Bass anglers and guides are still finding the majority of largemouths in their late summertime haunts. But slightly cooler morning and overnight temperatures are promoting a slow transition
Overall, the early teal season has been great. The best decoying action has been taking place on the weekends, when significant numbers of hunters have been out chasing the birds, causing them to move around from one body of water to another. Weekday hunts have been slower with the lack of hunting pressure across the landscape.
Rick Bernard hunted on Saturday and Sunday of opening weekend over flooded rice fields between Seadrift and Port Lavaca with H2o Extreme Outfitters, and said the teal bombarded their decoys right at legal shooting light on both mornings.
“The bluewings swarmed the ponds we hunted in small groups of five to 10 birds, and swung over the spread for easy shot opportunities,” Bernard said. “We were able to harvest a five-man limit on both hunts within an hour. The action was fast and furious.”
Duck hunters in southwest Texas reported good numbers of blue-winged teal on stock tanks and cattle ponds. Those who found birds while scouting harvested
limits or near limits on private land in areas void of surrounding hunting pressure.
Rowdy Kunz, who guides for Red Bluff Prairie Hunting Club, said the teal on the Garwood prairie have remained fairly consistent.
“Some hunts have been better than others, but for the most part, we’ve had an excellent early teal season,” Kunz said. “Our hunters harvested mostly drakes during the first several days of the season. Then, more hens and juveniles started to show up, and the decoying action improved.”
Kunz said the birds acted a little spooky during the opener with all of the surrounding gunfire across the prairie.
“On opening weekend, we saw a ton of birds, but they wouldn’t work over the decoys real well,” he said. “Most of our shot opportunities were at single birds or pairs. Larger groups of birds have been more willing to hover over the spread as the season has progressed.”
Top-Flight Hunting Preserve hunting guide, Kody Ressler, said the opening weekend produced limits for nearly all of the operation’s groups of teal hunters on ponds between Garwood, Eagle Lake, and Sealy.
toward fall patterns. Some fish are beginning to push into shallower water, while others are still hanging out in deeper areas.
David Townsend has been chasing bass on Lake Walter E. Long and Stillhouse Hollow Lake, where he said the largemouths are schooling.
On Stillhouse, Townsend said the bass are out in open, deep water, schooling in the upper portion of the water column.
“The fish are in big concentrations, and it’s been nothing to catch anywhere from 50 to 100 fish during a trip,” Townsend said. “Most of the fish are from 1 to 3 pounds,
with a few pushing 4 pounds or more.”
The schools of bass on Stillhouse can be found in anywhere from 20-80 feet of water in main lake stretches toward the dam. Most of the fish are hanging out along the surface, down to about 5 feet deep.
For Lone Star outdoor newS
Archery whitetail season is almost here and, some hunters may not have taken their bow out of its case since last season ended. But it’s not too late to get ready.
When it comes to hunting season preparedness, Kyna Stephens, owner of Leading Edge
Archery, in Boerne, said “the best option is to plan ahead and get your equipment checked at your local archery shop.” But that may not always be an option.
Since it may be too short notice to have your bow in to the shop for a tune-up, here are a few things to check at home that experts, like Stephens, say will help make sure you’re ready to go.
1. Inspect your cams
Take a close look at your cams and check for any obvious damage. Large nicks or bends in the cam could make for a dangerous situation. Damage to the cams could also affect your cam timing, which could ruin your shot. If you find damage, have it checked out and repaired by an expert before shooting again.
Freshwater Fishing Report Page 10
Game Warden Blotter Page 12
The South Zone dove opener and weekend was great for many, spotty for some and slow for others. In areas from San Antonio south, the heavy rains stayed away and the birds were plentiful but were moving with the hunting pressure.
At the Weatherby Dove Hunt on the weekend following the South Zone dove opener on Sept. 14, there was a lot of campfire talk about shotguns, rifles and calibers — eventually going down the path to discuss more complex talk like energy, velocity and distance.
The group of 12 hunted at the G5 Ranch, in Derby, Saturday, with spotty results, as the birds trickled into the field slowly. A few of the hunters got close to a limit, while others struggled with the limited amount of shots.
The next afternoon, at a different field that had been hunted a few days earlier, the story was much different.
The birds, nearly all mourning dove, flew at 3:45 p.m., and came over the field in flocks of 10 to 20. The shots were mostly passing shots. The hunters reported mostly young, small birds in the flocks.
John Herlitz, with Carroll’s Gun Shop, in Wharton, shot the Orion 20-gauge side-by-side and shot well. The next day, he bagged his limit using a semi-auto.
“I want one of the Orion’s in a .28 gauge,” Herlitz said. “That’s God’s gauge.”
Weatherby gave away a new shotgun to the hunter with the best shooting percentage. The winner, Jason Chancy, shot at a 58-percent clip.
Another hunter called on the phone, looking for a field to hunt. It turned out, the field he was going to hunt was shut down by the local game warden. According to the outfitter, milo was seeded in early August, but the warden found three pieces of milo on the ground, wrote a ticket and deemed the field as baited.
At the Christian Trail Outdoors hunt at the G2 Ranch near Pearsall, the dove had moved away from the field, after several good hunts had pressured the birds.
Nick Kohleffel managed five birds, while others shot a few or zero. The heat in the fields with no shade was overwhelming to some. One hunter, decked out in expensive full-body camo, was hiding next to his white pickup truck seeking any shade he could find.
Lone Star Outdoor News contributor Nate Skinner had a great opening afternoon on Sept. 14 with his son, Waylan, and their 10-year-old lab, Kahle. They were hunting over a cut hay grazer field that had native croton growing in it southeast of San Antonio, and the birds poured into a spinning-wing decoy.
Good reports came from the Hondo area, with whitewings coming into giant sunflower fields.
Lex Webernick, with Rifles, Inc., said the hunting in Atascosa County has been more of a social afternoon than a shooting one.
“When we find the dove, the next day they are gone,” he said.
Hunters and outfitters reported that if organizers have good connections with farmers, and the fields can rest from the pressure, good hunts are expected to continue.
Chloe Matocha, a sophomore at Utopia High School, attended the Wildlife Conservation Camp this summer, where she solidified her desire to pursue a career in wildlife biology.
The five-day camp, hosted by the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, is an organization of wildlife biologists. It is in its 29th year, said camp co-director Masi Mejia-Serna, who also works for the East Foundation as manager of education programs.
Matocha learned about the camp from a biologist at the Chaparral Wildlife Management area, where they became friends during several hunts over the years.
Mejia-Serna said the camp moves around the state, and this summer’s camp was held at the Texas Tech University Center in Junction.
“Our goal is to expose students to career opportunities in the field of natural resources and wildlife,” she said. “We introduce them to both private and public lands and help them understand the great things about private land and the opportunities to make your own management decisions.”
