Lone Star Outdoor News 061424

Cobia,

tarpon tight to the granite

By Nate Skinner

For Lone Star outdoor newS

Part of what drives the obsession of diehard jetty anglers is the mystery of what might be lurking in the waters surrounding the granite where the Gulf and coastal bays connect.

Ray Terrazas recently experienced this first-hand while he was casting swimbaits for tarpon and jackfish from the Port Aransas south jetty. He ended up catching a cobia from the rocks.

“I had been fishing most of the morning and was seeing good numbers of tarpon in the 3- to 4-foot range rolling out off of the rocks,” Terrazas said. “I tried using a few different swimbaits but couldn’t get a tarpon to eat.”

As the morning wore on, Terrazas said the tarpon activity slowed, but rafts of mullet began to show up with the incoming tide. Jacks were following the mullet, and before long, he

was seeing jackfish busting along the surface.

“I started casting out into the open water in front of me, and all of a sudden I felt a fish crush my lure, soon after it hit the water,” Terrazas said. “It felt like a jackfish at first, but then it started fighting a lot differ ently than a jack would. I could see a dark silhouette under the surface and be gan to wonder what I had just hooked.”

As the fish got closer, Terrazas finally realized he was hooked up with a co bia. Luckily, the tide was up and as he brought the fish in close to the rocks, a wave helped push the fish toward him and he was able to land it without any help from other anglers.

Breezy, not easy

promotes C&R

By Nate Skinner For Lone Star outdoor newS

The cobia ended up measuring 38 inches in length, just 2 inches under the minimum legal length required to retain it. After taking some photos with the fish, Terrazas released it safely back into the water.

Another avid jetty an-

Getaway Lodge at Port Mansfield held its 4th annual REEL Lifesaver catch and release tournament the weekend of June 1. Anglers were met with windy conditions and lethargic speckled trout and redfish on game day.

Each fish entered by participants in the lure-only tournament was photographed on a measuring board, before being safely released.

were the only two anglers to success fully enter two redfish and one speckled trout to qualify for the event’s top prize for the longest combined stringer. Alaniz edged out Hughston by 2 inches and won first place for the longest combined stringer with a total length of 61 inches.

Alaniz fished with Capt. Heath Schley, and said all of the fish he caught came on soft plastics.

“I caught the speck and my first redfish that went towards my threefish stringer not long after we got out of the boat to make our first wade of the morning,” Alaniz said. “I caught my second redfish later in the day,

Medicated feed approved for wild quail

By Craig Nyhus Lone Star outdoor newS

After more than a decade of research, applications and years of waiting, a drug integrated into medicated feed to control parasites in wild quail has been approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA concluded the drug

integrated into a medicated feed is both safe and effective in controlling parasites in wild quail in their natural habitat. For instance, eyeworm parasite infection levels in the Rolling Plains region of West Texas have been documented at over 60 percent and cecal worms have been documented at up to 90-percent levels throughout Texas.

The medicated feed crumble integrating the anthelmintic drug will be known as the new retail product “QuailGuard.”

In labeling instructions, the FDA recommends that the medicated feed be in the form of a crumble and not generally broadcast but offered through strategic feeding stations and/ or appropriate feeders.

while drifting, after Schley decided we would have better luck finding more redfish by covering water and sightcasting from the boat. He was right, and it worked.”

The redfish Alaniz entered were both in the 20-inch range, and his trout was right at 17 inches long. He caught plenty of other, smaller trout throughout the day, but the 17-incher was his best.

“I felt like the fish wasn’t going to be near big enough to help me place in the tournament,” he said. “I was about to let it go when Schley stopped me and suggested that we go ahead and enter it.”

It turns out that the 17-inch trout,

QuailGuard is a field-tested

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FISHING

Rutting axis (P 4) Roaring in West Texas.

Duck patterns shifting (P 4) Mallard, pintail shifting north, study shows.

Flooded brush for bass (P 9) New structure holding fish.

Cheater at Big Bass Splash (P 9) Man stuffs weights in fish.

Volume 20, Issue 20

Brittany Geer competed in the 4th annual REEL Lifesaver catch-and-release tournament hosted by Getaway Lodge at Port Mansfield. Conditions were difficult and most of the fish caught were on the smaller side. Photo by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

Ray Terrazas caught this cobia while fishing for jacks and tarpon from the Port Aransas south jetty. Photo from Ray Terrazas.

A medicated feed for wild quail has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and the feed and feeders are ready for Texas landowners. Photo from QuailGuard.

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HUNTING

Axis rut on

By Nate Skinner

Summertime is for axis. At least that’s what spotted deer fanatics will tell you. Areas farther west are seeing full-blown rutting activity, while areas farther east are just now seeing the axis rut gain momentum.

Owner and operator of Mcfadin Outfitters, Cooper Mcfadin, has been chasing axis in the Stonewall, Sonora and Leakey areas, where he said the spotted deer are in full rut mode. The bucks are showing a lot of aggression toward each other, and he’s been seeing quite a few with broken up antlers.

“The axis bucks are definitely covering some ground right now,

trying to keep track of their does,” Mcfadin said. “Quite a few of the bucks still have a lot of does with them, while other herds seem to have already split up. They have been extremely vocal, and we’ve been able to go after them based on where we are hearing bucks roar.”

During the early morning hours, Mcfadin and his hunters

Mallard, pintail migration shifts north, east

By Craig Nyhus Lone Star outdoor newS

For years, Texas duck hunters have contended migration patterns have shifted north, based on fewer ducks seen in the state, especially concerning mallards and pintail during the prime hunting months of December and January. A new study appears to confirm their observations.

The study, called “Long-term changes in autumn–winter harvest distributions vary among duck species, months, and subpopulations,” published June 3 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, used 60 years of band recovery data from the Central and Mississippi Flyways of North America to determine that blue-winged teal winter distributions shifted westward and southward and that mallard and northern pintail distributions shifted eastward and northward by 60 to several hundred miles.

“This research was in direct response to public concern that duck winter ranges had shifted north-

have been chasing roaring bucks. After the sun gets higher in the sky, he has had success sitting over watering holes, especially during the mid-morning and early afternoon hours.

“Sitting over watering holes and water troughs has been effective for hunters chasing axis with a bow,” Mcfadin said. “Now that it’s really starting to get hot during

the middle of the day, the bucks have been visiting water sources like clockwork. This has allowed us to experience some close encounters with mature axis bucks from brush blinds and well-placed tripods.”

Guide Josh Haese said the axis bucks in San Angelo and its surrounding areas in Tom Green County are just now starting to

Breeder loses battle

like the ones used to inoculate cattle — while shooting them.

A lengthy battle between RW Trophy Ranch and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has come to an end. On May 28 officials shot and killed 246 of the remaining 249 captive white-tailed deer on Robert Williams’ high-fence ranch in Kaufman County.

In early 2021, the first detection of CWD occurred at RW Trophy Ranch, home to 637 deer at the time. The finding was a surprise to owner Robert Williams, since the ranch was located in a CWDfree county and had not sent or received any new deer for nearly a decade before the finding.

Several lawsuits and appeals followed but, on May 15, the Texas Supreme Court vacated a temporary restraining order against the agency that had been placed in Kaufman County District Court.

Williams and his daughter, Maree Lou Williams, had personally euthanized three of their oldest deer before workers arrived. Williams said officials refused to run the deer through chutes —

“They could have mercifully killed them, and I wouldn’t have felt quite as bad about it,” Williams told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram “But they were cruelly slaughtered, and those deer went crazy. They bounced off the fence, ran into each other and broke each other’s legs.”

By the time of the depopulation, 352 deer had died at the ranch, with 254 (72 percent) of them testing positive for CWD, according to TPWD.

