Texas Fish & Game September 2016

VOICE OF THE TEXAS OUTDOOR NATION

Fascinating Facts About

Texas Specks

September 2016 | $3.95

Shooting Docks

Slinging for Crappie In-N-Out

Whitewing Hunting

Rifle Skills for Kids What Do You Really Need for

Bow Hunting?

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Top Texas www.FishGame.com

Bass Lakes for Fall 8/15/16 5:18 PM

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C O N T R I B U T O R S

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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www.FishGame.com Published by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. TEXAS FISH & GAME is the largest independent, family-owned outdoor publication in America.

Owned by Ron & Stephanie Ward and Roy & Ardia Neves.

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C O N T R I B U T O R S JOE DOGGETT DOUG PIKE TED NUGENT LOU MARULLO MATT WILLIAMS CALIXTO GONZALES LENNY RUDOW STEVE LAMASCUS DUSTIN ELLERMANN KENDAL HEMPHILL WILL LESCHPER REAVIS WORTHAM

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Table of

SEPTEMBER 2016 Volume 33 • NO. 5

Contents FEATURES

SLINGING FOR SLABS COVER STORY: Deer School

If we want kids to u choose the deer lease over electronic distractions like Pokémon Go, it is vital that we treat their hunting education and experience with strategic purpose. Attention to detail is paramount. Everything from rifle selection to practice, biology and scouting to field dressing and even meal preparation will put a kid on the path to learning skills to last a lifetime.

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Wally “Mr. Crappie” Marshall uses a deceptively simple slingshot technique to reach slab-sized fish hiding in the shadows under docks and other shoreline structure.

by John N. Felsher ESSENTIAL GEAR FOR BOW HUNTERS

What do you really need for bow hunting? Here is the low-down on the gear that is essential and what you can do without.

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by Lou Marullo

Story and Cover Photo by Chester Moore

FISH GAME DIGITAL

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IN-N-OUT WHITEWINGS

The In-N-Out burger is a great fast food tradition in California. Well, Texas bird hunters have an even faster fast food tradition: In-N-Out Whitewings.

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by Joe Doggett

BEST LAKES FOR FALL BASS

Mobile Editions: u

iPad

u

Android

u

Kindle

FREE to Subscribers. See your Device’s App Store, or visit:

Fishing pressure is down, as anglers head for hunting blinds, and bass shift into their pre-winter feeding mode.

Here’s a list of the best lakes in Texas to cash in on this fall phenomenon.

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by Matt Williams

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Contents (continued)

Inside FISH & GAME

COLUMNS

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by ROY and ARDIA NEVES TF&G Owners

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T E X A S

by Joe Doggett

F I S H

Pike on the Edge

by Doug Pike

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

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Nugent in the Wild

by Ted Nugent

TF&G Editor At Large

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Commentary

by Kendal Hemphill

TF&G Political Commentator

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Texas Saltwater

by Calixto Gonzales

TF&G Saltwater Editor

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Bare Bones Hunting

8 LETTERS 84 INDUSTRY INSIDER

88 FISH AND

GAME GEAR

94 TF&G PHOTOS NEW SECTION

by Lou Marullo

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Texas Freshwater

by Matt Williams

TF&G Freshwater Editor

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Texas Boating

by Lenny Rudow

TF&G Boating Editor

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Practical Angler

by Greg Berlocher

TF&G Contributing Editor

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Texas Guns

by Steve LaMascus

TF&G Firearms Editor

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Texas Tasted

by Bryan Slaven

40 TEXAS SPECKS 44 TF&G REPORT 44 TEXAS HOT SHOTS

46 TEXAS DEPT. OF DEFENSE

The Texas Gourmet

48 TEXAS DEPT. OF

92 Open Season

52 TEXAS COASTAL

by Reavis Wortham

TF&G Humor Editor

www.FishGame.com &

DEPARTMENTS

TF&G Hunting Editor

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Doggett at Large TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

T’S FAIRLY OBVIOUS THAT THIS MAGAZINE OPERATES in an industry that depends on the continuing active interest of people who engage in the sports of fishing and hunting. And logic dictates that because human beings do not live forever, any industry catering to a human customer base must attract younger customers or that industry will suffer the same mortality as its customers.

This recruit-or-die reality is especially harsh for industries serving special interests such as fishing and hunting. If the populations of succeeding generations fail to show interest, the industries whither. So, in addition to collectively fighting the struggles against all the other factors that challenge the survival of businesses linked together as an “industry,” those businesses and the associations created to support them must engage in efforts to attract new blood.

The fishing industry has mounted several noble campaigns over the years to promote recruitment, the most famous being “Take a Kid Fishing.” The hunting industry in conjunction with several states, Texas among the most prominent, has promoted special youth seasons and other programs to introduce kids to the sport.

Here at Texas Fish & Game, we have been quietly conducting a program we’re very proud of and which we feel is unique, especially given our relative size in the overall scope of the national fishing and hunting media universe.

And we’ve done it for the better part of a generation.

Since 1990, we have provided classroom subscription programs to teachers of a very special course taught in agriculture departments in Texas high schools. The course—Wildlife, Fisheries, and Ecology Management—started with a bang, almost instantly becoming one of the most popular classes in Ag Science history. Thanks in part to the class also including the mandatory hunter safety certification, it also attracted thousands of non-ag students.

At first, teachers used Texas Fish & Game issues as a primary teaching source because they simply had no text books for the new class. As the program evolved, our issues continued to provide them with supplemental material and as a sure-fire method to engage student interest in special projects.

Now that our digital editions provide a wealth of features not possible in print—such as videos, slide shows and other interactive tools—our issues have become even more useful to teachers. An increasing number of schools now provide students with tablets or individual computer access. In the schools that don’t, almost every kid has a smart phone. This technology, and our longstanding partnership with teachers (many of whom were themselves students in this course, using Texas Fish & Game), gives us a powerful connection to tens of thousands of students. This year, we will reach more than 40,000 students in 600 Texas high schools.

This is a prime opportunity to build the interest of future anglers and hunters, and we are committed to taking full advantage of it. In Texas, we are doing everything we can to promote a secure future for fishing and hunting.

S E P T E M B E R

by Chester Moore

TF&G Editor in Chief

Take a Kid Reading

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Editor’s Notes

CONSERVATION FOCUS

62 TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

72 PRIME TIMES

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LETTERS to the Editor High School Bass Fishing I WAS HAPPY TO SEE ANOTHER article on high school bass fishing in Texas Fish & Game. Thank you for highlighting this growing sport and giving young people

their due. I have only seen one other article on this subject in any Texas publication, and I know I have seen at least three in Texas Fish and Game. I know you guys are truly leaders in doing things for young people and it is appreciated.

Britney Clarke THIS IS THE SECOND TIME TEXAS Fish & Game has run an article about High School Bass Fishing. I for one think it’s a great idea and that’s why I started a High School Fishing Team at the High School where I work. Not only did I start the High School Team I also started a Tournament Trail, The Central Texas High School Tournament Trail, We have just concluded our second season, which had student anglers from 21 different schools competing throughout the school year. Our trail operates in the Central Texas area and draws student anglers for both Middle Schools and High Schools from as far away as Waco 8 |

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to Austin. At our championship this year we had to say good-bye to a few fine young anglers as they are seniors and heading for college. The good news is that at least two of them will be heading to colleges that have fishing teams, and these two anglers will also be adding a couple extra dollars to their student accounts in the way of scholarship money they won at the Championship. It is such a thrill for me to be involved with these young anglers and we are looking forward to an even bigger season in the fall.

One thing that I think needs to be addressed is the importance that boat captains play. As I always say, “We cannot do, what we do, without you.” Thanks for the article and keep them coming.

Is it possible saltwater could make a difference?

Henry Niemiec (Sure Strike Guide Service and Boat Detailing, C.E.Ellison High School)

Editor: Joe is obviously a great writer and a great guy. He is a true asset to Texas Fish and Game and the outdoor community.

Jack Bell Editor: I have seen snakes and other animals act completely differently from place to place. I am not sure why one would be more aggressive than the other, but it is a mystery worth investigating.

Love for Doggett BACK IN THE SEVENTIES OR EARLY eighties while fishing the car bodies at San Luis Pass, I noticed a lanky ole boy catching his share of speckled trout, but to my surprise he was throwing them back. On the next meeting of him on the dawn patrol, I put two and two together, Joe Doggett.

About that same time I met a young man working along the ship channel for a local rag, his name ended up being Doug Pike.

I never let Doggett know that I recognized him, but he’s one hell of a fisherman. You never know who’s chunking beside you!

Michael Bryant

Editor: Thanks for investing time in the students. Captains definitely play an important role and we salute them for it.

Cottonmouths and Other Snakes JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR publishing the article about cottonmouths and their mimics. It is important to understand things like this and to realize not all snakes are bad. Cottonmouths are interesting. I will run into them in the salt marsh and see aggression when I approach but very little on my deer lease much farther inland.

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EDITOR’S Notes

by CHESTER MOORE :: TF&G Editor-in-Chief

Wild Hybrids

H

YBRIDS FASCINATE PEOple. There is something about the crossing of one variety of animal with another that stirs the imagi-

nation.

In the world of the outdoors, hybrid animals turn up from time to time and cause quite a bit of excitement. Other than shooting a banded bird, there is nothing more exciting to a duck hunter than taking an unusual looking hybrid.

In my years of covering the outdoors for this publication, I have run photos of mallard/ pintail, teal/wood duck and Ross/Snow goose hybrids.

An article published by the Vancouver Natural History Society in 1994, says that of all birds, waterfowl are the most prone to hybridization with more than 400 hybrids documented.

“The mallard which tends to hybridize more than any other duck has hybridized with about 50 species of ducks and geese. The wood duck comes in second, with hybridization records for about 26 other species,” they reported.

“The mallard’s proclivity for hybridization stems from a number of factors. It is abundant; it has many close relatives; and in city parks and sanctuaries it often suffers from an oversupply of males, who then consort with females of other species.”

“I have a mallard/pintail hybrid that people sometimes ask whether I made it here in the studio. When I tell them it’s a natural hybrid a hunter brought in, some of them cannot believe it. It’s pretty unique,” said taxidermist Bubba Andres of Winnie in an interview I conducted with him a few years ago.

This particular bird has a long neck like a pintail, a short, gray beak like a pintail, a green head like a mallard, a body with feathers patterned equal parts mallard, equal parts pintail and a “sprig” feather that curls up like a mal-

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lard’s tail feathers.

“It’s something else,” Andres said.

The Trans Pecos region of Texas has isolated populations of whitetail/mule deer hybrids.

According to officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the long-term effects are unknown. For most areas, the extent of hybridization also is not known.

“The highest incidence of hybridization in the Trans-Pecos occurs in the eastern part of the region where high populations of mule deer and white-tailed deer coexist. Using a technique called “polyacrylamidel electrophoresis,” Stubblefield estimated that up to 14 percent of deer may be hybrids where both species occupy the same range, although the

long. Second generation hybrids cannot be identified by their appearance. The predominant successful breeding among hybrids is between white-tailed bucks and mule deer does, but interbreeding also can occur between mule deer bucks and white-tailed does. Hybrids appear to have at least a limited degree of fertility.”

Vanderpool rancher Thompson Temple has unique hybrids on his property he is calling “Hill Country Bighorns”.

“Milt Sanburg outside of Montrose, Co. had a herd of mouflon sheep. Rocky Mountain bighorn rams from the nearby national forest periodically came over and bred a number of ewes. The result was 10 to 15 rams and ewes

Mallard ducks tend to hybridize more than any duck species.

average occurrence of hybrids was only about five percent.”

TPWD said antler characteristics, tail coloration, and ear length are not reliable in recognizing hybrids.

“First generation hybrids often can be identified by the length of the metatarsal gland that is located on the outside of the rear leg between the hock and the hoof. It typically will measure about ¾-inch long in whitetails and about four inches long in mule deer.”

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that were 1/2 bighorn and 1/2 mouflon. The rams were very impressive,” Temple said.

“Alan Baier of Collbran, Colorado and I met with the Colorado Fish and Game. They were anxious to get the crossbreeds out of Colorado. An agreement was reached to transport the sheep to my ranch in Texas.”

In recent years he has attempted to replace the mouflon portion of the sheep with a larger breed of sheep—stumberg sheep. “I have also purchased urial rams to do the same thing,” Temple noted.

His goal is to have a species very similar to PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

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Rocky Mountain bighorns that hunters can pursue for an affordable fee. Bighorns cost upwards of $50,000 to hunt in some cases.

Temple wants hunters to have a bighorn-like experience at a minute fraction of the cost.

Plenty of hybrids exist in the fish world as well.

A study conducted in Minnesota found that out of 22 lake studies, 20 had hybrid black/ white crappie. In fact, last year a record-sized crappie caused controversy there because it was believed to be a hybrid. The study found that most of the hybrids would be classified by looks as a black crappie but that their size would be slightly larger.

Some hybrids are created.

Take for example in the 1990s The Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (MDWFP) and the University of Mississippi teamed up to create a sterile crappie that would not overpopulate a small impoundment. The result was the Magnolia Crappie.

“This crappie is a cross between the female white crappie and the male black-striped black crappie The black-striped crappie has a dark

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stripe from the dorsal fin down the top of the head and mouth to the throat. This is a naturally occurring color variation.

The offspring retain this black stripe making it easy for biologists to monitor the population after stocking. Because this crappie cannot reproduce they may put more energy into growth and may grow larger than a normal fish in a similar environment.”

An article in NOAA’s “Marine Fisheries Review” notes that in 1983 Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) officials hybridized black and red drum.

“About 500,000 fertilized eggs were produced by a female black drum and a male redfish earlier in 1983. The resulting fry were placed in ponds until they reached about 1/2 inch in length, and then were stocked experimentally in Lake Creek Reservoir near Waco.

Nick Carter, inland fisheries research coordinator in Austin, said although subsequent netting surveys failed to retrieve any of the hybrids, he believes the fish may have gone into deep water areas out of the reach of nets.

“We are fairly optimistic about the hybrid drum because they are easy to produce and

appear to have high egg fertilization and survival rates,” Carter noted. “The fish we stocked in Lake Creek appeared to be in excellent shape.”

In the article Carter said the hybrid more closely resembles the popular redfish in appearance, but it is deeper-bodied like the black drum. It is mottled black and silver in color, lacks the characteristic black tail spot seen on redfish, and also has lost the black vertical bars of the black drum.

Every once in a while anglers will catch a fish in Gulf or bay waters that looks like a black/red drum hybrid.

Have you caught, killed or photographed a wild hybrid here in Texas?

If so we would love to see the photos and hear your stories. E-mail me at cmoore@fishgame.com, and we will run a special Texas Outdoor Nation article on it in a future edition.

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

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DOGGETT at Large

by JOE DOGGETT :: TF&G Contributing Editor

September Bounties HE SCRABBLY OYSTER reef that a month before had roosted low-tide flocks of seagulls was nowhere to be seen. We motored slowly across the Galveston Bay cove.

The point of saltgrass was over there, and the old duck blind was back there, so that means the long crescent of reef should be—CRUNCH—right about here.

“Well, at least we found it,” said Forrest West.

He cut the engine and peered with casual disregard

at the shell-chewed wake. He had seen the tides of time and controversy ebb and flow, and it took more than minor contact with an unforgiving bottom to raise a salty eyebrow.

“This just shows you how much water is in these bays now,” he said, grabbing a wading belt and a long casting rod rigged with a 51M MirrOlure.

“There’s at least a foot more tide. We’re over the worst of summer and heading into fall!”

We slipped into the thigh-deep water. The September current felt good—maybe not cool, just not as hot. The beckoning promise was unmistakable. We could see, even smell, the life.

The water was the rich “trout green” that carried perhaps two feet of visibility, excellent for working lures. The ripe smell of watermelon drifted on the southeast breeze, and several tight, oily slicks showed farther down the reef. Scattered pods of

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finger mullet milled and flipped and splashed and, once, a frantic brown shrimp skipped across the surface.

West eased left, and I shuffled right then we moved parallel, working across the sloping edges of shell.

I made a long cast with a green/silver 51M and began a quick retrieve, hoping to excite a chain reaction of nervous mullet. The trick often works if speckled trout or redfish are following the massed bait. A heavy swirl and boil bounced the rod but the tip sprang back—a swing and a miss.

I cranked fast for another cast, muttering, and saw West’s rod slash down. “Got him!” he hooted.

The surface bucked against the crash of a fine speck.

I retrieved the plug then sailed another shot over the reef.

A trout must have seen the gaudy bauble arch-

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ing across the blue afternoon sky. The lure never seemed to hit the water. It just disappeared in a lusty splash.

“Even you ought to be able to hook that one,” West laughed. “Whoa! Whoa!”

His fish bolted against the light drag, scattered a spray of mullet. My fish hung “out there” on a long line, and I savored the delicate give and take of playing a good trout on a light rod. We worked our fish in tandem until they plodded in tired circles near cautious legs. I extended the high tip at arm’s length to steer my fish through open water.

The silver and spotted trout slid close, and I made a clean stab with thumb and forefingers across the shoulder. The plug was pinned to the jaw and gill plate, and I made certain the grip was well away from the trailing hooks. Of all the popular lures for inshore duty, the elongated mullet plugs with three sets of trebles demand the most respect in a splashy close-quarters drill.

My speck weighed perhaps four pounds. West’s was clearly larger, probably pushing five. “Well, I’ll just string this six pounder,” he said, matter of fact.

“You’d better keep chunking if you don’t want to fall too far behind.”

But there was no falling behind on that rich September tide. An aggressive school of specks was following the bait, hanging along the edges of shell, and we strung our 10-trout limits within an hour. All were solid fish. Of course, I managed to lose a grand “yellow mouth” that shook free during a furious wallow while West cawed and cackled in the background.

That trip occurred perhaps 30 years ago. I’ve enjoyed many since, but fondly recall the long-ago session. In the salty vernacular of the day, it was “ice cream.” And it is a reminder of the September bounty awaiting coastal anglers.

Gone are the dregs of summer, the stagnant days of steaming swelter, struggling tides and nagging southwest wind. The autumnal equinox (September 22) virtually assures strong tidal movements through the major passes and into the primary bays, back lakes and estuaries. The seasonal influxes of Gulf currents, often aided and abetted by late-season tropical storms, are a supercharger, carrying shrimp and crabs and baitfish and putting the inshore predators on the prowl.

As another plus, the higher water levels open new areas of fishing potential. Some of the best September fishing is for redfish rooting and cruising and “tailing” along the saltgrass shorelines of the bays and lakes. Stalking and sight casting with plug or fly takes the shallow-water game to its highest level.

September also marks the beginning of cooler water as the first puffs of weak “northers” push

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across the coast. Inshore readings during the ninth month typically drop from the mid 80s to the low 80s, even dipping into upper 70s—ideal for wet wading.

The cooling currents prolong shallow-water feeding and, increasingly, the midday and afternoon hours can be productive. The “dawn patrol” is not as critical as it was during the heated blasts of July and August.

This combination of strong tides and cooling currents makes September a prime month for bay

fishing all along the Texas coast. Crowds remain a major issue, but it is safe to say that overall fishing pressure in the wake of Labor Day weekend is reduced.

An end-of-summer consciousness combined with the openings of dove and teal seasons tend to open up more expanses of green water for the serious plugger. If you get a late start on September, have hope—October can be even better.

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PIKE on the Edge

by DOUG PIKE :: TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Spilling the Spoon Secret

L

ATE THIS PAST SPRING, A regular listener to my radio show reminded me on air about the fishcatching qualities of a lure I’d all but forgotten. I’m glad he did, but selfishly, I wish he’d made those observations via email.

The part about not blabbing the secret so publicly is delivered with tongue-in-cheek. I’m

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always glad to share information that might help someone become a better hunter or fisherman. In this case, however, what he said out loud, over the radio, sent enough people into local sporting goods stores ahead of me to empty the shelves.