The camp allowed students to interact and learn from professional biologists as well as college students studying in the field.
“The days were long,” Matocha said. “We
The start of dove season was described as better than ever for many hunters in the Rio Grande Valley. Hunters at local, commercial and state park operations said they couldn’t believe the numbers of mourning and white-winged dove they observed in the fields.
Many limited out within an hour during the two special dove seasons held Sept. 1-3 and 8-10.
Ken Baker, a retired game warden, attributed this year’s increase of dove to the fact that no storms have hit the Valley, at least so far.
“Even though there has been little rain, the white-winged dove nests stayed intact,” he said. “That contributed to a good survival rate for both
There’s a lot to love about dove season, and preparing some bacon-wrapped breasts is as significant as the first trigger pull. There are, though, some alternative cooking methods for the birds.
Many start with a method that uses the whole bird. Plucking a dove and guttting it exposes more meat per bird, preserving the tasty skin. Once some experience is acquired, plucking and field dressing a dove should only take you about 2 minutes.
The following recipes work for about four fully plucked and dressed birds, which can be grilled over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, while turning a couple of times. Or, they could be roasted in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes. If done right, one of these whole bird dove preparations could become a new favorite.
Teriyaki Dove
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsps. lime juice
• 2 tbsps. honey
• 2 tsps. brown sugar
Marinade in the mixture for up to an hour and baste more on the dove halfway through cooking.
Bock BBQ Dove
Dry rub
• 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 1/3 tbsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
BBQ sauce
• 1/2 can or bottle Shiner Bock (or similar) beer
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 honey
• 2 tbsps. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsps. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Cover the dove with the dry rub ingredients and grill. In a small saucepan, combine the BBQ sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Once it’s simmered for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let the sauce cool. It should be reduced to a thick consistency. Pour over the grilled dove.
Hot Honey Dove
Dry rub
• 2 tsps. garlic powder
• 2 tsps. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Hot Honey Sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes (or two small fresh chopped jalapeno peppers)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Cover the dove with the dry rub ingredients and grill. In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and stir while you bring it to a simmer. Once simmering, turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. Pour over the grilled dove.
This recipe came from LSON reader Renee Morrill, of New Braunfels.
German Schnitzel Dove
• 10 to 12 whole dove breasts
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsps. milk
• 3/4 cup cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp. paprika
• Vegetable oil for frying
Remove dove breasts from the bone and split in half. Pound each 1/2 breast a few times with a kitchen mallet to tenderize. Mix flour, seasoned salt and black pepper in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, combine the beaten egg and milk. In a third bowl, combine the cracker crumbs and paprika. Coat each 1/2 breast with flour mixture, then egg mixture, then cracker crumb mixture. Fry coated breasts in vegetable oil 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with brown gravy.
According to the quail hunting forecast from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in the Rolling Plains, an average of 3.43 bobwhites per 20 mile route was observed, up from the 0.86 detected last year.
The count is still below the long-term average of 11.09 birds per route.
At the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, in Roby, the research facility is predicting that hunters will see three to four coveys in unfed pastures, and six to seven coveys in fed pastures — not a great total, but the ranch is expecting its best year since 2017.
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“Hunting pressure on the weekends has kept the birds moving and the action steady,” Ressler said. “During weekday hunts, it’s been a little more important to set up in areas where the birds really want to be, as they aren’t being pushed around as much. With that being said, the action since opening weekend has improved, as more and more birds have migrated down.”
Todd Moore hunted in the Winnie area on the Monday following opening weekend, where he said the action was pretty slow.
“We saw a lot of birds early in the morning, but they did not want anything to do with our decoys,” Moore said. “It was like they were on a mission to go feed in a certain area, and after their initial morning flight, they didn’t move much. We didn’t see many teal in the air at all after sunrise.”
Ryan Rachunek said opening weekend in the Winnie area produced excellent hunts for his hunters.
“The first couple of weekdays following the opener were tough,” he said. “I believe that immense hunting pressure may have pushed some of our birds south, and the ones that stayed didn’t move much after legal shooting light.”
Rachunek said the surrounding marshes on the properties near Winnie were not holding many birds due to the lack of rain and lower than normal tide levels.
“The action began to improve as hens and juveniles began to migrate down,” he said. “Increased hunting pressure on Saturdays and Sundays also helped keep birds in the air.”
Continued from page 1
2. Check your bolted accessories
Make sure your arrow rest, sight, quiver, and any other equipment bolted onto your bow is tight and secure. Stephens suggests you take it a step further and “check for tightness of every screw before and after a hunt. Because of the shock and vibration that occurs with each shot of your bow, screws and accessories can easily loosen.” This will help with noise while on the hunt. But if you notice a significant amount of movement in your sight or rest, you should tighten them down, then sight-in and paper tune your setup before you hunt.
3. Wax your string
If your string is dry, starting to fray, or looks like it’s getting fuzzy, that means it is most likely time to wax. Waxing also helps protect the fibers of your string from the elements, so you can feel confident about putting it through the ringer come fall.
4. Inspect your D-loop for tears or frays
A frayed D-loop could lead to a misfire in a worst-case scenario. If you think you need a new one, an archery pro shop should be able to get you in and out in a just a few minutes. There are also plenty of videos online on how to tie a D-loop if you’re in a pinch and need to do it yourself.
5. Check your arrows, vanes, and nocks
First make sure your nocks are inserted all the way and are free of damage. Even a small crack could lead to a nock shattering when fired. Visually inspect and pull on each vane to ensure they are still securely attached.
“Everyone knows to check for cracks in nocks and tears in vanes, but the arrow itself is often overlooked,” Stephens said. “To properly check your arrow shaft, you should slightly bend your arrows individually. If you hear any cracking sounds, I suggest disposing of and replacing that arrow, as there could be damage that cannot be seen by the naked eye.”
These tips are targeted toward hunters who don’t have the time or access to take their bow into an archery shop before hunting season opens. But they are also good habits anytime you head out to shoot. Best practice, when it comes to archery tune-ups, is to have a professional do what they do best to ensure your rig is in working order when it matters most.
Art Weston landed a 283-pound alligator gar on Sam Rayburn Reservoir while fishing with Capt. Kirk Kirkland aboard the Garship Enterprise on Sept. 2. Amazingly, Weston caught the fish on 6-pound test line.
Weston, a Kentucky resident, is something of a world-record chaser, with 40 records to his name. On a three-day trip with Kirkland, he tried landing alligator gar on 4-pound line as well.
“We were trying to catch smaller fish,” Kirkland said. “We didn’t want big fish on such small line. Art broke off several on the 4-pound line and some on the 6-pound line.”
The record fish bit on cut carp, and the lengthy fight was on.
“It’s one thing to hook a fish,” Kirkland said. “It’s another to land it. You have to be very patient.”
The fight lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes.