The level of outbreak at the ranch resulted in the Texas Deer Association, largely made up of deer breeders, sending a letter to TPWD’s Executive Director David Yoskowitz supporting the depopulation.

The letter, sent in conjunction with officials with the Texas Wildlife Association, said in part:

“While we sympathize with the facility owners, and certainly wish they had never been harmed by chronic wasting disease infecting their herd, we also realize the prev-

For Lone Star outdoor newS

Lone Star outdoor newS

Trey Rigby harvested this unique axis buck while hunting with El Sapo Guide Service. Photo by Brandon Blanch.

Mountain lion trapping standards set

Lone Star outdoor newS

Texas is one of only two states where trapping of mountain lions is legal (the other is Utah). Unlike other public land states with resident mountain lions, Texas lions live largely on private lands, so landowners control access to hunters and trappers. Trapping is performed to protect vulnerable livestock, such as domestic sheep or goats, and is regularly practiced to protect desert bighorn populations.

After a coalition of animal protection groups petitioned Texas Parks and Wildllife Department to protect mountain lions in June of 2022, asking, among other things, for the 36-hour trap check and a ban on “canned hunting,” the practice of releasing a mountain lion from captivity to hunt with hounds, already illegal under federal law.

In Texas, mountain lions are considered nongame, and as such there have been no restrictions on methods of take. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission changed that on May 23, establishing trapping standards for mountain lions in the state.

In a new regulation, the Commission made it a violation to leave a live mountain lion in a trap for more than 36 hours. While the regulation does not prescribe a 36-hour trap check for mountain lions, in essence anyone trapping in mountain lion habitat will be required to check their traps more frequently to avoid violating the regula-

New class of game wardens

tion. The same regulation makes it a state offense to release a mountain lion for hunting purposes.

The 36-hour trap check standard is established for furbearers during the fur harvest season, but has not been implemented for nongame which are being trapped for depredation purposes. With this regulation, TPWD has entered into regulating predator trapping for the first time.

The Texas Trappers and Fur Hunters Association (TTFHA), along with agriculture and landowner groups, opposed the regulation, primarily because it runs the risk of turning a coyote depredation trapper into a poacher if he or she inadvertently catches a mountain lion.

An exception to the regulation was established for snares with a maximum opening of less than 10 inches, making it possible to set a lethal snare for coyote damage management without having to worry about the remote possibility of catching a mountain lion.

“Nobody cares more for the health and well-being of our wildlife than hunters and trappers,” said Mike Bodenchuk, President of TTFHA. “Compliance with the new regulation will require trappers to understand exactly what is legal and possibly adopt new technology to help monitor traps in remote areas. Electronic monitoring of traps is possible, but it comes with added expense for landowners and trappers.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department graduated the 66th Texas Game Wardens and Texas State Park Police cadet class May 31. The class included 31 game wardens and 10 state park police officers.

Following their eight months of training at the Texas Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton County, the newly commissioned state peace officers were recognized during a special ceremony.

The graduates will begin their new careers stationed in counties and state parks throughout Texas.

All graduates met the state-mandated requirements for peace officer certification, including criminal and constitutional law, firearms, self-defense, use of force, defensive driving, arrest, search and seizure, ethics and first aid.

The new wardens and park police are joining the 515 game wardens and 130 park police officers currently in the field. Game Wardens

• Hunter W. Anderlitch – Calhoun County

• Branda G. Arispe – Aransas County

• Cody C. Brown – Webb County

• Seth R. Brzozowski – McMullen County

• Garrett W. Chavez – Terrel County

• Toby T. Davis – Nolan County

• Hannah C. Eakin – Chambers County

• Chad T. Fletcher – Chambers County

• Braden D. Gross – Nueces County

• Scott R. Heller – Travis County

• Jacob P. Henderson – Travis County

• Alberto A. Herrera – Cameron County

• Anthony A. Holmes – Real County

• Colby N. Horn – Loving, Winkler and Ward Counties

• Nicklaus F. Houle – Harris County

• Scott A. Jennings – Webb County

• Orion D. Macias – Nueces County

• John R. Masterson – Harris County

• Trevor C. Mikos – Zapata County

• Marshall W. Mohr – Tarrant County

• Hunter M. Nelson – Webb County

• Brandon R. New – Jefferson County

• Salomon Pena – Zapata County

• Matthew J. Reynolds – Hutchinson and Carson Counties

• Patrick V. Simpson – Val Verde County

• Ryan J. Swindell – El Paso County

• Hannah L. Tant – Matagorda County

• Lex A. Thompson – Jefferson County

• Samuel T. Valderas – Harris County

• Kaleb L. Williams – Zapata County

• Aaron J. Zarvou – Denton County

State Park Police

• Armando Aguilar – Inks Lake State Park

• Ryan P. Blalock – Lake Somerville State Park

• Gary D. Carter – Garner State Park

• Ryan E. Friedrichs – Lake Casa Blanca State Park

• Jake M. Holtman – Colorado Bend State Park

• Nathan L. Homeier – Devil’s River State Natural Area

• Kevin K. Lynn – Choke Canyon State Park

• Garrett D. McClurg – Lake Corpus Christi State Park

• Spencer P. Pruett – McKinney Falls State Park

• Jeremiah O. Walker – Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

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TTHA brings back discount program

Texas Trophy Hunters Association has relaunched its Member Discount Program, designed to offer members savings on premier outdoor and hunting gear. The program not only aims to elevate members’ outdoor experiences, but also provides an exciting opportunity to collaborate with companies in the industry who want to reach Texas hunters and outdoorsmen and women directly.

As part of the relaunch, TTHA has expanded its network of partners to include brands like CVA, Bergara, Umarex, Tricer, G2 Ranch, Domain Outdoor and XS Sights. The benefits include up to 20 percent off on a wide range of hunting gear and accessories, special discounts on guided hunts from Texas ranches and international outfitters and savings on shooting equipment.

WMA technician recognized

Fernando Gutierrez, wildlife technician at Kerr Wildlife Management Area, received the 2024 James “Randy” Fugate Memorial Wildlife Division Professional of the Year Award.

Gutierrez joined the Wildlife Division in January 1993 at the Kerr WMA and has served in his role as a wildlife technician for more than 30 years.

Gutierrez is often sought out by neighbors, landowners, hunters and visitors. In doing so, he has taken on additional duties and provides technical guidance for several landowners in Kerr County with habitat recommendations, surveys and deer population management strategies.

His past travels and job duties have spanned from the construction of the bison pens in North Texas to pronghorn and bighorn captures in North and West Texas to alligator research and mottled duck captures on the Texas coast.

medicated feed crumble made from a proprietary blend of grains, minerals, vitamins and amino acids combined with the active drug ingredient, Fenbendazole. QuailGuard has been proven to be both palatable and effective throughout the FDA registration process.

Based on field research, the recommended application is for QuailGuard to be distributed with strategic feeders for a 21-day period in the spring and a 21-day period in the fall. Using a 50-pound bag per application and one feeder per 200 acres, QuailGuard will cost approximately $0.50 per acre for treatment once a feeding strategy has been set up.

An example of strategic feeding stations employing Quail Safe technology has proven to be effective in treating wild quail for parasites in multiple FDA-approved demonstration sites.

The approval follows nine years of research and application in coordination with the FDA by Dr. Ron Kendall, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Toxicology, Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory at Texas Tech University. Funding for the research was primarily provided by Park Cities Quail Coalition and the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation. The funds were raised by sportsmen concerned about the declining huntable populations of wild quail in Texas and beyond.

The parasite research was initiated in

show signs of rutting activity.

