February 25, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

February 25, 2011

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Sausage fest Family traditions run deep around sausage grinder.

Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper

February 25, 2011

Lady’s lunker

Inside

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Dorothy Young knows big bass.

The 75-year-old Garland resident began fishing with her parents on Texas lakes when she was 6 years old.

She fished throughout her adult life, even participating in tournaments

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Volume 7, Issue 13 and gracing the cover of Honey Hole magazine.

“Mom and dad were crappie fishermen,” Young said. “And don’t get me wrong, I love to crappie fish, too. But bass fishing is what I really enjoy.”

See LADY'S LUNKER, Page 14

TROPHY ROOM: Dorothy Young shows some of her past trophies and awards she acquired as a lifelong bass angler. Photo by Conor Harrison, LSON.

❘❚ FISHING

Public hunts face deep cuts

Unsung heroes Barge companies risk profits to help fisheries during freeze.

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Pure strains Biologists trying to separate Guadalupe and smallmouth bass.

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❘❚ HUNTING

By Mark England LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Exotic transport Texas-based group sending oryx to Senegal.

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Quail wrap Season ending with mixed reviews.

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Hog woes

SPECK SURVIVAL: Anglers and guides are eager to start fishing as spring temperatures begin to rise. Although an estimated 2,000 speckled trout died in back-to-back freezes the first and third weeks of February, it only represented about 1 percent of the total freeze kill. Photo by Scott Sommerlatte, for LSON.

On the rise

East Texas hog tournament to battle pig problems.

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Record trout being caught despite February freezes

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The thermometer was stuck in the 20s when Michael Marquis and dad Robert launched from Conn Brown Harbor at Aransas Pass.

Guides and state wildlife officials in early February were worried that a recent freeze might have killed a lot of fish along the coast.

BEST EVER? Kevin VanDam blew away the field at the Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Bayou, winning his fourth overall title and second straight.

Photo by BASS.

But that couldn’t keep this Austin family off the water on Saturday, Feb. 5.

They caught a few redfish and a couple small trout.

And then something took a powerful chomp on Michael’s tequila gold soft plastic.

At age 11, he knows about big fish having caught two striped NEW RECORD: Despite freezing temperatures on the bass around 30 inches coast, Michael Marquis, 11, of Austin on Feb. 5 See ON THE RISE, Page 20

caught this 28-inch record-breaking trout in Aransas Bay. Photo by Robert Marquis.

Some Texans’ hunting trips next year could fall victim to legislative budget cutters.

Plans call for the Public Hunting Program's $3.6 million budget at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to be sliced by half over the 2012-2013 biennium. Among other things, the program leases private land for public hunts.

“Public hunting as a whole is going to suffer,” said Joey Park, who heads Texas Outdoor Partners, made up of more than 50 wildlife conservation groups.

A quirk in the legislative budget proposal calls for suspending TPWD’s Public Hunting Program for half of the biennium’s first year (2012).

“The way the cuts are being proposed would hamstring the department,” Park said. “Basically, it shuts down public hunting for the first six months of the first year.”

TPWD officials are trying to persuade the Legislature to spread the cuts over 24 months.

“Every agency is dealing with issues,” said Clayton Wolf, director of the Wildlife Division. “The biggest thing for us is to take a cut that could be problematic and turn it into something manageable.”

See PUBLIC HUNTS, Page 14

VanDam makes history at Classic, 2 Texans reach top 10

By Nicholas Conklin LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Kevin VanDam asserted his dominance yet again Feb. 18-20 on the Louisiana Delta by winning his second straight Bassmaster Classic.

It was the fourth time the championship was won by the pro

angler from Kalamazoo, Mich. — an accomplishment achieved only

by Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. And like Clunn, VanDam is the only other angler to win back-toback Classics.

But VanDam’s 2011 catch — See BASSMASTER, Page 17

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February 25, 2011

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February 25, 2011

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HUNTING

Hunting accidents declining, fatalities rise

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Hunting accidents in Texas continued their overall decline, although hunting-related deaths rose in the state by 25 percent last year, from three to four, according to numbers released by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The number of hunting accidents See in 2010 declined Related to the lowest levels Stories since records began ■ Hunter being kept in 1966. education There were 25 huntPage 6 ing related inju■ Boating ries last year, down fatalities down from 29 in 2009.

The state’s worst Page 8 year was in 1968, when 105 accidents, including 37 deaths, were reported.

The 2010 fatalities included: • Matthew Thomas Jansen, 29, of the Houston area who was accidentally shot and killed Jan. 17 while hunting ducks in Jefferson County. As Jansen stood up, a friend swung his shotgun outside of the safe zone of fire. Jansen had recently celebrated the birth of his first child.

• Jeremy Blake Hampton, 20, was hog hunting Feb. 12 in Throckmorton County when he accidentally discharged his .22-caliber rifle while getting on an ATV. • On Sept. 23, 69-year-old Robert Henry Worley was crossing a fence in Hamilton County when his shotgun accidentally discharged, mortally wounding him in the chest.

• And Eden Gonzales, 14, was hunting rabbits on Oct. 28 with a friend near his home in Duval County when he was accidentally shot in the chest with a .222-caliber rifle.

“Every one of those accidents could have been prevented if those hunters would have followed the No. 1 commandment of hunter safety, and that is always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction,” said Terry Erwin, TPWD hunter education coordinator. “Hunter education is so successful because we teach them how to handle those firearms.”

Erwin said TPWD records show that Jansen and Hampton both completed the hunter education course, while Worley and Gonzales had not.

Every hunter in the state born on or after Sept. 2, 1971, must successfully complete a hunter education course. But people between the ages of 9 and 16 can hunt without having taken the class if an adult who has taken the class accompanies them.

“You know you’re not going to stop accidents altogether,” he said.

“But you’re going to help people build knowledge and skills to avoid accidents.

“It’s things like the 10 Commandments of Shooting Safety — the very basic safety principles — that are promoted a whole lot more now than 30 or even 20 years ago.”

Careless handling incidents almost always involve three factors: pointing a loaded firearm muzzle at yourself or someone else; keeping the safety off; and keeping your finger inside the trigger guard.

Papa’s Sausage Room Family tradition continues after death of patriarch

By Craig Nyhus LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS J. Martin Davis of Rio Medina started making venison sausage after moving to the Hill Country in the early 1960s.

“He was an avid hunter and we had a deer lease near Boerne,” said his daughter Danna Kohleffel. “They had been taking their meat to the locker plant to have sausage made.

Then they decided to make their own.”

The project didn’t start out that well.

“It was strictly trial and error. The first year, they hung the sausage and every link fell,” Danna said. “But they quizzed the guys at the butcher shop and got better at it.”

This season, at age 89, Davis hunted on Dec. 11. He cut up deer meat on Dec. 13. He died on Dec. 15.

“He shot two deer on Saturday,” Danna said.

“He cut them up on Monday and later started feeling bad and we took him to the hospital.

He died very peacefully on Wednesday.

“We should all be so lucky.”

The tradition Davis started, though, will last for decades.

He built a sausage room that contained all of the elements. An old grinder that had to be signed by all family, friends and guests that brought venison to be processed.

There is a giant steel table for cutting, grinding and stuffing. Also: • A kitchen for frying up the test batch and providing food for all the attendees.

• A walk-in cooler for deer meat.

• A drying room with a dehumidifier for hanging the sausage.

• And, from his son-in-law, Theo (Ted) Kohleffel, an ancient hand-cranked cast iron sausage stuffer.

Theo has been involved in the process for years.

“I started in 1973,” he said. “It’s been great, with family, friends and now with all the children and grandchildren.

“It’s a taste of how the stuff was made centuries ago.”

Theo is now in charge of the spices, and keeps the recipe handed down from his father-in-law — in his head.

“The basic recipe came over from Germany

SECRET SPICES: Theo (Ted) Kohleffel spreads the secret family recipe of spices dating back to 1849 on venison and pork ready to be put through the grinder to be made into sausage. Photos by Craig Nyhus.

HEIRLOOM: The grinder at Papa's sausage room has been signed by family, friends and guests who brought venison there to be processed.

in 1849,” he said. “Danna’s dad and grandfather would mix it and smell it. I figured someone should document it in the ’60s, so I weighed it out and came up with a formula.

“We’ve spiced it up a little since then, adding some cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and some fresh garlic tea and other stuff.”

Now, they also make salami, venison hamburger and a jerky recipe that has the meat soaking in brine and spices for 10 days.

The highlight, though, is the dried sausage.

The family and friends, including Theo and Danna’s sons, Nick and Chris, get together for a night of poker playing in Mr. Davis’ honor,

HANG ’EM HIGH: Once the meat is ground, pushed into casings and smoked, it sits and dries in a special room with a dehumidifier.

followed by a full day of work mixed with fun.

Friends have joined in, and the festival got some of them interested in hunting.

“My friends started coming for poker and sausage making,” Chris Kohleffel said. “Now they’re getting into hunting and want to bring their own deer.”

After the meat is cubed, it makes its way to the grinder and to a bin. The name of the person who provided the venison is marked on the bin, and the process continues.

Once the grinding is done, the women seem better equipped to handle the untangling and soaking of the casings.

“I always ended up doing that,” Danna said.

Then it’s the stuffer’s turn. With one person placing the ground mixture into the ancient stuffer, another cranks the wheel while a third gently guides the meat into the casing. Still others tie off the measured ends of each length.

The 500 pounds of sausage from that day were smoked and then hung to dry — and hundreds more were prepared in the following weeks.

“It’s all hanging in my garage,” Danna said. “The dogs just lay there and look up and dream. It’s worth waiting for.”

And next year, the tradition will continue at Davis’ daughter and son-in-law’s home near Boerne, on property that was part of Davis’ deer lease from the 1950s.

“Daddy specified in his will that the equipment would go to Ted so the tradition could continue,” Danna said.

Now, the family and friends wait for the end result. They know it will be good.

And everyone knows they will be back again next year.

“I’ll miss doing it with Papa,” Chris said.

“But we’ll keep doing it — and my kids already like it.”

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February 25, 2011

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Cliffhanger for Panhandle quail season, happy ending in South Texas

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS When there’s good news and bad news, a lot of people prefer to hear the bad first.

Like the finale of a suspenseful television drama, the 2010-2011 Texas upland game season is set to end Feb. 27 with a West Texas cliffhanger.

Hunters on the Rolling Plains, along with quail researchers, are stumped over why they saw lots of coveys before the start of the season, but then most of them seemed to disappear.

This was supposed to be a great year for bobwhites and blue quail because abundant rainfall had set the stage for a rebound of the drought-stunted populations.

Not so, hunters lament.

“I hunted around Abilene and conditions were perfect — everyone felt really good in September,” said Joe Crafton of Dallas.

But by October, he said, hunters noticed a dearth of quail. “And,” he added, “in November and December, they were apoplectic.”

Researchers suspect disease and they pledged to explore that hypothesis in the coming months.

That’s an important task, said the upland game program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“We got lots of calls from people who said they had quail and then they sort of disappeared,” said Robert Perez, the program leader.

“We don’t know what, but something unusual happened.”

Perez said TPWD would help the researchers as much as budget cuts will allow. The Texas Legislature is considering deep reductions for the agency.

But quail hunters are ready to join the effort.

Crafton, vice chairman of Park Cities Quail Coalition, said his group plans to donate $2 million to the cause.

But it wouldn’t be fair to say hunting in West Texas, and the Panhandle in particular, was completely bleak.

Ranches that managed quail habitat had birds.

Stephen Deane of Amarillo hunted in Donley and Briscoe counties, where the biggest problem seemed to be temperatures below freezing in early February.

“On a good day, I’d see about a covey an hour, usually with about 15-25 birds,” Deane said. “I was real happy with it right up until this cold weather.

“Our hunting hasn’t been superb, but it has been much better than last year and 100 percent better than the year before that.

“We just need another wet spring and I think it will be excellent.”

As for the good news, there’s no cliffhanger in South Texas, where bobwhites did achieve a modest population recovery.

“We got into tons of coveys,” said Ken Burch of Houston of his weekend hunt in Duval County. “I’d say Friday we saw 15-20 coveys and Saturday was pretty much the same. Sunday morning, I’d say we probably got up eight or nine.”

The 2010 rains had thoroughly fueled the habitat of the region, but recent freezes knocked down some of it, Burch said.

“There was lots of ground cover and it was very thick,” he said. “It made retrieving very difficult.

Second flushes were really difficult.”

Nevertheless, Burch said his group downed 86 birds.

The good reports out of South Texas offer enthusiasm for next season, if nature cooperates with more rain, Perez said.

“Places where quail held on — that’s where we see them recover best,” he said.

MYSTERY: Hunters on the Rolling Plains are baffled why bobwhite quail suddenly disappeared in West Texas. But in South Texas, hunters are celebrating the little bird’s rebound from years of damaging drought. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Natives head home

PLENTY HERE: The Exotic Wildlife Association is hoping to send 24 Scimitar-horned oryx, like the one pictured above with hunter Gil McCoy, back to their native country of Senegal to bolster bloodlines in that country. Photo by Gil McCoy.