So what is this mystery fish-catcher? A one-ounce chrome spoon. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Where I usually shop, at Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Sugar Land, they come in a variety of styles—none of which was available when I swung by the store on the way home one Saturday morning—or a couple of days later.

For several weeks, as fast as they were restocked, they were grabbed up. All I’d see was an empty metal rod and a sticker on the

peg board, to let me know what was supposed to be there.

I have one-ounce spoons in my garage somewhere, at least a dozen; but odds say the store’s supply will be “restored” before I can dig them out of what my wife calls “The Black Hole.” Besides, the store is air-conditioned, and my garage is not. That’s important in summertime.

In this age of increasingly realistic lures— that work really, really well, it should be noted in fairness—all of us have seen great plugs rise and fall in popularity. In the case of lures, however, age in no way is a measure of potential performance.

I’m old enough to remember the second generation, if not the first, of soft-plastic baits—ever. Purple worms cost less than a

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nickel each back then, and some stores offered all you could grab from a big jar in one open hand for about a dollar. Or, you could get a nice spoon for about as much.

There were no other colors, and there was no aisle of worm hooks from which to choose.

You bought purple worms or you bought something else, and you threaded those worms onto whatever hooks you had in your box.

Or you threw Jitterbugs or Bingos or Lucky 13s or—spoons. Thinking back, spoons were on my line as often as anything else until the big explosion of soft plastics beginning around the late 1960s or early 1970s. It got harder to find space even in a big tackle box for the simple, humble spoon.

From way back through now, I recall some banner days on spoons in freshwater and saltwater. Spoons were great for largemouth bass in open water and still are. Ditto their effectiveness on speckled trout, reds and Spanish mackerel along the coast.

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As a young man, I threw more second-tier spoons than popular brands because the former cost a few nickels less per copy. Cost was important then for two reasons: I wasn’t scared to throw a lure anywhere there might be a fish, no matter now thick the cover; and, I didn’t have much money.

I dressed those spoons with heavier split rings than stock, added colored-bucktail trebles, and lead with a few inches of wire when teeth were in play. I’d throw spoons anywhere, any time, and usually caught fish on them.

On a particularly forgettable morning in the surf some 30-odd years ago, I’d slung a spoon long enough to know it wasn’t going to work on that day and tide. Conditions were right, but I was getting “outfished” badly by waders throwing live bait on either side of me.

Tired of the beating, I stood tall on the second sandbar and slung that spoon as far across green water as a red baitcaster could sling it. I left the spool free and peeled line off

it all the way back to the beach.

The reel was engaged and handle turned. Two rotations into the exercise, the line came suddenly tight with something heavy but not moving.

Great, I presumed, a giant cabbage head.

Not interested in losing the spoon and turning a bad day worse, I reeled it and its payload gingerly to hand.

Instead of a slimy jellyfish, however, one of the spoons three hooks had stuck a stringer.

And at the end of that stringer – was a plastic bucket filled with live shrimp.

I waded back out to that second bar, tied on a bare treble (peeled off the spoon), and turned those live shrimp into six nice trout.

Spoons always catch fish, even if they sometimes have to do the job indirectly.

Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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NUGENT in the Wild

by TED NUGENT :: TF&G Editor-at-Large

Passion is as Passion Does

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ND SO WE MEET AGAIN MY SpiritWild BloodBrothers at the next best thing to a down and dirty honest to God all American, backstrap sizzling hunting family glowing campfire.

In case I have failed to do so lately, on behalf of the many millions of dedicated hunting families across the land, thank you Chester Moore for providing this never ending, year-round communication for the sport and lifestyle we so cherish.

On behalf of this old gut pile possessed, spirit obsessed guitarslammin’ backstrapper, I personally thank you for having me be a part of this incredible Texas Fish & Game BloodBrother connection. Who could have ever thunk that the author of Wango Tango and other world-class love songs would possibly qualify to express the heart and soul of our beloved hunting spirit?

Truly God works in mysterious ways.

Thank You God! It is the fiery, powerfully instinctual reasoning predator passion that I wish to elaborate on here, in this edition.

I know a thing or two (everything!) about passion, for it was the exploding, unleashed passion for ferocious guitar driven rock-nroll and the effervescent mystical flight of the arrow that sucker punched me broadside, upside my little toe-head way back in 1953 or thereabouts when a 5 year old young Ted was struck by the twin lightning bolts from my two-pronged American Dream passions.

I mean C’mon! Born in 1948, reverberating uncontrollably in the blinding glow of the mushroom cloud of Les Paul’s electrification of the guitar and in the Michigan excitement of Fred Bear’s celebration and promotion of

bowhunting, how could anyone avoid the splendor and the spectacle?

I type this on my battered laptop at 20,000 feet on my way to another outrageous Sonic Baptism rock-n-roll concert after spending day after day, as always, reveling in the amazing music my killer bandmates Greg Smith and Jason Hartless create every night, spurred on to indescribably intense inspiration from vibrant throngs of music loving audiences every night, and the joys of sharing hunting stories with hunting buddies in every city, every night, all summer long, forever.

When the dust settles on September 4th, 2016, after performing my 6573rd high energy, firebreathing musical rockout, I take home

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Truly God works in mysterious ways.

Thank You God!

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with me not only the phenomenal musical happiness, but just as important, the shared love of our hunting lifestyle from 6573 gatherings backstage, at hotels or restaurants with passionate hunters just like ourselves.

At every concert since my earliest days back in Detroit, the shared passionate love of hunting has permeated my every day.

Our fascination and love affair with wild animals is universal. Our reverence for wildlife and wildground is everywhere.

The ethical dedication to aim small miss small and to kill quickly and humanely is the ubiquitous driving force of hunters everywhere.

The pure instinct of wise use conservation is the mantra of hunters worldwide.

The increasing dedication to recruit new sporters is exciting and gratifying.

The heartbreak and condemnation of soulless animal-rights freaks is palpable and farreaching.

The exciting increase in “we the people” activism against dishonest and corrupt bureaucrats is refreshing and hopeful.

The joys of experimenting with advances in technology and always-interesting new equipment while retaining the purity of traditional hunting techniques is alive and well.

The increasing awareness of the perfection of wild game as the smartest, healthiest, most nutritious diet and environmentally friendly procedure is encouraging.

So it goes in the summer of 2016 where the rock-n-roll is as good as it gets, and the truth about nature’s tooth, fang and claw honesty throttles on in that not so quiet night.

I don’t know about you, even though it is still early, but as I strap on my gorgeous Gibson Byrdland to rock people into fire-eyed ecstasy, more and more everyday, “I smell fall!”

Passion is as passion does! Passion on!

Email Ted Nugent at tnugent@fishgame.com

PHOTO: TED NUGENT

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TF&G COMMENTARY

by KENDAL HEMPHILL :: TF&G Political Editor

Swims with Turtles

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MBERJACKS, BLUE TANGS, and bar jacks floated between my mask and the floor of the bay, ignoring me until I came within a few feet, and then effortlessly gliding away.

A remora, temporarily separated from its host fish, swam by, its silvery scales catching a ray of the bright sun that penetrated the calm water of the bay. A manta ray skimmed the sea grass along the sandy bay floor, irritated at my presence—but no sea turtles.

My wife and I were snorkeling in Maho Bay, on the north side of St. John, one of the three United States Virgin Islands, and we were specifically looking for sea turtles. We had already been to Virgin Gorda and Norman Island in the British Isles, with no luck.

On our last day of a weeklong trip we had decided to rent a jeep and snorkel as many of the bays on St. John as we could, hoping to find turtles. An island resident had told us the locals usually go to Maho, and he had heard there were turtles there lately, so we tried it first. And finally hit pay dirt, or maybe pay water.

Although there are seven species of sea turtles, only three of them inhabit the Virgin Islands, and numbers are low everywhere, so the chances of finding them are not outstanding. We never saw a hawksbill or leatherback, but after half an hour of canvassing the bay I looked up to see Jocelynn, my wife, waving at me from twenty yards away, treading water.

In her excitement she had swallowed a mouthful of sea water, but she was shouting, “Turtles!” She’d found some green turtles, the largest of the seven species, snacking on sea grass about a hundred yards off the beach in

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

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eight feet of water.

The funny thing is that we were in St. John looking for sea turtles when there are actually more along the Texas Gulf Coast than there are in the Virgin Islands. The problem is that the gulf water is generally too murky to see them from very far away, so our best shot was in the translucent bays of the USVI and the BVI. No matter where sea turtles are found, they need our help. All sea turtles are currently listed either as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable, due to poaching live turtles and their eggs, accidental catching, and having their nests destroyed by predators and inattentive beach goers. Efforts are being made to help the turtles, but it seems to be an uphill battle.

The Texas Gulf Coast is home to five of the seven species, including the leatherback, hawksbill, loggerhead, green, and the Kemp’s ridley. Leatherbacks are listed as vulnerable, loggerheads and greens are endangered.

Hawksbills and Kemp’s ridleys are critically endangered.

Turtles typically refuse to fill out census reports, but the number of nesting female Kemp’s ridley sea turtles still living is roughly estimated at 1,000 individuals, making it the most endangered sea turtle in the world.

One of the problems for these turtles in the wild is that, although they spend almost all their lives in the water, they have to come on

land to lay their eggs. The females return to the beach where they were hatched, crawl onto the sand, and dig a nest.

The number of eggs per nest varies with the species, but range from 110 to over 200. Once the eggs are laid, the mothers head back to the sea, their job done—no family reunions for sea turtles.

After about two months the eggs hatch, all at once, and the hatchlings make a dash for the water. This is when the hatchlings are the most vulnerable to land and sea predators, so they make their run at night, but many still fall victim to hungry enemies.

Those that survive must reach maturity before they can reproduce, and the age varies between species. Green sea turtles don’t come of age until they are at least 20 years old.

Besides predators, one of the major killers of sea turtles is, oddly, plastic bags. The turtles love jellyfish, but can’t tell the difference between them and plastic bags, which they can’t digest. So apart from being watchful and considerate at the beach, picking up your own litter, along with someone else’s, might be the best help you can offer these beleaguered creatures.

Once Jocelynn found the green sea turtles in Maho Bay, we swam with them and took pictures and videos for about an hour. They cropped sea grass from the bay floor for a while, and then, every five minutes or so, they would slowly fan their flippers and float to the surface for a breath of air. They seemed entirely unperturbed by our presence, and it was a privilege to share the bay with such majestic denizens of the sea.

It would be a shame to lose them.

Email Kendal Hemphill at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Targeting big crappie few people even attempt story and photos by John N. Felsher 18 |

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A

RMED WITH

boathouses and other manmade

his weapon

structures jut from shorelines.

of choice, the

These wood, steel, concrete and

sportsman

plastic objects create excellent

cautiously

places for big fish to hide. With

approached a tangled mass of

multiple pilings that brace decks,

wood, which created an ideal hid-

these overhead structures conceal

ing spot that might conceal his

fish from roving ospreys, cormo-

quarry.

rants and other birds looking to snatch a meal.

Preparing to shoot, he looked through a slight opening in the

Countless people fish from their

cover. The sportsmen fired through the hole just inches across, hitting

docks. Yet they may actually stand

his target squarely.

barely inches away from the best fishing spots, but can never reach

“I got him good, but I may need

them.

help with this one,” the sportsman

So much entangling cover

shouted moments later. “It’s a

around docks can intimidate some

monster and he’s putting up a good

anglers. Many people troll or cast

fight. Get the net!”

No, the sportsman didn’t

baits around dock edges or fish

chase a bear or bobcat

nearby brush piles, but few think of tempting crappie hunkered down

into a thicket. He

deep in seemingly inaccessible

fished docks for

cover.

slab crappie. On

In their protective lairs way

almost any lake,

back under the dock, big slabs may

a multitude

never see lures or baits as they

of docks,

grow fat slurping any hapless bait-

fishing

fish that swims too close. To catch

piers,

slabs that few others dare even tempt, try “shoot the docks.”

“I love shooting docks,” explained Wally “Mr. Crappie” Marshall, a professional crappie angler and lure designer (www. mrcrappie.com) from Anna, Texas.

“It’s a lot of fun. Sometimes, I catch three or four crappie from under one dock. Sometimes, I catch more than 50 from under one dock. Anybody can do it. It’s mainly a light presentation.”

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Wally “Mr. Crappie” Marshall “shoots the docks.” With this method, he bends the rod to make it act like a slingshot to hurl small baits under docks.

Marshall pulls a nice slab from its hiding spot under a dock.

When shooting into a space between the bottom of the dock and the water, bend the rod parallel to the water surface and shoot horizontally. If done correctly, the bait skips

over the surface like a flat rock. When targeting openings between vertical objects, such as pilings or a boat tied to the dock, hold the rod vertically.

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“Load the rod up like a bow and arrow,” Marshall recommended. “Keep the line parallel with the water, depending upon how much room is under the dock. It might be only three or four inches of space between the bottom of the dock and the surface of the water. Release the jig and catapult it under the dock as far as possible. It might go 25 to 30 feet. I like baits with solid bodies because they skip well. A bait like that will skip farther than a person can actually shoot it.”

Good docks can hold big crappies all year long, but they traditionally offer the best fishing action from spring through early fall. As sunshine warms the waters, crappies move up under cool, shady docks.

In hot weather, crappies might stay under shady docks through early fall, especially those in, or near, deeper water that gives fish depth choices. Frequently, anglers find the biggest fish in the darkest shadows.

“Shade is the number one structure for any kind of game fish, especially crappie,” Marshall said. “When I’m shooting docks, I look for the darkest shadiest spots. I don’t like a dock with a lot of sunlight penetrating to the water. I like docks with big sundecks low to the water. Crappie hide back in the shade and ambush schools of shad that move through the area.”

Older docks, those with crusty pilings, typically offer the best fishing because they’ve been in the water so long. An opening covered by an intact spider web indicates that no one has fished that spot for a while. Docks close to deeper water, such as those near a creek channel or tributary ditch, provide fish easy opportunities to drop into the depths or hunt in the shallows.

“I like docks near main channels where the depth drops off into deeper water,” Marshall recommended. “My favorite depth is about 10 to 15 feet deep in front of the dock. Not all lakes have water that deep, but crappie adjust to getting into shallow water. In the summer, the best oxygen is often under the shady docks. That’s where the fish will move.

I’ve caught crappie in two feet of water under a dock when the air temperature was 108 degrees and the water temperature was 92 degrees.”

Also, look for secondary cover, such as brush piles. Many dock owners establish brush piles within casting range of their piers. They drop Christmas trees, yard debris, branches or other material near their docks to create fish habitat. These artificial reefs PHOTOS: JOHN N. FELSHER

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attract minnows, shad and small sunfish, all excellent food sources for a hungry crappie.

“Brush near a dock helps,” said Randy Pope, a two-time Crappie USA national champion.

“When fishing brush piles, we swim jigs over the top of them. We don’t try to put a jig down into the pile. The ideal dock would be a floater in 20 feet of water with brush on it and some shade.”

Any dock with rod holders attached to the rails, and lights positioned to shine over the water probably faces a good brush pile or two. In addition, dock owners frequently toss leftover bait, fish carcasses or food scraps into the water. These morsels attract sunfish, shiners, shad and other forage fish, which could attract a big crappie looking for a meal.

“There is no particular universal pattern,” Pope said. “Some docks look good with everything a crappie needs, but they don’t hold fish. Some docks hold fish all year long, regardless of conditions. Crappies can be anywhere around a dock at any particular time. Just search the dock to see where the fish want to bite. A few days later, they might hold at an entirely different spot.”

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Don’t overlook boats tied to docks or boathouses. Sometimes, moored boats sit unused for long periods. Algae may grow on the hulls, lines, trim tabs and lower units.

That growth feeds minnows, attracting more crappies, but few people fish under moored boats.

“I like to fish around pontoon boats,” Marshall stated. “One time, I caught 18 crappie in 18 casts under a pontoon boat that had been sitting a long time. I like to shoot around the motor and under the pontoon boat. When shooting under docks, try to hit the flotation devices. That’s like ringing a dinner bell to a crappie.”

While most anglers shoot docks, boathouses and other manmade structure, this technique can sometimes work around natural objects, such as trees or overhanging rocks. A fallen tree barely touching the water can provide an incredible place to fish—one few people even try. Use the same methods.

Select an opening and let the bait sail.

For shooting docks and other structures, many people fling 1/64- to 1/8-ounce jigheads tipped with plastic trailers. Some anglers use Road Runner jighead spinners

or other lures. A few use tiny flies. Just about any type of crappie enticement might work.

After launching a bait into the sweet spot, anglers can work it several ways. In cold water, use tiny, slow-sinking, subtle baits.

On warm days, crappie may prefer more dynamic action. Sometimes, fish hit on the fall. Sometimes, crappies like baits hopped along the bottom. Sometimes, the biggest fish hover on the cover edges or bury themselves in the thickest cover they can find.

Throw assorted baits from different angles and experiment with various retrieves to determine the best patterns each day.

Anglers can master this technique with a little practice. Of course, the best practice comes on the water. However, short of fishing, anglers can set up a table and chairs to practice shooting through the legs at short ranges. Once they master the short shots, they can set up specific targets under the chairs at longer distances and try to hit the desired spots.

8/8/16 5:20 PM

The Low-Down on Essential Gear for Archery Hunters

by Lou Marullo

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HEN I FIRST started to hunt with a bow, you needed a bow and some arrows, a quiver and money for gas. The bow hunter of today not only needs these items, but many more, it would seem,

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to be successful in the field. But are all of the extra items really necessary for success?

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are also a necessity.

Duh! But what about other items such as camouflage?

According to a study that was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it states, and I quote, “Deer are PHOTO:

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essentially red-green color blind like some humans. Their color vision is limited to the short [blue] and middle [green] wavelength colors. As a result, deer likely can distinguish blue from red, but not green from red, or orange from red.”

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Either way, your form is broken up into different shades and will not be detected by a whitetail’s eye. Camo clothing is nice to blend into your surroundings, and I wear it myself. But it’s not really something you need to hunt.

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Whichever one you choose, make sure that you use a safety harness. I have heard of many veteran hunters who decided against using a harness for some unknown reason and their families wish they had.

Hunting from a tree stand may not be your “cup of tea.” Although it may be the most popular way to bow hunt, you can still bring home the venison using other methods.

A range finder is a must when it comes to bowhunting. Although the faster bows allow a lot of forgiveness when deciding how far the object is, you ethically owe it to the animal you are hunting to be the very best shot you can be.

The range finder is particularly important if you are using a slower bow. You should still practice on judging distance.

One of the items I consider a must in my backpack is ThermaCell. For those of you who are not familiar with this item, let me explain. ThermaCell is a portable device that will keep mosquitoes and black flies away from you. For those of us who hunt where these pesky beasts linger, you will agree with me that these small critters can quickly ruin a good hunt.

Although bow hunting is generally considered one of the safest sports out there, it does not mean you can just toss caution to the wind. More people get injured playing golf than any other sport. Something about

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holding a lightning rod in your hands during a storm gives the previous statement some legitimacy.

I know I just put a smile on your face, but accidents do happen. In the bow-hunting world, they are usually self-inflicted injuries.

That’s all the more reason to think about every move you make and be sure it’s a safe one. I cannot stress how important it is to use a safety harness while hunting from an elevated position.

Although there are many methods to take a whitetail with a bow, tree stand hunting has proved to be one of the most successful. It is also one of the most dangerous.

Commercial tree stands of today come with a free safety harness. If you purchase a two-man stand, it comes with two harnesses.

You, as a safe, ethical hunter, need to use those harnesses every time you plan to hunt from an elevated position.

That is the problem. For some reason, some hunters seem to think an accident will never happen to them.

There are lots of other gadgets we can use, some better than others. Let me share an example. Detective television programs show investigators spraying a chemical on the wall to reveal blood.