“Fortunately, the gar kept swimming,” Kirkland said. “If she had stopped swimming and stayed on the bottom, we never would have caught her. Everything came together.”
With the fish, Weston can potentially set both the International Game Fish Association’s AllTackle and Men’s 3-kg. (6 Ib.) Line Class World Records for the species.
After recording the weight on a certified scale,
Please turn to page 21
Black drum, not always an angler favorite, is a desirable catch for many and, for some, is at the top of the list.
“A black drum doesn’t have a fishy taste, like other fish do,” said Matthew Valadez, a guide in the Rockport and Port Aransas area. “A lot of my customers are really into catching black drum. On most days they are easy to catch, and can be caught on dead shrimp fished on bottom in shallow water.”
Black drum can be caught year-round from one end of the Texas coast to the other.
Plus, Valadez said black drum provide a lot of fun when caught on light-weight tackle.
“The kids especially like to catch them,” he said. “Ditto that for the older fishermen. There are days when reds and trout can be difficult to catch. The black drum provide extra fish fillets to take home and provide lots of action throughout the day.”
Valadez said the smaller black drum will pick up a bait on bottom and slowly move
off. But the larger drum will inhale a dead shrimp, and at the hookset will put up a good battle. Most of the black drum he keeps are 17-23 inches long, and range from 2 1/2 to 5 pounds.
These fish are bottom feeders and especially like to eat fresh dead shrimp and small crabs. Valadez peels his shrimp to allow more scent to be in the area he’s fishing. Live shrimp also work.
His go-to rig is simple.
“I like to use a fluorocarbon leader with a No. 2 wide gap circle hook,” he said. “You
Capt. Christian Schneider grew up in the San Antonio area, but spent many days with his family at the coast fishing Baffin Bay and its surrounding waters. Now his dream of becoming a fishing guide has come true.
Schneider’s family kept a travel trailer and a boat near Baffin, and his time there as a youngster motivated him to make angling a full-time career.
“Some of my fondest fishing memories are from spending days on the
water with my dad and grandfather,” Schneider said. “They are the reason I really fell in love with the sport.”
Schneider attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Range and Wildlife Management and graduated in 2020. While working to pursue his degree, he completed his internship required by the Range and Wildlife Management Program, with Baffin Bay Rod and Gun, in 2019. The 6-month internship consisted of shadowing the operation’s fishing guides, working with customers, cleaning fish and learning the ins and outs of Baffin Bay.
After graduating, Schneider obtained his captain’s license and began guiding
don’t want the hook to be too big. I’ll use a 1/4-ounce egg weight. Most of the time I’ll be fishing in water that is 1 to 2 feet deep with mud and shell. Black drum like to feed over shell reefs because that’s where baitfish are plentiful along with small blue crabs.
Valadez spends a lot of time fishing along the shoreline of the Intracoastal Waterway.
“That type of shoreline is a magnet for black drum and reds,” he said. “It’s got mud, patches of shell and grass, along with packed sand.”
At times, Valadez fishes
Please turn to page 21
fishing trips out of the facility in the fall of 2021. This fall began his third year as a full-time guide.
“Ever since I was a young kid, I had always wanted to become a fishing guide,” he said. “I had a goal of completing college and earning a degree first. Now, it just feels good to be working hard while doing something that I love.”
Schneider said a lot of the anglers he takes fishing come from corporate groups.
“Regularly I get folks on the boat that have very little fishing experience, and some are even coming fishing for the first time,” he said. “This gives me the opportunity to teach inexperienced anglers how to be successful on the water.
For Lone Star outdoor newS
Rather than hitting the asphalt or staring at a screen, some youngsters enjoy life differently through fishing and hunting.
That’s how an organization called City Kids Adventures prefers to see them spending part of their time.
During the Texas International Fishing Tournament at South Padre Island, about a dozen of these adventurers went some 40 miles offshore to fish in the largest tournament on the Gulf Coast.
The group caught two cobia and their limit of two snapper per angler in federal waters. Also in the bounty were two amberjack, the biggest of which weighed 49 pounds.
The amberjack did not qualify as a tournament entry, but for the angler who caught it, 15-year-old Athina Guerrero, it didn’t matter.
“This is a big fish,” she said, while standing in front of the tournament winning stand. “It’s a heavy one.”
Guerrero also caught the heaviest ling — a 19 pounder — that won first place for the species.
City Kids Adventures was founded 27 years ago by Leon and Leticia McNeil. The San Antonio teachers wanted to give the youngsters the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.
“We spend a lot of time in the Rio Grande Valley,” he said. ”We fish and hunt down here.”
The McNeils said the organization welcomes young people attending fourth grade through high school.
Leon McNeil said they have motivated hundreds of kids to get away from “asphalt and cement and too much social media.”
McNeil said they have permission to hunt white-tailed deer and exotics at a number of private ranches.
Parents sign waivers for their kids, such as the group of 12 they took fishing in open Gulf waters.
“We have been doing this for years,” he said. “It’s important to take kids outside and to give them a chance to be surrounded by positive people.”
McNeil will be honored Oct. 10 with the Texas Wildlife Association Foundation’s Outdoorsman of the Year award for his efforts.
Starting this month, anglers can voluntarily report red snapper landings on the My Texas Hunt Harvest app, as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department discontinued the iSnapper app.
The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M Corpus Christi previously managed the iSnapper app but transferred management to Coastal Fisheries Division.
Now, anglers will be able to report their red snapper catches from their phone in the same place where they keep their red drum tags, submit voluntary flounder reporting and other information.
“The data from the app is used with our creel survey program to estimate red snapper landings and keep the season open for as long as possible while complying with the National Marine Fisheries Service quota,” said Robin Reichers, Coastal Fisheries director.
Incorporating iSnapper functionality with the MTHH app allows biologists to use voluntary angler reporting in conjunction with routine surveys by staff to manage the fishery.
The NMFS red snapper harvest quota, set annually for each Gulf state, determines season dates and federal regulation compliance. Once set, it’s the individual state’s responsibility to monitor landings and stay within the quota.
The MTHH app enables electronic submission of mandatory harvest reports, including alligator gar harvest reporting, and supports digital tagging of harvested deer, turkey and oversized red drum for certain license holders.
—TPWD
The Louisiana State University-Shreveport duo of Brayden Nichols of Blanchard, Louisiana, and William Tew of Bossier City, Louisiana, won the Abu Garcia College Fishing event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir with a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces. The victory earned the Pilots’ bass club $2,000 and a qualification into the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championship.
Tew said the team targeted brush piles in 15 to 20 feet of water, using a trick worm on a shaky-head rig.
Teams from Tarleton State-Stephenville placed third and fourth. Sam Semper, of Parker, finished with 17 pounds, 2 ounces, finished third; and Clayton and Trevor Easter, or Morgan, finished fourth with 17 pounds.
—MLF
ALAN HENRY: Water clear; 81 degrees; 4.86’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs suspended over trees.