Ranchers of exotics sending oryx back to Senegal

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The Ingram-based Exotic Wildlife Association is in the final phase of a threepart project to repopulate Scimitar-horned oryx to their native country of Senegal in Northwest Africa.

Although there are more than 11,000 oryx in the state of Texas, the animals

are virtually extinct across their native range, with less than 25 animals reported in Senegal.

The main reason for repopulating the animals is to prevent inbreeding in the miniscule native herd with a hope of future repopulation efforts in other African countries that got their oryx from the Senegal herd.

The first phase of the

project was to obtain permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Department of the Interior, as well as coordinating with the Senegalese government, according to Charlie Seale, executive director of EWA. “It’s frustrating because these foreign countries really don’t want the animals See EWA SENDING, Page 6

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East Texas hog tournament aims to blunt depredations

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Feral hog depredations continue across Texas, but organizers of a nine-day hunting contest in the state’s eastern counties aim to blunt the destruction.

The Lone Star Wild Hog Tournament, Feb. 26 through March 6, offers $2,250 in prizes at each of the five national forest ranger stations in the region.

The money will be paid to contestants who deliver the most hogs to the ranger stations.

The National Wild Turkey Federation is working with the Forest Service and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to hold the contest.

Why the turkey group?

Hogs, consumers of plants and meat, have been known to eat turkey eggs after flushing hens from their nests.

There is no scientific proof blaming pigs for reductions in turkey populations, said Scotty Parsons, a NWTF biologist.

“But,” he explained, “they do compete for the same food, like the hard-mast crops — the winter food — principally the acorns.”

Tubers, shoots and forbs also are coveted by the two species.

“So, this is trying to control a non-native invasive species,” Parsons said. “We are partnering with U.S. Forest Service, which started to receive a bunch of calls from all around the national forests about hogs.”

But the problem seems to be growing on private property surrounding national forests in East Texas.

Parsons explained that these public lands are used by a variety of “constituent” groups, such as horseback riders.

“So, they don’t have year-round hunting,” he said.

“Because of that, the feral hog population is getting

out of control.”

Fannin County Agent Roger Skipper, another tournament organizer, said hogs have rooted up some of his own land where he hoped to plant grasses to feed livestock.

“It’s rough,” Skipper said. “You can’t get across. It’s just like someone came in and started digging holes the size of my office.”

Skipper said the tournament is modeled after the various varmint-hunting contests in Texas.

Contestants can pre-register, but the organizers said they could also sign up when they bring hogs to the check stations.

Entry fees are $20 per person or $35 per two-person team. Only freshly harvested, not frozen, hogs will be accepted.

They can be taken by any legal means or methods, but only contestants with valid hunting licenses may participate.

Hogs captured in traps and taken to state-certified buying stations will be counted if the trapper brings sales receipts to the contest check-in stations.

It’s up to the hunters to dispose of the hogs, although Parsons said some needy families living near the Caddo National Grasslands will receive some of the meat.

Parsons and Skipper said they hope to donate more wild pork from future contests.

“This first time, we just didn’t want to get into a position of stockpiling the hogs on the Forest Service properties,” Parsons said.

Check stations include the Caddo National Grasslands Work Station, north of Honey Grove and ranger stations on these national forests: the Angelina near Zavala; the Sabine east of Milam; the Davy Crockett near Ratcliff; and the Sam Houston at New Waverly.

For information, call Parsons at (409) 739-5553 or Skipper at (903) 583-7453.

PIG PROBLEMS: National forests in East Texas don’t have hunting year-round, so feral hogs numbers are growing, along with the damage they inflict on nearby private property. The Lone Star Wild Hog Tournament, Feb. 26-March 6, is intended to thin the pig population.

Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Leschpers plead guilty to violations in Alaska An outdoors writer from Texas who settled in Alaska has pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of a black bear in 2008.

Lee Leschper, the former outdoors editor of the Amarillo Globe-News, entered his plea on Jan. 20 in Juneau.

The charge was unlawful methods of taking game, according to a news release from the Alaska State Troopers.

The incident happened on a boat near Juneau, the troopers said. It is illegal to shoot game from boats in that area of the state, but not others.

Leschper’s attorney, Wayne Anthony Ross of Anchorage, said in a prepared statement that Leschper and his son, William, an outdoors writer in Corpus Christi, didn’t know they were breaking the law.

Ross said they both shot at the bear at the urging of their friend who had the boat.

William, who already had a bear, also shot to help keep a wounded animal from escaping,

Ross said.

The lawyer noted that Alaska Department of Fish and Game guideline literature “encourages using all means to ensure a wounded bear doesn’t escape and they were doing so.

They did not believe this constituted William shooting over his limit of black bears.”

Lee Leschper is also a former executive director of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association.

A judge fined him $5,000 with $2,000 suspended, and $600 in restitution for the bear. His Alaska hunting license was revoked for one year and he was ordered to forfeit the black bear.

William was fined $500 and also ordered to pay $600 in restitution for the bear, the troopers said.

The Leschpers were also ordered, “to write a story for publication concerning the importance of following Fish and Game laws,” the troopers said.

The Leschpers declined to comment, but Lee referred to a quote from him that is included in the statement from his lawyer.

“Clearly we regret everything about this incident,” he said. “Not knowing or trusting someone else’s judgment to know is no excuse.

“Hunting anywhere, especially Alaska, is a right and a responsibility that demands nothing less.”

—Staff report

TPWD Hunter Ed instructors needed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be conducting a free hunter education new instructor training workshop Saturday, March 12, 2011, in Waco. The workshop will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 8451 Gholsen Road in Waco.

Instruction will be offered for new applicants and currently certified instructors in skills trial, live-firing exercises and home study procedures. The training puts fun and exciting activities into the learning experience. Students will benefit by going through actual hunting simulations and by making their own decisions regarding responsible

EWA sending Continued From Page 5

back,” Seale said. “They have trouble feeding their own (people), so we had to assure them we would pay for the feed for three to five years.”

The second phase of the project involved shipping infrastructure to Senegal, including game fences donated

by Stay-Tuff Company and tools from Uvalco Supply.

The areas that received the supplies included the Gumball Reserve and Ferlo National Park in Senegal.

“These are wide-open areas and we had to have a way to separate the oryx by themselves,” Seale said. “We completed this phase last summer with all donated supplies.”

So far, Seale said, EWA has spent $85,000 on expenses. But it is sending more than 11 miles of fencing to Senegal

that’s worth $25,000 per mile.

The fencing will be used to make enclosures for several different species, including dama and dorca gazelles, which were reintroduced in the park in 2002.

The final stage will be to ship the animals to Senegal; a process made more challenging by a recent change in the Senegalese government.

“Currently, we are at a stalemate,” Seale said. “We were hoping to have it done by January, but that isn’t going to happen. When we do move these animals, they will be loaded in shipping crates, two at a time, and transported by flight to Senegal.”

The 24 animals will be DNA tested to confirm that they are pure Scimitarhorned oryx, since the oryx can inter-

breed with Gemsbok and Arabian oryx.

A veterinarian will accompany the animals on the freighter voyage.

“It’s quite a process,” Seale said.

While the oryx are critically endangered in the wild, Seale and EWA have been working to have the animals removed from the endangered species list here in the United States.

“These animals should never have been placed on the endangered species list,” he said. “We are fighting to get them taken off, and hunting this species in Texas has never been better.”

SUCCESS: EWA is hoping the shipment of Scimitar-horned oryx goes as smooth as previous shipments of animals, including Dama gazelles pictured. Photo by EWA.

actions using “shoot-don’t-shoot” scenarios.

Before attending this workshop, you must go to the TPWD Web site and prepare yourself by going over the instructor training manual.

Applicants must sign an acknowledgement and release that they have done this pre-workshop assignment as part of their training.

Every Texas hunter born on or after September 2, 1971, must successfully complete a hunter education course. The hunter education program’s goals are to reduce hunting-related accidents and violations; promote safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunting; and enhance hunting traditions and values.

Hunter education provides instruction in Texas hunting regulations, wildlife management and identification, conservation, ethics, firearm and hunting safety and responsibility and outdoor skills.

By understanding hunting through education, hunters and non-hunters alike will help make a bright future for the sport.

To register, contact TPWD Area Chief Brent Heath at (254) 722-5660.

—Staff report

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Murski to receive lifetime award TOP HONOR: Ray Murski stands next to the T. Boone Pickens Lifetime Sportsman Award.

Murski has spent the better part of 40 years introducing Texas youth to the outdoors. Photo

by Conor Harrison, Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Ray Murski will be this year’s recipient of the T. Boone Pickens Lifetime Sportsman Award, which will be presented to him at the Park Cities Quail Annual Dinner and Auction on March 10 in Dallas.

The 71-year-old from Brenham grew up quail hunting and regards the award as one of the highlights of a life spent in the outdoors.

“This means everything in the world to me,” Murski said. “It’s just one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. It was a great surprise just to be nominated.

“It’s an award I’ll cherish the rest of my life.”

Murski began hunting quail when he was 10 years old, but his real passion is bringing children into the outdoors.

“I started 40 years ago and there is a rumor I’ve sent 100,000 kids through the outdoor experience,” he said. “I give them a chance to experience the outdoors, and if they don’t like it, at least they had the chances I had.”

Murski regularly hosts Boy Scout troops on his ranch to teach them about the outdoors.

“One of the greatest things for me is when I ask them what their favorite (merit) badge is and most say ‘shooting,’” he said. “It’s up to people like myself to get kids outside and away from their TVs and video games.”

Joe Crafton, Park Cities Quail vice president, said Murski was a perfect choice for the award.

“Ray has a lot of dear friends that really respect and love him,” Crafton said. “They all say he’s given more to conservation and the outdoors than most people. He created opportunities for young people to shoot their first bird or catch their first fish.

“He’s lived a life of adventure but he’s still all about giving back.”

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FISHING

Boating fatalities fall to record low in 2010

By Aaron Reed FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Texas boating fatalities in 2010 fell to the lowest number in at least 15 years, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives Feb. 16 aims to continue that trend.

A total of just 171 reported boating accidents resulted in 138 serious injuries and 27 fatalities in 2010, said Jeffery Parrish,

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Registered Boats 606,178 613,378 614,211 617,616 630,688 620,740 624,186 620,720 619,150 597,830 593,446 594,698 587,547 605,332

Accidents

Injuries

Fatalities

258 252 262 257 242 251 265 212 211 258 260 271 206 171

222 187 186 173 191 147 175 146 100 165 181 173 138 138

69 53 51 55 41 61 38 36 36 47 52 61 38 27

See BOATING FATALITIES, Page 19

HIGH-CENTERED: Although fatalities from boating accidents are down, accidents still can happen, as evidenced by this boat wreck at Freeport several weeks ago. Photo by Scott Sommerlatte, for LSON.

Unsung heroes: Barge operators risk losses to help fisheries

By Conor Harrison

that almost all of the operators complied,” Stark said. “We did have one barge that had to get through A voluntary shutdown of barge trafwith a critical commodity, but it fic along the Intracoastal Waterway went through within the first eight is credited for helping to save thouhours of the closure.” sands of fish during back-to-back Stark said the Laguna Madre is freeze events in early February. a critical waterway but not as well Speckled trout, black drum and traveled as other portions of the redfish often head to the deep shipIntracoastal Waterway. ping channel of the ICW when tem“Six or seven companies held up perature drops in the shallow bays, and didn’t make transit,” he said. said Robin Riechers, coastal fisheries “I’m happy they all pulled together director for Texas Parks and Wildlife SACRIFICE: Barge company owners voluntarily and complied.” suspend traffic during severe freezes so that Department.

TPWD can order anglers not to fish But, when barge traffic moves fish, stunned by cold, don’t get caught in during severe cold snaps, but suspendpropeller wash. But that can cost a company ing barge traffic is a volunteer measure through the channel, cold-stunned as much as $7,000 a day. Photo by David J. that can eat at a company’s profits. fish can get caught in propeller wash Sams, LSON. John Rooney, operations manager or be bounced along the bottom by for Brown Water Marine Service, a turbulence.

Sediment that settles to the bottom after a barge travels barge company based in Rockport, said it costs the company about $7,000 in lost revenues for every day they through the channel also kills fish.

However, a voluntary agreement is in place between can’t operate.

“We participated in (the shutdown),” Rooney said. “We TPWD and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association, which represents nearly 200 barge operators along the kind of saw what was going on ahead of time so we reshuffled some things instead of shutting down this time. It Southeastern coast.

“This is a volunteer system in its second year of imple- does cost us, but it’s something we do.”

Rooney said many of his clients are based along the mentation,” said Jim Stark, executive director of GICA. “I get a call from scientists at Texas A&M who work closely northern stretches of the Mississippi River, and they have to be educated about the fisheries in the Laguna Madre. with TPWD biologists monitoring water temperatures.

