded to requests to be interviewed for this article.

Game Warden Capt. Neal

Bieler said he was unaware of this incident.

Bieler, however, said that anglers should be aware of their surroundings and understand that the water is open to everyone.

“If you take a jonboat out on Lewisville Lake, you should expect to have trouble because of the 50- to 60-foot boats out there will throw big wakes,” Bieler said. “I would just say to the See ALL BOATERS, Page 21

'Dead zone' no record, but still big

By Darlene McCormick Sanchez FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Overall, the annual summertime “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico hasn’t been the largest on record, but it’s the largest one seen

by Texans in 25 years.

The hypoxic zone — an oxygen-depleted area deadly to fish — stretches 7,722 square miles across Louisiana’s coast well into Texan waters, scientists with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium announced recently.

A research ship found a large area of hypoxia, or low-oxygen water, along the coast west of Galveston Bay and offshore in that area.

“This is the largest such area off the upper Texas coast that we have found since we began this work in 1985,” said Nancy Rabalais, exec-

utive director of the consortium, in a recent news report.

Hypoxia is caused by excessive nutrient pollution, often from human activities such as agriculture that results in too little oxygen to support most marine life in water near the bottom of the Gulf.

The hypoxic zone off the coast of Louisiana and Texas forms each summer and averages about 6,000 square miles. It threatens valuable commercial and recreational Gulf fisheries.

Scientists predicted the zone would reach or exceed the 8,500-square-mile mark because of extreme flooding along the Mississippi River this spring. While that didn’t happen, it is currently about the size of Massachusetts — twice as large as last year’s dead zone.

Its effect on marine life was not immediately known in early August.

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GAME WARDEN BLOTTER THEY WEREN’T BITING THAT WELL, I MEANT After receiving information of a man keeping undersized fish, Menard County Game Warden Clint Graham checked the angler on the San Saba River. Graham watched the individual for more than an hour, and when he checked him, the man said the fish were not biting and showed an empty stringer. Graham then walked down to the spot where the fisherman pulled out his boat and found another stringer staked out along the riverbank. On the stringer were several undersized crappie and black bass. Case pending.

SLOW LEARNER LEARNS THE HARD WAY A call regarding a boat accident on Lake Texoma led to numerous charges filed by Grayson County Game Wardens Michael Hummert and Colt Gaulden. As the wardens began travelling to the accident location, county dispatch advised that one of the boats involved in the accident had been loaded onto a trailer and was leaving the scene. A witness got the vehicle’s license plate number, advised the sheriff’s office, and the information was relayed to the wardens. The wardens figured that the suspects would attempt to elude responding officers by travelling on back roads and they were able to intercept the vehicle on a nearby farm-to-market road. The boat operator, who was the passenger in the vehicle, exhibited signs of intoxication. The operator was arrested for BWI, and it was discovered that he had nine previous convictions for DWI/DUI. The operator agreed to provide a breath sample and blew a 0.19.

The truck driver and the boat operator will also face charges of fleeing

REPEAT OFFENDER GETS NABBED AGAIN The Wharton County District Attorney’s Office closed a cold case involving the hunting of white-tailed buck deer without consent of the landowner. A man who pled guilty to multiple felony wildlife crimes in May of this year pled guilty again. Wharton County Game Warden Chris Bird, pursuant to the execution of a search warrant related to other wildlife crimes, recovered a mounted white-tailed buck during the service of the warrant. The mount was identified by the taxidermist, who said the deer had been taken in 2007 on a private ranch near El Campo. Bird knew the landowner of the property where the deer had allegedly been poached, the scene of an accident. Cases pending.

WARDENS HELP SEIZE POT Dallas County Game Warden David Bosecker was called to assist DPS Narcotics agents with a marijuana field they had located on the Trinity River. Bosecker used his flatbottomed boat to navigate into the area, which was not accessible by vehicle, and transported narcotics officers into the area and also assisted with the seizure.

SHRIMP SELLER MADE THE WRONG COLD CALL A man pulled up to the driveway of Newton County Game Warden Ellis Powell and attempted to sell him shrimp. The subject opened the trunk and ice chest, then noticed Powell’s truck and said “I’m done, ain't I?” A citation was issued for no truck dealer’s license.

THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD A RULER Acting on a phone call report, Brazoria County Game Warden Jason Richers issued several citations to an individual fishing from

and also recalled that this landowner enjoyed videotaping the deer on his property. The landowner said one buck on his videos did go missing and never returned.

The landowner turned over a DVD recording of a whitetailed buck showing the shoulder-mounted buck that was recovered in the search warrant served in 2009.

The suspect pled guilty to the charges of hunting without the consent of the landowner, hunting at night and hunting with artificial light. He received a Class A misdemeanor conviction with 180 days jail probated to two years. He will also be responsible for civil restitution of the buck and will be forced to forfeit a rifle.

the Quintana jetties for possession of 20 undersized speckled trout.

Cases pending.

WARDENS' NEW BOAT OFF TO QUICK START The 29-foot Safeboat, the P/V Joe Evans, made its first case only 20 minutes after being launched. A local commercial fisherman found another subject stealing from his perch traps and called game wardens for assistance. Aransas County Game Wardens Scott McLeod and Derek Reeder responded and Class C theft charges will be filed against the individual by the commercial fisherman.

BLACK BEAR HIT BY VEHICLE Val Verde County Game Warden Roger Nicholas and Terrell County Game Warden Kenneth Stannard responded to a call of a black bear that had been hit by a vehicle near Comstock. Efforts were made to save the juvenile male bear, but game wardens and TPWD biologists ultimately decided that the bear had to be euthanized due to the injuries it had sustained.

ANOTHER COLD CALL GONE WRONG Newton County Game Warden Bradley Smith had a subject drive up in front of his residence in a white truck with a freezer in the back. The man said he had steaks, chicken and seafood for sale. Smith requested to see a copy of the man’s retail truck dealer's license, which the subject did not have. The man was also wanted out of California for burglary and the truck he was driving was stolen. The subject was arrested on several charges.

TRESPASSING POACHERS GET BUSTED Montgomery County Game Wardens Bobby Apple and Brannon Meinkowsky responded to a call about two beavers that had been dumped on a driveway. The caller identified a possible suspect. The wardens went to the suspect’s home, where he admitted to shooting the beavers without a hunting license and then dumping them. When the wardens entered the home to retrieve the rifle, they noticed the smell of marijuana. Marijuana and paraphernalia were recovered. They also noticed

a skull of a raptor and the heads of three illegally taken alligators. In all, nine citations and numerous warnings were issued to three subjects.

Restitution was charged for 4 1/2-, 6 1/2- and 8-foot alligators and three beavers. All the animals were taken without landowner's consent and further charges are pending.

JETTY PATROL REVEALS GOOD COMPLIANCE, SOME VIOLATORS Coastal game wardens conducted their annual jetty patrol on a busy July Saturday. Wardens reported the following statistics: Boats checked – 269 Persons contacted – 945 Citations issued – 27 Warnings issued – 22 Fish seized – 35 (snapper, sharks, cobia) DOVE TRAPPER TRAPPED Travis County Game Warden Christy Vales responded to a call regarding a man possessing live game birds.

Vales traveled to the man's residence and located a large cage containing approximately 40 white-winged dove and two Inca doves. Several citations issued and the birds were set free.

Cases pending.

FARM YARD DEER KEEPER FETCHES CITATIONS Complaints of a residence with a fawn in the backyard were received

by Harris County Game Warden Jennifer Inkster. At the residence, Inkster encountered two whitetailed bucks, two white-tailed does and one white-tailed fawn (that was born on the property). The suspect said his "pet" deer had been on his property for three years. The deer were transported to a local exotic ranch for safe keeping. Citations pending.

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

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HEROES MACK HELBLE, 8, of Austin shot his first deer at 100 yards on the Rancho Venado Grande last November near Freer.

NATHAN DAUN of Sachse caught this 15-pound snapper during a recent vacation in Destin, Fla.

SHERRI EMORY of Tomball downed this 163 4/8 white-tailed buck last November on the Baird Ranch in Grimes County.

AYDIN ZANAGAR, 14, of Flower Mound went fishing for the first time last month on Lewisville Lake, and boated this 6-pound hybrid.

This snapper was hooked last month by LANE IMKEN, 13, of Pflugerville, as he fished offshore out of Port Aransas.

Future tournament angler MATEO GONZALES, 4, of Boerne caught the largest bass, 14 3/4 inches, at a recent contest sponsored by Boerne Parks and Recreation Department. He is joined here by Raul Gonzales.

BRUCE MCDONALD (left) and TOM HOOLAN, both of Dallas, had fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner while fishing last month at Caribou Lake, Ontario, Canada. Here they show off some walleyes.

LUKE PEMBERTON, 14, of Burnet caught this nice lake trout last month while fishing at Caribou Lake, Ontario, Canada and staying at Bear Paw Lodge.

MADISON BREEDEN, 11, of Brownsville learned to shoot the day before Thanksgiving. On the Friday after the holiday, she was aiming at a doe on a ranch in Starr County, but a nine-point buck walked out, so she dropped him instead — one shot, 85 yards.