2009 by the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch’s “Operation Idiopathic Decline.” RPQRF has identified three sites in the Rolling Plains for additional research evaluating population responses of bobwhites at large-scale implementation and testing of the new feed.

QuailGuard, LLC is a joint venture between PCQC and Dr. Kendall. The majority of royalties from the sale of QuailGuard will go to PCQC and be spent on quail research and education in Texas. QuailGuard, LLC has no paid employees. Joe Crafton volunteers as president.

“This was a monumental project involving over a decade of research and ultimately involving dozens of highly credentialed professionals and has resulted in the publication of 44 scientific research papers so far. I am a quail hunter myself and feel passionately that QuailGuard will contribute to quail conservation and sustainability efforts,” said Dr. Kendall.

“Of course, habitat and weather are the most important factors,” Crafton said. “However, eyeworms and cecal worms on quail have reached pandemic levels in parts of Texas and this is the first solution to this significant factor in quail decline. This is another sportsman-led conservation success story and only the second wild animal ever approved by the FDA to be treated in their natural habitat with a medicated feed product.”

“Some of the bucks on the properties I hunt are just now rubbing off their velvet,” Haese said. “We are starting to see more and more bucks fight and show aggression toward one another.”

The mature bucks have been cruising and covering quite a bit of ground.

“They’re definitely getting more and more vocal with each passing day, and we’ve been able hunt them on the roar,” Haese said. “The ones that have been pretty vocal have made it possible for us to sneak in and close the distance on them without spooking them.”

Brandon Blanch of El Sapo Guide Service has been hunting axis from Kendalia to Sonora, and said the rut action right now just gets better the farther west you go.

“The Kendalia area has been fairly slow and the rut is barely kicking off there,” he said. “There’s been a few bucks screaming in Kendalia, but nothing crazy. Out in Sonora, the axis rut has been full bore for a few weeks.”

Blanch’s hunters have had to pick through a lot of broken up bucks recently, especially in the western portion of Sutton County.

“Our game plan for chasing axis has been to try to lay eyes on a buck before we start covering a lot of ground,” he said. “You can definitely go chasing after screaming bucks right now, but I prefer to see what caliber of buck is making all the noise, if possible, before I make my move.”

Blanch said that the number of vocal axis bucks is incredible.

“It’s some of the best rut activity that I’ve seen in the last several years,” he said. “It seems like our bigger, mature bucks are off running with single does, or single does with fawns, while the younger and middle age class bucks are still with large herds of does.”

Owner of Ezy-Axis deer calls, Eric Harrison, said he’s starting to hear quite a few axis bucks screaming and roaring in Kendall County, between Boerne and Comfort.

“It looks like the bucks are starting to really get fired up,” Harrison said. “Most of the bigger bucks that I’m seeing right now are hanging out with large groups of does.”

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Targeting the Texas cichlid

By Mike Bodenchuk

The Texas cichlid (pronounced sick-lid), also known as the Rio Grande cichlid, is a lesser-known gamefish in the state. Between their limited distribution in South and Central Texas and their habitat preference for rivers rather than reservoirs, fewer Texas fishermen have the chance to seek out these fish. Because of their preference for warm water, cichlids are a summertime fish. Everitte Davis, of Hondo, recently walked a stretch of Hondo Creek and said despite low water levels, cichlids were still actively feeding in the pools.

“Typically, we can sight fish to cichlids but the low water has a lot of suspended algae and the fish are in the deeper pools.” Davis said. “I fly-fished to them with a hopperdropper combo — a prince nymph under a size 14 hopper — and would twitch the hopper every now and then. The cichlids would be attracted to the hopper but took the nymph readily.”

Cichlids are a wide-ranging family of fish that include the exotic tilapia and the peacock bass. Equipped with cream and turquoise spots, they can grow up to 13 inches in length. Long anal and dorsal fins reach back towards the caudal fin, much like the saltwater tripletail. The males, which are

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FISHING

The jacks are back

Look for big schools or cruising singles

By Cory Byrnes For Lone Star outdoor newS

From Surfside to Padre Island, toward the end of May through late September the big jack crevalle move within reach for the surf and jetty fisherman. This year, fishing has started off on fire, despite the heavy rains dumping fresh and muddy water in the prime fishing areas of the jetties.

“The best time to target them is when the wind is coming into the beach with an incoming tide,” angler John Adams said. “They prefer the cleaner green water.”

Josh Efigenio is another avid fisherman who regularly targets jacks. He recommends a 10-foot heavy fast rod and spoons. He also will add another treble hook with a split to the top of his spoons to increase his odds of hooking up.

“Another effective way of targeting jacks is to float a balloon with live bait, or even an anchor line where you cast a 10- to 15-ounce weight as far out as you can and use a quick release clip to run your bait down the anchor line with a fighting rod.”

Jacks aren’t shy and will take a large bait.

“Ten to 12-inch mullet have been productive,” Efigenio said. “And giant top-water plugs can produce an exciting bite.”

Jack crevalle are powerful fish, famous for making long, extended runs. For those new to chasing the fish, Efigenio recommends a medium heavy rod with fast action, a reel with a quality drag system and a big capacity to handle the long runs.

“Your main line should be braid with a shock leader of about 20 yards of fluorocarbon,” he said, “Floro is more abrasion resistant.”

Landing jacks on the jetties presents a unique challenge.

“Come prepared,” Efigenio said. “Bring a pole net if not a gaff. Cleats on the jetties make things easier as well.”

Red snapper off to hot start

By Tony Vindell

The 2024 red snapper season in federal waters was off to an excellent start.

Anglers began catching their limits of two fish per day the weekend of June 1, which marked the start of the season. Fish sizes have been averaging 20 inches in length.

On both Saturday and Sunday, getting out was challenging due to 5-plus foot waves and strong, though not extreme, winds. On Monday, June 3, the forecast called for a windier day but two of the commercial boats around South Padre Island/Port Isabel left for federal waters.

“It was a little harder than expected,” said Bruno Reyes of San Benito. “But we both got our limits.”

However, his wife had to take a break due to seasickness — something he said had never happened to her before.

Other anglers, including Troy Wright, of SPI, and Maria Linda Gonzalez, of Brownsville, said the same thing.

They both said it took them a little longer to catch their two fish each but, in the end, they were happy with the result.

“I caught I don’t how many red snapper,” Wright said, “but they kept getting bigger and bigger.”

The fishing trip, aboard one of Capt. Murphy’s Deep Sea Fishing vessels, had 31 anglers from throughout the Rio Grande Valley, along with customers from Matamaros, Mexico and even a group of former U.S. Marines from Kansas.

Among them was Thad Pearson, who

has been coming to the Island for more than a decade to fish.

“I am staying here for 14 days,” he said. “I am going to fish at least eight times. Whenever you drive 1,200 miles to get to your destination, you have to take advantage of the situation.”

Pearson said they also booked a couple of private charter trips that they will take this or next week.

“I have fished all over the country and overseas,” he said, while holding two whoppers. “But I believe it can’t get any better than this.”

Although a closing date is yet to be announced, the red snapper season in federal waters is expected to run until Aug. 28.

For Lone Star outdoor newS

For Lone Star outdoor newS

Hill Country rivers hold Texas cichlids, and the fish are a favorite summer target, especially for flyfishermen. Photo by Mike Bodenchuk, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

Above, jetty angler John Adams launches a long cast to hook up with a jack crevalle. Photo by Cory Byrnes, for Lone Star Outdoor News. Right, Cory Byrnes landed a 25-pounter.

Photo by John Adams.