“Once we explain that it could damage the fishery for the “They have a model to predict lethal temperatures for next three or four years, they understand the delay,” he said. fish and will recommend a closure.”

Riechers praised barge company owners.

Stark then sends notices to all barge operators to “simply “The barge stoppage helped a lot,” he said. “We are ask them to voluntarily suspend transit.”

“That is what we did in this instance, and I’m pleased giving them big kudos.”

LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Catfish anglers in Texas are starting to chase blues from the deep water into the warmer shallow water of Texas lakes.

But others have also been fishing the deep-water structures that most fish hold in during cold weather.

Both techniques are yielding strong catches from Lewisville Lake in North

Texas to Toledo Bend Reservoir on the border with Louisiana.

On Lewisville Lake, guide Bobby Kubin, said that even as the water temperatures start to warm up, blues can still be found cruising from 30 to 60 feet below the surface.

Kubin was guiding a trip on Friday Feb. 18, teaching anglers the finer points of catching deep-water cats.

“We’re catching some trophysize fish, about 30 pounds, with a

REBOUND: The feisty Guadalupe bass, once a mainstay on rivers in the Hill Country, has hybridized with smallmouths, which has reduced its population. State wildlife officials and landowners hope to reverse that trend. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

few smaller fish in the 2- to 6-pound range,” Kubin said.

For deep-water blues, Kubin said that he likes to fish Carolina or Santee rigs with shad. The rigs with 2- or 3-ounce weights work well getting the bait down to the deep structure on Lewisville.

But, with water temperatures in the low 50s, most fish will begin to move

For a fish that usually weighs about a pound, the Guadalupe bass gives the angler a good fight, but it’s also built for speed.

Unlike the largemouth, which inhabits slow waters, this bantam bass lives in the swift rivers of the Texas Hill Country.

But the Guadalupe bass is largely unknown to guests at the South Llano River Lodge southwest of Junction, even though it’s the state fish of Texas.

“Most people who come out here to fish have no idea about the Guadalupe bass until they tie into one,” said Walter Curry, lodge proprietor. “But they find, to their delight, that it fights.

“It digs to the bottom.”

A fish like that can be great for return business.

That’s why Curry and others support efforts by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to restore genetically pure Guadalupe bass to rivers draining the Edwards Plateau region.

Next stop: the South Llano River.

About $1 million already has been raised, including a $300,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which wants to help several species of black bass, including the Guadalupe.

The little bass has declined for several reasons.

Rivers were dammed, causing slower streams. Cattle ranges were overgrazed, which put more silt into the rivers.

But while habitat took a hit, something else happened.

See BLUE 'CATS', Page 15

See GUADALUPE BASS, Page 20

Blue ‘cats’ boated from both deep and shallow waters

By Nicholas Conklin

Guadalupe bass revival gaining momentum

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Woman, 8 months pregnant, helps husband rescue angler

By Lance Murray FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Melissa Spencer, eight months pregnant with her first child, hasn’t gone fishing with her husband, Gabe, in a long time.

But on Saturday, Feb. 12, she decided to brave the 21-degree weather to accompany him to Lake Palestine near Tyler for some crappie fishing under the bridge for Texas Highway 155.

It was a decision that likely saved the life of North Carolina resident Ephran Harmon, and will give the Bullard couple a hair-raising story to tell their daughter, Kameron, once she's born and is old enough to understand.

“It was the first time she’s been fishing with me in a year and half,” Gabe Spencer said. “But, she wanted to go fishing that day and had taken a bunch of blankets with her.”

While Melissa tried to stay warm under her blankets, Gabe fished from their bass boat.

Gabe, 33, owner of Black Angel Jig Co. in Tyler, said he was checking out the other fishermen when something about 200 yards away in the water caught his eye.

“I happened to look up and I thought it was a dog, but it wasn’t,” he said.

He realized it was a man struggling in 41-degree water to swim back to his boat that was being pushed away by a brisk wind. The Spencers knew they needed to get to the man quickly because he could become hypothermic.

The man was Harmon, who was in East Texas visiting a relative. He had fallen into the water when another boat's wake rocked him from his 12-foot flat-bottom boat.

“He stood up and was trying to untangle some fishing line when another boat came along,” Spencer said.

Harmon told his version of the story to television station KLTV. “Every time I’d get up to it and reach for it, it would just be out of arm’s reach,” he said of his boat. “So, I said the heck with this, I will just tread water and wait for someone to come by and get me.”

The Spencers reached him just in time and worked as a team in the rescue.

“When my husband went to pull him out, I was standing back to see if he was going to fight or come out easily,” Melissa, 28, said. She was afraid she could be knocked into the water, too.

But she hooked her arm under Harmon's arm, got a hold on his belt and helped her husband pull him aboard. Harmon's coveralls were soaked, making him extra heavy.

“It was scary when we pulled him out of the water because his arms were completely rigid and he wasn't shivering anymore,” she said.

“He was coughing up foamy water so I knew he had cold water in his lungs.”

The couple secured Harmon, removed his coveralls and wrapped him in Melissa’s blankets. They called 911 and headed out for the five-minute drive back to the dock. As Gabe drove, Melissa cared for Harmon.

“She was there holding him. He had his head in her lap,” Gabe said.

Melissa prayed.

“This man could die in my lap,” she said. “I prayed and knew it was in God's hands.”

Melissa said as the blankets warmed him, Harmon's condition improved.

By the time they reached shore, Harmon was able to walk with an assist. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Tyler where he was treated and released.

The Spencers haven’t talked with Harmon since, but they heard he went fishing that Monday and then returned to North Carolina.

The experience will have a lasting effect on the couple.

“I’m really glad that God gave us the opportunity to do something like that,” Melissa said.

“Not everybody gets that chance.”

Melissa is an eighth-grade science teacher in Troup, and Gabe said her students saw the television report about their heroics.

A student asked her what happened, Gabe said, “so she was able to give them a lesson in hypothermia.”

And, Melissa said, she and Gabe were happy that Kameron was along for the ride.

“She’s not even here yet and she got to be in a very important event ... that's kind of neat,” Melissa said.

February 25, 2011

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February 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

TEXAS FISHING REPORT Sponsored by

HOT BITES LARGEMOUTH BASS

AMISTAD: Good on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and soft plastics.

LBJ: Good on green pumpkin tubes and watermelon drop-shot worms along docks and seawalls.

MONTICELLO: Good on Rat–L–Traps, weightless flukes, Texas rigs and chatterbaits TRAVIS: Good on watermelon soft plastics, chrome jigging spoons, and crankbaits in 15–25 feet.

WHITNEY: Good on watermelon spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and Rat–L–Traps.

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

BELTON: White bass are good on light blue jigs.

BRAUNIG: Striped bass are good on liver and shad near the pier, and down-rigging silver and gold spoons and marble spinners near the dam.

CHOKE CANYON: White bass are good on small spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps off the bank near the dam.

CATFISH

COLETO CREEK: Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp, stinkbait, and nightcrawlers. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines baited with perch.

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

LEWISVILLE: Excellent on cut shad and prepared baits.

CRAPPIE BELTON: Good on minnows under lights at night.

BOB SANDLIN: Good on minnows and jigs.

LAVON: Good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns.

LIVINGSTON: Good on minnows.

ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 44–49 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on shad pattern spinnerbaits and crankbaits along creek channels, and on jerkbaits, black/blue jigs and live baits suspended in trees. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on live baits.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 48–54 degrees; 0.18’ high. Largemouth bass are good on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and soft plastics. Striped bass are good on deep-running crankbaits and jigging spoons. White bass are good on deeprunning crankbaits and jigging spoons.

Catfish are good on cheesebait over baited holes in 90–120 feet. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines and throwlines baited with live perch.

ARROWHEAD: Water semi–turbid; 41–43 degrees; 3.46’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are fair on live minnows.

Blue catfish are good on cut or live shad.

0.22’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and soft plastics. Striped bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows. Blue catfish are fair on shad.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 50 degrees; 1.47’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on blue flake worms on jigheads, Carolina-rigged watermelon lizards, and chartreuse worms on shaky jigs along break lines. Striped bass are fair trolling silver striper jigs and vertically jigging Pirk Minnows. White bass are fair on Pirk Minnows and small crankbaits in 30–40 feet. Smallmouth bass are fair on tomato red curl tail grubs and JDC smoke/ red flake tubes in 15–25 feet. Crappie are fair on minnows and crappie jigs upriver.

CEDAR CREEK: Water stained; 45–51 degrees; 2.56’ low. Largemouth bass are

plastics and slow-rolling spinnerbaits in shallow areas. Crappie are fair on minnows and chartreuse jigs. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on frozen shrimp, frozen shad, and prepared bait.

FAYETTE: Water clear; 55 degrees.

Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and Rat–L–Traps in shallows.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 46–52 degrees; 3.28’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on soft plastics and spinnerbaits.

Crappie are fair to good on minnows

HOT SPOT

ATHENS: Water lightly stained, 46–51 degrees; 0.8’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinnerbaits, flukes and Rat–L– Traps. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs fished over brush piles. Bream are fair to good on live worms. Catfish are good on live worms and prepared bait.

BOB SANDLIN: Water off-color; 46–52 degrees; 3.06’ low Largemouth bass are fair to good on wacky rigs, spinnerbaits and Senkos. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair to good on trotlines.

BRAUNIG: Water clear; 53 degrees.

Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits and dark soft plastic worms in the reeds.

Striped bass are good on liver and shad near the pier, and down-rigging silver and gold spoons and marble spinners near the dam. Redfish are slow. Channel catfish are good on liver, shrimp, cheesebait, and cut bait near the spillway. Blue catfish are good on cut bait.

BRIDGEPORT: Water fairly clear; 46–51 degrees; 3.9’ low; Largemouth bass are fair on shad pattern crankbaits, Rat–L–Traps and 4” Yum Dingers. White bass and hybrid striper are fair on slabs and live bait. Catfish are fair to good on cut bait.

BROWNWOOD: Water clear; 48 degrees; 9.69’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse spinnerbaits, crawfishcolored soft plastics, and black/blue Rat–L–Traps in 2–7 feet. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and crankbaits. Crappie are fair on Li’l Fishies and minnows over brush piles in 10–20 feet.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 47 degrees; 10.84’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon Whacky Sticks on jigheads, Rattlin’ Rogues, and Carolina-rigged chartreuse lizards along ledges in 15–25 feet. Striped bass are fair trolling chartreuse Curbs striper jigs and Rattlin’ Rogues, and drifting live bait in 25 feet.

White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows over brush piles in 14–18 feet.

CADDO: Water murky; 47–52 degrees; 0.52’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on Senkos, flukes, spinnerbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

CALAVERAS: Water clear; 53 degrees.

Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin and chartreuse soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits around reeds. Striped bass are good on spoons and jigs near the crappie wall.

Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp and cheesebait in 181 Cove.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 44–50 degrees; 27.16’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Rat–L–Traps, jigs, shallow-running shad pattern crankbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on live minnows.

Catfish are fair on prepared bait.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 44–51 degrees; 1.48’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, jigs and crankbaits.

Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs.

Catfish are fair on prepared bait. Bream are fair on worms. Hybrid striper and white bass are good on slabs and Sassy Shad worked near the bottom.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water stained; 43–46 degrees; 1.51’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are fair on live minnows. White bass are fair on slabs.

Striped bass are fair on live shad.

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 46–51 degrees; 2.83’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Texas or Carolina rigs.

Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs.

White bass are good on small Bass Assassins. Hybrid striper are good on 4” Bass Assassins. Catfish are fair to good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

BASTROP: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and jigs. Crappie are good on minnows over brush piles. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait and shrimp.

BELTON: Water clear; 52–58 degrees; 3.07’ low. Largemouth bass are good on light-colored spinnerbaits in coves.

Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on light blue jigs. Crappie are good on minnows under lights at night. Channel and blue catfish are good on hot dogs and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are fair on trotlines baited with live perch.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 59–81 degrees; 0.84’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Rat–L–Traps, weightless flukes, Texas rigs and chatterbaits

Lewisville Lake Reports from guides and anglers this week from Lewisville, just north of the DFW/Metroplex, said the white bass are beginning to congregate in the creeks and in the shallower areas of the lake as water temperatures continue to rise. According to guide Steve Schiele, largemouth bass fishing was picking up and the blue and channel catfish bite has been excellent. To contact Schiele, call (214) 629-1628.

fair on medium-running shad pattern crankbaits, Texas rigs and drop-shot rigs.

White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair on live shad and large slabs jigged vertically. Crappie are fair to good on minnows. Catfish are fair drifting cut shad.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 54 degrees; 5.97’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon soft plastics, and flipping jigs in the grass. White bass are good on small spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps off the bank near the dam. Crappie are slow. Drum are slow.

