February 10, 2012 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting by Lone Star Outdoor News

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

February 10, 2012

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For the needy Texas Deer Association gathers venison for food bank.

Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper

February 10, 2012

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Volume 8, Issue 12

Down Mexico way

Inside

Mitt Romney’s distant cousin makes ﬁshing lures south of the border ❘❚ HUNTING

Back the badge By Erich Schlegel

Police departments embrace outdoor heritage with logo designs. Page 4

FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Mention the name “Romney,” and the angler probably doesn’t think of ﬁshing lures. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been crossing the nation, hoping to win his party’s nomination to challenge the President. Meanwhile, a second cousin, Kent Romney, has been quietly residing in Mexico, where he manufactures and assembles lures for U.S. companies. His company, PRODEPEC, or Productos Deportivos de Pesca, specializes in colorful top-water plugs that are popular for peacock bass

Prime time for pigs Winter offers unique advantages to hunt feral hogs. Page 4

❘❚ FISHING

Offshore action Tuna, snapper ﬁlling up party boats. Page 8

Classic time Bassmaster championship on Red River draws seven Texans. Page 14

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See ROMNEY, Page 16

Los Cuernos Feo (The Ugly Horns) Deer contest among friends celebrates culls By Craig Nyhus

❘❚ CONTENTS Classiﬁeds . . . . . . . Crossword . . . . . . . Fishing Report . . . . . For the Table. . . . . . Game Warden Blotter . . Heroes. . . . . . . . . Outdoor Datebook . . . Outdoor Business . . . Products . . . . . . . . Sun, Moon and Tide data

PLUG PRODUCTION: Kent Romney looks over a wooden top-water plug at his ﬁshing lure factory in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. The business owner is a distant cousin to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Photos by Erich Schlegel, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Wildlife biologists and managers know the importance of managing the size of their deer herds. And one group of managers is trying to make it fun. Los Cuernos Feo (The Ugly Horns) contest began 10 years ago with three South Texas wildlife biologists and ranch managers, and now involves 15 people from

10 ranches representing more than 200,000 Texas acres. “It’s mundane and routine to manage the herd, shooting cull bucks,” said Jason Sekula, wildlife manager at Shiner Ranch in Frio County. “Now it makes it exciting. If you see something really bad, we get competitive about it.” Contestants pay an entry fee and are required to keep the ant-

lers and jawbones from the bucks they cull. At the season’s end, a party is thrown, special T-shirts are worn and awards and gag gifts are given. NEW KIND OF TROPHY: Whitetail bucks like this one usually don’t make the wall, but an informal South Texas deer contest brings new meaning to herd management. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON. See UGLY HORNS, Page 21

Bass, hybrids, cats thriving on Lake Conroe HEATING UP: Kerrville angler Andrew Phillips holds a nice hybrid striper caught on a recent trip to Lake Conroe. The lake was still low, but good catches of catﬁsh, bass and hybrids were reported the past few weeks. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON.

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The end of the rod sitting in a holder on the side of the boat twitched downward once, then twice. Guide Chris Edwards and angler Andrew Phillips both noticed the taps, and when the rod tip bent stronger for a third time, guide and

angler both knew it was game on. “I grabbed the rod, cranked three times and set the hook hard,” Phillips said. “We never caught one of those monster catﬁsh, but we caught a lot in the 10-to-25-pound range. It was a great morning.” Phillips, of Kerrville, and his group See LAKE CONROE, Page 16

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HUNTING

Winter offers ‘window of opportunity’ to take hogs Ofﬁcials want more quail data before considering season changes By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

ONE THE MOVE: Feral hogs are more vulnerable to hunting in winter, according to one researcher, because they tend to move more when food sources fade. Photo by Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS There is no better time than winter to kill feral hogs in Texas, according to one researcher. The reason is food, said Dr. Billy Higginbotham, of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Natural sources, like acorns, are depleted. Some supplemental sources, like deer feeders, haven’t been replenished since the end of the general hunting season.

Hogs, therefore, are on the move more than usual, which might nudge them out of their nocturnal patterns or at least into ranging farther, even if at night. “The shorter the food sources, the more they’re going to move,” Higginbotham said, “and I think it will make them more vulnerable. “Whether you’re baiting to shoot or trap, you have a window of opportunity that you really don’t have the rest of the year.” Higginbotham works in East Texas from

an ofﬁce at Overton. But one South Texas hunting guide also said hungry hogs are out ranging for food. Oscar Estringel of Alice said hog activity accelerates as farmers disc their ﬁelds to get them ready to plant wheat, corn or milo. “The hogs smell that fresh dirt,” Estringel said. “And then, whatever seeds are left from the previous crop, they rush in and pick all that up. In the next couSee OPPORTUNITY, Page 21

Texas police departments showcase wildlife on patches By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS While eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Kerrville two weeks ks ago, Lone Star Outdoor News Founderr David J. Sams and Executive Editorr Craig Nyhus noticed several of Kerrville’s rville’s finest seated at a table nearby. In between bites of cheese enchiladas, the pair noticed something mething unique on the four police officers’ ers’ uniform patches — a white-tailed deer. They approached and asked ed about the unique design. According to Kerrville Police Polic ce Department’s Public Information ion Officer cer Paul Gonzales, the patch is taken en from the t local high school and their mascot — the Tivy Antlers. “The first patch proudly displayed splayed on o the uniform of a Kerrville Police Offi fficer was adopted within the late 1960s and early y 1970s,”” Gonzales said. “This smaller yellow in color lor patch h simply read ‘Kerrville Police’ with an imagee of a buc buck ck deer directly in the middle of the patch. Thee patch was w displayed on a brown in color uniform. “It was based on Tivy’s mascot.” Situated in the Hill Country, Kerrville and Kerr County have long been a mecca for hunters, with many of the state’s exotic game ranches located near the town.

“The current curreen patrol patch also represents the Guadalupe River (which flows through Guad d the th h center of town) and the hills of the Hill Country,” Gonzales said. “They H are all depicted on the patch.” a The Port Aransas Police Department’s patch also reflects the outdoors — a marlin leaping out of the water. Port Aransas PD Lt. Darryl JJohnson said he redesigned the patch about 15 years ago from an p original design sketched by former or o chief the 1970s. ch hief Don Perkins in th h picked the marlin “II think he pick because it is a good fighting fish and an nd we w are a fishcommunity,” ing g Johnson said. “The JJohn high school bash ketball team is also ketba k the Marlins. About th he M years ago, I rede15 5 yea signed sign ned the patch to what wha at it iis today. I think police departments most p polic regional use a reg giona theme. either a marlin or a “It was eeithe beach shop w with a hotel in the background.”

Waiting until late summer to decide whether to shorten bag limits and the season length for quail won’t be too late to authorize the changes for next season, if approved, an official said. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission could have decided in March whether to authorize the changes suggested by TPWD biologists. Commission members, however, decided at a Jan. 25 meeting in Austin to postpone that decision until August. Commissioners said they wanted to see the most up-to-date quail population data, which isn’t available until surveys are completed in late summer. Any changes to the hunting season can be adopted as late as the August commission meeting, although they may not be included in the 2012-13 Outdoor Annual of Hunting and Fishing Regulations booklet, which is printed in June. But that’s not insurmountable, said Ralph Duggins of Fort Worth, the commission’s vice chairman. “To me, it’s not an issue that should force a premature decision on the subject,” Duggins said. “It really doesn’t make much sense to set bag limits and the length of the quail season for 2012-2013 in March when you really have no information on what was going on in the breeding seasons and spring.” Duggins said TPWD could effectively communicate any changes after the booklet is printed. “We can certainly get it onto the Web site, very easily and inexpensively,” he said. The changes are intended to help struggling bobwhite quail bounce back from drastic population declines that have worsened in recent years. The data will be mulled at a special yetto-be-scheduled commission meeting this summer. Officials said there would be ample opportunities for the public to comment. Charles Hodges of Dallas, co-founder of the Quail-Tech Alliance, wanted to see the changes made. But he said on Feb. 1 that postponing a decision was appropriate. “I definitely think they need to have all the data possible from people in the field to make an informed decision,” Hodges said. The extra time will allow quail advocates to fine-tune proposals. One plan from TPWD staff calls for two regional zones for quail, like the ones designated for turkey and dove. The quail bag limits could differ in the zones to reflect available numbers. Duggins, however, suggested four zones. “East Texas, for example, is far different from ■ Public comment South Texas and sought on silencers, West Texas as other hunting issues. far as use of the Page 6 land,” Duggins ■ Proposed fishing said. “And it’s regulations. fragmented to a Page 11 higher degree.”

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Oryx, addax, dama gazelle permitting explained Official faces landowners’ questions, provides guidance By Craig Nyhus LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Texans who raise three species of African antelope are worried that a new rule requiring permits to hunt them will actually hasten the animals’ demise. The rule results from a federal lawsuit brought by antihunting groups that was followed by a settlement reached with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Now, on or after April 4, the ranchers need permits if they want to allow hunting of their herds of scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle, all listed as endangered species in their native countries. The issue has drawn media attention in Texas and across the nation. Lone Star Outdoor News covered it in its Jan. 27 issue; CBS “60 Minutes” aired a report two days later. In the interviews, ranchers were concerned that the permits would become so difficult, a lot of them would get out of the “exotics” business; with no one to raise these antelope, the species would decline in the U.S. and Africa, where replacement stock is needed. In an attempt to address the concerns and explain the permitting process, Dallas Safari Club on Jan. 26 invited Tim Van Norman, the chief of the Branch of Permits with USFWS, to Kerrville to answer questions. He agreed to step in front of the verbal firing line. Van Norman, whose office is responsible for animals covered by the Endangered Species Act and permitting, currently handles 7,000 permit applications per year. “We have a staff of 20 that deal with applications,” Van Norman told the group of 75 attendees. “These three animals are now in the same permitting system as other endangered species — our

best hope is to make the process as easy as possible.” Application forms were provided to all in attendance, covering both the CaptiveBred Wildlife Registration and an Export/Import/Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Take of Animals permits. Van Norman explained when the permits are required. “There is no prohibition of the sale of these animals

within the state,” he said. “If one is selling across state lines, the CBW registration is required and is valid for ﬁve years. And an owner can manage or cull to regulation their own populations — but it has to be done by the owners or employees at the ranch.” If hunting is to take place, the second permit allowing the taking of animals is required and must be renewed annually. The time period to obtain a decision on the permits will not be extensive, Van Norman said. “If the application is complete, a determination should be made within 60 days, including the 30-day comment period,” he said.

Lexington varmint tournament draws a crowd The Third Annual Lexington Lone Star Varmint Tournament was held Jan. 28-29 with 117 teams competing. Hosted by Nocks Bow Repair, the tournament gave points for harvesting mountain lions, coyotes, foxes and raccoons. In total, 42 of the teams turned in animals on Jan. 29. No mountain lions were taken during the tournament, but 14 bobcats, 16 foxes, 22 coyotes and 144 raccoons were recorded. Team Long Range of Taylor won the ﬁrstplace prize of $4,680 with four bobcats, one fox and ﬁve coyotes for a total of 340 points. The four winners included Dennis Pokorny, William Knauth, and Stephan and Bradley Hanson.

Van Norman answered questions for more than two hours. He said the ultimate decisions are based on whether the management of the herd benefits the species. “Reasonable population control and offtake is expected,” he said. “Basically, we have to determine if there is a biological reason that this permit should not be issued. If there are 100 animals on a property and the application is to take five or 10, it shouldn’t be a problem. “If there are five animals on a property and the application is to take four of them, that permit would not likely be issued.” The lengthy permit applications and making information available to the public concerned many landowners. Van Norman walked the attendees through the applications step-by-step, and described the information made public. “What is published is the applicant name and general location,” he said. “However, the application can be requested through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). In that case, we would redact privacy information, but the ranch location would remain.” Members of the conservation and hunting communities are dealing with the permit issue, but aren’t giving up, said Lance Phillips, chairman of DSC’s political action committee. He said, “Congressmen ‘Judge’ John Carter (R-Round Rock) and Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) are working with Texas ranchers, the Dallas Safari Club, the Exotic Wildlife Association and other members of the conservation/hunting community to render a legislative fix to maintain the incredible success that the private sector efforts have had in establishing vast herds of these ‘so-called’ endangered species in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and elsewhere.”

3C Yote Busters out of Gorman won $2,340 with two bobcats, ﬁve foxes and two coyotes for a total of 315 points. The team of Beer Belly Varmint Hunters from Brookesmith and Gustine took third place and Team Weaver from Hamilton and Austin took fourth. The ﬁnal team to receive a paycheck was Nuts & Furs from Houston. Side pots for heaviest bobcat, coyote, fox and mangiest coyote were also paid out to the winners. Team Cooper, of Smithville, took the heaviest bobcat with a weight of 22.4 pounds. The heaviest coyote was taken by Team Lehmann Ranch and weighed 45.4 pounds. Team Weaver took the heaviest fox with a 10.2-pounder, and the mangiest coyote went to Team Beer Belly Varmints. For information on next year’s tournament, call (512) 636-9488. — Staff report

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A single ‘bob’ worth $253, survey shows What’s a quail worth? The short answer — as it relates to a wild Texas quail — is $253 each, according to a recently completed survey of Texas quail hunters. Researchers with Texas AgriLife Extension service and the University of North Texas conducted the survey. It showed that 97 percent of Texas quail hunters are white males with reported household incomes of more than $100,000. Each averaged spending about $8,606 for 8.8 days of quail hunting during the 20102011 season. Combined with harvest estimates the respondents provided, this resulted in the $253 per bird bagged — or a dollar increase of 24 percent over the 10 years since an earlier survey was taken. Quail hunting boosts merchandise sales, hotel stays, restaurant and fuel purchases and sales tax revenues, said one

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of the researchers, Dr. Jason Johnson, an economist for the extension service in Stephenville. “This represents a tremendous economic impact to largely rural communities,” he said. “In fact, it’s one of the rare instances of money ﬂowing from the urban areas where the hunters live to the rural areas where the quail are.” — Texas AgriLife Extension

Eye parasites in quail on rise in West Texas During the ﬁrst year of this three-year project, research collaborators trapped 592 bobwhites during August and October from 21 different ranches in West Texas and 10 Wildlife Management Areas in western Oklahoma. Blood and swab samples were obtained from all of those birds. Preliminary results suggest that the high level of eyeworm parasites occur across a larger portion of the Rolling Plains.

