November 25, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

Page 1

Holiday Gift Guide Perfect gifts for the outdoorsman in your life.

Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper

November 25, 2011

Pages 14-15

Volume 8, Issue 7

Rutting action beginning to heat up

Inside

Activity hot in the north, getting there in the Hill Country

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Rio Rojo Rancho owner Mike Ford knows good rutting activity when he sees it.

When everything comes together

❘❚ FISHING

The problem, he said, wasn’t that the bucks weren’t rutting in mid-November. It was that they were doing it in the deep See RUTTING, Page 17

INSIDE ■ Duck blinds: Page 4

Fantastic Falcon Lake continues hot streak.

Page 8

Anchorman Port O’Connor captain dives for old anchors.

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❘❚ HUNTING

Armed and beautiful Photographer's book explores women and guns.

Page 4

Few birds Pheasant numbers are way down this year.

Page 4

❘❚ CONTENTS Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 23 Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 22 Fishing Report . . . . . . . Page 10 For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 22 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 20 Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 29 Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 33 Holiday Guide . . . . . Pages 14-15 Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 22

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I

t’s a scene most hunters, and especially waterfowl hunters along the Texas coast, rarely see, and one that those who sleep in never see.

The sun rising in the east on a clear, calm morning — with a full moon about to set above the horizon to the west.

It happens maybe once each hunting

season, and with cloud cover, family and work obligations, even avid coastal waterfowlers may never see it.

On this November morning it happened during a duck hunt on Copano Bay near Rockport, accentuated by a flock of redheads that buzzed the blind three times.

The guide wondered why the hunters didn’t shoot. But the redheads were abundant, and the scene trumped the blast of a shotgun or dropping of a bird.

There were more birds that entered the frame — pintail, green-winged teal, wigeon, gadwall, bluebills and the ever-reliable redheads. And sometime

after 9 a.m., a group of gadwall dove in and two hunters each downed a drake to complete the limits for the group of three. The guide was happy.

But the day won’t be remembered for the limits.

— Craig Nyhus Photograph by David J. Sams, LSON.

Texoma fishing up, business down

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Longtime Lake Texoma fishing guide Dan Barnett had one thing to say to folks scared away from the lake by a recent outbreak of algae.

“Reports of Texoma’s demise have been greatly exaggerated,” he said.

“The smallmouth fishing is incredible — the best I’ve seen in years.”

PLENTY OF BIG FISH: Guides on Lake Texoma say the striper and smallmouth fishing is as good as it has been in years due to an abundance of bait and good weather.

Photo by Striper Express.

See TEXOMA, Page 25

FIND THE BIRDS: Sabine Lake is fishing great right now. One of the easiest ways to find schools of redfish and trout is to look for the birds circling above schools of baitfish and shrimp. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Salty but sweet

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Rumors trickling out of Sabine Lake whispered of the best

coastal fishing in years.

“Yes, sir, it’s as good as you’ve heard,” said longtime guide Bill Watkins. “The water is really salty — there

is no freshwater, so the fish can go where the bait is. Shrimp See SWEET, Page 25

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HUNTING

Texans prominent in ‘Chicks with Guns’ New book of portraits explores gender, guns, culture

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS String together three words — chicks with guns — and men will take notice.

So will women.

That’s what photographer Lindsay McCrum has learned since her book “Chicks with Guns,” launched in September.

It’s a portrait collection of 81 women, including 15 Texans, spanning ethnicities, age groups and income levels.

The common thread is that each is photographed with her gun of choice.

McCrum, who will be at book signings next month in San Antonio, said the project has been praised by both men and women.

Reviewers have called it “beautiful, unsettling, compelling, haunting and mesmerizing,” she said.

ANYONE SEE ANY ROOSTERS? Pheasant numbers are down across much of Texas this year.

Biologists think lack of cover has contributed to the decline. Photo by LSON.

Texas pheasants few and far between for hunting season

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently completed its annual pheasant surveys in the Panhandle and, according to several of the biologists, the results aren’t promising.

“It’s not looking too well,” said Joachim Treptow, TPWD biologist in the Dalhart area. “With the lack of cover, it might take awhile for it to get back to normal. We’d love to have people come up and hunt, but the prospects aren’t looking good for many birds.”

Treptow said this is his first year in the Dalhart area, but looking back through past pheasant surveys, this year is way down in overall numbers.

“Back in 2005 looked like a great year,” he said. “But numbers just aren’t fantastic this year.”

Mark Gallegos of Scattered Shot Outfitters in Dalhart said he hasn’t seen enough pheasants this year to feel right about booking hunts.

“I haven’t been out yet a whole lot,” he said, “but I haven’t been seeing the numbers I usually do. I think it is mostly due to the lack of cover from the drought.”

Gallegos said unless the area receives a lot of rain during the spring and summer, the pheasant hunting in the Panhandle could be down for years.

TPWD biologist Russell Martin, who works the counties around Lubbock on the extreme southern-most range of the birds, said his line counts were poor this year, similar to last year.

“We are still compiling data, and my area might not be representative of the areas farther north, but it was down this year,” Martin said. “A good line for me is 20 miles, and I saw three birds when I was out earlier this week. Now, that is comparable to last year when the counts were around two or three birds.

Martin said lack of vegetation was a main factor for the lack of birds.

“There is less vegetation than there has been out here,” he said. “There is virtually no growth for the birds to hide in. There are no weeds in the playas. The birds are generally easier to see, but we are seeing fewer birds.

“Habitat-wise, it’s about as bad as I’ve ever seen.

“There are more fallow fields than I’ve ever seen and less grain, which means less food.”

Martin said he checked with the biologist compiling all of the pheasant survey data, and he said some trends have emerged.

“Numbers are generally down, but we’ve seen the biggest decreases in areas that traditionally hold the most birds,” he said. “In areas where we usually see 200 or 300 birds along a string, this year we saw 20 or 30. But in areas where we normally see 20 or 30 birds, we saw 15 or 20 this year.

“The higher density areas had the biggest reductions in birds.”

See CHICKS WITH GUNS, Page 30

LADY, GET YOUR GUN: Courtney Abernethy, left, of Houston is one of 15 Texans featured in Lindsay McCrum’s “Chicks with Guns.” The cover of the book is shown above. Photos by Lindsay McCrum.

Blind but now I see … the ducks Duck blinds come in all shapes and sizes

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Even in the darkened landscape of water and grass, the bay leaf brush stood out against the flat coastal

marsh near Rockport.

Three hunters, a guide and a chocolate lab piled into the roomy platform blind after decoys had been spread to entice flocks of teal, gadwall,

redheads, wigeon, bluebills, pintail and other assorted ducks.

Within an hour after daylight, all of the hunters had shot their limits. Being well-hidden had made a

huge difference on this hunt. The blind worked.

Duck blinds come in all shapes and sizes, but one

See DUCK BLINDS, Page 19

DON’T MISS: When a blind is positioned correctly, shots on ducks can be close. Here, a hunter shoots from a platform blind built on a marsh near Rockport. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

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Success breeds more work in deer management program

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Success breeds success, the saying goes.

But now that one very successful deer management program in Texas has steadily grown, state biologists are struggling to keep up with it.

The Managed Land Deer Permits program, which began in 1998, allows participating landowners involved in habitat management efforts to have longer seasons and more flexible bag limits.

There are three levels in the program, and

as of 2010, it had 6,912 ranches enrolled, comprising about 21 million acres.

Its popularity has resulted in about 1 million more acres added each year, said Clayton Wolf, Wildlife Division director for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“It has been wildly successful,” Wolf said.

“It’s funny because we talked several years ago about how we could be better marketing the MLDP program, and we said ‘Wow, this thing is marketing itself.’”

See MLDP, Page 26

Bobwhite quail numbers low, many hunters not shooting this year

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Speaking to many quail hunters across the state right now is like trying to talk at a funeral.

Hushed tones, darting eyes and a few words about the good old days followed by a long stare and “it’s not looking good this year.”

“I haven’t been out because I haven’t seen any birds,” said Mark Brewer, president of the AmarilloPanhandle Chapter of Quail Coalition. “The hunters I’ve talked to have all said about the same thing.

“Not a lot of birds, and

I’M LOOKING: Hunters have been encouraged to get out and work dogs this year, but low numbers of quail due to the drought has many hunters shooting with a camera this quail season. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

the ones that are out there, we think we’ll leave for next year’s brood stock.”

See QUAIL LOW, Page 27

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‘Grave Digger’ posed three-year challenge

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

SPOOKY BUCK: J.T. Howard Jr. downed this Edwards County buck he nicknamed “Grave Digger” with a Buckmasters G2XL “lefty” compound bow. It launched a Beman ICS arrow tipped with a Rage two-bladed broadhead. Photo by J.T. Howard.

Scary campfire tales have enthralled generations of kids, but J.T. Howard Jr., an insurance salesman from Hempstead, was intrigued with the “Grave Digger.”

It was the first white-tailed buck he noticed a couple years ago when he first got on his Edwards County lease. The ranch is northeast of Del Rio, about six hours by car from his home northwest of Houston.

J.T. videotaped the 12-point buck that first sighting. And the deer frequently showed up on trail camera images near corn and protein feeders in the southwest corner of the ranch — just a few hun-

dred yards from an old cemetery.

The history of the resting place remains a mystery to J.T. He estimated that about 75 headstones are there, some dating back to the early 1900s.

“It’s kind of a weird deal, out in the middle of nowhere,” he said.

“Some of (the graves) are for babies, but it is mostly elderly people.

“I assume it was a public cemetery — not just one family.”

But there was never any mistaking the deer on the trail cam. He had a 2-inch kicker off of his G2 and “heavy crab claws,” J.T. said.

Since the deer frequented the cemetery, J.T. called him the “Grave Digger.”

“I was always intrigued by

him,” he said.

J.T. stopped restocking corn and protein near the cemetery and noticed that the buck would move to another feeding station near the center of the ranch.

That’s where he set up a pop-up blind among some cedar bushes.

J.T. got a glimpse of the deer on opening weekend of archery season, but he couldn’t get a shot.

He returned the next week and hunted Thursday and Friday, but the Grave Digger didn’t show.

But as nefarious storm clouds moved into Edwards County early Saturday morning, the big deer appeared.

See GRAVE DIGGER, Page 24

Camp director outshoots pro marksmen to be ‘Top Shot’

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Dustin Ellerman isn’t very good at pitching rocks.

“I just stink at it,” said the 28-year-old director of a Christian summer camp in East Texas. “Throwing rocks — it’s the dumbest thing ever.

“Give me sights and a trigger and I can really make it happen.”

He proved that earlier this year when he won first place in Season 3 of the History Channel’s reality program, “Top Shot.”

The show puts 16 contestants in a variety of shooting challenges involving weapons

from throughout history — everything from Dustin’s dreaded rocks to modern assault rifles.

But the show, hosted by “Survivor” alum Colby Donaldson, also challenges shooters to hit targets on unusual obstacle courses or strenuous situations, like moving through the air upside down.

“They would walk us up to the challenge and we had no clue what we were getting into,” Dustin said. “Then Colby would say, ‘Here’s what you’re going to do.’

“You either picked it up on the fly real fast See TOP SHOT, Page 24

MARKSMAN: Dustin Ellerman, a summer camp director from Zavalla, bested more than a dozen other shooters to win Season 3 of “Top Shot” on the History Channel. Photo by Dustin Ellerman.

Congratulations, Emily! You can claim your Nikon 10x42 Trailblazer ATB binoculars at the Nikon Sport Optics dealer nearest you: Ray’s Hardware & Sporting Goods 730 Singleton Boulevard Dallas, TX 75212 (214) 747-7916

EMILY MADDEN, 10, of Frisco, recently went on her first dove hunt with family ar and friends ne ttle Paducah in Co e sh re He ty.

Coun takes a break ’s with her family loyal Brittany Spaniel, MAX.

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November 25, 2011

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FISHING

Fall bass on the fly Tougher fishing but, often, bigger bass

FALL FUN ON THE FLY: Bass fishing can be slower in late fall and winter on a fly rod, but bigger fish are what keep anglers like Hugh Pendery throwing flies during the colder months. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

WORTH THE TRIP: Anglers are heading to the border to tangle with Falcon Lake’s big bass. Offshore ledges, flooded brush and points are producing before the fish move to pre-spawn areas. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.

By Conor Harrison

Falcon continues roll

LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Longview native Trent Durst grew up following his grandfather around area lakes with a fly rod.

Years later, Durst still enjoys chasing largemouths with fly gear.

“It’s just enjoyable,” he said. “I grew up fly-fishing for bass because my grandpa was a huge fly-fisherman. He’d take trips that I’d go with him on, and I was always catching bass and bream on flies.”

Durst said he loves the top-water action that poppers provide on warmer days when the bite is on.

“On a cold day, the minnowtype flies like streamers, Wool Heads or Clouser minnows are a good choice,” he said. “Throw them near logs, lily pads, or any type of structure and strip the line.

“Between those baits, my favorite is the popper. They just hit it.”

Durst said a great choice in the early fall are dragon fly flies.

“When the dragon flies were buzzing around the water, bass were actually jumping out of the water to grab them,” he said.

“They were going crazy.”

For rods, Durst enjoys fishing with a 6- to 7-weight rod for lighter action, but goes bigger when he’s fishing waters that have the potential for big bass.

“The light rods are also good for trout and bream,” he said. “But if I’m going to a place like (Lake) Fork, I might opt for a bigger rod like an 8-weight. And an 8-and-a-half foot rod will handle anything.”

Sean Polk, fishing manager for Orvis in Dallas, said late fall bass fishing with a fly rod isn’t the easiest time to catch bass, but it could result in a really big fish.

“Winter has been my best time for big bass,” he said. “It can be a lot of

work, but worth it. You won’t get as many bites, but they could be big.”

Polk recommended flies like big Clousers, the Bass Omatic with a rubber skirt or a Geezus Lizard, which imitates a crawfish pattern.

Also becoming popular with bass anglers is the sinking tip lines or Poly-leaders that sink.

“The Poly-leaders are 7- to 10-foot sinking tips to add to a floating line to get your line a little deeper and not have to spend the money to respool a whole new line,” Polk said. “They are great to use from shore, and the fly actually comes up as you strip line to give it a jig-like action.”

Polk said during the winter, he loves to fish on the Brazos River for big stripers and largemouths.

“I rig an 8-weight looking for big stripers,” he said. “But I also find a lot of nice largemouths. It’s good to be able to fish year-round.”

By Alan Clemons FOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS No stranger to big bass tales, Falcon International Reservoir seems to be churning out more double-digit largemouth in the last couple of months than earlier this year.

After the Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Lake Conroe late in October, several of the pro competitors headed to Falcon for a few days to tangle with the big bass. Tournament champion Keith Combs was among them, as he had some guide trips set up the week following his win.

Combs, who guided at Amistad in Del Rio but now

Diving for anchors Guides go under at jetties for salvage, cash

By Craig Nyhus LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS For those fishing the jetties by boat, it’s not a matter of if, but of when. Anchors wedge themselves into the large chunks of granite and won’t let go.

For Captain Pat “Pickle” Ragusin with Salty Dog Outfitters in Port O’Connor, one fisherman’s loss can be another’s gain.