SHARE AN ADVENTURE ■ Want to share hunting and fishing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers? E-mail them with contact and caption information to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com. Highresolution original jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Trapper's Continued From Page 1

the e-mails. He then goes online to monitor video feeds from the traps. At the right moment, he uses his phone to send a signal that triggers a trapdoor to slam shut.

But Tilford, owner of Feral Hog Eradication Company, isn’t interested in just catching a couple pigs at a time. He wants to nab entire herds, typically called “sounders.”

“If there are 40 hogs in the sounder, I can catch all 40 of them,” Tilford said.

He recently caught 50 in two traps on a ranch south of Lockhart.

One trap caught 30. There were sows, ows, some piglets and one very orner ornery ry boar that tried to o snap at a photographer through one of the panels made of 4-by-4-inch mesh.

The hogs scurried around the inside of the trap and slammed against the metal panels. Tilford backed a stock trailer er to thee trapdoor and raised it.

Most of the hogs retreated d into the trailer, butt Tilford d had to climb into thee trap to coax two stubborn piglets iglets to join the others.

James Tessmann, landland downer, said he believed d that tha at was the same sounderr that tha at recently toppled three feede feeders ers and gobbled $70 worth of co corn orn from each one.

He added that he appreciated how one guy did the job without any shooting.

“I’m astounded by how well it worked,” Tessmann said. “And it’s nice to not have all those carcasses around. If I create a coyote problem, that’s not helping a cattle operation.”

Tilford hauls the pigs to licensed buying stations. From there they go to slaughter facilities or hunting ranches.

“They are a lot smarter than they’re given credit for,” Tilford said of feral hogs, “and they’re a lot more powerful than you might think.

“I had one charge me several times.”

Tilford started designing his system last year, but he wasn’t looking to turn an outdoors hobby into a career.

He has h hunted, but he doesn’t consider himavid outdoorsman. selff an av Tilford studied business at Texas State Tilfo University in San Marcos. After graduaUnive U tion he worked with his dad in advertist ing. in But, Bu he added, “I always wanted to own o my own business.”

Then in January 2010 he watched T the th he documentary “Pig Bomb” on the Discovery Channel, which outlined the Dis D growing feral hog problem in Texas. gro gr Soon he envisioned a business that removed pigs and then sold them for ree profi p t.

“I thought that if you could come up u with the right system, you could make m money on both ends,” he said.

Tilford researched feral hog habits it and the designs of existing traps.

Then Th he read a study from Texas A&M A& University.

It stated that in order to keep the hog

trap. Tilford shows how the trapdoor is triggered shut with a signal To contact Feral Hog Eradication Company, call from his smartphone. An aggressive boar shows his displeasure at (512) 656-6472 being trapped. Photos by Bill Miller and Nicholas Conklin, LSON.

Trout limit

Continued From Page 1

Continued From Page 1

Keying on brush piles and sunken timber has been where most crappie were holding on Ray Roberts , with minnows being the must effective bait, Waters said.

Guide Everett Reynolds said that the only thing limiting the crappie bite now is the anglers’ willingness to fish during the day. That is why a majority of his trips have been in the early mornings.

However, Reynolds said that the target areas, brush piles and timber, hold fish at all hours.

Reynolds said that he has tipped jigs with minnows when the bite tapered off.

Angler Rick Crilley said that jigs on brush piles has remained effective on Lewisville.

However, the Little Elm native said that keeping jigs simple and not too flashy has been imperative to bringing in larger crappie.

“I would say the golds and natural colors have been working this year better than anything, not necessarily the pinks and oranges, that were so effective last year,” he said.

Elsewhere, crappie fishing was excellent at Lake Brownwood on white tube jigs over brush piles. Minnows were getting good results at Grapevine and Livingston.

Crilley also said that he has landed many fish on Lewisville while fishing with Bobby Garland chartreuse and white soft plastics. They’re larger baits than most crappie anglers would prefer, but Crilley said he fishes them with a slow retrieve over structure.

“It’s a little bit bigger bait for the summertime,” Crilley said. “But if you pitch it over the pile and just bring it over the top or the side (of a brush pile), retrieve real slow, they'll knock it down.”

Anglers on Falcon Reservoir reported a similarly effective crappie bite on jigs and minnows.

Brush piles and sunken timber were cited as holding good numbers of fish.

Laguna Madre. Due to the negative reaction, TPWD decided to table the proposal.

However, anglers and guides along the lower coast told Lone Star Outdoor News that the changes have been very positive.

“I think it has been great,” said longtime Port Mansfield guide Capt. Jack Klostermann. “I was definitely in favor of it and I think a five-fish limit should be implemented from South Padre to Sabine Lake.

“When it first went into effect, guides said people wouldn’t drive all the way to the southernmost part of the coast to catch five fish, but I think it has greatly helped the charter business.

We catch a lot of fish.”

Klostermann said he’s seen more fish since the regulation, but the biggest change has been in the size of the fish now being caught in the Laguna Madre.

“There’s just been a real good increase in the average size of the fish caught,” he said. “There are trout in the 18- to 23-inch range all over the Laguna Madre.”

Klostermann, however, wondered why the Laguna Madre was singled out from the rest of state with the more restrictive regulation.

“There isn’t huge pressure on the fish down here,” he said. “There are bays up the coast that have a lot fewer fish and a lot more people fishing for them. I don’t like getting singled out. I think (TPWD) thought not as many people would complain about it down here.”

To contact guide Everett Reynolds, call (903) 818-4631

Page 15

population in check, 60 to 70 percent of the pigs would have to be removed each year.

“Well, to me, that meant you have to remove whole sounders or else you won’t put a dent in the population,” Tilford said. “I realized that people were catching one or two, or shooting three or four, but they weren’t catching whole sounders of pigs.”

Tilford enlisted his wife, Tessa, to help design his system. She works in the video surveillance industry and her employer licensed Tilford to use some of the company's software.

His original design elevated all the panels until the targeted pigs were over the bait, and then he triggered them to drop all at once. But that system, he said, became too complicated.

His current single-door trap is portable and it can be set up in under two hours. Then he baits it with smashed watermelons and deer corn fermented in Kool-Aid. Tilford hopes to build 10 traps and employ three to five people to set them up and haul away the pigs.

The video equipment, he said, will help control costs, especially for fuel.

“It is a time-consuming thing to have all these traps and to go out and check them,” he said. “But with this, I don’t have to unless I know I have pigs ERADICATION: (Clockwise from left) Brandon Tilford's trapping sysin the trap.” See the video at LSONews. tem recently captured hogs on a ranch near Lockhart. A motioncom. activated surveillance camera sends e-mails when hogs enter the

Beat the heat

SLOW DOWN: Anglers have caught crappie using bigger soft plastics with a slow retrieve. Photos by LSON.

August 12, 2011

Not many are complaining now.

“We go out on a guided trip now and our biggest worry is figuring out how to stay busy the rest of the day after we’ve caught a limit of trout,” Stewart said. “We’ve got to find reds and other fish to justify the guide fees. The reds do take a beating on this, though.

“But it’s amazing how many fish are in the bay right now. Whatever they did, it worked. Ten fish was way too many. Most people think five is enough, even the guys who go ‘meat fishing.’”

Klostermann and Stewart both said they release the bigger trout back into the bay.

“It’s getting to be like bass fishing down here,” Stewart said. “If you show up to the dock and start cleaning a big trout, you get some really bad looks.”

Guides north of the Land Cut have noticed.

When the fishing gets tough along the middle coast, many guides head south in an attempt to catch bigger fish.

Mid-Coast guide Dan Kelly said anglers who want to look for big trout often head south of the Land Cut from Corpus Christi Bay looking for a trophy fish. He added, however, that this year hasn’t produced as many big fish as in year’s past, in his opinion.

“Guides out of Corpus run down there because it has been better fishing, especially lately,” he said. “The downside of that is it is a four-hour roundtrip boat ride.”

Several guides mentioned they’d like to see a regulation in the future that sets a boat limit for anglers, regardless of the number of people in the boat.

Page 16

August 12, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

Wildlife on the move More daylight sightings resulting from drought

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS If motorists are noticing more deer along highways, state wildlife officials won’t be surprised.

Highway ditches are some of the last places to hold moisture from whatever rainfall might have fallen in a season, so lingering plants on those surfaces may be enticing the deer.

The drought, however, is forcing animals to range farther, according to state wildlife officials.

“All the critters are moving to get food or water,” said Mike Cox, spokesman for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “The drought is stressing wildlife, both urban and rural, and they’re looking for water.”

That could explain why an emaciated coyote was seen darting across lawns one recent evening in southwest Fort Worth.

One biologist said, however, that the animals seen near or actually in the cities are not part of mass migra-

tion from the country.

They’ve probably have always lived nearby, but people are noticing them more now.

“Animals that are normally nocturnal are being seen more during the day because they’re out looking for water or something to eat,” said John Davis, a TPWD biologist in Austin. “No question, the drought is stressing wildlife, but a field mouse or rabbit that lives out in the country has no concept of cities or that they will find food or water if they go there.”