Of 43 bobwhites examined as of midJanuary, about half (49 percent) had eyeworms with an average of five eyeworms per bird. Eyeworms have not been found to date in bobwhites from South Texas. Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch has speculated that the worms might be covering the birds’ eyes, causing them to fly into fixed objects or surfaces. Obscured vision may also prevent the birds from seeing predators. Rollins said that no conclusions have been reached on diseases, but research continues. “If you shoot any (wild) bobwhites (from anywhere) during the remainder of this season, consider donating the heads for eyeworm screening,” Rollins said. To learn how to do that, e-mail him at d-rollins@tamu.edu. — Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch

Trophy whitetails are up 400 percent since 1980s, B&C Club says Boone and Crockett Club historical data shows that trophy whitetails are up 400 percent over the past 30 years, and Texas ranks 11th among states and Canadian provinces that produced the quality bucks. For the period 1980-1985, hunters entered 617 trophy whitetails into B&C records. But, for the period 2005-2010, the total jumped to 3,090, an increase of 400 percent. Texas, for the time period 2005-2010, recorded 132 entries. By comparison, it had 19 entries for the period 1980-1985, which ranked it No. 12 back then. Wisconsin currently leads all states and provinces with 383 trophy whitetail entries from 2005 to 2010. It had only 40 from 1980 to 1985, which was third for that time period. — Boone and Crockett Club

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MATTHEW BA KER, 13, of Ro ckwall hunted uncle Brett Gi durin les on a ranch near Leakey. Du g the Christmas break with vested this ex his ring the advent otic Corsican ure, Matthew ram. “Matthew that day,” Bret haralso took a ni t said. “It was ce whitetail do a great day! Bo e later th uncle and ne phew were thril led.”

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Time to speak up: Public comments sought on urbanarea deer hunts, silencers Public comment periods have begun on the proposed opening of deer hunting next season in four urbanized Texas counties and the possibility of allowing silencers to hunt game species, including deer. Opportunities to make comments were approved Jan. 25 by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. Under a proposed amendment, an archeryonly full-season, either-sex whitetail season would be allowed in Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties. Also, TPWD staff is proposing to implement the Harris County season structure in Galveston County. Under the plan, Galveston County would be opened to archery season and also a general season during which firearms would be acceptable. There also would be a muzzleloader season. Also, Galveston County would have the same regulations as Harris, Fort Bend, and Brazoria counties that allow does to be harvested in the first part of the season. Managed Land Deer Permits to harvest does would be required after Thanksgiving. On silencers, TPWD staff reported that there is no resource- or enforcement-related reason to prohibit the use of these sound suppressors. If approved, these devices would be legal for taking alligators, deer and other game animals and game birds. Approval, however, won’t relieve any person of the obligation to comply with state, federal or local laws governing the possession or use of firearm silencers. Comments on these issues may be sent by phone or e-mail to Robert MacDonald (512) 389-4775; e-mail, robert.macdonald@tpwd. state.tx.us; or mailed to MacDonald’s attention at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744. Comments may also be submitted at upcoming public meetings to be scheduled around the state. Be watching www.Lsonews. com for a list of those meeting locations. — Staff report

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FISHING

Tuna, snapper trips having super success on coast By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The winter yellowfin tuna bite is on in deep waters off the coast of Texas. The clearest evidence came the weekend of Jan. 21-22 when the Scat Cat, an offshore party boat operated by Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Aransas, took 24 anglers on a 56-hour offshore tuna trip and returned with one of the best catches in years. “I would venture to say it was one of the biggest catches of yellowfin tuna the coast has seen,” said Scott Garrison, manager of Fisherman’s Wharf. “We caught 72 yellowfin, our limit of vermilion snapper, a boatload of blackfin tuna, dorado, grouper, a 170pound mako shark and amberjack. “I’d say 60 percent of the yellowfin were between 70 and 120 pounds.” Garrison said the trip ran 150 miles offshore, and the anglers caught fish on a multitude of baits, including top-waters, chunk baits and jigs. “These trips are a lot of fun,” Garrison said. “We’ve really been trying to get these tuna trips going, and I think we are starting to hit our stride. I’ve been a charter boat operator for a lot of years, and this is a great trip.” Closer inshore, Capt. Leaf Potter out of Galveston has been targeting bull reds in 40- to 50-feet of water. “We’ve been running some short-range trips for the bull reds and we are having good success,” Potter said. “We have been using dead, frozen sardines as bait and we are averaging about a dozen fish per trip. The fishing isn’t real fast, but we are doing pretty good. Potter said he hasn’t been run-

ning any overnight tuna trips like some of the bigger boats. Farther south on South Padre Island, Pablo Salazar, manager of Osprey Fishing Trips, said his boats have been targeting red snapper within nine miles of the coast. “The red snapper ﬁshing has been really good,” he said. “We have to stay within nine miles to be in state waters, but our anglers have been limiting out daily.” Salazar said they are using threadﬁn herring and squid to pull the big snapper from the bottom. “Along with the snapper, we’ve had good success catching oversized bull reds, grouper and mako sharks,” he said. Fisherman’s Wharf, (800) 605-5448 Capt. Leaf Potter, (832) 428-3340 Osprey Fishing Trips, (956) 761-665

OFFSHORE MANIA: Yellowﬁn tuna have been caught in large numbers more than 100 miles out from the Texas coast in the past few weeks. Along with tuna, bull reds and red snapper are also biting at various distances from shore. Above photo by David J. Sams, LSON, photo left by Fisherman's Wharf.

Crappie transitioning to pre-spawn early Could be a month ahead of normal By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Warmer than normal temperatures are pushing crappie from their deepwater winter haunts into an early prespawn pattern in shallow water. According to Lake Livingston guide Simon Cosper, the slabs are already moving to skinnier depths. “The most consistent bite is in about 8- to 10-feet of water,” Cosper said. “They EARLY BITE: Crappie have been in a transition are biting on black and chartreuse jigs, period recently. Due to warm weather, the fish are but we are starting to see fish move in to predicted to spawn early this year. Photo by LSON. the shallows in the 3- to 6-foot range. “However, most of them are small males.” “It’s been a really strange year,” Reeve Cosper said muddy water is making said. “The mild winter has progressed the fishing tough recently. spawn a little bit. They are moving shal“The other big factor is water clarity,” lower, the females are full of eggs and the he said. “With all of the recent rains, males are changing colors. Lake Livingston is above normal pool “We are catching fish in 8- to 9-feet of and a large majority of the creeks are water and the fishing has been really good.” muddy. Once you find the cleaner water, Reeve said he has been fishing Cedar it is on.” Creek, Lake O’ The Pines, Cypress Jay Don Reeve, president of Crappie Springs and Richland Chambers. He Anglers of Texas, said the fish are defi- mentioned that jigs are actually worknitely a month ahead of schedule. ing better than minnows.

“White and chartreuse has worked well and anything with blue is working great,” he said. The normal spawn occurs in late March and into April, but this year, expect that to get bumped up into February, guides said. “Unless we get a real cold snap to make the water temperatures go down, I think they are going to be spawning in midto late-February this year,” Reeve said. “Cedar Creek’s water temperature was 58 degrees the other day. It should be around 48 degrees this time of year.” On Toledo Bend, guide Butch Covington said he had an excellent January catching crappie. “The fish are in transit right now,” Covington said. “Some of the fish have started to show up in shallow water. The fishing is real good right now. “We caught 38 fish over 2 pounds the past few weeks. Covington said the water temperature was 61 degrees the first week of February, compared to 44 degrees this time last year. “We’ve been catching them on Road Runners in black and chartreuse colors,” he added. “We had a great spawn last year and we are expecting another one this year.” Guide Simon Cosper, (936) 355-2889 Guide Butch Covington, (337) 526-1257

Anglers befuddled by warm winter By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

■ See related: Coastal fishing guides 'Mid Coast' know it’s a weird winter when story. they’re still catching flounder Page 9 on the coast. By now the flat fish have usually retreated to deeper waters, not to be seen again until springtime. Not so this year. Warmer temperatures have them sticking around. “The flounder are still here,” said Dickie Colburn who guides on the upper coast at Sabine Lake. “It’s like they never left, which is really unusual.” Much of the U.S. has been having a mild winter, and the Texas Coast is no exception. See WARM WINTER, Page 22

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Angler, 12, boats huge cat, earns several state records By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Lane Ferguson has a better idea what it takes to catch big catfish than most people. His dad, Chad, is a wellknown catfish guide in North Texas. However, even with all of that expertise in the boat, 12-year-old Lane wasn’t prepared for the 66.28pound cat that tugged on the end of his line Dec. 23. “I’ve been a serious fisherman about three years,” Lane said. “I had no idea we would catch something LAKE WORTH MONSTER: Lane Ferguson and his dad, Chad, admire Lane’s See RECORD CAT, Page 22

record-breaking catﬁsh caught in Lake Worth. Lane broke several state and lake records with the catch. Photo by Chad Ferguson.

Mid-coast ﬁshing already into spring pattern By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Anglers hoping to ﬁnd the trophy winter trout bite along the coast might be out of luck this year. Not because the trout aren’t there. It’s winter that has been the problem. “The real big trout bite might not happen this year,” said Capt. Paul Braly of Fish Finder Guide Service near Corpus Christi. “It’s just not been cold enough. The trout are still in the deeper holes. We’re on a spring pattern right now.” Braly said daytime temperatures have been in the upper 70s, and the warm weather hasn’t

concentrated fish like a good cold snap would. “The fishing has been good,” he said, “but it’s not like ‘Hey man, get down here now.’ It’s been a weird winter. The fish just aren’t concentrated in those shallow holes like they normally are this time of year.” Braly said he has been catching trout on plum and chartreuse artificial lures and shrimp under corks. Good trout reports have also emerged from Baffin Bay and the backside of San Jose Island. For redfish, he said, the King Ranch shoreline and Night Hawk Bay are holding fish. See MID COAST, Page 22

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TEXAS FISHING REPORT Sponsored by

HOT BITES LARGEMOUTH BASS

BASTROP: Good on pumpkinseed soft plastics and spinnerbaits. BRIDGEPORT: Good on jerkbaits along main lake points and watermelon candy worms around deeper docks. COOPER: Good on chartreuse shallow crankbaits and Texas-rigged craw worms later in the day. GRAPEVINE: Good on watermelon Texas-rigged worms, watermelon ﬁnesse jigs, lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits along main lake points. RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Good on shaky heads and creature baits around docks.

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

BOB SANDLIN: White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters. CALAVERAS: Striped bass are good on silver spoons and jigs near the dam in 15–25 feet. RAY HUBBARD: White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. RAY ROBERTS: White bass are good on slabs in 35 feet of water — watch for gulls.

CATFISH

BELTON: Channel and blue catfish are good on doughbait, hot dogs and summer sausage. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines and throwlines baited with live perch. FALCON: Channel and blue catfish are excellent on shrimp, nightcrawlers, stinkbait and cutbait. TAWAKONI: Excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

CRAPPIE BROWNWOOD: Good on minnows and white tube jigs over brushpiles. HOUSTON COUNTY: Good on minnows and chartreuse jigs near the dam.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 53–56 degrees; 11.93’ low. Largemouth bass are good on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits. Striped bass are good on jigging spoons, slabs, small crankbaits and large jerkbaits. White bass are good on jigging spoons, slabs and small crankbaits. Catfish are good on cheesebait, shrimp and nightcrawlers in 30–60 feet over baited holes. ARROWHEAD: Water off color; 42–51 degrees; 8.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits and shaky heads. White bass are good on slabs and minnows. Blue catfish are good on live shad. ATHENS: Water clear, 47–51 degrees; 3.76’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on watermelon shaky head worms and black/blue football jigs around brush piles. Early morning bite is slow. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 56–60 degrees; 9.88’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged watermelon worms on shaky jigheads along breaklines and ledges, and chartreuse hair jigs in 15–20 feet. Striped bass are fair trolling white/chartreuse jigs and vertically jigging spoons. White bass are good jigging dark Blade Baits and spoons along the main river channel. CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 47–52 degrees; 4.31’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged creature baits, shaky heads

Largemouth bass to 7.5 pounds are good on watermelon centipedes near the dam in 20 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse jigs near the dam. Channel and blue catﬁsh are good on chum bait. JOE POOL: Water lightly stained; 46– 50 degrees; 1.81’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, lipless crankbaits and smaller jigs — midday bite has been best. Deep brush piles are best later in day. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on

HOT SPOT

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 47–51 degrees; 7.86’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on black/blue jigs, shaky heads with finesse worms and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows and jigs. White bass are good on tail spinners and top-waters. BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits and soft plastic worms near the dam. Striped bass are good on liver and shad at Dead Tree Point. Redfish are slow. Channel catfish are fair on shrimp, cheesebait and cutbait near the discharge. BRIDGEPORT: Water lightly stained; 48–53 degrees; 8.83’ low. Largemouth bass are good on jerkbaits along main lake points and watermelon candy worms around deeper docks. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs (best action midday). Channel catfish are fair on cut and prepared bait. BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 51–55 degrees; 13.78’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored jigs and soft plastics in 10–20 feet. White bass are fair on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs over brushpiles. Channel catfish are fair on stinkbait and shrimp. BUCHANAN: Water clear; 54–58 degrees; 30.76’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina-rigged black lizards, perch-colored suspending jerkbaits and chartreuse hair jigs in 10–20 feet. Striped bass are fair trolling white/blue striper jigs and Rattlin’ Rogues. Crappie are good on minnows over brushpiles. CADDO: Water stained; 47–52 degrees; 0.86’ high. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue jigs around isolated cover. Shad-pattern lipless crankbaits in the same areas are effective. Yellow bass are good on minnows. Catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and prepared bait. CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits over grass. Striped bass are good on silver spoons and jigs near the dam in 15–25 feet. Channel and blue catfish are fair on shrimp and cheesebait in 181 cove.