“We used to dive under the boats and shoot some grouper and other fish,” he said. “Then we dove the jetties — we were seeing rods, reels and started spotting anchors.”

Ragusin dove with friend and fellow guide Jeremy Helms, and they decided to capitalize on the opportunity.

“We started diving the Port O’Connor jetties for anchors,” he said. “We usually wait until August when the blue water gets closer in and we have good visibility. This year we could see 40 to 60 feet.”

The anchors are collected, separated, cleaned and sold — often to the original owners.

“Our best day was 45 anchors,” Ragusin said.

“A guy pulled up and said he would buy them from us — we got $10 per anchor.”

And since then, there have been repeat customers, usually jetty regulars.

“I sold the same guy his anchors more than 20 times,” Ragusin said.

“He’s out there a lot — it doesn’t matter what you wedge between two pieces of granite, it’s gonna get stuck.”

The type of anchor doesn’t seem to matter either.

“We found a dozen of MORE THAN SCRAP: This pile of anchors was recovered from the Port O’Connor jetties by two scubathe unsnaggable Mighty diving friends, Pat “Pickle” Ragusin and Jeremy Helms. Several were resold to their previous owners.

Mite anchors one year,” Photo by Pat Ragusin.

lives in Hemphill, said he spends about two weeks a month at Falcon when he’s not on the tournament circuit.

“As far as big ones, I think it’s been pretty good all year, but lately there seems to be a combination of things that has helped,” he said. “One is the lake level has been really good lately to fish some of the rocks and brush. There’s been about 8-10 feet depth around the thick brush and 10-13 feet on the rock piles. I think that’s a perfect depth for fishing the lake right now.”

See FALCON, Page 34

Ragusin said.

Ragusin knows his way around the bay system. He has been fishing there for more than 30 years and guides fishermen and duck hunters. He’s a U.S. Coast Guard certified captain and has a Master of Steam or Motor Vessels license.

He has operated a 65-foot crew boat, taking divers, birdwatchers and fishermen 100 miles offshore on the weekends, and taking crews, food and supplies to oil rigs during the week.

“We liked taking the birdwatchers,” he said. “There was nothing to clean up when we got back.”

Now he guides fishermen and duck hunters. But during the times of year when things slow down a bit, diving the jetties is one of the extra ways he has found to pocket some spending money.

“We found 28 anchors this year and sold them for about $400,” he said. “I’ve done the spearfishing thing — this is more lucrative.”

Now, the fishermen and duck hunters are keeping him busy.

“It’s been a great duck season so far,” he said. “A lot of pintail and redheads, of course, but this year there are more gadwall and wigeon — we’ve been doing great.

“And the redfish are biting, too.”

Salty Dog Outfitters, (512) 284-0365 or (361) 550-6428

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Offshore action heats up after rough seas subside Rough seas put a crimp in offshore fishing in early to mid-November, but party boat crews were quick to launch when they could get calmer waters.

“The seas have been too rough at 7 to 9 feet,” said Paula Housman of Captain Kelly’s Deep Sea Headquarters, Port Aransas. “We had to cancel some floaters.

“But last week we did good on yellowfin. We had two boats come back with 3,100 pounds.

“Then we had a 12-hour trip

on Wednesday and they came back with amberjack, vermillion snapper, blackfin tuna and some kingfish and shark.

“It’s slower than summer, but you can’t complain too much.”

A similar report came from mid-November at Galveston Party Boats.

During an earlier trips, customers with cut bait and Diamond Jigs fished 70 to 150 miles out and caught yellowfin, weighing about 60 to 100 pounds, blackfin, vermillion snapper and a

few amberjack.

Chris Smith said a boat was to launch the following day after not going out for about a month. He said business slips a bit during hunting season, but weather was also a huge factor.

“We don’t go out in 6-foot seas,” he said. “We don’t want to beat our customers to death.”

Galveston Party Boats, (409) 763-5423 Captain Kelly’s Deep Sea Headquarters, (361) 749-5597

— Staff report

HEADING OUT: Fishing for deep-water species, including this kingfish, slipped in early to mid-November because of high seas. Party boat crews were quick to launch when calmer waters returned. Photo by LSON.

Electrofishing surveys show populations holding steady

By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Game fish populations seem to be holding steady across the state, said biologists involved in fall electrofishing surveys.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department conducts the surveys on most lakes every four years.

The fish, usually in shallower areas, are temporarily stunned with electric currents; then they are placed in livewells to recover. Lengths and weights are recorded and sometimes tissue samples are taken before the fish are released.

Electrofishing surveys help biologists measure populations of largemouth bass and prey species like shad and panfish.

But, although lake levels across the state have fallen drastically over the past year, fish populations aren’t expected to be drastically low just yet.

Succeeding years may tell a different stories, however, if normal rainfall does not return to replenish lakes.

“I would say the adult component of the population is really stable now,” said Craig Bonds, a TPWD inland fisheries director in Tyler, who oversees East Texas.

“It’s really hard to paint in broad strokes,” Bonds explained, “Some lakes are affected more adversely than others. But the first year of low-water conditions usually sees fairly stable populations.”

As water levels retreat, however, grassy habitat for laying eggs is inaccessible to fish.

“Recruitment” could begin to slip.

Bonds noted, however, that populations of adult fish could still keep anglers busy in the second year of drought, as long as sufficient boat access continues.

And if rains do come, the juvenile population could rebound quickly, Bonds said.

“What we don’t want to see is low levels two to three years from now,” he said. “If drought continues, I’d anticipate seeing sport fish populations that really start to change — with fewer and fewer fish recruiting.”

Electrofishing surveys were conducted at Arrowhead, Graham, Jacksboro, Millers Creek and Palo Pinto reservoirs, said Robert Mauk, a TPWD biologist in Wichita Falls.

“While several of the reservoirs showed signs of negative impact from the drought, bass populations in Millers Creek and Palo Pinto reservoirs are doing well,” Mauk said in a report. “All the reservoirs contained adequate forage, though the species varied from one reservoir to another.”

Fewer largemouth bass, however, were noticed at Arrowhead, Mauk said.

“The good news is that there are plenty of legal sized (14 inches or longer) bass available to the angler,” Mauk said, “and body condition was considered good.”

In West Texas, the popular big-bass destination O.H. Ivie Reservoir showed average populations, said Mukhtar Farooqi, a TPWD district biologist in San Angelo.

But, he added, biologists were also happy to see “young-of-the-year fish that were produced this summer.”

The presence of juvenile fish showed that recruitment continued, even though the lake’s plummeting levels have alarmed officials in nearby cities that depend on it for drinking water.

“There is still some vegetation there,” Farooqi said. “So, we have some encouraging signs.”

Fish quality seemed unchanged, Farooqi said.

“It just looked like a typical Ivie sample, as far as the condition of fish,” he said. “Some of them there are thin, but we’ve been having that for years, so you wouldn’t be able to necessarily associate that with the drought.”

But fish size has gotten the attention of biologists surveying nearby Lake Nasworthy in San Angelo.

Farooqi said the lake isn’t producing harvestable largemouth bass — 14 inches or more — until they reach age 6.

“They’re growing too slow,” he said. “They should be reaching 14 inches by 2 to 3 years.

There’s a lot of stunting going on. We are looking at what we can do to try to ease (that).”

Biologists also conduct gill net surveys in the spring, Farooqi said.

That information is submitted with the fall electrofishing surveys in the summer.

TPWD officials then consider all the data to make decisions for the various lakes.

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TEXAS FISHING REPORT Sponsored by

HOT BITES LARGEMOUTH BASS

ATHENS: Good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads and shallow crankbaits — main lake points have been best with schooling action early.

BUCHANAN: Good on white Spinnerbaits, perch-colored Rat–L– Traps, and chartreuse crankbaits in 10–20 feet.

CADDO: Good on Texas-rigged creature baits around isolated cover.

LAVON: Good on Texas-rigged creature baits, top-waters and square-bill crankbaits.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads and creature baits around docks.

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

BRIDGEPORT: White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs (best action mid-day).

CEDAR CREEK: White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on live shad.

LBJ: Striped bass are good on Li’l Fishies and Creme 2” Spoiler Shads at night.

RAY HUBBARD: White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in.

RAY ROBERTS: White bass are excellent on slabs in 35 feet of water.

CATFISH

BUCHANAN: Channel catfish are good on shrimp, minnows and cheesebait.

Yellow and blue catfish are good on perch and live shad.

CANYON LAKE: Yellow and blue catfish are good on trotlines and juglines baited with live goldfish and perch.

FALCON: Channel and blue catfish are excellent on shrimp and stinkbait.

WALTER E. LONG: Channel and blue catfish are good on liver and shrimp.

CRAPPIE FALCON: Excellent on shiners and jigs.

GRANBURY: Good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

WHITNEY: Good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 58–65 degrees; 7.65’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits, Texas rigs, spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 67–72 degrees; 7.83’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, jerkbaits, soft plastics, jigs and fair on topwaters. Striped bass are good on slabs and Red Fins.

ARROWHEAD: Water off-color; 56–67 degrees; 8.33’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters early, later switching to Texas rigs, spinnerbaits and weightless flukes. White bass are good on slabs and minnows.

ATHENS: Water clear, 65–70 degrees; 5.60’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads and shallow crankbaits — main lake points have been best with schooling action early. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

64–69 degrees; 7.65’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged worms, shaky heads and finesse jigs around docks. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on live shad.

good on spinnerbaits, Texas rigs and weightless flukes. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 68–72 degrees; 11.44’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastics in 15–20 feet.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 64–70 degrees; 3.41’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, shallow crankbaits and smaller jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on prepared baits.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 68–71 degrees; 15.62’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon crankbaits,

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 64–70 degrees; 4.37’ low. Largemouth bass are good on

HOT SPOT

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 64–69 degrees; 9.09’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on black/blue jigs, shaky heads with finesse worms and shallow-running crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows and jigs.

White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters. Catfish are fair to good on trotlines or juglines with Redneck’s Catfish Bait Soap.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and watermelon soft plastic worms in reeds.

Striped bass are good on silver and gold spoons and marble spinnerbaits near the jetty and dam. Redfish are good on perch, shrimp, shad, tilapia and silver spoons.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 63–68 degrees; 12.33’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits in shad patterns along main lake points. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs (best action midday).

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 64– 69 degrees; 6.25’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, square-bill crankbaits and spinnerbaits — swim jigs are good around riprap. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catfish are good on prepared baits.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water fairly clear; 64–69 degrees; 8.39’ low.

Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged worms, shaky heads and creature baits around docks. Square-bill crankbaits are producing numbers.

Lake Texoma Reports of a super-hot striper and smallmouth bite have emerged from Lake Texoma in the past week. Stripers up to 15 pounds are being caught, with loads of fish in the 7- and 8-pound range.

Smallmouths averaging 3 pounds are also being caught.

Photo by Striper Express, (903) 660-5989

soft plastic worms and Rat–L– Traps. Channel catfish are good on stinkbait, shrimp and nightcrawlers.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 69–73 degrees; 7.93’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastics, Rat–L– Traps, and top-waters. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs.

COOPER: Water lightly stained; 64–68 degrees; 12.74’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits and Texas-rigged worms throughout the day. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair to good on Sassy Shad and live shad. Catfish are good on prepared bait and cut bait.

BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 69–73 degrees; 15.78’ low.

Largemouth bass are fair on medium-running crankbaits, chartreuse buzzbaits, and watermelon worms over brush piles in 8–15 feet. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and minnows off lighted docks at night.

FALCON: Water clear from Marker 14 south, stained above; 70–73 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on deep-running crankbaits and jigs in 12–20 feet. Crappie are excellent on shiners and jigs. Striped bass are still in the lake in very limited numbers. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on shrimp and stinkbait.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 67–71 degrees; 31.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on white Spinnerbaits, perchcolored Rat–L–Traps, and chartreuse crankbaits in 10–20 feet. Channel catfish are good on shrimp, minnows and cheesebait. Yellow and blue catfish are good on perch and live shad.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 64–69 degrees; 7.59’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue flipping jigs rigged with LFT Flipper — concentrate on the wood cover near creek channel bends. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

CADDO: Water stained; 64–69 degrees; 1.49’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits around isolated cover. Yellow bass are good on minnows.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear.

Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and Rat–L–Traps. Crappie are good on minnows and white tube jigs.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on dark soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits near the dam. Redfish are good on perch and tilapia near the dam.

Channel and blue catfish are good on liver, shrimp, and cheesebait.

GRANBURY: Water clear; 67–71 degrees; 5.23’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon spinnerbaits and soft plastics off points early.

Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Catfish are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 66–70 degrees; 10.08’ low. Largemouth bass are good on white spinnerbaits, watermelon Scoundrel worms and Texas-rigged 6” pumpkinseed worms in 15–25 feet.

Striped bass are fair jigging 1oz. Pirk Minnows and trolling crankbaits at daylight. Yellow and blue catfish are good on trotlines and juglines baited with live goldfish and perch.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 65–69 degrees; 5.39’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, watermelon finesse jigs and spinnerbaits along main lake points.

Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on top-waters and Rat–L–Traps. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained;

PROCTOR: Water clear; 68–72 degrees; 7.80’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Rat–L– Traps. Striped bass are good on chartreuse striper jigs and minnows.

Channel and blue catfish are good on stinkbait, shrimp and shad.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 64–69 degrees; 5.00’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on XCalibur One Knockers in Foxy Shad and watermelon/red YUM Dingers fished weightless around grass in the backs of coves. White bass are excellent on slabs in 35 feet of water.

BASTROP: Water clear; 68–71 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastics and Rat–L– Traps. Channel and blue catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and stinkbait.

BELTON: Water fairly clear; 67–70 degrees; 11.91’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters and spinnerbaits. Hybrid striper are good on live shad early. White bass are good on slabs. Yellow catfish are good on live perch.

square-bill crankbaits, Texas rigs, Rat–L–Traps and shaky heads. Crappie are fair to good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and live minnows. Catfish are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

HUBBARD CREEK: 57–65 degrees; 14.5’ low. Largemouth bass are

Texas rigs, shallow crankbaits and Rat–L–Traps along main lake points.

Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 64–70 degrees; 13.07’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged creature baits, top-waters and square-bill crankbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns.

Catfish are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water clear; 68–72 degrees; 0.37’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse Curb’s buzzbaits, white swim baits and watermelon Whacky Sticks in 10–20 feet at daylight. Striped bass are good on Li’l Fishies and Creme 2” Spoiler Shads at night. Channel catfish are good on minnows and shrimp. Yellow and blue catfish are good on trotlines baited with live bait.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 64–69 degrees; 7.03’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits in shad patterns, spinnerbaits and swim jigs along the riprap near the dam. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 69– 73 degrees; 4.12’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Striped bass to 4 pounds are good on Zara spooks and Rat–L– Traps. Crappie are good on minnows.

Blue catfish are good on juglines baited with shad.

MONTICELLO: Water fairly clear; 76– 88 degrees; 0.79’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits, chatterbaits and Texas-rigged creature baits on shallow wood cover.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 64–69 degrees; 6.38’ low.

