Game Warden Blotter

DRONE HELPS FIND MISSING MAN

On the night of Nov. 3, Texas Game Warden Michael Hummert responded to an Erath County Sheriff’s Office request for assistance. An elderly man had gone missing in Dublin. Hummert is the only law enforcement officer equipped with a thermal drone in the county. “The setting sun prevented us from locating him through usual means,” Hummert said. “The thermal drone picks up body heat, which is necessary to locate someone at night. With the cold creeping in, it was imperative to find him quickly.” Using cell phone records, the sheriff’s office determined a general location for the individual and Hummert mapped out a search area. Working out of a control station attached to his vehicle, he located the individual through a thermal scan and led deputies to the location.

CRIMINAL FOUND BY THERMAL HEAT SIGNATURE

Texas Game Warden Doug Williams received a request for assistance to locate a suspect who shot at and physically assaulted two individuals, then fled. Using a thermal drone, Williams circled the residence and spotted a heat signature in the woods. Due to the freezing temperatures, the suspect was hiding in the brush curled in the fetal position. He was arrested and later treated for hypothermia.

RESCUE FROM SINKING SHRIMP BOAT

The Coast Guard rescued four men from a shrimp boat taking on water 11 miles south of Jamaica Beach. Watchstanders received a notification at 1:20 a.m. reporting a 31-foot shrimp boat taking on water with three people aboard. A response boat and helicopter responded. Once on scene, the crew reported that the shrimp boat, the Captain Alex, was 86 feet in length and had four people aboard. The boat crew passed over a P-6 pump and two crew members to assist with dewatering the vessel. Due to significantly oily water found in the engine room, the boat crew was unable to dewater the vessel. The Coast Guard crew removed the four men from the shrimp boat and transported to Station Galveston. No injuries were reported. The shrimp boat sank.

BUCK DUMPED, LEFT TO WASTE

In the evening hours of Nov. 11 or the early morning hours of Nov. 12, a white-tailed buck was dumped and left to waste on the side of CR 1311 near Crossroads in Henderson County. A reward is offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible. Call Operation Game Thief with any information.

BOAT HITS JETTY, BOATER RESCUED

The Coast Guard received notification from a helicopter crew that while searching for an overdue boater they noticed an unmanned, adrift 22-foot vessel with bow damage near the Galveston South Jetty. A response boat arrived on scene and located a man on the jetties yelling for help. The boater had collided with the jetty and was in distress. The boat crew transported the man to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at Station Galveston. Due to significant damage to the vessel, the crew was unable to tow it ashore.

MISSING PERSON FOUND BY WARDEN, DRONE

In Bell County, federal officials reached out for assistance in a missing person case. Without another available drone operator in the area, Texas Game Warden Michael Hummert of the Texas Game Warden Unmanned Arial System Program was called. The family shared vital information regarding the person’s location while federal support provided mapping systems. The individual was found safe and secure. “A helicopter is highly beneficial for any search and rescue but it’s not always practical in rural areas,” Hummert said. “Responding with a drone cuts your response time and cost, allowing for more versatility.”

ILLEGAL FISHERMEN WITH 330 POUNDS OF SNAPPER

A Coast Guard Cutter observed four fishermen engaged in illegal fishing aboard a lancha approximately 55 miles north of the Maritime Boundary Line. The crew launched a 26-foot cutter boat crew to intercept the lancha. The boat crew arrived on scene and subsequently seized 330 pounds of red snapper, illegal fishing gear and the lancha.

REPORT ILLEGAL HUNTING AND FISHING ACTIVITY FOR A REWARD OF UP TO $1,000. CALL OPERATION GAME THIEF AT (800) 792-4263

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Redheads are back

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have thousands of redheads on the bays and backwater lakes had very few.

The first part of this season is turning out to be much different, with a good number of redheads already here. And with each front moving through, more are arriving.