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 46– 51 degrees; 2.21’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, square-billed crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and swim jigs are good around riprap also. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catﬁsh are good on prepared baits. RAY ROBERTS: Water lightly stained; 46–51 degrees; 2.09’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on suspending jerkbaits colors especially around main lake rocky points. White bass are good on slabs in 35 feet of water — watch for gulls. RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water stained; 47–52 degrees; 4.41’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shaky heads and creature baits around docks. Square-billed crankbaits are producing numbers as well. White bass are fair on slabs and live shad. Hybrid striper are fair on slabs and live shad.

BASTROP: Water clear; 56–60 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on pumpkinseed soft plastics and spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows over brushpiles. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait and liver. BELTON: Water fairly clear; 53–56 degrees; 9.64’ low. Largemouth bass are good on silver crankbaits. Hybrid striper are good on chrome slabs. White bass are good on chrome slabs, and on minnows under lights at night. Crappie are fair on minnows under lights at night around structure. Channel and blue catfish are good on doughbait, hot dogs and summer sausage. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines and throwlines baited with live perch.

small swimbaits. Striped bass are fair to good on live shad and 4”–5” swimbaits. Catﬁsh are fair to good on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

Toledo Bend Large catches of crappie and largemouth bass have been reported in the past week. One guide reported a morning outing that produced 68 bass, 20 between 3 and 4 pounds. The crappie bite is picking up as the fish move into a spawning position (see story, page 8) and the white bass run is beginning to heat up earlier than normal. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News. and black/blue finesse jigs around docks (green pumpkin soft plastics suggested). White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. COLEMAN: Water clear; 54–58 degrees; 15.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastic worms with chartreuse tails, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows over brushpiles. Channel catfish are good on stinkbait, liver, and nightcrawlers. COOPER: Water lightly stained; 46528 degrees; 7.57’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse shallow crankbaits and Texasrigged craw worms later in the day. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are good on prepared bait and cut bait. FALCON: Water stained; 60–64 degrees; 27.87’ low. Largemouth bass are good on green jigs, watermelon soft plastics and slow rolling spinnerbaits. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on shrimp, nightcrawlers, stinkbait and cutbait. FAYETTE: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits in 10–25 feet. Channel and blue catfish are fair on shrimp and stinkbait. FORK: Water fairly clear; 47–53 degrees; 5.91’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue or green pumpkin flipping jigs rigged with soft plastics — concentrate on the wood cover near creek channel bends. Lipless crankbaits are effective as well. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared bait. GRAPEVINE: Water lightly stained; 47–51 degrees; 3.04’ high. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon Texas-rigged worms, watermelon finesse jigs, lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits along main lake points. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad. HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 54–58 degrees; 2.55’ low.

slabs. Catfish are fair to good on prepared baits. LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 47–51 degrees; 3.61’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged worms and lipless crankbaits along main lake points. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut shad. LAVON: Water lightly stained; 48–52 degrees; 5.55’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, black/brown jigs and square-billed 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 clear; 54–57 degrees; 0.22’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Bleeding Shad lipless crankbaits, buzzbaits, and wacky-rigged watermelon plastic worms in 8–15 feet. White bass are fair vertically jigging spoons under birds. Crappie are good on live minnows over brushpiles in 10–15 feet. LEWISVILLE: Water stained; 47–52 degrees; 1.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits and suspending jerkbaits along riprap near the dam. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are good on prepared bait. MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 72– 88 degrees; 0.56’ high. Largemouth bass are good on square-billed crankbaits, weightless plastics, chatterbaits and Texas-rigged creature baits on shallow wood cover. Flipping jigs is producing as well. PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 47–52 degrees; 4.22’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black and blue jigs, shaky heads and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait. POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 44–54 degrees; 10.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits, drop-shot rigs, Texas rigs and jigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and

TAWAKONI: Water stained; 47–51 degrees; 4.06’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue Firewater 1/2 ounce jigs and sun perch-colored chatter jigs. White bass are excellent on white slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4- to 6-inch white or shad pattern soft plastics 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: Water fairly clear; 46–51 degrees; 1.73’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on suspending jerkbaits and medium crankbaits along rocky points with larger rock. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on slabs. TRAVIS: Water lightly stained; 54–57 degrees; 54.25’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastic worms and perch-colored crankbaits. White bass are fair on minnows and soft plastics. Crappie are fair on minnows and pink tube jigs in 25–35 feet. Channel and blue catfish are fair on cut shad in 30–45 feet. WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained. Largemouth bass are fair on small spinnerbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on minnows and silver striper jigs. White bass are fair on minnows and soft plastics. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and shrimp. WEATHERFORD: Water stained; 46–51 degrees; 2.99’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas-rigged creature baits — target any shallow cover. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in. Catfish are fair on prepared bait and cut shad. White bass are fair on slabs and live minnows. WHITE RIVER: Water stained; 43–51 degrees; 23.95’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, jigs and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfish are fair on prepared bait and nightcrawlers. WHITNEY: Water stained; 52–56 degrees; 6.08’ low. Largemouth bass are good on dark soft plastics, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Striped bass are fair on minnows and green striper jigs. White bass are fair on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and stinkbait. WRIGHT PATMAN: Water lightly stained; 46–52 degrees; 5.31’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged worms, shallow crankbaits and chatterbaits along main lake points. Football heads jigs have also been productive. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair to good on cut shad and prepared bait.

SALTWATER SCENE NORTH SABINE: Trout and redfish are fair while drifting mud and shell. Waders have taken better trout on the Louisiana shoreline on slow–sinking plugs. SOUTH SABINE: Redfish are fair on the edge of the channel on mullet. Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on slow–sinking plugs. Black drum and redfish are good at Rollover Pass. TRINITY BAY: Trout are fair to good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet along shell shorelines. Redfish are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet. Trout are fair to good in Red’s Bayou on plastics. EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the north shoreline on Corkies and hard baits. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. WEST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair in the mud and shell on hard baits and Corkies in the afternoon. Sheepshead, redfish and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. TEXAS CITY: Redfish are fair in Moses Lake on shrimp and crabs. Pier anglers have taken sand trout, black drum, sheepshead and mangrove snapper on fresh shrimp. FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Redfish are fair to good at San Luis pass on cracked blue crabs. Bull redfish are good at the jetty and along the beachfront. EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp and plastics over humps and scattered shell. Redfish are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal and at the mouths of drains on scented plastics and jigs tipped with shrimp. BAY Redfish WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfish are fair to good on the south shoreline in the guts and bayous. Trout are fair in the guts on the incoming tide. PORT O'CONNOR: Trout and redfish are fair on swimbaits over soft mud in waist– deep water in San Antonio Bay. Trout and redfish are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp and topwaters. Redfish are good at the mouths of drains. ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on plastic shrimp. Redfish are fair to good in California Hole on mullet and shrimp. PORT ARANSAS: Redfish are fair to good on the ledges of the channel on e good on shrimp in mullet. Sand trout are the channel. CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfish are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are best on the edge of the flats on live shrimp, scented plastics and plastic shrimp. BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on soft plastic swimbaits. Trout are fair to good in the guts along the King Ranch shoreline on swimbaits. Redfish are fair around spoils on live bait. PORT MANSFIELD: Redfish are fair to good on DOA Shrimp and plastics under a popping cork around grass holes. Trout are fair to good on mud along the edge of the ICW on swimbaits and hard baits. SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfish are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal and at Gas Well Flats on DOA Shrimp and plastics. Redfish, black drum and mangrove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp. PORT ISABEL: Trout are fair on the edge of the flats on soft plastics under popping corks. Redfish are good in the holes and guts on plastics and scented baits.

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

New angler regulations under consideration Public input is being sought for a series of proposed fishing regulations that are being considered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. TPWD said the new regulations are aimed at improving angler opportunities, including limiting the number of fishing devices that can be used on state park lakes and easing restrictions on largemouth bass length limits on certain lakes. The proposed changes include: Change the minimum-length limit for largemouth bass back to the statewide 14-inch limit on three reservoirs: Aquilla Reservoir, Hill County; Lake Fort Phantom Hill, Jones County; and Lake Proctor, Comanche County. Change daily bag limit for striped bass back to the statewide five-fish limit on Possum Kingdom Reservoir in Palo Pinto County. Implement an 18-inch minimum-length limit and five-fish daily bag for largemouth bass and prohibit use of juglines, trotlines and throwlines on Lake Naconiche in Nacogdoches County, a reservoir that will open to angling Sept. 1. Restrict the number of fishing poles (to two) that a person may use simultaneously while fishing from a dock, pier, jetty or other man-made structure in a state park. Require gear tags for throwlines and minnow traps in fresh water. Reduce the time limit for re-dating gear tags for most devices from 30 days to 10 days. Change age for license exemption from 64 to 65 for Oklahoma residents fishing in Texas to conform to recent changes in Oklahoma. The proposals will be detailed during a series of public meetings around the state and available for review and comment on TPWD’s Web site. A final rulemaking by the TPW Commission will be made at its March 29-30 public hearing. Comments and questions about the proposals may be submitted to Ken Kurzawski at (512) 389-4591 or e-mail, ken.kurzawski@tpwd.state.tx.us. Comments may also be submitted via the department’s Web site at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/public_comment/. — TPWD

February 10, 2012

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GAME WARDEN BLOTTER HONESTY HELPS BUT FOLLOWING RULES EVEN BETTER Two off-duty deputies responded to multiple shots fired in the front yard of a residence. Three individuals were caught while loading up two deer. Medina County Game Warden Jeff Benson arrived to find all three suspects (ages 18, 18 and 23) extremely cooperative. When asked who had the beer in the back seat of the truck, one of the 18-year-old suspects quickly said, “It’s mine, sir.” Their honesty kept the truck from being towed. Cases pending. DUCKS UNLIMITED GIVEN WHOLE NEW MEANING Hidalgo County Game Warden Will Plumas noticed two trucks backed into the brush on federal refuge property and later observed seven subjects armed with shotguns. The group took shots at black-bellied whistling ducks, a jackrabbit and a coyote. All of the shots were misses. Game Warden Harry Rakosky arrived to provide assistance. A total of 12 cases were filed including trespassing and no hunting license. Federal charges are also pending. One subject commented that he didn’t know that they couldn’t hunt on the refuge but that he did know that there was no limit on how many ducks they could take. He said the bag limit was printed on the protective sleeve they gave him when he purchased his hunting license. The man was referring to the Ducks Unlimited logo printed on the sleeve. TAG ON DUMPED DEER CARCASS A DEAD GIVEAWAY A deer carcass minus a head was dumped on the side of the road in Bexar County. Game Warden David A. Solis was contacted. The violator had forgotten to take his deer tag off the carcass. The violator told Solis his 11-point deer was at the meat processor and the deer head was at

SHOOTING THROUGH BLIND STAIRS A PAINFUL IDEA Jim Wells County Game Warden David Nieto continues his hunting accident investigation in which a hunter was climbing the stairs of his blind and saw deer under his feeder eating corn. The hunter made a decision to try and shoot at one of the deer through the deer blind stairs. After shooting the ﬁrst round, he felt a pain and thought the scope had struck him above the eye when the riﬂe went off. The hunter

the taxidermist. The story changed when he saw his deer in the back of the game warden truck. One waste of game charge was filed against the violator. Case is pending. A SINKING FEELING When checking a hunter, Freestone County Game Warden John Thorne noticed fresh blood and deer hair in the bed of the truck. The subject said he only helped another hunter transport a deer to camp. It was determined the subject in the truck had killed the deer and sunk the head in a pond thinking it didn’t meet the antler restrictions. The meat was hidden in a cooler. After the subject recovered the head by wading in waist-deep water, Thorne determined that the deer was, in fact, legal. Cases pending for untagged deer, harvest log and no proof of sex. FEELING LEFT OUT, MAN EXCEEDS WHITETAIL LIMIT Terrell County Game Warden Kenneth Stannard and Val Verde County Game Warden Roger Nicholas checked two men who were returning home after a successful deer season. One of the men was missing all five white-tailed deer tags and one mule deer buck tag with no harvest log information filled out. The mule deer buck tag was found attached to the violator’s white-tailed buck. The wardens learned that the man took

reloaded and shot again. After shooting the second round and feeling a terrible pain in his left leg, the hunter returned to the ground and noticed he had blood on his face and leg. The hunter was able to drive to a local hospital for immediate care. The investigation revealed that the hunter shot his stairs twice, which resulted in his injuries to one of his eyes and leg when the metal pieces hit him.