Largemouth bass are good early on top-waters, later switching to shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits and bladed jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfish are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water fairly clear; 62–71 degrees; 10.67’ low.

Largemouth bass are fair to good on

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 68–72 degrees; 13.59’ low. Largemouth bass are good on perch-colored top-waters, soft plastic worms, and spinnerbaits. Catfish are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

STILLHOUSE: Water stained; 68–71 degrees; 15.98’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon crankbaits and small spinnerbaits. White bass are good on watermelon soft plastics in 20–28 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

SWEETWATER: Water murky; 58–68 degrees; 13.8’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shallow-running crankbaits, spinnerbaits and Texas rigs. Crappie are fair to good on live minnows. Catfish are fair to good on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 65–70 degrees; 7.33’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/blue Firewater 1/2 oz. jigs, Texas-rigged blue fleck worms and square-bill crankbaits.

Bladed jigs are producing on windier days. White bass are excellent on white SSS Slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late.

Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4” to 6” white or shad pattern Sassy Shad in the shallows early.

Catfish are excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 68–72 degrees; 12.30’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and top-waters off points. Channel and blue catfish are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

TRAVIS: Water lightly stained; 68–72 degrees; 54.69’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse top-waters, pumpkinseed worms and small crankbaits in 8–18 feet.

WALTER E. LONG: Water lightly stained.

Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

Hybrid striper are fair on minnows and striper jigs. Crappie are good on minnows near the dam. Channel and blue catfish are good on liver and shrimp.

WEATHERFORD: Water fairly clear; 65– 70 degrees; 7.52’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas rigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 67–71 degrees; 16.18’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on blue/black spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Rat–L–Traps. White bass are good on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

WRIGHT PATMAN: Water lightly stained; 64–69 degrees; 2.44’ high.

Largemouth bass are good on Texasrigged worms, shallow crankbaits and chatterbaits along main lake points.

SALTWATER SCENE NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under birds and pods of shad on soft plastics. Redfish and flounder are good in the marsh on shrimp.

SOUTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under birds and pods of shad. Redfish are good at the jetty on live bait and cracked crabs.

Flounder are good at the mouths of the bayous on a falling tide.

BOLIVAR: Trout, black drum, sand trout and redfish are good at Rollover Pass. Trout are fair to good while drifting shell on plastics.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels.

Trout are good under birds in the upper end of the bay. Flounder are good at the mouths of bayous on plastics.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are good for waders tossing Maniac Mullet and Top Dogs. Trout and are good for drifters working deep shell on plastics. Redfish and flounder are fair to good in the marsh around drains on shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Bull redfish and od at San Luis Pass flounder are good h d Sh h d on shrimp and shad.

Sheepshead, redfish and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Flounder are fair at Seawolf Park on jigs tipped with shrimp.

TEXAS CITY: Redfish are fair to good in Moses Lake on crabs and shrimp. Gulf trout are good in the channel on fresh shrimp.

Trout and sand trout are good off the piers.

FREEPORT: Bull redfish are good around Surfside and at the Quintana jetty on crabs, shrimp and mullet. Trout and redfish are good on the reefs in Christmas Bay and Bastrop Bay on live shrimp.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are good for drifters on live shrimp and plastics over humps and scattered shell.. Trout and flounder are fair to good on muddy shorelines on soft plastics. Trout are good for waders working reefs on soft plastics and Corkies.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair on sand and grass humps on soft plastics and top-waters. Redfish are fair on live shrimp at Shell Island and Twin Island.

PORT O’CONNOR: Redfish are best in the back lakes on shrimp and mullet. Bull redfish are good at the jetty on crabs, mullet and shad. Trout are fair to good on the reefs in San Antonio Bay on live shrimp.

ROCKPORT: Redfish are good in Redfish Bay and in the skinny water at Allyn’s Bight on Bass Assassins, TTF plastics, Norton Bull Minnows and plastics. Bull redfish are good in the channel on shrimp and crabs.

PORT ARANSAS: Trout are fair around the islands on soft plastics. Redfish are fair at Shamrock Cove and Pelican Island on topg waters and plastics. Bull redfish are good at the jetty and on the beachfront on natural baits. Offshore is good for tuna.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Bull redfish are good in the surf on mullet and shrimp. Trout are fair for waders working mud and grass on small top-waters and Corkies in Oso Bay. Redfish and black drum are good in the Humble Channel on live bait.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are good over deep rocks on plum Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels. Redfish are fair to good in the Land Cut on shrimp and crabs. Flounder are fair to good on jigs on the edge of the channel.

PORT MANSFIELD: Flounder are fair around East f i tto good d on Cut on plastics. Troutt are fair the edge of the Intracoastal on plastics and Corkies. Redfish are good on the flats on plastics and gold spoons.

SOUTH PADRE: Redfish are fair to good on the Gas Well Flats on DOA Shrimp and TTF Flats Minnows. Flounder are fair to good on shrimp and DOA Shrimp in the Brownsville Ship Channel. Bull redfish are good at the jetty.

PORT ISABEL: Trout are fair while drifting grass on plastics under popping corks around Laguna Vista. Redfish are fair at Airport Cove on shrimp and DOA Shrimp under popping corks. High winds have muddied the water.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

New Texas law clarifies rules for guns on boats Gun-owning boaters can now carry concealed handguns from their vehicles to their boats, and they don’t need a special license to do it.

House Bill 25, unanimously approved earlier this year by the Legislature, became law Sept. 1.

Before that, Texas law did not address the authority of people to carry firearms to their boats.

However, the law did say people could carry guns in their homes, to and from their vehicles and in the vehicles. And they could do all of that without a concealed handgun license.

There was, however, no mention of boats or watercraft.

“The law was silent as far as boats,” said Scott Vaca, an assistant chief at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “This law just clarified what is OK and what isn’t.”

Vaca noted, however, that what did not change are portions of the law that say the firearm must remain hidden from plain view.

Also, the person with the gun may not have it while engaged in criminal activity. A Class C misdemeanor regulating boating doesn’t count, but the person may not be in a criminal street gang, or be ineligible to have a gun under other state or federal laws.

— Staff report NEW LAW: The Legislature earlier this year passed a bill clarifying the authority of Texans to carry concealed handguns on their boats. Photo by LSON.

Texas to send seven anglers to Bassmaster Classic Andrew Upshaw from Hemphill lives on Toledo Bend, and has dreamed of being a professional bass fisherman for many years. At the Mercury College B.A.S.S. National Championship in July, he topped best friend Ryan Watkins, both of Stephen F. Austin University, to take the title and earn an automatic birth to the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.

Upshaw will join six other Texans in the field of 49 anglers at the Classic, Feb. 24-26, 2012.

Alton Jones of Waco, Keith Combs of Huntington, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Takahiro Omori of Emory, and Matt Reed of Madisonville qualified through the Bassmaster Elite Series, and Andrew Jessup of Dalhart qualified through the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation.

Defending champion Kevin VanDam will compete in his 22nd consecutive classic.

Fishing at the 2012 Classic will be on Louisiana’s Red River. Events will be based out of Shreveport-Bossier City, the site of the 2009 Classic.

— Staff report

November 25, 2011

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER BEAR RETURNS TO DEL RIO A bear was in a large pecan tree in the backyard of a Del Rio home located near four schools. Val Verde County Game Warden Dustin Barrett responded. He was soon joined by Game Wardens Isaac Ruiz, Mike Durand and Aaron Willoughby, who assisted in keeping the bear treed for three hours while awaiting TPWD biologist Ryan Schmidt to arrive with a dart gun. The bear had been in the area for several months and met the relocation criteria. The bear was successfully darted and relocated to the Big Bend area.

GILL-NETTERS SCOOP UP CITATIONS Jefferson County Game Warden Chris Swift and Orange County Game Warden Clint Caywood worked an area known for night shrimping in Jefferson County. In addition to catching night shrimpers, they apprehended two men who were running a gill net. The men had caught 56 flounder — 40 undersized. They were arrested and charged with illegal means and methods, possession of undersized flounder and exceeding the daily bag limit. Cases and restitution pending.

DEER RUN DOWN BY VEHICLE A caller informed Franklin County Game Warden Doyle Brown that several shots were heard at night and someone observed a vehicle driving across a pasture chasing a small deer while the occupants of the vehicle were yelling at the driver. Eventually the vehicle ran over the running deer. The next day, a mature doe and a fawn were found dead in the pasture with bullet holes in them and another fawn was found in the area.

Three adults and one juvenile were identified. Interviewing one suspect led to a confession implicating two additional violators. Citations and restitution were issued for taking deer during closed season, taking

WARDENS FOLLOW BLOOD TRAIL BACK TO SHOOTER’S HOME Bandera County Game Wardens Mark McQueary and Jeff Carter received a call from an individual about a dead deer next to her patio. The caller looked out the bedroom window to see two men standing close to her property line looking at the dead deer. When the caller went outside, the two men walked away through the brush. The white-tailed buck had been shot twice with an arrow and a good blood trail existed. McQueary and Carter followed the blood trail

deer by illegal means and methods and failure to retrieve game.

A LOT OF GUN FOR A YEARLING WHITETAIL A citizen contacted Van Zandt County Game Warden Trent Herchman regarding a neighbor skinning a deer in a barn before the opening of deer season. Herchman and Game Warden Steve Stapleton found a new Cadillac parked in front of the barn with fresh blood running off of the trunk.

Inside the barn was the owner of the Cadillac, the landowner and a freshly killed yearling deer. The shooter admitted that the landowner had problems with deer in his garden and invited him over to kill one. He used a .30-378-caliber rifle to take the yearling. Multiple cases pending.

BUCK WAS JUST A LITTLE TOO SMALL Titus County Game Warden Jerry Ash received a report of a suspicious hunter at the White Oak Creek Wildlife Management Area. It was discovered that the hunter had shot an 8 1/2-inch wide, 6-point buck and left the buck hidden in the brush near the WMA parking lot. The hunter was later caught in Atlanta by Cass County Game Warden Jason Jones. Citations and civil restitution were issued for illegal white-tailed buck, waste of game, untagged deer, and fail to complete white-tailed deer harvest log.

through a pasture, across a county road, through another pasture and ended up at a water trough with corn scattered around it. After looking around the area, it was determined the deer was shot with a crossbow from the porch area of a residence. Cases and civil restitution are pending on two bucks. One more buck was killed on the same property about a week earlier. The individual said he had to hunt with a bow because he was a convicted felon.

NOT A GOOD REASON TO LIE Bell County Game Warden Justin Valchar investigated a trespassing call from a landowner who had found a feeder on his property and several trees cleared off his land.

Tire tracks led to the neighbor’s house. When the neighbor was questioned, she denied any knowledge of the issue, saying her husband was at the deer lease. When asked again, she admitted that it was indeed her husband. When asked why she lied, she replied, “cause you’re a game warden.” Cases filed and pending.

RESIDENT COMPLAINING OF DOVE HUNTERS RECEIVES COMPLAINT OF HER OWN Hays County Game Warden Jake Scott investigated a complaint regarding dove hunters peppering a residence. The warden met with the hunters at their lease, located on a property behind a mobile home park. The hunters were adamant that they would never shoot in the direction of any homes because they knew the hunter safety regulations and had been hunting since they were “knee-high to a grasshopper.”

Scott then asked the hunters to walk several hundred yards away from the homes and shoot a few rounds in the opposite direction while he observed. Within approximately five minutes, the police department con-

tacted Scott and informed him that the same complainant called in to report that the hunters were shooting towards her house, and further, that the “pellets were raining down on her house.” Scott made contact with the complainant and attempted to advise her that the hunters were not shooting toward her house when she cut him off, insisting that her house was being hit with pellets.

The complainant became very agitated and uncooperative. Scott then went to the Kyle Police Department to file a report against the complainant for making a false statement to a peace officer. Charges pending.

YOUNG SON GIVES AWAY DAD’S VIOLATION Terrell County Game Wardens Saul Aguilar and Kenneth Stannard entered a camp and noticed a tagging violation on a hanging 10-point white-tailed buck. The couple was excited, saying the wife was able to take her first buck. Upon educating the couple on proper tagging requirements, Aguilar talked with the 9-year-old boy, who seemed intrigued by the wardens. The boy said he wanted to shoot a buck like the one his dad shot while pointing at the 10-pointer. Citations were issued to the couple after the husband admitted to shooting the deer and using his wife’s license to tag it.

WARDEN RESCUES SWAMPED DUCK HUNTERS, DOG While returning to the boat ramp after checking duck hunters, Tarrant County Game Warden David Vannoy noticed a large amount of debris in the main body of the lake. As Vannoy drew closer, he observed the bow of a flat-bottomed boat sticking up out of the water. Vannoy rescued two hunters whose boat sank just five minutes prior to Vannoy’s arrival. The two hunters and a dog were pulled from the water and safely returned to their vehicle. Both hunters were wearing PFDs when the boat suddenly went down. One hunter said this was his very first encounter with a game warden and he was sure happy to see one.

VIOLATOR SPILLS THE BEANS Cherokee County Game Warden Eric Collins received a call from a local state trooper who advised that he had a truck stopped with a large amount of blood in the bed. Collins met the trooper and the driver of the vehicle at the sheriff’s department.

The subject said he had killed a deer a week prior with his bow. Later, the subject confessed to killing the deer at night from a public roadway with a .22-caliber rifle. He also admitted to only removing the backstraps from the deer, discarding the rest of the meat, and selling the backstraps for $15 to one of his friends. Cases pending.

NO NIGHT GOLF OR HUNTING Montgomery County Game Warden Brannon Meinkowsky apprehended two subjects after they shot a doe at night on a local golf course. In addition to the doe, the men were in possession of an untagged 8-point buck. The men admitted to killing two deer at night and two deer during the day on the golf course last year. Multiple cases pending.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For Your Hunter What better gift for a hunter or angler than something that allows him or her to hunt and fish?

Here are just a few ideas from the editors of LSON for the outdoors lover on your holiday gift list.

(307) 857-4700 bruntonhunting.com

>>

RESTORE: Brunton’s hybrid charger will keep hunters powered up. This portable power pack is an efficient, integrated compact hybrid charger with twin solar polycrystalline panels that keep the internal lithium battery at peak capacity. The hybrid charger is water-resistant and has a power gauge and automatic shutoff. At 5 1/2 inches by 3 inches by 1 1/4 inches, it is compact enough to throw in the hunting pack in case extra juice is needed for all those essential electronics. The Restore power pack costs about $120.

>>

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(800) 221-6398 allseasonsfeeders.com

(631) 547-4200 nikonhunting.com

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(800) 716-5402 outdooredge.com

KILLER GHILLIE BLIND COVER: Avery Outdoors’ blind cover is designed to match virtually any hunting environment.

Available in All Terrain, Winter Wheat or Golden Harvest, these covers can be customized with camo spray paint. Hunters can also add more of the woven highly durable authentic raffia grass in nine weed colors to further customize their Ghillie cover. Slip the cover over a ground blind frame and it will stay on when the door is flipped open or shut. The prey won’t see you until it is too late. This blind cover costs about $120.