Davis also suggested that there is one aspect of drought that is both harsh and beneficial for wildlife.

“It’s easy to get caught up on individual animals and have a heart-felt desire to help them,” Davis said. “But since it’s the weak who don’t survive, in the long run, a drought strengthens a species’ population.”

Meanwhile, state highway officials by early August had not yet reported any upticks in the numbers of deer-car wrecks in Texas.

That usually happens in

the fall, said Michael Peters, spokesman with the Texas Department of Transportation office in Fort Worth.

That danger intensifies in November and December during the rut when bucks throw caution to the wind while chasing does and unknowingly find themselves in roadways, according to biologists.

“In 2009,” Peters said, “more than 7,000 animalrelated crashes occurred in Texas, many involving deer, and 25 involved fatalities.

“If activity is on the raise, we warn motorists to be on the lookout.”

No matter when deer are spotted near roadways, Peters said motorists should be prepared for other deer to appear suddenly.

At night, drivers should use high beams whenever possible, because they illuminate a deer’s eyes at a distance, thus providing a warning to slow down.

“If a deer is in your lane, brake firmly, but stay in the lane,” Peters said. “The most serious crashes occur when drivers swerve.”

HAZARD: Deer and other animals may become more visible on Texas roadways as drought stirs them into ranging farther for food and water. Consequently, motorists should use the same caution as they do in the fall, officials say. Photo by Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Deer diet Continued From Page 4

Timothy Fulbright, professor of semiarid land ecology at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville.

Included are weedy plants like Texas persimmon and hog plum. The fruits of prickly pear cactus are also consumed.

“I’ve watched deer eat the ones that have fallen on the ground, rather than eating ones on the plant,” Fulbright said. “They’re dried, but the deer just sit there and crunch the things.”

Fulbright said there is “a whole host of woody plants” that deer eat in South Texas, including the spiny hackberry and lime prickly ash.

They also eat oak, and not just the acorns that drop in the fall.

“They do browse on the leaves and twigs,” Fulbright said. He added that deer in North Texas eat live oaks, post oaks, juniper and lotebush.

“A lot of woody plants like the ones here in South Texas are not much more than main-

tenance rations, if that’s all they have to eat,” Fulbright said. “But woody plants are more drought-hardy.

“Thank goodness they have it.”

Fulbright had similar praise for a woody plant that receives a lot of cussing for its assault on groundwater — mesquite.

Deer eat pods of mesquite beans, but the trees’ expansive canopies also shield them from the sun, Fulbright said.

“It’s kind of ironic that people don’t like mesquite,” he said. “But right now, they’re critically important for deer.”

Gipson said it’s not too late for rainfall to rejuvenate the range, but that window may slam shut soon.

“A 2- to 3-inch rain would make all the difference in the world,” he said. “If we could get the does through this summer while fawns are still dependent on their milk, it would be really outstanding.

“Otherwise, a lot of fawns probably aren’t going to make it.”

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

August 12, 2011

Page 17

Page 18

August 12, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Sun | Moon | Tides

Full

Time Height 9:14 a.m. 2.1 L 9:37 a.m. 2.0 L 10:06 a.m. 1.8 L 10:39 a.m. 1.4 L 11:16 a.m. 1.3 L 11:56 a.m. 1.1 L 12:38 p.m. 0.7 L 1:25 p.m. 0.5 L 2:16 p.m. 0.4 L 3:11 p.m. 0.4 L 4:08 p.m. 0.2 L 5:03 p.m. 0.0 L 5:54 p.m. -0.2 L 6:42 p.m. -0.2 L 7:09 a.m. 2.5 L

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Time Height Time Height 9:40 a.m. 1.7 L 1:50 p.m. 1.9 H 10:03 a.m. 1.6 L 2:50 p.m. 1.9 H 10:32 a.m. 1.4 L 3:50 p.m. 1.7 H 11:05 a.m. 1.1 L 4:52 p.m. 1.7 H 11:42 a.m. 1.0 L 6:01 p.m. 1.6 H 12:22 p.m. 0.9 L 7:18 p.m. 1.6 H 1:04 p.m. 0.6 L 8:46 p.m. 1.6 H 6:43 a.m. 1.7 H 1:51 p.m. 0.4 L 6:31 a.m. 1.9 H 2:42 p.m. 0.3 L 3:37 p.m. 0.3 L 4:34 p.m. 0.1 L 5:29 p.m. 0.0 L 6:20 p.m. -0.1 L 7:08 p.m. -0.1 L 7:35 a.m. 2.0 L 11:57 a.m.

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Time Height 10:36 a.m. 1.0 L 10:59 a.m. 0.9 L 11:28 a.m. 0.9 L 12:01 p.m. 0.7 L 12:38 p.m. 0.6 L 6:56 a.m. 1.0 H 7:08 a.m. 1.0 H 7:13 a.m. 1.0 H 7:01 a.m. 1.1 H 4:33 p.m. 0.2 L 5:30 p.m. 0.1 L 6:25 p.m. 0.0 L 7:16 p.m. -0.1 L 8:04 p.m. -0.1 L 8:31 a.m. 1.2 L

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Houston Time

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Date Aug 12 Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug 16 Aug 17 Aug 18 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 21 Aug 22 Aug 23 Aug 24 Aug 25 Aug 26

Time Height 12:04 a.m. -0.06 L 12:43 a.m. -0.02 L 1:13 a.m. 0.02 L 1:34 a.m. 0.06 L 1:44 a.m. 0.10 L 1:35 a.m. 0.15 L 8:03 a.m. 0.24 H 8:14 a.m. 0.27 H 8:39 a.m. 0.30 H 9:14 a.m. 0.32 H 9:58 a.m. 0.34 H 10:47 a.m. 0.36 H 11:37 a.m. 0.38 H 12:26 PM 0.39 H 1:18 PM 0.39 H

Time Height 2:43 p.m. 0.29 H 3:41 p.m. 0.26 H 4:46 p.m. 0.23 H 6:16 p.m. 0.20 H 8:27 a.m. 0.18 H 8:05 a.m. 0.21 H 4:45 p.m. 0.07 L 5:36 p.m. 0.05 L 6:26 p.m. 0.04 L 7:18 p.m. 0.03 L 8:12 p.m. 0.03 L 9:06 p.m. 0.03 L 9:59 p.m. 0.04 L 10:48 p.m. 0.05 L 11:33 p.m. 0.07 L

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Port Aransas, H. Caldwell Pier Time Height 2:20 p.m. 1.1 H 3:20 p.m. 1.1 H 4:20 p.m. 1.0 H 5:22 p.m. 1.0 H 6:31 p.m. 0.9 H 1:18 p.m. 0.5 L 2:00 p.m. 0.3 L 2:47 p.m. 0.3 L 3:38 p.m. 0.2 L

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Date Time Height Aug 12 5:06 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 13 5:23 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 14 5:38 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 15 5:52 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 16 6:06 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 17 6:19 a.m. 1.4 H Aug 18 6:31 a.m. 1.4 H Aug 19 6:36 a.m. 1.4 H Aug 20 12:01 a.m. 0.8 L Aug 21 5:36 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 22 5:09 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 23 4:57 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 24 3:47 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 25 3:48 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 26 4:00 a.m. 1.7 H

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Time Height 1:12 p.m. 1.6 H 2:12 p.m. 1.6 H 3:12 p.m. 1.5 H 4:14 p.m. 1.5 H 5:23 p.m. 1.4 H 6:40 p.m. 1.4 H 8:08 p.m. 1.4 H 1:48 p.m. 0.3 L 2:39 p.m. 0.2 L

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Date Time Height Aug 12 5:36 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 13 5:47 a.m. 1.4 H Aug 14 5:53 a.m. 1.3 H Aug 15 5:54 a.m. 1.2 H Aug 16 5:50 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 17 5:41 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 18 12:12 a.m. 0.8 L Aug 19 12:36 a.m. 1.0 L Aug 20 12:36 a.m. 1.0 L Aug 21 4:00 a.m. 1.3 H Aug 22 3:19 a.m. 1.4 H Aug 23 3:25 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 24 3:43 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 25 4:02 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 26 4:19 a.m. 1.7 H

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Time 9:50 a.m.

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Solution on Page 26 3.

4.

5.

