LSONews.com
LoneOStar Outdoor News
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May 23, 2014
Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
May 23, 2014
Volume 10, Issue 19
Going coastal
As anglers increase on the coast, so do the stresses By Craig Nyhus
LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
NUMBERS ON THE RISE: According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, female participation in fishing has grown twice as fast as male participation in the last five years. Female anglers now make up 34.4 percent of all anglers, according to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
This probably won’t surprise any angler who’s fished weekends along the coast, but the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department figures it sells more than 1 million saltwater fishing licenses annually. The total goes as high as 1.4 million if you throw in oneday fishing licenses. “On weekends, if the water is nice, it’s crowded everywhere,” said Norman Boyd, TPWD’s ecosystem leader for San Antonio Bay. Fishing pressure along the Texas coast is not a recent phenomenon. In 1990, approximately 600,000 saltwater fishing licenses were sold. Sales have obviously gone up in recent years along with Texas’ population — more than 27 million people this year, a jump of some 10 million from 1990. However, unlike our steady population growth, the sale of saltwater fishing licenses in Texas was fairly flat until about 2006. Sales started a slow rise that year with the biggest growth coming since 2009. Most of the credit, or blame, goes to sales of the “Resident year from purchase all-water fishing package,” said Jeremy Leitz, TPWD program specialist. See PRESSURE, Page 15
Mysterious Montezuma
A fine line
Research brings insight into little-known bird
Does quest for world-record bass brings up ethical questions? By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
It’s been proven by many anglers and state biologists attempting to grow big largemouths that getting a bass to the 13- to 15-pound range isn’t overly difficult. It’s when you begin to surpass 15 pounds that the process gets really tough.
By Craig Nyhus
LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
WHEN IS IT TOO MUCH? Is there an ethical line that gets crossed when trying to grow a world-record bass? Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.
Leave it to Texas to try and surpass that mark, maybe by enough to grow a world record. An article in Bassmaster Magazine recently focused on South Texas deer farming pioneer Dr. Gary Schwartz and his effort to build, stock and grow the next worldrecord largemouth bass in Texas. Using freshwater prawns as a new protein source for his fish and building the largest private aeration system in the world, Schwartz wants
A game bird that has never been legally hunted in Texas, the Montezuma quail was the subject of a two-year study conducted by the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University. What researchers found were unexpected differences in the birds’ behavior when compared with the Montezuma quail previously studied in the two states where they are more prevalent, New Mexico and Arizona. During the study, 68 Montezuma quail were captured using night-capture techniques and trained dogs and equipped with radio devices to monitor their home range sizes and movement, which was no easy task. “They don’t act like the other quail, they shrink and hide,” said Ryan Luna, assistant professor of Wildlife Management at Sul Ross State University. “You have to step on them to get them to flush.” Researchers described the results of the study as unexpected. “They are an understudied bird,” Luna said. “Before the study, most believed Montezuma quail did not travel far from their birth place.” THE NONGAME GAME BIRD: Research has shown the Montezuma See QUAIL, Page 24
INSIDE
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
See ACCEPTED, Page 23
HUNTING
FISHING
Lonesome Bull busted
Signs of life
Deer killed, owner arrested after TPWD investigation.
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A new kind of network
Texas hunter looks to go beyond forums for an online resource. Page 4
quail’s home range is much larger than originally thought. Photo by Louis Harveson, Borderlands Research Institute.
Anglers fishing near jetties are finally seeing consistent weather and an uptick in action along the rocks. Page 8
Nature’s buffet
Oyster reefs a necessary food source for many fish, including black drum, which actually eat small oysters. Page 8
CONTENTS Classifieds . . . . . . . . Crossword . . . . . . . . Freshwater Fishing Report For the Table. . . . . . . Game Warden Blotter . . . Heroes. . . . . . . . . . Outdoor Datebook . . . . Prime Time . . . . . . . Products . . . . . . . . . Saltwater Fishing Report . Sun, Moon and Tide data .
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