Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
February 23, 2018
Volume 14, Issue 13
Customizing a popular trout lure
Lost lease
By Robert Sloan
For Lone Star Outdoor News Dick Davis harvested this buck on his Fannin County lease. The planned Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir caused him to lose the lease, effective Feb. 28. Photo from Dick Davis.
Future reservoir impacts hunters By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News A new reservoir is celebrated by some, but not so much by others. For Dick Davis of Dallas, the planned Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir in Fannin County means the loss of his hunting lease, and on Feb. 19, he was in the process of moving blinds and feeders off the ranch. “I bought some property, just 10 acres, about eight years ago,” Davis said. “It’s in the middle of the Caddo National Grasslands. When I’m there, I feel like I own 12,000 acres.” Davis had been hunting on a lease out west, near Throckmorton, but then found a 1,500-acre ranch bordering the grasslands to lease. “I wanted to hunt closer to the property, otherwise I would have been out west thinking of projects to do here,” he said.
Capt. Jim West is one of several coastal guides who uses a custom-painted Corky, and landed these fish in East Galveston Bay, where the limit is 10 speckled trout. Below, in Costa Rica, the lures are painted in several custom colors. Top photo by Robert Sloan. Bottom photo by L&S Bait Company.
Fishermen have been tweaking lures since the first one was ever made, and for trout fishermen along the Texas coast that’s definitely the way to go with one of the best lures ever made for catching trophy trout — Paul Brown’s Original Corky. Thousands of these softbodied suspending lures have been sold, and they may have caught more trophy trout than any other lure ever made. Jim Wallace used a Corky to catch the state record rod and reel trout that weighed 13.11 pounds. You would think that tweaking such a big-time producer of wall-class speckled trout would be taboo. Not so. Back in 2008, Lowell Odom, a Rockport and Galveston guide, figured out that he could take a Corky and give it a paint job, add a little flash and better treble hooks and catch more trout. He was right. And before you know it, some of the best guides in the business were fishing Odom’s customized Corkys. Some of those guides include Jay Watkins,
Jim West, Charlie Paradoski, Cliff Webb, Dwayne Lowrey and James Plaag. “It started out with Jay Watkins,” said Odom. “He wanted Corkys in certain colors that he knew would catch more trout. At first I was using a Sharpie and some fingernail polish. But there was a problem keeping the ink on the lures. Airbrushing was the best way to paint the lures. We started out with Fat Boys, and then started doing Soft-Dine XL’s. Originally, I was doing a lot of customized Mirrolures then moved on to the Corky Fat Boys and Dines.” One of the best color combinations is clear plastic with a silver hologram, glitter body and plum back. The transparent Corkys were best in clear water. The bone/diamond has also been good. Odom started working with the clear bodies so that people could custom paint them. What he found out is that a lot of fishermen didn’t want to paint their own lures. That’s when orders for his custom lures started pouring in. So much so that three years ago he moved the Please turn to page 19
Please turn to page 6
By Robert Sloan
Texas is lucky to have an assortment of rivers that offer great angling opportunities for anything from rainbow trout to smallmouth bass. The Sabine is best known for its excellent run of big white bass. The Guadalupe is famous for its rainbow trout fishing. And the
Devils River is a one-of-a-kind ribbon of gin-clear water that’s loaded with smallmouth bass. All three of those rivers are produce fine catches of fish. There is one, though, that anglers aren’t as familiar with. It’s the Angelina River smack-dab in the middle of the Piney Woods. “It’s one of the finest rivers we have in Texas,” said guide Bill Fondren. “It’s a small river by Texas Please turn to page 14
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
For Lone Star Outdoor News
White bass fishing is excellent on the Angelina River, with crappie and largemouth bass catches mixed in. Photo by Robert Sloan.
Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10
HUNTING
FISHING
Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12
Guides chasing snows (P. 4)
Students helping habitat (P. 8)
Some head to other states.
Plantings to benefit Lake Fork.
Hunter dollars (P. 5)
Black drum time (P. 9)
Report shows significant contribution to GDP.
Big fish coming in at piers.
Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 18 Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 23
INSIDE
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
Prime fishing on the Angelina