AMISTAD: Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 50.26’ low. Largemouth bass are slow to fair on creature baits and top-waters. Channel catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait.
ARLINGTON: Water lightly stained; 85-90 degrees; 5.81’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on wacky rigs and creature baits. White bass are schooling with the bass.
ARROWHEAD: Water lightly stained; 82 degrees; 8.02’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Catfish are good drifting fresh cut shad.
ATHENS: Water clear; 85-87 degrees; 1.84’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on small swimbaits and Carolinarigged worms. Crappie are fair on minnows and small jigs.
AUSTIN: Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.65’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged worms, small swimbaits and drop shots.
B A STEINHAGEN: Water stained; 84 degrees; 0.22’ low. Largemouth bass are good in the river on small crankbaits and Texas-rigged soft plastics.
BASTROP: Water lightly stained; 95 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on spooks, frogs, crankbaits and swimbaits.
BELTON: Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 17.81’ low. White bass are fair downrigging pet spoons. Catfish are good on punch bait.
BENBROOK: Water stained; 87 degrees; 11.49’ low. All ramps are closed due to low water levels.
BOB SANDLIN: Water stained; 86-88 degrees; 1.29’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to slow on top-waters, worms and jigs. Crappie are slow. Catfish are slow.
BRAUNIG: Water lightly stained, 91 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters and dark worms. Redfish are good on dark soft plastics, live bait and gold spoons.
BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 87 degrees; 14.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair early on top-waters. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass and hybrids are fair on small slabs and spinners. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared baits.
BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 85-86 degrees; 7.89’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, shaky heads, crankbaits and frogs. Crappie are slow. White bass are slow. Catfish are fair on jug lines baited with cut bait.
BUCHANAN: Water lightly
stained; 81-90 degrees; 24.48’ low. White bass are fair on jigging spoons. Striped bass are fair on live bait.
CADDO: Water stained; 85-90 degrees; 0.10’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-water frogs, jigging spoons and crankbaits.
CALAVERAS: Water lightly stained; 90 degrees. Redfish are fair trolling dark soft plastics and gold spoons and on live bait. Channel and blue catfish are good in coves on cut bait and worms.
CANYON: Water clear to lightly stained; 85 degrees; 17.24’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters and flipping soft plastics.
CEDAR CREEK: Water stained; 85 degrees; 3.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on green/pumpkin soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass and hybrids are excellent trolling pet spoons.
CHOKE CANYON: Water stained; 86 degrees; 26.21’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Catfish are slow.
CONROE: Water stained; 87 degrees; 2.11’ low.
Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Hybrid striped bass are fair trolling pet spoons and on slabs. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on liver and prepared baits.
CORPUS CHRISTI: Water stained; 87 degrees; 6.21’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are good on jigs and live minnows near the dam. Catfish are good on dip baits and cut carp.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN: Water stained; 82 degrees; 7.78’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs with teaser flies and torpedos. Crappie are fair on jigs with white/chartreuse color combinations. Channel catfish are good on punch bait.
FALCON: Water stained; 84-88 degrees; 43.42’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and soft plastics. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cut bait and live bait.
FAYETTE: Water stained; 88 degrees. Largemouth bass are slow. Catfish are slow.
FORK: Water stained; 83 degrees; 2.10’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chatter baits, spinner baits and Carolina rigs. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are fair on punch bait.
FT PHANTOM HILL: Water stained; 85 degrees; 6.21’ low. Largemouth bass are fair
early on top-waters. White bass are fair on rooster tails. Catfish are fair drifting live bait.
GRAHAM: Water stained; 85 degrees; 5.26’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are fair on slabs. Catfish are good on cut bait and cheese bait.
GRANBURY: Water lightly stained; 81-86 degrees; 1.30’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinner baits, crankbaits and minnows. Striped bass are good on top-waters, swimbaits and live shad. Crappie are slow. Blue and yellow catfish are good on cut shad and minnows.
GRANGER: Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 3.17’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slab spoons over humps and road beds. Blue catfish are good on jug lines baited with shad or cut bait.
GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 83 degrees; 4.24’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are good on white or chartreuse slabs.
HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 85-88 degrees; 2.13’ low. Largemouth bass are slow to fair on shaky heads, Carolina rigs and crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows.
HUBBARD CREEK: Water stained; 85-88 degrees; 10.86’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters and Carolina rigs. White bass are fair on slabs.
JACKSONVILLE: Water clear; 85 degrees; 2.00’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics, swimbaits and lipless crankbaits.
JOE POOL: Water clear; 90 degrees; 1.90’ low. Largemouth bass are slow to fair on soft plastics. White bass are fair on roadrunners. Crappie are fair on minnows.
LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water stained; 86 degrees; 0.23’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chatter baits, frogs and jigs. Crappie are slow. Catfish are slow.
LAVON: Water lightly stained; 84-86 degrees; 4.64’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits. Crappie are good on jigs. White bass are fair on white or chartreuse slabs. Catfish are fair on cut shad or cut bluegill.
LBJ: Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.34’ low. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on punch bait.
LEWISVILLE: Water lightly stained; 84-87 degrees; 4.18’
low. White bass are fair on slabs, jigs and live bait. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair drifting cut shad or chicken breasts.
LIMESTONE: Water clear; 85-88 degrees; 3.23’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are fair on silver jigging spoons. Catfish are good on cut bait and minnows.
LIVINGSTON: Water stained; 88 degrees; 3.56’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are fair to good on slabs. Striped bass are slow. Catfish are fair to good on prepared baits.
MARTIN CREEK: Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 3.16’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on swimbaits, lipless crankbaits and plum and watermelon red worms. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on punch bait, nightcrawlers and minnows.
MEREDITH: Water stained; 78 degrees; 44.28’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on minnows and artificials. White bass are good on minnows and slabs. Walleye are good on minnows, grubs and crankbaits. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers, minnows and chicken liver.
MILLERS CREEK: Water stained; 85 degrees; 8.58’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are fair trolling slabs. Blue and channel catfish are fair on cut bait.
NACOGDOCHES: Water clear; 84-88 degrees; 2.78’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows.
NASWORTHY: Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.57’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on white chatter baits and soft plastics. Crappie are good on chartreuse jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait and stink bait.
NAVARRO MILLS: Water clear; 87-92 degrees; 1.92’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits. White bass are good on chartreuse slabs. Crappie are fair on dead minnows. Catfish are good on cut bait and stink bait.
O H IVIE: Water stained; 85-89 degrees; 28.49’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on swimbaits. White bass are fair on live bait and plastic baits. Crappie are fair on live bait and jigs.
OAK CREEK: Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 14.92’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass are good on
lipless crankbaits. Channel and blue catfish are good on punch bait, chicken liver and cut shad.