(800) 333-5119 averyoutdoors.com

MS 271 CHAINSAW: Make your hunter’s life a little easier with this model, which is perfect for those tasks that are periodically required around the hunting lease. Built tough for felling, firewood cutting, or whatever other task comes up, this chainsaw by STIHL sports a compact, ergonomic design combined with an advanced anti-vibration system to help reduce operator fatigue. It also features reduced emission engine technology that increases fuel efficiency. Other features include tool-less fuel and oil caps with retainers and a transparent fuel tank plus a side-access chain tensioner for easy chain adjustment.

Also, its air filtration system offers a longer filter life.

The chainsaw sells for about $250, depending on bar length. stihlusa.com

>>

HERCULES ROAD FEEDER FEEDER: This product from All Seasons Feeders sports a low profile and heavy gauge welded steel construction. A durable piece of equipment, the feeder fits a standard 2-inch receiver hitch and has a spin-tech lower unit. A 25-foot wired remote is included. Available in 50-, 100-, and 200-pound models, the feeders range in price from $289 to $389 at Mumme's stores and other retailers.

ACTION ZOOM ZO OO XL BINOCULARS: Gift him or or her with these Nikon 1022x50 binoculars, which offer a wide bin no fi eld of view field vie plus the ability to move in close with the fi ngertip zoom controls. Its multifin coated eyepiece lenses and BAK 4 prisms deliver bright, high-resolution images under all lighting conditions. The smooth-moving central focus knob offers fast focus. And, the large exit pupils translate into excellent glassing at dawn and dusk. With an ergonomic design that provides comfort for extended viewing, these will soon become a favorite.

The binoculars sell for about $160.

OUTDOOR EDGE BUTCHER-LITE FIELD KIT: This is a portable lightweight kit with enough tools to skin, quarter, and debone big game in the field. The tools come in a nylon roll pack that converts to a belt scabbard offering easy access to the 3-inch caping knife, the 4 1/4-inch gut hook skinner, the 6-inch boning/fillet knife, the 7 1/4-inch wood bone saw, the Tungsten-carbine sharpener, and the ribcage spreader. Each knife incorporates full-tang construction with high carbon stainless steel blades that are taper ground. Ergonomic handles are designed for comfort during long use and the rubberized grips enable a secure grip even when wet. This field kit, which also includes game cleaning gloves, costs about $75. It is available at Hoffpauir Polaris and other retailers.

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(214) 599-9800 berettausa.com

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A400 XTREME SHOTGUN: This is a shotgun to covet. Part of Beretta’s Xtreme waterfowler line, the A400 is jam-packed with features that will make this gun a joy to shoot. Its advanced technology reduces recoil for greater comfort when shooting. It offers all-load top performance from 24 to 64 grams. Its barrel, which comes in three lengths, utilizes deep drilling, cold hammering and vacuum extension for perfect shouldering. Plus, its “aqua” technology provides a corrosion-proof barrier that ensures all internal and external metallic components remain impervious to every “Xtreme” element encountered. The shotgun offers a safe and fast locking system that makes it easier to assemble and dissemble. The A400 Xtreme, available in the RT Max 4 and syntheic black, sells for about $1,700 at Beretta Gallery Dallas and other retailers.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

Page 15

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For Your Angler

FTO ELITE ANGLED TACKLE SYSTEM: Offering both form and function, Plano Molding’s blue and gray tackle system incorporates a 15-degree angled storage platform that securely holds six waterproof StowAway utility boxes in the main compartments. The utility boxes have DuraView covers that allow anglers to easily see their tackle. Additional storage is available under the lid and in the integrated expandable rear compartment. An oversized handle offers a comfortable grip and the box’s nonskid rubber feet ensure that the box stays put. This system is engineered for extreme anglers who enjoy their sport come hell or high water. Measuring 23 inches by 12 inches by 12.125 inches, the FTO Elite tackle box sells for about $100.

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(800) 622-6953 columbia.com

>>

DRAINMAKER: The name of this men’s fishing shoe from Columbia says it all. It is a fully drainable hybrid shoe that combines the lightweight comfort of a running shoe with the quick-dry capabilities of a water shoe. The upper features breathable open cell mesh with a durable toe cap, while the Techlite midsole has built-in drainage ports in the heel and forefoot to allow water to instantly escape. A siped, lugged rubber outsole ensures traction on wet or dry surfaces. The shoe has an MSRP of $80 and may be found at Academy Sports + Outdoors and other retailers.

GORE-TEX FISHING JACKET: What’s Christmas without a jacket under the tree? Cabela’s version offers all-season performance for the angler. Featuring a lightweight, waterproof and breathable GORE-TEX shell, it is totally seam-sealed to prevent leaks. Also, it has adjustable hook-and-loop fasteners on the cuffs, a storm flap, plus a cord-locked adjustable hem. Available in blue/ black, black, or peat/black, the jacket sells for about $170 to $190, depending on size.

(800) 237-4444 cabelas.com

RIPPIN’ RAP: Stuff this handsome little guy with the penetrating eyes in the Christmas stocking. Those deep-set 3D holographic eyes will penetrate all water conditions and entice the big fish. Rapala’s versatile lure is designed for long casting. With its tall, thin-bodied, lipless design, the Rippin’ Rap will tear through thick and thin. The lure’s rattle is powered by multiple BBs that pulsate through the water on the retrieve. Based on water temperature, anglers can entice the strike with a fast or slow retrieve. The Rippin’ Rap, whose body features a textured scale, gill and detailed fin, comes in three sizes with variable running depths. The 2-inch model is equipped with a No. 8 VMC belly treble hook and No. 10 VMC tail treble hook; the 2 1/2-inch model has a No. 6 VMC belly treble hook and a No. 8 VMC tail treble hook; and the 2 3/4-inch lure features a No. 4 VMC belly treble hook and a No. 6 VMC tail treble hook. The lure comes in 12 color patterns and sells for about $7.

(800) 468-5873 rapala.com

>>

(901) 853-1455 strikeking.com

(800) 227-7776 basspro.com

>>

MONSTA SUNGLASSES: Strike King Lure’s polarized sunglasses are for the serious angler. Available in a white or black frame with a gray-blue mirror lens, these full-frame sunglasses will keep sunlight from penetrating through the corners to protect eyes and cheeks. That translates into less eye fatigue and more time on the water. The lenses’ advanced polarization technology (APT) allows for improved contrast resulting in greater visual acuity. Plus, the lenses are coated to resist scratching. The sunglasses cost about $20.

>>

(800) 226-9868 planomolding.com

JOHNNY MORRIS SIGNATURE SERIES BASS CASTER REEL: Bass Pro Shops’ baitcast reel is a thing of beauty. With a tough die cast aluminum frame, side-plates and a lustrous black carbon-titanium composition finish, this reel will still look good years from now. A double-anodized aluminum spool that floats on Japanese stainless steel ball bearings, an instant anti-reverse, and a Duralumin drive gear flanked by three special-purpose carbon washers ensure perfect meshing for smooth winding power with no torque. Plus, the “Dual Braking System” delivers virtually backlash-free casting. Other features include a super-smooth carbon drag system, a lightweight carbon-fiber handle with ribbed silicone knob, a padded clutch bar, and a titaniumnitride line guide. These reels retail for about $160.

Page 16

November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

THE RUT IS COMING: Reports across much of Texas, with South Texas being the exception, have bucks starting to show signs of rutting activity. The next few weeks will be a great time to be in the deer woods. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

Rutting Continued From Page 1

woods on his ranch in the northeast corner of Texas in the Red River country.

“We have killed three really nice bucks so far this year,” Ford said. “They were personal bests for all three of the hunters. The deer are rutting their hind ends off right now.

If we had any cloud cover throughout the day, we’d probably see bucks all day.

“The acorns — and I can’t believe we have any acorns this year — are falling and the bucks are hanging in the woods. We aren’t seeing them on the food plots or at the feeders right now.”

Ford said the cooler weather that came through North Texas at the end of October got the bucks scraping, and he has seen several does with bucks trailing behind the past couple of days.

“It’s been good, not great,

so far,” he said.

Farther South in the Hill Country, the rut hadn’t come into full swing yet, probably due in part to high temperatures during the first half of November.

“Some people say they are seeing some rutting activity,” said Gary Broach, owner of Rhodes Brothers Taxidermy in Kerrville. “I haven’t seen big evidence of it, though. We haven’t had one day that has gotten cold and stayed cold.

“There might be a little chasing going on, but not what I’d call the full-blown rut.”

Broach said the little bit of rain the area received the past two months put just enough green in the area that deer haven’t been hitting feeders as hard as they did in bow season.

“The deer that have been eating protein look pretty good,” he said. “We’ve had several trophies off of the better ranches. I haven’t seen as many low-fence tro-

phies, though.

“We just haven’t seen a lot of really big deer. It’s been a pretty slow start to the season.”

In the Llano area, ranch owner Steve Young reported his deer haven’t started rutting hard and antler sizes are down slightly.

“Our older bucks lost about 10 percent of their score from last year,” Young said. “The bodies are OK — actually better than I thought they would be. The bucks are just starting to sniff around the does.

“They seemed pretty disinterested last weekend (Nov. 12-13).”

Out West, reports of sporadic rutting activity have trickled in, much like the bigger bucks.

“The deer look pretty good,” said Rick Smith, owner of Lake Garden Processing in San Angelo.

“The rut has kicked off a little bit, but overall numbers are down this year.”

November 25, 2011

Page 17

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

CONSERVATION Duggins elected vice-chairman of TPW Commission

Texas DU regional director tops nation

Fort Worth attorney Ralph Duggins is the newly elected vice-chairman of the RALPH DUGGINS Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. Duggins was appointed to the Commission in 2008 by Gov. Rick Perry to a six-year term, and was elected vice-chairman at the Nov. 3 Commission meeting. He is a partner with law firm, Cantey Hanger LLP. He specializes in civil and commercial litigation.

— TPWD

Farm Bill wildlife biologists hired in Texas A partnership between the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, Playa Lakes Joint Venture and other conservation organizations has recently filled three new Farm Bill wildlife biologist positions in the Texas Panhandle.

These biologists will work with landowners, ranchers and farmers in habitat conservation measures to increase wild populations of lesser prairie chickens, pheasant, quail and other grasslands birds and animals.

The biologists are Joshua Grace, Curtis Greene and Vicki Sybert.

— Pheasants Forever

TOP REGION: Tim Soderquist of the Houston Metro Area region of Ducks Unlimited has been honored for the region's fund-raising successes. Soderquist, the senior regional director, is shown here (foreground) hunting with his friend, Vence Petrenella, conservation manager of Silver Eagle Distributors of Houston. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Houston area chapters best in grassroots fund raising

By Craig Nyhus

being the nation’s best out of 86 regional directors in the country for Tim Soderquist, senior two consecutive years, regional director for the but he credited the volHouston Metro Area with unteers for the success.

Ducks Unlimited, was “It all comes down honored for the fund-raisto the volunteers,” ing efforts of the chapters Soderquist said. “They in his region in 2010. either make you or But that’s not all. The TIM SODERQUIST break you. But it’s nice region was the nation’s to be recognized.” best in 2009 as well.

Soderquist said his Soderquist was recognized at history with waterfowl guidthe DU Leadership Conference ing and surveying helps when this summer for his achievements explaining DU’s efforts to volunin net grassroots fund raising and teers and DU members.

LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

“It helps to have the background on the conservation side — I was a surveyor for DU for two years and guided waterfowl hunters for 22 years.”

It also helps to have the nation’s top fund-raising chapter, the Houston Chapter, in his region.

Soderquist, whose region extends from the Louisiana border to Southeast Texas, said his management style relies on delegating the details to the committee volunteers.

“I want them to take ownership and pride for their hard work,” he said.

And he’s not done, as the region

is again leading the way in 2011.

“We’re on course to do it again,” he said. “We have about 960,000 net dollars raised so far.”

Texas finished 2010 as the leading fund-raising state in the nation, with Houston providing the largest fund raising and largest growth chapter, Texas A&M the largest university chapter, and Southeast Texas the largest growth region.

In the duck blind, Soderquist is known for his ability to identify species of ducks at long range, his top shooting ability and his strange quirk of shooting with his middle finger on the trigger.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Duck blinds Continued From Page 4

thing must remain constant — they have to camouflage the hunters inside.

On the Texas coast, several styles of blinds are predominately in use, including platform and boat blinds.

“We build our platform blinds out of treated lumber to make them last longer,” said Port Bay guide Jeremy Griffis. “They are basically 4-by-8 with a sheet of plywood as the floor. Most are boxed in to keep the wind off you, and then we brush them in real well with bay leaf.”

Platform blinds typically sit a few feet above the waterline, with a small door in the back to allow exit and entry and a small hole in the front for the dog to retrieve birds.

A boat blind is a frame brushed in with bay leaf that

allows hunters to pull a boat directly into the blind and shoot standing on the boat.

“There aren’t a whole lot of boat blinds in the area,” Griffis said. “There are a few on Aransas Bay, and they are basically a frame for the boat to run into. We stick brush directly into the ground around the frame to hide the boat.”

Griffis said the boat blind is easier to use because guides don’t have to hide boats, but they can be less stable because hunters are shooting directly from the boat.

“Platforms are more steady, but I like the boat blinds better,” he said.

Ducks don’t seem to mind the higher brush associated with blinds located in the middle of the bays — even though they could be the only

structure for several hundred yards in all directions.

Duck hunters also hunt out of several less popular, but equally effective blinds.

Kayaks and layout boats are gaining in popularity among waterfowlers — offering a low profile on the water and easy maneuverability to get to areas where traditional boats can’t go.

One East Texas boat builder, Duckmasters, specializes in duck boats that double as blinds.

Farther inland, pit blinds are often used to shoot ducks.

These are just what the name implies — pits dug into the ground, often with seats.

Cover the blind with native brush and you have a deadly ambush site from which to call and shoot birds.

EASY ENTRANCE: Some blinds near the coast would be hard to see but for the small dock out the back that allows for hunters to comfortably enter and exit the blind. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

November 25, 2011

Page 19

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

HEROES PETE SEROKA of Houston caught blackfin and skipjack tuna 20 miles off of Key West, Fla., in September.

SHARE AN ADVENTURE ■ Want to share hunting and fishing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers?

E-mail them with contact and caption information

to

editor@lonestarout-

doornews.com. High-resolution original jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

CADE CROYSDALE of Arlington recently harvested his first buck, this 10 pointer, near Maypearl.

His rifle, a .243-caliber Rossi single shot, tagged the deer at about 120 yards.

TRISTON MCGOWAN, 8, of Vidor was joined by his dad, BEN MCGOWAN, and grandpa, LONNIE MCGOWAN, when he shot his first deer, a six-point buck in Polk County. Triston made the 129-yard shot with his CVA in 7mm-08.

BILL TAYLOR of Tyler recently caught this largemouth while fly-fishing near Midlothian. He was guided by Travis Moore of Tailwaters Fly Fishing Company of Dallas.

KEN MABRY of Houston got a pronghorn this season with help from guide Roger Dillard in the far northwest corner on the Panhandle.

KEN FRAZIER of Austin shot this 10-point buck last season while hunting with his son, Kenny (background), on a ranch in San Saba County. The deer was aged at 5 years old and scored 147 7/8. Ken’s rifle was a .270-caliber Sako.

