October 2020
Buckle Down Horace McQueen See page 3
The Straggler Baxter Black See page 5
Game Warden Field Notes Texas Parks & Wildlife See page 8
‘Ethelsgiving’: Fishery honors original sharelunker By Shelli Parker Athens Review
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t was a cold morning in November of 1986, Mark Stevenson trolled and made one pitch on a 6-year-old Lake Fork, and the fight was on.
“She was as big around as she was long,” Stevenson stated. But he had no idea the impact Ethel the largemouth bass would have on anglers and fishing. Ethel put Lake Fork on the map and became a poster child of the Sharelunker program, and the reason for its success. She was visited and revered at the Bass Pro Shop in Missouri until her death at 19-years-old where over 1,000 people attended her funeral. According to a video presentation by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Founder and CEO Johnny Morris said she was a shining example of what can happen if you manage your resources properly and invest in the future. Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is hosting an “Ethelsgiving” where visitors can bring a nonperishable food item to celebrate Sharelunker number one. The event will last throughout November. It has been 34 years since Ethel the bass was caught and spawned the official Sharelunker Program and is still one of the greatest fishing stories ever told. She was 17.67 pounds and 27.5 inches long, still holding second place on the top 50 largemouth ever caught. Experts spent hours and days helping Ethel get her See ETHEL on Page 3
Worms at Work
Mildred Elementary students study vermiculture Staff Reports Corsicana Sun
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ildred Elementary School students recently received $500 through the Texas Farm Bureau Clover Cash Texas 4-H Grant Program to establish a vermicompost program by setting up seven worm bins. The funds were used to purchase bins, bags of compost, garden tools, and most importantly, two thousand red wiggler worms. Third, fourth, and fifth grade Gifted and Talented students Levi, Chloe, Brayden, Lexi, Ronni, Zachary, and Caleb are participating in the program. Prior to establishing the worm bins, students conducted research to become knowledgeable about
the types of foods that could safely be composted by the worms. They learned that worms consume the scraps of most fruit and vegetables, with the exception of citrus products, and that paper can also be consumed by the worms. Teacher Corrine Thompson said the objective is to give students an opportunity to actively participate in the project and to bring awareness to the connection between science and agriculture, specifically the aspect of food production. Through setting up and maintaining their worm bins, students will learn how the worm castings can increase soil nutrients and density of mineral uptake in root systems, thus helping to produce a greater abundance of See WORMS on Page 3
Big Time Texas Hunts Winners Announced
Palestine man wins Wild Hog Adventure
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Staff Report
he Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has announced the winners of this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts, following personal notification to these 14 lucky individuals. The winners were selected in a random drawing from 135,714 entries. More than $1.2 million was raised this year from Big Time Texas Hunts entries, and proceeds from the drawing go to support wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting. “Big Time Texas Hunts continues to be an important conservation fundraiser for TPWD and we greatly appreciate the support of our Texas hunters that purchase entries each year,” said Justin Dreibelbis, TPWD Private Lands and Public Hunting Program Director. “If a hunter is lucky enough to win, they will experience the hunt of a lifetime. If they don’t, they can feel good knowing the funds from their entry go directly to wildlife conservation and public access projects on public hunting lands in Texas.” This year’s winner of the Texas Grand Slam hunting package, Brad Christopherson of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is making plans for four separate guided hunts for the state’s top four premier big game species – desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn and mule deer.
See HUNTS on Page 3