Thad Pearson shows the two red snapper he kept on a trip with Capt. Murphy’s Deep Sea Fishing once the season opened in federal waters June 1. Photo by Tony Vindell, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

Stuffing bass with lead at Big Bass Splash

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents were notified of a partici pant placing lead weights inside of a fish during the Big Bass Splash weigh-in on May 17. Upon arrival at the tournament, agents found 2.59 pounds of lead weights in a fish caught and weighed by Aaron Moreau, from Pollock, Louisiana.

Moreau, 38, left the scene but turned himself in May 23 after a warrant was placed for his arrest.

Chris Bennett, spokesperson for Big Bass Splash, said the fish was weighed in and recognized as suspicious by the tourna ment’s “bump man,” an official who mea sures the length of the fish before weigh-in. The weighmaster was signaled and the fish was held until authorities arrived.

The angler who finished in first place at the tournament took home a payout worth more than $100,000. A total of 2,247 an glers participated in the event.

High water brings strong bass bite

By Nate Skinner For Lone Star outdoor newS

Despite strong storms and flooding rains in many areas, the action for largemouth bass has not been disappointing. Many lakes have flooded structure and vegetation, and these areas are holding good numbers of fish. Anglers are catching fish both shallow and deep, with shad being the key.

Sam Rayburn Reservoir guide, Capt. Hank Harrison, said the elevated water level on the lake has created many new opportunities for anglers to fish flooded vegetation and flooded structure, and flooded shoreline habitat is holding a ton of bass.

“Flooded bushes and flooded trees have been excellent places to target recently,” Harrison said. “Primary and secondary points just outside of creeks are also holding good numbers of fish, especially along the inside edges of grass and near hard spots.”

Harrison has been fishing in 5-10 feet of water around flooded vegetation, as well as in 8-18 feet of water out off main lake and secondary points. Flipping Texas-rigged creature baits, swim jigs and chatterbaits have produced plenty of bites for his anglers while targeting flooded bushes and trees. Deep-diving crankbaits, football jigs and Carolina-rigged creature baits have been better in deeper water off points.

“We are seeing a lot of smaller fish schooling, but there have also been some bass in the 6- to 7-pound

Windy day at WCYF tourney

By Tony Vindell

For Lone Star outdoor newS

Rough was the word anglers used to de scribe the 2024 Willacy County Young Farm ers fishing tournament.

Strong winds prevailed from the start to the end of the tournament held Saturday, May 25 in Port Mansfield.

One angler, Robert Treto, said they fished at about 10 different stops to get a break in the weather, to no avail.

“It was rough,” he said, after he and his team of four arrived at the weigh-in table. “The wind never slowed down.”

Elsa resident Saul Alvarez, who caught 10 reds and three trout, showed up with one redfish. He said most of

Lone Star outdoor newS

the fish were undersized, but kept the bigger one in hopes of

After being alerted by tournament officials, agents found 2.59 pounds of lead weights in a bass submitted at the Big Bass Splash. Photo by LDFW.

Robert Moore caught this bass in a private lake on his family property.

This fished weighed just over 14 pounds, and appeared to have eaten three other, smaller bass, before striking his lure. Photo from Robert Moore.

Chad Kinney, right, won the Willacy County Young Farmers Grand Champion award, pictured with WCYF committee member John Butler. Photo by Tony Vindell, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT

ALAN HENRY: Water clear; 78 degrees; 2.44’ Low. Crappie are good on minnows.

AMISTAD: Water stained; 81 degrees; 67.52’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, crankbaits and small swimbaits. White bass are good on blades and spoons. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows.

ARLINGTON: Water stained; 75 degrees; 1.04’ high. Catfish are good on cut bait.

ARROWHEAD: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 3.65’ low. Catfish are good on cut shad.

ATHENS: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.90’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on shaky-head worms and jigs. Crappie are fair on small jigs.

AUSTIN: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on frogs, spooks and plastic worms.

BASTROP: Water stained; 80 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on flukes, weightless swimbaits and creature baits.

BENBROOK: Water stained; 74 degrees; 3.44’ high. Crappie are good on live minnows. Yellow bass are fair on soft plastics. Catfish are fair on worms.

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 74 degrees; 0.70’ high. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on rooster tails and small swimbaits. Catfish are good on stink bait and cut bait.

BRAUNIG: Water stained; 99 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics. Redfish are fair on spoons. Catfish are fair on cut bait and cheese bait.

BRIDGEPORT: Water stained; 78 degrees; 9.07’ low. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrids and sand bass are fair on slabs. Catfish are good on shad and prepared baits.

BROWNWOOD: Water stained; 79 degrees; 1.74’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are slow. Catfish are good on cut or prepared bait.

BUCHANAN: Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 8.71’ low. Striped bass are good on live shad. White bass are good on vertical jigging spoons. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cut shad.

CADDO: Water stained; 75 degrees; 2.75’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on flukes,

frogs and buzzbaits.

CALAVERAS: Water lightly stained; 95 degrees. Redfish are good on shrimp and live bait, or trolling plastics and spoons. Catfish are good on cut bait and cheese bait.

CANYON: Water stained; 82 degrees; 23.13’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters and drop shots. Stripers are good on swimbaits and spoons.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 76 degrees; 0.82’ high. Hybrids and white bass are good on spinners and slabs. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are slow.

CHOKE CANYON: Water stained; 85 degrees; 29.14’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on flukes, plastic worms and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and grubs. Catfish are good on cut bait and stink bait.

CONROE: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.27’ high. Catfish are good on worms, cured liver and punch bait.

COOPER: Water stained; 75 degrees: 1.00’ low. White bass are fair on shad and slabs. Catfish are good on cut bait.

CORPUS CHRISTI: 80 degrees; 10.21’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers and cheese bait.

EAGLE MOUNTAIN: Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.22’ high. White bass are good on slabs with teaser flies. Crappie are fair on jigs. Catfish are good on punch bait.

FALCON: Water stained; 75 degrees; 49.30’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, football jigs and drop shots. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on fresh cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water stained; 78 degrees. Largemouth bass are good near the dam on Carolinarigged worms and crankbaits. Catfish are fair on stink bait or cut bait.

slabs. Hybrid striped bass are fair on jigs. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on cut bait.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.20’ low. Striped bass are good on live shad and trolled Alabama rigs. White bass are good on Alabama rigs, lipless crankbaits and slabs. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on cut bait.

GRANGER: Water lightly stained; 75 degrees; 2.34’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits. Crappie are good on jigs. White bass are good on slab spoons. Catfish are good on shad.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 77 degrees; 18.36’ high. White bass are slow.

GREENBELT: Water stained; 70 degrees; 46.59’ low. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are good on cut bait.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.43’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits, shaky heads and swim jigs. Crappie are fair on minnows.

HUBBARD CREEK: Water stained; 79 degrees; 11.86’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics. Crappie are good on jigs.

JOE POOL: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 5.25’ high. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are slow.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water stained; 79 degrees; 3.27’ high. Largemouth bass are good on jigs, Texasrigged worms and drop shots. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on stink bait.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 76 degrees; 8.58’ high. White bass are good on slabs and swimbaits. Catfish are fair on cut bait.

LBJ: Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.22’ low. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on punch bait.

stained; 87 degrees; 0.05’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigs, frogs and chatter baits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair on beetle spins and spoons.

LIVINGSTON: Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.06’ high. White bass good on slabs and swim jigs.

MARTIN CREEK: Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.25’ high. Largemouth bass are good on swimbaits, senkos and worms. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers.

MEREDITH: Water stained; 70 degrees; 46.26’ low. Largemouth bass are good on minnows and artificials. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on jigs and slabs. Catfish are fair on crawlers, minnows, chicken liver and frozen shad.