STEVE MARTIN of Garden Ridge and SCOTT CORRIGAN of Mason enjoyed an early morning double recently in the Laguna Madre. The two bull reds weighed in at 25 and 30 pounds. Scott’s fish was a half-inch longer than Steve’s, taking the prize.

THE WALL BROTHERS of Dallas, JACK, 7, and ANGUS, 5, recently hunted near Winnsboro with their dad, EVAN. Jack, right, harvested his first pig at 30 yards.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

Page 21

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Sun | Moon | Tides

New

Time 4:25 p.m.

8:50 a.m.

9:41 a.m.

10:33 a.m.

8:04 p.m.

8:46 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

8:30 a.m.

10:44 a.m.

12:25 p.m.

1:31 p.m.

2:15 p.m.

2:50 p.m.

3:22 p.m.

3:56 p.m.

Height 3.2 H -1.1 L -0.9 L -0.5 L 2.5 H 2.3 H 2.1 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 2.0 H 2.1 H 2.3 H 2.3 H 2.3 H 2.5 H

Time Height 9:19 p.m. 2.5 L 5:20 p.m. 3.0 H 6:17 p.m. 2.9 H 7:13 p.m. 2.7 H

1.1 L 1.4 L 1.6 L 1.8 L 1.8 L 2.0 L 2.0 L 2.0 L

9:36 p.m.

9:52 p.m.

10:05 p.m.

10:16 p.m.

10:27 p.m.

10:40 p.m.

10:58 p.m.

11:21 p.m.

2.1 H 2.0 H 2.0 H 2.0 H 2.0 H 2.1 H 2.1 H 2.1 H

Time 8:27 a.m.

9:16 a.m.

10:07 a.m.

10:59 a.m.

8:51 p.m.

9:33 p.m.

10:02 p.m.

9:17 a.m.

11:31 a.m.

1:12 p.m.

2:18 p.m.

3:02 p.m.

3:37 p.m.

4:09 p.m.

4:43 p.m.

Height -0.9 L -0.9 L -0.7 L -0.4 L 2.0 H 1.9 H 1.7 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.6 H 1.7 H 1.9 H 1.9 H 1.9 H 2.0 H

Time Height 5:12 p.m. 2.6 H 6:07 p.m. 2.4 H 7:04 p.m. 2.3 H 8:00 p.m. 2.1 H

Time 9:45 p.m.

10:26 p.m.

11:17 p.m.

Height 2.0 L 2.0 L 2.0 L

3:02 p.m.

4:31 p.m.

5:56 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

7:58 p.m.

8:33 p.m.

8:44 p.m.

8:44 p.m.

10:23 p.m.

10:39 p.m.

10:52 p.m.

11:03 p.m.

11:14 p.m.

11:27 p.m.

11:45 p.m.

Time 9:23 a.m.

10:12 a.m.

11:03 a.m.

3:05 a.m.

9:21 p.m.

10:03 p.m.

10:32 p.m.

9:47 a.m.

12:01 p.m.

1:42 p.m.

2:48 p.m.

3:32 p.m.

4:07 p.m.

4:39 p.m.

8:49 a.m.

Height -0.5 L -0.5 L -0.4 L 1.3 H 1.2 H 1.1 H 1.0 H 0.8 H 0.8 H 0.9 H 1.0 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.1 H -0.3 L

Time Height 5:42 p.m. 1.5 H 6:37 p.m. 1.5 H 7:34 p.m. 1.4 H 11:55 a.m. -0.3 L

0.5 L 0.7 L 0.8 L 0.9 L 0.9 L 0.9 L 0.9 L 1.2 H

10:53 p.m.

11:09 p.m.

11:22 p.m.

11:33 p.m.

11:44 p.m.

11:57 p.m.

Time 8:24 a.m.

9:13 a.m.

10:04 a.m.

10:56 a.m.

8:13 p.m.

8:55 p.m.

9:24 p.m.

8:39 a.m.

10:53 a.m.

12:34 p.m.

1:40 p.m.

2:24 p.m.

2:59 p.m.

3:31 p.m.

4:05 p.m.

Height -0.5 L -0.5 L -0.5 L -0.3 L 1.7 H 1.6 H 1.5 H 1.1 H 1.1 H 1.4 H 1.5 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 1.7 H

Time Height 4:34 p.m. 2.2 H 5:29 p.m. 2.1 H 6:26 p.m. 2.0 H 7:22 p.m. 1.8 H

Time 9:42 p.m.

10:23 p.m.

11:14 p.m.

Height 1.3 L 1.3 L 1.3 L

2:59 p.m.

4:28 p.m.

5:53 p.m.

7:02 p.m.

7:55 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

8:41 p.m.

8:41 p.m.

9:45 p.m.

10:01 p.m.

10:14 p.m.

10:25 p.m.

10:36 p.m.

10:49 p.m.

11:07 p.m.

11:30 p.m.

1.5 H 1.4 H 1.4 H 1.4 H 1.4 H 1.5 H 1.5 H 1.5 H

2:36 p.m.

4:05 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

6:39 p.m.

7:32 p.m.

8:07 p.m.

8:18 p.m.

8:18 p.m.

Time

Height

10:00 p.m. 2.5 L 10:51 p.m. 2.5 L

First

Nov 27

0.9 L 1.1 L 1.3 L 1.4 L 1.4 L 1.6 L 1.6 L 1.6 L

1.7 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 1.6 H 1.7 H 1.7 H

Dec 17

Date Nov 25 Nov 26 Nov 27 Nov 28 Nov 29 Nov 30 Dec 01 Dec 02 Dec 03 Dec 04 Dec 05 Dec 06 Dec 07 Dec 08 Dec 09

Time 11:21 a.m.

12:21 a.m.

1:30 a.m.

2:31 a.m.

3:18 a.m.

3:40 a.m.

2:36 a.m.

1:34 a.m.

12:57 a.m.

12:12 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

9:27 a.m.

9:59 a.m.

10:32 a.m.

11:07 a.m.

Houston Height -0.2 L 1.4 H 1.3 H 1.2 H 1.1 H 1.0 H 0.9 H 0.8 H 0.7 H 0.7 H 0.2 L 0.1 L 0.0 L -0.1 L -0.1 L

Time

Height

12:11 p.m. -0.2 L 1:01 p.m. -0.2 L 1:49 p.m. -0.1 L 2:36 p.m. 0.0 L 3:21 p.m. 0.1 L 4:03 p.m. 0.3 L 4:40 p.m. 0.4 L 8:48 a.m. 0.5 L 8:39 a.m. 0.4 L 7:11 p.m. 0.8 H 7:50 p.m. 0.9 H 8:35 p.m. 0.9 H 9:25 p.m. 1.0 H 10:20 p.m. 1.0 H

Time

7:08 p.m.

Height

Time

Height

Time

Height

0.7 H

Date Time Height Nov 25 1:21 a.m. 0.61 H Nov 26 2:15 a.m. 0.60 H Nov 27 3:14 a.m. 0.58 H Nov 28 4:13 a.m. 0.55 H Nov 29 5:10 a.m. 0.51 H Nov 30 6:02 a.m. 0.45 H Dec 01 6:53 a.m. 0.39 H Dec 02 1:52 a.m. 0.32 H Dec 03 12:15 a.m. 0.32 H Dec 04 8:19 a.m. 0.19 L Dec 05 9:01 a.m. 0.13 L Dec 06 9:42 a.m. 0.08 L Dec 07 12:14 a.m. 0.37 H Dec 08 12:42 a.m. 0.37 H Dec 09 1:17 a.m. 0.36 H

Time Height 12:29 p.m. 0.10 L 1:23 p.m. 0.09 L 2:16 p.m. 0.09 L 3:05 p.m. 0.10 L 3:47 p.m. 0.12 L 4:18 p.m. 0.15 L 4:37 p.m. 0.18 L 4:21 a.m. 0.32 L 7:21 a.m. 0.26 L 11:45 p.m. 0.35 H 11:54 p.m. 0.36 H

Time

Height

Date Time Height Nov 25 1:08 a.m. 1.3 H Nov 26 1:46 a.m. 1.3 H Nov 27 2:26 a.m. 1.3 H Nov 28 12:13 a.m. 1.2 L Nov 29 12:48 p.m. -0.1 L Nov 30 1:44 p.m. 0.1 L Dec 01 2:44 p.m. 0.3 L Dec 02 5:52 a.m. 0.7 L Dec 03 6:18 a.m. 0.4 L Dec 04 6:43 a.m. 0.3 L Dec 05 7:06 a.m. 0.1 L Dec 06 7:29 a.m. 0.0 L Dec 07 7:53 a.m. -0.2 L Dec 08 8:20 a.m. -0.3 L Dec 09 12:15 a.m. 1.0 H

3:58 p.m.

5:27 p.m.

6:52 p.m.

8:01 p.m.

8:54 p.m.

9:29 p.m.

9:40 p.m.

5:13 p.m.

Time Height 10:41 p.m. 1.2 L 11:22 p.m. 1.2 L 8:30 p.m. 1.3 H

1.0 H 0.9 H 0.9 H 0.9 H 0.9 H 1.0 H

9:40 p.m. 0.9 L

Date Time Height Nov 25 12:31 a.m. 1.7 H Nov 26 1:09 a.m. 1.7 H Nov 27 1:49 a.m. 1.7 H Nov 28 2:28 a.m. 1.7 H Nov 29 11:31 a.m. -0.1 L Nov 30 12:27 p.m. 0.1 L Dec 01 1:27 p.m. 0.2 L Dec 02 4:35 a.m. 0.6 L Dec 03 5:01 a.m. 0.4 L Dec 04 5:26 a.m. 0.2 L Dec 05 5:49 a.m. 0.1 L Dec 06 6:12 a.m. 0.0 L Dec 07 6:36 a.m. -0.2 L Dec 08 7:03 a.m. -0.2 L Dec 09 7:32 a.m. -0.3 L

07:55 a.m.

10:19 a.m.

0.33 H 0.26 H

04:41 p.m. 0.20 L 04:17 p.m. 0.23 L

10:22 a.m. 0.04 L 11:05 a.m. 0.01 L 11:49 a.m. -0.01 L Time 8:06 a.m.

8:55 a.m.

9:46 a.m.

10:38 a.m.

8:44 p.m.

9:26 p.m.

9:55 p.m.

9:10 a.m.

11:24 a.m.

1:05 p.m.

2:11 p.m.

2:55 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

4:02 p.m.

4:36 p.m.

Height -0.5 L -0.5 L -0.4 L -0.2 L 1.6 H 1.5 H 1.4 H 1.0 H 1.0 H 1.3 H 1.4 H 1.5 H 1.5 H 1.5 H 1.6 H

Time Height 5:05 p.m. 2.1 H 6:00 p.m. 2.0 H 6:57 p.m. 1.8 H 7:53 p.m. 1.7 H

Time 9:24 p.m.

10:05 p.m.

10:56 p.m.

Height 1.1 L 1.1 L 1.1 L

2:41 p.m.

4:10 p.m.

5:35 p.m.

6:44 p.m.

7:37 p.m.

8:12 p.m.

8:23 p.m.

8:23 p.m.

0.5 L 0.6 L 0.7 L 0.8 L 0.8 L 0.8 L 0.8 L 0.8 L

10:16 p.m.

10:32 p.m.

10:45 p.m.

10:56 p.m.

11:07 p.m.

11:20 p.m.

11:38 p.m.

1.4 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.3 H 1.4 H 1.4 H

Height

Time

Height

South Padre Island

Freeport Harbor Height 1.8 H 1.8 H 1.8 H 1.8 H -0.1 L 0.1 L 0.3 L 0.7 L 0.5 L 0.3 L 0.1 L 0.0 L -0.2 L -0.3 L -0.4 L

0.5 L 0.7 L 0.8 L 0.9 L 0.9 L 1.0 L 1.0 L 1.0 L

Date Time Height Nov 25 8:05 a.m. -0.7 L Nov 26 8:55 a.m. -0.7 L Nov 27 9:46 a.m. -0.6 L Nov 28 10:37 a.m. -0.3 L Nov 29 11:27 a.m. 0.0 L Nov 30 12:17 p.m. 0.3 L Dec 01 1:07 p.m. 0.6 L Dec 02 4:04 a.m. 1.1 L Dec 03 4:25 a.m. 0.9 L Dec 04 4:55 a.m. 0.6 L Dec 05 5:26 a.m. 0.4 L Dec 06 5:58 a.m. 0.2 L Dec 07 6:29 a.m. 0.0 L Dec 08 7:01 a.m. -0.1 L Dec 09 7:33 a.m. -0.2 L

Time Height 5:49 p.m. 2.2 H 6:46 p.m. 2.1 H 7:37 p.m. 2.1 H 8:18 p.m. 2.0 H 8:46 p.m. 1.9 H 9:03 p.m. 1.8 H 9:11 p.m. 1.6 H 7:55 a.m. 1.2 H 11:00 a.m. 1.3 H 1:12 p.m. 1.4 H 2:30 p.m. 1.6 H 3:23 p.m. 1.7 H 4:07 p.m. 1.7 H 4:47 p.m. 1.7 H 5:26 p.m. 1.8 H

2011 Nov-Dec 25 Fri N 26 Sat > 27 Sun > 28 Mon > 29 Tue 30 Wed 01 Thu 02 Fri Q 03 Sat 04 Sun 05 Mon 06 Tue 07 Wed 08 Thu > 09 Fri > 10 Sat F 11 Sun > 12 Mon > 13 Tue 14 Wed

A.M. Minor Major 4:36 10:52 5:41 11:21 6:46 12:32 7:50 1:36 8:50 2:37 9:44 3:32 10:33 4:22 11:17 5:07 11:58 5:47 12:15 6:26 12:52 7:03 1:30 7:41 2:09 8:21 2:52 9:04 3:37 9:50 4:27 10:39 5:19 11:32 6:14 12:01 7:09 12:57 8:05 1:53

P.M. Minor 5:08 6:12 7:16 8:18 9:15 10:08 10:55 11:38 ----12:36 1:14 1:52 2:33 3:16 4:03 4:52 5:45 6:39 7:34 8:30

Major 11:23 ----1:01 2:04 3:03 3:56 4:44 5:28 6:08 6:46 7:24 8:03 8:44 9:28 10:15 11:05 ----12:26 1:22 2:17

SUN Rises Sets 06:53 05:22 06:54 05:22 06:55 05:21 06:55 05:21 06:56 05:21 06:57 05:21 06:58 05:21 06:59 05:21 06:59 05:21 07:00 05:21 07:01 05:21 07:02 05:21 07:02 05:21 07:03 05:21 07:04 05:21 07:05 05:21 07:05 05:22 07:06 05:22 07:07 05:22 07:07 05:22

MOON Rises Sets 7:19a 5:56p 8:22a 6:58p 9:19a 8:02p 10:09a 9:05p 10:52a 10:06p 11:30a 11:04p 12:03p NoMoon 12:34p NoMoon 1:05p 12:52a 1:35p 1:45a 2:07p 2:37a 2:42p 3:30a 3:20p 4:24a 4:02p 5:19a 4:49p 6:13a 5:39p 7:05a 6:34p 7:56a 7:31p 8:43a 8:30p 9:26a 9:30p 10:06a