Channel and blue catfish are good on stinkbait and nightcrawlers. Yellow catfish are fair on live perch.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 52 degrees; 10.86’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. Hybrid striper are fair on minnows and silver striper jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and green tube jigs.

Channel catfish are good on prepared bait and liver. Yellow catfish are slow.

COLETO CREEK: Water fairly clear; 55 degrees (76 degrees at discharge); 0.18’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and Rat–L–Traps. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp, stinkbait, and nightcrawlers. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines baited with perch.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 1.47’ low.

Largemouth bass are fair on pumpkinseed soft plastics and crankbaits in 15–25 feet. Striped bass are fair on chartreuse striper jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows. Catfish are good on stinkbait, liver, and shrimp.

COOPER: Water stained; 46–52 degrees; 7.47’ low; Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged blue fleck worms, dropshot rigs and slow–rolled spinnerbaits.

Crappie are fair to good on jigs and minnows over brush piles. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair to good on slabs and live shad. Catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

FALCON: Water fairly clear; 54–56 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on soft

and jigs. Catfish are good on prepared baits under roosting cormorants.

GRANBURY: Water clear; 49 degrees; 0.51’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on green pumpkin and chartreuse soft plastics and Rat–L–Traps. Striped bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are fair on frozen shrimp and stinkbait.

GRAPEVINE: Water stained; 45–50 degrees; 1.17’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, Texas rigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on cut bait and nightcrawlers.

JOE POOL: Water off-color; 45–51 degrees; 0.2’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, spinnerbaits and wacky rigs.

Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs over brush piles. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers and prepared baits.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water stained; 46–52 degrees; 0.26’ high. Largemouth bass are slow to fair on Texas rigs, weightless flukes or 5” Yum Dingers and Rat–L–Traps. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

Bream are fair on red wigglers.

LAVON: Water stained; 46–51 degrees; 4.82’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, spinnerbaits and shallow slow–running crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfish are fair to good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water fairly clear; 53 degrees; 0.18’ low. Largemouth bass are good on green pumpkin tubes and watermelon dropshot worms along docks and seawalls.

Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair on Spoiler Shads and silver Pirk Minnows near the power plant. Crappie are fair on minnows over brush piles and under heated docks. Channel catfish are fair on minnows and nightcrawlers.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 50 degrees;

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 45–50 degrees; 1.25’ low. Largemouth bass are slow on Rat–L–Traps and crankbaits around rocky points. Crappie are slow. White bass are fair on main lake humps and ridges in 30–35 feet on chartreuse/white 1 oz. slabs.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water off-color; 46–50 degrees; 1.94’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on medium-running shad pattern crankbaits, Texas rigs and spinnerbaits. White bass and hybrid striper are good on slabs, Bass Assassins and live shad. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 51 degrees; 7.78’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits and Rat–L–Traps in 15–25 feet. White bass are fair on minnows and Li’l Fishies. Crappie are fair on minnows.

Bream are fair on worms. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers and stinkbait.

TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 45–49 degrees; 3’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on red Rat–L–Traps, spinnerbaits, jigs and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows. White bass are good — follow the birds. Striped bass and hybrid striper are excellent on 4” Bass Assassins dead–sticked with a 1 oz. jighead.

Catfish are fair on prepared bait.

TEXOMA: Water off-color; 46–49 degrees; 0.85’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. Striped bass are good on live shad and large Road Runners over humps. Catfish are fair to good on cut and live shad.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 45–49 degrees; 7.36’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon red cut tail worms on drop shots in 25–35 feet early, and later on red crawfish crankbaits in 8 feet.

Crappie are good on shiners and watermelon and chartreuse tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on liver and bloodbait over baited holes.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 55 degrees; 14.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics, chrome jigging spoons, and crankbaits in 15–25 feet. Striped bass are fair on shad crankbaits and spinnerbaits in 25–40 feet. White bass are fair on minnows and Li’l Fishies in 30–40 feet.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 9.70’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on watermelon spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and Rat–L–Traps.

Striped bass are fair on minnows. Catfish are good on shrimp and nightcrawlers.

SALTWATER SCENE NORTH SABINE: Trout and redfish are fair while drifting mud and shell. Sheepshead are fair to good around the rocks.

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 on the south shoreline on slow–sinking plugs. Black drum and redfish are fair to good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels.

Redfish are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on Corkies and MirrOlures. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead, redfish and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Trout are fair over deep shell.

TEXAS CITY: Sheepshead are fair around rock groins on live shrimp. Mangrove snapper and whiting are fair from the piers.

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.

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

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfish are fair to good on the south shored line in the guts and bayous. Trout are fair on shell on soft plastics. rout and redfish PORT O’CONNOR: Trout redfish are fair on Corkies over soft mud in waist–deep water in San Antonio Bay. Redfish are fair to good at the mouths of drains on soft plastics and slow–sinking plugs.

ROCKPORT: Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on glow DOA Shrimp. Redfish are fair to good on the Estes Flats and in California Hole on mullet and shrimp.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfish are fair to good around Pelican Island and mullet. Sand trout are good on shrimp in the channel.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfish are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are fair to good in Oso Bay and soft plastics.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and Catch 2000s.

Trout are fair to good in the guts along the King Ranch shoreline on Corkies.

PORT MANSFIELD: Redfish are fair to good on DOA Shrimp and under a popping cork around grass holes. Trout are fair to good on mud along the edge of the ICW on Corkies and MirrOlures.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfish are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on DOA Shrimp.

Redfish, black drum and mangrove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp.

PORT ISABEL: Redfish are fair to good around Cullen’s and Laguna Vista on TTF Flats Minnows and Hackberry Hustlers.

Trout are fair on the edge of the flats on DOA Shrimp.

LSONews.com

Man indicted in 2002 boat wreck that killed football player A Bertram man is accused of causing the 2002 boating wreck that killed a Lampasas High School athlete.

Travis Aaron Marburger, 37, was indicted Feb. 8 by a Burnet County grand jury.

The charges include one count of manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence, state wildlife officials said.

Game wardens believe Marburger was piloting a boat that collided with another vessel, killing one of its occupants, 18-year-old Justin Wayne Roberts.

The teenager had been on the lake with two friends fishing for white bass when the collision

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

happened in the early morning hours of May 3, 2002, according to information from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Roberts, who played football for Lampasas High School, would have graduated a few days later.

Game wardens also believe Marburger left the scene without offering assistance or calling for help.

There were no breaks in the case until last Nov. 22 when a tip made to Operation Game Thief directed wardens to Marburger’s land north of Bertram.

There, the wardens on Dec. 8 dug up a 1977 fiberglass Checkmate boat. The 16-foot boat matched the description of the vessel believed to have struck the boat occupied by Roberts.

Marburger was arrested, but he has been released on $100,000 bond to await trial.

—Staff report

Boat dealership closes; DA unit investigating Anchor Marine, a longtime boat dealership on the northeast side of San Antonio, is out of business following several customer complaints, including one that is being investigated by a white-collar crime unit.

At least three people complained that the consignment sales of their boats were mishandled by the company, located at 5560 N. Loop 1604 East.

Some of the people got their money, but not James Bryant of San Antonio, who won a Skeeter SX 190 with a Yamaha 150 in a 2008 Bass Champs tournament on Choke Canyon Reservoir.

Adriana Biggs, chief of the White Collar Crimes Division of the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, explained that Bryant already owned a boat, so he asked Anchor Marine to sell his tournament prize on consignment.

Months passed. Then, last August, Bryant learned from a friend that his boat had been sold.

Anchor Marine handed him a check for $23,000.

“They paid him with a hot check,” Biggs told Lone Star Outdoor News.

And, she added, because Bryant had not yet been paid by early February “we are pursuing.”

Also, records kept by State Comptroller’s Office show that Anchor Marine “is not in good standing as it has not satisfied all franchise tax requirements.”

Anchor Marine has had other owners, but was most recently operated by Tony Alvarez Jr. who was reached by phone on Feb. 18., but he said that his lawyer advised him not to discuss the case publicly.

“It’s a legal matter,” he said. “It shouldn’t be discussed by anyone.”

James Newbold of San Antonio told LSON that he was one of the disgruntled consignment customers. He said that the company gave him a “runaround” over the sale of his boat, but he was finally paid in early December.

About a week later, he said, the inventory began shrinking at Anchor Marine.

“All the manufacturers came and got them,” he said of the boats. “It hasn’t been open since.”

Bryant, a San Antonio chiropractor, said he doesn’t want to see anyone go to jail; he just wants to be paid.

“But,” he added, “if a D.A. has to get involved, then I guess that’s what has to happen.”

—Staff report

February 25, 2011

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GAME WARDEN BLOTTER STORE JERKED FOR SELLING DEER JERKY Brooks County Game Warden Royce Ilse received information that a local retail store was advertising "Fresh Deer Jerky" for sale. Royce made contact with the store owner, and wearing plain clothes, purchased the deer jerky and asked where he got the meat. The subject claimed that a friend provided him with deer. Ilse educated the subject and a case is pending.

HOG TRAPDOOR CAUSES PISTOL TO DISCHARGE Uvalde County Game Warden Henry Lutz was called to Uvalde Memorial Hospital for a report of a person with a hunting-related gunshot wound.

The victim was reportedly closing up hog traps on the ranch when he came upon a trap that had a raccoon in it.

He retrieved a .22-caliber revolver single-action pistol to shoot the raccoon.

The raccoon escaped, and the victim laid the loaded pistol on top of the hog trap. When the trapdoor slammed shut, the pistol discharged, causing non life-threatening injuries.

BURGLARIZING BEAVER Shortly before midnight, Freestone County Game Warden John Thorne received a call from the Fairfield police department requesting assistance with an attempted break-in at a local grocery store. A large beaver was trying to get into the store by standing up on his hind legs and shaking both front and back doors with his front legs. The beaver was removed from the property without incident.

LOW WATER LEADS TO RECOVERY OF STOLEN TRUCK A pickup truck was observed by a fisherman underwater at E.V. Spence Lake. Coke County Warden Jim Allen assisted the Coke County sheriff in the recovery of the stolen pickup. The pickup was stolen in March of 2010 and had less than 4,000 miles.

TOO MANY FACEBOOK FRIENDS FOR POACHER OF OUT-OF-STATE DEER A Kansas game warden called Fort Bend County Game Warden Barry Eversole for assistance in locating a Texas resident he had seen on Facebook posing with a trophy deer he had hunted and killed in Kansas.

Records through Kansas Fish and Wildlife showed that the Texas resident did not purchase a non-resident white-tailed deer tag. Eversole contacted the Houston Communication Center to pull up various records in order to locate this subject, and several possible addresses in the Beaumont area were located. Eversole notified Captain Rod Ousley from the Beaumont District Office and later, Jefferson County Game DUCK SEASON ENDS WITH CITATIONS On Lake Wichita, Wichita County Game Warden Steven Cantu received information regarding duck hunters.

Cantu went to the location and heard duck calls. At the boat ramp, Cantu found the hunters’ truck and boat trailer.

Forty-five minutes after sunset, the shots started up again. Two hours later, two men arrived at the boat ramp with their lights off and loaded their boat.

The men claimed that they thought that everything was legal to hunt until 30 minutes after sunset and that it was too hard to turn on all the lights to their boat. On Brushy Creek near Onalaska, two men were shooting after legal shooting hours in an unregistered boat without life jackets and displaying no lights. One was in possession of lead shot. Multiple cases pending.

HOMEMADE TOOL GIVES AWAY SHOOTERS FROM ROAD Waller County Game Warden Kevin Glass received a call about possible road hunting and traveled across the county to stop two men. Glass found a loaded .22-caliber rifle and a spotlight warm to the touch, along with an interesting homemade tool. When asked about the tool, one man answered that it was used to pull the shot animals from the thick brush growing on

Warden Colt Crawford advised Ousley that he had a possible address located with a vehicle belonging to the subject in question. Hardin County Game Warden Mike Boone responded to the address and was able to obtain a statement about the entire hunt. The statement included the name of an outfitter in Kansas along with a taxidermist. Boone recovered a nontransferable Kansas resident white-tailed deer tag that belonged to a 10-year-old female resident of Kansas at the processing facility. The large trophy deer was seized along with the archery equipment used to harvest it and will be turned over to Kansas Fish and Wildlife.

the fence rows along the road. It must have worked because they had raccoons, opossums, and armadillos in the bed of the truck. Cases pending.

COMMERCIAL REDFISH FARM VIOLATES BIRD CONTROL PERMIT A commercial fish farm’s bird control permit allowed the facility to kill up to 50 depredating cormorants and gulls per year. Matagorda County Game Wardens David Janssen and Aaron Koenig, and Galveston County Game Warden Vu Nguyen assisted USFWS agents with service of a warrant on a commercial redfish farm.

Statements from fish farm employees led to the collection of more than 180 carcasses, including a large number of pelicans and other non-permitted bird species.