six white-tailed deer during the season. He told the wardens that after his friend got a buck, he felt left out and wanted to shoot one more. Violations for exceeding annual bag limit, improper tagging and failure to fill out the harvest log were identified. Charges and civil restitution are pending. BAD TIME TO ASK A QUESTION A man approached Delta County Game Warden Chris Fried at a local gas station and asked if he had filled out his deer tag correctly. The man said he had killed a doe that morning. Fried explained to the man that the tag might be correct, but that doe were not in season in Delta County. Case pending. SHOPPERS DUMP CARCASSES BEFORE ENTERING STORE After employees and customers complained about a large bag with duck carcasses located in the parking lot of a local sports and outdoors store, the manager called Harris County Game Warden Jennifer Inkster. Inkster collected the ducks and worked with the manager reviewing the parking lot camera video and in-store footage. They were able to identify two subjects dumping the bag, purchasing items and leaving the scene. By pulling the transaction receipt, the subjects were identified and Inkster issued

citations and ﬁled restitution for the discarded birds. PUSHING CART WITH ICE CHEST INTO FOREST A CLUE Houston County Game Warden Eddie Lehr observed two subjects pushing a two-wheel cart with an ice chest through the woods in the Davy Crockett National Forrest. Lehr followed the subjects on foot about half a mile into the woods, where they led him to three other subjects and two doe deer already gutted and skinned hanging in some trees. Cases and restitution pending. THIS LOTTERY TICKET WASN’T A WINNER Two hunters found a deer carcass dumped next to their lease and notiﬁed Lamar County Game Warden Bryan Callihan. Only the backbone, ribs, and skinned head remained, but left at the scene was a bloody lottery ticket. Callihan called the Lottery Commission and got the exact store, time and date the ticket was sold. Security camera footage was reviewed and the manager knew the buyer and where he worked. Blood and deer hair were still in a truck parked in front of the buyer’s residence. After lying about killing a coyote, the man confessed when confronted with the evidence. Cases for violating the antler restriction, failing to tag a deer and harvest log are pending.

TRESPASSERS OCCUPY HUNTER’S DEER STAND A hunter called Polk County Game Warden Ryan Hall and said as he pulled up to his deer stand for an afternoon hunt, he observed three subjects with firearms climb down from his stand and take off running toward the adjoining hunting lease and a nearby neighborhood. After following footprints back to the suspect’s residence in the neighborhood and a two-hour game of hide and seek, Hall rounded up and arrested all three suspects and transported them to the Polk County jail. Cases pending. GOOSE SHOOTER DUMPS BIRDS, CATCHES FINES Lamb/Bailey/Cochran County Game Warden Lance May received a call from the Hockley County Sheriff’s Department stating that someone had thrown whole Canada geese in a dumpster. Castro/Parmer/Deaf Smith County Game Warden James Cummings and May responded. The wardens found seven birds in the dumpster. They contacted the residence owner, who had already traveled to his home. The man confessed to shooting and wasting the birds. Cases are pending. REPEAT OFFENDER DENIED LICENSE BUT STILL FISHING, HUNTING Leon County Game Warden Oscar Henson and Limestone County Game Warden Randy Harper were checking fishermen and came across a man fishing without a license. The subject said he had tried to buy one but was denied. Henson learned the man had not paid two different restitution amounts. He also had a warrant out of Montgomery County. The suspect was taken to jail, where it was later discovered that he had been arrested four nights earlier for taking white-tailed deer from a public roadway. Cases pending.

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Seven Texans aim to hoist Bassmaster Classic trophy By Alan Clemons FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Seven Texans will tackle the unpredictable Red River in Louisiana with hopes of hoisting the Bassmaster Classic trophy when the championship is held Feb. 24-26. It will be the second time in three years that the annual season-ending championship will be held in Shreveport-Bossier City. Skeet Reese of California won the 2009 Classic with a total weight of 54 pounds, 13 ounces. Returning this year for a second shot at the title on the Red River are Alton Jones of Waco and Todd Faircloth of Jasper. Faircloth finished 35th on the Red River in 2009 and Jones was 14th. Jones won the 2008 Classic on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. The winding Red will be new this year for Bassmaster Elite Series pros Keith Combs of Huntington, Takahiro Omori of Emory and Matt Reed of Madisonville. None competed in the 2009 Classic. Omori won the 2004 title on Lake Wylie in North Carolina. Tom Jessop of Dalhart and Andrew Upshaw of Hemphill are first-time Classic qualifiers. Jessop qualified through the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation championship. Upshaw, who lives on Toledo Bend, qualified by winning the Mercury College B.A.S.S. National Championship. He edged his Stephen F. Austin University teammate to earn the berth. The Red River can be a fickle beast, placid and inviting in its cover-laden backwaters or roiling with mud and debris after heavy rainfall. Faircloth expects conditions to be pretty good barring any monstrous weather changes.

ALTON JONES The pro angler from Waco and 2008 Classic winner is making his 14th Classic appearance. He was seventh in two other Classics and ﬁnished 14th on his previous trip to the Red River.

KEITH COMBS This will be the second consecutive Classic appearance for the angler from Huntington. He ﬁnished 22nd last year and ended the season 15th in the standings for Angler of the Year.

“I’m anticipating it being pretty similar to what we experienced in 2009,” Faircloth said. “We’ve had a good bit of rain in the last month or two and it could be a little dirty, which might cut down on the percentage of clean water to fish. “But I think it’ll be pretty good. One other factor: we’ve had a pretty mild winter and the fish may be a little further along than normal. I was fishing close to home last week and water temperatures were in the 60s. That’s a bit more than usual for this time of year. Shreveport’s a few hours northeast of me, but I don’t expect it to be that much different due to the mild winter.” Reese won the 2009 Classic by targeting bass staging for the spawn in the mouth of a slough. Many of the contenders in that event burrowed into sloughs and backwaters, seeking pre-spawn or early spawners.

TAKAHIRO OMORI The 2004 Classic winner from Emory is back for his eighth championship try. He ﬁnished 10th in 2010 and will be making his ﬁrst trip to the Red River.

MATT REED The Madisonville angler looks to score big after missing the past four Classics. His previous best Classic ﬁnish was in 2003 when he placed 19th on the Louisiana Delta.

Faircloth said the water clarity and temperature will dictate where everyone fishes once they see the lake during the final practice. “Clean water is always a factor on a river system,” he said. “You definitely don’t want to be fishing in cold, muddy water. The river dictates a lot of the water (areas) that’s available and fishable for us. If it’s really rolling and muddy, more than what we’ve had lately, it’ll box us in a corner and compress us even more. It actually fished fairly small in ’09 and if we get those conditions, it’ll bunch us up even more.” Daily weigh-ins will be held in the CenturyLink Center, which was filled to capacity in 2009. Fans were left standing in lines on the final day after the local fire marshal closed the arena for safety reasons. The outdoors expo will be held Feb. 24-26 at the Shreveport Convention Center.

TODD FAIRCLOTH The Jasper angler came close to winning the Classic in 2010, ﬁnishing in third place. He was 35th on his last trip to the Red River.

ANDREW UPSHAW The Hemphill native won his Classic berth by winning the College B.A.S.S. circuit, and edging past Stephen F. Austin teammate Ryan Watkins.

TOM JESSOP This is the ﬁrst Classic appearance for the angler from Dalhart. He comes to the competition from the Central Division Championship of the Federation Nation.

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CLASSIC NOTES Experience counts The 2012 Bassmaster Classic field is the second most experienced in history. The average competitor has already fished 5.67 Classics before launching on the Red River. The only more experienced field was in 2006 on the Kissimmee Chain. Kevin VanDam of Michigan has been to more Classics than anyone else in the field — 22 straight.

Former champs There are six former Bassmaster Classic champions in the ﬁeld for 2012 — Denny Brauer, Davy Hite, Michael Iaconelli, Alton Jones, Takahiro Omori and Kevin VanDam. After winning the championship in 2010 and 2011, KVD will have a chance to “three-peat.”

The AOYs There are seven former Bassmaster Anglers of the Year in the 2012 Classic ﬁeld — Denny Brauer, Davy Hite, Tim Horton, Michael Iaconelli, Aaron Martens, Gerald Swindle and Kevin VanDam. Between them, they have 14 AOY titles, including seven of the last eight. KVD leads the way with seven AOYs.

'Bama leads the way For the sixth year in a row, Alabama has the most Bassmaster Classic qualifiers — 10. In the 42-year history of the Classic, Alabama has had 114 qualifiers, but Texas has the most with 283 total qualifiers.

Together again Jamie Horton of Alabama and Chris Price of Maryland both qualiﬁed for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic through the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation. The last time they made it to the championship was in 2002, also through the Federation Nation. The 10-year gap between appearances is one of the longest in Classic history.

Home sweet home? This will be Greg Hackney’s fourth try at winning a Classic in his home state. The Gonzalez, La., resident fished the 2003 and 2011 Classics on the Louisiana Delta and the 2009 Classic on the Red River. His best finish in those events was 20th in 2009. No other angler has fished more than three Classics on home state waters. —B.A.S.S.

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

If you go, here’s what you need to know The 2012 Bassmaster Classic is Feb. 24-26 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. LAUNCH SITE: Red River South Marina & Resort 250 Red River South Marina Road Bossier City, La. 71112 (Located off of U.S. Highway 71 South, five miles south of the Jimmie Davis Road Bridge.) Launch time all three days is 7 a.m. redriversouthmarinala.com EXPO LOCATION: Shreveport Convention Center 400 Caddo Street Shreveport, La. 71101 (From Interstate 20, take Exit 19A, turn left onto SR-173/ Caddo Street. Parking is available in a four-story garage — 800 spaces — adjacent to the Convention Center for $5 per car, per day.) shreveportcenter.com EXPO HOURS (ALL CST): Fri., Feb. 24 (preview) 11 a.m. to noon General public, noon to 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. WEIGH-IN LOCATION: CenturyLink Center 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive Bossier City, La. 71112 (From Interstate 20, take Exit 20A, turn right at the bottom of the exit, travel to the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, and turn left. The venue is located at the end of the road. Parking is on a first-come, first-served basis, although reserved parking is available with “Centertainer” membership or luxury suites.) centurylinkcenter.com

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fishing in Brazil and Florida. Kent Romney, 66, said he has never met his political cousin, although he lives in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua — the town where Mitt Romney’s father was born. The candidate’s notoriety, however, has neither helped nor hurt his distant cousin’s business. “It’s a neutral thing,” Kent said. “My customers don’t care if I’m related to JFK or Mitt Romney. What they are concerned about is how much it costs to manufacture their product, the best quality possible, and ship to them in a timely fashion. “One of the advantages we offer our customers is a fast turnaround time over operations in China.” Kent Romney was born in St. George, Utah but his family moved to Mexico when he was 10 years old. “When I was 12 or 14 years old, I used to travel all over the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico to fish for native trout,” he said. “Most of my fishing has ROMNEY LURES: Ernesto Jurado paints top-water plugs at Kent Romney’s fishing lure factory in Nuevo been for native Mexican trout.” Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. The company specializes in lures for peacock bass, and also buzz It wasn’t until 2000 that he got into baits and an array of jigheads made from lead and glass. Photo by Erich Schlegel, for LSON. the fishing lure business. A friend of a friend mentioned somehis manufacturing plant, about a three- U.S. economy slid in 2008. one who was manufacturing lures in “It seems the fishing lure industry is Guatemala and thought he could do bet- hour drive southwest of Juarez, Mexico. Jertberg said Romney is “kind of a down about 50 percent of what it used ter in Mexico. He contacted Kent who to be a few years ago,” Romney said. did some research, and then started his cowboy-type of a guy.” “He’s a very honest person, eager to Nevertheless, Romney is optimistic. business in 2000. “From my vantage point, I see big posThe baits he makes for High Roller serve and satisfy his customers,” Jertberg Custom Fishing Lures in Gainesville, said. “He bends over backwards a lot of sibilities in overseas marketing of fishFla., are made of sugar pine and turned times and he has done a really good job ing lures,” he said. “A company like High Roller has been selling in Brazil, and now on lathes, and then painted in bright making our lures.” Romney makes an array of jigheads made some of these companies have been lookcolors with airbrushes. of lead or glass that are used in freshwater ing into markets in France and Thailand. Terry Jertberg of High Roller said the and saltwater fishing. He also makes buzz “It’s an encouraging move in the right lures Romney makes for him are pri- baits, snagging hooks and lead weights. direction.” marily used on peacock bass in Brazil, The North American Free Trade Although Mitt Romney is a top runalthough he said plenty of Texans have Agreement allows him to ship his prodner in the GOP race, the nominee taken them on trips to the Amazon. ucts duty free back into the U.S. But, Jertberg said, there is another Romney employs eight to 20 workers, won’t be known for several months. His Texas connection. The sugar pine Kent depending on time of year and demand cousin confirmed, however, that he has Romney uses is shipped to El Paso where for lures. At the top of the economy in retained his U.S. citizenship. he picks it up and hauls it by trailer to 2006, Romney had 40 workers before the He plans to vote in November.