P.M. Minor Major 5:13 11:29 6:17 12:02 7:21 1:07 8:23 2:09 9:21 3:08 10:13 4:02 11:01 4:50 11:44 5:33 12:03 6:13 12:41 6:52 1:19 7:30 1:58 8:09 2:38 8:50 3:21 9:34 4:08 10:21 4:58 11:11 5:50 ----6:45 12:32 7:40 1:27 8:35 2:23

SUN Rises Sets 07:05 05:21 07:06 05:20 07:07 05:20 07:08 05:20 07:09 05:20 07:10 05:19 07:10 05:19 07:11 05:19 07:12 05:19 07:13 05:19 07:14 05:19 07:15 05:19 07:15 05:19 07:16 05:19 07:17 05:19 07:18 05:19 07:18 05:20 07:19 05:20 07:20 05:20 07:20 05:20

MOON Rises Sets 7:32a 5:54p 8:36a 6:56p 9:32a 8:01p 10:21a 9:05p 11:03a 10:08p 11:39a 11:07p 12:11p NoMoon 12:41p 12:04a 1:09p 12:58a 1:39p 1:52a 2:09p 2:46a 2:42p 3:40a 3:19p 4:36a 4:01p 5:31a 4:47p 6:26a 5:37p 7:19a 6:32p 8:09a 7:31p 8:55a 8:31p 9:37a 9:32p 10:16a

P.M. Minor Major 5:20 11:36 6:24 12:09 7:28 1:14 8:30 2:16 9:28 3:15 10:20 4:09 11:08 4:57 11:51 5:40 12:10 6:20 12:48 6:59 1:26 7:37 2:05 8:16 2:45 8:57 3:28 9:41 4:15 10:28 5:05 11:18 5:57 ----6:52 12:39 7:47 1:34 8:42 2:30

SUN Rises Sets 07:05 05:35 07:06 05:35 07:06 05:35 07:07 05:34 07:08 05:34 07:09 05:34 07:10 05:34 07:10 05:34 07:11 05:34 07:12 05:34 07:13 05:34 07:13 05:34 07:14 05:34 07:15 05:34 07:16 05:34 07:16 05:35 07:17 05:35 07:18 05:35 07:18 05:35 07:19 05:36

MOON Rises 7:31a 8:35a 9:32a 10:21a 11:04a 11:42a 12:16p 12:47p 1:18p 1:48p 2:20p 2:55p 3:33p 4:16p 5:02p 5:53p 6:48p 7:45p 8:44p 9:44p

Sets 6:09p 7:12p 8:16p 9:19p 10:20p 11:17p NoMoon 12:12a 1:05a 1:57a 2:50a 3:43a 4:36a 5:31a 6:25a 7:18a 8:08a 8:55a 9:38a 10:18a

P.M. Minor 5:34 6:38 7:42 8:44 9:41 10:34 11:21 ----12:24 1:02 1:40 2:18 2:58 3:42 4:28 5:18 6:11 7:05 8:00 8:55

SUN Rises 07:31 07:32 07:33 07:34 07:34 07:35 07:36 07:37 07:38 07:39 07:40 07:41 07:41 07:42 07:43 07:44 07:45 07:45 07:46 07:47

MOON Rises 8:00a 9:03a 9:59a 10:47a 11:27a 12:02p 12:33p 1:02p 1:29p 1:58p 2:27p 3:00p 3:36p 4:16p 5:02p 5:53p 6:48p 7:47p 8:48p 9:51p

Sets 6:09p 7:12p 8:17p 9:22p 10:26p 11:26p NoMoon 12:24a 1:20a 2:15a 3:09a 4:05a 5:01a 5:57a 6:53a 7:46a 8:36a 9:21a 10:03a 10:40a

Dallas

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell Pier

San Luis Pass

Time 12:00 a.m.

12:38 a.m.

1:18 a.m.

1:57 a.m.

11:49 a.m.

12:45 p.m.

1:45 p.m.

4:53 a.m.

5:19 a.m.

5:44 a.m.

6:07 a.m.

6:30 a.m.

6:54 a.m.

7:21 a.m.

7:50 a.m.

Last

Dec 10

Dec 4

Legend: Major=2 hours. Minor=1 hour. Times centered on the major-minor window. F=Full Moon, N=New Moon, Q=Quarter > = Peak Activity. For other locations, subtract 1 minute per 12 miles east of a location, and add 1 minute per 12 miles west of a location.

Rockport

Galveston Bay entrance, south jetty

Date Nov 25 Nov 26 Nov 27 Nov 28 Nov 29 Nov 30 Dec 01 Dec 02 Dec 03 Dec 04 Dec 05 Dec 06 Dec 07 Dec 08 Dec 09

Full

Port O’Connor

Sabine Pass, jetty

Date Time Height Nov 25 12:38 a.m. 2.1 H Nov 26 1:16 a.m. 2.1 H Nov 27 1:56 a.m. 2.1 H Nov 28 2:35 a.m. 2.1 H Nov 29 11:52 a.m. -0.1 L Nov 30 12:48 p.m. 0.1 L Dec 01 1:48 p.m. 0.4 L Dec 02 4:56 a.m. 1.1 L Dec 03 5:22 a.m. 0.7 L Dec 04 5:47 a.m. 0.4 L Dec 05 6:10 a.m. 0.1 L Dec 06 6:33 a.m. 0.0 L Dec 07 6:57 a.m. -0.3 L Dec 08 7:24 a.m. -0.4 L Dec 09 7:53 a.m. -0.6 L

Solunar | Sun times | Moon times

Moon Phases

Texas Coast Tides Date Time Height Nov 25 8:01 a.m. -1.1 L Nov 26 12:29 a.m. 2.7 H Nov 27 1:09 a.m. 2.7 H Nov 28 1:48 a.m. 2.7 H Nov 29 11:26 a.m. -0.2 L Nov 30 12:22 p.m. 0.2 L Dec 01 1:22 p.m. 0.5 L Dec 02 4:30 a.m. 1.4 L Dec 03 4:56 a.m. 0.9 L Dec 04 5:21 a.m. 0.5 L Dec 05 5:44 a.m. 0.2 L Dec 06 6:07 a.m. 0.0 L Dec 07 6:31 a.m. -0.4 L Dec 08 6:58 a.m. -0.5 L Dec 09 7:27 a.m. -0.7 L

LSONews.com

Time

2:01 p.m.

3:07 p.m.

4:49 p.m.

0.9 L 1.2 L 1.3 L

9:12 p.m. 1.6 H 9:05 p.m. 1.5 H 8:42 p.m. 1.5 H

2011 Nov-Dec 25 Fri N 26 Sat > 27 Sun > 28 Mon > 29 Tue 30 Wed 01 Thu 02 Fri Q 03 Sat 04 Sun 05 Mon 06 Tue 07 Wed 08 Thu > 09 Fri > 10 Sat F 11 Sun > 12 Mon > 13 Tue 14 Wed

A.M. Minor Major 4:42 10:58 5:46 11:27 6:52 12:37 7:56 1:42 8:55 2:43 9:50 3:38 10:39 4:28 11:23 5:12 ----- 5:53 12:21 6:31 12:58 7:08 1:35 7:47 2:15 8:26 2:57 9:09 3:43 9:55 4:32 10:45 5:24 11:37 6:19 12:06 7:15 1:02 8:10 1:58

San Antonio 2011 A.M. Nov-Dec Minor Major 25 Fri N 4:49 11:05 26 Sat > 5:53 11:34 27 Sun > 6:59 12:44 28 Mon > 8:03 1:49 29 Tue 9:02 2:50 30 Wed 9:57 3:45 01 Thu 10:46 4:35 02 Fri Q 11:30 5:19 03 Sat ----- 6:00 04 Sun 12:28 6:38 05 Mon 1:05 7:15 06 Tue 1:42 7:54 07 Wed 2:22 8:33 08 Thu > 3:04 9:16 09 Fri > 3:50 10:02 10 Sat F 4:39 10:52 11 Sun > 5:31 11:44 12 Mon > 6:26 12:13 13 Tue 7:22 1:09 14 Wed 8:17 2:05

Amarillo 2011 A.M. Nov-Dec Minor 25 Fri N 5:02 26 Sat > 6:07 27 Sun > 7:12 28 Mon > 8:16 29 Tue 9:16 30 Wed 10:10 01 Thu 10:59 02 Fri Q 11:43 03 Sat 12:03 04 Sun 12:41 05 Mon 1:18 06 Tue 1:56 07 Wed 2:35 08 Thu > 3:18 09 Fri > 4:03 10 Sat F 4:53 11 Sun > 5:45 12 Mon > 6:39 13 Tue 7:35 14 Wed 8:31

OUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen

Solution on Page 27

FOR THE TABLE

ACROSS 1. Very good catfish bait 5. This expels a fired shell 9. Used for bait at times 10. A boat accessory 12. To take game illegally 13. A quick-to-erect type tent 14. Lab name for fish eggs 15. Arrows and shells 16. To construct a fly lure 17. To point at a target 18. To prepare for a second shot 20. A game bird 22. Field area preferred by quail 23. A popular commercial fish 26. The night crawler 29. A grouse species 32. A name given some trout 34. Name for old turkeys 35. Term for shedded antlers 36. An animal resting place 37. A game path 40. Scow or kayak 43. The jerk from a fired gun

attract fish 7. Sound made by the dove 8. To move around an area 11. A wildfowl nighttime perch 15. The bowman's ammo 19. Some anglers like to fish here 21. A buck's mating routine 24. Act of reading freshness of tracks 25. A name for the sea bass 27. A type of gun sight 28. A good pheasant gun, duck _____ 30. Name given the strawberry bass 31. A wingshooter's prey 33. A wood used for arrow shafts 34. A very good walleye bait 38. Wild turkey sounds 39. A species of deer A type of fishing lure A deer food source A flatbottom fishing boat A chief commercial fish A group of decoys

Stuffed wild duck

44. Bowhunting Seminole lodges 46. To pull back the bowstring 47. Wild turkey sounds 48. A fuel for camp stoves

DOWN 1. Indian name for deer 2. Perch are classed as this 3. Groups of fish in one spot 4. A species of goose 6. Act of moving a lure to

40.

41.

42.

44.

45.

2 young, plump wild ducks, cleaned Parsley, grapes, apple wedges 2 small onions, chopped 1 cup chopped apple, unpeeled 1 1/3 cups water 6 tbsps. melted shortening or bacon drippings 2/3 cup orange juice 2/3 cup chopped celery Salt Rub cavity of each duck with 1 tsp. salt. Combine celery, chopped

Major 11:18 11:47 12:57 2:02 3:03 3:58 4:48 5:33 6:13 6:51 7:29 8:07 8:47 9:30 10:16 11:05 11:58 12:27 1:23 2:18

Major 11:49 12:22 1:27 2:30 3:29 4:22 5:10 5:54 6:34 7:12 7:50 8:29 9:10 9:54 10:41 11:31 ----12:52 1:48 2:43

Sets 05:36 05:35 05:35 05:35 05:35 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:34 05:35

apple, and onion; stuff into cavity of each duck. Close cavity with skewers. Brown ducks in shortening in a heavy Dutch oven; add water, orange juice, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cover tightly; cook over low heat 45-60 minutes or until tender (time depends on age of duck). Baste 2-3 times during cooking. Garnish with parsley, grapes, and apple wedges. 6 servings.

— wildgamerecipes.org

BBQ shrimp quesadillas 8 ounces cooked shrimp, diced 1 orange bell pepper, roasted or grilled and finely diced 2/3 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese 2 tbsps. all-natural barbecue sauce Four 10-inch flour tortillas 2 tsps. canola oil Combine the shrimp, bell pepper, corn kernels, cheese, and barbecue sauce in a bowl. Divide the mixture

evenly and spread over half of each tortilla. Fold over, press down gently, and set aside. Heat 1 tsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add two of the quesadillas and cook until the tortillas become crisp and golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the tortillas and cook an additional 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining oil and quesadillas.

Cut into quarters and serve.

— eatshrimp.com

*E-mail LSON your favorite recipe to news@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

Page 23

Excalibur system gets newbie archers into the hunt The eight-point buck wasn’t the biggest deer I had seen on the final day of the Texas archeryonly season in 2011; I saw a nice 10-pointer with a much taller rack about an hour earlier.

But this eight pointer was the closest.

At 20 yards, he was well within the range of the Axiom SMF crossbow that was sent to Lone Star Outdoor News for field tests.

The rig, topped with a 2.5X32 scope, had performed flawlessly on range tests. Now it was up to me to get it right.

It had taken me about a month to reach this point. In late September, Excalibur Crossbow of Kitchener, Ontario sent us the test model.

The Axiom SMF Crossbow system is an effective starter kit for Texans new to archery. It comes with a recurve bow with string, a rope cocking aid, four arrows (or“bolts”), field points and a quiver.

Assembling our test model and mounting the scope was accomplished in little more than an hour, aided by Allen wrenches and an instructional DVD — also provided in the kit.

We immediately tested it on a 10-yard target, CROSSBOW BUCK: Bill Miller used the Axiom and shot killer groups. We doubled and tripled SMF by Excalibur to take this South Texas whitethe lengths of the range, but the performance was tailed deer the final day of the 2011 Texas archery season. The buck measured 120 and 2/8. consistently lethal.

Excalibur claims that accuracy is one of the ad- Photo by Eden Miller, for LSON. vantages of a recurve crossbow, because “there’s nothing to go out of tune.” the kit: a string shock sound The company also says recurves are lighter, easier to tote and more reliable than compound crossbows suppression system and a because, with no moving cams, there are fewer parts to break. set of 150-grain “Boltcutter” Game-killing ballistics, however, aren’t compromised. The broadheads.

It was time to hunt.

Axiom’s arrow velocity is 305 feet per second with a draw I used the Axiom the first, weight of 175 pounds.

Our test model was shipped with accessories not included in third and fifth weekends of

the month-long archery season in Texas, but with mixed results.

In the first outing I had 30-yard shots at does on a ranch in DeWitt County, but no meat for the freezer.

I blamed myself, not the equipment, because I had to learn what it means for a deer to “jump the string.”

Even with the sound suppression system, there is still a noticeable thwack when a bolt is flung, kind of like the muffled crack of a soundsuppressed rifle.

In the second outing, same ranch, I hit a doe at 20 yards and the bolt made a pass through, but I learned a new lesson about jumping the string.

The doe’s flinch lowered her body and the arrow struck in an area that wasn’t immediately lethal.

The deer escaped.

I felt terrible, but I tried again.

On the final weekend of the archery season, I was back in the same tripod stand from which I made my last shot.

Along came the eight-point buck and I launched a bolt, again at 20 yards. But this time I aimed slightly low to account for any string jumping.

The deer bucked like a bronco and fled, but this shot was true. There was another pass through, and the deer was recovered about 40 yards away.

The Axiom SMF kit retails for about $550. The sound suppressor system sells for about $70, and a package of three broadheads is about $37.

— Bill Miller

CLASSIFIEDS DECOYS WANTED Wooden Duck and Goose. Top prices paid. Ask for David.

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Call us Today!