SUCCESSFUL DAY OF FISHING CUT SHORT Along the shoreline of the Rio Grande River below Falcon Lake Dam and it's power plant discharge waters, Starr County Game Warden Drew Spencer observed a man fishing under the deck of the power plant. Spencer called a U.S. Border Patrol agent for assistance and they took extra precaution in approaching the man, fearing that he would jump into the turbulent discharge waters. The subject had no fishing license and was taken into cus-

tody and handed over to Border Patrol for detention. Spencer seized the man’s makeshift stringer, including several largemouth bass (one of which was about 10 pounds) and several catfish (one of which was about 30 pounds).

RIFLE DISCHARGES WHILE MAN EXITING 4-WHEELER A hog hunter, while getting off of his 4-wheeler, reached for his rifle slung on his shoulder. As he moved the rifle to his side, it discharged and injured him. Hockley County Game Warden Jay Oyler investigated. The man was transported to the hospital by his son.

TIP LEADS TO STOLEN ATV An anonymous tipster to the Tyler TPWD office said three men on a deer lease had killed white-tailed deer with a rifle during archery season and there were two stolen ATVs at the hunting camp. Anderson County Game Wardens Oscar Jaimez and Karen Gray investigated and discovered one four-wheeler with the serial numbers removed. The ATV was seized and a suspect arrested. Case is ongoing.

HUSBAND AND WIFE SPOTLIGHTERS DON’T HAVE STORY STRAIGHT Hill County Game Warden Mark Hammonds received a report of shooting from the roadway near the Brazos

River below Lake Whitney. At daylight, Hammonds and a Hill County sheriff's deputy observed a man and woman walking in a pasture near a corn feeder.

Hammonds summoned the couple to the fence line at the roadway. The couple denied shooting but did admit to hearing the shots. When asked which direction the shots came from, the man and woman both pointed, but in separate directions. The officers entered the property and inspected the area, finding a rifle in the grass and two spent shell casings. The man admitted to shooting at an 8-point buck while his wife held the spotlight. Cases pending.

FACEBOOK POST BUSTS DUCK POACHERS An individual’s post on Facebook included 19 pictures, one showing seven adults, two juveniles and 83 wood ducks. Bowie County Game Warden Shawn Hervey and Cass County Game Warden Dan Hill investigated. The group stated they did not kill that many but were given extra ducks from other individuals who could not be identified. The main suspect stated they were not over the limit because the possession limit had taken effect, so the wardens explained the daily bag limit. Cases are being filed and more are possible.

NATURE LOVING TRESPASSERS DIDN’T LOVE HOGS Thanks to a tip from Chambers County Game Warden Jason Francis, Harris County Game Warden Timothy Holland apprehended two individuals poaching on a chemical plant’s property on the Harris/Chambers county line. Two subjects had deer blinds, trail cameras and automatic feeders on both sides of the county line. They did not have valid hunting licenses or written consent. The subjects claimed to be nature lovers just watching the wildlife on the trail cameras until 10 minutes later when a .223-caliber rifle and a dead hog were discovered in the brush. Charges pending.

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

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February 25, 2011

Lady's lunker Continued From Page 1

Young has the trophies mounted on her wall to prove her expertise. She even taught her husband to fish, although an illness has kept him off the water the past few years.

When she’s not caring for him, she likes to fish.

Her biggest fish came last fall while fishing with her son, Mike, on Lake Fork. She landed a bass that was at least 28-inches long and well over 13 pounds, according to Mike.

“It was around 2 a.m. and we were fishing in a cove on Lake Fork where my parents used to have property,” Mike Young said. “I was on the front with the trolling motor and mom was in the back of the boat.

“She’ll yell when she

hangs up on something and that cast she threw out there and said she thought she was hung.

Then it pulled back and she said ‘I’ve got a fish.’”

Mike said he wasn’t sure what his mom had caught until he heard the splash that “sounded like a cannonball” when the big fish jumped.

“I said ‘I’ve either caught a whale or a limb,’” Dorothy said. “Then she jumped and Mike yelled, ‘Don’t let her get away.’”

Dorothy pulled the fish to the boat and Mike netted the big bass.

Mother and son didn’t want to keep the fish out of the water long, so they measured it with a pole in the boat.

“It was the biggest fish I ever saw,” Mike said. “Mom was real anxious to let it go. We had a small pole we knew was 26-inches long, and the bass hung off the

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

end of that.”

Mike said he believes the fish easily weighed more than 13 pounds.

They released the fish after snapping several pictures.

“Mike is my go-to guy when I go fishing,” Dorothy said. “He was hollering and carrying on after that fish hit. It’s fun when you catch a fish like that and you are with someone you like to fish with.”

Dorothy said she fishes mostly with plastic worms and caught the bass on a black Zoom brush hog.

“I’ve fished nearly every lake in this state and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” she said. “We had a place on Lake Fork and we might have been the first boat to fish it. There used to be only one place to launch and half the lake was too shallow. But it’s an awesome lake.”

Mike said the majority of family vacations with his par-

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Public hunts Continued From Page 1

NIGHT BITE: Dorothy Young poses with the big bass she caught last fall while fishing on Lake Fork with her son, Mike. They estimated the fish’s weight at more than 13 pounds. Photo by Mike Young.

ents and two brothers were spent fishing at Texas lakes.

“My grandparents used to go all of the time,” he said. “Crappie, catfish, bass — it didn’t matter; we were fishing. We used to go

spend a week in a tent on Lake O’ The Pines.

“We’d get a guide the first day and then fish those spots the rest of the week. We always had a good time.”

Private land leased for public hunting would fall from 979,000 acres to 860,000 acres under the current budget proposal, Wolf said.

TPWD would strive to keep the most popular hunting sites, he said.

“We’d look at which land gets the most use,” Wolf said. “The tracts which get less use would be let go of. Basically, it would come down to a cost-benefit analysis.”

The reduction in hunting acreage would only be for the first year of the biennium.

“The problem is, would landowners re-lease with us after having laid out a year?” Wolf said.

The Public Hunting Program cuts are part of the fallout as Republican leadership in the Texas Legislature vows to slash state government rather than raise taxes to deal with a budget shortfall that could reach almost $30 billion.

Ironically, hunters and anglers already have paid taxes that could bail out many TPWD programs.

Federal excise taxes from the sale of hunting and fishing equipment as well as revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and stamps go into what is known as Fund 9. The dedicated fund can be used by TPWD for hunting programs, as well as fish and wildlife research and law enforcement.

TPWD officials told LSON that Fund 9’s balance is $25 million.

At the end of the upcoming biennium, however, it could reach $65 million — as legislative budget plans don’t call for letting TPWD tap the fund.

“We’re talking about cutting fish and wildlife biologists, cutting game wardens and (hunting) programs funded through Fund 9,” said Gene McCarty, TPWD’s deputy executive director for administration. “You hate to leave money on the table when you’re having to cut services.”

Park said the outdoorsmen he talks to find the issue frustrating.

“Hunters and fishermen say that it’s their money and it’s collected for one purpose: supporting hunting and fishing activities, and it’s not going for that,” he said.

“Legislators don’t really have a palatable excuse — except they have to balance the budget.”

Members of the legislature could not be reached for comment.

However, a legislative staffer called the practice of letting funds accrue in dedicated accounts an “accounting mechanism” that’s been going on for years. Agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas General Land Office also are subject to it.

“Taxpayers have the expectation that every dollar they pay to gain admittance to a state park should go back to programs for state parks instead of being used to help balance the budget,” said the staffer, who asked not to be named. “Legislators, though, face a predicament. They have other needs for which they don’t have adequate tax revenue. Overages are used to fill holes elsewhere.”

Balances accruing at agencies are “swept” into a fund consolidation bill at the end of the legislative session to build up the plus side of the state budget — although the funds can’t be spent for anything other than their dedicated purpose.

“In effect, they’re brought into the general revenue fund to help the comptroller certify the budget,” the staffer said. “People may ask, ‘How come I pay $3 in taxes and I’m only getting a dollar back in services?’ It’s a legitimate question.”

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Blue ‘cats’ Continued From Page 8

shallow as they follow the shad.

Fish on Lake Tawakoni, east of Dallas, have already begun their migration to shallow waters.

According to reports, cats were being caught from 15 to 30 feet. Water temperatures are reaching the upper 40s and low 50s, which has caused baitfish to move closer to shore.

Tommy Blanscett of Trophy Catfish BIG BLUES: Anglers are catching big blues across the Adventures, said that the fish on Tawakoni state as the fish move from deep to shallow water in have begun to move out of the deep water search of baitfish. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

(40-50 feet) because of the warming water temperatures. were caught on large gizzard shad, measuring “Right now they’re beginning to hold the between 10 and 14 inches. points,” Blanscett said. “They’re really start“Those fish are few to come by when you ing to pattern on those wind blown points.” start talking 50- to 60-pound range, but they Landing a fair number of 30-pound blues, (large fish) are becoming more active with Blanscett reported a total of about 780 pounds this warming trend,” Blanscett said. during one full-day trip in mid-February. The On Toledo Bend, anglers reported good largest one weighed 53 pounds. numbers of cats being taken on liver and Most of the fish on that trip and later trips bloodbait while working structure and holes.

February 25, 2011

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February 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

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

Lone Star Outdoor News, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscription is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2011 with all rights reserved. Reproduction and/or use of any photographic or written material without written permission by the publisher is prohibited.

Subscribers may send address changes to: Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355 or e-mail them to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

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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

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DAREx sharpener eliminates guesswork A good blade should be rigid, but the device that sharpens it doesn’t have to be.

DAREx of Ashland, Ore., says the flexible abrasive belts on its Work Sharp Tool & Knife Sharpener (about $70) can quickly restore an edge to any dull fillet knife or hunting blade.

So when Lone Star Outdoor News received a test model, the staff decided to put it through the paces at the Port Bay Hunting & Fishing Club near Rockport.

This Gulf Coast club was founded in 1909, and thousands of fish and waterfowl are cleaned there each year.

We unpacked the electric-powered sharpener late one Saturday night in early November for some of the younger guides who were cleaning ducks.

They were impressed with how the sharpener’s

flexible belts and precision guides conformed to the shapes of their blades, producing quick results.

“It was amazing,” said Travis Wilcox, one of the teens cleaning ducks. “I ran my knife through it just twice.

It got so super sharp, you could split hairs with it.”

The sharpener also impressed the club’s senior staff member, once he got the younger crew to part with it.

“All duck season we used it,” said Capt. Jeremy Griffis, chief guide. “I don’t use any other sharpeners on my knives now.

“I used it on my fiancé’s kitchen knives and she loves it.”

Griffis noted that a small tensioner knob on the sharpener occasionally becomes loose and needs tightening.

But, he added, none of the belts have ever "come off on me.”

DAREx made its name by selling industrial drill sharpeners.

But Griffis said the company was on the mark when it developed a sharpener with flexible belts, not hard surfaces like wet stones.

He said the belts and precision guides take the guesswork out of select-

ing the right stone and what angle to apply the dull blade.

“It’s easy to use,” he said. “Someone without a lot of know-how on sharpening knives can pick this up and get good with it quickly.

“It explains itself.”

The sharpener is carried by Ace Hardware, Sears, Northern Tool + Equipment, Amazon.com and others. A kit contain-

ing several replacement sells for about $10.

For information, visit www.worksharptools.com.

—Bill Miller

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

TOP TEXAN: Todd Faircloth of Jasper pulls up a bass Sunday during the final day of the Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta. His eighthplace finish was the highest of all Texans in the competition.

Gary Klein of Weatherford was 10th. Photo by BASS.

Bassmaster Continued From Page 1

15 fish totaling 69 pounds, 11 ounces — trounced the previous Classic weight record of 56 pounds, 2 ounces set

by Luke Clausen in 2006.

It was reported VanDam caught the record weight using a Strike King crankbait in black back chartruese.

“I don't take these for granted because I know how hard it is just to get to the Classic, much less try to win one.

The last couple of years have been magical.”

On the event’s final day, VanDam overtook Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., by 10 pounds, 11 ounces.

VanDam fished Lake Cataouatche, 15 miles west of New Orleans, the entire tournament, opting against the fourhour round-trip to Venice La. The debate to make the run south of Venice was one that many anglers struggled with, especially after fog delayed the first two days of the event.

But fog couldn’t keep Texans off the board as three of the five of them competing this past weekend made it through to the final day.

Todd Faircloth of Jasper, and Gary Klein of Weatherford, topped fellow Texans by finishing the weekend in the No. 8 and No. 10 spots respectively.

Keith Combs of Del Rio completed the event in the No. 22 spot.

Faircloth decided to fish the Venice area, but he said his biggest concern was getting there and back safely.

“We ran into some big fog

when we got down to Venice,” he said. “We don’t want to have any accidents out there.

“If we catch a big bag of fish, that’s a plus, but to get back safely is the most important thing.”

