Game Warden Blotter

DEER LEASE THIEF A REPEAT CUSTOMER

A Montgomery County game warden received a call from a local deer camp lessee who said he was texted photos of a truck entering the property without consent. While responding to the location, the warden provided sheriff’s deputies with the location of the lease and the layout of the property. The deputies walked into the property due to heavy rains and the lack of 4x4 vehicles. They apprehended a suspect who had entered the camp illegally and was filling bags with hunting equipment. The warden arrived and aided in getting the suspect, the suspect’s vehicle, and the officers out of the property. The warden had previously arrested the suspect for theft of property and stealing an ATV and other property from a nearby deer lease in 2017. The suspect was charged with burglary of a habitation and had a parole violation warrant for the earlier charge.

A TOO-EARLY START

On Galveston Bay and East Bay, Galveston County game wardens saw several shrimp boats maneuvering in a manner consistent with shrimping. One vessel had nets and doors in the water. Several vessels were cited for shrimping before legal hours.

PROBLEMS FOR ATV GROUP

On Twin Buttes public lands in Tom Green County, a local game warden made contact with several individuals riding all-terrain vehicles. Some of the individuals were unable to produce a limited public use permit as required to access the public lands. The warden checked if some of the ATVs were stolen and discovered one individual was in possession of a stolen four-wheeler from a nearby city. The case was turned over to the originating jurisdiction for investigation.

TWO FISHING VESSELS COLLIDE OFFSHORE

The Coast Guard assisted five crew members aboard an 84-foot fishing vessel near Port O’Connor. At approximately 9 p.m., Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a mayday call over VHF-FM channel 16 from the crew of a fishing vessel reporting a collision with another fishing vessel approximately 15 miles off Port O’Connor. Neither crew was reportedly in distress. A Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew launched to respond. The RB-M crew arrived on scene and confirmed both vessels were disabled due to damage. One crew had anchored the vessel and was conducting repairs. Due to fishing nets tangled in the other boat’s propeller, the crew requested a tow. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Pelican, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Corpus Christi, launched to assist. The Pelican crew arrived on scene and safely towed and transferred the disabled vessel to another fishing boat and crew, who finished the tow to the Port of Palacios.

BOAT ACCIDENTS HIGH OVER FOURTH OF JULY

Texas game wardens assisted with 18 reported boating accidents at several Texas lakes and rivers including: Nasworthy, Bob Sandlin, Grapevine, Richland Chambers, Canyon Lake, Possum Kingdom, McQueeny Granbury, Corpus Christi, Lewisville, Ray Roberts, Lake Fork Ray Hubbard, Neches River, Lake Austin, Lake Travis (2) and Lake Belton.

LIFE JACKETS NEEDED

On Lady Bird Lake, a Boater Education manager and City of Austin Lake Patrol made contact with 60 people without proper life jackets on their canoes, kayaks or stand-up paddleboards.

CROSSING SHIP CHANNEL WITH 400 POUNDS OF POT

The Coast Guard seized 399 pounds of marijuana near Brownsville. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a report from Customs and Border Protection at approximately 4 a.m. of people in a raft attempting to cross the Brownsville Shipping Channel. A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement boat crew was diverted and intercepted the raft with five people aboard. Each person was carrying a bundle of marijuana with a total weight of 399 pounds. The Coast Guard crew transported the individuals and bales of marijuana to Station South Padre Island, then transferred them to Border Patrol.

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

AN AMERICAN LEGEND

Big Sam crappie

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80 feet away. “It’s foolproof,” Fondren said. “Being able to see the fish and put a bait on them is too simple. In fact, it’s so easy that it could cause trouble in the long run, as in running out of fish. When you can see them, then catch them in big numbers, something has got to give.”

The brush pile fishing has been so easy that Fondren has switched over from using live minnows to jigs. “There’s a guy here on the lake that makes custom jigs that look a lot like the shad that crappie feed on,” he said. “They are shaped like a minnow. I use a 1/32- or 1/16-ounce jig. The monkey milk colored jig is really good. It’s kind of a silver and gray color — looks just like a shad.”

Fondren said strong line is a necessity when you hook up with a big bass or catfish on a brush pile. He recently had a guy on his boat that hooked up with what looked to be about a 12-pound bass. It came out from under the boat and ate the whole crappie.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said. “That one got away. But we’ve caught bass on the brush up to about nine pounds, and catfish to about 30 pounds.” network of connections that I have made are invaluable.”

Fish grew up in the Austin area, fishing for bass. When he discovered fly-fishing during his teens, he also expanded his angling skills to saltwater, by fostering a passion for chasing redfish on the fly.

Fish said one of the best aspects of the internship has been meeting new people and building relationships with other individuals who share similar passions.

“I’ve been able to fish with local fishing guide and staff member, Sean Polk, and he’s introduced me to other anglers,” Fish said. “I’ve also made countless contacts in the shop, many of whom may be able to help me in my career after I finish college.”

Ferguson, also a senior at Texas A&M University, is pursuing a degree in university studies with a minor in construction. He grew up in the Dallas area and started fly-fishing at a young age.

“I’ve learned more this summer about fly-fishing and about myself than I have in any other experience so far in my life,” he said. “It’s been an incredible opportunity.”