PALESTINE: Water stained; 83-88 degrees; 2.14’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good offshore on Carolina rigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass and hybrids are good on slabs. Catfish are good on cut bait and stink bait.
POSSUM KINGDOM: Water clear; 82-86 degrees; 2.45’ low. Striped bass are good on live bait. White bass are fair on small live bait and slabs. Catfish are good on small cut bait and live shad.
PROCTOR: Water stained; 82 degrees; 13.17’ low. All ramps are closed due to low lake levels.
RAVEN: Water clear; 87 degrees; 2.00’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters. Crappie are fair on minnows and artificial worms.
RAY HUBBARD: Water lightly stained; 84-86 degrees; 3.73’ low. White bass are good on tail spinners. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Catfish are fair on punch bait.
RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 82-85 degrees; 1.79’ low. White bass are fair on slabs. Crappie are fair on minnows.
RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water clear; 83-88 degrees; 2.42’ low. Hybrid striped bass are fair on live gizzard shad. Blue and channel catfish are good on shad and punch bait.
SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 4.69’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters in the pencil grass and hydrilla, and crankbaits and Carolina rigs on points. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on punch bait.
SOMERVILLE: Water clear; 90-92 degrees; 4.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on soft plastics and spinner baits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are slow. Catfish are fair on punch bait.
SPENCE: Water stained; 86 degrees; 47.26’ low.
Largemouth bass are slow. Catfish are slow.
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW: Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 18.37’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on dark soft plastics. White bass are fair down-rigging pet spoons.
TAWAKONI: Water lightly stained; 90 degrees; 1.51’ low. Largemouth bass are fair early on frogs and jerkbaits. White bass and hybrids are good trolling white/chartreuse
n Guide reports Page 11
n Saltwater reports Page 21
crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows. Catfish are very good on prepared baits.
TEXOMA: Water stained; 86-88 degrees; 2.83’ low. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are fair on live shad and jerkbaits. Striped bass are good on top-waters, slabs and live shad. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cut shad.
TOLEDO BEND: Water clear; 90 degrees; 3.64’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chrome top-waters and chrome lipless crankbaits.
TRAVIS: Water stained; 83-85 degrees; 50.63’ low. Largemouth bass are good on walking-style top-waters and Carolina rigs.
TWIN BUTTES: Water stained; 87 degrees; 29.96’ low. White bass and crappie are slow. Channel catfish are fair on prepared baits.
TYLER: Water stained; 83 degrees; 2.27’ low. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Catfish are slow.
WACO: Water stained; 85 degrees; 11.04’ low. Crappie are very good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair on punch bait.
WALTER E LONG: Water stained; 87 degrees; 1.00’ high. Largemouth bass are fair but scattered on topwaters, worms, swimbaits and grubs. Crappie are good on tiny worms, chartreuse/black jigs and craw worms.
WHITNEY: Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 7.91’ low. Striped bass are good on live bait, flutter spoons and swimbaits.
WORTH: Water stained; 82 degrees; 2.63’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs with teaser flies. Crappie are fair on jigs with white color combinations. Channel catfish are good on punch bait.
WRIGHT PATMAN: Water stained; 86 degrees; 0.09’ high. Largemouth bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait.
—TPWD
Continued from page 1
“The bass are chasing large swarms of shad,” Townsend said. “The shad are pretty small. Top-water baits and swim jigs have been producing plenty of strikes.”
Townsend said the action on Walter E. Long has been resulting in strikes from larger bass.
“A lot of fish in the schools are in the 3- to 5-pound range,” he said. “The shad they are chasing are also bigger, with most from 4 to 5 inches.”
Early in the mornings, Townsend said that chunking imitation frogs near the reeds along the bank has been resulting in quite a few strikes from 4-5 pound bass. He’s also finding bass out off the outer edges of grass in 10 feet of water during the midday hours.
On Lake O’ the Pines, guide Hunter Jenkins said the bass along the south end of the lake are also chasing big schools of shad. These fish are on the move and are starting to push shad into the backs of coves and pockets around structure and ambush points. Swimbaits, jigs, and worms in various sizes have been working well.
Jenkins said the north end of the lake has been producing a steady bite along the grass. Frogs, Senkos, and weedless swimbaits fished in water depths of 6 feet or less have been best. Most of these fish are anywhere from 1-5 pounds, with more being 1-3 pounds.
“Main lake waters with brush piles in depths of 12 to 17 feet are also holding plenty of larger bass in the 3- to 6-pound range,” Jenkins said. “There are also bluegill beds starting to show up along the bank, and more and more bass are beginning to key in on these areas.”
On Lake Fork, Josh Priest said the bass that he and his anglers have been catching have been in 8-14 feet of water over a variety of structures like brush, humps and pond dams. Soft plastic worms in dark color patterns, paired with Texas rigs and shaky heads, have been drawing the most strikes.
“There are bunch of small fish biting out there, but we’ve also been catching fish from 4 to 8 pounds,” Priest said. “The pattern has been totally random as far as size is concerned. You can catch a bunch of 1 to 3 pound fish, and then all of a sudden stick a heavy one.”
Priest said the fish are holding pretty steady in mid-range depths over structure. Most of them are staying tight to the bottom.
Drop-offs for Coleto Creek bass: Rick Shock of rickshockfishing.com reports the bass fishing is good on Coleto Creek with several fish caught in the 5- to 6-pound range on the power plant lake. He said to keep an eye on the wind in the morn ings when you make your choice of top-water lures, going with something that makes some noise if it’s windy and a quieter presentation if the wind is calmer. Later in the day, anglers should target drop-offs or humps with wood or rocks on them using a Carolina rig, a shaky head or a wacky worm in plum and blue. “If a guy will set up on top of a deeper ledge in about 12 feet of water and cast out into about 30 feet of water, he’ll have a good chance just bringing it back up that drop-off.”
Rains improve Lake Granbury catfishing: Mike Watkins of personalbestguideservice.com said the fishing for blue and channel catfish has been fair on Lake Granbury, but it should get better soon. Most of his blue catfish are being caught between 5-11 feet of water on cut shad. For channel cats, cheese-flavored punch bait is proving effective over baited holes around brush piles and standing timber in 3-19 feet of water. He said shad are abundant in 4-12 feet of water from the Highway 51 bridge area to the mouth of the river, and most are 3 to 4 inch gizzard shad. “The rains should have creek mouths and drains coming into the lake holding fish in higher numbers this week.”
Tough crappie bite on Ray Roberts: Jim Walling of ucatchemguideservice.com said the crappie have been difficult to catch in numbers on Ray Roberts. He said plenty of fish can be caught on the Corps brush piles, but they are usually smaller fish. He has been grinding from tree to tree in standing timber in 20-30 feet of water and finding fish at 15-30 feet. “Your best bet is minnows right now rather than jigs,” he said.
O n t h e h u n t f o r t h e b e s t o u t d o o r n e w s ?