Faircloth started strong, posting a total weight of 15 pounds, 2 ounces after Day 1 for eighth place.

The nearly two-hour delay on Saturday only slightly affected his catch totals; he ended the day with a five-fish limit of 13 pounds, 14 ounces.

Unable to advance past the No. 8 spot, Faircloth finished Sunday with a bag of 18 pounds, 3 ounces for a three-day total of 47 pounds, 3 ounces.

Faircloth said he caught the majority of his fish on a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog and an All-Terrain Tackle jig.

Klein had to work his way up the leader board after ending Friday at No. 24 with 12 pounds, 7 ounces.

He jumped 17 spots on Day 2 to the No. 7 spot with a total weight of 17 pounds.

His Sunday performance of 15 pounds, 15 ounces brought his 10th place total

to 45 pounds, 6 ounces.

It was his 29th Classic appearance.

With that many years on the tour, Klein said things like delayed start times don’t worry him.

But, he added, large bass still excite him.

“What does rattle my cage is when you catch a big fish, like my biggest, and your line hops,” he said.

“That gets me excited.”

He finished the tournament with a total of 36 pounds, 12 ounces.

Also competing was Kelly Jordon of Mineola, who ended Friday tied at No. 12 with a total weight of 14 pounds, 3 ounces.

But, Jordon could not hold the spot and slipped to No. 37 Saturday after catching only two fish weighing 2 pounds, 15 ounces. That kept him from making the cut Sunday; he completed the tournament with a total of 17 pounds, 2 ounces.

Jordon decided to run down to Venice on Day 2, even though boats couldn’t launch until 10:45 a.m.

He said the gamble worked for some anglers, but not him.

“It was just the wrong plan for me,” he said.

A fifth Texan, Clark Reehm of Lufkin, caught four fish Saturday. But he was late arriving to the weigh-in, so deductions reduced his catch to 11 ounces. That, coupled with not catching fish Friday, kept him from continuing on Sunday

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Sun | Moon | Tides Time Height 12:14 p.m. 2.0 H 1:19 p.m. 2.1 H 2:01 p.m. 2.0 H 2:27 p.m. 2.0 H 2:42 p.m. 1.8 H 2:50 p.m. 1.6 H 8:03 a.m. 0.0 L 8:30 a.m. 0.2 L 8:55 a.m. 0.4 L 9:21 a.m. 0.7 L 9:49 a.m. 0.9 L 10:19 a.m. 1.3 L 10:51 a.m. 1.4 L 11:23 a.m. 1.6 L 9:41 a.m. 2.0 H

Time 7:11 p.m.

7:23 p.m.

7:35 p.m.

7:49 p.m.

2:58 p.m.

3:07 p.m.

3:19 p.m.

3:31 p.m.

3:41 p.m.

3:46 p.m.

3:37 p.m.

3:15 p.m.

11:51 a.m.

Height 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8

L L L L H H H H H H H H L

Time

Height

9:33 p.m. 1.8 H 10:51 p.m. 1.8 H 11:56 p.m. 1.8 H 8:07 p.m.

8:32 p.m.

9:02 p.m.

9:34 p.m.

10:09 p.m.

10:47 p.m.

11:29 p.m.

1.1 L 0.7 L 0.5 L 0.4 L 0.2 L 0.0 L 0.0 L

3:06 p.m. 2.0 H

Time Height 1:01 p.m. 1.6 H 2:06 p.m. 1.7 H 2:48 p.m. 1.6 H 3:14 p.m. 1.6 H 3:29 p.m. 1.4 H 7:58 a.m. -0.3 L 8:29 a.m. 0.0 L 8:56 a.m. 0.1 L 9:21 a.m. 0.3 L 9:47 a.m. 0.6 L 10:15 a.m. 0.7 L 10:45 a.m. 1.0 L 11:17 a.m. 1.1 L 11:49 a.m. 1.3 L 10:28 a.m. 1.6 H

Time

Height

7:37 p.m.

7:49 p.m.

8:01 p.m.

3:37 p.m.

3:45 p.m.

3:54 p.m.

4:06 p.m.

4:18 p.m.

4:28 p.m.

4:33 p.m.

4:24 p.m.

4:02 p.m.

12:17 p.m.

1.3 L 1.3 L 1.1 L 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.4 H 1.4 H 1.4 L

Time

Height

8:33 p.m.

8:45 p.m.

3:59 p.m.

4:07 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

4:24 p.m.

4:36 p.m.

4:48 p.m.

4:58 p.m.

5:03 p.m.

12:13 p.m.

12:45 p.m.

1:13 p.m.

0.8 L 0.8 L 0.9 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.7 L 0.8 L 0.9 L

Time

Height

7:34 p.m.

7:46 p.m.

7:58 p.m.

2:59 p.m.

3:07 p.m.

3:16 p.m.

3:28 p.m.

3:40 p.m.

3:50 p.m.

3:55 p.m.

3:46 p.m.

3:24 p.m.

12:14 p.m.

0.8 L 0.8 L 0.7 L 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.2 H 1.2 H 0.9 L

Time

Height

10:20 p.m. 1.4 H 11:38 p.m. 1.4 H 8:15 p.m.

8:33 p.m.

8:58 p.m.

9:28 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

10:35 p.m.

11:13 p.m.

11:55 p.m.

1.0 L 0.9 L 0.6 L 0.4 L 0.3 L 0.1 L 0.0 L 0.0 L

3:53 p.m. 1.6 H

March 18

March 11

Houston Time Height 7:18 p.m. 0.7 H 7:56 p.m. 0.7 H 8:31 p.m. 0.6 H 8:57 p.m. 0.6 H 9:01 p.m. 0.5 H 8:44 p.m. 0.4 H 11:59 a.m. -0.2 L 12:41 p.m. -0.1 L 1:22 p.m. 0.1 L 7:05 a.m. 0.4 H 8:25 a.m. 0.4 H 10:21 a.m. 0.5 H 3:42 p.m. 0.5 H 4:30 p.m. 0.6 H 5:16 p.m. 0.7 H

Time

Height

11:11 p.m.

8:27 p.m.

8:05 p.m.

7:28 p.m.

2:03 p.m.

2:53 p.m.

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

Time

Height

Time

Height

11:23 p.m. 0.3 L 11:43 p.m. 0.2 L 6:30 p.m. 0.2 H 4:53 p.m. 0.3 H

Date Time Height Feb 25 6:42 a.m. -0.34 L Feb 26 7:48 a.m. -0.33 L Feb 27 8:52 a.m. -0.31 L Feb 28 9:51 a.m. -0.28 L Mar 01 12:40 a.m. 0.04 H Mar 02 1:39 a.m. 0.04 H Mar 03 2:39 a.m. 0.02 H Mar 04 3:49 a.m. 0.00 H Mar 05 5:17 a.m. -0.02 H Mar 06 7:10 a.m. -0.03 H Mar 07 1:06 a.m. -0.13 L Mar 08 2:11 a.m. -0.15 L Mar 09 3:08 a.m. -0.16 L Mar 10 4:04 a.m. -0.16 L Mar 11 5:03 a.m. -0.16 L

Time Height 9:26 p.m. 0.03 H 10:33 p.m. 0.04 H 11:39 p.m. 0.05 H 10:41 a.m.

11:20 a.m.

11:51 a.m.

12:14 p.m.

12:30 p.m.

12:37 p.m.

9:35 a.m.

5:57 p.m.

6:26 p.m.

7:09 p.m.

8:02 p.m.

-0.26 L -0.23 L -0.19 L -0.15 L -0.10 L -0.06 L -0.02 H 0.03 H 0.05 H 0.08 H 0.11 H

Time

Height

Time

Date Time Feb 25 2:49 a.m.

Feb 26 4:03 a.m.

Feb 27 5:11 a.m.

Feb 28 6:09 a.m.

Mar 01 6:58 a.m.

Mar 02 2:36 a.m.

Mar 03 1:34 a.m.

Mar 04 2:28 a.m.

Mar 05 3:23 a.m.

Mar 06 4:18 a.m.

Mar 07 5:16 a.m.

Mar 08 6:18 a.m.

Mar 09 7:26 a.m.

Mar 10 8:46 a.m.

Mar 11 12:24 a.m.

Height

10:50 p.m. 0.9 H 8:57 p.m.

9:11 p.m.

9:29 p.m.

9:54 p.m.

10:24 p.m.

10:56 p.m.

11:31 p.m.

0.7 L 0.6 L 0.5 L 0.3 L 0.3 L 0.2 L 0.1 L

4:54 p.m. 0.9 H 4:32 p.m. 0.9 H 4:23 p.m. 0.9 H

Height -0.4 L -0.4 L -0.3 L -0.3 L -0.2 L 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H .1 H -0.1 L

Time Height 12:54 p.m. 1.3 H 1:59 p.m. 1.4 H 2:41 p.m. 1.3 H 3:07 p.m. 1.3 H 3:22 p.m. 1.1 H 7:37 a.m. -0.2 L 8:08 a.m. 0.0 L 8:35 a.m. 0.1 L 9:00 a.m. 0.2 L 9:26 a.m. 0.3 L 9:54 a.m. 0.4 L 10:24 a.m. 0.5 L 10:56 a.m. 0.6 L 11:28 a.m. 0.7 L 10:21 a.m. 1.3 H

6:41 p.m.

5:50 p.m.

5:37 p.m.

12:24 p.m.

-0.10 H -0.07 H -0.04 H -0.03 L

Time

Height

7:16 p.m.

7:28 p.m.

7:40 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

3:38 p.m.

3:47 p.m.

3:59 p.m.

4:11 p.m.

4:21 p.m.

4:26 p.m.

4:17 p.m.

3:55 p.m.

11:56 a.m.

0.7 L 0.7 L 0.6 L 1.0 H 1.0 H .0 H 1.0 H .0 H 1.0 H 1.0 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 0.8 L

Time

Height

9:25 p.m. -0.10 L 11:41 p.m. -0.11 L 5:41 p.m. 0.00 H

Time

Height

10:13 p.m. 1.1 H 11:31 p.m. 1.1 H 7:54 p.m.

8:12 p.m.

8:37 p.m.

9:07 p.m.

9:39 p.m.

10:14 p.m.

10:52 p.m.

11:34 p.m.

0.5 L 0.5 L 0.3 L 0.2 L 0.2 L 0.1 L 0.0 L 0.0 L

3:46 p.m. 1.3 H

South Padre Island Time Height 12:23 p.m. 1.4 H 1:28 p.m. 1.5 H 2:10 p.m. 1.4 H 2:36 p.m. 1.4 H 2:51 p.m. 1.2 H 7:55 a.m. -0.2 L 8:26 a.m. 0.0 L 8:53 a.m. 0.1 L 9:18 a.m. 0.2 L 9:44 a.m. 0.4 L 10:12 a.m. 0.5 L 10:42 a.m. 0.6 L 11:14 a.m. 0.7 L 11:46 a.m. 0.8 L 9:50 a.m. 1.4 H

Time

Height

9:42 p.m. 1.2 H 11:00 p.m. 1.2 H 8:12 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

8:55 p.m.

9:25 p.m.

9:57 p.m.

10:32 p.m.

11:10 p.m.

11:52 p.m.

0.6 L 0.5 L 0.4 L 0.3 L 0.2 L 0.1 L 0.0 L 0.0 L

3:15 p.m. 1.4 H

Date Time Height Feb 25 2:30 a.m. -0.7 L Feb 26 3:42 a.m. -0.6 L Feb 27 4:51 a.m. -0.5 L Feb 28 5:54 a.m. -0.4 L Mar 01 6:49 a.m. -0.2 L Mar 02 7:38 a.m. 0.1 L Mar 03 12:36 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 04 1:46 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 05 2:50 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 06 3:51 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 07 4:53 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 08 6:02 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 09 7:26 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 10 9:20 a.m. 1.1 H Mar 11 12:19 a.m. -0.1 L

Time Height 1:27 p.m. 1.3 H 2:17 p.m. 1.4 H 2:52 p.m. 1.4 H 3:16 p.m. 1.3 H 3:32 p.m. 1.3 H 3:41 p.m. 1.2 H 8:21 a.m. 0.1 L 9:01 a.m. 0.3 L 9:37 a.m. 0.4 L 10:12 a.m. 0.6 L 10:46 a.m. 0.7 L 11:24 a.m. 0.8 L 11:28 p.m. -0.1 L 11:30 a.m.