Some companies sell a form of that chemical for hunters who lose the blood trail at night. It seems simple enough. When you lose blood, reach for your “handy-dandy” blood finding spray and you should be able to detect blood again with no problem.

Once, I was hunting a field, and I had to follow a blood trail after sunset. It is not easy to detect blood in an open field. I told my hunting buddy it’s not a problem. We can simply spray this chemical and find the blood. Sure enough, I sprayed in front of me, and the ground turned blue. Surely this was blood.

This continued for another 100 yards until my friend decided to walk in the middle of the field where we knew the deer did not go. He sprayed the chemical there too. As a matter of fact, he just sprayed in a circle.

Everywhere the chemical hit the ground, we saw the blue color.

Lesson learned.

There is much more to discuss about scents and other things. I will cover those in my October column, but pay special attention to the above when bow season opens and beyond.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK

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Texas SALTWATER

by CALIXTO GONZALES :: TF&G Saltwater Editor

The Other Topwaters

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OTHING CAN BE AS FRUStrating as getting a good cadence going on your Top Dog, Jr. or One-Knocker and seeing trout short strike or roll on it repeatedly.

Nothing can leave you contemplating taking up needlework faster than seeing a big trout repeatedly depth charge your topwater and miss out just short. The logical decision would be to change lures, so you do. Maybe you pick up your favorite soft plastic, or a jerkbait such as a Bass Assassin, and you start working the same area where only moments ago fish were blowing up on your plugs left and right.

Aaaand you don’t get a single strike.

There are days like that. The only thing trout and redfish will even sniff are baitfish-mimicking plugs, but they are still not enthusiastic enough to commit to eating the offering. One of the issues that often arises is “lure fatigue.”

Gamefish have seen so many topwaters from so many fishermen that they become wary of what they see. They have become conditioned to be cautious about struggling baitfish that are on the surface. Even so, topwater is sometimes the way to go, even if fish are sitting over grass or hiding in potholes.

Most anglers seem pigeonholed into one type of topwater, the classic Spook-type of dogwalking topwaters. Those plugs have taken a lot of trout, redfish, and snook over the years.

It takes some practice to develop the “Walk the Dog” rhythm, but once the mechanics are mastered, plugs such as the Super Spook, Jr., MIrrolure’s Dawg family, or Rapala’s Skitterwalk are very effective.

Until they aren’t.

The trick is to change things up on the fish, while still working the upper level of the water column (for our discussion, I’m referring to the surface down to about three inches). There is still a wide variety of plugs that can be fished in

these depths. There are twitch baits, wakebaits, all of which are extremely effective, and will offer a novel presentation to predators.

Of the subgroups, twitchbaits are the most established. Floating twitchbaits such as the venerable Mirrolure 7M, 17M, and 5M have been effective producers for Texas Coastal anglers literally for decades.

The natural profile, relatively short length (3 5/8 inches), and simple “twitch” action have proved irresistible to trout and redfish, and even flounders, from Padre to Sabine. The addition of the rattle in later models (signified by the “R” following the M in the model number) made them even more lethal.

Though many anglers have lent a mystique to the Mirrolure, they are very easy to work.

Cast them to your intended target and let it settle until the landing rings disappear. The lure gets its action from your retrieve. There is the classic “twitch-twitch-pause,” which is very effective and makes the lure dart tightly and dive just under the surface. When you pause, the plug pops back up to the surface.

Usually, the fish strike when the lure is settling back at the surface. I’ve also experimented with longer “slashes” with my rod tip without the pause. This imparts a frenetic, darting, subsurface action to the bait which looks like a desperate, fleeing baitfish. It’s a tough illusion for speckled trout to ignore, and I once had a jetty redfish hit the bait so hard it broke my rod.

A second, very underutilized option for the topwater aficionado is the wake bait. This subgroup of topwaters gets its appellation from the fact that their action creates a wake on the surface of the water. They’re also the easiest to use because it doesn’t take much more than casting and winding to get them to do its thing. These lures run just underneath the surface, down to two inches and come both as classic bass-style crankbaits and longer minnow-type plugs.

The crankbait style wake baits such as the Storm Arashi, Livingstone Lures Pro Wake or the Yo-Zuri 3DB can be especially effective over floating grass because the plug’s bill pushes blades away from the lure’s hooks. The shorter, squatter body type can also mimic a small pinfish, which is the primary forage for T E X A S

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big trout in late summer and fall.

The mullet-imitators, which are well-represented by the LIveTarget Mullet, Egret Lures Kick-a-Mullet and Kick-a-Mullet, Jr., and the Unfair Lures Unfair Mullet are also tremendously effective. With a start-stop retrieve, these plugs look very much like their wounded namesakes. Name a predator that can pass up a wounded or dying mullet—No? Neither can I. Some anglers aren’t going to want to break out of their comfort zone, however. They are very happy with their dog-walking cigar plugs.

Even the best fastball pitchers don’t just rely on the Ol’ Number 1 on every pitch. They find for permutations such as the Splitter or the Cutter. For the unreconstructed plugger, their second pith can be a glide bait such as the River2Sea 190 WideGlide or the Rapala Gliding Rap. Gliding lures work with the same Walkthe-Dog retrieve that classic topwaters made famous. The main differences are that they work just below the surface, and their “walk” is actually a wider, gliding swing.

The Wide Glide for example will swing left and right up to three feet from the center axis on the retrieve. The Glding Rap also glides, but not so widely. The action covers a wider swath of water than the typical Spook-style plug.

They are also slightly larger than most classic topaters, which more effectively mimics late season mullet, which have been growing bigger and bigger throughout the year.

All these different topwater subgroups are very effective, and I’ve had remarkable success with each version over the years. If I had my feet to the fire, however, I’d probably choose the twitchbaits as my second—sometimes first—topwater choice. Their ease of use recommends them, and there is also the fact that you don’t need to change tackle to use them (the same tackle used for soft plastics are just as effective with twitchbaits).

All of them should have space in our tacklebox, though. You don’t need to stick just with one pitch.

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THE IN-N-OUT BURGER IS A GREAT FAST FOOD tradition in California. Well, Texas has a great fast food tradition, too—In-And-Out whitewings.

Each September afternoon, flocks of white-winged doves come in and flocks go out. The drill is basic for hunters stationed in the prime feeding fields of grain near the roosts in small towns scattered across the South Texas Brush Country.

The potential for bagging a generous 15-bird limit of plump palomas seldom is better than under one of these feeding flights—that is, if you don’t mind increasing the profits of your favorite shot shell manufacturer.

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Make no mistake. Windswept doves are, indeed, among nature’s best examples of “fast food.”

Hit or miss, in or out, the explosive spread of whitewinged dove colonies across the state during the past 20 or 30 years has created a bounty that can rival the fabled days of hunting in Mexico.

Much of this increase in the whitewing population and distribution is attributed to the fondness of doves for roosting and nesting in protected urban environs. Predation in these “sanctuary cities” is minimal.

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bagging ‘fast food’ in a texas field

story by Joe Doggett adapt well to civilization—assuming the parking lots and strip centers are rimmed with suitable swatches of trees and bushes.

Towns west and southwest of San Antonio such as Castroville, Hondo, D’Hanis, Sabinal and Uvalde pretty much occupy Ground Zero for this seasonal phenomenon.

The whitewings descend on the feeding fields not in singles and doubles and scattered small bunches, but in waves of hundreds—no, thousands. It’s a spectacle for hunters unaccustomed to witnessing such abundance.

And, as a refreshing tradition, the seasonal influx of hunt-

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ers is embraced by the various towns. The dollars spent on motels, restaurants, fuel and supplies are a definite spike in each local economy. Most of the whitewing hunts are conducted by day-hunt operations leasing access to the feeding fields. The cost usually is between $75 and $200, depending on services provided (some outfitters provide post-hunt barbeques).

For example, I hunted last season with a group of Houston-area hunters at a day-lease operation near Hondo.

We had access to an uncut sunflower field that extended for miles, one of several in the region.

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The In-N-Out hunter catches white wings coming and going.

Come along on a typical In-And-Out whitewing hunt: After checking in and providing hunting license information and signing the obligatory waivers, you drive caravan-style with other assembled groups along the intercept perimeter of the field. Vehicles are parked at regular intervals along the thornbrush and trees rimming the field.

The whitewing hunt can be a casual affair, with open tailgates and eager dogs and excited hunters. Camouflage sometimes is not taken too seriously. The birds are coming and that’s that.

One advantage to this type of hunt is that you seldom are far from your support vehicle—extra shells, water bottles, sunscreens are within close reach. Each group has a designated area and, for reasons of safety and courtesy, hunters are discouraged from ranging too far. Most large day-hunt outfitters prohibit shooters from stationing too far out in the field; first, for safety, second, to allow flocks to settle and feed.

You grab your gear and walk about 30 or 40 yards into the cut-grass edge of the sunflowers. It’s a rookie mistake to set up too tight to the tree-lined perimeter, where you are “brushed out” and unable to see the incoming flocks until they sail past—a terrible twisting moment almost certain to produce a red-faced miss.

You position your shooting stool alongside a bale of hay and wipe your amber shooting glasses; the wraparound shades are not just a high-contrast aid in tracking targets, but a smart safety accessory in a crowded dove field. You raise the shotgun and practice a few swings. All shots at the incomers are to be taken at high angles, and never low

to the left or right down the long line of parked vehicles and waiting hunters.

The sky is empty, save for dragonflies, during the first 30 minutes, and the lack of activity under the September sun is just long enough to instill a bit of impatience.

The flight begins as a trickle then the first high flocks appear as dots riding the stiff south wind.

Muffled pop-pop-pops announce the passage father down the line.

This “In” stanza offers the greatest challenge; many flocks are passing overhead at 50 or 60 yards, maximum range for your full-choked gun. Your first three or four shots are behind and you fail to cut a feather.

Settle down; concentrate on proper gun mount, smooth swing and sustained follow through—there you go! A leading bird crumples amid a quick puff and falls straight, bouncing off the cut grass for an easy retrieve.

You admire the mature whitewing; it is chunkier and larger than the average mourning dove, a prime candidate for the grill.

The next flock takes you to school. The incomers cross the trees at maximum shooting altitude then begin descending, dropping for the sunflowers, weaving and rocking and hurtling through your zone.

What began as a serious full-choke swing collapses into an improved-cylinder quick draw in the time it takes to shoulder the gun.

The flaring doves scatter past like shrapnel and your mental weapons tracking system overloads. You can’t pick a target from the melee. Sheepishly, you lower the unfired shotgun.

A guy down the way waves his gun in futile salute. Buddy, you ain’t the only one.

Those jetting incomers falling out of the sky and whipping past are a confounding shot.

The “In” stanza slows after about an hour.

Most of the birds have settled into the sea of sunflowers that stretches in the soft glow to the west. You unbuckle the King Ranch-type belt bag and take stock. Eleven whitewings are plumped into the rear pouch and you are five shells into your second box.

You retreat to the tailgate for a fresh bottle of water and to dump the red empties into a bucket. Roughly a one-for-three average, not too bad, considering the shaky start. The keen shooters are finished with full 15-dove limits; but others, like you, lack several birds.

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You are one of the lucky ones. You get to partake in the “Out” stanza. Conversely, the cool hand under a hot flight might be “limited” in 20 or 30 minutes. In this, the In-AndOut whitewing field might be too much of a good thing.

Better to take your time and enjoy the experience and leave a few to prolong the action as the fed-out flocks begin filtering from the field. Of course, this is a calculated gamble that the flocks will adhere to the scouted flight lines.

The “Out” session is the flip side. You return to your hay bale, but turn 180 degrees to face the sunflowers. Ragged waves of whitewings are lifting from the distant rows and boring in, elevating slightly as they climb to cross the tree line and return to roost. It’s a pretty sight, with the bold white slashes on wings and tails flashing in the late-afternoon sun.

Most of the shots again are at incomers, but the birds are low and slow—well, maybe not exactly slow, just not as fast as those high ones racing across open sky. And they are slipping and sliding, dipping and flaring as you raise the gun.

Many chances are close, inside 30 or 35 yards. Indeed, if you have a selection of chokes, you might want to switch to modified or improved cylinder. Or, if you have a trim little 20 or 28 gauge stashed as a backup in the vehicle, now is an excellent time to give it a workout.

Stay focused and keep it all out front over the safe ground of the open field. Be wary of birds passing high overhead. The slanting fall might carry behind, into the brushy tangles of the perimeter. Chances are, a fence is back there somewhere.

If the shot isn’t what you want, let it go and wait for another. The lulls under a strong flight are seldom long.

A low bunch clears the sunflower stalks and approaches your stand. You position your feet and wait. The whitewings start to break to the right at 30 yards, and the gun comes up. You swing through a trailing bird and see it fold, then pass through a prominent leader and watch it topple—a clean double to round out the 15-bird pouch!

Whether you concentrate on the “In” or the “Out,” or combine the two, the feeding fields scattered across South Texas can offer an amazing bounty for whitewing hunters during early fall.

PHOTO: JOE DOGGETT

8/8/16 4:55 PM

Bare Bones HUNTING

by LOU MARULLO :: TF&G Hunting Editor

Final Checklist is Paramount for Success mean you simply have to move the rest slightly one way or the other. Another reason might be that the arrow you are using is too light for the bow and a different spine is required. One of my friends changed his arrows to a stiffer arrow, and it solved the problem.

Regardless what the issue is, the bottom line is that if you do not have a perfect arrow hole through that paper, and you cannot fix it easily, you must bring your bow to a professional bow shop to locate the problem. If your bow checks out to be tuned perfectly and you still are not

“ Your bow should be in tip top shape.

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INALLY! IT IS TIME TO TRY your luck at a whitetail deer with your bow.

Even though more and more Texans have decided to take the challenge to take a deer with a bow and arrow, it would be a rare thing to see another hunter in the woods while bow hunting. That is one of the attractions of this sport. Another is the fact that the deer have had no hunting pressure in months, and they have no idea that they are about to have a bad day.

If you are one of those hunters who choose to take on that bow hunting challenge, then it is most important that you are well prepared for that “moment of truth”, when the shot of a lifetime presents itself.

Any ethical hunter would take it upon him or herself to be sure of the shot. That means not only some last minute practicing, but it also means you need to pay attention to the small details. Your bow should be in tip-top shape.

Some tweaking may be required.

One of the ways to make a final check on your bow set up is to shoot a few arrows through paper. Paper tuning a bow can tell you a lot and give you the confidence you need.

It does not cost a penny to grab a cardboard box and tape a paper target on the opening of the box.

You should be close to the target when you paper- tune your bow. Less than 10 feet is perfect. A field tip on your arrow is all you need.

Your objective is to have a perfect circle on the target with three small slits where the fletching goes through. If you find that the hole is not perfect but instead, has high or low tear on the paper, that could mean your nocking point is not at a perfect 90 degrees with the bowstring. It could also mean that the cams need to be adjusted a little.

If the tears are to the right or left, it might

happy with the results of paper tuning, then the only cause must be your shooting form itself.

You may be gripping the bow too tight, which would cause the arrow to fly right or left. You may be dropping your bow hand instead of following through and keeping it straight on target after the shot. This might cause the arrow to fly off the rest awkwardly.

That, in turn, could cause your arrow to fishtail toward the target. A bad nocking point will also cause the fishtailing. Either way, you will lose penetrating power, which could result in a wounded and lost deer.

This is also the time to make sure all of your hunting clothes are washed and free of human odor. I personally use the Scent Killer Gold product line from Wildlife Research Center. I believe in this product. It works and it works well.

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I have field tested it and purposely have hunted with no concern about wind direction.

More than once have had deer walk right to me. I know it works.

First, I wash my camo clothes with Scent Killer detergent, and hang them out on the line to dry. I have heard that the Scent Killer dryer sheets work well, but cannot attest to them personally. I prefer to let nature dry my clothes.

Once my clothes are dry, I spray them down with Scent Killer Gold. Once that is dry, they will be scent free for 10 days before they need to be sprayed again.

I bring a small spray bottle of Scent Killer Gold with me in my backpack. Once I am secure in the tree stand, I spray myself down and I spray my bow, quiver and backpack as well.

I like to store my hunting camo in an airtight plastic container. I take it a step farther and tape a couple of earth scent wafers on the inside of the plastic container for added concealment.

As I have said many times before, I respect the nose of that whitetail deer. Although I know nothing will take away 100 percent of human odor, I do everything I can to help eliminate human odor as much as possible.

Okay—your bow is set up, you are shooting great and you have prepared your clothes for a scent-free hunt. Now all you need is for the deer to cooperate.

Oh, I almost forgot, make sure you get those odd jobs that the wife has been pestering—I mean asking—you to do, and get them done.

It might be a good idea to plan a nice get-away weekend or a nice fancy dinner— or both.

We all know how much time away from home hunting seasons involve. Having an understanding wife is a huge plus.

Now that my wife has left the room and has stopped reading my last paragraph—remember the immortal words of Confucius. “Happy Wife…happy life!”

Have fun and hunt safe out there.

Email Lou Marullo at ContactUs@fishgame.com |

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EVER MIND THAT SUMmer is waning and cooler weather is on the way. The main thing I love about fall bass fishing is its close ties with Texas hunting seasons.

Don’t get me wrong. I like catching bass during any season of the year. But fall is particularly inviting because it comes at a time when many anglers are prone to swap their flipping sticks for scatterguns and head to the woods instead of the water.

This equates to significantly less boat traffic and fewer lines in the water at a time of year that typically packs some outstanding bass fishing prospects on lakes across Texas.

The spike in fishing quality is spurred largely by fall cool fronts. The fronts usually start out mild and gradually increase with frequency and intensity as winter approaches.

This factor, coupled with shorter days and longer nights, causes a gradual decrease in water temperatures.

These changes always bring out the bully in largemouths. Some experts believe it’s a feel-good thing. Others contend the aggressive behavior occurs because the fish can sense the changing seasons. With winter just around the corner, they say fall triggers bass to gorge themselves to stack on a little extra body fat before the colder and nastier weather of winter arrives.

I’m certainly no expert on bass and bass behavior, but I know a bunch of guys who are. I recently caught up a few of those anglers and asked them to share some tips to help Texas Fish & Game readers boost their chances of catching greater numbers and quality of fish on some the state’s top-ranked bass lakes. Here’s what they had to say:

LAKE: Amistad ANGLER: Ray Hanselman THE FISHERY: After going through a multi-year down cycle resulting from low water and an onslaught of heavy fishing pressure, Lake Amistad’s bass fishery and habitat have bounced back in a really big way over the last couple of years.

“The lake is in great shape,” said Hanselman, a Del Rio native and tournament pro who guides on the lake. “We’ve got hydrilla growing out to 30 feet in several creeks up and down the lake from San Pedro to Marker 17 up the Rio Grande and pepper grass in 15 feet. It’s fairly common to catch

50 bass per day with your heaviest five weighing around 20 pounds. On a really good day they’ll weigh 24-25 pounds.”

Going For Numbers: Hanselman recommends throwing a weightless jerk bait or Strike King hollow-body frog around shallow pepper grass beds. He recommends covering as much water as possible and targeting underwater points and other structure that provides some sort of change in bottom contour.

Going For Big Ones: Flipping heavy creature baits and jigs along the outside edges of hydrilla beds in 20-25 feet of water is the primary order of the day. The guide added that Texas rig plastics cast to outside grass edges also will work.

LAKE: Lake O’ The Pines ANGLER: Jim Tutt THE FISHERY: Lake O’ the Pines is chockfull of fish in the four- to eight-pound range.

It has been been on fire for most of the summer with several five-fish tournament sacks being reported that top 25-30 pounds. Local bass pro Jim Tutt says he expects the 18,700acre lake near Longview to keep on kicking out quality as well as big numbers right on through fall. “’Pines fishes incredibly good during the fall,” Tutt said. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary to catch 100 fish on a good day, but you might catch 150 on really good day. A lot of those fish will b 13-15 inchers, but you will also have a good chance to catch several good ones if you throw the right baits and employ the right tactics.”