$35
Due to historic flooding along the Canadian River in the first week of June, the Potter County Sheriff’s Office requested Texas game wardens assist with swift-water search and rescue needs. Members of the game warden search and rescue team also responded with swift-water boats and additional resources. Within hours, wardens initiated coordination efforts to deploy search and rescue boats and teams to the northern Panhandle area. The team facilitated multiple vehicle related rescues at low level water crossings and assisted with river patrols.
On Lake Livingston, the San Jacinto County fire chief was contacted about a 15-foot boat that had capsized on the lake, with a man and two women being ejected into the water. The Cape Royale Volunteer Fire Department rescued the women from the water, but the 29-year-old male was missing, but reportedly wearing a life jacket. The Coast Guard launched a helicopter crew from Houston to join the search, along with boat crews from Livingston, Polk and San Jacinto counties. After several hours, the helicopter
On Sept. 8, a landowner contacted game wardens regarding a dead fallow deer inside a high fence property located near Hog Mountain Road, just south of Mineral Wells. During the investigation, wardens determined an unknown individual had shot the fallow buck deer in the shoulder and left it to waste in a dry creek bed near the property fence line. A reward is offered for information leading to the conviction of the poacher. Call Operation Game Thief with any information.
crew located the man near Pine Island and directed Polk County game wardens to his position. Wardens pulled the man from the water and brought him ashore to emergency medical services personnel, who transported him to St. Luke’s Health - Memorial Hospital in Livingston. He was reported to be in stable condition.
Hundreds of tires were found in Belton Lake and were the subject of news stories. Texas game wardens have collaborated with the Inland Fisheries Division to learn the cause.
On Sept. 7, a group had removed more than 100 tires from the lake, and another clean-up event took place Sept. 16. Persons with information on the illegal tire dumping are asked to call Operation Game Thief.
The Labor Day holiday weekend saw an increase in water-related fatalities and boating accidents compared with last year. Wardens patrolling Sept. 2-4 reported five boating accidents, two boatingrelated fatalities and two open-water
drownings. They also arrested five individuals for boating while intoxicated, one of whom had a child passenger aboard. The boating-related fatalities occurred at Amistad Reservoir and Lake Ray Hubbard, while the drownings happened at Lake Whitney State Park and Lake Lavon.
During the 2023 Alamo Area Clayshoot, Cameron County Game Warden Juan Rosendo was recognized for his exceptional commitment and determination in
apprehending wildlife law violators reported through the Operation Game Thief hotline. Rosendo was the inaugural recipient of the Operation Game Thief “Case of the Year Award” for 2022.
BOAT DRIFTS INTO JETTY
The Coast Guard assisted three boaters stranded on a jetty near Galveston. After receiving a phone call from a concerned family member that two men and one woman were stranded on Bolivar Peninsula after their 20-foot craft became disabled and drifted into a jetty, a 29-foot response boat was launched, along with a helicopter crew. Winds were 15-20 miles per hour and there were 3-foot seas. Once on scene, the crew hoisted the three boaters from the jetty and brought them ashore to Bolivar Beach. The men were reportedly uninjured. The boat’s owner has arranged for the vessel’s salvage.
REPORT ILLEGAL HUNTING AND FISHING ACTIVITY FOR A REWARD OF UP TO $1,000. CALL OPERATION GAME THIEF AT (800) 792-4263
Solution on Page 22
Brunswick Corporation acquired Fliteboard, an electronic propulsion and hydrofoil company.
Angled Spade Technologies retained Hunter Outdoor Communications as its agency of record.
The manufacturing of Triton Boats has been temporarily moved from its facility in Midway, Arkansas, to expanded facilities in Flippin, Arkansas, Bass Pro Shops announced.
Rock Ridge Outdoors named Dani Navickas as its regional sales manager.
Gun Owners of America hired John Fahrner as its senior development and marketing officer.
Sea Pro Boats hired Kirsten Corssen as director of marketing and dealer relations.
Timber Creek Outdoors, Inc. is seeking sales representatives to expand the presence of Timber Creek Outdoors’ new product line.
Grady-White Boats and Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation entered a new multi-year exclusive financing agreement effective Oct. 1.
Christensen Arms added Jimmy Durham as director of customer experience.
The Beretta Gallery Dallas is seeking a person with sales experience and knowledge of firearms to serve as a full-time sales associate.
ACROSS
1) Houston’s county
3) The small honker 6) The small dove 8) Group of gorillas 11) The baby elk 13) Summer target at the jetties 15) Hico’s county 16) Big Sam ______ 18) Centerville’s county 20) African game species
DOWN
1) Ammo brand
2) Johnson City’s county
4) Where the bobwhite stores food
5) Coastal bay
7) Lure manufacturer
9) Snake boot brand
10) Take plenty on the dove hunt
12) A fly type
13) Fishing hook brand
14) Sweetwater’s county
17) Texas mountain range
19) A spinner-bait blade
21) Callahan County’s seat
22) The female bighorn
25) Deaf Smith County’s seat
27) Border lake
28) The sprig
30) Port Laval’s county
31) A newer shooting sport
32) Fishing reel brand
35) Dove-hunting state
36) One of the cats
38) One of the labs
41) A turkey call
Puzzle by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
*email LSON your favorite recipe to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com.
6 teal breast fillets, skinned
1 heaping tsp. K-Paul’s Blackened Steak Magic
3 tbsps. whole butter
6 ozs. chicken stock
4 ozs. dry red wine
1 heaping tbsp. apricot preserves
Lightly season teal fillets with seasoning spice. Melt 2 tbsps. butter in an 8-inch saute pan. When foaming of butter subsides, add breasts, skin side down, to the pan. Turn after breast is seared and well browned (2-3 minutes per side). Remove breasts from pan, place on warm plate and cover with foil. Deglaze sauté pan with red wine and reduce by half. Add chicken stock and reduce again by half over high heat. Stir in apricot preserves until melted. Add any remaining juices to pan. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. of butter and swirl pan. Turn off heat. Slice duck breasts and fan out on warmed plates. Pour sauce over and serve.
—DU
6 lbs. king mackerel, cleaned with bloodline removed
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups white onion, diced
2 cups green bell pepper, diced
3 cups mayonnaise
4 ozs. lemon juice
1 oz. hot sauce
2 tbsps.black pepper
1 cup kosher salt
2 gallons water
Salt and pepper
Cut the cleaned kingfish meat into 1-inch squares. Place 2 gallons of water and 1 cup of salt in a 3-gallon pot and turn on high. Once water is at a rolling boil, add fish and mix well to make sure no meat is stuck together. Set timer for 4 minutes and place colander in sink. Once the timer has gone off, check the fish to confirm the biggest pieces are cooked through. Pour water and fish into colander. Rinse fish with cold water and drain well, then place in refrigerator to cool. Place mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Add celery, onions, bell pepper, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper and mix well. Add refrigerated fish to the mixture and mix all ingredients. Chill and serve with crackers.