fished for catfish in the morning before switching to hybrid stripers in the afternoon. Edwards drifted over humps and channels in the lake with cut shad to entice the big cats to bite. For hybrids, he slow-trolled through likely areas with several rods baited with live shad. He said the winter catfish bite has been good this season, despite higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-normal lake levels. Several cats in the 45-to-50-pound range have been caught this season, but the majority of cats are in the 20-pound range. The cats are transitioning from the deeper channels in the main lake to the mouths of the creeks and more shallow water. During Phillips’ trip in late January, the lake was down 7 feet and only two marinas had open boat ramps, limiting access. Recent rains had pushed the lake up about a foot, but it was still very low. The hybrid fishing was strong in late January, with the bite occurring in the late afternoon and early morning. Phillips and his group boated about a dozen hybrids during the mid-afternoon, but time constraints kept them from fishing the prime time period between 4 and 6 p.m. This fish are averaging 7 pounds, with plenty of 10- and 12-pound fish being caught weekly. According to guide Carl Bostick of WetHook Guide Service, the largemouth bass fishing has picked up recently, with tournament stringers going as high as 35 pounds. “The bass are excellent right now on crankbaits and soft plastics,” Bostick said. “From the bank to about 10 feet deep is where they have been catching them. The water is muddy right now, so darker colors like junebug or red shad have been catching fish.” Bostick said the hybrids don’t receive a lot of pressure, and the bite has been good early and late on main lake points. “Trolling using swim baits with a spoon or threadfin shad has been the ticket,” he said. “There’s also a baithouse on (Texas) 105 that sells small bream, and they work great and are easy to keep alive if you can’t catch shad.” Bostick also reported a good crappie bite near the FM 1097 bridge and around deep brush piles. “They are starting to get shallower,” he added. “Jigs and minnows are working right now.” Guide Chris Edwards, (817) 271-5014 Guide Carl Bostick, (936) 718-7983

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DATEBOOK February 10-26 Texas Wildlife Expo San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (210) 623-0932 sarodeo.com

February 10 Texas Deer Association Superior Genetics Deer Auction San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (210) 767-8300 texasdeerassociation.com Ducks Unlimited San Jacinto Dinner Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Conroe (936) 537-2737 ducks.org

February 12 Crappie Anglers of Texas 2012 CAT Extravaganza Texas Motor Cars, Addison (903) 887-0602 crappieanglersoftexas.com

February 16 Dallas Safari Club YPG Happy Hour BlackFinn, Addison (214) 980-9800 biggame.org

February 17 Ducks Unlimited Brazos Valley Dinner Brazos Center, Bryan (979) 255-8507 ducks.org

Ducks Unlimited Pearland/Friendswood Dinner for the Ducks St. Helen Catholic Church, Pearland (713) 907-4264 ducks.org Ducks Unlimited Sherman/Texoma D.U. Couples Rafﬂe Night Sherman Municipal Ballroom (903) 463-1151 ducks.org

February 18 Ducks Unlimited Gainesville/Red River Valley Banquet Gainesville Civic Center (940) 736-1799 ducks.org Ducks Unlimited Kerrville Dinner Hill Country Shooting Sports Center, Kerrville (830) 377-2838 ducks.org Ducks Unlimited Hemphill/Sabine County Banquet Hemphill VFW Hall (936) 590-2223 ducks.org

February 21-22 Abilene Chamber of Commerce Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Expo Taylor County Fairgrounds, Abilene (325) 677-7241 abilenechamber.com

February 24-26 B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Classic Red River, Bosier City, LA bassmaster.com

Trout Unlimited Guadalupe River TU Troutfest 2012 Rio Raft Resort, Canyon Lake (210) 654-6220 grtu.org

February 25 Borger Ducks Unlimited Dinner Graceland East, Borger (806) 898-6389 ducks.org

February 29-March 3 Lake Fork Carp and Buffalo Challenge Lake Fork (315) 427-7109 wildcarpcompanies.com

March 2-3 Texas Deer Association TDA Spring Gala Banquet and Auction, Grapevine (210) 767-8300 texasdeerassociation.com om

March 2-4 Los Cazadores 2012 Marranos Muertos, Pearsall (830) 334-5959 loscazadores.net Hallettsville Chamber of Commerce 2012 Wild Boar Hunting, Gun and Dog Show Wilbur Baber Memorial Complex, Hallettsville (361) 798-5135 hallettsville.com

March 3 Mule Deer Foundation 1st Fundraiser Parker County Sheriff's Posse Event Center, Weatherford (817) 565-7121 muledeer.org

Dallas Woods and Waters Club 33rd Annual Banquet Plano Center, Plano (214) 570-8700 dwwcc.org Ducks Unlimited Anna/Hurricane Creek Banquet Hurricane Creek Country Club, Anna (214) 478-9512 ducks.org Ducks Unlimited Arlington Casino Night St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, Arlington (469) 446-4176 ducks.org

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 Advertising Sales Jaimey Honea Founder & CEO David J. Sams

Contributors Kyle Carter

March 8

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

Quail Coalition Park Cities Dinner and Auction Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas (214) 632-7460 parkcitiesquail.org Caesar Kleburg Wildlife Research Institute Deer Associates Meeting J.W. Marriott Resort, San Antonio (361) 593-4120 ckwri.tamuk.edu Ducks Unlimited Boerne Dinner Kendall County Fairgrounds (210) 710-0153 ducks.org Ducks Unlimited Greenville/Hunt County Dinner National Guard Armory, Greenville (214) 476-8662 ducks.org

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

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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 2012 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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HEROES BRIAN GENOVESE of Dallas used a .25-06-caliber riﬂe last November to get this nice buck near Palestine. It was aged at 6 1/2 years old and weighed 187 pounds. The bullet that tipped Brian’s ammo was a 115-grain Nosler partition.

This Comanche County buck ﬁeld dressed at 150 pounds after WILL HUTCHISON of Dallas arrowed it on Nov. 27. Will’s shot on the 4 1/2-year-old buck was a mere 15 yards.

EMILY WHITE of Dallas may have thought she shot a porcupine after she downed this 6 1/2-year-old buck Nov. 20 in Comanche County. Cactus spines covered his face, eyes and mouth, perhaps the result of falling into a cactus patch during a pre-rut ﬁght.

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. High-resolution original jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

MADELINE MADRIGAL, 10, of Fulshear was hunting with her dad, TROY, last season when she took this doe in Coryell County. Said grandfather, TIM MADRIGAL, “She used her trusty 7mm-08 with which she had practiced extensively.”

BRETT KETCHUM landed ShareLunker 526 Jan. 29 at Lake Austin — the third ShareLunker to be caught this season. The Austin angler hooked the 13-pound bass on a jerkbait. It was 25.75 inches long and 20.25 inches in girth.

Striped bass action has been the highlight this winter at Lake Texoma. Showing off the results of a big day are (from left): BRYSON ANDREWS, 8, Keller; HAILEY JONES, 10, Keller; GUNNAR DOGGENDORF, 9, Flower Mound; and guide DAVID BEESON.

TANNER PETTITT, 9, of Fort Worth harvested this Panhandle porker Thanksgiving weekend in Donley County. Tanner went to a blind with his dad, TONY, but the door was locked, so they hid in some brush with a set of shooting sticks. The boar came out and Tanner dropped him at 85 yards with a .243-caliber riﬂe. “I was proud because he had to be versatile,” Tony said.

J.T. HOWARD III, 10, of Hempstead shot his ﬁrst buck with a bow the evening before Thanksgiving near Del Rio. He was trying for an odd “unicorn” buck that had been seen on the ranch, but another hunter got it. J.T. settled for this spike instead.

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On the hunt to push back hunger Texas Deer Association gets meat for food bank By Craig Nyhus Photography By David J. Sams LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Some may think harvesting does on Texas ranches to meet either MLDP or carrying capacity requirements would be an easy task. Drop some corn and wait. But this year at least, that wasn’t the case on one large South Texas ranch. “The deer were really spooky,” said Darrell Cox, special events and banquet coordinator at the Texas Deer Association, who participated in the harvest of does at a Frio County ranch. “The sight of a vehicle, even at 300-plus yards sent them scampering.” The hunters adapted by corning the senderos and returning later on foot, sneaking around the edge of the brush. Even so, most shots were taken in prone positions using a bipod or standing with shooting sticks, and the shots exceeded 200 and even 300 yards. One successful shot was so long the range ﬁnder didn’t pick up the distance. Cox, on behalf of TDA, worked to accomplish two things: help harvest the does necessary to meet the requirements of the ranch’s wildlife management plan, and process and donate the meat to charity as part of TDA’s charitable programs. TDA supports numerous other charities,

including hunter education classes, Combat Marine Outdoors, the Jasper 4-H, the Laredo Food Bank and the San Antonio Stock Show. After several days of hunting, a total of 38 does estimated to weigh 3,040 pounds were delivered to K&G Plaza Meat Market in Kerrville to be processed into ground venison. It took four men more than two hours just to pick up the animals from three different locations and coolers and load and strap the deer on Cox’s trailer. The 90-mile trip to the processor required a quick stop at Sonic instead of lunch at the Triple C Steakhouse in Devine to make sure the meat stayed cool. Once at K&G, the meat barely ﬁt in the processor’s coolers, and extra hanging hooks had to be located. Terry Burch at K&G claimed he could skin four deer per hour. The hunters hung around — talking about the deer and the shots — long enough to get proof Burch was right. It's not easy for landowners and ranch managers across the state to remove that many deer. Some of the work can be done with guests, groups of youngsters and paid or leased hunters. But in the end, most is left to the wildlife managers. The help from TDA cut some of the work and expense for the managers. The 1,500 pounds of venison delivered to the San Antonio Food Bank will feed approximately 1,172 needy people in the San Antonio area, according to Veronica Laurel at the San Antonio Food Bank.

FEEDING THE NEEDY: Darrell Cox glasses down a sendero, looking for adult does to take to reduce the herd’s size. Trail dog Jack wished the doe at left hadn’t dropped in its tracks. After the hunts, 3,040 pounds of deer were loaded onto a trailer and taken to K&G Plaza Meat Processing in Kerrville, where Trey Burch got busy skinning. The venison resulting from the effort will feed 1,172 needy San Antonio-area families.

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the most. Hunters can then match their ple of weeks or so, farmers start planting schedules to the habits of their prey. (new) seeds, and the hogs will come in Higginbotham also recommended and get them.” multiple bait piles and urged huntEstringel, who hunts with catch dogs, ers to experiment with different lures said the story is the same from Kingsville like cheese-based catfish bait, dog food, to Corpus Christi to Orange Grove. soured milo and soured corn. “A lot of times you’ll see, with night Premixed “attractants” have been known vision, (about 30 to 40 of them) screwto work, especially the ones with berry flavoring up the ground,” he said. “Last night ing. Higginbotham also pours strawberry soft we ran up on a pack of about 30 and we drinks and gelatin mixes onto bait. ended up killing two of them.” “The thing is, you don’t want to get But despite the wintertime advantage, stuck on just shelled corn,” he said. “If Higginbotham said, “It’s not like shoot- NIGHT MOVES: Hunters take plenty of feral hogs in broad you have four locations, use four baits.” ing fish in a barrel.” daylight, but studies show that swine are most active late at Inexpensive solar-powered lights are That’s because feral hogs hole up in night. Game cameras can help pattern their movements, a low-glow, but they can illuminate an area dense cover, and they operate almost researcher said. Photo by Texas AgriLife Extension Service. just enough to see crosshairs on a hog, plus exclusively at night. the animals can become used to them. trail cameras show the swine can be most active Hunters, therefore, can also become Higginbotham stressed, however, that nocturnal, which is legal for hogs in Texas. from 10 p.m. to midnight and a few hours later. “Cameras,” Higginbotham said, “are hunters should avoid a hog’s keen sense But there is more to it than just showing up, going to be a hunter’s best friend.” of smell by approaching hunt areas from Higginbotham said. He suggested posting more than one to down-wind directions. He said lots of hogs are shot during deer sea“You can’t beat their noses,” he said. son at dusk and dawn, but recent studies with get the best data on when hogs are moving

Ugly horns Continued From Page 1

Photo by Amy Dugosh.

Themes of the parties have included “Taking out the Trash,” “Bagging the Basura” and “Banging the Ugly.” The scoring isn’t too complicated. “Awards go to the lowest score in each age class,” said Amy Dugosh, who works at the Rutherford Ranch and lives on the Mason Ranch, both participants in the contest. “There the lowest gross score wins.” It doesn’t stop arguments about the age, though. “The guys text each other back and forth during the season, claiming they have a winner,” Dugosh said. “At the party you have a bunch of wildlife biologists looking at teeth and arguing about the age of a deer to deny someone else a prize.” “Yeah, there is some trash texting,” said Michael Hehman, wildlife biologist at the Hixon Ranch near Cotulla. “Early on, a guy dominated for the ﬁrst three or four years. I had some stuff I thought would win and he beat me every year. “He took some ribbing — some ranches have more junk than others.” The tide turned a few years later. “I took another job (at another ranch) and right away I started winning,” Hehman said. “There were lots of texts and photos going back and forth.” Another prize is for the shortest spike. “I had a spike where the antlers were so small we had to measure it with calipers — it was 4/8 inches,” Sekula said. “I can’t tell you how nervous I was when I shot that deer. I was sure he would win, but I got beat by one that measured 3/8 inches.” But another year set the record. “We had a 7-year-old buck with nothing but hard pedicles,” Dugosh said. The grand prize, The Mucho Feo, is awarded to the person with the “overall sorriest deer,” Sekula said. The deer has to be at least 2 years old, and is scored by taking the gross score and dividing by the age. The lowest score wins. “And if you have a 60-inch 8-year-old, it’s a pretty low score,” Dugosh said.