MILLERS CREEK: Water stained; 75 degrees; 1.43’ low. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait.

cut carp and shad.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 2.46’ high. Largemouth bass are good on creature baits and frogs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass and hybrids are good on jigs and slabs. Catfish are good on stink bait and punch bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water clear; 84 degrees; 0.27’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina rigs, shaky heads and crankbaits. Striper are fair on live bait. White bass are fair on live shad, slabs and jigs. Catfish are fair on cut shad.

PROCTOR: Water stained; 75 degrees; 1.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on swimbaits. Catfish are good on shad.

RAY HUBBARD: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.10’ high. White bass are good on spinners. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are fair on prepared bait or cut shad.

NACOGDOCHES:

Water stained; 80 degrees; 3.89’ high. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics and deep-diving crankbaits. Crappie are good on jigs. Catfish are fair on live minnows.

NACONICHE: Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.50’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits and square-billed crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are slow.

NASWORTHY: Water lightly stained; 84 degrees. 0.45’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chatter baits, spinner baits and soft plastics. Crappie are good on jigs. Catfish are fair on cut bait and stink bait.

RAY ROBERTS: Water lightly stained; 75 degrees; 5.74’ high. Crappie are fair on jigs or minnows.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.19’ high. White bass are fair on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on live shad. Crappie are slow. Catfish are fair on shad.

SAM RAYBURN: Water stained; 78 degrees; 5.56’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics and crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair on slab spoons. Catfish are good on minnows and cut baits.

n Saltwater reports

Page 19

bait and swimbaits. Catfish are fair on prepared baits.

TEXOMA: Water stained; 75 degrees; 2.64’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are good on live shad. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared baits.

TOLEDO BEND: Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.77’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters, frogs and spinner baits. Crappie are slow.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 82 degrees; 48.24’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on flukes.

TWIN BUTTES: Water stained. 84 degrees; 34.51’ low. White bass are good on top-waters and slabs. Catfish are fair on cheese bait.

WACO: Water stained; 78 degrees; 16.95’ high. Hybrids and stripers are fair on live bait. Catfish are fair on cut and prepared baits.

WALTER E LONG: Water stained; 84 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on plastic worms. Crappie are good on minnows.

WELSH: Water stained. 83 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on swimbaits and top-waters. Catfish are good on fresh cut bait and stink bait.

WHITE RIVER: Water stained; 79 degrees; 21.84’ low. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on blood bait.

FORK: Water stained; 76 degrees; 0.86’ high. Largemouth bass are good on top-water frogs, Texas rigs and Carolina rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs.

FT PHANTOM HILL: Water stained; 78 degrees; 6.03’’ low. White bass are good on

LEWISVILLE: Water stained; 79 degrees; 7.95’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits, spinner baits and soft plastics. White bass are fair on slabs, jigs and live bait. Hybrid stripers are good on slabs, jigs and live bait. Catfish are fair on cut shad and punch bait.

LIMESTONE: Water

O H IVIE: Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 28.92’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on swimbaits, crankbaits and 10-inch worms. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are fair on lipless crankbaits and top-waters. Catfish are fair on stink bait and earthworms.

OAK CREEK: Water lightly stained; 76 degrees; 16.24’ low. Largemouth bass are good on creature baits, stick baits and square-billed crankbaits. Crappie are fair on jigs. Catfish are good on

SOMERVILLE: Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 1.67’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and spinner baits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on pet spoons and jigs. Hybrids are good on cut shad and jigs. Catfish are good on stink bait.

SPENCE: Water stained; 75 degrees. 48.07’ low. Largemouth bass are good on jigs. Crappie are slow. Catfish are fair on cut bait.

TAWAKONI: Water lightly stained; 76 degrees; 2.82’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on frogs and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrid stripers and white bass are good on live

WHITNEY: Water stained; 79 degrees; 7.22’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are slow. Catfish are good on cut shad.

WORTH: Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.79’ low. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are fair on jigs. Catfish are good on punch bait.

WRIGHT PATMAN: Water stained; 74 degrees; 4.43’ high. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on cut bait.

—TPWD

FOUR RESCUED FROM OVERTURNED TUG, BARGE

The Coast Guard rescued four people after a tug and barge overturned near Freeport. A mayday call reported the tug and barge were rolling over, with four people aboard. Boat, airplane and helicopter crews responded. The helicopter crew located the life raft and directed the boat crew to its position. The boat crew brought three people aboard and transferred them to Station Freeport. The helicopter crew hoisted one person, who sustained a back injury, aboard the helicopter and the person was transferred to the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston.

K9 RETIRES TO LIVE WITH HANDLER

K9 Dexter officially retired from service on April 30. He joined the Game Warden K9 team in 2018 and served in Texa as well as assisting with searches in Kentucky, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He was TPWD’s first human remains detection K9. Dexter assisted with numerous missing persons cases, criminal cases, natural disasters and even a large plane crash event. Among these included multiple searches for blood evidence recovery and searches for drown-

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

FATAL ACCIDENT ON TOLEDO BEND

Five customers chartered a fishing boat with a guide on Toledo Bend Reservoir. The wind and waves quickly picked up around 11:50 a.m. and a wave hit the guide’s pontoon boat, causing it to capsize. All six people aboard were ejected into the water, but the guide was able to call 911. Search and rescue teams with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Sabine Parish Fire District responded. LDWF agents found three of the customers and the guide clinging to the capsized vessel and pulled them onto the LDWF vessel around 1 p.m. The body of Macy Richard, 27, of Opelousas, was recovered by the search and rescue teams shortly thereafter. Search and rescue teams recovered the body of Jerilyn Hebert, 57, also of Opelousas, around 4:30 p.m.

ing victims. K9 Dexter served with his partner, Sgt. K9 Handler Kryssie Thompson. He will enjoy his retirement with his handler.

WARDENS ASSIST AFTER TEMPLE TORNADO

Twelve area game wardens responded to the tornado in the Temple area and worked through the night searching and aiding victims, conducting street patrols and preventing looting. Wardens continued to assist local law enforcement while the inclement

weather and downed power lines continued.

WARDEN RECOGNIZED FOR SAVING LIFE

McLennan County Game Warden

Dustin Delgado was included in a group of Law Enforcement Officers who received Life Saving Awards from Waco Police Department Chief Sheryl Victorian. In October 2023, the officers were working an event in downtown Waco when they observed an individual experiencing a medical emergency. The officers initiated lifesaving

techniques with CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator. While these officers do not work together regularly, their quick actions and teamwork ultimately saved the man’s life.

BOAT HITS BRIDGE, ONE DEAD

Shortly before sunset, Jefferson County game wardens and first responders responded to a single boat accident on the North Fork of Taylor Bayou. Lewis Newsom, 48, of Groves, was driving the boat when it struck the Boondocks

Road Bridge. There were five passengers in the boat in addition to the driver. One female passenger sustained fatal injuries. Newsom and a male passenger were hospitalized in serious condition.

COBIA AND FLOUNDER ON SHRIMP BOAT

Calhoun and Victoria County game wardens were inspecting commercial Gulf shrimp boats near Port O’ Connor. They observed a shrimp boat entering Matagorda Bay through the Port O’ Connor jetties. The boat was traveling to the Port of Palacios after returning from shrimping in Louisiana waters. Once the wardens boarded the boat, they inspected the boat’s freezer. Inside, they discovered several bags of flounder and one cobia. The wardens determined the crew was over their limit of flounder and the cobia had been caught illegally. Citations and civil restitution are pending. The fish were donated locally to those in need.

e world leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and promoting sustainable-use wildlife conservation worldwide is thrilled to be celebrating our grand opening in San Antonio, Texas!