Ferguson said he’s been able to expand his knowledge about fishing as well as how to work with variety of people from different backgrounds while working in the fly shop.

“It’s been amazing to see the different types of people that come to the shop,” he said. “You never know who you’re going to meet or what you can learn from them, just by talking flyfishing with them.”

Ferguson said the experience has motivated him to figure out a way to pursue a career in the outdoor industry, surrounding himself with the sport he loves.

Davidson will be finishing up his last semester of college at Oklahoma State University, where he is studying marketing. He is from Plano and grew up hunting and fishing.

Davidson said he has gained worlds of knowledge just by working in the shop with staff.

“Everybody here has a wealth of knowledge to offer both about flyfishing and about doing business in the outdoor industry,” he said. “I’ve just tried to ask a ton of questions and retain as much info as I possibly can. There’s so many things I’ve learned through this internship about going forward in the real world that my classes at school could never teach me.”

Davidson said the experience has taught him how to treat each client or customer differently, depending on their needs and background.

“When you run a business, you have an array of clients, each with their own set of expectations and requirements,” he said. “You can’t learn how to handle different real-world situations with people by sitting in a classroom. That’s why this internship has been so valuable to me.”

Davidson also plans to pursue a career in the outdoor industry and feels the experience will help him succeed. He has plans to work as a fly-fishing guide for an outfitter in Alaska in the summer of 2022.

Dove

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Grande Valley, should look for fields that have areas that have been disked or shredded.

“As a hunter, that’s what you want to look for when hunting sunflower fields down in the valley,” he said. “If the outfitter or landowner hasn’t done that, then you run the risk of hunting a field that has very little seed on the ground to attract the birds.”

Stephenson said sunflowers that have been left standing since the spring and have not been manipulated prior to the season have likely either not dropped their seeds, or have seeds that have spoiled and turned to powder.

“These types of sunflower fields will not hold many dove,” Stephenson said.

Will there be quail?

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impact the ability to count broods. An article published in the journal Wildlife Biology by RPQRR Executive Director Brand Kubecka evaluated how vegetation affected researchers’ ability to count chicks during flush counts of bobwhite broods at 21 days of age. Even when knowing where an incubating adult was, researchers only counted about 10 percent of chicks known to be alive (informed by radio-transmitters) when vegetation exceeded 3.3 feet.

Overall, RPQRR said rebuilding quail numbers is at least a two-year process.

“A year of average rainfall promotes secondary succession on the bare soils, resulting in expanses of annual forbs useful to quail. The nutritional situation is good and the predator population has lagged during the dry years. Bobwhites undergo a lateral increase and occupy sites across the landscape.

“For year two, the landscape has excellent winter ground cover yet is open at quail-level for easy travel. The quail increase is a more rapid vertical increase.”

RPQRR indicate that spring cock call counts are not a great predictor of fall populations.

“The 2021 nesting season is well underway and we are seeing good nest success and nest initiation,” the report said.

“We don’t expect a huge boom this fall but we should see decent recruitment.”

RUGER.COM/AMERICANRIFLE

Summer interns

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“I was chumming with some cut squid and had been casting a topwater lure with conventional tackle around the edges of the structure for kingfish,” Andreu said. “I was able to catch my limit of kingfish on the surface plug pretty quick, with kings in the 40- to 47inch range.”

After catching several kingfish, Andreu grabbed his 10-weight fly rod and paddled closer to the platform.

“I started chunking the rest of the cut squid that I had into the water, a few pieces at a time, in hopes that it would bring some other species to the surface that I could sight-cast to with the fly,” Andreu explained. “All of a sudden, three cobia appeared under the chum with a school of triggerfish. There were two smaller ones, and then one that looked to be big enough to keep. I kept chumming, just trying to keep them along the surface while I figured out how I was going to try to cast at the biggest one.”

Andreu pitched his fly right into the middle of the chum towards the mouth of the largest ling, and the fish immediately inhaled his offering.

“It was like a circus from that point on,” he said. “I kept trying to tire the fish out, while deciding how I was going to land it. Landing a cobia from a kayak is not an easy task.”

Andreu continued to take his time, and

Juan Carlos Andreu caught his first cobia on the fly while kayaking about 3.5 miles offshore near a platform off of the Padre Island National Seashore. Photo by Mario Perez. insisted to his buddies he wanted to land it all on his own. “There were times I thought my rod was going to break, and I wondered if I was actually going to be able to make it happen,” he said. “I tried to lip gaff the fish several times, but every time, the cobia dove out of my reach.” Finally, after about a 35-minute battle, Andreu was able to gaff the cobia and bring it to hand. The fish measured right at 41 inches. The fishing action remained consistent the rest of the day. “I was able to catch a kingfish on the fly rod, and I also landed another ling that actually ate a top-water plug that I had just floating on the surface, right by the kayak while I was grabbing a different rod,” he said. “It was an adventure I’ll remember forever.”

THANK YOU

The Young- Skinner Pro Angling Team would like to thank our 2021 Sponsors.

Capt. Nate Skinner

THESE COMPANIES AND MANUFACTURERS WILL INCREASE YOUR SUCCESS ON THE WATER!

Capt. Tim Young

Interested in thanking your sponsors like this? Reach out to LSON to inquire how.

Young - Skinner Pro Angling Team @ty_ns_proanglers

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