Going For Numbers: Tutt recommends throwing a 3 1/2 Skinny Dipper swim bait (pearl), frog or a small topwater like a Yellow Magic or Pop-R along the edges of lily pads, hydrilla and other forms of vegetation that line underwater drains and sloughs feeding the Big Cypress Bayou river channel.

Going For Big Ones: Big topwaters like a Zara Spook or Sammy fished in relation to grassy flats can be deadly. Day in and day out, Tutt says a deep-diving crankbait worked along Big Cypress channel swings is tough to beat.

LAKE: Lake Falcon ANGLER: Charlie Haralson THE FISHERY: Like Amistad, Falcon’s bass fishery has bounced back with a vengeance following a multi-year down cycle spurred by extreme drought and low water.

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“It’s not quite as good as it was back in the day, but it’s not far off,” says Falcon big stick Charlie Haralson of Del Rio. “My guess it will be by next year, though, provided they don’t release all of the water out of it. There’s a ton of fish in Falcon right now, but if the lake gets too low, the bass will wipe out their forage and starve out again.”

Haralson says the Texas/Mexico border lake produced some whopper tournament sacks over the summer, including a pair of 42-pound weights in a two-day event that allowed anglers to weigh in three fish per day.

“It’s fairly common to catch 50 plus fish per day and have your heaviest five weigh 30 plus,” Haralson said. “That’s pretty good fishing by any standard.”

Going For Numbers: Haralson says casting a six-inch Big Bite Trick Stick (Prime Rib pattern) to the outer edges of isolated bushes on point or rocky/gravel points in 2 to 15 feet of water is a great way to run up the score with one- to three-pound fish. “It’ll catch some giants, too,” Haralson said. “There are going to be a lot of fish relating to the bushes.

What I like about is it is a pattern you can run all over the lake and fish fresh water all day.”

Going For Big Ones: Casting or flipping around flooded mesquites, huisache and hardwoods is always a good bet provided the bottom doesn’t fall out of the lake. Haralson also pointed to offshore ledges along the main river channels and major creeks as good places to catch bass weighing upwards of 10 pounds.

LAKE: Toledo Bend ANGLER: Tommy Martin THE FISHERY: Voted America’s No. 1 bass lake by Bassmaster for the last two consecutive years, Toledo Bend continues to shock the imagination of anglers around the country as it cranks out world class bass, and lots of them, at 49 years of age.

“Toledo Bend is full of fish, no doubt about it,” says veteran fishing guide and tournament pro Tommy Martin of Hemphill. “It has always been a great lake, but it has been producing a lot of really big fish over the last couple of years along with some outstanding tournament weights. It’s gotten a lot of publicity because of that.”

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ing the previous 12 months. Also in May, Bassmaster icon Kevin VanDam won a fourday Elite Series event there with more than 96 pounds on 20 fish.

Going for Numbers: Martin says fall is when armies of bass gang up along channel ledges and other main lake structure in water ranging 15 to 35 feet. He named the dropshot rig matched with a Zoom Finesse Worm as one the best ways to catch them.

“It’s deadly,” Martin said. “You won’t catch a lot of big fish doing it, but you can wear the one- to three-pounders out. They’ll be running in massive schools, but you’ll need to spend some time looking with good electronics to find them.”

Going For Big Ones: The guide says the odds of catching trophy class bass in the fall are always best in shallow water around vegetation such as lily pads, pepper grass, torpedo grass and hydrilla.

“The water always starts cooling off after we get a couple of fronts, and big ones always move shallow,” Martin said. “Places where there is shallow water near deeper water are always best.”

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frogs (buzz and hollow body), big topwaters like a Zara Spook or Whopper Plopper and a buzz bait. “You can also catch some big ones flipping around the vegetation from time to time.”

LAKE: Sam Rayburn ANGLER: Todd Driscoll THE FISHERY: If there is a Texas lake that has withstood the test of time as well as Toledo Bend, it would have to be Sam Rayburn. At 51 years of age, “Big Sam” continues to kick out impressive numbers and quality alike despite receiving a tremendous amount of pressure from weekend crowds and fishing derbies that bring thousands of anglers to the area each year.

In June, it took 31.64 pounds on five fish to win the Bass Champs Shootout. Ten other teams in the event topped the 25-pound mark and another eight teams cracked 20 pounds. Big fish of the tournament event was a 10.52-pounder. The big lake also produced a 12-pounder in a big bass event last April.

Going for Numbers: Local fisheries biologist and tournament angler Todd Driscoll of Brookeland anticipates a strong offshore bite

around hard bottom structure during fall.

Main lake points, ledges, humps and ridges in 18 to 25 feet of water are among the best places to look. The biologist added that brush piles also could be major players. Best baits include drop shots, spoons, Carolina rigs, deep diving crankbaits and football jigs.

Going For Big Ones: Although there could be some whoppers roaming offshore, a lot of the better quality fish come shallow this time of year. They’ll loiter around shoreline torpedo grass (commonly called hay grass), pond weed and lily pads situated on points, near channels or drops that offer easy access to deeper water. New growth hydrilla that began showing up in the backs of major and secondary creeks also could be a player.

Good bait choices include frogs, buzz baits, magnum topwaters, Texas rigs crankbaits and Chatterbaits.

8/8/16 5:19 PM

Texas FRESHWATER

by MATT WILLIAMS :: TF&G Freshwater Editor

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HERE ARE A PASSEL OF great bass lakes in Texas, but none are ringing the bell with bass fishing buffs these days like Toledo Bend—not even close.

Never mind that Bassmaster Magazine has ranked the big lake along the Texas/Louisiana border the best bass lake in all of America for the last two consecutive years. Fishermen like to see results, and there has been plenty of proof in the puddin’ to illustrate T-Bend’s current stature as Texas’s top-ranked muscle lake.

In May, Michigan bass pro Kevin VanDam caught 20 bass averaging nearly five pounds to win the four-day Bassmaster Elite Series event with 96 pounds, 5 ounces. What made KVD’s 21st career Bassmaster win even more stunning is it came during the post spawn under abnormally high water conditions that had the fish in somewhat of a funk.

Just prior to the tournament, a YouTube video surfaced online. It showed Lane and Hunter Martin of Paulina, Louisiana, boating an army of melon-shaped bass off a single spot. Their heaviest five fish totaled more than 42.97 pounds— a better than eight-pound average.You can see the phenomenal trip unfold at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bBlpKVLOPpM. That’s remarkable stuff. However, the most impressive evidence of all came in the form of a massive display of trophy bass replicas set up at Cypress Bend Resort. The display was part of the Sealy Outdoors 30th Annual Big Bass Splash held May 20-22.

The replicas—139 of them—represented the final tally of heavyweight bass entered in the 2015-16 Toledo Bend Lunker Program.

Run by the Toledo Bend Lake Association, the program encourages anglers to bring any bass weighing 10 pounds or more to a designated weigh station around the lake. The bass

will be weighed on certified scales. If the official weight is 10 pounds or more and the fish is healthy, the angler is eligible for a free fiberglass replica provided the bass is tagged and released alive back into the lake. The program runs for 12 months, beginning and ending in mid-May. Initiated in 1992 by the Sabine River Authority, the TBLP has since awarded nearly 800 replicas. It also has generated a ton of publicity for the big lake through newspapers, magazines and social media, especially over the last couple of years.

The 2015-16 lunker season rolled to a close on the heels of a second consecutive recordbreaking year. According to TBLP figures, 139 bass were officially entered in the program between May 15, 2015 and May 19, 2016—58 fish more than the previous year.

Included were 93 fish in the 10 pound class, 31 11 pounders, a dozen 12 pounders, two 13 pounders and a 14.16 pounder that was the biggest fish of the year.

According to data compiled by TBLA president John Toliver, 13 of the fish rank among Top 100 heaviest T-Bend bass ever documented. Toliver added that roughly 70 percent (98) of the 139 entries were turned in by Louisiana anglers and 25 percent (36) by Texas anglers.

Out-of-staters accounted for five entries.

Interestingly, Toliver said more than a dozen of the entries turned out to be fish that were caught and turned in by anglers during previous lunker years. One of the bass was caught three different times in the same general vicinity by three different anglers, all within the last year. Program officials know this because every fish turned in is tagged for future identification.

The TBLP data also shows that the four months spanning January through April were the most productive months for catching big T-Bend bass in 2015-16. According to Toliver, 98 of the 139 entries were caught during that period. March was the most productive month with 48 entries, followed by February (21) April (14) and January (12).

If all this stuff sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The TLBA didn’t invent the wheel with its lunker program. They just modified it a little.

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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been gathering similar data and more for 30 years. The Toyota ShareLunker program uses bigger fish from a lot more lakes under a significantly more scientific format.

The TPWD program is open to bass weighing 13 pounds or more caught from any Texas lake between October 1 and April 30. A major difference between the two programs is TPWD takes temporary possession of each fish.

If genetic testing determines fish has pure Florida genes, biologists attempt to spawn it in hatchery raceways. Otherwise, the fish is returned to the angler who caught it.

Texas scientists originally believed the ShareLunker program might help unravel some of the mysteries behind big bass genetics.

The idea was ultimately to produce bigger and better bass for anglers to catch. To date, there isn’t much evidence to show that those efforts have had much success.

However, ShareLunker has been a great public relations tool to promote the quality of bass fishing Texas has to offer. The program helped make Lake Fork famous, and it put dozens of other Texas lakes on the map for bass junkies looking for a big bite.

According to Toliver, public relations and luring more bass anglers to Toledo Bend to experience the great fishing the lake has to offer is among the the main focuses of the TBLP. “It’s definitely adding to the economy around the lake,” Toliver said. “That’s what this area needs very badly. It’s a big plus, because it’s bringing a lot of fishermen to the lake.”

Toliver says the program’s free replica/live release policy also has some serious benefits because it encourages anglers to release trophy bass that might otherwise be kept for skin mounting.

“In general, our goal is for these fish to be released back into the lake to spawn and ultimately to be caught again,” he said. “We know it works, because we had 14 fish turned in this year that had been previously entered in the program.”

Email Matt Williams at ContactUs@fishgame.com |

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Deer Rifles to Distractions

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HE MAGIC MOMENT HAD ARRIVED. As the sun began to disappear behind the limestone-covered hills of Llano County a nice six-point buck slipped down the fence line south of us.

The six-strand barbed-wire divide kept sheep in one pasture and goats in the other and connected an oak grove to a creek bottom. It was a perfect place to intercept a deer and my 12-year-old heart was beating like a bass drum.

As I raised the rifle and lined up the sights with the buck’s shoulder, I squeezed the trigger and the buck fell. I had taken my first buck. My father and I could not have been happier.

That scene played out like it did Teaching kids to shoot from because of one thing—preparation. different positions will greatly help them. Here Lauren Nothing about this hunt came by Williams practices from a chance other than the buck deciding ground blind with the CZ 527 to come out before dark.

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With our children distracted by electronic devices and related entertainment, it is vital we treat their hunting experience in strategic fashion. Attention to detail counts. If we want to choose the deer lease over Pokémon Go, then we need to pass this crucial exam and do so with flying colors.

RIFLE SELECTION: You don’t want to send a 10-year-old out into the field with a

Take your kid with you to the gun shop to select a rifle, and make sure it is a good fit. Let your kid ask questions and handle the rifle.

PRACTICAL PRACTICE: Plenty of practice time is crucial. Taking the kids to the gun range, deer lease or wherever you shoot is absolutely vital. Children must be confident with their rifle and have zero fear of it. They must also prepare for the kind of shooting Don’t snub your nose at does. Most kids will be just as happy taking a bald-headed deer as a monster buck.

the kids to bring something to keep them distracted. On a cold day, the dreaded electronic devices can keep them focused on something besides getting back to camp.

Allow them a certain amount of time on the device, book or whatever they bring—maybe 15 minutes every hour so they don’t go stir crazy. Remember you want them to enjoy the whole experience.

SCOUTING: Kids love the idea of finding animal sign in the woods. We have taken kids in the woods many times to simply look for tracks. It becomes like solving a mystery to them. Take them out to the location you plan to hunt and include them in your hunt preparations.

QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD: My first true deer hunts were on a day lease in Llano County called the Winkle Ranch. Since we saved up all year to go and only had three days, we hunted the whole day. That means no lunch break or anything on most days.

That might be your only option, but if you can take a kid out for a couple of hours in the morning and then back for the same period in the evening, you will be doing a great service. Kids get bored easily. Making their time in the wild, a sacred time requires some sacrifices.

.300 Magnum to down their first deer. First off, they probably will not make it past the first shot at the practice range when the blast rattles their eardrums.

A .223, .243 or similar caliber is a much better option. With today’s higher quality ammunition, you can get something of a higher grade than was available when I was kid.

It depends on your kid’s size and maturity level. Rifles in these calibers offer minimal recoil and will greatly reduce the chance of your kid flinching and making a bad shot.

An absolutely crucial point is that adultsized guns usually have a pull length of 14-15 inches, which is just too long for most kids.

The CZ 527 Youth Carbine is a fine example of a rifle fit for kids with a 12.75-inch pull length of pull.

you will need to do in the field.

If you use sandbags and a comfy rest at the deer lease, but hunt with shooting sticks and a pop-up blind in the national forest, then the chance of success takes a nosedive. Have them shoot from the kinds of positions and gear they will use on the big day.

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BIOLOGY LESSON: Don’t assume your child knows exactly why a well-placed shot just behind the shoulder is the optimal one to take. Use the Internet to show them deer body diagrams and explain why certain shots are better than others.

A well-informed kid will be a confident one.

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BALDIES COUNT: The first deer I ever shot was a doe. The buck mentioned in this story came right after that. I was just as excited about the doe because I had taken the step from being someone who daydreamed about deer hunting to actually taking a deer.

Don’t bother a kid with Boone & Crockett scores and trophy hunting terminology. If you hunt in an area where doe hunting is permitted, let them take a doe.

Explain to them a vital key to managing a deer herd is to take does as well as bucks.

They will not only get some great meat, but help the herd.

I was so impressed with this concept after taking my first deer I did my sixth grade science project on deer management and doe harvest. I got an honorable mention.

Celebrate even the does because chances are your kid will see them first.

PREPARING THE MEAL: Let the kids know that you plan to eat the deer, and let them choose how they want that first meal cooked. Maybe they want to have it with

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THE CZ 527 YOUTH CARBINE WITH A 12.75-INCH LENGTH OF pull, small pistol grip with a tight radius and a thin forend, this Youth Carbine makes an ideal first deer rifle. Chambered in .223 and 7.62×39, both cartridges are more than capable of taking Texas whitetails, and they deliver little perceived recoil compared to many youth offerings on the market.

Paired with a micro-Mauser action and single set trigger, a standard carbine stock can be added as the shooter grows, so its small size won’t relegate it to the back of the safe a few years down the road.

Interestingly, built to CIP specifications, the .223s will happily eat 5.56, since CIP doesn’t differentiate between

the two cartridges and just has the higher pressure as its standard. So this .223 will shoot

their whole family present. If that’s not possible at deer camp, make a big deal out of it at home.

If it is possible to cook at camp, have all of the ingredients ready to go and cook it that night or maybe for lunch if the deer is taken in the morning. We should all grow up with “If we shoot it we eat it” hunting ethic.

allows me to unwind from the high volume, super intense world of rock and roll. And it can be a sanctuary for kids out there, a place to feel at peace and never be an outcast.

Those first deer hunts can literally lead kids to a better life.”

They certainly did for me.

Seventh grader Lauren Williams enjoyed training with the CZ 527 Youth Carbine.

USE THE YOUTH-ONLY SEASON: The Youth-Only Season in Texas offers a wonderful opportunity to take kids on their first hunt.

In East Texas it falls perfectly in line with the rut. We get dozens of photos of kids with big bucks they took during this special hunt. In other areas it allows young hunters to get a shot at deer before the rifle hunting pressure arrives. That means less jittery deer and a higher chance of success.

KEEPING IT IN PERSPECTIVE: TF&G Editor-At-Large and all-around hunting legend Ted Nugent says to keep things in perspective when it comes to taking kids on their first hunt.

“It isn’t rocket science. No this is far more important,” Nugent said.

“Make the day about them and about your family roots and connecting with nature in a profound way. Hunting has been a Godsend for me because it

PHOTOS: ABOVE, CHESTER MOORE; BELOW, LOUIS GARRET; OPPOSITE, BIGSTOCK

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everything from the cheapest Russian steel to match ammo.

That way you can practice without breaking the bank.

—Chester Moore

Ryder Garrett got his first buck using his dad’s .270 while hunting in south Texas with his father Louis Garrett and uncle Daniel Prukop.

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Along with other outdoors excursions with my Dad, Chester Moore, Sr. and my uncle Jackie Moore, both now upgraded to a Heavenly existence, those deer hunts showed me I could do it. I could really go hunting and be a success.

Those first deer hunts occurred at a rough time in my life when I faced bullying and other issues in school. It was a time when I was questioning my place in this world.

But because I was able to travel beyond the pavement and find there were great adventures in the deer woods and beyond, the young me found inspiration.

It just happened to be on that trip that I read my first copy of Texas Fish and Game. Little did I know I would one day be writing for them, much less be the editor-in-chief.

Maybe it was destiny.

That is the kind of thing deer hunting can offer a kid. What might seem like just a hunt, graduates them from dreamer to doer and from deer hunter to deer conservationist.

Let’s make sure we teach them right.

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AKE NO MIStake about it, the speckled trout is the most important saltwater fish on the

Texas coast.

Catching trout is what drives most Texas anglers to spend their spare

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time braving brutal heat, dangerous thunderstorms and wading in stingray and shark-inhabited waters.

In the Texas Outdoor Nation we are proud of all things Texas and thought it would be interesting to see what science has to say about Texas’s speckled trout population.

Check out these facts….

A study conducted by Gary

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Matlock and William Baker found that trout tagged in northwest Trinity Bay did not frequent East or West Galveston Bay. “Fish moved toward the Gulf of Mexico in late spring and summer, perhaps to feed or as part of a spawning migration. Then they returned to the tagging site in the fall. The possibility of one population and a spatial PHOTO: CHESTER MOORE

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separation of fish into at least two estuarine groups cannot be eliminated.”

This fits with other evidence uncovered by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD).

They found that trout spend most of their lives within five miles of where they were born. Nearly 90 percent of all fish recovered in a tagging program came from the same bay in which they were tagged.

Although many trout move into deeper water during cold weather, there is no scientific evidence of a winter migration to the Gulf.

Research shows that some fish may move to the Gulf to escape blowing northers. However, this is temporary, and the fish return once weather abates.

A study by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) report shows that one researcher tagged more than 2,600 trout and received 50 returns. Of these, 20 came from the release point. Similar findings were reported by researcher Rogillio with 98 percent of the returns coming within 1.5 kilometers of the release point.

Their report details that in Texas, of 20,912 tagged trout released in Texas marine waters, 1,367 were recaptured. About 84 percent were caught in the same bay where released; eight percent were caught in another bay; and five were recaptured in the Gulf. Of 588 spotted seatrout tagged in the Gulf surf, 14 were recaptured, 12 in

the Gulf and two in Texas bays.

Researcher Laura Payne wrote a thesis on trout migration within the Laguna Madre system.

“Anecdotal information suggests that spotted seatrout migrate from near-shore waters into bays to spawn and that these migratory fish may sustain populations of spotted seatrout within the Laguna Madre system. To further explore spotted seatrout movement patterns both laboratory tagging trials and acoustic tracking technology was employed to investigate movement patterns on a large scale.”

In the study a total of 81 spotted seatrout were captured via hook and line between December 2009 and October 2010 and implanted with acoustic tags: 31 within bay waters, 30 fish from surf zones, and 20 live-release tournament fish.

“We found an overall minimal survival rate of 70 percent between angler recaptures and receiver detections. Many long distance travels were recorded and movement patterns varied greatly.