SATURDAY, JUNE 29TH 3:00PM – 7:00PM

Mike Pattison, of Port Neches, caught this 10.75-pound bass on March 16 on Toledo Bend Reservoir. He weighed the fish in at Fin & Feather and will receive a fiberglass replica from the Toledo Bend Lake Association for allowing the organization to weigh, measure, tag and return this fish to the lake.

J Corky Randolph has been hunting the same ranch in Val Verde County for nearly 23 years, but hadn’t pulled the trigger since 2007. This past season, he took this buck opening morning.

Jaxon Perez, 8, shot his first buck at his grandfather’s lease in Llano County with his new .300 Blackout.

Jaden Grey caught this speckled trout near Corpus Christi while fishing with Capt James Sanchez

Tracie Frazier, of McKinney, using her .308, shot this 10-point buck at 170 yards in Zavala County.

Active jetties

Continued from page 1

gler, Mario Perez, recently made an impressive catch from the rocks. He landed a few 3- to 4.5-foot tarpon from the Port A jetties while fishing in the evening and through sunset.

“The action started about 6 p.m. and lasted after sunset into nightfall,” Perez said. “I was fishing with a buddy of mine, and we were able to land three or four tarpon, and hooked up to and lost just as many.” Perez was throwing bucktail jigs and swimbaits at the tarpon.

“They fed in spurts,” he said. “I was seeing a lot of them rolling and couldn’t get any bites. Then they started hitting the closer it got to sunset.”

Perez landed the last one of the trip right after the sun went down.

“We had headlamps on, and could see the fish shining in the light as it got closer to the rocks,” Perez explained. “It was definitely a neat experience.”

Mario Perez landed this tarpon on the Port Aransas Jetties after sunset. Photo from Mario Perez.

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28 Fri 11:58 5:46 ----- 6:10 06:23 08:25

TEXAS SUN, MOON AND TIDES

Nueces Bay

Migration moving

ward,” said Lisa Webb, Southern Regional Supervisor for the USGS Cooperative Research Units Program and study coauthor. “It was made possible by over half a century of work and investment by numerous waterfowl banders and supporting agencies in the United States and Canada.”

The study results showed that while the winter ranges of mallards and northern pintail did, indeed, shift northward during the months of December and January, the scale of the shifts were small compared to the overall geographic distributions of these species during those months. Furthermore, there was no evidence of complete abandonment of large wintering regions. And while the general trend of northward shifts in winter ranges was confirmed, the authors caution that summarizing shifts across species, months or subpopulations may hide finer-scale patterns that would be important to habitat conservation and population management.

To determine if and in what directions the duck species’ ranges had shifted, the authors first created duck distributions based on locations from over 350,000 banded ducks recovered during autumn and winter months. Then they compared the overlap of duck distributions for the three species between the

1960s and the present day.

The purpose of the study was to determine if, where and how much the ducks’ ranges had shifted, not why, so follow-up research is already underway to uncover the causes.

“A wide variety of factors, including loss and degradation of breeding habitat, changing land use, climate change and ever-evolving agricultural practices are likely all affecting migration patterns of ducks and geese,” said USFWS Wildlife Biologist and study co-author Heath Hagy.

Overall, band recovery centroid locations for bluewinged teal shifted southwest and centroid locations for mallard and northern pintail shifted northeast 60 to several hundred miles for most banding regions, months, and isopleth levels.

Shifts in band recovery distributions varied by month, with southward shifts for bluewinged teal most pronounced in October and northward shifts for mallard and northern pintail greatest during December and January.

“Our findings support the popular notion that winter (December–January) distributions of duck species have shifted north; however, the extent and direction of distributional changes vary among species and subpopulations,” the study concluded.

Lure-only, C&R

Continued from page 1

competition

combined with his two reds, was enough to earn Alaniz a first place finish.

“It was a good lesson to learn,” Alaniz said. “You just never know what size of fish might place in a tournament on any given day. I was up against a lot of excellent anglers during this event, and that just shows you how tough the fishing was. In years past, it took much larger fish to place in this tournament.”

Prizes were also awarded to the anglers who entered the longest speckled trout, the longest redfish, and the redfish with the most spots. Joe Counterman won the longest speckled trout category with a 23-inch fish. David Sams took the longest redfish category with a 26.5-inch red, and Parker Holt won the redfish with most the spots category.

Once the official tournament fishing hours ended, all of the participants met up on a waist-deep flat to compete in a bonus fish-off contest. Each angler was given the same KWigglers ball tail soft plastic, in Getaway Lodge’s signature color pattern, called the Jalapeño Popper. Then all of the tournament participants spread out, side-by-side in a line, and began wading downwind along the flat. The first one to catch a keeper-sized game fish would win a Yeti cooler.

Dean Meyer, of San Antonio, ended up catching an 18-inch speckled trout before anyone else, winning the fish-off.

The final competition of the tournament involved all anglers wading a flat while fishing the same lure. Dean Meyer caught the first speckled trout, winning the bonus fish-off. Photo by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

LONE STAR OUTDOOR PUZZLER

Solution on Page 22

ACROSS

6) Group of fish

7) Hunting boot brand

9) Sinker type

11) Centerville’s county

13) Fishing line brand

14) A Great Lake

16) Egypt’s capital

18) Carp that eats hydrilla

19) Fabric in some waders

23) San Antonio’s county

24) The green tractor

25) Ammo brand

26) Coastal bay

28) Shotshell brand

29) The family of lions

31) Longview’s county

32) Fin on the side

34) Safari destination

36) Thermal optics brand

39) A duck favorite

40) Meridian’s county

41) A border lake

43) Duck decoy brand

44) Trout species

DOWN 1) Bow type 2) The collection of hogs

3) Montgomery County’s seat 4) The mule deer hunters’ org.

5) Texas lake with redfish 8) An African antelope 10) Offshore species

12) Fly rod retailer 15) North Texas lake, Ray ____ 17) Shotgun brand

19) West Texas lake

20) One of the divers

21) Rifle brand

22) Group of badgers

27) rver that flows through Fort Worth

30) Slang for the pintail

31) One of the shad

33) Famous wintertime bass lake

35) Fannin County’s seat

37) Henderson County’s seat

38) Frog lure

39) Fishing hook maker

42) Gathering of gorillas

Hoffstatter joins DSC

DSC hired Mike Hoffstatter as its new Chapter Development Coordinator.

Sales agency for GPO

German Precision Optics USA retained Schooler Outdoor Marketing as its sales agency in the 20-state region east of the Rocky Mountains.

Marketing agency for Rosco

Rosco Manufacturing hired Murray Road Agency as its marketing agency of record.

Regional director at RMEF

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has an opening for a regional director to serve over eastern portions of South Dakota and Nebraska.

Protheroe joins Primary Arms

Primary Arms Government named Bob Protheroe as the new Director of Government Programs and Sales.

Position at S&W

Smith & Wesson is seeking a senior manager of professional business development and U.S. government sales.

Acquisition for Acme Tackle

Acme Tackle Company acquired Two Brothers LLC, makers of 2B Fishing and Elliott Rods.

Corbetta promoted at Burris U.S. optic manufacturer Burris promoted Alberto Corbetta to senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Ani-Logics acquired

PRADCO Outdoor Brands acquired Ani-Logics Outdoors, maker of deer nutrition products.

Vista officially rejects offer

Vista Outdoor Inc. has notified MNC Capital of the company’s decision to reject MNC’s unsolicited interest in purchasing Vista Outdoor in an all-cash transaction for $37.50 per Vista Outdoor share.