2011 Feb-Mar 25 Fri Q 26 Sat 27 Sun 28 Mon 01 Tue 02 Wed 03 Thu > 04 Fri N 05 Sat > 06 Sun > 07 Mon > 08 Tue 09 Wed 10 Thu 11 Fri 12 Sat Q 13 Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 Wed

A.M. Minor Major 11:46 5:32 12:11 6:25 1:01 7:14 1:47 8:00 2:31 8:42 3:12 9:23 3:52 10:02 4:31 10:42 5:12 10:58 5:55 11:41 6:40 12:30 7:28 1:17 8:18 2:06 9:10 2:58 10:04 3:51 10:58 4:45 12:25 6:39 1:18 7:32 2:09 8:23 2:59 9:12

P.M. Minor ----12:38 1:27 2:12 2:54 3:33 4:12 4:52 5:32 6:15 7:01 7:50 8:41 9:34 10:29 11:25 12:53 1:46 2:37 3:26

Major 6:00 6:52 7:40 8:24 9:05 9:44 10:23 11:02 ----12:05 12:51 1:39 2:29 3:22 4:16 5:12 7:06 8:00 8:51 9:40

SUN Rises Sets 06:51 06:17 06:50 06:17 06:49 06:18 06:48 06:19 06:47 06:19 06:46 06:20 06:45 06:21 06:44 06:21 06:42 06:22 06:41 06:23 06:40 06:23 06:39 06:24 06:38 06:25 06:37 06:25 06:36 06:26 06:34 06:27 07:33 07:27 07:32 07:28 07:31 07:28 07:30 07:29

MOON Rises Sets 1:36a 12:01p 2:32a 12:57p 3:22a 1:54p 4:06a 2:52p 4:44a 3:48p 5:19a 4:43p 5:51a 5:36p 6:20a 6:28p 6:49a 7:20p 7:18a 8:13p 7:49a 9:06p 8:21a 10:01p 8:57a 10:56p 9:37a 11:52p 10:23a NoMoon 11:14a 12:47a 1:11p 2:41a 2:13p 3:32a 3:18p 4:20a 4:26p 5:04a

P.M. Minor Major ----- 6:05 12:44 6:58 1:33 7:46 2:17 8:30 2:59 9:11 3:39 9:50 4:18 10:28 4:57 11:07 5:38 ----6:21 12:11 7:07 12:56 7:55 1:44 8:46 2:35 9:40 3:28 10:35 4:22 11:31 5:17 12:58 7:12 1:51 8:05 2:42 8:56 3:32 9:45

SUN Rises Sets 06:59 06:19 06:58 06:20 06:57 06:21 06:56 06:22 06:55 06:23 06:53 06:23 06:52 06:24 06:51 06:25 06:50 06:26 06:49 06:27 06:47 06:27 06:46 06:28 06:45 06:29 06:44 06:30 06:42 06:30 06:41 06:31 07:40 07:32 07:38 07:33 07:37 07:33 07:36 07:34

MOON Rises Sets 1:50a 11:59a 2:46a 12:55p 3:35a 1:53p 4:18a 2:51p 4:56a 3:49p 5:29a 4:45p 5:59a 5:40p 6:27a 6:34p 6:55a 7:27p 7:22a 8:21p 7:51a 9:16p 8:22a 10:12p 8:57a 11:08p 9:36a NoMoon 10:21a 12:05a 11:12a 1:01a 1:09p 2:55a 2:12p 3:45a 3:18p 4:32a 4:28p 5:14a

P.M. Minor Major ----- 6:12 12:51 7:05 1:40 7:53 2:24 8:37 3:06 9:18 3:46 9:57 4:25 10:35 5:04 11:14 5:45 ----6:28 12:18 7:14 1:03 8:02 1:51 8:53 2:42 9:47 3:35 10:42 4:29 11:38 5:24 1:05 7:19 1:58 8:12 2:49 9:03 3:39 9:52

SUN Rises Sets 07:03 06:29 07:02 06:30 07:01 06:31 07:00 06:31 06:59 06:32 06:58 06:33 06:57 06:34 06:56 06:34 06:55 06:35 06:54 06:35 06:53 06:36 06:51 06:37 06:50 06:37 06:49 06:38 06:48 06:39 06:47 06:39 07:46 07:40 07:45 07:40 07:43 07:41 07:42 07:42

MOON Rises 1:48a 2:44a 3:34a 4:18a 4:57a 5:31a 6:03a 6:33a 7:02a 7:31a 8:02a 8:35a 9:11a 9:51a 10:37a 11:28a 1:25p 2:27p 3:32p 4:39p

Sets 12:15p 1:11p 2:08p 3:05p 4:01p 4:56p 5:49p 6:41p 7:33p 8:25p 9:19p 10:13p 11:08p NoMoon 12:04a 12:59a 2:53a 3:44a 4:32a 5:16a

P.M. Minor 12:12 1:04 1:53 2:38 3:20 3:59 4:38 5:18 5:58 6:41 7:27 8:16 9:07 10:00 10:55 11:51 1:18 2:12 3:03 3:52

SUN Rises 07:22 07:21 07:19 07:18 07:17 07:16 07:14 07:13 07:12 07:10 07:09 07:08 07:06 07:05 07:04 07:02 08:01 07:59 07:58 07:57

MOON Rises 2:17a 3:13a 4:02a 4:44a 5:21a 5:53a 6:22a 6:49a 7:15a 7:41a 8:09a 8:39a 9:13a 9:51a 10:36a 11:27a 1:24p 2:27p 3:35p 4:46p

Sets 12:13p 1:10p 2:08p 3:07p 4:06p 5:04p 6:00p 6:55p 7:49p 8:44p 9:40p 10:37p 11:35p NoMoon 12:32a 1:28a 3:22a 4:12a 4:58a 5:39a

Dallas

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell Pier Time Height 1:31 p.m. 0.9 H 2:36 p.m. 1.0 H 3:18 p.m. 0.9 H 3:44 p.m. 0.9 H 8:15 a.m. -0.3 L 8:54 a.m. -0.2 L 9:25 a.m. 0.0 L 9:52 a.m. 0.1 L 10:17 a.m. 0.2 L 10:43 a.m. 0.3 L 11:11 a.m. 0.4 L 11:41 a.m. 0.6 L 8:03 a.m. 0.9 H 9:23 a.m. 0.9 H 10:58 a.m. 0.9 H

Freeport Harbor Date Time Height Feb 25 3:07 a.m. -0.5 L Feb 26 4:21 a.m. -0.5 L Feb 27 5:29 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 28 6:27 a.m. -0.4 L Mar 01 7:16 a.m. -0.3 L Mar 02 12:05 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 03 1:03 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 04 1:57 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 05 2:52 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 06 3:47 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 07 4:45 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 08 5:47 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 09 6:55 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 10 8:15 a.m. 1.2 H Mar 11 12:42 a.m. -0.1 L

First

March 4

Date Time Height Feb 25 5:42 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 26 7:04 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 27 8:21 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 28 9:28 a.m. -0.4 L Mar 01 10:25 a.m. -0.3 L Mar 02 11:15 a.m. -0.3 L Mar 03 3:02 a.m. 0.5 H Mar 04 4:35 a.m. 0.4 H Mar 05 5:51 a.m. 0.4 H Mar 06 2:06 a.m. 0.2 L Mar 07 12:33 a.m. 0.1 L Mar 08 1:04 a.m. 0.0 L Mar 09 1:42 a.m. 0.0 L Mar 10 2:29 a.m. -0.1 L Mar 11 3:27 a.m. -0.1 L

San Luis Pass Date Time Height Feb 25 4:06 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 26 5:20 a.m. -0.4 L Feb 27 6:28 a.m. -0.3 L Feb 28 7:26 a.m. -0.3 L Mar 01 12:08 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 02 1:13 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 03 2:11 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 04 3:05 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 05 4:00 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 06 4:55 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 07 5:53 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 08 6:55 a.m. 0.9 H Mar 09 12:09 a.m. 0.0 L Mar 10 12:51 a.m. 0.0 L Mar 11 1:41 a.m. -0.1 L

Last

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

Rockport

Galveston Bay entrance, south jetty Date Time Height Feb 25 3:10 a.m. -0.7 L Feb 26 4:24 a.m. -0.7 L Feb 27 5:32 a.m. -0.6 L Feb 28 6:30 a.m. -0.6 L Mar 01 7:19 a.m. -0.4 L Mar 02 12:43 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 03 1:41 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 04 2:35 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 05 3:30 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 06 4:25 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 07 5:23 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 08 6:25 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 09 7:33 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 10 8:53 a.m. 1.4 H Mar 11 12:45 a.m. -0.1 L

New

Port O’Connor

Sabine Pass, jetty Date Time Height Feb 25 2:44 a.m. -0.9 L Feb 26 3:58 a.m. -0.9 L Feb 27 5:06 a.m. -0.7 L Feb 28 6:04 a.m. -0.7 L Mar 01 6:53 a.m. -0.5 L Mar 02 7:32 a.m. -0.4 L Mar 03 12:54 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 04 1:48 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 05 2:43 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 06 3:38 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 07 4:36 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 08 5:38 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 09 6:46 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 10 8:06 a.m. 1.8 H Mar 11 12:19 a.m. -0.2 L

Solunar | Sun times | Moon times

Moon Phases Feb. 25

Texas Coast Tides

LSONews.com

7:51 p.m.

8:06 p.m.

3:44 p.m.

3:41 p.m.

3:33 p.m.

3:19 p.m.

3:01 p.m.

2:40 p.m.

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

Time

Height

11:11 p.m. 1.2 H 8:28 p.m.

8:52 p.m.

9:17 p.m.

9:43 p.m.

10:12 p.m.

10:46 p.m.

0.8 L 0.7 L 0.5 L 0.3 L 0.2 L 0.0 L

1.3 H

2011 Feb-Mar 25 Fri Q 26 Sat 27 Sun 28 Mon 01 Tue 02 Wed 03 Thu > 04 Fri N 05 Sat > 06 Sun > 07 Mon > 08 Tue 09 Wed 10 Thu 11 Fri 12 Sat Q 13 Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 Wed

A.M. Minor Major 11:51 5:37 12:17 6:30 1:07 7:20 1:53 8:05 2:36 8:48 3:17 9:28 3:57 10:08 4:37 10:47 5:18 11:04 6:01 11:46 6:46 12:35 7:33 1:22 8:23 2:12 9:15 3:03 10:09 3:56 11:04 4:50 12:30 6:44 1:23 7:37 2:15 8:29 3:04 9:18

San Antonio 2011 A.M. Feb-Mar Minor Major 25 Fri Q 11:58 5:44 26 Sat 12:24 6:37 27 Sun 1:14 7:27 28 Mon 2:00 8:12 01 Tue 2:43 8:55 02 Wed 3:24 9:35 03 Thu > 4:04 10:15 04 Fri N 4:44 10:54 05 Sat > 5:25 11:11 06 Sun > 6:08 11:53 07 Mon > 6:53 12:42 08 Tue 7:40 1:29 09 Wed 8:30 2:19 10 Thu 9:22 3:10 11 Fri 10:16 4:03 12 Sat Q 11:11 4:57 13 Sun 12:37 6:51 14 Mon 1:30 7:44 15 Tue 2:22 8:36 16 Wed 3:11 9:25

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OUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen

Solution on Page 22

2011 A.M. Feb-Mar Minor 25 Fri Q ----26 Sat 12:37 27 Sun 1:27 28 Mon 2:13 01 Tue 2:57 02 Wed 3:38 03 Thu > 4:17 04 Fri N 4:57 05 Sat > 5:38 06 Sun > 6:21 07 Mon > 7:06 08 Tue 7:54 09 Wed 8:44 10 Thu 9:36 11 Fri 10:30 12 Sat Q 11:24 13 Sun 12:51 14 Mon 1:44 15 Tue 2:35 16 Wed 3:25

Major 5:58 6:51 7:40 8:26 9:08 9:48 10:28 11:08 11:24 12:11 12:55 1:43 2:32 3:24 4:17 5:11 7:05 7:58 8:49 9:38

Major 6:26 7:18 8:06 8:50 9:31 10:10 10:49 11:28 ----12:31 1:16 2:05 2:55 3:48 4:42 5:38 7:32 8:26 9:17 10:06

Sets 06:37 06:38 06:39 06:40 06:41 06:42 06:43 06:44 06:45 06:46 06:46 06:47 06:48 06:49 06:50 06:51 07:51 07:52 07:53 07:54

FOR THE TABLE Baked Stuffed Bluegill

ACROSS 1. A large game of the plains 5. Newborn elk 7. A good boat for lake fishing 8. Trapped for the fur 9. A large member of the pike family 12. Common name for the brook trout 13. Of the strength of a fishline 16. This grouping is called a covey 17. Best of the firewoods 19. Species of trout 20. Also called a dogfish 21. Game or wildfowl having young 22. A predator of small game 25. Perch are classed as this 28. Deer domain marks on a tree 29. A type of gunsight 31. Shotgun model, over and _____ 32. The home of the kelp 33. Boat gear 34. The trapper's interest 37. To pull back the bowstring 42. A game runway 43. A deer species

44. Said to be most elkpopulated State DOWN 1. Inside of a gun barrel 2. Camo slip-ons for a bow 3. Crappie, perch are ____ fish 4. A very good walleye bait 5. Should have one in hunting kit 6. A good bait for brown trout 7. Camper's resting place 10. A group of decoys 11. A deer lure, scent ____ 12. Used for bait at times 14. A model of shotgun 15. A young bear 16. The carrier for arrows 18. Describes a trigger 19. A fly lure 21. A beginner at hunting or fishing 23. A deer food source 24. The bowman's ammo 26. ____fish is a small panfish 27. Trap baits should have a strong one

6-8 hand sized bluegill Stuffing: 1 box stove top stuffing — onion and mushroom or use your favorite stuffing recipe. This recipe is also terrific with wild rice stuffing.