“Seventy-five percent of fish tagged in surf waters were detected on our receivers in tidal inlets, and two fish from the Upper Laguna Madre were detected leaving the Laguna into CC Bay. “These data suggest Gulf-bay and inter-bay mixing of spotted seatrout populations. The high percentage of angler recaptures validates previous studies that determined catch-and-release practices are viable to help maintain healthy fish stocks.”

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REPORT: NEWS 44 u TF&G OF THE NATION Reported by TF&G Staff

HOT 44 u TEXAS SHOTS Trophy Photos from TF&G Readers

DEPT. OF 46 u TEXAS DEFENSE

by Steve LaMasus and Dustin Ellermann

48 u TEXAS DEPT. OF CONSERVATION

by Will Leschper and Andi Cooper

52 u TEXAS COASTAL FORECAST

by Eddie Hernandez, Mike Holmes, Mike Price, Chris Martin, Mac Gable and Cal Gonzales

62 u TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

by Tom Behrens, Dustin Warncke and Dean Heffner

72 u SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK Tides and SoLunar Data

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females may release 100,000 eggs and older, larger females may release a million eggs.

Recent studies indicate that

TPWD officials have found Texas trout feed primarily on small crustaceans.

Medium-size trout feed on shrimp and small fish. Large fish feed almost

exclusively on other fish.

“Predators of the spotted seatrout include alligator gar, striped bass, Atlantic croaker, tarpon and barracuda. Spotted seatrout swim near seagrass beds of shallow bays and estuaries during spring and summer, looking for prey.

As water temperatures

Tag and release programs have revealed some interesting information on Texas’ speckled trout populations.

decline during fall, they move into deeper bay waters and the Gulf of Mexico. As water temperatures warm in the spring, the fish return to the shallows of the primary and secondary bays.

“Spotted seatrout reaches sexual maturity at one to two years. Most large spotted seatrout caught are females and commonly live to be nine or 10 years of age. Anglers long ago recognized that very large trout were usually female and appropriately called them “sow” trout.

A female spotted seatrout may spawn several times during the season. Younger Big trout are

mysterious creatures and are the most prized inland catch on the Texas coast.

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spotted seatrout spawn between dusk and dawn and usually within coastal bays, estuaries and lagoons. They prefer shallow grassy areas where eggs and larvae have some cover from predators.”

When it comes to catching trophy-sized trout, research shows salinity can be a factor.

Researchers with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have found that big trout tend to prefer water close in salinity to seawater over more brackish water.

In a Texas study, researchers found optimum salinity for trout was 20 parts per thousand (ppt). They found trout actually had difficulty maintaining swimming speed at salinities below 10 ppt, or above 45 ppt.

Salinity is an important factor as the closer an area is to the Gulf, the higher the salinity.

However there are some other factors that come into play with trout here.

Big, incoming tides bring warmer Gulf waters onto trout-friendly areas such as shallow flats along channels. With them, come baitfish. Add to this, the combination of water that is more saline, a few degrees warmer than that in the upper reaches of the system. On top of that, add high presence of mullet and other baitfish, and you have serious trophy trout potential.

As autumn arrives, anglers will catch hundreds of thousands of trout along the Texas coast. There are few things more exciting than finding diving gulls over feeding specks.

The next time you catch one, think about these fascinating facts about our Texas trout population. They are worthy of respect and appreciation.

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8/12/16 9:47 AM

The NATIONAL

News of TEXAS

Texas-Born Blue-wings? Yes, and ’Gators Eat Mottled Ducks, Too! THE VAST MAJORITY OF DUCKS (besides mottled, wood and tree ducks) are born and live their spring-summer months in the prairie pothole region of Canada and the United States.

Blue-winged teal, the first birds to migrate south are among them, but not all blue-wings are migratory. Texas actually has a small breeding population.

According to Texas Agrilife’s Texas Breeding Birds Index flightless bluewing broods have been found in Texas as early as 19 April; depending on the age of the brood, this indicates nest initiation during the second week of March or earlier. This is quite a

bit earlier than in their northern range.

Nests have been found in the Panhandle in playa lakes and along the Upper and Middle Coasts of Texas.

Hunters who report seeing teal in May and June while fishing the marshes of the state are not seeing early migrants. They are seeing birds that have settled into Texas.

According to Texas Agrilife, no surveys of breeding blue-wings are conducted in Texas; however, they are noted in various other studies.

Wood ducks also nest in Texas.

Although little research has been conducted on them here, I uncovered an

WHITETAIL

ALLIGATOR

Batesville

Port Arthur

AJ King shot his first buck (a 9-pointer!) using a 6.8 SPC on a Mini-Mauser action in a Hawaiian Mango King Kustom Thumbhole stock, built by his Uncle Richard King. He was hunting near Batesville, Texas.

interesting study from the past initiated by the biologists Miller, Whitling, Montague and Foundation.

“Although winter foods of mallards and wood ducks (have been documented in several studies, no such research has been conducted in natural bottomland hardwood forests in eastern Texas. We collected 40 mallards and 38 wood ducks and sampled available foods in eastern Texas during winters 1987-1988 and 1988-89 to study food habits and preferences. Acorns from four oak species comprised 89 percent and 99 percent of the diets of mallards and wood ducks, respectively.”

“Nuttall oak acorns made up 67 percent of the diet of each species both years. Seeds of holly and willow oak acorns were favored by mallards and wood ducks, respectively; preferences overlapped widely among potential foods,

Eleven-year-old Bo Wienhold shot this seven-foot alligator in Port Arthur with his dad, Gus Wienhold. They were picked through the TPWD drawn hunt program. It was the first gator for them both!

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Male blue-winged teal

however. Although bottomland systems provide critical habitat for wintering waterfowl…”

STRIPED BASS East Galveston Bay A.D. (Skipper) Harvell caught this nice 27-inch striped bass in East Galveston Bay. Yes, East Galveston BAY. Stripers are, after all, a saltwater species, but are rarely caught on the Texas coast.

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An article in Southeastern Naturalist reported on a study by Ruth M. Elsey, Phillip L. Trosclair III and Jeb T. Linscombe on alligator predation of mottled ducks.

“Although the alligator has been noted to prey upon mottled ducks, evidence of mottled duck consumption is rare in numerous studies of alligator food habits. This may be due to the season and habitat from which alligators were collected for evaluation (often autumn samples from deep water habitats preferred by adult alligators). We examined stomach contents of alligators in summer (when mottled duck broods and molting adults are flightless) from shallow water habitats preferred by mottled ducks.

“Mottled duck remains were found in 20.9 percent of 43 alligator stomachs examined, far more than the highest frequency occurrence previously reported (1.27 percent).

Unexpectedly, three relatively small alligators (1.51–1.70 m total length) consumed mottled ducks, and the sixteen largest alligators did not. This study underscores the importance of season and location of collections when evaluating stomach content data.”

Speaking of mottled ducks, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) they outfitted mottled ducks with small transmitters that allow biologists to track the T E X A S

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movements of individual birds for up to five years. In 2011 biologists tracked more than 120 individual birds.

“The results indicate that mottled ducks, which normally avoid open water, have begun spending extended time offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists suspect habitat loss and saltwater intrusion, both a result of coastal development, may be forcing the ducks out of their wetland habitats. Coastal research in other regions shows similar trends, indicating the problem may be more than just local.

Studies such as this help biologists and land managers better understand the issues and how to address them for the benefit of the mottled duck and other species that are also dependent on wetlands.”

“The mottled duck is considered an indicator species for coastal marsh and wetland health by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This species of waterfowl is increasingly less common along the Texas Gulf Coast, with population levels currently gauged to be 17 percent below the goal numbers established by the Gulf Coast Joint Venture for Texas as necessary for a stable population.”

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TEXAS Dept. of

:: Self Defense :: Tactical :: Training Tips

by DUSTIN ELLERMANN and TF&G STAFF

:: Gear

Surviving Texas-Size Stings AS WE HAVE EXAMINED OVER THE last couple of months, defending oneself in Texas is not just a matter of surviving car jackings or home invasion. You must also contend with wildlife.

Some of the most insidious are small in stature but produce Texas-sized stings.

For starters, nothing frightens me more in the wilds of Texas than bees, particularly the deadly Africanized “killer” bees. These bees are spreading and have firmly established populations in the Brush Country and part of the Trans-Pecos and Hill Country.

The sting of one bee might only cause some pain (unless you’re allergic) but the wrath of a swarm could spell death.

In the spring of 2003, I had a truly frightening bee experience. While using a box call

Tactical Air-Gunning A VALUABLE TOOL THAT NEEDS TO be in every shooter’s training regimen is an air gun clone of his defensive pistol.

There seems to be an airsoft or steel BB twin for every popular model pistol.

Obtaining one gives you flexibility in training. For instance, I know several ranges that won’t allow shooters to draw from the holster on the firing line, but 46 |

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to lure in a lonely gobbler, I heard what I literally thought was a low-flying plane in the distance. All of a sudden, a shadow passed overhead and I looked up to see a massive swarm of bees less than 30 feet up. I remained calm, said a little prayer, and watched the huge swarm pass by.

After talking with ranch officials, I learned the Africanized kind is present in the area, and thanked God the swarm did not sense how frightened I was. In fact, I was filming a segment of a television program and once the bees moved a great distance, I told the cameraman to hit record.

“They say bees can smell fear,” I said.

“That’s not true!” the cameraman replied.

“I was just more frightened than I have ever been as about 10,000 bees flew over our heads.”

A few years before, I guided my father on a hunt for red deer out in Kerr County. After bagging a big eight-pointer, we hoisted it into a strong oak and began to skin it. Suddenly, thousands of bees moved in, started buzzing all around us, and began to cover the animal.

Dad backed his truck up under the deer, I cut the hoist down, and we moved more than a mile away.

Arizona State University researchers say

most Africanized honeybee attacks can be traced to some provocation. It might be a kid tossing a stone at the hive, or some noise or vibration, such as that of a lawn mower, weed eater or tractor “Once disturbed by something, Africanized honey bees can range quite far from the source of irritation, attacking anything that looks threatening.

Once the bees get riled up, the most important thing to do is run away as fast as possible. Do not try to retrieve belongings nearby. Do not try to stand still in an attempt to fool the bees.

That might work with a snake under certain circumstances, but honeybees won’t be impressed. Do not try to fight the bees. They have the advantage of numbers and the gift of flight. The more you flail your arms, the madder they will get. Just run indoors as fast as possible.”

Bees can attain speeds of 12 to 15 miles per hour, “but most healthy humans can outrun them. So, run!

When you run, keep running! Africanized honey bees have been known to follow people for more than a quarter mile.”

ASU also recommends not jumping into water, as the bees will wait for you to come

this is a big part of defensive pistol training.

However, practicing with a matching air gun at home you would be able to practice your draw stroke, shooting from a retention grip and point shooting with your holster.

Of course there are a few other realistic options such as the NLT SIRT laser

trainer and some laser training cartridges that fit inside your actual handgun.

However, those can cost as much as a real firearm, and using your real handgun isn’t as safe as using an air gun.

Air gun training isn’t a replacement for live fire or even dry fire, but it is a valuable alternative for certain drills. Air pistols such as the Umarex line have good quality matches to several Beretta, Smith and Wesson, Ruger, H&K, and Walther models.

Even up close it’s difficult to tell the difference between a BB pistol and an actual firearm. This means we should treat them with the same gun safety rules

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up. Anyone who receives more than 15 stings and/or has any symptoms other than local pain and swelling should seek medical attention immediately.

Another common sting for Texas outdoor lovers is the Texas bark scorpion.

According to Texas Agrilife, scorpion stings are painful and produce local swelling and itching that may persist for several days.

“Reaction to the bite may vary based on sensitivity of the individual. Non-lethal stings may be mild to strong and produce edema (swelling), discoloration, numbness, and pain which may last for several minutes to several days. Deaths attributed to this species are not well substantiated. There are no scorpions in Texas that are considered lethal to man.”

The Mayo Clinic says scorpion stings are most serious in young children, older adults and pets.

“In the United States, healthy adults usually don’t need treatment for scorpion stings, but if your child is stung, seek immediate medical care.”

Mild signs and symptoms might include: • Pain, which can be intense • Numbness and tingling in the area around the sting • Slight swelling in the area around the sting More-severe signs and symptoms might include: • Muscle twitching or thrashing • Unusual head, neck and eye movements • Drooling • Sweating • Vomiting • High blood pressure (hypertension) or

low blood pressure (hypotension) • Accelerated heart rate (tachycardia) or irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) • Restlessness or excitability or inconsolable crying (in children) Many Texans are bitten by scorpions in their sleeping bags or in hunting cabins. A way to avoid this is to purchase an inexpensive handheld black light. All scorpions will glow a bright green when exposed to a black light. Simply shine the black light in your sleeping bag, tent and around your sleeping area, and you will detect any scorpion when the lights are out.

One of the most frightening and least known Texas stingers is the box jellyfish. In the Texas Gulf, we have the four-handed box jellyfish. A couple of years ago,Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologist Jerry Mambretti made me aware of this species.

“Our gulf sampling crew caught fourhanded box jellyfish, Chiropsalmus quadrumanus, a member of the class Cubozoa, in three separate trawl samples about two miles off McFaddin NWR beach,” Mambretti told me.

“Box jellyfish are known for the extremely potent venom produced by some species, including this species, which is normally found in the West Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf

of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean. Their sting is very venomous and dangerous to humans, especially children,” he said.

A study by William Guest noted that the species has been known to be abundant in the Matagorda Bay system since the 1950s and their presence has a lot to do with salinity levels.

“The development of a large population coincided with drought conditions and high bay salinities along the Texas Gulf coast,” Guest wrote. “When bay salinities dropped considerably in 1957 the jellyfish disappeared. The jellyfish were found to be living on or near the bottom at all times and preferred areas of soft mud.”

TPWD recommends for most jellyfish stings to splash the area with salt water. Then apply a paste of unseasoned meat tenderizer.

Don’t press the skin. The pain should go away within an hour. Regular vinegar or a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water will also work to alleviate pain.”

If you think you have been stung by a box jellyfish seek medical attention immediately.

—by Chester Moore

Remarkably similar, the bottom air gun is an Umarex airsoft pistol, the middle a Umarex steel BB air pistol. At the top is an actual Walther PPS in .40 S&W. The air guns allow safe and unique training that would be too dangerous or inconvenient with real firearms.

as actual firearms and never allow children to play with them (this is called good parenting).

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TEXAS Dept. of :: Edited by WILL LESCHPER

Staying on the Right Side of Dove Laws

Citation figures compiled by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department highlight six areas that account for the majority of mourning dove and white-winged dove violations annually. Here’s a breakdown of those and some things to think about as fall wingshooting seasons begin this month: Hunting without a license: My guess is some hunters feel the risk of being caught without the proper documentation isn’t that high. However, the cost of a license sure beats the alternative citation, and if you’re introducing someone to the pursuit, you certainly want to do it the legal and ethical way.

I would bet some hunters likely have waited until the last minute to purchase a

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T’S A SAFE ASSUMPTION THE majority of hunters are fully aware of the regulations associated with dove hunting, but there remain common violations that game wardens continue to see each September.

Most of them are easily avoidable, and in all reality, these issues rest at the heart of conservation: It’s up to responsible hunters to show youths and those who’ve never hunted how to conduct themselves legally and safely.

Dennis Neuman

Neuman to Guide Rice Stewardship DUCKS UNLIMITED RECENTLY hired Dennis Neuman to guide the Rice Stewardship efforts in the Lone Star State. A 40-year veteran of Texas Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Neuman’s experience and relationship base along the Texas Coast will help DU continue to grow working rice land conservation and rice industry partnerships.

Neuman is no stranger to working lands conservation. As District Conservationist in

Childress, Texas he spent 12 years overseeing an office with one of the highest workloads in that area. While there he directed and applied what became the Conservation Reserve Program, under which he and his staff worked with farmers to convert highly erodible crop fields to native grasses. Today many of these fields are still providing abun-

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license only to find retailers swamped right before the opener and decided to chance it. You can avoid lines if you buy online through the TPWD website, and a confirmation number will work in lieu of a license if you meet a game warden.

Using an unplugged shotgun: On all migratory game bird hunts your shotgun must be plugged to a three-shell capacity.

Some bird hunters likely forget to put in a plug, which simply can be a wooden dowel, back into their firearms after hunting turkey, quail or pheasants. This is something you can be sure all game wardens will check.

It also should be noted that if you set up a combo hunt during the early teal season, you may not use lead shot for the fluttering fliers. Make sure your lead loads that are legal for doves don’t get mixed in with nontoxic shot, which is the only legal method for taking waterfowl.

Exceeding bag/possession limit: Double dipping, shooting a limit of doves in the morning and then again in the afternoon, falls into this category. In previous years,

dant habitat for quail, turkeys and pheasants.

In 1988, Neuman was promoted to a higher District Conservationist position in La Grange where he predominantly worked with livestock producers on planning and applying range and pastureland conservation practices. In the late 1990s his responsibilities were expanded to cover Fayette, Colorado, and Bastrop counties, and his experience expanded to include rice agriculture.

“Beginning in about 2002 myself and my staff started working with rice producers in the Eagle Lake and Garwood areas with the installation of irrigation land leveling and water control structures,” Neuman said. “To date NRCS has had a hand in leveling over 76,000 acres of rice land and installing over 3,000 water control structures along with CONTINUED ON PAGE

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regulations prohibited dove hunting in the morning to avoid this problem altogether.

The possession limit for migratory game birds was changed a couple of years ago to three times the daily bag. You obviously wouldn’t want to be found with multiple limits until after at least the second day of the season. In past years, the daily bag limit was 15 in the north zone and 12 in the central and south zones. This year again, the statewide daily bag is 15.

Hunting without a migratory game bird stamp: There isn’t actually a stamp that comes on your license but rather an endorsement that reads “Migratory GmBrd” if you purchase it. You must have this endorsement, which isn’t included on a standard hunting license. It costs $7 to legally hunt doves.

However, the endorsement is included in the price of a $68 super combo license. You also must be Harvest Information Program certified, which means answering questions about the number of birds taken on hunts from last season. The certification should appear on a license below your personal information.

Hunting/possessing doves in closed season: Dove season in the north zone runs from September 1 to November 13 and December 17 to January 1. The central zone season is from September 1 to November 6 and December 17 to January 8. The south zone season is September 23 to November

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manipulation, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Consult the Outdoor Annual, which is available where licenses are sold, for more details on all game bird regulations.

«

Email Will Leschper at WillLeschperOutdoors@gmail.com

if I pulled the trigger again after the first click it would only shoot air. Not a huge deal, but it shows the limitations.

Finally, if you opt to use an airsoft pistol that fires plastic 6mm BBs it will give you the option of force on force training (with eye protection). You can even set up training scenarios inside your house or around vehicles. Even valuable low light training is possible.

You might try partnering up with a family member inside the house while using safe backdrops such as a sheet or tarp and arrange your house as a “shoot house” complete with shoot and no-shoot targets. The possibilities only end when our creativity does. Stay safe, train hard, shoot straight.

—by Dustin Ellerman

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to instill the same muscle memory as we’d develop with our actual firearm. However the down side to air guns is that triggers, magazines, recoil and overall quality aren’t the same. However, I have found they are great for first shot drills, especially higher risk drills that require more in-depth training such as appendix carry.

Appendix carry puts the firearm right at 12 o’clock on your person. It keeps the pistol in a solid position where you are in better control and more aware of its position. It also gives you a less noticeable draw.

However this is a riskier draw because the muzzle of the firearm can easily point straight at one of your legs until you clear your belt line and begin to angle the muzPHOTO: BIGSTOCK

13 and December 17 to January 23.

The special white-winged dove area in South Texas also has a regular season that runs September 23 to November 9 and December 17 to January 23. The early special season in that area is September 3, 4, 10, and 11, with legal shooting hours of noon to sunset.