Study shows traps get the most hogs Trapping was the most effective hogremoval technique described in a recent survey conducted by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. The survey included responses from 700 landowners in 139 Texas counties, said Dr. Billy Higginbotham, a wildlife specialist for the extension service. “Of 36,664 wild pigs removed in 2010 by survey respondents, 57 percent were removed through trapping and 24 percent via aerial and landowner shooting,” Higginbotham said. “Hunting,” he added, “was responsible for removing another 11 percent of the pigs taken. Catch dogs removed 6 percent of the total while 2 percent were removed through the use of snares.”

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There have been only a handful of instances when the mercury dipped below freezing, according to Laura Keys a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi. “We did get down below freezing a couple times at the end of November,” she said. “On the 28th we had a low of 27 degrees. On December 7th, we got down to 25 degrees.” January, however, ended with an average high of 74.7 degrees, nearly 8 degrees warmer than normal, Keys said, adding that the higher temperatures are a result of the warm weather phenomena La Niña. That’s a stark contrast to a year ago when ice and snow blanketed much of the state in early February. But on the coast, the lack of freezing temperatures this year has caused the fish to hang around the flats more, and not retreat to deeper water, Colburn said. “It really has been weird,” he said. “We fished in 68-degree water in February, and we really don’t see that. “We’re finding more fish in the lake in 5- to 6-feet of water. They don’t have to even get onto the mud or shell to get warm. It’s just like springtime.” With fish not concentrating in their normal winter

that big, but I was really excited.” Chad had done his homework and saw the lake record for blue catfish was 26 pounds — a “softball” because Chad knew what kind of fish the lake held. “(Lane) wanted to break a record and I’d never taken him on a lot of trips during the winter,” Chad said. “We started on Lake Worth because it was a small record.” Several days before, a friend of Chads had his son on the lake and the pair boated a 37-pound catfish — good enough to break the existing record. “Lane caught a 39 1/2-pounder that day, but we threw him back because we thought the other fish was over 40 pounds,” Chris said. “Oh well. I thought we could still beat the new record, so we decided to go back out on Friday.” The pair had lines in the water for less than 30 minutes when the big fish hit

BOUND FOR THE COAST: While winter 2012 has lacked freezing temperatures, there has been decent rainfall across much of the state. Rivers like the Guadalupe, shown here in DeWitt County, have risen and sent a lot of freshwater to the coast. Anglers hope that will ease salinity in the bays, and biologists say these “pulses” do help, although more steady inﬂows are needed. Photo by Bill Miller, LSON.

haunts, guides have to cover more water to find fish, but they are finding plenty of trout, redfish and flounder. “They’re all up and down the banks and all over the flats,” he said. “So it has been a positive change in the bite; it has just been putting them in different places than they normally are.” A similar report came from the opposite end of the coast. Capt. Gary Farmer out of Port Isabel said he too has been covering a lot of water, but with great results. Farmer said he fished a 10-mile radius

on the Lower Laguna Madre the first week of February, “And we caught fish everywhere.” “Fish are still in the flats, even in shallower water, about 10 inches or so,” Farmer said. “We got three limits of trout, all 18 to 22 inches and a couple flounder as well. We did catch some redfish but they were undersized so we threw them back. “It’s really nice to fish like we do in spring and summer. It gives us another option because there still are fish in deep water as well.” Farmer said “any

kind of soft plastics are working, either under a cork or not.” Colburn said he is still using winter baits, but he has been retrieving them quicker. “This time of year we’re usually throwing suspended mullet-type baits like a Corky,” he said. “We use a real slow presentation for cold water. Well, you can write that off now. “We use the same baits, but everything about it is faster, even with Corkies.” Capt. Dickie Colburn, (409) 883-0723 Capt. Gary Farmer, (956) 459-0594

a cut shad on the bottom. “I did a lot of driving around looking for schools of bait on the side-imaging sonar,” Chad said. “I found several big cats that I thought would be 35 to 40 pounds. I didn’t realize it was a really big fish at first.” Chad said Lane was fighting the fish, and neither realized the size until the fish turned into the wind. “The wind was blowing hard and when he turned into the wind, he drug the boat,” Chad said. “I knew it was a good one then.” The fish made several runs away from the boat, even bending the rod tip until it touched the underside of the boat several times. “I was worried about losing the fish when I could hear the rod hitting the bottom of the boat,” Lane said. “I knew it was big and it was an exhausting fight.” The Fort Worth Highland Middle School student finally boated the fish and put it on the scale. “My scale was new

Mid coast Continued From Page 9

He also said the black drum fishing has been steady for schooling drum, and the bigger drum are beginning to show up in the ship channels. “The schooling drum are being caught in Deadman’s Hole and the Boat Hole,” he said. Solid reports for drum have also come from Copano and Port bays. According to Capt. Ron Moore’s fishing report from Feb. 1 on fishrockport.com, the fishing has been hit or miss. “The tide has been sort of in between the good high level and the good low level,” Moore reported. “That means not low enough to put the reds on the

OUTDOOR BUSINESS

and not yet certified, so we put the fish in the livewell and took it to a feed store,” Chad said. “I got 65 pounds on the feed store scale. We went back to the lake and I got my scale certified. It was 100-percent accurate to begin with.” Lane said he was in shock at the size of the fish. “I knew he was big when my dad couldn’t lift him,” Lane said. “He was bigger than I thought and I was really shaky after the fight.” Chad said his son “has been on Cloud Nine” since the catch. “I told him he could fish the rest of his life and not catch a fish that big again,” Chad said. “He’s got me beat with records.” The fish earned Lane seven awards: junior angler state record, junior state catch-and-release record for blue cats, both junior and all-age lake records for Lake Worth, catch-andrelease records for junior and all-age anglers and a big fish award. What’s next for the young angler? “Hog hunting,” Lane said.

drop-offs and not high enough to get them on the flats that are easily accessible for most boats. We have been picking up trout along the Intracoastal Waterway on Gulps and some black drum in the deeper holes and channels on the flats using peeled shrimp. “There are still redfish around on the flats and the Lighthouse Lakes but getting to them requires a shallow running boat. Some places you will need to run in 8 inches and float in about 10- to 12-inches. “We have been getting the reds mostly on dark soft plastics and peeled shrimp.” Capt. Paul Braly, (361) 533-0982 Capt. Ron Moore, (361) 356-1144

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Sun | Moon | Tides Time 10:00 AM 10:44 AM 11:30 AM 8:39 AM 10:31 AM 12:07 PM 1:08 PM 1:50 PM 2:21 PM 2:47 PM 7:46 AM 8:26 AM 9:01 AM 9:32 AM 10:02 AM

Height -0.1L 0.4L 0.9L 1.5H 1.7H 1.8H 1.9H 1.9H 1.8H 1.8H -0.8L -0.5L -0.2L 0.2L 0.5L

Time 4:40 PM 4:58 PM 5:15 PM 12:24 PM 1:51 PM

Height 1.4H 1.4H 1.5H 1.3L 1.6L

Time Height 10:30 PM 0.0L 11:28 PM -0.3L 5:31 PM 5:46 PM

1.6H 1.6H

6:46 PM 7:09 PM 7:36 PM 3:08 PM 3:27 PM 3:45 PM 4:01 PM 4:17 PM

1.6L 1.5L 1.3L 1.7H 1.6H 1.5H 1.5H 1.5H

9:51 PM 11:08 PM

1.7H 1.8H

8:06 PM 8:38 PM 9:11 PM 9:47 PM 10:24 PM

1.1L 0.8L 0.6L 0.4L 0.2L

Height -0.1L 0.3L 0.7L 1.2H 1.3H 1.5H 1.5H 1.5H 1.5H 1.4H -0.6L -0.4L -0.1L 0.1L 0.4L

Time 5:27 PM 5:45 PM 6:02 PM 12:50 PM 2:17 PM

Height 1.1H 1.1H 1.2H 1.0L 1.3L

Time Height 10:56 PM 0.0L 11:54 PM -0.3L

Height 1.2H 1.2H 1.2H -0.5L -0.7L -0.8L -0.9L -0.9L -0.9L -0.8L 1.4H 1.4H 1.4H 1.3H 1.3H

Time 10:26 AM 11:10 AM 11:56 AM 9:26 AM 11:18 AM 12:54 PM 1:55 PM 2:37 PM 3:08 PM 3:34 PM 8:12 AM 8:52 AM 9:27 AM 9:58 AM 10:28 AM

6:18 PM 6:33 PM

1.2H 1.3H

7:12 PM 7:35 PM 8:02 PM 3:55 PM 4:14 PM 4:32 PM 4:48 PM 5:04 PM

1.3L 1.2L 1.0L 1.3H 1.3H 1.2H 1.2H 1.2H

10:38 PM 11:55 PM

1.4H 1.4H

8:32 PM 9:04 PM 9:37 PM 10:13 PM 10:50 PM

0.9L 0.7L 0.5L 0.3L 0.2L

Height 0.7H 0.7H -0.2L -0.3L -0.4L -0.5L -0.5L -0.5L -0.5L 0.8H 0.9H 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H

Time 11:22 AM 12:06 PM 8:09 AM 9:56 AM 11:48 AM 1:24 PM 2:25 PM 3:07 PM 3:38 PM 8:23 AM 9:08 AM 9:48 AM 10:23 AM 10:54 AM 11:24 AM

Height 0.0L 0.2L 0.7H 0.7H 0.8H 0.9H 0.9H 0.9H 0.9H -0.5L -0.4L -0.2L -0.1L 0.1L 0.2L

Time 5:57 PM 6:15 PM 12:52 PM 1:46 PM 3:13 PM

Height 0.7H 0.7H 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L

Time 11:52 PM

Height 0.0L

6:32 PM 6:48 PM 7:03 PM

0.7H 0.7H 0.8H

8:08 PM 8:31 PM 4:04 PM 4:25 PM 4:44 PM 5:02 PM 5:18 PM 5:34 PM

0.8L 0.7L 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H 0.7H 0.7H 0.7H

11:08 PM

0.8H

8:58 PM 9:28 PM 10:00 PM 10:33 PM 11:09 PM 11:46 PM

0.6L 0.5L 0.4L 0.3L 0.2L 0.1L

Height 1.1H 1.1H 0.0L -0.2L -0.4L -0.5L -0.6L -0.6L -0.6L -0.5L 1.0H 1.1H 1.1H 1.1H 1.1H

Time 10:53 AM 11:46 AM 7:17 AM 8:56 AM 10:47 AM 12:28 PM 1:36 PM 2:25 PM 3:02 PM 3:29 PM 8:24 AM 9:09 AM 9:49 AM 10:27 AM 11:04 AM

Height 0.1L 0.3L 1.1H 1.2H 1.3H 1.4H 1.5H 1.5H 1.5H 1.4H -0.4L -0.2L 0.0L 0.2L 0.4L

Time 5:22 PM 5:39 PM 12:54 PM 2:56 PM

Height 1.0H 1.0H 0.6L 0.9L

Time 11:22 PM

Height 0.2L

Date Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 15 Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 24

Time 12:14 AM 1:13 AM 2:11 AM 3:13 AM 4:24 AM 5:42 AM 7:04 AM 8:20 AM 9:27 AM 10:23 AM 11:08 AM 1:33 AM 3:43 AM 5:13 AM 12:35 AM

Houston Height -0.2L -0.3L -0.4L -0.5L -0.6L -0.6L -0.6L -0.7L -0.6L -0.6L -0.5L 0.1H 0.1H 0.0H -0.1L

Time 5:47 AM 7:48 AM 6:04 PM 6:11 PM 6:30 PM 7:08 PM 8:01 PM 9:05 PM 10:21 PM 11:49 PM

Height 0.0H -0.1H 0.0H 0.1H 0.2H 0.3H 0.3H 0.3H 0.3H 0.2H

Time 1:13 PM 1:38 PM

Height -0.3L -0.2L

Time Height 7:06 PM -0.1H 6:18 PM -0.1H

11:43 AM 12:09 PM 12:28 PM 6:33 AM

-0.4L -0.3L -0.2L 0.0H

8:34 PM 8:22 PM 6:51 PM 12:42 PM

0.0H 0.0H 0.0H -0.1L

11:04 PM 0.0L 11:57 PM -0.1L

Height -0.2L -0.3L -0.3L -0.4L -0.4L -0.4L -0.4L -0.4L -0.4L 0.0H 0.0H -0.1H -0.1H -0.1H -0.2L

Time 6:26 AM 9:21 AM 7:36 PM 8:02 PM 8:48 PM 9:45 PM 10:47 PM 11:50 PM

Height -0.2H -0.2H -0.1H -0.1H -0.1H 0.0H 0.0H 0.0H

Time 1:49 PM 1:24 PM

Height -0.3L -0.2L

Time Height 8:13 PM -0.2H 7:39 PM -0.2H

11:03 AM 11:45 AM 12:19 PM 12:43 PM 12:58 PM 7:17 AM

-0.4L -0.3L -0.3L -0.3L -0.2L -0.1H

6:14 PM

0.0H

Date Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 15 Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 24