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Good potential income. Can work from home. Chance to travel. E-mail resume to info@detailcompany.com DEER HUNTING IN Caldwell County Eight miles from Lockhart. $450 covers Friday evening through Sunday evening.

Up to four-point Buck included in price. Extra charge for larger bucks. Call (512) 689-5297 LAKEFORKLODGE.COM Recognized as one of the top fishing lodges in North America. Also booking upland bird, duck, deer, and hog hunts.

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AWESOME DOVE Hunts $85 per person. Lodging available! Whitetail and Axis Deer Hunting Packages Available.

Owned and operated by Kelly and Jo Ann Carroll. texasstarranch@yahoo.com www.thetexasstarranch.com (830) 570-4243

STRIPER FISHING Lake Texoma a.m. and p.m. trips.

SUMMER SPECIAL! Free lodging with 4 or more people. We provide: 23' Falcon Striper boat (seats 6-7 people), all rods, reels, and bait.

Call Jay. StaleyAdventures.com (469) 471-6335

CUSTOM CABINS Pro Built On Your Site Many sizes and styles available. Quality work.

Competitive pricing.

Sturdy Built Buildings. w w w . s b b c i . c o m (800) 482-2984 DEER LEASE WANTED Lone Star Outdoor News is looking for a hunting and fishing lease with all hunt and fish rights.

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Camphouse is needed.

(214) 361-2276 GUN BLUING Specialty Shop We specialize in Hot Caustic, Rust and Nitre Bluing as well as Pakerizing, Stainless Steel Bluing, Camouflaging and Stock Restoration.

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Mention this ad for 10% discount. 4529 Elm Bottom Circle, Aubrey, TX 76227, GunBluingSpecialtyShop.com (214) 316-3503 SOUTH PADRE Fishing Reds, Trout, Flounder, Snook. Everything supplied but food and licenses.

Multiple trip discounts. Call Capt. Thomas for details or CDCT12005@aol.com.

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1

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20 word minimum 2 issues minimum

Classified Order Form 3 Easy Options: Mail this form, Call the office (214) 361-2276, or E-mail; LSONacct@gmail.com

TAXIDERMIST Billington Ranch billingtonranchtaxidermy.com (254) 793-2120 PREMIER HUNTING Land 50-300 acres in Edwards, Val Verde, Kinney, or Terrell County.

Twenty year fixed rate owner financing or TX Vet financing. www.texasranchland.com (800) 876-9720 MOVE TO KERRVILLE! Look at this beautiful, 1930s style home near downtown Kerrville, minutes from the hunting mecca of Texas.

3 bedroom/3 bath with a guest house (2,400 sq. ft.). 505 Elm St. $212,500.

Call Becky McFadden with RE/MAX or go to www.beckymcfadden.com (830) 895-7771 HOG ERADICATION HUNTS Unlimited Hogs. Llano and San Saba River bottom.

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LSON 11/25/11

Page 24

November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

LSONews.com

Nominations sought for Texas fishing hall of fame Nominations are being accepted for the next inductees to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

People or groups who have made lasting contributions to freshwater fishing in Texas are eligible. Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 29.

Categories include industry, angler and media.

Nominees must be Texans or Texas groups. Individuals may be either living or deceased. One nominee will be chosen by an independent selection committee and formally inducted during the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.

Prior inductees include Floyd Mabry, Jackie Hewlett, R.D. Hull, Bob Kemp, Nick Crème, Charlie Inman, Sugar Ferris, Leonard Ranne, Earl Golding, Kathy Magers, the Sabine River Authority, Skeeter Boats, Michael “Shorty” Powers, Ray Murski, Albert S. Bradley, Richard M. Hart, William B. “Doc” Shelton, Charlie Pack, Paul Hinton, Edward Bond, Philip Durocher and David Campbell.

To learn how to make a nomination, call the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center at (903) 676-2277.

— TPWD

PASTIME: Dustin Ellerman, the History Channel’s Season 3 “Top Shot” hunts a variety of game in East Texas, but his favorite is feral hogs because there are “no rules and lots of running and gunning.” Photo by Dustin Ellerman.

Top shot Continued From Page 6

or you failed at it.”

The Season 3 contestants were Homeland Security agents, police officers, firearms instructors, competitive shooters and military veterans, including a former Navy SEAL. And then there was Dustin, the freshfaced director of Camp His Way, founded by his parents near Zavalla.

In contrast to his professionally trained fellow contestants, the History Channel described Dustin as a “self-taught” marksman.

He started like most gun enthusiasts — as a kid with a BB gun and then a .22-caliber rifle.

Hunting followed, usually small game and deer — sometimes on the Angelina National Forest near his home.

“Pigs are my favorite,” Dustin said, because there are “no rules and lots of running and gunning.”

Dustin and his wife, Brittany, are the parents of two little boys and a soon-to-be-born baby girl. They’ve also cared for foster children.

Responsibilities kept him from trying out

for Season 1 of “Top Shot.”

Prior to Season 3, however, he completed an audition video showing him target blasting with a variety of guns. He sent it with an e-mail that stated, “I love God, I love kids and I love to shoot.”

The History Channel came calling.

“To be honest,” he recalled, “I think they were looking for a token Christian. But I said, ‘I’ll be your Huckleberry.’”

Dustin enjoyed being around most of the other contestants and learning from them.

“It was like me being in summer camp,” he said.

The competition was videotaped last spring near Santa Clarita, Calif. Dustin’s winning was kept a secret until the finale aired Oct. 25.

He plans to put his $100,000 cash prize toward a larger home for his family. Some people have encouraged him to enter 3-gun competitions, but he said he’s not “looking for a lifestyle change.”

Dustin would, however, like to develop a youth marksmanship camp where kids can throw tomahawks at targets and shoot air rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders.

“And, yes,” he said with a laugh, “we’ll probably have to incorporate rocks.”

Grave digger Continued From Page 6

“It took three to four minutes to literally prepare myself for the shot,” J.T. said. “I literally could hear my

heart pounding and I was afraid he could hear it.”

J.T. calmed himself by repeating the mantra he taught his

10-year-old son, Trey: “anchor, aim and release.”

He drilled the deer at 18 yards; there was a clean pass through, but

the buck’s heart was perforated along the way.

“He jumped and mule kicked real hard,” J.T. said.

“He went probably 40 to 50 yards.”

J.T. thought the deer would be in the mid-140s, so he was amazed when it scored 158 2/8.

“It ended a three-year quest,” he said.

But the Grave Digger wasn’t the last interesting buck on the lease.

J.T.’s next challenge is to help Trey harvest a deer that has odd twisting stub antlers near the base of its skull — the Unicorn Buck.

LSONews.com

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

November 25, 2011

Texoma

Sweet

Continued From Page 1

Continued From Page 1

And Barnett has seen plenty of years. He has guided for more than 30 years on the lake, and said his clients are catching 40 to 60 fish per day that average about 3 pounds.

“The size is so good because there is so much bait,” Barnett said. “This is my 34th season and I’ve never seen more bait this year and so few bait last year. It’s just the dangdest thing.”

Barnett said along with the world-class smallmouth bite, the stripers are also going crazy.

“Stripers are phenomenal,” he said. “Birds are working all day. It’s easy to find schools, just not a lot of big fish yet.”

Barnett said he is freelining 4- to 6-inch threadfin on circle hooks to catch the smallmouths on lake points and at the dam. He had a client hook up on 18 of 21 casts last week.

“Not many people realize what an incredible smallmouth lake this is,” he said. “November is my favorite month to be on the water.”

But the news isn’t all rosy.

Barnett said the U.S. Corps of Engineers algae warning has “crushed” business for guides, marinas and local restaurants that depend on visitors to the lake.

“They have a minimum requirement where they have to send up a warning flag,” he said, “but I’ve been monitoring this a lot longer than anyone else. Nobody has gotten sick, but it is crushing the local economy.

“From mid-August, I’ve cancelled 25 to 35 percent of my trips.”

Barnett said he has four or five guides who work for him, and they usually run 50 trips each between November and December.

“We’ve had maybe 50 trips combined (booked) for the entire two months,” he said. “There is no boat traffic on weekends and the fishing business has been off 40 percent lake-wide, especially for new guides.

“I don’t see a lot of them making it.”

The lake is down 8 or 9 feet, but that hasn’t slowed the fishing.

“It’s as good as it gets,” said longtime striper guide Bill Carey of Striper Express. “These fish are stripping line, fat and sassy — they’ll even bite your hand taking the hook out. Our fall fishing is legendary.”

Carey focuses on top-water action, and recent catches up to 200 fish attest to his technique.

“We are going out late in the morning and the water temperature is good enough to fish all day,” he said. “You get a good pair of binoculars, locate the birds, get upwind and let the fish come to you.”

Along with stripers, Carey said they have been hooking “monster white bass.”

Although many of the stripers are smaller fish, the bigger fish have begun to appear in the past few weeks.

“The striper fishing is better than it’s been in the past few years,” said guide Jay Staley. “We haven’t been catching as many big fish, but they just started showing up about a week ago.

“I’ve been using big gizzard shad and big threadfin to catch the bigger fish.”

Staley said the abundance of bait has made fishing a little tougher when targeting big fish.

“You’ve got to move around a little more,” he said. “Anywhere between 22 and 37 feet of water seems to be real good right now.”

Staley agreed that the algae scare has hurt business.

“Sure it (has) hurt business,” he said. “I just wonder where they take these tests. I’ve had to swim in the lake for several reasons and I haven’t gotten sick. And the fish love the alga — doesn’t seem to hurt them a bit.”

have migrated from the marsh and people are catching fish as widely distributed as I’ve ever seen.

“I’ve seen more fish, but not as well distributed as they are now.”

Watkins said keeper trout in the 15to 18-inch range are everywhere and slot reds might be at record numbers.

“Oh my goodness, there are so many redfish under birds right now,” he said. “There are still shrimp and reds in both rivers that haven’t made it to the main lake. Basically, anywhere you’ve ever caught a fish you could go there now and catch them.”

Along with keeper reds and trout, flounder are running and the sand trout fishing has also been outstanding.

“There are the biggest sand trout I’ve ever seen,” Watkins said. “Lots of fish over 12 inches and I caught an 18-incher the other day. They are really fine eating if you eat them quick.”

Watkins said the salty water allowed

Dan Barnett, (903) 815-2382 Bill Carey, (903) 660-5989 Jay Staley, (469) 471-6335

GOOD ACTION: Loads of stripers are being pulled from Texoma this month. Drifting and top-water action have both been successful.

Photo by Striper Express.

Page 25

fish to stay in the marshes with plenty of bait and in the deeper channels away from many anglers.

“Nobody caught them and now they are following the shrimp,” he said.

“Sabine Lake is functioning as a normal saltwater bay and we’ve got a crop of shrimp that is as good as I’ve ever seen.

“The porgy hatch was also as good as I’ve ever seen, and that is our main forage along with white shrimp.

“With so much bait, it is a no -brainer.”

According to guide Dickie Colburn’s blog, sabinelake.blogs.com, winds have blown hard for the past few weeks, although the fishing has remained steady.

“We caught fish all day, but we really hammered them in the lake until the wind picked up,” the Nov. 11 report said. “We caught our big redfish right off the bat, but also caught and released a pile of 15- to 17-inch trout.

“We found some good fish under birds early on the north end, but later in the morning the best gull action was farther south.”

Bill Watkins, (409) 673-9211 Dickie Colburn, (409) 883-0723

Page 26

November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

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LSON, Beretta donate for pronghorn research Lone Star Outdoor News and Beretta Gallery Dallas have donated the $500 in proceeds from their joint customer appreciation and wild game supper, held Oct. 13, to the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University to assist in pronghorn research.

One raffle item was included in the free

MLDP Continued From Page 5

The hunger for special permits has spurred the growth, Wolf said, and it’s not hard to see why. On some ranches, hunting has supplanted livestock as the chief revenue stream.

But some TPWD biologists say they’re now spending more time processing the permit requests, which cuts into the time they’d rather be using to develop good wildlife management plans.

“It begins with an initial request,” said Mike Miller, a TPWD biologist in Stephenville. “Very typically they come to us in mid to late summer, which I think is kind of late. It’s hard to schedule a visit and write the plan and get survey work going.

“And to get it done by Oct. 1, you can see the crunch we get in.”

Miller said biologists can generally accommodate the late callers, but they would prefer spending more time developing “more meaningful” wildlife management plans.

event, a Sako .270 rifle, won at the event by James Patterson of Plano. Live music and wild game prepared by Syracuse’s Custom Meats highlighted the event, held at Beretta Gallery Dallas.

The Borderlands Research Institute is attempting to determine the cause(s) of the pronghorn decline in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, including disease and parasite research.

— Staff report

“There is no time to carefully mark brush management areas, or create maps for prescribed burns or for helping people develop food plots,” he said. “We’d rather turn our focus and our hours to that rather spending time in a permit-driven process.”

Wolf said officials would look for ways to ease the workload.

An example of an existing tool is the Texas Wildlife Information System — an Internet-based system for landowners to input survey data themselves.

Wolf said programs like that have mitigated biologists’ workloads, but they aren’t complete solutions.

Charging a fee for the permits — currently they’re free — will probably be discussed, but Wolf said there are several issues to consider.

First, the Legislature must grant the authority for TPWD to collect any fees.

Next, a collection method must be devised.

“We don’t want our staff to handle revenue,” Wolf said. “That’s not a good use of a biologist’s time.”

And, he added, “Just because we generate

income, doesn’t mean we get to spend it. The Legislature says you only get to spend so much. It doesn’t mean you get to provide more services.”

Wolf said no formal fee recommendations have been devised, but some staffers have estimated that between $250,000 to $400,000 could be raised through MLDP permit fees.

“It wasn’t chump change,” Wolf said of the estimate, “but it wasn’t going to pay for a bunch more new biologists in the field.”

One ranch manager said he believed a lot of MLDP enrollees wouldn’t mind paying a reasonable fee to be in the program.

“We would have absolutely no problem with that,’ said Alan Day, manager of the 6,300-acre Whisky Canyon Ranch in Bosque County. “And, in my opinion, the majority of people would be just fine with it.

“Fact is, this has been a free service for us, but I think you pay to play. We require a lot of the biologists and their work really shouldn’t be free.”

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Africa guides name DSC ‘Preferred Conservation Partner’ The Dallas Safari Club and the Professional Hunter's Association of South Africa have formed a new “Preferred Conservation Partner” strategic alliance.

The announcement was made during the PHASA convention and annual meeting, Nov. 14-16, held near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Ben Carter, DSC executive director, attended the event and met with PHASA leaders on details of the partnership, which includes PHASA opening and staffing a new DSC satellite office within PHASA headquarters in Centurion, South Africa.

“Our new office in South Africa will serve to further liaison between PHASA and DSC on issues of mutual interest, such as promoting conservation, education and hunter advocacy, as well as reinforcing the highest standards of the hunting and guiding industry,” Carter said.

Eduard Katzke, president of PHASA, said the organization “values its longstanding relationship with DSC as one of the premier hunting and conservation organizations in the world, and this new agreement not only strengthens the partnership but also elevates the opportunity for both organizations to increase benefits to their members.

“This alliance sets a higher standard of cooperation in improving hunting ethics, professionalism and the hunting industry.”