6 mahi-mahi fillets, boneless/skinless

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 tbsps. Dijon mustard

2 tbsps. Creole mustard

2 tbsps. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Tony’s Original Creole Seasoning

1 container (8 ozs.) crème fraîche

1 lb. thin fresh asparagus

1 tbsp. olive oil

Lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place fish in a shallow baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together shallot, mustards, mayonnaise and Creole seasoning. Gently fold in crème fraîche just until combined. Spoon mixture over fish. Bake until fish is golden brown and flakes easily with a fork, 15-20 minutes. Transfer sauce to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Increase oven temperature to broil. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place asparagus in a single layer on prepared pan. Drizzle with oil. Broil until browned and just tender, 5-7 minutes. Serve fish with asparagus and sauce.

—tonychachere.com 1 venison heart, chopped

sweet onion, thinly sliced

large eggs

stick butter

steak seasoning

powder

and pepper

Thinly slice sweet onion and begin to caramelize in a cast iron frying pan with about half a stick of butter on low to medium heat. Once the onion is soft, remove from pan and set aside. Increase the heat to medium-high and more butter if necessary. Crack fresh large eggs in a bowl and use a fork or whisk to beat the eggs just until the yolks and whites are blended. Coat the heart pieces in salt, pepper, garlic powder and steak seasoning, and drop them into the pan to quick fry. Stir them as they brown well on each side. While they are cooking, scramble the eggs. When the heart is almost done, mix in the egg and onion back into the pan. Stir well until the egg is cooked through.

—Maryland DNR

Puzzle by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

SABINE LAKE: 78 degrees. Redfish, black drum and speckled trout are good on Carolinarigged live shrimp over rock piles and shell along the Sabine Channel. Flounder are good on live shrimp along the banks.

BOLIVAR: 79 degrees. Redfish are good on live shrimp and artificials. Sand trout, black drum and speckled trout are good on live shrimp along the jetty.

TRINITY BAY: 83 degrees. Redfish and black drum are fair on shrimp near the edges of rocks along the Houston Ship Channel. Redfish are fair on dead shrimp on the East shoreline.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: 85 degrees. Speckled trout are fair wading with live croaker and artificial baits. Speckled trout, redfish, and black drum are fair on live shrimp near the mouths of bayous and marsh drains.

GALVESTON BAY: 83 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are fair on soft plastics and live shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: 85 degrees. Speckled trout and sand trout are good on soft plastics under working birds. Redfish and black drum are fair on live shrimp.

TEXAS CITY: 83 degrees. Speckled trout, redfish and black drum are good on live shrimp at the jetties. Speckled trout, redfish and flounder are good on live shrimp and various artificial lures along the levee, Mosquito Island, and the Moses Lake Tidal Gate.

FREEPORT: 85 degrees. Speckled trout, redfish and flounder are good around San Luis Pass on live bait and soft plastics. Speckled trout and redfish are good on soft plastics and live shrimp under the birds.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: 84 degrees. Black drum and speckled trout are fair on live shrimp under a popping cork. Speckled trout are fair on live croaker.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: 84 degrees. Black drum and speckled trout are fair on live shrimp under a popping cork. Speckled trout are fair on live croaker. Redfish are fair on shrimp and soft plastics.

PORT O’CONNOR: 84 degrees. Redfish are good on Spanish sardines at the jetties. Bull redfish and jack crevalle are good on various natural baits along the ends of the jetties. Speckled trout are fair on croaker.

SAN ANTONIO BAY: 84 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are good on shrimp over sand and grass flats. Speckled trout are good on live shrimp at the jetties. Black drum are good on shrimp.

ROCKPORT: 88 degrees. Speckled trout are good on croaker and shrimp under a popping cork. Redfish are fair on shrimp, cut menhaden and cut mullet. Black drum are good on live or dead shrimp.

REDFISH BAY: 83 degrees. Speckled trout are slow. Redfish are good on shrimp and soft plastics over shallow flats. Black drum are good on dead shrimp fished along the bottom.

PORT ARANSAS: 84 degrees. Redfish are good on shrimp, blue crab and cut bait. Speckled trout are good on croaker and free-lined live shrimp.

CORPUS CHRISTI: 83 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on live shrimp and croaker. Redfish are good on shrimp over shallow flats. Black drum are good on dead shrimp over sand flats.

BAFFIN BAY: 90 degrees. Redfish and trout are fair on live bait, soft plastics and topwaters.

PORT MANSFIELD: 85 degrees. Redfish are fair on top-waters and soft plastics on the flats. Speckled trout are fair on soft plastics near the edge of grass beds in waist-deep water. Flounder are fair on soft plastics over flats with grass beds and sand pockets adjacent to drop-offs.

SOUTH PADRE: 85 degrees. Speckled trout are good on live shrimp under a popping cork. Redfish are good on cut mullet fished along the bottom. Flounder are fair on soft plastics and live bait.

High water hiding spots

Continued from page 9

range mixed in,” Harrison said. “There are some larger bass up shallow in the bushes in 5-10 feet of water, but you really have to cover a lot of ground to find them. More of the larger fish seem to be holding out a little deeper.”

Robert Moore was recently fishing a private lake that was stocked more than 50 years ago on his family’s property in Bandera, when he spotted a large bass that looked to be chasing other smaller bass along the bank. Moore tried coaxing the fish to eats several different lures, but she would not strike his offerings. Finally, he pitched a 9-inch flutter snake in the fish’s direction, and she ate it.

“The fish put on a show after she was hooked, and tail-walked across the surface almost the entire way to me,” Moore said. “When I landed her, I noticed her belly was huge, and it felt like there were two decent sized bass in her gut. She also had the tail of another bass barely hanging out of her throat that I could see inside of her mouth.” Moore said the bass weighed just over 14 pounds on his scale, and as best he could tell, had eaten three smaller bass before striking his lure. The fish was released and swam off healthy.

•

Travis Cockerham, has been spending most of his time on Lake Buchanan, where he said the bass bite has been pretty consistent. Shallow, rocky points have been providing the most action for his clients.

“We’ve been catching most of our fish lately on squarebill crankbaits and big top-water plugs like a spook,” Cockerham said. “There have been a ton of shad hanging out over the tops of rocks and boulders along shallow points, and the bass have been stacked up and feeding on them.”

During cloudy conditions, the top-water action has lasted throughout the entire day. On sunny days, the bass have preferred a subsurface presentation not too long after sunrise.

“Most of the fish are holding in 1 to 3 feet of water over the rocks,” Cockerham said. “They will move out off the edge of the rocky points on hot, sunny days during the midday hours, and stage along the dropoffs in 6 to 12 feet of water. Carolina rigs have been producing the most bites when the bass move out a little deeper.”

According to Cockerham, there is plenty of flooded vegetation and structure on Buchanan to target, with plenty of baitfish and bass around.

“There are a lot of solid, 3-pounders out there right now,” Cockerham said. “We are catching anywhere from 20 to 30 fish or more each trip. It’s a really fun time to be on the water.”

Big donation to DU

Corporate partner Cox Enterprises is establishing a fund to support conservation in honor of Jim Kennedy, chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises and chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation. The $100 million gift from the newly established fund will go directly towards Ducks Unlimited’s land trust, Wetlands America Trust, to help conserve North America’s prairie region.

“It has always been important to me to leave the world better than I found it, and I was so honored when Alex proposed the idea of creating this fund,” Kennedy said. “Ducks Unlimited and Wetlands America Trust are great partners to conserve and restore our prairies for future generations.”

hunting of game birds. Now, the DNREC has the authority to allow Sunday hunting for waterfowl and game birds. Previously, a prohibition on Sunday hunting for deer was relaxed in 2016 and lifted entirely in 2018.

—Delta Waterfowl

GEORGIA

Record jack crevalle

Lauren E. Harden, 21, of St. Marys, Georgia, set a women’s state saltwater fish record by landing a 33-pound, 10.72-ounce jack crevalle on May 24 while fishing on Cumberland Island.