6.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

A.M. Minor Major 4:40 10:52 5:26 11:37 6:12 12:01 6:57 12:46 7:43 1:32 8:29 2:19 9:16 3:06 10:04 3:53 10:53 4:41 11:42 5:30 12:07 6:19 12:55 7:08 1:43 7:57 2:32 8:46 3:21 9:34 4:09 10:23 4:59 11:12 5:51 ----6:46 12:33 7:44 1:30

P.M. Minor 5:04 5:49 6:33 7:18 8:03 8:50 9:38 10:26 11:16 ----12:31 1:21 2:10 2:59 3:48 4:36 5:26 6:17 7:12 8:11

MOON Rises 7:19p 7:53p 8:25p 8:55p 9:25p 9:56p 10:29p 11:04p 11:43p NoMoon 12:26a 1:15a 2:09a 3:08a 4:11a 5:16a 6:22a 7:28a 8:35a 9:42a

Sets 5:41a 6:39a 7:34a 8:28a 9:21a 10:14a 11:07a 12:00p 12:55p 1:49p 2:43p 3:36p 4:27p 5:15p 6:00p 6:42p 7:21p 7:59p 8:38p 9:18p

P.M. Minor Major 5:10 11:22 5:54 ----6:39 12:28 7:23 1:13 8:09 1:59 8:55 2:45 9:43 3:33 10:32 4:21 11:21 5:10 ----- 6:00 12:37 6:50 1:26 7:40 2:16 8:29 3:05 9:18 3:53 10:07 4:42 10:55 5:31 11:44 6:23 12:36 7:18 1:04 8:17 2:03

SUN MOON Rises Sets Rises 06:47 08:15 7:29p 06:47 08:14 8:02p 06:48 08:13 8:32p 06:49 08:12 9:01p 06:50 08:11 9:30p 06:50 08:10 9:59p 06:51 08:09 10:30p 06:52 08:08 11:04p 06:52 08:07 11:42p 06:53 08:06 NoMoon 06:54 08:04 12:25a 06:54 08:03 1:13a 06:55 08:02 2:07a 06:56 08:01 3:07a 06:56 08:00 4:10a 06:57 07:58 5:17a 06:58 07:57 6:25a 06:58 07:56 7:33a 06:59 07:55 8:42a 07:00 07:53 9:51a

Sets 5:41a 6:41a 7:38a 8:33a 9:28a 10:22a 11:16a 12:11p 1:07p 2:02p 2:57p 3:50p 4:41p 5:28p 6:11p 6:51p 7:28p 8:05p 8:42p 9:20p

P.M. Minor Major 5:17 11:29 6:01 ----6:46 12:35 7:30 1:20 8:16 2:06 9:02 2:52 9:50 3:40 10:39 4:28 11:28 5:17 ----- 6:07 12:44 6:57 1:33 7:47 2:23 8:36 3:12 9:25 4:00 10:14 4:49 11:02 5:38 11:51 6:30 12:43 7:25 1:11 8:24 2:10

SUN MOON Rises Sets Rises 06:59 08:17 7:31p 07:00 08:16 8:06p 07:00 08:15 8:38p 07:01 08:14 9:08p 07:01 08:13 9:38p 07:02 08:12 10:09p 07:02 08:11 10:42p 07:03 08:10 11:17p 07:04 08:09 11:56p 07:04 08:08 NoMoon 07:05 08:07 12:40a 07:05 08:06 1:29a 07:06 08:05 2:23a 07:06 08:04 3:22a 07:07 08:03 4:24a 07:07 08:02 5:29a 07:08 08:01 6:35a 07:08 08:00 7:41a 07:09 07:59 8:48a 07:09 07:58 9:55a

Sets 5:55a 6:52a 7:48a 8:41a 9:34a 10:27a 11:19a 12:13p 1:07p 2:01p 2:56p 3:49p 4:40p 5:28p 6:12p 6:54p 7:34p 8:12p 8:51p 9:32p

P.M. Minor 5:30 6:15 6:59 7:44 8:29 9:16 10:04 10:52 11:42 12:08 12:57 1:47 2:36 3:25 4:14 5:02 5:51 6:43 7:38 8:37

SUN Rises 07:03 07:04 07:05 07:06 07:07 07:07 07:08 07:09 07:10 07:10 07:11 07:12 07:13 07:13 07:14 07:15 07:16 07:16 07:17 07:18

Major 11:16 ----12:22 1:07 1:53 2:40 3:27 4:15 5:04 5:54 6:44 7:34 8:24 9:13 10:01 10:49 11:39 12:30 12:59 1:58

SUN Rises Sets 06:46 08:05 06:47 08:04 06:47 08:03 06:48 08:02 06:48 08:01 06:49 08:00 06:50 07:59 06:50 07:58 06:51 07:57 06:51 07:56 06:52 07:55 06:52 07:54 06:53 07:53 06:53 07:52 06:54 07:51 06:55 07:50 06:55 07:49 06:56 07:48 06:56 07:46 06:57 07:45

Dallas 2011 Aug 12 Fri > 13 Sat > 14 Sun F 15 Mon > 16 Tue > 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun Q 22 Mon 23 Tue 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat > 28 Sun N 29 Mon > 30 Tue > 31 Wed >

A.M. Minor Major 4:46 10:58 5:32 11:43 6:17 12:06 7:02 12:52 7:48 1:38 8:35 2:24 9:22 3:11 10:10 3:59 10:58 4:47 11:47 5:35 12:13 6:24 1:00 7:13 1:49 8:02 2:37 8:51 3:26 9:40 4:15 10:28 5:05 11:18 5:57 ----6:51 12:38 7:50 1:36

2011 A.M. Aug Minor Major 12 Fri > 4:53 11:05 13 Sat > 5:39 11:50 14 Sun F 6:24 12:13 15 Mon > 7:09 12:59 16 Tue > 7:55 1:45 17 Wed 8:42 2:31 18 Thu 9:29 3:18 19 Fri 10:17 4:06 20 Sat 11:05 4:54 21 Sun Q 11:54 5:42 22 Mon 12:20 6:31 23 Tue 1:07 7:20 24 Wed 1:56 8:09 25 Thu 2:44 8:58 26 Fri 3:33 9:47 27 Sat > 4:22 10:35 28 Sun N 5:12 11:25 29 Mon > 6:04 ----30 Tue > 6:58 12:45 31 Wed > 7:57 1:43

Amarillo

Mail to Lone Star Outdoor News, PO Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355. For fastest service, call (214) 361-2276 or visit LSONews.com.

ACROSS 1. Worn by fly-fishermen 4. Deer markings on tree trunks 8. Hunting station, _____ stand 9. Game homes 10. Game and bird shooter's quarry 12. A gobbler's mating walk 14. A bear resting place 15. Rim of a field area 16. Oxidation on gun parts 17. A turtle will lay 50 of these 18. Icefishing gear 20. Large appendage on a muley 24. A grouping of fish 26. A hunter's lure 28. A very large bass species 29. A game pathway 30. A fly pattern for bass 33. Good wood for arrow shafts 36. The line grommet on a fishing rod 37. A gun organization 38. Term for the whitetail of the North 39. Expels a fired cartridge 41. Signifies a type bullet 43. Term for game fish sighted but not hooked

2011 Aug 12 Fri > 13 Sat > 14 Sun F 15 Mon > 16 Tue > 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun Q 22 Mon 23 Tue 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat > 28 Sun N 29 Mon > 30 Tue > 31 Wed >

San Antonio

South Padre Island

Freeport Harbor Date Time Height Aug 12 4:35 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 13 4:52 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 14 5:07 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 15 5:21 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 16 5:35 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 17 5:48 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 18 6:00 a.m. 1.5 H Aug 19 12:00 a.m. 0.9 L Aug 20 12:19 a.m. 0.9 L Aug 21 5:05 a.m. 1.6 H Aug 22 4:38 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 23 4:26 a.m. 1.8 H Aug 24 3:16 a.m. 1.8 H Aug 25 3:17 a.m. 1.8 H Aug 26 3:29 a.m. 1.8 H

First

Aug 26

Aug 19

Date Time Height Aug 12 1:03 p.m. 0.6 H Aug 13 12:41 a.m. -0.3 L Aug 14 1:23 a.m. -0.2 L Aug 15 2:01 a.m. -0.1 L Aug 16 2:37 a.m. 0.0 L Aug 17 3:08 a.m. 0.2 L Aug 18 3:25 a.m. 0.3 L Aug 19 6:34 a.m. 0.5 H Aug 20 6:18 a.m. 0.6 H Aug 2 6:44 a.m. 0.7 H Aug 22 7:22 a.m. 0.8 H Aug 23 8:04 a.m. 0.8 H Aug 24 8:50 a.m. 0.9 H Aug 25 9:40 a.m. 0.9 H Aug 26 10:39 a.m. 0.9 H

San Luis Pass Date Time Height Aug 12 5:43 a.m. 1.2 H Aug 13 6:00 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 14 6:15 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 15 6:29 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 16 6:43 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 17 12:10 a.m. 0.5 L Aug 18 12:35 a.m. 0.7 L Aug 19 12:59 a.m. 0.9 L Aug 20 1:18 a.m. 0.9 L Aug 21 6:13 a.m. 1.1 H Aug 22 5:46 a.m. 1.2 H Aug 23 5:34 a.m. 1.3 H Aug 24 4:24 a.m. 1.3 H Aug 25 4:25 a.m. 1.3 H Aug 26 4:37 a.m. 1.3 H

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 minute per 12 miles west of a location.