— Dallas Safari Club

Quail low Continued From Page 5

Brewer said last year’s season was not good, and the drought that gripped most of Texas throughout 2011 was not conducive for breeding quail.

“I’ve seen a few pairs, maybe a small covey of three or four birds, but nothing that got me excited to get out and hunt,” he said. “Maybe I will get out and just let the dogs run a little.”

In South Texas, the outlook wasn’t much better.

“It’s going to be pretty slow, I’m afraid,” said Kingsville quail hunter Bill Rauch. “We haven’t started hunting yet, but I don’t expect to have a banner weekend (when his first group of hunters arrive). We’ve been working dogs for exercise, but we haven’t been finding a whole lot.”

Rauch said if hunters can find three to five coveys during a day’s hunt, it should be considered a real success.

“Anything over that is going to be good,” he said.

According to Rauch, last year in South Texas was tough because there was a lot of cover from a very wet year to conceal birds. This year, low numbers could hinder hunting.

“I think we had more birds than we saw, but they weren’t accessible,” he said. “I think we had quite a bit of production last year, but this year I suspect we didn’t make a lot of birds.

“Overall, I think hunting will be as slow as last year but for different reasons.”

Rauch said he will see how the first few hunts go, and if they don’t produce decent numbers, he will shut his quail hunting down for the year.

“I’ve talked to several other hunters and they are all pretty much thinking the same thing,” he said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department released a report in October stating that bobwhite quail numbers in Texas have decreased 80 percent during the past three decades.

The report said that although much of the state’s quail population has been hit hard by drought, especially in the Rolling Plains region, pockets of huntable birds do exist, and quail numbers in the Gulf Prairie region have actually gone up.

But, TPWD officials recommended a very conservative hunting approach this year. They urged hunters to go ahead and work their dogs, but not to chase singles or pairs if they flush any coveys.

See our next issue for blue quail report.

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Puzzle solution from Page 22

November 25, 2011

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Page 28

November 25, 2011

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November 25, 2011

Page 29

DATEBOOK November 26

December 7

Kimble County Wild Game Dinner Coke Stevenson Memorial Center (325) 446-3190 junctiontexas.net

Ducks Unlimited Metrocrest Sportsman’s Night Out Addison Conference Center (214) 906-0943 ducks.org

December 1 Delta Waterfowl Fort Worth Dinner Elks Lodge #124 (817) 475-9796 deltawaterfowl.com

December 2 Ducks Unlimited Sweetwater Dinner Sweetwater Elks Lodge (325) 338-4681 ducks.org

December 8-9 Texas Gun and Knife Show Amarillo Civic Center (830) 285-0575 texasgunandknifeshow.com

December 8

December 3

Dallas Woods and Waters Club Christmas Party Orvis Store, Dallas (214) 570-8700 dwwcc.com

Park Cities Quail Pheasant tower shoot Long Straw Ranch Forestburg (817) 296-3104 longstrawranch.com

Ducks Unlimited Sealy Dinner Fridick Catholic Community Center (713) 724-5552 ducks.org

Deerfest Crockett County Fairpark Ozona (325) 392-3737 deerfest.org

Delta Waterfowl College Station Dinner Brazos Center (979) 680-5569 deltawaterfowl.com

December 6 Dallas Safari Club DSC Store open house DSC Pavilion (972) 980-9800 biggame.org Ducks Unlimited Lamar University Waterfowl Hunter Party Courville’s, Beaumont (409) 782-6657 ducks.org

Dallas Safari Club Holiday Party Omni Hotel, Downtown (972) 980-9800 biggame.org

December 10 Plinkfest National Shooting Complex San Antonio (210) 688-3165

Annual Inshore Fishing Expo Houston (281) 481-6838 fishingtackleunlimited.com

December 13 Houston Safari Club Christmas Party Cadillac Bar (713) 623-8844 houstonsafariclub.org

December 15 Austin Fly Fishers Meeting, NW Rec Center (512) 346-0592 austinflyfishers.com

January 5-8 Dallas Safari Club Out of the Wild Convention Dallas Convention Center (972) 980-9800 biggame.org

January 20-22 Fun-N-Sun & Angler's Pro Tackle In-House Boat Show Hurst (817) 280-0303 funnsunboats.com

Executive Editor Craig Nyhus Editor Bill Miller Associate Editor Conor Harrison Associate Editor Mark England

January 20-23 Austin Boat, Sport & Outdoor Show Austin Convention Center (512) 494-1128 austinboatshow.com

January 21 Hallettsville Wild Game Supper Knights of Columbus Hall kchall.com

January 26-29

Graphics Editor Amy Moore Business/Products Editor Mary Helen Aguirre Operations Manager Mike Hughs Accounting Ginger Hoolan Web site Bruce Soileau

National Advertising Mike Nelson Accounts Manager Founder & CEO David J. Sams

Contributors Kyle Carter Alan Clemons David Draper Wilbur Lundeen John Meyer Aaron Reed Erich Schlegel David Sikes Scott Sommerlatte Chuck Uzzle Ralph Winingham

San Antonio Boat & RV Show The Alamodome (512) 481-1777 sanantonioboatshow.com

January 13-14 Hill Country River Region Trout Days Uvalde, Chalk Bluff Park (830) 591-1065 hillcountryrivers.com

January 13-15 Houston Safari Club New Horizons Convention The Woodlands Waterway Marriot (713) 623-8844 houstonsafariclub.org

January 20-21 SCI, Hill Country Chapter Annual Dinner and Fundraiser The Hangar Hotel Fredericksburg (830) 928-4344 texashillcountrysci.org

January 27 National Wild Turkey Federation Henderson County Dinner Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (903) 675-2750 nwtf.org

January 28 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Texas Hill Country Big Game Banquet (512) 247-1628 rmef.org

Advertising Call (214) 361-2276 or e-mail editor@lone staroutdoornews.com to request a media kit.

For home delivery subscriptions www.LSONews.com (214) 361-2276

Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscription is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2011 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 e-mail them to editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com.

Page 30

November 25, 2011

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Chicks with guns Continued From Page 4

“And,” she added, “thanks to you Texans, the book launched in Houston on Sept. 20 and quickly sold out on Amazon. We’re already talking about a third printing, so that’s a good sign.”

She said some comments have been funny, like the guy who declared online that chicks and guns were his two favorite things — just add a cheeseburger and he’d die and go to heaven.

“Others have been very moving,” McCrum said. “One gentleman commented that he was in the service, deployed in Afghanistan. He said, ‘My grandmother was always the best shot in our family, and I married a woman who is like the women in your book. Thank you for the morale booster.’”

McCrum splits her time between New York and California. She said she grew up on the East Coast, ambivalent toward guns.

But in 2006, she read an article in The Economist that reported how firearms and hunting are enormous industries in the U.S. Then she learned HEIRLOOM: Jenevieve Zoch of San Antonio appears in “Chicks with Guns” wearing her wedding dress and gripping an antique dueling pistol — a family heirloom. Photo by Lindsay McCrum.

that there were an estimated 15 to 20 million female gun owners in the nation. She set out to learn more about them through photography.

“Actually, many of my friends thought this was a misguided focus on my part,” McCrum said. “But I’m a portrait photographer, not a photojournalist. I didn’t have an editorial stance.

“I just wanted to let the women and their pictures tell their stories.”

The project took more than three years to photograph and edit.

McCrum had been to Texas, so she knew its women would make good subjects for the project, and she was pleased when they introduced her to friends to photograph.

These women were mostly from the Houston and San Antonio areas.

“I was hoping to get to Dallas and Austin, but by then, I already had so many strong photos,” McCrum said. “It would have been easy to do a whole book just on Texas.”

Jenevieve Zoch was photographed in her parents’ San Antonio home

holding an antique dueling pistol — a family heirloom. She posed in her wedding dress.

Zoch, who hunts extensively with her family, told McCrum how the first date with her husband was at a skeet shooting competition.

“She asked if I still had my wedding dress and that’s how that came about,” Zoch said. “But I thought people might think I looked scary on my wedding day.

“I guess I look like I’m out for blood, holding that dueling pistol.”

But Zoch added that she loved her wedding dress and she loves the her picture. She also praised other photos in the book.

“It’s a cool concept,” she said. “It shows a wide range of women from all different backgrounds: some women hunting; some have guns for selfprotection; some use guns in their jobs.

“I’m more of a girly girl, but I also like to hunt. I would think Texas girls are a little bit of both, and that’s what I think makes the book so interesting.”

MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER ■ Lindsay McCrum will sign copies of her book, “Chicks with Guns” next month at two San Antonio locations. The first signing is 6-8 p.m. Dec. 15 at Sloan Hall, 5922 Broadway St. She also appears 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 17 at The Twig Book Shop, 200 E. Grayson St.

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Double-drop tine buck taken in Jim Wells County DOUBLE-DROP: Preston Young of Houston shows off the 193 2/8-inch double-drop tine buck he took this season in Jim Wells County. Photo

by Preston Young.

By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Preston Young knew when he first laid eyes on the buck that it was a monster.

The first time he saw the deer, it was highlighted against a setting sun, making the buck appear even bigger than he was.

“I just said, ‘Oh my Lord,’ and got ready for the shot,” Young said.

The hunter from Houston was hunting the 5,000-acre Contigo Ranch in Jim Wells County; owner Fred Edgerton was his guide.

“The deer was seen that morning by another group of hunters,” Young said. “He was about a half-mile away and they only saw him briefly. A double-drop tine buck is pretty rare, and the guides had seen the buck the year before about a mile away.

“My guide and I knew it was a once-in-alifetime buck, so we set up a pop-up blind near a tank where the buck had crossed that morning.”

Young said he and Edgerton got into the blind about 2 p.m., hoping the buck would make an appearance near the tank.

“It was pretty slow for most of the afternoon,” he said. “We had only seen a doe

and a fawn. About 15 minutes before sunset, I looked to the west and saw him silhouetted against the sky.

“We knew immediately it was him and I didn’t wait too long to take the shot.”

Young’s 7 mm Magnum shot true, and it wasn’t long before hunter and guide were standing over the trophy of a lifetime.

“You always hear about ground shrinkage,” he said. “But this was one of the few times the buck just got bigger as we got closer. I shook for an hour-and-a-half after the shot.”

The tremendous buck had 16 scorable points, and totaled 193 2/8 inches when the score had been tallied.

“This is my biggest deer by a long shot,” Young said. “People’s reaction when I show them the deer is, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He looked like the deer on the front of the protein bag in the lodge. I told my wife, ‘I guess I will just have to shoot a 200-inch deer next.’

“Actually, I might just need to take up fishing.”

Big Time Texas Hunts winners announced When an unknown number shows up on the caller ID, Weatherford Downtown Café owner Britton Schweitzer just lets it go to voicemail.

“It’s usually people trying to sell me stuff, not Texas Parks and Wildlife calling because I won an amazing hunt,” Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer and 13 other lucky sportsmen are clearing their calendars for some of the best hunting packages in the Lone Star State won through Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Big Time Texas Hunts program.

The program’s raffle offers hunting packages ranging from a guided whitetailed deer hunting experience in the South Texas brush country to the Grand Slam package which treats one Texan and a non-hunting friend to food, lodging, taxidermy and a personal guide service for four separate hunts for desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, prong-

November 25, 2011

Page 31

horn and desert mule deer. Schweitzer won the Grand Slam.

“When I get my license online I throw $100 toward the different hunts but never expect to win,” Schweitzer said. “I am an avid fisherman and hunter and I see it as basically donating $100 every year to public lands,” he said.

This year’s winners: Grand Slam — Britton Schweitzer, Weatherford Premium Buck Hunt — Joseph Yuras, Garden Ridge Exotic Safari — Jimmy Webb, Tyler and Martha Vogelsang, Hearne Whitetail Bonanza — Tommy Dulin, Colorado City; Ivan Berry, Pasadena; Francis Sharp, Pasadena; Michael Broderick, Conroe; Joe Mills, Gonzales; Ramona Bourgeois, Concord, Calif.; Humbert Trevino, Laredo; Randall Coombs, Spearman Waterfowl Adventure — Alexander Hamilton, San Antonio Gator Hunt — Darren Lasorte, Fairfax, Va. — TPWD

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November 25, 2011

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November 25, 2011

Lone✯Star Outdoor News

Public meetings set for expanded seagrass protection and freeze events Public meetings have been set regarding two proposed regulation changes in 2012 that pertain to coastal fisheries.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department seeks both changes. The first involves consideration of a new state scientific area to protect seagrass in the Laguna Madre near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Nueces County.

The JFK causeway proposal would create a new 15,500-acre protected area similar to the Redfish Bay State Scientific Area.

This site was chosen because it has extensive shallow seagrass flats that would benefit from protection, plus heavy boat traffic with many access points. Also, the site offers beneficial “overlap” from the nearby Redfish Bay

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area, only 10 miles away.

The region benefits from previous outreach and conservation efforts, and existing partners dedicated to helping the cause. Because of this, many boaters andanglers in the region are already familiar with rules and boating practices to protect seagrass.

The other topic would clarify emergency rules to protect fish during coastal freezes.

The proposed rule change would say no fish can be caught “by any means” in an affected area during a freeze.

All meetings will begin at 7 p.m.

They are: Nov. 30, Dickinson Marine Lab, 1502 FM 517 East, Dickinson; Dec. 1,Bass Pro Shops, 17907 IH-10 West, San Antonio; Dec. 5, Natural Resources Center, Room 1003, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi; Dec.13, Holiday Inn Corpus Christi-North Padre Island, 15202 Windward Drive, Corpus Christi; Dec. 14, Port Isabel Community Center, 213 Yturria, Port Isabel; Dec. 15, TPWD Headquarters, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin.

—TPWD

Falcon Continued From Page 8

At 83,654 surface acres, Falcon is huge. Finding a big bass, especially with the ample supply of brush and rock, would seem challenging. But Combs and others target the flooded brush, points and offshore ledges anywhere from 8-30 feet or more depending on the season.

Right now, he said, the bass are about a month away from pre-spawn haunts before moving into creeks or shallow trees to spawn. Until then, Combs said, fishing should continue to be stable.

“The other good thing going on is they’ve been pulling a lot of water,” he said. “I think the lake’s dropped probably 2-3 feet in the last month. That current, along with the level of water on the brush and rocks, have been positioning the fish pretty well to turn them on.”

Combs said the Strike King 6XD crankbait has been his go-to bait. Most of the rock formations he prefers to fish are on the U.S. side of the lake.

“Sometimes we were catching two at a time, on the front and back hooks,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable down there.”

It’s been so red-hot that Scott Martin, winner of the FLW’s Forrest Wood Cup championship, zoomed down after he missed the 10-angler cut at TTBC for a day on the lake.

“It was really fun, even though we only got to fish for a day,” Martin said. “That was my first time to fish down there. I’ve been to Amistad before but never to Falcon.”

Martin grew up on Lake Okeechobee, another of the nation’s legendary lakes that is just about on the same latitude with Falcon. They have at least one similarity — giant bass.

“The quality of fish at Falcon was fantastic,” he said. “We only fished for about 10 hours and mostly threw crankbaits all day, and we had a 9-pounder and several 7-pounders. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to get back.”

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