Knowing the correct hunting dates is a must. If game wardens hear shotguns booming, you know they’ll be inspecting the area for violations.

Hunting over a baited area: If there is a large concentration of birds in a particular area or if you spot grain on the ground, you should ask questions of a landowner or outfitter before hunting. As an old dove-hunting saying goes, “Look down before you look up.”

Hunters may be cited for hunting over bait, which can include salt, grain or other feed, even if they didn’t know it was there. However, a hunter may hunt migratory game birds over standing crops, at any time over natural vegetation that has been manipulated and where seeds or grains have been scattered as a result of normal agricultural planting, harvesting or post-harvest

zle toward the threat.

This is a perfect situation to use air gun training as I did with my Umarex Walther PPS. Practicing on my back porch, several dozen draw strokes on the move allowed me to train my hands, mind and eyes to form the correct grip angle and trigger position.

This also allowed me to safely identify any hazards of this carry position. I tried follow up shots, but this proved pointless because the trigger reset of the steel BB gun was very different from my real PPS. The main difference was there is two reset clicks for the steel BB pistol to fire, and T E X A S

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Zebras Invade More Lakes

Zebra mussels don’t just damage boats—they also hitch rides on them to other lakes.

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S WE NOTED IN THIS space in July, invasive species continue to dominate certain areas of the Texas landscape.

Giant salvinia is one of those, but the worst freshwater invader of all is the zebra mussel.

Recently more bad news surfaced as three more lakes were documented to have the alien in them.

Lake Livingston, Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth all tested positive for zebra mussels in May and June.

Since zebra mussels were first found in Texas in 2009, six Texas lakes in three river basins are now “fully infested,” meaning that they have an established, reproducing population, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife.

It is unlawful to possess or transport zebra mussels, dead or alive. Boaters are required to drain all water from their boat and on-board receptacles before leaving or approaching a body of freshwater in order

Neuman t CONTINUED FROM PAGE

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numerous miles of irrigation pipeline.”

Neuman is no stranger to Texas water management concerns. In 2005 they approved around $2.5 million in financial assistance for irrigation practices through the EQIP program. That was the most ever funded in a single county through that program.

“Since then we have averaged around $1 million a year going to irrigation practices,” he said.

Over the years, Neuman and his staff have worked closely with Ducks Unlimited through the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project.

“We’ve worked together to improve numer-

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to prevent the transfer of zebra mussels that might be trapped inside.

This regulation applies to all types and sizes of boats whether powered or not—personal watercraft, sailboats, kayaks/canoes or any other vessel used on public waters.

Movement from one access point to another on the same lake during the same day does

not require draining, according to TPWD. Information: www.texasinvasives.org/ zebramussels.

ous shallow wetland areas,” he said.

In 2014, while serving as acting Team Leader for the Wharton and La Grange teams, Neuman was the lead author on a statewide Central Texas Irrigation Proposal Initiative. The proposal involved working with numerous soil and water conservation districts, county officials, irrigation districts, extension service staff, rice producers, groundwater districts and others to develop a program to conserve water and enhance rice lands. The proposal was accepted as a five-year statewide initiative involving all the rice producing counties from Houston west to east of Victoria. Close to $1 million a year has been allocated to support the forwardthinking program.

Ducks Unlimited is proud to have

Neuman on the rice conservation team as we implement conservation programs funded through NRCS, other federal and state programs, and the RESTORE Act. Adding Neuman’s expertise to the capable staff handling our Texas Prairie Wetlands Project as we advocate for sound water management decisions, will step up conservation in rice lands across the Texas Coast.

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—by Andi Cooper

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Coastal Focus: SABINE :: by Capt.

EDDIE HERNANDEZ

A Change of Seasons

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HE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER brings excitement to saltwater anglers up and down the Texas Gulf Coast. A big reason is knowing that seasonal change is so close that we can almost taste it.

I personally love the changing of the seasons, especially when going into fall and spring. The thought of changing patterns and techniques to coax the big three into biting just makes me happy.

Another big reason for all the excitement is the fact that Texas’s bays are producing in a big way. Here on Sabine Lake the fish are feeding aggressively and taking a variety of artificial lures as well as the real deal. It’s as if they can sense the changing of the seasons well before it shows on the thermometer.

The heat wave is not quite over just yet,

but knowing what the coming weeks will bring is enough to get us excited—along with the bait and fish.

Fishing the mouths of Johnson and Willow Bayous should yield some impressive stringers of trout, redfish and flounder. These areas have been two of our “go to” spots all summer, almost always attracting and holding bait fish.

Good tidal movement pushes shrimp, mullet and shad in and out of these bayous, and that, in turn, attracts predator fish. These fish will be more than happy to inhale any of these baits as well as an assortment of artificials.

Hot choices for soft plastics should be Assassins, Norton Bull Minnow, H & H Cochaho Minnows, GULP Shrimp and Swimming Mullet. Great color choices are red shad, pumpkin/chartreuse, glow, new penny and white. Topwaters like She Dog and Skitterwalks in bone and pink/silver as well as gold spoons and Catch 2000’s will also get serious results.

Your chances of finding fish are greatly enhanced when fishing either an incom-

ing or outgoing tide. Work the points over real good and pay special attention to areas where the current forms small eddies. If these points are holding bait, especially shrimp, glass minnows or small shad, you should be in business.

If you’re looking for flat fish, slowly drag a GULP Swimming Minnow or other curl tail grub tipped with fresh peeled shrimp on a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce lead head. When you feel the trademark “thump,” give it a couple of seconds then set the hook real good to make sure the hook penetrates its bony mouth.

Live bait fisherman have always and will always do well by dragging a mud minnow or finger mullet using a fish-finder rig with the weight about 18 to 24 inches above the hook.

For trout and redfish, work your lure a little faster. Bounce it off the bottom by popping the slack in your line or keep it a little higher in the water column. Again, keying on areas where bait is present will greatly improve your chances.

If the September salt air gets you excited, make your way down to the coast. I’ll be looking for you here on Sabine.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Intracoastal Canal Hwy 87 (Sabine Pass) SPECIES: Specks, Reds, Flounder, Croaker BAITS/LURES: Fresh Shrimp, Cut Bait, Soft Plastics BEST TIMES: Early and late with moving tides

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Coastal Focus: GALVESTON :: by Capt.

MIKE HOLMES

September Means Fall has Fell

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EPTEMBER IS A SPECIAL time on the Texas coast, and it’s rarely predictable. Weather is the big variable here, of course, and Texas weather is usually nothing if not variable.

Some years, September is only an extension of summer, with the same heat and humidity of August. Other years September actually does usher in a fall of sorts—slightly cooler temperatures, mild winds, and even a bit of seasonal tint to the leaves of some trees.

In between, there will be some years where the first real cold front of the year blows through—or lingering tropical storms make their presence felt.

Although the behavior of most wildlife— including fish—is largely dependent on temperature, the length of periods of daylight is also influential, I suspect. Fish in the deeper waters of the Gulf that do not regularly feed on or near the surface—such as snappers and groupers—might be mostly unaffected by either daylight or surface temperature, because their world stays fairly constant in these respects.

Fish in bays and other coastal waters, however, are affected much more by conditions above the surface. TP&WD has for some years used light conditions to trigger spawning in captive redfish. Water temperature triggers all sorts of activities, not the least of which is feeding periods. Water temperatures can be affected by air temperatures, which are also at least partly controlled by the amount and intensity of sunlight.

My own opinion is that the feeding activity of fish is largely controlled by the amount of bait species available—no surprise here.

When September features cooler waters and some sort of “normal” rainfall, bait will be plentiful.

Predator species can begin gorging for the lean months that could be ahead. Too much rain—or not enough—can do negative things to salinity and clarity of inshore waters.

The common bait species on the upper Texas coast—shrimp, mullet, mud minnows, menhaden (shad), and several species of crab—normally increase during the milder conditions of fall. When these conditions begin in September, fishing success is easier to come by.

Target sport and food fish varieties stay constant in the Galveston area in bays, passes to the Gulf, tidal streams, and the surf. Speckled trout, redfish, croaker, whiting, flounder, and sheepshead are with us just about year-round when conditions are favorable.

Gaff-top catfish—and yes, some of us like those slimy rascals—can be caught in September, but are more likely in the spring.

Black drum make their inshore-offshore runs in late winter or early fall as do flounders to a lesser extent. Otherwise September sees a general overlap of species from summer and fall.

For fishermen, we hope the daytime temperatures will be a bit more comfortable this month, and maybe the mosquitoes will not be quite as bad. I have been bitten by these critters an amazing distance offshore.

That usually happens when a north wind has pushed them away from the coastal marshes.

Yet,they were not as big a nuisance as biting flies behind a shrimp boat can be.

We can’t put away the sunscreen and floppy hats yet, unless we choose to fish at night.

Speaking of fishing at night, trout, reds, and flounders do not go to sleep when the sun goes down. Night fishing is always special, and an early fall really gets it going.

Tides and currents should be “normal,” barring any tropical weather, and these are always important to saltwater fishing. Falling or rising tides can be equally productive, T E X A S

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although for opposite reasons. A rising tide lures bait species into shallow water, while falling water levels funnel bait into “drains” from these shallow areas to deeper water.

Either of these conditions can make it easier for predators to feed—and fishermen to catch them.

If August decides to stay with us through September, the best course of action is to be thankful for a warm climate and lots of sunshine and continue our August fishing patterns. Obviously we can’t do anything about it—except take a deep breath or two and hold out for October.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Depending on such conditions as salinity, fish can concentrate in different locales on the coastal fishing map this month. High salinities allow saltwater fish to push into back bays and farther up tidal streams. Low salinity dubecause of freshwater intrusion moves most species toward the Gulf passes, jetties, and the surf.

SPECIES: The “Big Three” of speckled trout, redfish and flounder will be plentiful, as well as less popular species such as sheepshead, croaker, and—at least in the surf—jack crevalle.

BAIT: Live and “fresh dead” offerings of shrimp and small baitfish always produce, but the coming of fall favors lures such as spoons, plastic jog tails, and top water plugs as well.

BEST TIME: Water movement probably trumps everything else this month, unless very hot temperatures carry over from summer. If this happens, the old pattern of early and late is best.

Email Mike Holmes at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Coastal Focus: MATAGORDA :: by Contributing Editor MIKE PRICE

Water Temps Move Fish

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N EARLY SEPTEMBER WATERS in the Gulf of Mexico and East and West Matagorda Bays are at their warmest.

Warm water makes for great surf fishing.

Later in September, as water cools, fish move, both in the bays and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Surf TINY WAVES ROLLED over our boots as we shuffled into the surf. To the east, a hole in the dark clouds showed yellow, orange, and red, while shafts of light shot out from the top. Flocks of brown pelicans in single file glided about two feet above the waves, going west.

I stopped on the first sandbar in waist deep water and cast my ED Special brokenback lure with three treble hooks, and commenced to vigorously whip the rod tip so that the lure would have lots of back and forth action about 18 inches beneath the surface.

On the third cast I felt a fish smash my lure, and I worked the fat 20-inch trout up to me. I kept it in the water, playing it to tire it out before using my Yak Attack Fish Grip to control the fish while I removed the hook with needle nose pliers. I don’t use a net when fishing with a hard plastic lure with multiple treble hooks. That catch was followed by a 17-inch trout and then an 18-inch trout. Then sand trout started hitting. My fishing partner and I caught 35.

The conditions on this early September day were: clear water, small waves, wind from the north at five to eight mph, incoming tide, 86°F water, and partly cloudy weather at 82 to 90°F. As I drove down the beach to the entrance with the wind blowing through my truck windows and Robert Earl Keen singing about catching a five-pound bass on my ste-

reo, I thought, wow! What a great morning!

Fishing the Corners ON ANOTHER DAY in September, the surf was too rough to fish, so I went to the south shore of West Matagorda Bay. I paddled my kayak into a bayou and saw redfish working the shorelines on both sides, but they wouldn’t take my red and white Bass Assassin soft plastic on a 1/16 ounce jig head.

Then I moved to a cut between a peninsula and an island where the water was from three to five feet deep and the outgoing tide was pushing water through. There I found some hungry fish.

I was swimming my lure parallel to the shoreline, when the first flounder lunged off the bottom and took it. The second flounder was on a corner. When you have currents moving past a corner, drop a lure there, because it is an ideal place for a predator to ambush its prey.

The water temperature was 87°F and the air temperature was 90°F. I went out in the afternoon to catch the outgoing tide, but you are better off going out in the morning at sunrise when it is a bit cooler. Typically the fish will be close to shore at first light, and soon after sunrise they move into the bay where it is deeper and a little cooler.

As the month of September progresses, you will find more fish patrolling the north shorelines in East and West Matagorda Bays.

The last two years, my wife and I have gone to the north side of West Matagorda Bay and found the water teeming with bait fish and shrimp, and of course this brings in redfish, trout, and flounders.

Barracuda in the Gulf of Mexico WHEN THE GULF of Mexico is at its warmest (87 to 90°F) in early September, some fish go in search of cooler water that has a higher oxygen content, but not barracudas. When I went scuba diving on the rigs last September, barracudas from two to five 54 |

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8/12/16 9:48 AM

Baracuda on the rigs.

feet were the dominant fish.

There was no current, visibility was a plankton-clouded 40 feet, and lots of other fish were on the rig—queen angels, sheepsheads, lookdowns, blue fish, mangrove snappers, small groupers, and some large red snappers below the thermocline where it was cooler, but there were no ling or amberjacks.

After the dive while fishing on the boat, my rod bowed, and reel sang, as a sudden jolt tensed the muscles in my arms. I cranked furiously as—I could—and hung on when the fish made long runs. I caught a fleeting

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glimpse as the silver torpedo leaped out of the water. When I finally worked the fish up to the boat I could see it was a 3 ½ foot barracuda.

When a barracuda is aggravated, it darts about and leaps out of the water, while continuously opening and closing a large mouth filled with long needle-like teeth, which fit into holes on the opposing jaw. So it was time to decide whether or not I wanted to keep this fish for table fare.

I decided to let it go, carefully avoiding the teeth as I cut the line. I used to eat bar-

racuda, but Dr. Tracy Villareal, a marine scientist with the University of Texas, and others have shown that some barracudas can harbor ciguatera, a disease that can attack the nervous system of people who eat it.

Greater Amberjacks are in season in September, though you may have to go farther offshore to cooler, deeper water to find them. Ling and kingfish are in season, not so water temperature sensitive, and can be found off the beach and jetties in September.

THE BANK BITE IF THE SURF IS CALM, that’s the place to fish in September. One September morning my wife, my dog and I walked three miles down the beach and witnessed phenomenal fishing. We saw people of all sorts, fishing with all sorts of tackle, bait and lures, catching gafftop sailfish, speckled trout, redfish, sharks, ladyfish, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and other species.

Email Mike Price at ContactUs@fishgame.com

8/12/16 9:48 AM

Coastal Focus: MID COAST :: by Capt.

CHRIS MARTIN

Autumn Transition

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T’S SEPTEMBER, AND WINDless evenings are becoming more of the norm than the exception.

Sure, the wind is blowing during the days once the sun has had a chance to heat the morning air, but night hours are generally calm this month. Nights like this are very noticeable at the dock prior to sunrise. High humidity levels and no wind can quickly result in a person sweating a lot, so getting underway as soon as possible is a priority.

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As you fire-up the outboard and start heading into the pre-dawn darkness, the sun is doing everything in its power to rise into view. You head at a brisk pace accompanied by a predominant southeast wind.

You’re heading toward what you sometimes refer to as your “summertime promised land” —more commonly known as the innumerable oyster reefs and shell pads in San Antonio Bay, Espiritu Santo Bay, both East and West Matagorda Bays, and even Mesquite and Carlos Bays.

Shell, consisting of just enough bottom mud to attract small crustaceans and bait fish is one thing you hope to find as you approach what looks to be a favorable shell reef. Another item on your agenda when you’re among heavy shell in September is the color and condition of the water atop the reef.

You like it to be perfect—calm, and troutgreen in color. And you soon find that today’s shell adventure is beginning to meet your expectations and requirements for a stellar day atop the open-bay shell.

Approaching your first stop of the morning, you bring the motor to an idle, and you quietly advance upon the crest of the reef where you want to start your first wading session. As the sky continues to brighten, you can briefly make out that you are literally encompassed by miles upon miles of a seemingly endless mix of mud and shell.

Next, with dawn’s dimness rapidly evaporating, you let the boat drift in the slight breeze until it positions itself directly atop the long reef in the morning’s high tide. In doing so, you note yet another welcomed presence - the reef is covered with the brilliant margarita-green colored water that you had been hoping for.

Another plus for you on this particular morning is that you are experiencing a noticeable tidal movement in and around your location. These things, along with the fact that the wind continues to gradually strengthen throughout the day, are all signals that the upcoming fall fishing pattern is slowly approaching.

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There are a lot of changes each year surrounding the approach of fall. Summer vacation ends, and the kids have to go back to school. Consequently, a lot of sportsmen stow their boats and put away their fishing gear until the next summer as they prepare for dove, deer, or duck and goose season.

But for whatever reason, fall generally means reduced boating traffic on area bays and less fishing pressure as a direct result. However, these aren’t the only changes brought about by the approach of fall.

Another change that takes place toward the latter part of this month is the change in the air temperature. That’s right. Along the coastal bend region of Texas, in September Mother Nature finally decides to turn down the thermostat on the neighborhood air conditioning system.

We’re used to seeing temperatures drop from the 100s to the ’80s in most cases. This might be only a brief period this month, but we’ll take what we can get.

This developing cooling cycle also means our bay waters should also be undergoing a greening period as an aftereffect. Anglers should be looking for the presence of a lot of trout-green water toward the end of the month and into October. This means artificial bait enthusiasts should begin having the time of their lives.

The slow increase of higher tides signals the need to start shifting focus to thick grassto-mud transitional shorelines to target trophy trout. These very spots will hold some of the year’s largest trout right along the grassy edges of the shorelines.

As the month progresses, the days will be getting shorter, resulting in fewer hours of sunlight each day. It’s at this time of year when many anglers begin transitioning to dark-colored lures, and will even start to experiment with suspending baits like the Corky, and its cousin the Fatboy. Until next time, tight lines to all!

Contact Capt. Chris Martin at bayflatslodge@gmail.com

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Coastal Focus: ROCKPORT :: by Capt.

MAC GABLE

Be Sharp, Catch Fish

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HE BITE WAS FINICKY. IT was the bottom of the summer and the local area had been hammered with vacationers and fishing guides using any and every bait available.

This includes, but is not limited to Vienna sausages, hair ribbons, red wigglers, cut feral hog, mango slices, fish bites soaked in WD40, frayed nylon rope, and small pieces of a truck antenna.

I didn’t really care to see it, but I did see bull and goat testicles soaked in anise oil.

These are not baits I heard about, but actually saw as the proud angler shared his latest fishing secret.

How can you not love fishing when there are so many diverse approaches to our beloved sport? I’ve gotten to where I actually seek out those who look like they are a bit different, either in mannerism or devices used in fishing.

I do it because it’s just plain fun to see real ingenuity and creativeness at work. Also, some actually do work, and some work really well.

One particular instance was the by now well-known jalapeno bait. If you haven’t seen the video of a coastal guide catching reds on jalapenos then you missed a good one. Look it up, just don’t get caught in the hype.

On this day however it wasn’t a guide but a local angler who had theorized fishing with fresh-picked jalapenos had to be the best kept secret. According to him, it would, once word got out, revolutionize the fishing industry.

“Capt. Mac” he said, “did you catch some fish today?”

“A few” I said, “but how many keepers I really can’t say as the trip was a ‘catch and release’ trip. My clients seemed happy so all is good here!”

“Well’ he said, “I didn’t do so well with my new bait” at which point I got the low down on the jalapeno miracle he was trying.

