LSONews.com
LoneOStar Outdoor News
October 10, 2014
Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
October 10, 2014
Page 1
Volume 11, Issue 4
Flowing freely Cedar Bayou reopens By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star outdoor newS HECK OF A HUNT: Thirteen-year-old Aspen Hoover is proud of her fi rst archery buck taken on a lease near San Angelo opening weekend. Photo by Terry Hoover.
The last bucket of earth that restored the historical pass to the Gulf at Cedar Bayou was moved September 25, marking a day of celebration among coastal anglers. Mark Ray of Corpus Christi threw the first ceremonial cast with an age-old lure. “I threw a Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon with an orange tag,” he said. And by the weekend, the fishermen were already there. “A friend of mine caught his limit of redfish in no time and said there were plenty of boats there, and they were catching fish,” said retired Rockport fishing guide James Fox. The dredging effort took more than five months and wasn’t without drama. The construction crew had to constantly be on the lookout for turtle and piping plover nests. And had the crew known that Rockport guide Brian Holden observed four early arriving whooping cranes within six miles of the site on September 12, the completion of the project could have been in jeopardy. Fortunately, after years of engineering studies and fundraising efforts for the $9.4 million project, the vital connection from Mesquite Bay to the Gulf of Mexico was reinstated. Aransas County Judge Burt Mills, who signed the original dredging permit in 2011, operated the excavator for the final Please turn to page 14
Off to a great start Youth deer hunter connects on first bow buck; others having success By Conor Harrison Lone Star outdoor newS
Edgewood hunter Terry Hoover grew up having to earn everything that came to him when it came to hunting. He wasn’t allowed to shoot a buck until he could afford to pay his way onto a lease. He carried that philosophy when it came to his 13-year-old daughter, Aspen. If she wanted to shoot a buck with her bow, she was going to have to put in the time. “She is shooting her bow all the time,” he said. “She shoots in competitions around Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We’ve got a tripod stand in the backyard and we practiced all the time shooting the 3-D targets at all different angles.” Hoover hunts a lease near San FINALLY: Excavator operators opened the historic Cedar Bayou pass on Sept. 25, allowing bay water to fl ow again into the Gulf of Mexico. Photo by Kim Ogonosky.
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
Pronghorn season sees good bucks, less confusion on regulations By Conor Harrison The Texas pronghorn season got off to a good start Saturday, when more than 30 hunters checked antelope at the Dalhart check station. There was less confusion among
INSIDE
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Lone Star outdoor newS
hunters this season — year two of the experimental pronghorn units (8,17 and 25) where hunters could purchase over-the-counter tags for bucks, according to Sherman County Game Warden Ryan Hunter.
HUNTING
Making a comeback
Roadside counts show quail are on the rise in many parts of the state. Page 4
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GOOD GOATS: Texas hunters have reported plenty of nice pronghorn bucks hitting the ground this season. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
CONTENTS
FISHING
Fresher for longer?
Some anglers believe bleeding a fish after being caught makes for better, long-lasting meat. Page 8
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