1 small onion Celery to taste Sliced mushrooms Fish breading 1 cup of corn meal, cornflakes or 1 package Shake 'N Bake mix 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional) 1 egg 2 tbsps. milk 1 tsp. lemon juice (optional) Prepare stuffing according to package directions, or use your

own prepared stuffing or dressing recipe. Mix corn meal, cornflakes or 1 pkg of Shake 'N Bake mix, garlic powder, cayenne pepper in a bowl. In another bowl, mix egg, milk and lemon juice. Stuff each fish with stuffing mix and coat with milk and egg mixture, then dip in corn meal mixture.

Secure fish with a toothpick so that your stuffing mix doesn’t fall out. Place on baking sheet or wrap in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes.

Outside of fish will be a golden brown. This recipe also works on the grill or over campfires.

— Colorado Division of Wildlife

Venison Kabobs

30. Brings in the catch 34. A sound made by wild turkey 35. To ready gun for firing 36. Bow made from single piece of wood

37. The clay pigeon 38. Imaginary line through the bore 39. A shell that fails to fire 40. A recoil buffer 41. The fish pole

Venison, cubed 4 cups soy sauce 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup tarragon vinegar 2 cups vegetable oil 12 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tbsps. lemon pepper (lite) 2 tsps. ginger Onion, chopped

No salt Blend all the ingredients; add the meat and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Remove meat, skewer and grill until tender.

Discard remaining marinade.

— Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

February 25, 2011

Texas big bites

Page 19

Boating fatalities Continued From Page 8 LONGEST RAINBOW: Stephen Watts of San Antonio used a fly rod to break the state record catchand-release rainbow trout water body record for length on Feb. 1. It was 27.5 inches long, which broke the previous record by 3 inches.

Photo by TPWD.

IVIE, AGAIN: Susan Dixon of Hawley caught this 13.3-pound bass Feb. 13 at O.H. Ivie Reservoir. It was 26.25 inches long and 20 inches in girth. It was the 511th entry in the state’s ShareLunker program, and the 21st to come from Ivie. It’s also the fifth 13-pound-plus largemouth to come from the lake in 2011. Photo by Larry D. Hodge, TPWD.

HEAVIEST RAINBOW: Edgar Cardenas (right) caught this rainbow trout, which is the new fly-fishing catch-and-release water body record for weight on the Guadalupe River. The 7.21-pound fish, caught Feb. 5, was 26 inches long with a 15-inch girth. It topped the previous fly-rod record of 6 pounds in 2008. It was the first fly-fishing trip for Cardenas. His guide was Greg Smith (left). Photo by Edgar Cardenas.

RECORD SWORDFISH: Friendswood angler David Dion caught the new state record swordfish Jan. 27 off of Port Mansfield.

The fish weighed 341 pounds, eclipsing the former record by one pound. The big fish was 124.5 inches long and had a 52-inch girth. Photo by Port Mansfield Chamber of Commerce.

a Texas game warden and the assistant chief for marine enforcement.

That’s down from 61 fatalities — a 10-year high — in 2008.

“In 2008, we had low lake levels due to the drought, so we had a lot of people using less water with more exposed hazards,” Parrish said.

But, he asserted, increased law enforcement also helped reduce boating fatalities in 2010.

Over the last five years, Parrish said, Texas game wardens increased water safety contacts, safety inspections and boardings by more than 20 percent.

He noted that game wardens made 316 arrests for boating while intoxicated — one of the 10 causes of boating accidents from 2000 through 2009.

Others were excessive speed, no proper lookout, weather conditions, operator inattention, inexperience and reckless behavior.

Many of these issues could be addressed through boater education, experts say.

According to TPWD, about 80 percent of boating accidents involve operators with no formal training.

On Feb. 16, Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, filed House Bill 1395 which, if passed, will require boater education for operators born after Sept. 1, 1993.

The support of boat dealers may be critical to getting the bill passed. Previous efforts have stalled on opposition from the industry’s Boating Trades Association of Texas.

But Rod Malone, secretary/treasurer of the group, said its members “look forward to supporting” the bill.

Malone, owner of Sail & Ski, Inc., in Austin, was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to an advisory panel on this issue.

He said the industry group is happy that compromises have been added to the bill, including a grandfather clause for existing boaters and a slow phase-in approach to the bill.

“We thought it was an adequate solution to solve the problem and create a safer environment over time,” Malone said.

Parker said he is optimistic the bill will pass.

“I don’t want to overly extend the blanket of government,” he said. “(But) I think it’s appropriate that you educate people going forward.

“The reality is that you want to protect people’s freedoms on the lake.”

Page 20

February 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

DATEBOOK

LSONews.com

On the rise Continued From Page 1

February 25-26

March 4-5

Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open Lewisville Lake www.visitlewisville.com

Texas Deer Association Spring Gala Banquet Embassy Suites Outdoor World Grapevine (940) 390-9723 www.texasdeerassociation.com

February 25 Ducks Unlimited Brazos Valley Banquet The Brazos Center, Bryan (979) 255-8507 www.ducks.org

March 5 Kid’s Outdoor Zone Outdoor Adventure Ministry Banquet Buda (512) 292-1113

February 26 North Texas Chapter SCI Meeting Embassy Suites Outdoor World (940) 612-1928 www.scinorthtexas.com Ducks Unlimited, Arlington Chapter Annual Casino Night (817) 832-8078

March 2-6 Houston Fishing Show George R. Brown Convention Center Houston (281) 350-2741 www.houstonfishingshow.com

March 3 National Wild Turkey Federation Alamo Chapter Banquet The Alzafar Center San Antonio (210) 213-5339 www.alamochapternwtf.org Coastal Conservation Association Ft. Worth general meeting and fish fry (817) 291-1302 Capital Bass Club Meeting, VFW Post Austin www.capitalbassclub.com

March 10 Park Cities Quail Annual Dinner and Auction Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas (214) 801-6802 www.parkcitiesquail.org

March 11-13 Texas State Rifle Association Annual meeting Mesquite (512) 615-4200 www.tsra.com

March 12 Dallas Woods and Waters Club Dinner and Benefit Auction (214) 570-8700 www.dwwcc.org

March 19-20 Texas Gun and Knife Association Show Amarillo Civic Center (830) 285-0575 www.texasgunandknifeshows.com

March 24 Whitetails Unlimited North Texas Deer Camp The Cotton Mill, McKinney 800-274-5471 www.whitetailsunlimitedevent.com

at lakes Travis and Buchanan.

“I thought I got a huge fish, but it didn’t feel like a red,” Michael said.

“It was dragging.

“It took out a ton of drag and I couldn’t get it in for about four to five minutes CATCH AND RELEASE: Michael Marquis, 11, of Austin lets go of the 28-inch speckled trout that is the junior — it was fun.

“Then, sure catch-and-release record for Aransas Bay. “I kind of wanted to keep it as a trophy, but I thought, ‘No, she’s enough, when we too big; let her go and let some other guy catch her.’” pulled it up, we saw Photo by Robert Marquis. the speckles on it.”

The 28-inch fish percent of the deaths. was named both the record History shows that it could junior catch-and-release and have been much worse: Sudden the record water-body catchfreeze events in the 1980s comand-release spotted seatrout for bined to kill an estimated 30 Aransas Bay. million fish.

And it was proof that big But unlike the 1980s, the healthy trout survived the first weather leading up to the round of back-to-back freezes in 2011 freezes got cold graduearly February along the coast. ally. It might have been an The Marquis family’s out- early warning for fish to retreat ing followed the first freeze. into the warmer depths of the Temperatures warmed slightly Intracoastal Waterway. over the next week, but a sec“It could be that most of the ond, less severe cold snap came fish had time to escape to deeper after that. water before the freeze hit,”

By Feb. 17, TPWD’s coastal fish- Hensley said. eries staff estimated that 250,000 TPWD biologists said they to 300,000 fish had died. wouldn’t know the full impact But 85 percent of them of the freezes until annual samappeared to be “non-recre- pling surveys this spring. ational” species: mullet, silver Meanwhile, fishing guides perch and hardhead catfish. are in a wait-and-see mode, but That left a 15-percent fatality they seem confident about fine rate for recreational species and trout fishing this summer. black drum appeared to take the “No one is going to know until hardest hit, TPWD reported. we get out there and really start Some red drum, sheepshead, fishing,” said Daniel Kubecka of snook and Atlantic croaker Matagorda-based Run-N-Gun also died.

Adventures. “Right now, the But spotted seatrout, overall, smaller (freeze-killed) fish are may have handled the cold rela- being eaten by pelicans; some are tively well. so swollen they can’t even fly.”

Only about 2,000 of them —1 Kubecka grew up on percent of the freeze kill — were Matagorda Bay, but because he counted among the dead fish by was born in 1985, he’s not old the third week of February. enough to remember the cataMany of the dead trout were strophic freezes of the 1980s. found in Matagorda Bay and off “I’ve been talking to my of nearby Port O’Connor, said uncles, and I’m taking from Rebecca Hensley, TPWD coastal their experiences,” he said. fisheries regional director.

“Our big trout population probShe said the 2011 freeze kill ably took a little hit. is about the same size as a sim“(But) these older guys are ilar one in 1997, but in that not worried at all. One guy said, onslaught, recreational species, ‘I can’t wait for summertime including trout, comprised 75 when it warms up.’”

Guadalupe bass Continued From Page 8

“To provide more fishing opportunities in 1960s and early 70s, smallmouth bass were stocked throughout the Hill Country,” said Tim Birdsong, a TPWD fisheries biologist.

“And,” he added, “without having knowledge of the impact that this could be, we’ve found that (Guadalupe bass) hybridized with smallmouth bass.”

But TPWD officials believe they can reverse that trend, said Birdsong, who oversees ecosystems and habitat for the agency.

For example, these hybridization results reached about 70 percent in Guadalupe River headwaters.

But habitat improvements and the aggressive restocking of purebred bass have driven that rate down to less than 10 percent, Birdsong said.

“Now we’re trying to take that success to native streams of historic Guadalupe bass habitat, including the Llano River,” he said.

But restocking the fish will do no good if the habitat isn’t suitable for them to flourish.

“We have to fight bank erosion and sedimentation,” Birdsong said. “They use structure logs, boulders and roots. If you don’t have limbs and logs falling into the river, you use that structure for Guadalupe bass.”

Curry is on the board of the South Llano Water Alliance, which supports the initiative. But individuals also can help.

TPWD is providing incentives to landowners “to protect their own pieces of the watershed,” Birdsong said.

People who live on the North and South Llano rivers may qualify for grant money that will reimburse them for some of their costs to fight erosion and improve habitat.

Deadline to apply is April 15. For information, call Arlene Kalmbach at (512) 581-8732.

Fans of smallmouth shouldn’t worry about efforts that favor the Guadalupe bass in the Hill Country, Birdsong said.

The Devils River in Val Verde County is being eyed for smallmouth improvements, he said.

That effort, he added, could enhance TPWD’s purchase late last year of 18,000 acres on the Devils River.

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February 25, 2011

Page 21

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MARK WENGLER of San Antonio landed this 5 1/2-pound rainbow trout on the Guadalupe River. He said this was the second 5-pounder that he caught within a single week of January.

BLAKE HORTENSTINE took this 174 7/8 (gross score) buck during archery season on a low-fence ranch in Shackelford County.

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NATHAN DAUN of Sachse hunted a lease near Palestine and harvested this 180-pound, 6-year-old buck.

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BREYDEN BEARD of Spring caught this speckled trout in January under night lights off of a pier at Port Mansfield. It measured 26 15/16 inches.

Congratulations, Caroline! You can claim your Nikon 10x42 Trailblazer ATB binoculars at the Nikon Sport Optics dealer nearest you: Dury's Gun Shop Inc 819 Hot Wells Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78223-2201 (210) 533-5431 on her while hunting t her first buck go , ad and re lle vi sp es ch or ETT, 10, of Fl nter, with 19-in RK oi -p BU 12 NE s LI m-08. as RO cl 7m CA e 135chambered in near Dilley. Th on Model 700 gt in m family's lease Re a th s downed wi drop tines, wa

JACOB MINKS, 10, of East Bernard, took this sevenpointer opening weekend on his grandparents’ farm in Lavaca County. He downed the buck with his Ruger .243-caliber rifle.

Page 22

February 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LONE STAR MARKET

Puzzle solution from Page 18

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

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February 25, 2011

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February 25, 2011

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