Tops in taxidermy
Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper
June 25, 2010
Volume 6, Issue 21
Josh Kelly is making a name for himself as a fish taxidermist. Page 7
Technical striper fishing
Inside
STRIPED PREDATOR: Fishing for striped bass is hot at Texas lakes. Anglers are bringing in high numbers of the fish, which patrol open water and grow to large sizes. Here, Doug Jones holds one caught at Lake Texoma. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
❘❚ HUNTING
Wardens marry Karin Bailey and Robert Apple swore to love each other — and enforce the law. Page 4
Teaching hunter ed Stepping to the head of the hunter safety class requires experience and passion. Page 4
INSIDE
■ Fish friends: Two teachers spend their summers on Lewisville Lake. Page 6
❘❚ FISHING
Spill affecting Texas No crude has come ashore in Texas, but Texas businesses are feeling its effects. Page 6
High-tech lures
By Thomas Phillips
Lure makers are turning to advanced engineering for new models. Page 6
❘❚ CONTENTS Classifieds . . . . . . . . Crossword . . . . . . . . Fishing Report . . . . . . For the Table . . . . . . . Game Warden Blotter . . . Heroes . . . . . . . . . . Outdoor Datebook. . . . . Outfitters and Businesses Products . . . . . . . . . Sun, Moon and Tide data .
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
❘❚ LSONews.com
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Finding feeding fish is key to success for bass
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LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
When all his lines were baited and in the water, Lake Texoma guide Jay Staley pulled out his striper call.
Then, without a warning, the calling began. Repeatedly he thrashed the water with a worn-out fishing rod, imitating a feeding frenzy on the surface. The technique helps attract the curious predatory fish. If striped bass are around, they often come running to check out the disturbance. Waiting for a pack of fish to move in, Staley keeps his eyes on his rods and his fishfinder. Soon after, rod tips started twitching, and fish were
on. “You can beat the water and that screen’ll turn black,” Staley said. The screen did not turn black this day in mid-June, but Staley still helped his anglers catch a limit of stripers apiece, as he has done every day he fished for two weeks. On this day, Staley had 20 fish in a cooler by 8 a.m., including one measuring 22 1/2 inches long. In addition to his water-beating attractant, Staley uses a hand-
Fly rod in one hand, receipt book in other
State’s deal is better than average By Thomas Phillips LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
By Kyle Carter Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
See FLY-FISHING, Page 26
See STRIPERS, Page 24
Private leases for public hunting a bargain for state
Former sales rep returns to coast, sets up shop For most of the last decade, Dave Hayward traveled about 50,000 miles a year selling Orvis products and trying out a different fishery nearly every day. After being let go as a sales rep by Orvis this past year, Hayward is significantly cutting down on his travel and settling in the one place he loves the most — the Texas Gulf Coast. “It’s been great to move to the coast,” Hayward said. “Getting back to the redfishing and the occasional big fish is what I love to do.” Hayward’s new gig is running the Swan Point Landing fly-fishing shop in Rockport. He had been talking to Swan Point about carrying Orvis before he became victim of a set of layoffs, so it was a natural fit. But this is by no means his first
ful of other techniques for catching Texoma stripers. When anchored, he fishes at different depths. To hit the target depth, he lets out the right amount of line by one of two methods. For one, he pulls line from the reel by hand. The distance from the reel to the first eye on the rod is about 2 feet, so making 20 pulls of line from the reel to the eye would equal about 40 feet.
SHOP BOY: Dave Hayward sells fly-fishing gear, teaches casting lessons and supports the coast from Swan Point Landing fly shop in Rockport, which he manages. Photo by Erich Schlegel, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
When it’s all said and done, Texas gets a pretty good price for the private land it leases for hunting. Most hunters in Texas will pay about $10 per acre for hunting land, but Texas Parks and Wildlife pays about $5 for small-game tracts, according to figures from the state. A couple of quick numbers: • 114,418 acres of private land leased • $310,326 paid for private land leases Those numbers can be broken down: • 50,298 acres of private land leased for small game hunting (at a price of $255,276) • 64,180 acres of private land leased for big game hunting (at a price of $50,000) Permits for big game hunts on private land are distributed in drawings held every year. Next hunting season, the state will have 191 permits available. That number breaks down See PUBLIC HUNTING, Page 25