Rockport

Galveston Bay entrance, south jetty Date Time Height Aug 12 5:13 a.m. 2.0 H Aug 13 5:30 a.m. 1.9 H Aug 14 5:45 a.m. 1.9 H Aug 15 5:59 a.m. 1.9 H Aug 16 6:13 a.m. 1.9 H Aug 17 6:26 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 18 6:38 a.m. 1.7 H Aug 19 12:03 a.m. 1.4 L Aug 20 12:22 a.m. 1.4 L Aug 21 5:43 a.m. 1.9 H Aug 22 5:16 a.m. 2.0 H Aug 23 5:04 a.m. 2.1 H Aug 24 3:54 a.m. 2.1 H Aug 25 3:55 a.m. 2.1 H Aug 26 4:07 a.m. 2.1 H

New

Port O’Connor

Sabine Pass, jetty Time Height 4:26 a.m. 2.5 H 4:43 a.m. 2.3 H 4:58 a.m. 2.3 H 5:12 a.m. 2.3 H 5:26 a.m. 2.3 H 5:39 a.m. 2.1 H 5:51 a.m. 2.1 H 5:56 a.m. 2.1 H 5:44 a.m. 2.3 H 4:56 a.m. 2.3 H 4:29 a.m. 2.5 H 4:17 a.m. 2.7 H 3:07 a.m. 2.7 H 3:08 a.m. 2.7 H 3:20 a.m. 2.7 H

Solunar | Sun times | Moon times

Moon Phases

Texas Coast Tides Date Aug 12 Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug 16 Aug 17 Aug 18 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 21 Aug 22 Aug 23 Aug 24 Aug 25 Aug 26

LSONews.com

Do this to hunting and scouting routes A deer food The antlers 37.

Part of the antlers 40.

A grouping of animals 41.

42.

DOWN 43.

1. Artificial fishing lures 44.

45.

2. A species of sheep

Act of fish hitting a bait Best lure color to attract fish This should be insulated Worn to keep snow, pebbles out of shoes 7. Color worn by hunters for safety 11. Outer area of a hunting field 12. Trapper's gear 13. A deer lure, scent ____ 19. A grouping of quail 21. Permits use of smaller caliber ammo 22. A good wood for arrow shafts 23. Name given whitetails in Arizona 25. Trapped for the fur 27. A wild turkey predator 28. Signifies a shotgun model 31. Fish classed as a roamer 32. The kick from firing a gun 34. Protects shoulder from gun recoil 35. A striper's tail rings determine this Brings in a catch A game bird An appendage on a wild turkey Name for the Hawaiian goose A type of arrowhead used in streams The recoil from a fired gun The outdoorsman's pest

2011 A.M. Aug Minor 12 Fri > 5:06 13 Sat > 5:52 14 Sun F 6:37 15 Mon > 7:23 16 Tue > 8:09 17 Wed 8:55 18 Thu 9:42 19 Fri 10:30 20 Sat 11:19 21 Sun Q ----22 Mon 12:33 23 Tue 1:20 24 Wed 2:09 25 Thu 2:58 26 Fri 3:46 27 Sat > 4:35 28 Sun N 5:25 29 Mon > 6:17 30 Tue > 7:12 31 Wed > 8:10

Major 11:18 ----12:27 1:12 1:58 2:45 3:32 4:19 5:07 5:56 6:45 7:34 8:23 9:11 10:00 10:49 11:38 ----12:59 1:56

Major 11:42 12:03 12:48 1:33 2:19 3:05 3:53 4:41 5:30 6:20 7:10 8:00 8:50 9:39 10:27 11:15 12:05 12:56 1:25 2:23

Sets 08:39 08:38 08:37 08:36 08:35 08:34 08:32 08:31 08:30 08:29 08:28 08:26 08:25 08:24 08:22 08:21 08:20 08:19 08:17 08:16

MOON Rises 7:53p 8:25p 8:54p 9:22p 9:49p 10:17p 10:47p 11:21p NoMoon NoMoon 12:40a 1:28a 2:22a 3:22a 4:27a 5:35a 6:44a 7:54a 9:04a 10:15a

Sets 5:59a 6:59a 7:57a 8:54a 9:50a 10:45a 11:40a 12:36p 1:33p 2:29p 3:24p 4:17p 5:07p 5:54p 6:36p 7:14p 7:51p 8:26p 9:01p 9:38p

FOR THE TABLE Cajun baked catfish 2 tbsp. canola oil 2 tsp. garlic salt 2 tsp. dried thyme 2 tsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce 1/4 tsp. pepper 4 (8-ounce) fillets catfish In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; brush over both sides of fish.

Place fish in a 13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-13 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

— allrecipes.com

Pan-seared venison chops with berries 4 (8-ounce) venison chops Salt and pepper, to taste 2 tbsp. olive oil 1/2 cup diced onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup blueberries 1/2 cup red wine 1/4 cup beef broth 2 tbsp. berry jelly 1 tbsp. butter 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary Season chops with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet over

medium flame. Add chops and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes. Transfer chops to serving platter and cover.

Add onion and garlic to skillet; cook two minutes, stirring. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to mix.

Simmer until sauce thickens and berries break down, about three minutes, stirring. Pour sauce over chops and serve immediately.

— venisonrecipes.net

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

August 12, 2011

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August 12, 2011

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Kingfish Continued From Page 8

on the water close to four days per week and has reported a consistent king bite.

“We’re catching about two of those per trip, then the rest of the fish have been generally keepers in the 25-pound range,” Labauve said.

Shad, ribbonfish and Spanish sardines have been the food of choice for kings, as Labauve has found an active bite on these baits.

Structure has been important for Labauve as he said anglers should key on anything that will hold fish. Labauve said since the shrimping season opened on July 15, the key to finding kings has been a simple one.

“When they (shrimp boats) cull their bycatch it just makes it a feeding frenzy for kings,” Labauve said. “We have also successfully targeted coral rocks and platform rigs.”

Equally important has been water clarity, said Capt. Kevin Martin. Also running out of Galveston, Martin said that the search for clean water might force anglers out farther

Stroll Continued From Page 9

“You may not be able to get those kinds of casts (from clients),” Vick said. “So you can set up on a trip and get enough line out so you can pull it over the structure and get the crankbait down deep enough.”

This can also be a useful technique for those who are working a large area and may not have specific spots to key on. Vick said that because any amount of line can be let out, a much wider range can be covered compared to the traditional casting method.

Carolina-rigged crankbaits and soft plastics work best, Vick said, and he advised

than expected. Martin reported that recent trips have taken him out more than 25 miles in search of kings.

“As of last week all you had to do was leave the jetties and you could find kings,” Martin said. “But, after that storm blew through, it blew everything out and now the clean water line is at about 10 miles.”

Martin also reported fair numbers of kings, with a good amount of his trips bringing in fish over 30 pounds. Most of his fish have been caught on frozen bait in around 90 to 150 feet of water, depending on water clarity and structure present.

Martin said that he caught fish in the first week of August in slightly stained water, but said that he would be hesitant to fish stained water again and would opt for riding out to deeper water.

To contact Capt. Shannon Labauve, call (713) 962-7502 To contact Capt. Kevin Martin, call (979) 299-4771

against using others, such as spoons.

“If there is structure or trees you’re going to get hung up,” Vick said.

Vick likes to troll at a speed of 2.8 miles per hour, but said if switching to soft plastics, anglers should consider a slower pace.

Because of the lower-thanaverage water levels in most lakes, Vick said that this technique should open up a lot of new water for anglers to target.

However, they still may need to hit depths upward of 25 feet, so “strolling” may be the best way to achieve that.

Anglers also reported on keying on road beds and any bottom changes as good places to use “strolling.”

Vick said Sam Rayburn,

Toledo Bend and Lake Fork are the main lakes he has used this presentation on, but said any lake where you need to reach that depth over 20 feet will work.

Vick said he is still using the technique on lakes with lower levels, because they still hold enough water to work large areas.

Vick also offered caution for those hoping to use this in a tournament setting.

“Some tournaments you can stroll in — but most of them you cannot — like any of the pro events (B.A.S.S. and FLW),” Vick said. “So for the small ones you just have to check with every individual tournament director.”

To contact guide Lance Vick, call (903) 312-0609

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GPS Continued From Page 9

signal.

“We hope these 15,000 comments indicate to the FCC the critical need of having a reliable navigation system, not just for boaters and anglers, but for pilots, drivers, outdoor adventurers, and first responders,” she said. “It is unimaginable that the federal government — the guardian of the bandwidth — would consider approving a proposal with so many problems and grave public safety consequences.”

LightSquared officials said in a press release that the company is committed to, “the overwhelming need for reliable wireless broadband for public safety, education, health care and economic development in rural America.”

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

“We can have a robust, accurate GPS network and also create a substantial new resource for rural America in the form of a wireless network that reaches areas that still don’t have broadband access,” the officials said.

They added that the new network would not hinder the current GPS signal.

Former U.S. Rep Charlie Stenholm of Texas recently joined a LightSquaredsponsored initiative called Empower Rural America.

One of its goals is to resolve GPS issues.

He said, “LightSquared’s ability to provide fast and effective communication services for public safety and emergency response can provide a much needed lifeline for small and rural communities in the tornado belt and other areas of rural America that are flood prone.”

All boaters Continued From Page 11

fisherman they have to be aware of their surroundings and how they’re anchoring up and fishing.”

Bieler said.

Legally, the anglers should not expect to have any sort of buffer zone, as the 50-foot rule applies only to personal watercrafts, according to the Texas Water Safety Act. Bieler said that the only issue that could arise would be if the incident occurred in a no-wake zone, which is usually in marina areas and around bridges.

