Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
February 12, 2021
Volume 17, Issue 12
If you build it, they may not come
Chris Johnson’s wife, Emily Johnson, and their son, David, enjoying some family fishing time on Brushy Creek. Photo by Chris Johnson.
A different kind of river fishing Getting away from crowds at Brushy Creek By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News When the subject of fly-fishing Hill Country rivers in winter is brought up, many anglers immediately think about trout fishing along the Guadalupe. The well-known river offers a productive trout fishery but receives immense angling pressure. That’s why avid fly angler, guide and owner of Living Waters Fly Fishing, Chris Johnson, has been focusing more of his efforts lately on Brushy Creek. As the owner of the only fly-fishing shop in Round Rock, Johnson encourages his customers and visitors to the shop to do the same, especially if their schedule is flexible enough to fish on days when the right conditions occur. Johnson and his family have been catching a variety of species on Brushy, including sunfish, largemouth bass, Guadalupe bass and even a few Rio Grande cichlids. “The two keys to fishing Brushy Creek in the wintertime are timing and location,” Johnson said. “The fish are typically going to feed on the warmest days in
In the flooded corn field he created in Lamar County, Mike Vick enjoys duck hunting with friends. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Planting, flooding corn for ducks more common By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News A popular trend in managing land and water for ducks often brings in the birds, especially mallards. But not
always, at least not during the hunting season in Texas. Michael Vick bought a northeast Texas farm near Roxton years ago and expanded on the prior owner’s work to create a mecca for ducks. “The guy had built some fields with levees below a 10-acre lake,” he said. “He would plant and flood the fields
with a diesel pump. I put in permanent pipe to flood the fields and regulate the water with a valve.” Vick began planting different crops, and different issues kept turning up. “Every year, I ran into some difficulty,” he said. “One year, I had beautiful corn. The deer, coons and especially the hogs ate every bit of it before the
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
More white-winged days expected
Hunters could have a few extra days early in the fall to pursue white-winged dove in South Texas. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.
A request from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was accepted, and it would give Texas’ South Zone dove hunters two additional days to hunt whitewinged dove in the early part of the 2021-2022 hunting season. The change from four to six
Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 11 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 15 Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 19
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Lone Star Outdoor News
days would mean the Special White-Wing Dove Area would add a day to each of the two weekends prior to the opening of the regular season, helping hunters to take advantage of the Labor Day holiday. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will need to adopt the two additional days in its upcoming meetings for the chang-
es to take place. According to TPWD, 450,000 birds were harvested during the 4-day, afternoon-only season, making up about 25 percent of the total annual whitewing harvest in Texas. Around 1.5 times more whitewings are harvested during those four days in the SWWDA than the rest of the country harvests all season.
HUNTING
FISHING
Rare honor (P. 4)
White bass run starting (P. 8)
Boy scout achieving top recognition.
Sabine River flowing.
Stamp money (P. 5)
Shark surprise (P. 8)
Where does it go?
Snapper trip with a twist.