“No bites?” I more said than asked.

“Oh no, I got plenty of bites but no catches.” He now had my attention.

“So you got bites on these mouth burners (jalapenos)?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes indeed, went through a bag and a half.”

“You wouldn’t pull a fishing liar’s leg?”

I asked looking down grabbing my leg and shaking it.

“No” he said seriously, “I had quite a few hits but I have deduced that it’s not the taste of the pepper they were after but rather the color and the shape.”

He had again gotten my now tired attention so I added, “Well, I think you’re on to something there.”

In the wide array of colors available these days most color wave lengths are absorbed at relatively shallow depths rendering them all but invisible, but as research suggests there are two colors whose wavelengths are

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not absorbed at any depth light is allowed to penetrate, and those colors are yellow and you got it GREEN. “Was the water muddy (as was probably the case given the 20 plus mph wind)? If so your peppers were probably sticking out like a neon sign. SO, you got a lot of half bites meaning the bait/pepper was short bitten in two about halfway up?”

“No, quite the contrary” he quipped (I was obviously talking to an educated man) “the peppers were completely absent from the hook.”

Absent from the hook! Sometimes it is indeed a pleasure to speak with higher education, as it’s a rare treat in the circles I travel.

Anyway, he now had me energized and seeking the culprit to missing peppers and no fish hooked.

“Sir, may I look at your rigging?”

“Well of course,” he agreed, “but I can assure you I am most circumspect in my fishing approach and rarely deviate from successful modus operandi.”

Dang, I thought—not sure what circum-

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Forecast: ROCKPORT cision in one’s lower extremities had to do with peppers, but if it caught fish I would stay engaged. He pulled the rod from his rod holder and I found a 30 lb braid main line, and 25 lb. mono for a leader, a slip sinker above the swivel on the main line, all tied with a modified cinch knot.

Continuing on, a 3/0 kahle hook was tied to the mono leader with a cinch knot. I was about to quiz him on his abilities in handling the $300 rod when out of habit I ran my hand down to the hook.

“Hmmm” I grunted.

“Wrong size hook” he quickly asserted.

“Uh, no, but I’ve seen butter knives that are sharper than the point of your hook.”

“Most disturbing,” he announced, “but I doubt this is the reason as the hook, I can attest, was taken from the package just this morning and so it was out of the box sharp.”

“Let’s check it out; got the package of hooks?” Upon inspection nine out of nine hooks were indeed out of the box sharp— duller than a bag of hammers.

“REALLY?” He seemed indignant, but agreed to let me at least sharpen the hooks for him.

“Try these, and while I’m not convinced enough on your miracle bait to start a jalapeno garden, I know sure as God’s got sandals this will help to get more hook ups. Keep me posted on the pepper bite please!”

We all have fetishes—mine is my anchor and sharp hooks. If you see me fiddling with someone’s rod it is usually checking the hook.

It’s a habit much like patting your pocket when seconds before you just put your keys in it. It gets me in trouble honestly, especially at boat ramps where other anglers/guides leave unattended boats and rods to park their trailers. I, in turn, wander over and inevitably run my thumb across the hooks now tied to the rod’s fishing line.

If I come across a dull one it’s all I can do to not immediately grab my ceramic stone and put a needle fine point on the less than acceptable hook. At the very least I shake my head and look down at the ground in a disapproving manner (or at least I’ve been told).

“What the !@#$%^** is wrong with you?” my buddies ask. “Leave my rods alone. I guess you think your stuff is better? If you wanna think something, think a good point

on those hooks! Good Lord man, it is sacrilegious for any angler, but especially a guide, to go out on the water with hooks you could sit on point-up, ride on all day in rough water, and never draw blood.”

“Why don’t you go make someone else’s life miserable for a while?” comes the typical response.

Hook sharpening is not that difficult. It is much easier than sharpening a knife and a good hook sharpener can cost as little as $5.

If you want to get extravagant, $60 versions are available.

I use a ceramic stone with a V cut into it.

It was a broken piece from a knife sharpening stone, and I use it for all sorts of small sharpening tasks and keep a small piece in my

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We all have fetishes.

Mine is my anchor and sharp hooks.

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boat just for hooks. Just a few passes in the V of the stone and my hooks are pretty much needle-sharp.

Packaged hooks are notorious for NOT being sharp, especially now that every manufacturer has off-loaded production overseas. I won’t get into the metallurgy or lack thereof of these overseas-produced hooks.

Suffice it to say I’ve had more hooks break in the last five or so years than in the previous 20 plus years. So what constitutes sharp?

Well, contrary to popular opinion, a hook does not need to be so sharp just looking at it will hurt/stick you.

How do you check sharpness without a microscope? One way is by placing your thumb with the thumb nail up flat on a surface then place the point of the hook at a 45 F I S H

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degree angle to your thumb nail and run it down your thumb nail. If the hook does not hang up or dig in immediately it needs to be sharpened.

I just run it down the inside of my thumb, and it if slides easily across my skin I sharpen it until it digs in with very light pressure.

WORD OF CAUTION: MOST HOOKS you’re going to sharpen have probably had bait on them so billions of bacteria are just waiting to take hold in an unsuspecting wound. The thumb NAIL technique works well unless you happen to miss the nail and hang the hook in the cuticle, in which case infection in this area can be very hard to get rid of, especially if they get under the thumb nail.

If you are a little squeamish, draw it across the fiberglass of your console. The same rule applies—if it does not dig in, sharpen it.

Also clean the hook point before you sharpen it, as any bait or oil etc. left on the hook can cause your sharpener to load up, rendering the stone/sharpener less effective.

Hooks in and of themselves are a science, but to catch fish you don’t need a PhD in Materials Science and Metallurgy. The art of the hook is pretty simple. Size your hook to your bait; size the bait to the species of fish you’re after. The smallest adequately-sized hook is always best for live bait. Keep your hooks sharp and do not trust the manufacturer to do this. Dull out on the water usually equals feeding and not catching.

••• COPANO BAY — The deep-water edges just off Swan Lake are good place for reds using finger mullet or cut mullet. Free-lined is best on a medium heavy Carolina rig.

The north shoreline close to Mission Bay is a good place to wade for reds and some sheepshead. Use finger mullet for the reds on a free line and a piece of shrimp or squid on small hooks under a silent cork for the sheepies. Lap Reef Bank is still holding some trout with free-lined croaker being the best presentation.

ST. CHARLES BAY — Some black drum may be found at the mouth of Salt Creek.

Peeled shrimp on a very light Carolina rig

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Forecast: ROCKPORT works best here. Drifts across Meile Dietrich Point are good for reds and some keeper trout using soft plastics in new penny and nuclear chicken and pearl white. Some keeper trout may be found at the mouth of Cavasso Creek with free-lined croaker the best choice.

ARANSAS BAY — Thompson’s Towheads is a good place for trout using free-lined croaker. Some keeper reds are at Halfmoon Reef early morning. Live finger mullet is best here on a light Carolina rig. Paul’s Mott Reef is good for trout and reds on a falling tide.

Free-lined croaker or mud minnows work well here.

CARLOS BAY — Cedar Reef is a good place for reds using cut menhaden free-lined.

This area also holds some keeper trout with croaker or live shrimp the best bait of choice.

Brundrett Lake is a good place for reds late evening. Cut mullet or soft plastics work well here. Use a free line for the cut mullet and Berkley Gulp Jerk shad in camo and glow colors for the soft plastics. The shoreline of Ballou Island is good for reds and black drum using finger mullet and croaker free-lined for the reds. Use fresh dead shrimp on a light Carolina rig for the drum. The spoil area just off Roddy Island is good for sheepshead using a silent cork and peeled shrimp.

AYERS BAY — The reefs off of Rattlesnake Island have some black drum and sheepshead best fished with a popping cork and shrimp. Second Chain is still holding some keeper reds and a few trout with free-lined croaker being the bait of choice.

THE BANK BITE WADES OFF LIVE OAK POINT at the south end of the LBJ causeway is a way to catch nice trout. Spoons in gold and red and soft plastics in sardine and new pepper neon colors are good producers.

Contact Capt. Mac Gable at Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601 captmac@macattackguideservice.com

Here’s wishing you tight lines, bent poles, and plenty of bait.

MESQUITE BAY — The mouth of Little

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Coastal Focus: LOWER COAST :: by Saltwater Editor CALIXTO GONZALES

Fishing for Feisty Back to School Flounder

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T’S A BIT IRONIC THAT SOME OF the best flounder fishing on the Lower Laguna Madre occurs in September. The bay is much less crowded with many anglers focusing on their children’s back to school activities and, with older kids, high school football.

The thing is, some big bruising flatties are out there waiting to sack a lure or bait for the fisherman willing to ignore football on Saturday or Sunday to go after them.

Of course, you could also go during a weekday, but you must either be retired, playing hooky, or *ahem* unemployed. It takes some knowhow, a little patience, but the stalwart angler can find some nice flatties to take home for a nice stuffed flounder dinner.

Port Mansfield is a good destination for the dedicated flat fisherman. There are plenty of spots a short run across Lower Laguna Madre in the East Cut. The guts that feed into the back bays attract flounder on both the incoming and outgoing tides.

The fish settle on thin drop-offs along the pass on an outgoing tide, then work their way into the inside edges on an incoming tide.

The easiest way to for Mansfield flatties is to work live bait or a soft plastic along the edges.

A live shrimp or mullet is an ideal bait. Fish them on a spit-shot or fishfinder rig and a 1/0 short-shanked or treble hook (although the latter can be problematic if you throat-hook an undersized flounder).

If you are going to hop a shrimp or shad tail (a 3-inch curlytail grub is a great choice),

use a ¼ ounce football-style jighead and hop the bait. This is akin to fishing for bass with a jig/pig combo. Hop with the rod tip up until you feel the resistance of a pick-up. Lower the rod tip, reel in the slack, and set the hook—hard. If you miss, start over. Nothing to it, right?

If flounder aren’t taking your bottomhugging lures, don’t be afraid to start working your plastic a little faster. One thing I’ve learned from Chester Moore is that flounder aren’t just ambush predators. They can also be active hunters and will follow prey and chase it down. On more than one occasion, I’ve started to speed up my retrieve to pull my lure for another cast, only to have it

“ Some of the best flounder fishing on the Lower Laguna Madre occurs in September.

“ zapped by a feisty and sassy flounder.

The channels that lead into the back of Cullen Bay hold flounder around the edges in through the fall until the first major cold front of the year. Fishing for them is very straightforward. Use a fish-finder (Carolina) rig with a ¼ ounce sinker and a live shrimp or finger mullet on a #1/0 short-shanked single hook (the Owner SSW in blood red, for example).

If you’d rather fish with lures, then try a 3-inch Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny or Pearl pinned to the same ¼ ounce football jighead and bounced along the bottom. If flounder 60 |

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Forecast: LOWER COAST are there—and they should be—they’ll nail it with gusto.

Moving south, an underutilized flounder area is the channel into South Bay. Most ignore the gateway for the riches on the other side, but they miss out on the treasure that abounds.

On a flood tide, the narrow flats on either side (especially the ones on the south side) hold plenty of flounder to keep you happy.

This is an especially effective area to fish at night under a full moon. The only problem is to pay attention to the tides, or you may be stuck for a while on the ebb.

The same outgoing tide that could leave you high and dry also provides an excellent fishing opportunity. During a full moon, the strong falling tide drains the flats into the channels, and flounder join other gamefish along the flats/channel edges to feed on the bait that is dumped into the channel. Swim your bait off the edges and into the drop-offs and let it sink below other feeding fish.

The mainland shoreline on the island at the intersection of the Brownsville Ship Channel and the Port Isabel Channel (also known as the Y) is another good flounder hole. A trolling motor allows you to fish this area the most effectively.

Work parallel to the drop-off and cast your bait or lure towards shore and work back to the boat slowly. Again, either live baits on a Carolina rig or soft plastics are the trick. Don’t be surprised to latch onto some trout and the occasional redfish. These fish tend to share space with flounder.

A classic, but unused technique for working these shoreline edges is an eel-style jerkbait such as the MirrOlure Lil John. The icicle-shaped lure has a much more subtle action than some of the larger, more popular eel-style tails on the market, and flounder seem to respond to them quite aggressively.

You can swim the baits on a 1/8-ounce round head or, if the fish are being a touch finicky, a bottom-bouncing head. Cast the rig up to the shallows, and bounce it back to you. When you feel the heavy “thump!” set the hook hard. I’ve also been experimenting with the Kelly Wiggler Ball Shad in Pink Flamingo, and I’ve been encouraged with the results.

If live shrimp are hard to come by, try a

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3-inch Gulp! Shrimp or Kelly Wigglers Shrip as alternatives to real meat. Flounder don’t seem to be very discriminating when they’re on the feed. Adherents to the DOA brand will find that the CAL Minnow is a deadly weapon during flounder missions.

Don’t overlook flounder when you are on Lower Laguna Madre. They make a welcome

addition to the autumn get-togethers that you usually invite specks and redfish to.

Email Cal Gonzales at ContactUs@fishgame.com

8/12/16 9:48 AM

FISHING HOTSPOTS Saltwater: n Upper Coast n Mid Coast n Lower Coast Freshwater: n Piney Woods

Freshwater: n Prairies & Lakes n Panhandle n Big Bend n Hill Country n South Texas

UPPER COAST

GPS COORDINATES are provided in two formats: “Decimal Degrees” (degrees.degrees) and “Degrees and Minutes” sometimes called “GPS Format” (degrees minutes.minutes).

Examples (for Downtown Austin): Decimal Degrees: N30.2777, W97.7379; Degrees and Minutes: N30 16.6662, W97 44.2739. Consult your manual for information specific to your GPS device.

Never a Drull Moment

by TOM BEHRENS

LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Drull’s Lump GPS: N 28 42.354, W 95 47.37 (28.7059, -95.7895)

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LOCATION: Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Milk Jug GPS: N 29 26.8099, W 94 49.4599 (29.4468, -94.8243)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Saltwater Assassin CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: Helicopter Pad, Milk Jug and Old Pilings are underwater structure you will find in lower Galveston Bay that will work the first part to mid September. After that it depends on weather changes.

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Saltwater Assassin CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “My favorite color is Woodpecker…red with

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LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Hanna’s Reef GPS: N 29 28.92, W 94 43.6559 (29.4820, -94.7276)

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green, while using a 1/4 oz. jig head. You don’t need a lot of weight. Just jerk it real good, like a wounded fish.” Capt. Boyd

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “The biggest mistake you can make in working a school of fish under birds is getting too close to them and spooking all the fish off.” Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Helicopter Pad GPS: N 29 26.41, W 94 48.8999 (29.4402, -94.8150)

www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: The live croaker will catch the bigger trout.

LOCATION: Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Old Pilings GPS: N 29 25.06, W 94 48.48 (29.4177, -94.8080)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net |

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “September is a transition period,” says Boyd.

“The trout are transitioning from the deeper Galveston Bay back into East Bay.” Capt. Boyd LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Hanna’s Reef GPS: N 29 28.7029, W 94 45.703 (29.4784, -94.7617)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “At the beginning of September the trout should be transitioning out of the deeper waters of Galveston Bay back into over the reefs of East Bay.” LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Deep Reef GPS: N 29 30.802, W 94 40.581 (29.5134, -94.6764)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “You want to stay close to the bottom most of the time, on the shell. If you can’t feel the lure bumping along the bottom, you’re not deep enough.” Capt.

Boyd LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Pepper Grove GPS: N 29 27.838, W 94 41.635 (29.4640, -94.6939)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd 409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “You almost want to hang up one time to know where the bottom is, and then work your way up gradually, ‘clinking’ it along off the shell. Actually the sound helps draw the fish.” Capt. Boyd LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Artificial Reef GPS: N 29 30.7333, W 94 39.9 (29.5122, -94.6650)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Boyd

409-789-6225 boydgw1@comcast.net www.boydsguideservice.com TIPS: “If I want to stay at one foot off the bottom, I want the lightest possible jig head I can use to get that done. More fish are going to bite something that is not intimidating them.” Capt. Boyd LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Chinquapin Reef GPS: N 28 43.9939, W 95 47.9539 (28.7332, -95.7992)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “In September the trout and redfish begin to school…shrimp migration causes the fish to school up, and the birds will start working pointing to where the fish might be.” Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Tripod GPS: N 28 40.147, W 95 54.813 (28.6691, -95.9136)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “Most of the time we are fishing under the birds we will be using soft plastics. You can cast out, catch a fish, unhook it, and throw back out again without taking a lot of time rigging up new live bait.” Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Brown Cedar Flats GPS: N 28 43.8469, W 95 42.6599 (28.7308, -95.7110) T E X A S

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “When the fish are feeding under the birds, you can tie on just about any lure and catch fish.” Capt.

Kersh LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Boggy Cut GPS: N 28 44.043, W 95 49.6579 (28.7341, -95.8276)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “With a 3/8 oz. jig head you can cast a bait a long way and not have to get right up on a slick.”

Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: East End Reef GPS: N 28 45.0419, W 95 40.2119 (28.7507, -95.6702)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com |

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FISHING HOTSPOTS www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “Slicks …a lot of people will pull up on a slick and fish right in the middle of it. How you fish it depends on what it looks like. If it has a lot of ripples in it, and it’s not getting and bigger, it’s probably and older slick. Those fish could be 200-300 yards upwind.” Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Killbride Reef GPS: N 28 43.3609, W 95 50.0689 (28.7227, -95.8345)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Down South soft plastics with either 1/2 or 3/8 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Kendall Kersh 979-248-1871 kendallkersh@gmail.com www.puresaltadventures.com TIPS: “If you see one that starts off small when you first see it and it’s getting bigger and bigger, fish are going to be pretty close by.” Capt. Kersh LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Jetties GPS: N 29 39.3139, W 93 49.8719 (29.6552, -93.8312)

MIDDLE COAST

by TOM BEHRENS

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LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Halfmoon Reef GPS: N 28 4.5259, W 96 59.062 (28.0754, -96.9844)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: “Trout should be in 4-6 feet of water. You may find some shallower, but they won’t stay there long.”

Capt. McPartland LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Mud Island GPS: N 27 56.635, W 97 1.266 (27.9439, -97.0211)

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LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Shamrock Cove GPS: N 27 45.369, W 97 9.733 (27.7562, -97.1622)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics or live finger mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: “The flats should be good for redfish and the deeper water over reefs should yield trout.” Capt.

McPartland LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Estes Flats GPS: N 27 56.541, W 97 5.944 (27.9424, -97.0991)

LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Bridge Hole GPS: N 29 46.0819, W 93 53.7469 (29.7680, -93.8958)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: In the fall, McPartland prefers the strawberry color. “A gold spoon also works good.” Capt.

McPartland

Aransas Specks Over the Moon

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Four-inch soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Bill Watkins 409-673-9211 4097862018@sbcglobal.net www.fishsabinelake.com TIPS: Capt. Watkins says the jetties can be good at this time of the year. The fish will be right up against the rocks early in the morning.

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics or topwater baits CONTACT: Capt. Bill Watkins 409-673-9211 4097862018@sbcglobal.net www.fishsabinelake.com TIPS: “Glow is a good color at any time. Other good colors are Red Shad or Morning Glory in the morning.

Later on in the day after the sun gets up I will switch over to Water Melon Red or Opening Night…something with a little more sparkle.” Capt. Watkins

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Live finger mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: Capt. McPartland says the redfish should start schooling in late August and continue into September.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Island GPS: N 27 50.1019, W 97 10.2659 (27.8350, -97.1711)

adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: The swivel blends in with everything else, doesn’t shine versus a gold or silver swivel.” Capt.

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LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline GPS: N 27 29.134, W 97 21.1079 (27.4856, -97.3518)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Live finger mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: McPartland free lines live finger mullet, rigged Carolina style so it can’t swim off…generally best allaround bait for redfish.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Brown and Root Flats GPS: N 27 51.1639, W 97 5.212 (27.8527, -97.0869)

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Live finger mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: “I free line the mullet in the sand pockets.

