Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
February 27, 2015
Volume 11, Issue 13
On the beds SOLDIER’S FIRST: Colgan Norman took this double main beam buck at his Operation Once in a Lifetime – Soldier Outdoor Initiative program hunt with the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation. When asked about the beard, he said he grew it after his service to the Marines. “I had to shave perfectly, every day, for seven years,” he said. Photo by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Veteran takes unique buck
Odessa Pumps and Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation work together to provide opportunity By Craig Nyhus
LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
BIG FEMALES MOVING IN: According to guides and tournament anglers on the border lakes of Amistad and Falcon, some big female largemouth bass have moved up into spawning position, and anglers are taking advantage. Photos by David J. Sams, LSON.
Border lake anglers throwing to female bass in shallows By Jillian Mock
On Amistad and Falcon International Reservoirs, dense underwater cover and warming water temperatures mean the largemouth bass have started spawning. “It’s going to be better (this year) than it has been the last two years,” said Gail Criswell, owner of Amistad Marine. “We’ve got more water and the hydrilla is recovering and it seems we have plenty of bait fish.” Both lakes are still recovering from major drought and low water levels. “Two years ago we were 41 feet low and now we’re 25 feet low,” said James Bendele at Falcon Lake Tackle. “We get down below 30 feet give or take we lose so much of our cover … We don’t have any small brush to protect the fish.” Largemouth bass will survive well in a variety of habitats but prefer vegetated habitat, whether it’s flooded hardwoods, mesquites, salt cedars or aquatic hydrilla. Cover of any kind is especially critical for the survival of juvenile bass, which make a tasty meal for
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every lake predator from cormorants to adult largemouth. Bendele said that in the span of 10 days he knew of two to four 11pounders caught on Falcon and a few 5-, 6-, and 7-pounders. All in all, he finds the number of smaller and midsize fish to be a good sign for the fishery. “We’re not catching huge numbers of big fish like we were a few years ago but the number of big fish is up (and) you’ve got to have little ones before you can have big ones.” On Amistad, Criswell said the average size was around 2 pounds, although one fisherman did catch a 9-pound, 6-ounce largemouth. She added that the average fisherman was probably catching eight to 15 bass a day. “It’s still not going to be as good as it was in 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008,” Criswell said, but “it’s making a big comeback.” Recovering water levels means recovering fish habitat and populations. Newly flooded vegetation last year meant real good survival of young fish. Bendele said this
One might think that a Marine Force Recon veteran who commanded snipers in Afghanistan and other foreign lands would be calm and cool as can be when a buck steps out. Not so. Colgan Norman hunted in northern Minnesota where he grew up, but the hunts on public lands in thick woods didn’t produce much action. “I saw one buck and passed on one doe,” he said. “And that was all I saw in all of the hunts over several years.” After seven years in the Marines, ending as a captain and sniper commander, he was again a civilian, and now lives with his wife in Connecticut. He read about the opportunity for a deer hunt with the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation through the Operation Once in a Lifetime Soldier Initiative program, supported by Odessa Pumps in Odessa. “I wasn’t sure if the hunt was only for soldiers that had been wounded,” he said. Operation Once in a Lifetime Founder Patrick Sowers said Norman Please turn to page 15
Black drum run on By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
Midcoast black drum anglers are having a good February, with plenty of the “big uglies” being caught on crab and squid.
The ship channel near Ingleside is once again the place to be for anglers with a boat — for anglers who are stuck on dry land, it is tough to beat one of the many fishing piers in the area, Please turn to page 24 BIG UGLIES: Anglers are catching loads of oversized black drum in the ship channels along the midcoast. Photo by LSON.
Please turn to page 19
HUNTING
FISHING
Conservation time
Growing huge bass
Talking to tom
Baffi n Bay trout
Light goose conservation season a success, but some hunters don’t like the extended season. Page 4 South Zone season starts March 21, and hunters are expecting plenty of mature toms this season. Page 4
Pond Boss conference focuses on growing 15-pound bass in backyard ponds. Page 8
Guides having tougher February wading in Baffin due to crazy weather changes. Page 8
CONTENTS Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 26 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 22 Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 For the Table . . . . . . . . Page 22 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 20 Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 23 Products . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 17 Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 16
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