The previous record of 30 pounds, 6 ounces was set in 1981 by Ann Allen of St. Simons Island. Harden’s catch was officially verified and recognized by the Georgia Department of Natural Resource after evaluation.

Kennedy has been a volunteer with Ducks Unlimited for more than 50 years, has served on its board of directors and was Wetlands America Trust’s founding president. Kennedy was recently awarded the Ducks Unlimited Conservation Achievement Award for accomplishments that have made exceptional contributions to conservation in North America.

DELAWARE

Sunday hunting approved

Waterfowl hunters in Delaware received a boost in opportunity when Gov. John Carney signed House Bill 271 into law. The new law repeals the decades-old prohibition of hunting waterfowl and other game birds on Sundays in Delaware.

As a result, hunters will now be able to hunt both days of the weekend, which for many working people and students, essentially doubles the number of days they have available to hunt waterfowl.

Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control maintains authority to establish and regulate season dates, bag limits, and enforcement for the

ARKANSAS

Former AGFC director dies

Loren Hitchcock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission director in 2011-12, died May 28 at his home in Higden. He was 70.

Hitchcock started his career with the AGFC as a game warden in 1985. He became chief of the Enforcement Division in 1989 and was named deputy director in 2001 (he held both titles until he became a deputy director exclusively in 2003).

When AGFC Director Scott Henderson announced he was resigning his position Sept. 1, 2010, Hitchcock was tapped as interim director. He was promoted to director Jan. 20, 2011, and retired from the agency Oct. 27, 2012.

Hitchcock negotiated with Chesapeake Energy in its acquisition of mineral rights and natural gas exploration on WMAs in the Fayetteville Shale play. The deal brought $32 million in mineral lease bonuses, plus gas royalty payments, to the AGFC.

—AGFC

The unusual cichlid

Continued from page 8

bigger than the females, grow a distinctive hump on their head. When spawning, both the male and the female defend the eggs and fry from other fish, making them territorial and easier to target in clear water.

The Texas cichlid will not survive in water less than 49 degrees and prefer waters from 68-82 degrees. The species has colonized rivers in the Hill Country, including the San Antonio, San Marcos, Guadalupe and Colorado river systems. The International Game Fish Association does not keep lineclass records for Texas cichlids, but the alltackle record came from Lake Dunlap on the Guadalupe River in 2011 and is listed at 2.0 pounds.

Cichlids are considered omnivorous and

feed on underwater plants and detritus, but also eat aquatic insects and worms opportunistically. Bait fishermen can sink a worm or cricket under a bobber, much as you would do for bluegill or crappie. For flyfishermen, when the fish are defending a redd (the technical name for a bed of eggs), they will pick up and move any intruding insect, so a simple wet fly twitched at the right time can draw a strike.

Dry flies, especially small grasshopper imitations, also are effective in low light conditions and where the water is moving. In still water, a cichlid may rise part way and inspect a dry fly very closely, but in moving water they have to commit quickly.

Tourney for scholarships

Continued from page 9 winning something.

Alvarez said he was alone on a boat but three of his buddies were nearby.

“All I can tell you is,” he said. “It was tough.”

Alvarez said they all fished some of the best-known places in the bay, including the pipeline, the spoils and near the jetties.

”We moved around 18 times,” he said. “It was windy everywhere.”

Although strong winds are common in this part of Laguna Madre area, this day was different.

Temperatures topped 90 degrees and the southeast winds were howling early, before 6 a.m. instead of waiting until later in the morning to pick up.

The winds didn’t stop the 150-plus anglers that registered to fish in bay waters, but not a single entry was registered in the offshore division, thanks to the weather.

Additionally, 73 anglers up to 12 years of age fished in the piggy perch division.

At the end of the tournament, Port Mansfield resident, fishing guide and business owner Chad Kinney was declared the Grand Champion.

He caught the only grand slam of the tournament — a redfish, a trout and a flounder.

Kinney’s heaviest stringer totaled 13.63 pounds in weight.

The top three winners in each category:

Redfish

Chad Kinney 9.13 pounds

Kristopher Anderson 8.1 pounds

Gus McGarraugh 7.1 pounds

Speckled trout

Michael Weide 2.11 pounds

Cole Hinojosa 2.88 pounds

Efrain J. Carreon 2.8 pounds

Flounder

Chad Kinney 2.0 pounds

Randy Pierce 1.6 pounds

Could not save herd

Continued from page 4

alence rate within their herd has increased significantly over the past three years.”

The letter also discussed additional tools available to detect and combat CWD.

“The science surrounding CWD is improving,” the letter said. “We are encouraged by a number of developing tools to help combat the disease, including genetic modeling and improved testing methods. We are hopeful that TPWD, TAHC, deer breeders, landowners and other conservationists will continue to work together to

utilize these tools in search of a pathway around CWD.”

The size of breeder pens unnaturally concentrates deer, which can facilitate the spread of CWD once the disease appears.

“We’ve lost a lot of deer, but for three and a half years we’ve had the poor son-of-aguns standing in the same pens,” Williams told Outdoor Life. “I don’t care how healthy deer are. You keep them together for a long time and you’re going to have more sickness.”

JUNE 20

DUCKS UNLIMITED State Convention Moody Gardens, Galveston ducks.org

JUNE 22

DSC FOUNDATION

Annual Gala Sheraton Dallas Hotel (972) 980-9800 dscf.org

JUNE 29

SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL

Grand Opening San Antonio safariclub.org/Texas

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

Montgomery County Banquet

The Grand Plaza, Spring (417) 540-6035 nwtf.org

JULY 11-14

TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

2024 WildLife Convention

J.W. Marriott San Antonio texas-wildlife.org

DEEP SEA ROUNDUP

Offshore tournament Port Aransas Civic Center (361) 332-9304 deepsearoundup.org

JULY 12-14

GATGO EXPO

The Oil Palace, Tyler gatgoexpo.com

JULY 13

DATEBOOK

DALLAS SAFARI CLUB Hunter’s Field Medicine Course

DSC Headquarters (972) 980-9800 biggame.org

JULY 13-14

TEXAS GUN & KNIFE SHOWS

Kerrville Expo Hall (830) 285-0575 texasgunandknifeshows.com

JULY 19-21

TEXAS HUNTERS & SPORTSMAN’S EXPO

McAllen Convention Center (956) 664-2884 texashunterassociation.com

JULY 20

MULE DEER FOUNDATION

Llano County Banquet

Inman’s BBQ, Llano (432) 290-4563 muledeer.org

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

JULY 26-27

BEST OF THE BAY TOURNAMENT Cove Park, Ingleside (361) 776-2906 inglesidetxchamber.com

JULY 27

DSC NEW MEXICO Annual Gala Isleta Resort & Casino Albuquerque dscnewmexico.com

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION Texas Gulf Coast Banquet Knights of Columbus Hall Pearland (281) 245-9723 rmef.org

JULY 31-AUGUST 4

TEXAS INTERNATIONAL FISHING TOURNAMENT Saltwater tournament South Padre Island (956) 943-8438 tift.org

AUGUST 1

EXOTIC WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION Congressional Fundraiser Embassy Suites San Marcos (830) 315-7761 myewa.org

DUCKS UNLIMITED Cibolo Creek Banquet Mikulski Hall, Schertz (210) 332-7133 ducks.org

Van Zandt County Banquet

The Silver Spur Resort, Canton (214) 789-6403 nwtf.org

JULY 25-28

LONE STAR SHOOTOUT

Offshore tournament Port O’Connor (409) 744-2307 thelonestarshootout.com

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