Time 12:11 AM 2:34 AM 3:54 AM 5:00 AM 6:04 AM 7:07 AM 8:11 AM 9:14 AM 10:12 AM 12:52 AM 1:52 AM 2:54 AM 4:03 AM 5:28 AM 12:16 AM

5:51 PM 5:52 PM

0.9H 0.9H

9:05 PM 9:17 PM 3:50 PM 4:05 PM 4:19 PM 4:32 PM 4:44 PM

1.0L 0.9L 1.3H 1.2H 1.1H 1.0H 1.0H

11:24 PM

1.0H

9:35 PM 9:55 PM 10:17 PM 10:39 PM 11:04 PM

0.7L 0.6L 0.5L 0.3L 0.2L

Date Time Feb 10 4:04 AM Feb 11 5:41 AM Feb 12 7:35 AM Feb 13 12:51 AM Feb 14 1:52 AM Feb 15 2:57 AM Feb 16 4:03 AM Feb 17 5:08 AM Feb 18 6:07 AM Feb 19 7:01 AM Feb 20 7:50 AM Feb 21 12:52 AM Feb 22 2:08 AM Feb 23 3:18 AM Feb 24 4:27 AM

Height 0.7H 0.8H 0.9H -0.4L -0.6L -0.7L -0.9L -0.9L -1.0L -0.9L -0.8L 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H

Date Time Feb 10 3:48 AM Feb 11 5:27 AM Feb 12 7:21 AM Feb 13 12:41 AM Feb 14 1:43 AM Feb 15 2:49 AM Feb 16 3:57 AM Feb 17 5:03 AM Feb 18 6:05 AM Feb 19 7:01 AM Feb 20 7:52 AM Feb 21 12:47 AM Feb 22 2:04 AM Feb 23 3:16 AM Feb 24 4:27 AM

Height 0.9H 0.9H 0.9H -0.4L -0.6L -0.7L -0.7L -0.7L -0.7L -0.5L -0.4L 1.1H 1.1H 1.1H 1.0H

2012 Feb 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun 13 Mon 14 Tue Q 15 Wed 16 Thu 17 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Mon > 21 Tue > 22 Wed N 23 Thu > 24 Fri > 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tue 29 Wed Q

A.M. Minor Major 7:06 12:54 8:04 1:51 9:03 2:49 10:02 3:48 11:02 4:47 11:59 5:45 12:25 6:40 1:18 7:32 2:08 8:22 2:56 9:09 3:42 9:54 4:28 10:39 5:13 10:58 5:59 11:44 6:46 12:35 7:34 1:23 8:23 2:12 9:13 3:01 10:03 3:51 10:53 4:41

P.M. Minor 7:32 8:30 9:30 10:30 11:31 ----12:54 1:46 2:35 3:22 4:06 4:50 5:35 6:20 7:07 7:56 8:45 9:36 10:27 11:18

Major 1:19 2:17 3:16 4:16 5:16 6:14 7:09 8:01 8:49 9:34 10:18 11:02 ----12:10 12:57 1:45 2:34 3:24 4:15 5:05

SUN Rises Sets 07:05 06:05 07:04 06:05 07:03 06:06 07:02 06:07 07:01 06:08 07:01 06:09 07:00 06:10 06:59 06:10 06:58 06:11 06:57 06:12 06:56 06:13 06:55 06:13 06:54 06:14 06:53 06:15 06:52 06:16 06:51 06:16 06:50 06:17 06:49 06:18 06:48 06:19 06:47 06:19

MOON Rises Sets 9:21p 8:33a 10:26p 9:11a 11:32p 9:52a NoMoon 10:37a 12:38a 11:27a 1:43a 12:21p 2:43a 1:19p 3:39a 2:20p 4:29a 3:21p 5:13a 4:22p 5:52a 5:21p 6:28a 6:18p 7:01a 7:13p 7:33a 8:08p 8:05a 9:01p 8:38a 9:55p 9:12a 10:49p 9:49a 11:43p 10:30a NoMoon 11:14a 12:36a

Dallas

6:49 PM 1:01 PM

-0.2H -0.2L

6:35 PM -0.1H

Time 10:29 AM 11:17 AM 12:13 PM 9:51 AM 11:57 AM 1:10 PM 1:59 PM 2:37 PM 3:08 PM 3:33 PM 3:52 PM 8:36 AM 9:19 AM 10:00 AM 10:40 AM

Height -0.1L 0.3L 0.7L 1.1H 1.3H 1.4H 1.4H 1.3H 1.2H 1.1H 0.9H -0.6L -0.4L -0.1L 0.2L

Time 4:58 PM 4:57 PM 4:50 PM 1:37 PM

Height 0.8H 0.8H 0.9H 1.0L

Time Height 11:13 PM 0.0L 11:58 PM -0.2L 4:22 PM

1.0H

8:39 PM 8:47 PM 4:06 PM 4:15 PM 4:19 PM 4:17 PM

0.7L 0.6L 0.8H 0.7H 0.6H 0.6H

11:22 PM

0.8H

9:08 PM 9:33 PM 10:02 PM 10:34 PM

0.4L 0.2L 0.1L 0.0L

Time 10:33 AM 11:23 AM 12:18 PM 9:41 AM 12:07 PM 1:34 PM 2:25 PM 3:03 PM 3:30 PM 3:48 PM 4:01 PM 8:38 AM 9:21 AM 10:02 AM 10:40 AM

Height 0.1L 0.4L 0.7L 1.0H 1.1H 1.3H 1.4H 1.4H 1.3H 1.2H 1.1H -0.2L 0.1L 0.3L 0.5L

Time 4:53 PM 4:47 PM 4:36 PM 1:31 PM

Height 0.8H 0.8H 0.8H 0.9L

Time Height 10:59 PM 0.2L 11:46 PM -0.1L 4:07 PM

0.9H

8:06 PM 8:25 PM 4:08 PM 4:12 PM 4:12 PM 4:08 PM

1.1L 0.9L 1.0H 0.9H 0.9H 0.8H

11:15 PM

1.1H

8:54 PM 9:26 PM 10:00 PM 10:36 PM

0.7L 0.6L 0.4L 0.2L

South Padre Island

Freeport Harbor Date Time Feb 10 4:32 AM Feb 11 5:50 AM Feb 12 12:05 AM Feb 13 12:58 AM Feb 14 2:00 AM Feb 15 3:11 AM Feb 16 4:25 AM Feb 17 5:36 AM Feb 18 6:39 AM Feb 19 7:34 AM Feb 20 12:45 AM Feb 21 1:52 AM Feb 22 2:54 AM Feb 23 3:53 AM Feb 24 4:51 AM

March 8

March 1

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell Pier

San Luis Pass Date Time Feb 10 5:09 AM Feb 11 6:34 AM Feb 12 12:50 AM Feb 13 1:53 AM Feb 14 3:03 AM Feb 15 4:16 AM Feb 16 5:27 AM Feb 17 6:33 AM Feb 18 7:32 AM Feb 19 12:25 AM Feb 20 1:32 AM Feb 21 2:34 AM Feb 22 3:33 AM Feb 23 4:31 AM Feb 24 5:32 AM

Feb 21

Feb 14

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.

Full

First

Rockport

Galveston Bay entrance, south jetty Date Time Feb 10 4:39 AM Feb 11 6:04 AM Feb 12 7:39 AM Feb 13 12:57 AM Feb 14 2:07 AM Feb 15 3:20 AM Feb 16 4:31 AM Feb 17 5:37 AM Feb 18 6:36 AM Feb 19 7:27 AM Feb 20 1:02 AM Feb 21 2:04 AM Feb 22 3:03 AM Feb 23 4:01 AM Feb 24 5:02 AM

New

Last

Port O’Connor

Sabine Pass, jetty Height 1.5H 1.5H 1.4H -0.6L -0.8L -1.0L -1.1L -1.1L -1.1L -1.0L 1.8H 1.8H 1.7H 1.6H 1.6H

Solunar | Sun times | Moon times

Moon Phases

Texas Coast Tides Date Time Feb 10 3:52 AM Feb 11 5:17 AM Feb 12 6:52 AM Feb 13 12:31 AM Feb 14 1:41 AM Feb 15 2:54 AM Feb 16 4:05 AM Feb 17 5:11 AM Feb 18 6:10 AM Feb 19 7:01 AM Feb 20 12:15 AM Feb 21 1:17 AM Feb 22 2:16 AM Feb 23 3:14 AM Feb 24 4:15 AM

LSONews.com

2012 Feb 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun 13 Mon 14 Tue Q 15 Wed 16 Thu 17 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Mon > 21 Tue > 22 Wed N 23 Thu > 24 Fri > 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tue 29 Wed Q

A.M. Minor Major 7:12 12:59 8:09 1:56 9:08 2:55 10:08 3:54 11:07 4:53 ----- 5:50 12:31 6:45 1:24 7:38 2:14 8:27 3:02 9:14 3:48 10:00 4:33 10:44 5:18 11:03 6:04 11:50 6:51 12:41 7:39 1:29 8:29 2:17 9:18 3:07 10:09 3:57 10:59 4:46

P.M. Minor Major 7:37 1:25 8:35 2:22 9:35 3:22 10:36 4:22 11:36 5:22 12:05 6:19 1:00 7:14 1:52 8:06 2:41 8:54 3:27 9:40 4:12 10:24 4:56 11:07 5:40 ----6:26 12:15 7:13 1:02 8:01 1:50 8:51 2:40 9:41 3:30 10:32 4:20 11:23 5:11

SUN MOON Rises Sets Rises Sets 07:15 06:06 9:29p 8:37a 07:14 06:07 10:35p 9:14a 07:13 06:08 11:43p 9:54a 07:12 06:08 NoMoon 10:37a 07:11 06:09 12:51a 11:26a 07:10 06:10 1:56a 12:19p 07:09 06:11 2:57a 1:17p 07:08 06:12 3:52a 2:18p 07:07 06:13 4:41a 3:21p 07:06 06:14 5:24a 4:23p 07:05 06:15 6:02a 5:23p 07:04 06:16 6:36a 6:22p 07:03 06:17 7:08a 7:19p 07:02 06:17 7:38a 8:15p 07:01 06:18 8:09a 9:10p 07:00 06:19 8:40a 10:05p 06:58 06:20 9:13a 11:00p 06:57 06:21 9:49a 11:55p 06:56 06:22 10:29a NoMoon 06:55 06:22 11:13a 12:48a

P.M. Minor Major 7:44 1:32 8:42 2:29 9:42 3:29 10:43 4:29 11:43 5:29 12:12 6:26 1:07 7:21 1:59 8:13 2:48 9:01 3:34 9:47 4:19 10:31 5:03 11:14 5:47 ----6:33 12:22 7:20 1:09 8:08 1:57 8:58 2:47 9:48 3:37 10:39 4:27 11:30 5:18

SUN MOON Rises Sets Rises Sets 07:17 06:18 9:34p 8:46a 07:16 06:18 10:39p 9:24a 07:15 06:19 11:45p 10:06a 07:14 06:20 NoMoon 10:51a 07:14 06:21 12:51a 11:41a 07:13 06:22 1:55a 12:35p 07:12 06:22 2:56a 1:33p 07:11 06:23 3:51a 2:33p 07:10 06:24 4:41a 3:35p 07:09 06:25 5:25a 4:35p 07:08 06:26 6:05a 5:34p 07:07 06:26 6:41a 6:31p 07:06 06:27 7:14a 7:26p 07:05 06:28 7:46a 8:20p 07:04 06:28 8:18a 9:14p 07:03 06:29 8:51a 10:08p 07:02 06:30 9:26a 11:01p 07:01 06:31 10:03a 11:55p 07:00 06:31 10:44a NoMoon 06:59 06:32 11:28a 12:48a

P.M. Minor 7:58 8:56 9:56 10:56 11:57 12:25 1:20 2:12 3:01 3:48 4:32 5:16 6:01 6:46 7:33 8:22 9:11 10:02 10:53 11:43

SUN Rises 07:39 07:38 07:37 07:36 07:35 07:34 07:32 07:31 07:30 07:29 07:28 07:27 07:26 07:25 07:23 07:22 07:21 07:20 07:18 07:17

San Antonio 2012 A.M. Feb Minor Major 10 Fri 7:19 1:06 11 Sat 8:16 2:03 12 Sun 9:15 3:02 13 Mon 10:15 4:01 14 Tue Q 11:14 5:00 15 Wed ----- 5:57 16 Thu 12:38 6:52 17 Fri 1:31 7:45 18 Sat 2:21 8:34 19 Sun 3:09 9:21 20 Mon > 3:55 10:07 21 Tue > 4:40 10:51 22 Wed N 5:25 11:10 23 Thu > 6:11 12:01 24 Fri > 6:58 12:48 25 Sat 7:46 1:36 26 Sun 8:36 2:24 27 Mon 9:25 3:14 28 Tue 10:16 4:04 29 Wed Q 11:06 4:53

Amarillo 2012 A.M. Feb Minor 10 Fri 7:32 11 Sat 8:30 12 Sun 9:29 13 Mon 10:28 14 Tue Q 11:28 15 Wed 12:01 16 Thu 12:51 17 Fri 1:44 18 Sat 2:34 19 Sun 3:22 20 Mon > 4:08 21 Tue > 4:53 22 Wed N 5:39 23 Thu > 6:25 24 Fri > 7:12 25 Sat 8:00 26 Sun 8:49 27 Mon 9:39 28 Tue 10:29 29 Wed Q 11:19

OUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen ACROSS 1. Classed as rodents 3. Name for weeds quail feed on 8. A position to stand ready to fire 9. Part of a fishline 11. To stalk a game 12. A Rocky Mountain game 13. Field area preferred by quail 14. To dress a game 16. A boat that can be folded up 19. Act of removing meat from bones 20. Hunter rattles these to lure deer 22. The moray 23. A boat gear 25. The trapper's interest 26. Part of a gun scope 28. Bowhunter's ammo 30. Where wildfowl have their young 32. The shoulder hide on a deer 34. Pack your day's catch in this 36. A shell that fails to fire 38. Indian name for deer 39. A deep-water trout species

Solution on Page 26

Major 1:45 2:43 3:42 4:42 5:42 6:40 7:35 8:26 9:15 10:00 10:44 11:28 ----12:35 1:22 2:11 3:00 3:50 4:41 5:31

Sets 06:22 06:24 06:25 06:26 06:27 06:28 06:29 06:30 06:31 06:32 06:33 06:33 06:34 06:35 06:36 06:37 06:38 06:39 06:40 06:41

MOON Rises 9:51p 11:00p NoMoon 12:09a 1:17a 2:23a 3:24a 4:19a 5:07a 5:49a 6:26a 6:59a 7:29a 7:59a 8:28a 8:58a 9:31a 10:06a 10:45a 11:28a

Sets 8:57a 9:33a 10:11a 10:54a 11:42a 12:35p 1:33p 2:34p 3:37p 4:40p 5:42p 6:42p 7:40p 8:37p 9:33p 10:29p 11:25p NoMoon 12:21a 1:15a

FOR THE TABLE Pilau of goose

42. A gun organization 44. A deer species 46. To stand ready to shoot 48. Oxidation on gun parts 49. A series of shots in a shoot contest DOWN 1. Good pheasant gun, duck _____ 2. Name for a large trophy fish 4. A good trap bait 5. A bass species 6. Food fish that bites well in winter 7. Angler considers this when fishing 8. Has a black and white pelt 10. Lab name is roe 15. Commercial fishermen use very large ones 17. A quail food source 18. A wood used for arrow shafts 27. Name for a 19. Home of the Key bowhunting deer storage cabinet 21. Used to fry fish 29. A stream fisherover open fire man's wear 24. A bedded game is 31. Hunters aim for a clean one at _____

Major 1:20 2:17 3:15 4:14 5:13 6:11 7:06 7:58 8:48 9:35 10:20 11:05 11:24 12:14 1:01 1:49 2:38 3:27 4:17 5:07

2 cups roasted goose meat Goose carcass 1 onion, chopped Celery leaves to taste 2/3 cup uncooked rice 2 tbsps. butter 3/4 cup ﬁnely chopped celery 1 cup leftover goose gravy Break carcass apart and add four cups water, chopped onion (reserving 1 tsp.) and celery leaves. Simmer for one hour; strain out bones; bring the stock

to boiling and stir in slowly 2/3cup rice. Cook rice in the liquid until tender (about 1/2-hour); drain and reserve the liquid. Next, melt two tbsps. butter, add ﬁnely chopped celery and one tsp. grated onion; saute covered for ﬁve minutes. Add the goose meat, rice, and one cup of goose gravy. Mix ingredients well with a fork. Serve hot with blended stewed plums or apricots. — wildgamerecipes.org

Mustard batter bass

33. Young boars 35. Large member of the deer family 37. To point at the target 40. Arrows, shells 41. To analyze a game track

42. A brood of pheasants 43. Deer teeth can reveal this 45. Bowman's protective device, ____ pad 47. Letters signify a single action gun

1/3 cup Dijon or prepared mustard 1/4 cup water 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 1/2 cups seasoned coating mix 2 1/4 pounds bass fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces Canola oil In small mixing bowl, combine mustard, water, juice, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne. Place coating mix in shallow dish. Dip fish first in mustard mixture and then dredge in coating mix to coat. In 10-inch skillet, heat 1/2-inch oil over medium heat. Add fish. Fry three to four minutes or until golden brown. Turn once. Drain on plate lined with a paper towel. — easyfishrecipes.com *E-mail LSON your favorite recipe to news@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

February 10, 2012

PRODUCTS DIRTY BIRD INSULATED DECOY GLOVES: LOVES: Browning has added OutDry hunting nting gloves to its outdoor apparel line. e e. Utilizing an “OutDry” waterprooff and breathable membrane, the gloves boast a sleek fit with improved finger dexterity. The OutDry membrane is bonded to the shell, resulting in a fully wa-terproof, windproof and breathable ab ble laminated glove outershell. This technolec chnology eliminates gaps between membrane m mbrane and shell where water can stagnate gn nate and create a wet, cold sensation. The T new glove line also includes the D Dirty irty Bird Insulated Decoy Gloves, which hich feature insulation on palm and ba back ack of hand and fingers. The Decoy-length -le ength gauntlet design has a one-handed, d cordd lock closure with an overlay on palm, thumb and fingers. Available ble in extra-large, the gloves sell for about $105. sizes small through extra la

PINK RIBBON TACKLE BOX: If she likes to fish, she’ll appreciate Flambeau Outdoors’ compact tackle box more than a box of chocolates this Valentine’s Day. This sturdy, weatherproof pink tackle box has removable dividers for flexible storage options, moldedin tool holders on the side, a “Drawtite” latch for secure closure, and tray supports that prevent the tackle box from tipping over when fully open. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the fight against breast cancer. The tackle box sells for about $15.

(800) 232-3474 www.ﬂambeauoutdoors.com

(800) 333-3288 3-3288 www.browning.com ning.com

RODENT SOFT PLASTIC LURE: Here’s a rodent that anglers will welcome in their tackle boxes. Strike King Lures’ Rodent is made from a blend of soft plastic ingredients infused with large amounts of salt and a coffee scent that masks human scents and oils. Designed to make a major disturbance under the water, the Rodent is a good choice for ﬁshing in waters with heavy cover and works on a Texas rig, Carolina rig, or as a jig trailer. Its bubble-tipped appendages and soft plastic tails offer incredible action in the water and will punch through vegetation. Available in 16 colors, this 4-inch-long lure sells for about $5 for a pack of six.

For retailers, visit: www.strikeking.com

CUSTOM-MOLDED EARPLUGS: Remington offers a new — and affordable — way for shooters to protect their hearing with its Custom Molded Hearing Protection Kit. The do-it-yourself kit allows users to create earplugs with a noise reduction rating of 26. Made from a non-toxic, hypoallergenic silicone, the earplugs offer protection that is reusable plus comfortable enough to wear all day. Included is a lanyard cord with colored screw ends that ﬁt securely in the earplugs, a mirror to aid in the molding process, and a microﬁber bag to store the earplugs. The kit sells for about $20.

LETHAL HUMAN SCENT ELIMINATOR FIELD SPRAY & ACTIVATOR: Lethal Products has partnered with Mossy Oak. Now, the company’s core products, including its field spray and activator, feature a touch of the Mossy Oak camo on the packaging. The field spray and activator has a separate concentrated activator that charges the product with odor eliminating bonding agents. Lone Star Outdoor News Editor Bill Miller used the spray this deer season while hunting from ground blinds. “I had an archery-range shot while hunting with a rifle,” he said. “The freezer is full. That says enough for me.” This product lasts 90 days after activation. It sells for about $14. (800) 841-3904 www.lethalproducts.com

(877) 723-4267 www.radians.com

CLASSIFIEDS ARCHERY HOG HUNTS NOW OFFERING In Llano, Texas. Night hunts conducted with feeder lights, $125. For details call Hills of Texas Taxidermy. (325) 247-2441 BERETTA 92FS, 9MM NEW Never fired with two magazines, manual, warranty info and soft case. $590 will consider trade for PX4 Storm. (214) 763-1463 LAKE FORK LODGE Recognized by Sports Afield Magazine as one of the top fishing lodges in North America. w w w. l a k e f o r k l o d g e . c o m (903) 473-7236 DECOYS WANTED WOODEN Duck and Goose. Top prices paid. Ask for David. (214) 361-2276 TAXIDERMIST BILLINGTON RANCH billingtonranchtaxidermy.com (254) 793-2120 SMALL FARM IN CALHOUN COUNTY Port Lavaca, in city limits. No restriction. Write Billie Powers for play. PO Box 93, Port O'Connor, TX 77982.

165 ACRES ONE HOUR FROM AUSTIN $3500/acre includes house, workshop, and barn. Great dove, deer, and hog hunting. (512) 658-7114 LAKEFORKLODGE.COM Recognized as one of the top fishing lodges in North America. Also booking upland bird, duck, deer, and hog hunts. (903) 473-7236 DEER LEASE WANTED Lone Star Outdoor News is looking for a hunting and fishing lease with all hunt and fish rights. Central or Northwest Texas. Camphouse is needed. (214) 361-2276 184 ACRES MILLS COUNTY Ag. exempt, awesome views, oaks and native pasture. Electricity, 2 wells, pond + barns. Great deer hunting. $3200 acre. Visit doglegranch.webs.com SOUTH PADRE FISHING Reds, Trout, Flounder, Snook. Everything supplied but food and licenses. Multiple trip discounts. Call Capt. Thomas for details or CDCT12005@aol.com. (956) 551-1965

POINTER PUPS GERMAN SHORT HAIR 2 male/ 1 female, 8 weeks old with ﬁrst shots. AKC registered and pedigreed. $600. Kerrville Texas. Email, alltex@ktc.com to request pictures. Contact Wendy (830) 459-8525 BEAUTIFUL LOG HOME On 2.15 acres in exclusive Hunt, Texas. 2,360 sqft. 3 bedrooms. 3 baths. Call (830) 367-3012, or (830) 285-4068 TRADITIONAL BOW HUNTING No sights or releases. Whitetails and hogs. $50 primitive, $75 tent or $100 cabin. (713) 829-4141 UPLAND BIRD HUNTING 75 miles from DFW. Pheasant, Quail, Chukar. World class accommodations. w w w. l a k e f o r k l o d g e . c o m (903) 473-7236 SIDE-BY-SIDE SHOTGUN Smith & Wesson Elite Gold 20-gauge, 26” BBL, English stock. In box, never ﬁred. (214) 361-2276 x 201

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February 10, 2012

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LONE STAR MARKET

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TOURNAMENT BRIEFS Brackettville angler wins on Amistad JJ Ducharme’s weekend of fishing didn’t get off to a great start in the EverStart Series Texas Division Feb. 2-4 on Lake Amistad. Conditions changed drastically from early in the week until the time the tournament started, forcing Ducharme to search for clear water. “I never thought I had a chance to win,” said Ducharme. “We got to the spot I have been fishing all week and between the cold front that rolled through today and the wind that brought 3-to-4-foot rollers, it had turned the water to chocolate milk, I knew I was in trouble.” Ducharme, of Brackettville, righted the ship in time to weigh a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds Feb. 4 to win with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 63 pounds. For his victory, Ducharme earned $35,000. “All week the afternoon bite has been the most productive,” Ducharme said. “On the first day I caught my 10-pounder 10 minutes before we had to check in and we left them biting. On day two, between my co-angler and I, we caught 45 pounds in three hours there — it was incredible. “And today my big fish didn’t come until after 2 p.m. Staying in the game mentally was really my biggest challenge all week, especially with the bite not turning on until after noon.” Ducharme indicated that he was fishing with Strike King Series 5 and 6 crankbaits mostly in the color bluegill. — FLW Outdoors

Yowell and Schott win on tough Cedar Creek Despite high winds and rough lake conditions, Lee Yowell of Ennis and Brian Schott of Longview stuck by their plan to ﬁsh docks and were rewarded with a win in the Bass Champs North Region tournament. “We planned to hit docks all day,” Schott said. “We were ﬁshing with spinnerbaits, square-bill crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps all day.

About every 10th dock, we’d catch a keeper. It seemed to be the docks that had 2- to 4-feet of water were holding bass.” Winning by a mere ounce and a half, Bass Champs presented the team with the guaranteed first place check for $20,000. Jeremy Zmolik of Mabank and Strider Browning of Gun Barrel City came home in second place. “We found a few spots in the backs of coves where the water was a little warmer,” Zmolik said. “The fish were in shallow water.” Bringing in 16.71 pounds, they enjoyed a $3,000 check for their second place finish. Brothers Mike and Rob Burns, from Lucas and Plano, finished in third place, followed by Lee Batson and Jason Greer, both from Forney” — Bass Champs

Lamar University uses weather to win Amistad Lamar University’s Danny Iles, of Hemphill, and Justin Royal, of Vidor, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing South Conference event on Lake Amistad Feb. 4 with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces. The victory earned the team $5,000 and helped them advance to the South Conference Regional Championship. “You couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions,” said Iles, a senior mechanical engineering major. “It was overcast with a wind that really helped us with our bite. We wouldn’t have been able to catch anything without the wind we had. It was perfect for rattle baits. We caught all our fish with a Red Eye Shad in about 2- to 8-feet of water. We fished the same grassy area all day long and were catching one fish about every 15 minutes. We must have had at least 25 keepers today. “I think the fish are starting to move from deep to shallow to start spawning. That’s why you saw fish caught anywhere from 80 feet to 6 inches. We chose to fish shallow because you typically catch them faster shallow and we knew our time was limited.” — FLW Outdoors

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