—Alabama Seafood
Continued from page 4
didn’t get to bed until almost 3 a.m. and got up at 5. They packed it in and there was a lot of reading material.”
Activities included kayaking the Llano River, electroshocking, a trip to the Kerr Wildlife Management Area to learn management techniques, field dressing, plant identification, trapping, a quail necropsy and prescribed burning. Campers learned about the animals, insects and fish, grasslands and habitat. The last day, the groups of campers presented their experience to the parents.
The camp consisted of 23 campers, nine college mentors and 27 professionals. Classroom time included lectures from wildlife biologists as well as a panel of experts, including Dr. Neil Wilkins, president and chief executive officer of the East Foundation, Roel Lopez of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and Texas Wildlife Association President Sarah Biedenharn, exposing students to the challenges in becoming a wildlife biologist and sharing with others the importance of taking care of natural resources.
Matocha, who hopes to focus on whitetailed deer, mule deer, and maybe ocelots, said her favorite parts of the camp were the WMA tours, kayaking and trapping, and anything that had to do with deer and deer management.
“And the quail necropsy was cool,” she said.
The grass studies weren’t at the top of her list.
“It’s grass,” she said.
Mejia-Serna said previous camps have developed many wildlife biologists, including the camp co-director, Kelley Mundy, a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University.
“Jessica Glasscock was a camper, and she is now a professor at Stephen F. Austin University and the Vice President of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society,” she said.
Next year’s camp will be held in the San Antonio area, Mejia-Serna said.
The camp (wildlifecamptx.org) is open to high school-aged students, costs $350 and scholarships are available.
Continued from page 4 the eggs and the chicks.”
At Mathers White Wing Hunt on the outskirts of Brownsville, scores of hunters were lined up along the banks of the Rio Grande that separates Texas and Tamaulipas.
Others picked their spots at many of the plots planted with sunflowers scattered on 250 acres of the family farmland.
Some took their spots a little too early in the 100-degree heat. For the most part, the flocks of birds starting showing up after 4 p.m. By 5:30 p.m. or so, there were so many birds flying that it resembled past seasons when the skies were filled with birds.
“This has been awesome,” said Houstonarea resident John Kelley as he and his brother, Al, hunted on Sept. 9 and 10, in a small field between the main road and the river. “We both limited out in one hour yesterday.”
They said this was their fourth year hunting at the Mathers.
Edward Mathers, one of three brothers running the hunting operation, said they started hunting with family and friends some time back and went commercial about 38 years ago.
He said the hunts were first held on both sides of U.S. Highway 281 on the west edge of Brownsville.
“One year hunting was off of the south side of the highway and on the north,” he said. “But as time went on, the hunts took place on the south side only.”
That was because much of the farmland on the north was taken over by developments. Today, several acres are still planted with sorghum at Laredo and Morrison roads are surrounded by houses.
Mathers said a good chunk of the hunters booked at their place have been coming for years.
“We like to host families,” he said. “If they bring youngsters with them, we don’t charge
them.”
They also host members of the Wounded Warriors organization as they hosted a large group on Thursday, Sept. 14, or the opening day of the regular dove season.
The Mathers hunts take place on the south side of the border wall, part of which is under construction toward the east side where piles of construction materials and machines can be seen. Parts of the ranch borders the river that snakes through the property, with the river sometimes looking like a creek.
Don Williams, of Hallettsville, said he has been hunting at the Mathers for more than 10 years.
“This is the most birds we have seen in a while,” he said. “We usually come down with friends and family members.”
Williams said he usually comes down with a group of nearly 30 hunters but this time about 16 of them made it.
Among them was his granddaughter, Baile, whom he said is an extremely good shooter.
“There goes one,” she said as a fast-flying bird zoomed by. “This is something else.”
Other commercial hunts in the area include Rancho White Wing Hunts and Loops and Leal Farms. The Valley is also the home of eight public areas, where an annual public land permit is required.
In the Sept. 8 issue Heroes section on page 14, the below photos contained the incorrect caption. We apologize for the error.
Arkansas hunters last year reported the fewest number of hunting accidents requiring medical attention since 2010. Sixteen incidents were recorded, including two resulting in fatalities.
“With nearly 307,000 licensed hunters in the woods last year, that’s one serious injury out of every 20,000 hunters and one fatality out of every 150,000 hunters,” Joe Huggins, Hunter Education Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said.
Year honors, as well, also won the 2019 NWT Championship on Devils Lake.
Hoyer took home $30,000 and a $70,000 Nitro walleye boat with a Mercury 225 outboard. For the Angler of the Year title, he also won a $90,000 Ranger 620 with a Mercury 250 outboard.
Michelle Shelton caught this 35 1/2 -inch redfish in the Laguna Madre
Falls from treestands remain the leading cause of hunting injuries and fatalities, accounting for 10 of the 16 injuries and one of the two fatalities.
Other accident causes included a man gored by a feral hog, careless operation of a bow, trigger being caught on an object and a victim being mistaken for game. —AGFC
A poacher will pay $75,000 in fines and serve jail time after killing numerous deer and elk in a wildlife crime spree.
Walker Erickson, 28, of Pendleton, pleaded guilty to 22 charges including illegally killing deer and elk, leaving game animals to waste and trespassing. All charges accumulated in an 18-month timeframe.
In the summer of 2020, OSP received a call to the Turn In Poachers Line. Troopers began gathering information and evidence, which led to a search warrant at Erickson’s residence in Dec. 2021. Troopers seized six sets of deer antlers, three sets of elk antlers including those of a 7x7 trophy bull elk, a rifle, a bow and meat. The investigation led troopers to additional instances of poaching.
Sentencing included $15,000 for the 7x7 bull elk, $15,000 for a 6x5 bull elk and $7,500 for a 4x4 mule deer buck. In addition, Erickson will serve 14 days in jail during elk hunting season for the next three years.
A coalition of conservation organizations launched a historic $3 billion international fundraising campaign to protect and restore wetland habitats across North America, resulting in cleaner water for communities and wildlife.
Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ducks Unlimited de México and Wetlands America Trust have announced “Conservation For a Continent. Our Wetlands. Our Legacy.”
The campaign, one of the largest ever launched in North America devoted to landscape conservation and the future of our outdoors heritage, will fund ambitious projects to build back nature in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. The goal is to secure support, donations and commitments totaling at least $3 billion by 2026.
Wetlands provide food and shelter for more than 900 species of plants and animals and are crucial to the populations of waterfowl and other migratory birds. Encompassing just 6 percent of the Earth’s land surface, wetlands support the lifecycle needs of 40 percent of all plant and animal species.