But he reiterated that because he was unfamiliar with the incident, he could not comment specifically.

The state regulations do not give yachts or fishing boats any special rights on the water.

And boating safety rules described by TPWD and the U.S. Coast Guard both state that all boaters have responsibility to avoid trouble.

For example, the Coast Guard states that, “Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.”

In addition, the Coast Guard says every vessel “shall at all times proceed at a safe speed.” And, in determining a safe speed, boaters must be aware of “traffic density including concentrations of fishing vessels or any other vessels.”

There are, however, basic rules to follow when vessels meet on the water, according to the Coast Guard and TPWD. There are numerous scenarios, but boats should be able to discern the stand-on vessel (the one that should maintain its course and speed) and the give-way vessel — the one that must take early action to avoid a wreck.

Boating handbooks and classes offered by TPWD and the Coast Guard Auxiliary can help boaters learn how to make those decisions.

New licenses go on sale Aug. 15 Hunting and fishing licenses expire Aug. 31, but licenses for 2011-2012 go on sale Aug. 15. (Year-to-date fishing licenses are an exception.)

Licenses will go on sale at more than 1,500 retailers, 28 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department field offices and more than 65 state parks. But, for a $5 administrative transaction fee, licenses may also be purchased online through the TPWD Web site or by calling (800) 895-4248. Call center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday-Friday. The online transaction system is available 24/7.

Fishing license exemptions This year the Texas Legislature lowered the age limit letting some seniors fish free. Resident fishers born prior to Jan. 1, 1931 are exempt from purchasing state fishing licenses.

Resident anglers 65 and older qualify for reduced price fishing and hunting licenses. (See related story page 8.)

August 12, 2011

Dove hunting requirements In addition to a hunting license, all wing shooters will need to purchase a game bird stamp. To hunt dove or teal in September, a Migratory Game Bird Stamp ($7) is required.

Duck hunters also need to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp and receive HIP (Harvest Information Program) certification. HIP certification involves a brief survey of previous year’s hunting success and is conducted at the time licenses are purchased.

Certification will be printed on the license. Lifetime license holders must also be HIP-certified and purchase the Federal Duck Stamp to hunt migratory birds. All other state stamp endorsements are included with a lifetime license.

There are other mandatory endorsements to consider at the time of purchase, too. An Upland Game Bird Stamp ($7) is required to hunt all non-migratory game birds, including turkey, quail, pheasant, chachalaca and lesser prairie chicken.

Page 21

A TPWD spokesman said, “Anyone who purchases the Super Combo license package, the best bang for the buck at $68, automatically gets these needed stamps. Sportsmen ages 65 and older qualify for a discounted Senior Super Combo for $32. Duck hunters will still need to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp.”

Lifetime license drawing Hunters and anglers can also take care of their licensing requirements for life with the purchase of a $1,800 Lifetime Super Combo, or they can enter for a chance at winning a lifetime license through a special drawing.

Entries for the Lifetime License Drawing cost $5 each and may be purchased wherever licenses are sold. There is no limit on the number of entries that may be purchased.

Winners will be drawn on Dec. 30, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Those who enter by Dec. 27 will be eligible for both drawings.

—Staff report

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August 12, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

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Seniors Continued From Page 8

FOR SENIORS: State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. of Houston said he would keep pushing a law to let all senior citizens fish for free. For now, senior anglers 65 to 80 can buy discounted fishing licenses. Seniors born on or before Jan. 1 1931 can fish for free. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and stamps, as well as such things as boater registration fees, go into TPWD’s Fund 9.

Until the mid-1990s, anglers 65 or older fished free in Texas.

“The population was aging and we were losing a lot of revenue,” McCarty said. “The people with the most discretionary revenue — and the most discretionary time — were in the older group. They were having a significant impact on the resource and not paying for it.”

The Legislature then changed the law to state that an angler had to be born on or before Sept. 1, 1930 to fish free.

“The intent was to grandfather in those already fishing free,” McCarty said.

This Legislature’s minimal lowering of the age limit to fish free will only cost TPWD about $16,000 in 2012, according to McCarty.

But those 65 or older aren’t left empty-handed.

Anglers who are that age — and whose birthday is after Jan. 1, 1931 — can buy discounted senior fishing licenses. For example, the freshwater fishing package, which includes a license and fishing stamp, costs $12 instead of the regular $30.

Dutton said he would be back next session trying to hook more legislators into letting anglers 65 or older fish free.

“I continue to believe that exempting Texas seniors from paying for the right to fish is a great idea,” he said, “and I definitely intend to reintroduce the bill in the next session.”

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TOURNAMENT BRIEFS

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Archery Continued From Page 8

TIFT winners highlighted The 72nd edition of the Texas International Fishing Tournament concluded on Aug. 7 with 1,200 anglers taking part in the two-day event out of Port Isabel.

First place in the sailfish division went to Tye Bradley of Aransas Pass on the boat Mojo, who managed 1,200 points in the tournament.

Will Watson of Houston, aboard the Sigsbee Deep, caught the firstplace marlin.

D.A. Hughes III, from San Antonio, fishing on the Wildcatter, was one of the leaders on the offshore category with his 47-inch, 36.2-pound dolphin that was the unofficial leader in the category after Saturday‘s weigh-in.

Ricky Villarreal of Brownsville also jumped the leader board with a 74-1/2 inch mako shark that weighed in at 106 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top flounder was a 4-pound, 5-ounce fish caught by Michael Burt of Port Aransas.

Marcus Montalvo of San Benito caught the largest redfish. It weighed 15 pounds, 8 ounces.

Huffman’s Quinn takes Anglers Quest event Randy Quinn of Huffman placed first in the July 30 Anglers Quest Individual tournament on Lake Houston with a total weight of 10 pounds, 9 ounces.

Quinn fished mostly the East Fork and Luces Bayou areas on the lake.

His bass were all caught on Texasrigged worms and small crankbaits. He fished mostly in 2 to 4 feet of brushcovered water. Quinn also recorded the Big Bass of the day, which weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces.

Second place went to John Littleton of Humble, who fished the North Lake Creeks area and finished with four bass weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Chris DiBerardino of Huffman finished in third place with four bass at 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

Anglers reported Lake Houston to be in good shape with water levels about 6 feet below normal. Water temps were reported to be around 91 degrees.

Team Dean-Shelton wins Bass Champs It may have taken Scott Dean of Terrell and Allen Shelton of Coppell eight years, but on July 23 the pair returned to the Bass Champs stage behind a 21-pound, 6-ounce day.

Fishing the final open season event on Cedar Lake, Dean and Terrell focused on the docks and shaded areas. Despite spending much of their practice time fishing deep water, the pair decided to move shallow after noticing a majority of the tournament field was fishing deep.

Second place went to the team of Paul Chadwick and Brad Cooper from Wylie. Unable to pre-fish, the two finished the day with 17 pounds, 5 ounces. The two also fished the docks with jigs and shaky heads. Their biggest fish of the day — a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass — was caught in 10 to 12 feet of water.

Steve White of Eustace and Robert Megallon of Mabank caught 17 pounds, 3 ounces of fish to finish No. 3. The team fished 10-inch worms in the morning, than went to crankbaits in the afternoon, and caught a 3-pound fish.

Gene Crane of Rockwall and Rick Clark of Terrell finished in fourth place just 3/100ths of a pound behind third place, anchored by the Big Bass of the tournament at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Their final weight was 17 pounds, 3 ounces.

—Staff report

to the reel on the bow went taught, and the fight was on for a large alligator gar.

It’s moments like these that Texas bow fishermen live for.

As summer’s heat becomes unbearable in parts of the state, bow fishing offers several advantages for archers: a great tune-up for the upcoming deer season and the ability to shoot at night, which is marginally cooler than during the day.

“It really keeps your muscle memory and keeps you in shape for normal bow hunting,” said Randy Edwards of Falcon Archery in Hooks. “You’ll do a lot of shooting on a bow fishing trip and it beats shooting at a target all day.”

As the Lone Star Outdoor News crew learned on a recent trip near

August 12, 2011

Page 23

Matagorda Bay, bow fishing is more instinctual shooting than shooting a compound bow with a normal deer setup, including a sight and release.

The shooting comes fast and furious as gar surface quickly and head under in the blink of an eye.

Often, the shooter has to guess which way the gar is moving and shoot at the water near where the fish has just swirled while swinging through the shot, much like shooting at a game bird.

Captain Mark Malfa of Big Fish Bowfishing Texas said most beginning shooters tend to shoot high, while experienced bow SHOOT QUICK: Shots while bow fishing come fast and furious. Bow fishing is more instinctual fishermen tend to miss fish low. shooting than hunting deer with a normal compound bow. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON. Bow fishing arrows do not have fletching, which means the struggling to hook fish, bow fish- down a river, Malfa answered with shooting has to be close to be effec- ermen make their own luck and a standard bow fishing punch line. tive. The average shot on the recent hunt the fish.

“I don’t know what they’re bitLSON trip was less than 15 feet.