Scott Pierce, a waterfowl guide in Port O’Connor, said so far this season, he’s been on a lot more redheads than he was last season. “Last season was tough,” Photo by Robert Sloan, for Lone Star Outdoor News. he said. “I have bay blinds that normally provide easy two-bird limits on redheads. But last season even a two-bird limit was tough to fill. We were getting some in, but they would be here today and gone tomorrow. I hunt on both bay and freshwater so I can move around a lot. During a normal season with a good migration, I can depend on my bay blinds to produce plenty of redheads. If that’s not working, we move inland to freshwater ponds. The redheads definitely prefer to stay on the bays, but they will also move inland a few miles to the ponds.”

Victor Randazzo and his son, Ryan, do a lot of hunting on the middle coastal bays in more of a do-it-yourself style.

“Back about 10 years ago we would get a variety of ducks on the bays, especially the backwater lakes off the big bays,” Randazzo said. “We would get our redheads, and maybe a pintail or two along with scaup, and the occasional bufflehead. But that’s all changed. Now we sleep in, get a taco and launch the boat. Well head out to one of the many islands on the bays. Hunting redheads is simple. There is really no need to be on the hunt at shooting time.”

Randazzo said they use about 90 percent redhead decoys, along with a half dozen pintails.

“Redheads are not the smartest ducks around,” he said. “I’ve had them land in the decoys when we were picking them up. They don’t require calling. But they will come to soft quacks and a whistle. The thing about redheads is they will do a drive by, circle around and come right back to the decoys. When they cup their wings and glide into the spread that’s a heck of a good sight, one that all duck hunters live for.”

Randazzo said he and his son don’t use duck blinds because most of the time hunters will be set up in them and refuse to move. Instead, they will set up in the mangroves and sit on custom-made duck stools. And most of the time they are set up on dry land.

“That makes for an easy hunt,” he said. “Plus, we try to hunt along islands with a hard sand bottom. That makes for easy walking and a quick retrieve.”

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there was a huge flat between it and Elephant Mountain with a few long drainages, 10 to 20 feet deep.”

Tired of battling the wind, the pair took a chance and went down to walk along the drainage.

“I bet the deer hated the wind, too,” Justin said. “So we walked along the top of the drainage hoping to see one bedded down.”

After about 300 yards, Ethan saw a buck.

“I didn’t see it,” Justin said. “I was looking too far away. It was 15 yards in front of us, looking right at us.”

The 15-year-old Ethan didn’t have a bullet in the chamber, and the buck started to walk down the drainage.

“He gave me the gun and I chambered the bullet,” Justin said. “The buck turned, stopped and looked at us. It gave Ethan time to shoot.”

The father-son gutted the buck and dragged it back to the truck. At the check station, it weighed 160 pounds fielddressed.

While the drought took its toll on mule deer, summer rains appeared to help the animals’ body condition.

“I think the antler production was well below average,” said Shawn Gray, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Mule Deer and Pronghorn Program leader. “But body weights have been outstanding.”

Weatherford resident Haylee Borgeson and her family have a lease in the Texas Panhandle close to Palo Duro Canyon. While scouting earlier this year, Borgeson spotted a unique muley she thought looked like a crab.

“I saw him and loved how unique he was,” she said. “When I’m hunting I always look for animals that have something

Haylee Borgeson had spotted this unique mule deer buck while scouting prior to the season, and took the buck at the family lease near the Palo Duro Canyon. Photo from Haylee Borgeson. unique about them. I’m not always concerned about what an animal will score.” The lease is free-range, and Borgeson prayed she would have an opportunity to hunt the distinct buck. “My husband and I were glassing one evening and saw him with a bunch of does,” she said. “We snuck within 200 yards of him and I was able to get a shot.” In Caprock country in Terry County, Tye Gray took a 6-year-old 10-pointer. “It was around 10:45 a.m. on the third and final day and we were heading back to camp to start packing up and make the long drive home,” Gray posted on the Texas Buck Registry. “We were making our way around a mesquite thicket when we jumped this guy at about 20 yards. He trotted out to about 60 yards where we were able to get a quick gauge on his shootability. My guide, Todd Stroud, said ‘shoot him’ and about a half second later he was hit.” The buck, at 60 yards, went down 25 yards later. “I’ve spent the last 4 years chasing muleys so this is a hard-earned first,” Gray said.

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