Many anglers in the Galveston area reported catching limits using shrimp and scented plastics. Photo from Cody Dunn.

Congressional caucus spans all 50 states

The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation announced the launch of the Hawaii Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus – the 50th and final state to join the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses. Started in 2004, the NASC network has grown to include more than 2,000 legislators and with the inclusion of Hawaii, now contains legislative sportsmen’s caucuses in all 50 states.

—CSF

WYOMING Massive poaching case solved

Three men were charged with more than 100 wildlife violations in one of the largest poaching cases in Wyoming history. The felony and misdemeanor charges were the result of a 7-year, multi-agency investigation spanning four states and involving state and federal wildlife law enforcement officers, county and federal prosecutors, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department forensic laboratory personnel and others. The charges were prosecuted across four different Wyoming counties.

Russell Vick, of Alabama, Robert Underwood, of Oklahoma, and David Underwood, of South Dakota were convicted of numerous wildlife offenses and cumulatively fined $171,230 and $131,550 in restitution.

The case began in October 2015 when a Gillette game warden received a request from a hunter for an interstate game tag to accompany a deer head as it was shipped to Vick for taxidermy work at an Alabama address. However, a database search showed Vick having a Wyoming address and that he purchased Wyoming resident hunting licenses for several years.

As the investigation of Vick widened to include cellular and social media sources, evidence mounted against his acquaintances Robert Underwood and his son, David, both former Gillette residents. Multiple Wyoming resident hunting licenses and preference points purchased in those names often shared a Gillette address on the applications.

A federal search warrant was executed on Vick’s residence in May 2017. Simultaneously, a federal search warrant was executed on David Underwood’s residence in Edgemont, South Dakota, and Robert Underwood was interviewed at his home in Jones, Oklahoma. Numerous elk, deer, pronghorn and a bighorn sheep ram mount were seized, along with digital evidence.

A second federal search warrant was conducted in November 2017 after officers learned Vick had removed more than a dozen wildlife mounts from his residence, including three bull moose and three bighorn sheep rams. The mounts were tied back to locations in Wyoming where Vick poached these animals. They were later found hidden in a trailer he had removed from his property and stashed over 60 miles away from his residence in Alabama.

—WGFD

INTERNATIONAL

EGYPT Shotgunners win medals

Caitlin Connor and Vincent Hancock earned two medals at the 2022 ISSF President’s Cup in Cairo, Egypt, from Nov. 28-Dec. 4.

Connor, ranked fourth in the world for Women’s Skeet, earned a gold medal after competing with Martina Bartolomei of Italy in the gold medal match and achieving the Golden Target Award based on her performance. Connor also is the assistant program development and competition manager and assistant shotgun coach at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Hancock, a three-time Olympic gold medalist ranked first in the world in Men’s Skeet, won a bronze medal after a strong performance in the semi-final round.

—Staff report

Cats galore

Continued from page 8

“I got to the highway, flipped a U-turn and headed back,” he said. “I caught a one-man limit of eater sized channel cats in no time at the first stop and then caught several more fish while doing a bit of scouting.”

Mike Watkins, of Personal Best Guide Service, took his wife, daughter and her boyfriend to the lake, and they caught about 170 channel cats.

“Some days I’m the guide, and some days I get to be a dad,” he said.

Watkins fished deeper, about 30 feet, and also used Mr. Whiskers punch bait.

“The catfishing is still on fire, with crazy action of eater-sized channels,” he said. “It’s a great time to get the kiddos out on the water and let them have a blast reeling in one fish after another.”

Squaw Creek Park is owned and operated by Luminant and is part of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Somervell County. The 3,275-acre lake provides cooling water for the power plant and is a popular location for bass and catfish anglers.

To access by boat, a reservation is required, with a maximum of 150 boats per day allowed. Access for bank fishing is available without reservation. The cost to access the park is $30 per boat with up to four people in the same vehicle. The fee is $5 per person for bank fishing and $10 for kayaks. The park’s hours of operation are 6:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday for bank and boat fishing. Boats must be off the water by 3:30 p.m.

Searching for bass

Continued from page 8

or more.

“The fish have been on the move,” Tomasits said. “We recently got some cooler weather, but prior to this, it was warm for a long time. I’ve really had to cover water in order to find good numbers of bass. They definitely haven’t been stacked up in one area.”

Fayette County Reservoir guide Rick Denton said deep-water stretches have been holding the most fish.

“Creek channels with water depths ranging from 18 to 30 feet have been the ticket,” Denton said. “You just have to find where they are concentrating along these creek channels. Bends in channels, drop offs, and anywhere there are significant changes along the bottom in deep water are great places to look for schools of bass.”

Denton has been getting plenty of bites on crankbaits, large plastic worms and jigs. He’s been consistently catching them up to 4-5 pounds, with some bass pushing 6-8 pounds mixed in.

“Anything that will get you down deep where the fish are will work,” he said.

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