When one rod and reel angler ing on,” Malfa said. “But we are The beauty of bow fishing is asked Malfa, “What they were planning to force feed them an when other “normal” anglers are biting on?” as he slowly motored aluminum arrow.”

Page 24

August 12, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

CONSERVATION Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Sul Ross State University/ Borderlands Institute, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct the program.

The day’s topics will include mule deer and pronghorn management, feral hogs, bighorn sheep, wildlife plant identification, and quail and dove management.

Individual registration is $10.

For more information and to RSVP by Aug. 24, call Jesse Lea Schneider at (432) 295-0342 or Logan Boswell at (432) 295-0342.

—Staff report

Nearshore artificial reefs build fish habitat, coastal economy Reefing operations began recently in Port Mansfield in a joint project of the Coastal Conservation Association, Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

More than 4,000 concrete culverts will be deployed about seven nautical miles offshore from Port Mansfield. These culverts will join 800 others and an old tugboat on the Gulf floor. The concrete tubes are sunk to provide habitat for fish and marine life. The project is expected to increase marine wildlife numbers and create a recreational diving destination.

TPWD contracted Cajun Maritime LLC to reef the culverts.

“This is the largest reefing effort TPWD has conducted at a nearshore reef,” said Dale Shively, TPWD artificial reef program leader. “This project represents another effort through the partnership of TPWD and CCA to enhance marine habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, making better fishing opportunities available to all.”

—Staff report

New game wardens headed to the field Twenty new state game wardens graduated July 26 at ceremonies held in Austin.

They have been assigned to duty stations spanning the state from East Texas to El Paso.

“State game wardens are the

Outdoor Adventures awaits Texas students headed back to school

REEF: Culverts head out to be dumped in the ocean for reefing operations near Port Mansfield. Photo by TPWD.

primary law enforcement off the pavement in Texas,” said Major Danny Shaw, director of training at the wardens’ academy in Hamilton County. “We do a lot more for the people of Texas than enforcing game and fish laws.”

The 20 new wardens will bring to 532 the number of men and women who are carrying on a tradition of service to Texas that game wardens started in 1895.

These are the new game wardens and the counties where they will be stationed: Mallory Brodrick, Lubbock; Buck Burchett, Webb;

James Burris, Webb; Jerry Byrne, Zapata; Daniel Cantu, Cameron; Kirk Clendening, Val Verde; Gregg Johnson, Maverick; Anthony King, Presidio; Trey Kram, Scurry; Nicole Leonard, Comal; and Chase McAninch, Montague.

Others: Kyle Nevins, Hale/Floyd; Stewart Rogers, Hartley/Dallam; Robert Sadowski, Anderson; Carson Wardlow, Zapata; William Watts, Trinity; Clifton Westbrook, Stephens; Gerald Whitworth, Starr; Douglas Williams, Bowie; and Aaron Willoughby, Val Verde.

—Staff report

Wildlife program Aug. 31 in Marfa The 2011 Big Bend Wildlife Program, a daylong conference aimed at teaching “best management practices” for wildlife in far West Texas, will be held Aug. 31 in Marfa.

It starts 8 a.m. at the Paisano Hotel Ballroom. The program will move to the Marfa Ag Barn at 11:45 a.m. for the lunch session and then return to the ballroom at 2 p.m. for the remainder.

The Texas AgriLife Extension

More than 11,000 middle- and high-school students across Texas are headed back to class this fall to learn about conservation, hunting, fishing, archery, orienteering, camping and other outdoor skills.

The curriculum, now formally adopted by more than 100 schools, is part of the Outdoor Adventures education program developed by the Dallas Ecological Foundation, which is an affiliate of the Dallas Safari Club.

A key partner is the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The agency’s hunter education, boating safety, angler education and National Archery in Schools Program coursework and activities are incorporated into program curriculum.

Other partners include Midway USA Foundation, Inc., Houston Safari Club and numerous private donors.

—Staff report

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August 12, 2011

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Rising rhino horn thefts prompt warning to hunters, museums

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Hunters fortunate enough to travel to Africa to harvest a rhinoceros need to take extra precautions to protect their investments once they make it to their trophy rooms.

According to the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), rhino horn thefts from museums and homes have been reported in Germany, Great Britain, Italy and South Africa.

There hasn’t been an uptick of thefts noticed in the U.S. Ben Carter, executive director of the Dallas Safari Club, said he had not heard of any members having their rhino trophies stolen.

But in the past six months, more than 20 thefts have been reported from museums and auction houses in Europe.

In July, rhino horns were stolen from museums in Bamberg, DEATH BY POACHER: Rhino horns are being stolen from museums and homes across Europe right now and American hunters with rhino trophies should take precautions against theft. The skull of a rhino sits bleached in the South African sun after poachers killed the animal for its horn. Game ranchers in South Africa have begun cutting the horns off of their rhinos to protect the animals from poachers. Photo by Lili Sams, LSON.

TEXAS BIG BITES

The Coastal Conservation Association Texas STAR Tournament is in full swing and three anglers have caught tagged redfish, winning boat/trailer combos in the process. The first angler was Denison resident David Holt (holding 2 fish), who caught his redfish on July 2, fishing off of a jetty near Corpus Christi. The next winner was Paul Resendez (center) from Port Lavaca, who boated his 21-inch redfish near Indianola Marina on July 4. Finally, Rockport resident Zach Crawford added his name to the winner’s circle when he snagged his redfish in the Laguna Madre on July 11. The three men will be awarded their prizes at a CCA banquet in October. Photos by CCA.

Oerrel, and Hamburg Germany, according to the German news site, news.de.

This coincides with a significant rise in the price of rhino horns, which can sell for as much as $120,000 per kilo.

The stolen horns are reportedly smuggled to Southeast Asia, where the horn is used for medical purposes, although there is no scientific evidence of their medical effectiveness.

Still, legal owners of rhino trophies have been warned against thieves. Offers from strangers to buy horns should also draw suspicion.

All rhinos are on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The horn trade is banned internationally and violators are prosecuted.

Taxidermists should also be warned and should tell their national authorities if the casting of horns and demand of fiberglass copies are ordered. This could be for the preparation of illegal sales.

Sustainable hunting has greatly contributed to the population increase of the once almost extinct white rhino in southern Africa to more than 20,000 animals, according to CIC. Even individual black rhinos may be hunted in South Africa and Namibia under CITES permits, since the hunting revenues are used for species conservation.

“Controlled hunting has played a significant role in the conservation of rhinos and this must continue,” said CIC President Bernard Lozé.

In view of the recent poaching, possibilities of a monitored and regulated trade by CITES should be analyzed, according to the CIC. Many game ranchers in South Africa now cut the horns off their rhinos to discourage poachers from killing the animals. The horns are made from matted hair, and regrow every five to seven years.

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LONE STAR MARKET

Puzzle solution from Page 18

To advertise in this section, call Mike Hughs at (214) 361-2276 or e-mail him at mhughs@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

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BUSINESS BRIEFS

American Rodsmiths still in business The Houston-based rod manufacturer, American Rodsmiths, is still in business.

Cody Felts, product manager, said Aug. 3 that the company “got in a little financial bind last year, but we are getting back to where we were. The economy just killed us for a while.”

He declined to give other specifics.

Readers of Lone Star Outdoor News and other anglers took to Internet message boards the past month questioning why American Rodsmiths products weren’t in stores.

“We will be back into retail stores soon,” Felts said.

Felts said business was picking up again and he expects the company to release several innovations in the next few months, including new grips on their rods.

Bass Pro 'Classic' ends Aug. 24 The Fall Hunting Classics are an annual tradition at Bass Pro Shops and an event that more than 100,000 people are expected to attend this year, said Katie Mitchell, spokeswoman.

“Outdoor enthusiasts will be able to learn the secret techniques and strategies used by professionals to gain a better advantage in the field, see all the latest products and attend workshops and seminars,” Mitchell said.

The 17-day event began Aug. 5 and continues through Aug. 21 at 52 Bass Pro Shops nationwide, including five in Texas.

They are at 5001 Bass Pro Drive in Garland; 2501 Bass Pro drive in Grapevine; and 5000 Katy Mills Circle, Ste. 415 in Katy; 17907 Interstate 10 West, San Antonio; and 1000 Bass Pro Drive, Houston.

Messy shed makeover Boots thrown on the floor, open gun cases, fishing equipment scattered, tools and waders lying about.

If this sounds like you, then pay attention to the following: The World Fishing Network and Tuff Shed is looking for the angler with the messiest shed.

The person chosen by WFN to be most in need of a shed makeover will receive an 8-by14-foot Premier PRO Weekender Ranch Tuff Shed and $2,000 worth of fishing supplies from Tuff Shed and WFN. The promotion is being supported with an aggressive on-air promotional campaign by Tuff Shed on WFN, and an online microsite to view the photo gallery of messy sheds.

To enter, visit www.worldfishingnetwork.com/ contests/tuff.aspx and tell WFN and Tuff Shed in 25 words or less why you need a new Tuff Shed.

To showcase their need, anglers can also upload a photo of their messy shed. The contest ends on Aug. 31.