For home or office delivery, go to LSONews.com, or call (214) 361-2276, or send a check or money order to the address below. Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscription is $35 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are $3, in certain markets copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2023 with all rights reserved. Reproduction and/or use of any photographic or written material without written permission by the publisher is prohibited. Subscribers may send address changes to: Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355 or email them to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com.
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This case also reflects the application of new sentencing guidelines established by the Oregon Legislature in 2018. HB 3035 created stiffer penalties and allows prosecutors to elevate poaching crimes from a misdemeanor to a felony.
John Hoyer, of Wayzata, Minnesota, weighed in 23 pounds, 4 ounces of walleye on the final day of the Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Championship on Devils Lake to win with a three-day weight of 93 pounds, 6 ounces, averaging more than 6 pounds per fish for the 15 fish weighed during the event.
Hoyer, who took home NWT Angler of the
High school anglers from across the U.S. gathered for the third Skeeter Boats Bassmaster High School Combine on Wheeler Lake, in Decatur, for a weekend combining skills challenges and recruiting visits in hopes of reeling in college fishing offers. After three challenges — Long-Distance Casting, Technical and Casting Accuracy — the Combine’s overall points winner was Joe McNamara of Rockford, Illinois.
With a three-event total of 368 points, the junior at Boylan Catholic High School took home the Overall Skills Competition trophy, and he also tied for the win in the Technical Challenge with fellow competitor Eli French of Lucedale, Mississippi.
With a speed of 32 seconds, Dylan Sorrells of Highland Park High School, in Dallas, took home the top spot in the Casting Accuracy Challenge.
“I love flipping docks and laydowns, so that’s why I was able to have success flipping and pitching to the buckets,” Sorrells said. Sorrells finished fourth overall with 342 points, and Caden Alexander, of Huntington, finished 10th with 324 points.
—B.A.S.S.
SABINE LAKE: 90 degrees. Trout and redfish are good on shrimp under a popping cork and morning glory chartreuse jigs. Flounder are fair on red shad plastics tipped with shrimp.
BOLIVAR: 87 degrees. Black drum are fair in the surf on cut bait and live bait. Speckled trout and redfish are fair to good at the jetty on live bait and artificials.
TRINITY BAY: 87 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on shrimp. Redfish and black drum are fair on live shrimp.
EAST GALVESTON BAY: 85-88 degrees.
Speckled trout are fair on shrimp and soft plastics. Redfish are fair to good on shrimp imitations under popping corks.
WEST GALVESTON BAY: 89 degrees.
Speckled trout are fair on croaker and soft plastics. Redfish are fair on shrimp under a popping cork. Black drum are fair on live shrimp.
TEXAS CITY: 87 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on croaker and shrimp under a popping cork. Bull redfish are fair on shrimp.
FREEPORT: 86 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are fair to good on live shrimp under popping corks.
EAST MATAGORDA BAY: 89 degrees. Redfish are good on the north shoreline for wade-anglers using live croaker and artificials.
Speckled trout are good in the surf or drifting live shrimp or scented plastics under a cork.
WEST MATAGORDA BAY: 89 degrees.
Speckled trout are good drifting shrimp
or scented plastics under a popping cork. Redfish are good in the surf wading with live croaker and artificials.
PORT O’CONNOR: 87 degrees. Slot redfish are fair on the inside of the ends of the jetties on Spanish sardines and live shrimp. Bull redfish are slow. Speckled trout are good freelining croaker and on live shrimp.
ROCKPORT: 88 degrees. Redfish are good on paddle tails, top-waters, live bait and cut bait. Speckled trout are good on soft plastics and live bait. Black drum are very good on dead shrimp.
PORT ARANSAS: 89 degrees. Bull and slot redfish are good at the ends of the jetties on cut mullet and live finger mullet.
CORPUS CHRISTI: 89 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on croaker and live shrimp under a popping cork.
BAFFIN BAY: 86-95 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are good on top-waters, croaker and soft plastics.
PORT MANSFIELD: 88-91 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on top-waters. Redfish are good on shrimp and scented plastics under a popping cork.
SOUTH PADRE: 90 degrees. Speckled trout are good on live shrimp, either free-lined or under a popping cork. Black drum and redfish are fair on shrimp.
—TPWD
Continued from page 8
water that’s about 4 feet deep. But the smaller fish will more often than not be up feeding in water about 2 feet deep.
Black drum will hit soft plastics, and can be caught with fly-fishing gear. But for the most part, on any given day, you’ll put more of the tasty fish in the cooler with fresh peeled shrimp.
Continued from page 8
the giant fish was safely released. The records are pending and under review.
“Lots of blood, sweat and tears — and broken line — went into this achievement,” Kirkland said. “Angler and world record chaser Art Weston and I did what no other alligator gar angler has been able to accomplish in 72 years — catch a fish bigger than the all-tackle world record set so many years ago on the bank of the Rio Grande River.”
Weston’s fish was 100 inches long and had a 48-inch girth. The previous all-tackle record for alligator gar weighed 279 pounds, caught by Bill Valverde in the Rio Grande River on Dec. 2, 1951.
Continued from page 8
The rewards that come from that are what I like most about my job.”
Schneider guides all sorts of trips, from chunking live or natural baits while fishing out of the boat, to wade-fishing with artificial lures in search of trophy trout.
“It’s really neat to see everything come together for an angler during a fishing trip,” he said. “Sometimes at the beginning of a trip, I’ll have anglers who are really unfamiliar with pursuing and catching fish. By the end of the day, most of them are able to successfully cast and catch fish on their own.”
Schneider also enjoys being able to introduce people to a variety of outdoor activities. In addition to fishing trips, he also guides clients on cast-and-blast trips, which incorporate dove or duck hunts in combination with an inshore fishing outing.
Some of Schneider’s favorite moments have taken place with families and children on his boat.
“It’s a pretty special thing to be able to help families and youngsters create lifelong memories on the water together,” he said. “When an angler tells me that their day on the water with me was the best fishing trip that they’ve ever had, it definitely makes me feel like I’ve achieved success. Those moments are the reason I do what I do.”
Looking
806-786-4976
806-335-0051
info@txhuntco.com
Antelope
Fallow Deer & many more...
SEPTEMBER 23
DALLAS SAFARI CLUB
Small Bore Shoot
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FREEDOM BOATS USA
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SEPTEMBER 27
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SEPTEMBER 28
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SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 1
LLANO MUSIC FEST Hill Country Outdoor Expo (325) 423-2727 llanomusicfest.com
SEPTEMBER 29
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION
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SITKA GEAR DALLAS Grand Opening (469) 445-1123 sitkagear.com
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DALLAS SAFARI CLUB
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DELTA WATERFOWL
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MULE DEER FOUNDATION
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NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION
Kaufman County Banquet
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DELTA WATERFOWL
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Port O’Connor Community Center (361) 648-1905 deltawaterfowl.org
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OCTOBER 26
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