Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
December 13, 2019
Volume 16, Issue 8
Flushing pheasants
Leonardo Barbosa, 9, caught this black drum while fishing with Currican Fishing Guide Charters. Photo by Tony Vindell.
Black drum picking up down south By Tony Vindell
For Lone Star Outdoor News
Opener fair for some, slow for others By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Tim McCreary left his Garland home to head to the Texas
Panhandle for opening day of the Texas pheasant season. His group of eight hunters hunted near Nazareth in Castro County, southwest of Amarillo. “The AmVets had a big breakfast for us and we hunted as part of the group with the Nazareth
Lion’s Club,” McCreary said. “We hunted CRP and maize stubble on land owned by one of the Lion’s Club members.” One of the group members was a Texas Ranger who had hunted with the Lion’s Club for 15 years, and another was an agent with
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The group managed nine roosters on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. “There was a good number of birds,” McCreary said. “The wind was blowing so hard in the afterPlease turn to page 14
Mansfield holds public hunt to thin herd By Tony Vindell
For Lone Star Outdoor News After seeing deer going to waste after government-led campaigns to try to reduce the deer herd in Port Mansfield, Jim Beale, a Port Mansfield resident and retired game warden, came up with an idea of organizing hunts to deal with the problem. More than 150 deer had been harvested and buried in pits because the corn they had been eating was being treated with a chemical to combat the cattle feThe large deer herd surrounding the tiny fishing community of Port Mansfield hasn’t been hunted until this year, ver tick. although government-led controls took place last year that upset local residents. To participate, youngsters age “That was a total 9 to 17 with valid hunter’s education certificate can apply. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News. waste,” Beale said. “After that I started approaching the naviga-
tion district board of directors.” After more than a year, the board approved a motion to allow the public hunts for the first time. Youth hunts for white-tailed deer are now being held in Port Mansfield on land owned by the Willacy County Navigation District, the first permitted hunts since the WCND was created in 1948 by the Texas Legislature. The public hunts are two-fold; to give young hunters a chance to bag a game animal and to thin the roaming deer population, which according local residents and wildlife officials Please turn to page 14
Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10
HUNTING
FISHING
Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 14
Big South Texas buck (P. 4)
Fish move to winter pattern (P. 8)
Fort Worth woman bags a beauty.
Bite better as days warm.
Hunters dealt bad hand (P. 4)
ShareLunker pioneer dies (P. 8)
Anthrax outbreak affects hunters, ranchers.
David Campbell was hall of famer.
Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 18 Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 21 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
Please turn to page 11
A rooster flushes after a strong point from one of Tule Creek Outfitters’ pointers near Tulia. The opening day of pheasant season showed mixed results across the Texas Panhandle. The season continues until Jan 5. Photo by Scott Hohensee.
CONTENTS
When the trout bite slows on the bays and off of the jetties of the Lower Laguna Madre, anglers turn to a more reliable target that prefers the cooler waters — the black drum. Port Mansfield fishing guides and avid fishermen at the other end of the bay in Brownsville said the black drum, called tambor in this part of South Texas, are starting to bite well, although their run is just beginning. Tony Trevino, a 12-year veteran with Currican Fishing Guide Charters, said catching black drum is picking up. “I took a father and son last week (in November) and the boy