AutoInc raises funds to get vets in the woods AutoInc, a Texas panhandle automobile dealership network, raised $19,700 in July to support injured and wounded servicemen and women through the Paralyzed Veterans of America' Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund. The company is donating a portion of the sale from every vehicle during the month to ORHF. PVA-ORHF's mission is to raise funds to support PVA's outdoor sports programs that include hunting, fishing, shooting, wheelchair games, track and field events, bowling, handcycling and more. In addition to raising funds, ORHF also focuses on creating hunting, fishing and shooting opportunities for America's wounded heroes.

"We've seen firsthand, now, that these hunts let the veterans get back to feeling like 'just one of the guys' again," said AutoInc Vice President Daniel Bradley.

— Reports compiled by LSON staff

August 12, 2011

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DATEBOOK August 13 Coastal Conservation Association Aransas Bay Chapter Banquet Paws N’ Taws Fulton (800) 626-4222 www.ccatexas.org National Wild Turkey Federation 4th Annual Hunting Heritage and Conservation Banquet Houston (832) 292-1811 www.nwtfharriscountywildlifgroup.com Ducks Unlimited 4th Annual Waterfowl Symposium Bass Pro Shops, Pearland (713) 724-2237 www.ducks.org

August 13-14 Houston Safari Club HGC-SCI’s 7th Annual Youth Hunter Education Course Houston Farm and Ranch Club www.scihouston.org

August 16

Coastal Conservation Association Lower Colorado Chapter Banquet Bay City Civic Center (979) 318-9007 www.ccatexas.org Quail Coalition TU Chapter Banquet Walker County Fairgrounds Huntsville (214) 524-4122 www.quailcoalition.org

August 19-21 Texas Trophy Hunters 2011 Hunters Extravaganza Will Rogers Center Fort Worth (210) 523-8500 www.ttha.com

August 20-21 Cabelas Great Outdoor Days Fort Worth, Buda, Allen www.cabelas.com

August 23

Austin Woods and Waters Club Membership meeting Scholz Garten, Austin www.austinwoodsandwaters.com

Purina Wildlife Series Event Walden Farm and Ranch, Weatherford (940) 325-8500 www.wildlife.purinamills.com

August 18

August 24

Coastal Conservation Association Northwest Houston Chapter Banquet Sam Houston Race Park Pavilion (281) 221-0515 www.ccatexas.org

Dallas Safari Club Monthly meeting Rough Riders Baseball Game Frisco (972) 980-9800 www.biggame.org

August 19 Big Brothers Big Sisters Sporting Clay Shoot Elm Fork Shooting Range Dallas (817) 905-4653 www.bigclayshoot.com

August 25 Quail Coalition Alamo Chapter Banquet Leon Springs Dance Hall (214) 524-4122 www.quailcoalition.org

August 26-28 Texas Hunting & Outdoor Classic Freeman Expo Hall San Antonio (210) 226-1177 www.huntersclassic.com

August 27 6th Annual Fishing for Hope Tournament South Padre (956) 362-3100 Quail Coalition South Texas Chapter Banquet J.K Northway Coliseum, Kingsville (214) 524-4122 www.quailcoalition.org 10th Annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Clay Shoot Alpine Shooting Range, Fort Worth (817) 905-4653 www.bbbstx.org/ftworthclayshoot

Executive Editor Craig Nyhus Editor Bill Miller Associate Editor Conor Harrison Associate Editor Mark England Graphics Editor Amy Moore Business/Products Editor Mary Helen Aguirre Operations Manager Mike Hughs Accounting Ginger Hoolan Web site Bruce Soileau

National Advertising Mike Nelson Accounts Manager Classified/Outfitters Blazing Paths Media Advertising Intern Nicholas Conklin Founder & CEO David J. Sams

Contributors Kyle Carter Alan Clemons David Draper Wilbur Lundeen Aaron Reed Erich Schlegel David Sikes Scott Sommerlatte Chuck Uzzle Ralph Winingham

Texas Big Game Awards Region 4 and 8 Banquet Freeman Exposition Hall San Antonio (210) 826-2904 www.texasbiggameawards.org Ducks Unlimited El Paso Trap Shoot (915) 799-9101 www.ducks.org

August 29 Purina Wildlife Series Event Bar None Country Store, Waco (254) 848-9112 www.wildlife.purinamills.com

August 30 Purina Wildlife Series Event Temple Feed, Belton (254) 778-7975 www.wildlife.purinamills.com

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

For home delivery subscriptions www.LSONews.com (214) 361-2276

Lone Star Outdoor News, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscription is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2011 with all rights reserved. Reproduction and/or use of any photographic or written material without written permission by the publisher is prohibited. Subscribers may send address changes to: Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355 or e-mail them to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

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TPWD biologist, writer dies in Wichita Falls An accomplished fisheries biologist, who also found time to write newspaper columns about Texas outdoors, died July 30 in Wichita Falls.

Mark Howell, 55, served as a district fisheries supervisor for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

In a letter to TPWD employees, Executive Director Carter Smith said Howell died at a Wichita Falls hospital after battling complications from surgery “to address a perforated colon and diverticulitis.”

Howell was married and the father of two boys.

“Mark was dedicated to not only improving the area fisheries he stewarded, but also to introducing people to the great outdoors,” Smith said. “In his spare time, he served ably as the outdoor editor for the Wichita Falls Times Record News.”

—Staff report

Anglers warned about drinking and swimming If those cold beers didn’t cool you off enough while fishing, and you decide to take a quick plunge, one boating organization has something for you to consider first.

About 50 percent of all adult drownings involve alcohol, according to BoatUS. “People know not to drink and drive a boat, but they don’t always know that it’s not a good idea to drink and swim,” said Bob Adriance of BoatUS. Anglers should also know what drowning looks like, BoatUS said.

Someone who is drowning lacks lung capacity to call for help. They move their arms as though climbing a ladder, taking quick gulps of air before slipping back under.

—Staff report

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PRODUCTS DIGITAL EAR BUDS: Before heading to the range or the field, make sure your hearing is protected with these custommolded, high quality in-the-ear plugs by ESP (Electronic Shooting Protection). It is the state-of-the-art digital circuitry in these ear protectors that helps identify unwanted background noises without suppressing the sounds that hunters need to hear. The advanced noise compression circuitry will protect against noises over 90 db. The Series 1 Digital Ear Buds sell for about $1,595 per pair.

(800) 767-7791

>>

DRIFTPAC: VestPac Inc.’s DriftPac, a multi-sport hydration system, was named “Best of Show — Fly Fishing Accessory” at last month’s ICAST Show. This modular pack is designed to help anglers keep valuables safe. Made of an air-mesh material, the pack has interchangeable front packets that can hold personal electronics and other small items.

The pockets attach to the hydration back with elastic straps that help distribute the water weight between shoulders and waist.

The DriftPac model also offers a chest pocket that folds open to easily access interchangeable fly and lure boxes attached with Velcro. Three mounted retractors keep small tools handy. The DriftPac sells for about $100.

NIGHTHUNTER XP: Steiner’s newest binoculars deliver images that are so bright that hunters can head out earlier and stay in the field later. These XP lenses, says the company, provide the highest possible light transmission visible to the human eye and offer exceptional light transmission across a wide part of the human eye color spectrum. This allows users to see greater detail in low light or even darkness. The light and compact binoculars are waterproof and submersible. They feature durable rubber armoring for a sure grip, and they are purged and pressurized to ensure crisp, clear images in any weather condition. The Nighthunter XP binoculars are available in: 8x42, about $850; 10x42, about $950; 8x56, about $1,000; and 10x56, about $1,050.

(877) 733-5881

>>

DOCK-N-LOC C PRO: outboard This outboa ar engine steering lock by Boat Security Products is an inexpensive deterrent against theft. The twopiece lock d disables the steering of a boat’s outboard engine. Installation tion is easy: just turn the engine to one side, exposing the steering ram. Then, place the lock over the exposed ram to lock the steering and the engine to one side. sst The Dock-N-Loc Pro is made of heavy gauge corrosion-resistant Dock-N Nstainless ste steel. ee The lock also is coated with Polyarmor, a thick rubber-like ssubstance that provides additional corrosion resistance. tance The UVU and chemical-resistant coating also protects the steering ram against scratches. The 8-inch lock fits most outboard steering systems, including front-mount hydraulic and side-mount hydraulic and cable steering. It sells for about $150.

(800) 910-2862

(954) 683-3946

>>

GEN 2 NIGHT ARROW RIFLESCOPE: SCO OPE OPE: American Technologies Network’s two ork’s second-generation riflescope promises excellent obs observation, servation, target acquisition and aiming capabilities forr va varmint armint hunters. Offering the company’s “Total Darkness kne ess IR System,” the riflescope features a red-on-green ree en illuminated reticle system for or optimal contrast against a dark or light target. Its tube e features a micro-channel plate that consists of millions of short, parallel glasss tubes. When electrons pass through these short tubes, thousands more elecectrons are released, allowing for g fo or greater amplification of light. ht Other features include six-times magnification, an automatic brightness control, oneknob operation and more. Available in a black matte finish, the riflescope sells for about $1,600. Accessories include a detachable infrared illuminator.

(970) 356-1670

>>

>>

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August 12, 2011

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