Twitch the bait once-in-a-while to draw the redfish to it.” Capt. McPartland LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Intracoastal spoils GPS: N 27 33.6839, W 97 16.759 (27.5614, -97.2793)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509

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FISHING HOTSPOTS BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: He uses a 20-inch leader. For a hook he likes the 3/0 VMC croaker hook.

CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: “When the fish are shallow we use a combination of live and topwater baits. The top color has been pearl/chartreuse.” Capt. Doelle

LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Boat Hole GPS: N 27 39.169, W 97 14.9989 (27.6528, -97.2500)

LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Kates Hole GPS: N 27 39.5849, W 97 12.2159 (27.6598, -97.2036)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: “I put three red glass beads on the leader before I tie on the hook. Makes a lot of difference because of the noise, and because of the color.” Capt.

Doelle LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Dead Man’s Hole GPS: N 27 38.665, W 97 12.4279 (27.6444, -97.2071)

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SPECIES: Flounder BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: Free lining a live croaker, just as you would for trout, works for croaker.

GPS: N 27 18.109, W 97 28.051 (27.3018, -97.4675)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish along the edges of sand and grass drop offs in waist deep water. Later in the day, as temperatures rise, Doelle starts focusing on deeper water, 4-5 feet of water, targeting drop-offs, ledges and bait movement activity.

LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Land Cut GPS: N 27 0.5195, W 97 26.8494 (27.0087, -97.4475)

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Baffin Trout Rise with the Tide

by CALIXTO GONZALES and TOM BEHRENS LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Tide Gauge Bar

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Super Spooks or Skitter Walks

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: “Hook the croaker more to the tail along the lateral line, and kind of jig it backwards, free lining let it swim away from me.” Capt. Doelle LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Rocky Slough GPS: N 27 9.903, W 97 26.716 (27.1651, -97.4453)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker CONTACT: Capt. Adam Doelle 361-649-6509 adoelle@hotmail.com TIPS: Doelle uses 30 lb. test fluorocarbon leader, tied to 20 lb. Windtamer Braid line, using a #8 or #6

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FISHING HOTSPOTS get on top and start bubbling water. When you see that you know the fish are there.” Capt. Garcia

black swivel to attach the two lines together.

LOCATION: ICW Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Stover Point GPS: N 26 12.138, W 97 17.8489 (26.2023, -97.2975)

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LOCATION: ICW Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South Cullen Bay GPS: N 26 13.6519, W 97 17.5729 (26.2275, -97.2929)

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PINEY WOODS

Use Spin Cycle on Conroe Bass

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Topwaters or soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094 texasredfish20@gmail.com TIPS: Capt. Garcia will be fishing all along the spoil banks off of the ICW, looking for the color change.

LOCATION: ICW Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Holly Beach Area GPS: N 26 8.518, W 97 17.6639 (26.1420, -97.2944)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Super Spook in a bone color CONTACT: Capt. Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094 texasredfish20@gmail.com TIPS: “You can find trout, 24-29 inch trout working off the color change in grassy areas, pulling them up out of the pot holes.” Capt. Garcia

LOCATION: Lake Conroe HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 28.596, W 95 34.7459 (30.4766, -95.5791)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Pop’r, spinnerbaits and chatter baits u TAP FOR ONLINE MAP

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Topwaters or soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094 texasredfish20@gmail.com TIPS: “In September the bigger redfish start moving in. It’s not uncommon to encounter herds of 5-20 fish at a time.” Capt. Garcia LOCATION: ICW Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Cullen Bay Channel GPS: N 26 15.6, W 97 17.415 (26.2600, -97.2903)

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Topwaters or soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094 texasredfish20@gmail.com TIPS: “Watch where they are bubbling up. The fish

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FISHING HOTSPOTS CONTACT: Richard Tatsch 936-291-1277 admin@fishdudetx.com www.fishdudetx.com TIPS: “With the first cold fronts of the year beginning to move in the bass will begin to feed on shad in preparation for the cold weather when they will begin to selectively feed. This is good for us fishermen who enjoy the top water bite and the aggressive strikes that a spinnerbait can bring. If your on the water this time of year immediately after a cold front (up to the 3rd day after) and it is at daylight or an overcast day locate the rip rap rock around the lake and start by throwing a small single blade spinner bait at the rocks then retrieving it back at a very fast rate where the bait is waking the surface. This is a very productive and very fast way to catch a number of fish that will attempt to pull the rod out of your hand. The next thing to try would be a Pop’r or a Zara Spook type bait. Work this bait in the same areas and alternate between the baits to determine which they want on that particular day.

They will also hit a chatter bait very aggressively. I put a small curly tail grub on as a trailer; I’ll also alternate between a white trailer and a chartreuse one.

Bank Access: Stowaway Marina” LOCATION: Caddo Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake Pad Fields GPS: N 32 41.634, W 94 3.7979 (32.6939, -94.0633)

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LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 48.964, W 95 33.213 (32.816067, -95.553546)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Chrome 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap and Spooks CONTACT: Doug Shampine 940-902-3855 doug@lakeforktrophybass.com www.lakeforktrophybass.com TIPS: September is a month the fishing on Lake Fork is on the up swing due to cooling water. We normally start getting a little cooler weather in September and that makes the bass bite really improve. You can find bass back in the shallow water, deeper water on the deeper points and schooling bass just moving around the lake feeding on the big schools of shad. Areas I like to check out this time of the year will be SRA point, Chaney Point, and the ridge in front of Dale to name a few. One of the baits I always have handy is the chrome 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap. It’s good in the shallow water and when the schooling bass decide to come to the surface and feed. I also keep a Spook handy for the schooling bass. You may catch some big sand bass with the bass!

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Major Creeks GPS: N 32 54.804, W 95 38.352 (32.9134, -95.6392)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Hollow body frogs, V&M Wild Thang 8.5-inch worms, buzzbaits CONTACT: Caddo Lake Guide Service/Paul Keith 318-455-3437 caddoguide1@att.net www.caddolakefishing.com TIPS: Fish the main lake pad fields using the hollow body frogs and buzzbaits where the pads are a little scattered. Also make sure there are baitfish and hydrilla present. Use the large worms in colors of junebug and redbug with a 1/2 oz. weight on the edges of the thick vegetation where it meets a drop off of a channel or creek.

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Main Lake Points and Ridges GPS: N 32 54.21, W 95 39.7319 (32.9035, -95.6622)

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SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad/slabs CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: Lake Fork is alive with nighttime fishing. After I launch, I turn my green lights on and within 5-10 minutes I have BIG black bass and giant white bass circling the boat chasing the bait in my lights. Any given moment you can see 30 to 50 fish all night long. The main thing I am after is the white bass. The Sandies are giants. Average size is 17 inches and we have caught a couple up to 21 inches. I also have submersible green lights that I can drop next to timber and put the battery on top of the stump. I’ll come back 15-20 minutes later and they are full of fish. For a newbie to fishing, you might end up breaking off more than you catch when in the timber. If we keep breaking off, I will putter out to a point and anchor away from the trees, preventing multiple break offs. The action is addictive no matter what part of the lake we fish.

LOCATION: Lake Livingston HOTSPOT: Ben Shot Lake GPS: N 30 42.246, W 95 9.276 (30.7041, -95.1546)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Topwater Lures like the Zara Spook and Grandebass Airtail Wiggler on a shakey head CONTACT: Lance Vick 903-312-0609 lance@lakeforkbass.com www.guideonlakefork.com TIPS: September on lake fork is fun due to the fact fish school on the surface quite a bit. Nothing gets people fired more than a bass chasing bait on the surface. So have your favorite popper or Zara spook ready to throw. Start looking in the backs of major creeks for this action. Birch and Little Chaney Creeks, for instance, are great places to start. If the topwater action is slow a Grandebass Airtail Wiggler on a shakey head fished on hard bottom spots like points and roadbeds

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad, slabs, spoons, Tsunami Slim Wade 1 oz. chrome w/ green prism CONTACT: David S. Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602 dave@palmettoguideservice.com www.palmettoguideservice.com TIPS: Bounce baits off the bottom. Best times are early morning and late evening. Watch for schooling fish. Fishing has been best with a north wind less than 10 mph or no wind. BANK ACCESS: Governor’s Point

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Toledo Bend North HOTSPOT: Green Willow Point (Myrek Reach) GPS: N 31 45.072, W 93 50.2379 u TAP FOR (31.7512, -93.8373)

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SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Rat-L-Traps, Tail Spinners, Slab Spoons, shallow diving crank baits CONTACT: Greg Crafts, Toledo Bend Guide Service and Lake Cottages 936-368-7151 gregcrafts@yahoo.com www.toledobendguide.com TIPS: The whites will be schooling off the main lake points, road beds, tree lines and boat lanes. Use a RatL-Trap or other shallow diving bait when the fish are breaking the surface. When they go down, switch to a slab spoon or drag a tail spinner. The Whites will usually school in the same areas around the same time of day. Look for any birds dive-bombing the baitfish that the Whites have pushed to the surface.

PRAIRIES & LAKES

Cross Bridges for Cedar Crappie

pended around the pillars usually about 10 to 12 feet down regardless of the depth.

LOCATION: Bachman Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 51.1859, W 96 52.014 (32.8531, -96.8669)

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SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Jigs and minnows CONTACT: Jason Barber 903-603-2047 kingscreekadventures@yahoo.com www.kingscreekadventures.com TIPS: Fish all bridges and you’ll find the fish sus-

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Small rooster tails and small creature baits (3-4 inches long) CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: Bass are on fire shallow along the banks as shad are running shallow too. Fish in 1-5 feet of water using the bridge for shaded cover. Cast along the banks parallel as the fish are no more than five foot from the banks. At the time of this report, 1-8 pound fish are being caught!

SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Slab with a fly 12 in. above CONTACT: Johnny Stevens 817-597-6598 johnnystevens@1scom.net johnnysguideservice.com TIPS: This area is three large humps out in open water. The tops of these humps are 24 feet deep, surrounded by 32 feet of water. Search the edges of these humps with your electronics. When you locate fish jig up and down with your slab and fly rig. The humps can be worked by fan casting hopping your slab just off the bottom back to the boat.

LOCATION: Fayette County HOTSPOT: Deer Stand Hump GPS: N 29 55.944, W 96 43.7819 (29.9324, -96.7297)

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LOCATION: Cooper Lake HOTSPOT: Harper’s Crossing/Main Lake Humps GPS: N 33 18.6539, W 95 38.844 u TAP FOR (33.3109, -95.6474)

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SPECIES: White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass BEST BAITS: 1 1/2oz slabs CONTACT: Tony Parker’s Guide Service (903)348-1619 tawakonifishing@yahoo.com www.facebook.com/tonyparker.fishingguide TIPS: With all the rain this spring and summer Cooper Lake is in better shape than it has been in several years. The fishing is as good as it has been in years.

I will be catching hybrids and sandbass on 1-1/2oz slabs. I will locate schools on my electronics on the side of main lake humps such as harpers crossing.

Once I locate the fish I will hold over the top of them and fish the slab vertical. Also be on the lookout for schooling action on and around the humps.

LOCATION: Eagle Mountain Lake HOTSPOT: Twin Points Humps GPS: N 32 53.155, W 97 29.658 T E X A S

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by DUSTIN WARNCKE and DEAN HEFFNER LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake Bridges GPS: N 32 18.546, W 96 6.738 (32.3091, -96.1123)

(32.8859, -97.4943)

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LOCATION: Gibbons Creek HOTSPOT: Sulphur Creek Bed GPS: N 30 36.96, W 96 3.582 (30.6160, -96.0597)

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SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: CJs Punch bait, shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk G A M E ®

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FISHING HOTSPOTS 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Anchor here in creek bed area. Tight line. Cast out with cut bait or fish straight down beside the boat, over chum, with CJs punch bait. Large fish travel this area, so good day or night.

LOCATION: Granger Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 42.402, W 97 20.964 (30.7067, -97.3494)

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SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Marabou jigs and Berkley Crappie Nibbles CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell 512-365-7761 crappie1@hotmail.com www.gotcrappie.com TIPS: This month is probably the best of the year for crappie at Granger Lake. They have been feeding heavily all summer and are very thick and fat. The weather is good this time of year and the crowds are scarce with most people hunting or watching football. Find any kind of structure in 6 to 12 feet of water and you will find some good quality crappie. Fish a jig vertically holding it very still right over the structure. Make sure you put a Crappie Nibble on the jig running it up to the body and not on the tip of the hook. Tie the jig using a loop knot. This will make a big difference in the number of fish you catch. Not all spots hold good fish so if they are not biting in a good-looking spot, keep moving until you find them. They might be in the least likely spots. Good luck and good fishing.

LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 31 8.3459, W 97 31.932 (31.1391, -97.5322)

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LOCATION: Lake Granbury HOTSPOT: Dam GPS: N 32 22.659, W 97 42.009 (32.3777, -97.7002)

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SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: White and Chartreuse slabs and trolling baits (Hellbender with a pet spoon trailer) CONTACT: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters 817-578-0023 unfairadvantagecharters.com TIPS: Look for flats adjacent to deeper water where fish will push baitfish. Thrash the water to call active fish that are near by tapping the boat consistently can draw in curious fish as well.

LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 33 7.248, W 96 29.8079 (33.1208, -96.4968)

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SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Black and chartreuse jigs CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: Fish 15-18 feet in standing and submerged timber. Crappie action has been really good on this

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Crankbaits or spinnerbaits in a white or sexy-shad color CONTACT: Henry Niemiec 254-368-0294

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surestrikeguideservice@yahoo.com TIPS: The resent flooding in Central Texas has been both good and bad for fishing on Lake Belton. The good news is that the floodwaters have put a great deal of brush in the water, which provides plenty of food and cover for both bait fish and small bass. The bad news is that it has also washed up plenty of food from the flooded shoreline. Fish can still be caught and many are positioning themselves on the outside of the flooded brush for an easy meal. Crankbaits or spinnerbaits in a white or sexy-shad color, worked from the shoreline out have been the best producer. The downside is you will have to cover a lot of water to get a bite, but the upside to that is when you do hold on, the fish are big and healthy. Good Luck!

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LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Flat Creek and Saline Creek GPS: N 32 12.771, W 95 33.510 (32.212846, -95.558505)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Big Eye Jig, Texas rigged baby Brush Hog and spinnerbaits CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff 903-561-7299 or 903-530-2201 ricky@rickysguideservice.com www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Fish the back of Flat Creek near the dogwood ridge as well as the back of Saline Creek. Fish the Big Eye Jig on and around the docks. Fish Texas-rigged baby Brush Hogs and spinnerbaits around the stumps.

LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts HOTSPOT: Big Boot Cove GPS: N 33 25.324, W 97 1.922 (33.4221, -97.0320)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Lipless crank baits and small white spinnerbaits CONTACT: Jim Walling 940-391-5534 jimwwalling@icloud.com TIPS: This time of year, especially as the water starts to cool down, the bass fishing normally gets good.

Fish ¼-ounce lipless crank baits and white spinnerbaits around any flooded vegetation. Most of the fish will be in water from 1-6 feet deep. Fish can be found in the back of any main lake cove. Continue to keep moving and covering water until you catch a couple in one area. Then fish that area thoroughly—there should be several more fish to be caught.

LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Yegua Park GPS: N 30 18.552, W 96 31.6679 (30.3092, -96.5278)

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SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait/cut bait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Lake level is dropping from summer flood.

North shoreline of Yegua allows you to reach deeper water. Great catfishing, also white bass.

LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Texas Flats and Mill Creek Flats GPS: N 33 48.936, W 96 46.2479 u TAP FOR (33.8156, -96.7708)

ers CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com www.teamredneck.net TIPS: The thermocline has set in and the stripers are hanging out on top of it. This time of year turns into a reaction type strike a lot of times. The fish will feed early, late or even at night when it’s cooler. Using down riggers 1/2 oz. buck tail jigs with plastic trailers troll the flats and ledges and edges anywhere from 13 to 18’ down. keep in mind the thermocline usually sets in at 22’ on Whitney so keep your baits above it. www. rsrlures.com LOCATION: Richland Chambers Lake HOTSPOT: Creek Channels & Timbered Flats GPS: N 31 56.424, W 96 7.38 u TAP FOR (31.9404, -96.1230)

PANHANDLE

Hit Henry Bass in the Mouths

by DUSTIN WARNCKE and DEAN HEFFNER LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry HOTSPOT: Mouth of Major Creeks and Dam Area GPS: N 33 1.722, W 101 6.654 u TAP FOR (33.0287, -101.1109)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Slabs and Coho Minnow Jigs CONTACT: Bill Carey 903-786-4477 bigfish@striperexpress.com www.striperexpress.com TIPS: Stripers are moving out of the deep water and roaming the flats in September. The lures of choice are slabs and jigs. Vertically jig one-ounce chrome, white and chartreuse slabs along the bottom in 10 to 30 foot depths. Coho minnow jigs in white glow color with a ¾ ounce jighead and a four-inch tail are perfect for these hungry stripers. Cast the jigs and use a medium retrieve. If you find surfacing or swirling fish, cast the jig, hold your rod high and keep the jig subsurface.

LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: McCowan Flats GPS: N 31 55.4519, W 97 24.6239 (31.9242, -97.4104)

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Danny Kings Punch Bait on a #4 treble hook CONTACT: Royce Simmons 903-389-4117 simmonsroyce@hotmail.com www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: Late Summer can be slow fishing for many species but you can always count on the Channel and Blue Cats on Richland Chambers for lots of action! Most of our fish come from areas where we have “baited” with a 5-gallon bucket filled with range cubes. I drill 1/4” holes in the bucket, tie it off to a tree, sink it, and the cubes dissolve over a period of a few days. The Catfish are attracted to the area. I usually throw out a little sour maize when we first arrive and you know within a few minutes if the Catfish are around. If we haven’t caught any fish in 10 minutes or so, move to another baited area. Lots of FUN and GREAT EATING! Most fish are in the 2 lb. size range, but you never know when you might hook one of the “BIG BLUES”!

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LOCATION: Lake Leon HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 21.63, W 98 40.692 (32.3605, -98.6782)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, trick worms, Senkos, crankbaits CONTACT: Michael D. Homer, Jr., Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.

325-692-0921 michael.homer@tpwd.texas.gov TIPS: Lake Leon has seen a good influx of water in the last two years. As a result, habitat has very much improved for largemouth bass, sunfishes, and crap-

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: 1/2 oz. Bucktail jigs with plastic trail-

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spoons, jigs and worms CONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services 806-792-9220 nclayton42@sbcglobal.net lakealanhenry.com/norman_clayton.htm TIPS: “September will still be hot and the bass will still be in the deep water. Fish should be in the 30 to 50 foot deep range. Use your electronics to find the shad, then fish with spoons, jigs, or worms at 30 to 40 feet. Most of the bass will be near the dam or in the mouth of the major creeks. Check out Big Grape, Little Grape, Rocky, Ince, and the deep points on the main Brazos River.”

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FISHING HOTSPOTS pie. September should offer good bass fishing along vegetation, docks, and rocky areas. Spinner baits, trick worms, Senkos, and crankbaits should produce a bass bite. Early morning, consider using topwater baits.

LOCATION: Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Broadway GPS: N 32 52.724, W 98 31.809 (32.8787, -98.5302)

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SPECIES: Striped/Hybrid Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad, topwaters, slabs, jigs CONTACT: Dean Heffner 940-329-0036 fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Broadway is a gathering spot for all the migratory fishes to congregate till the first feel of autumn.

The stripers will be gathering on humps and breaklines as will white bass and hybrids. There should still be some topwater action, but look for stripers, hybrids and whites to be roaming the 20- to 30-foot breaklines along shallower flats. Live shad is best, but you can use a Rebel POP-R for topwater, slabs and jigs. and I always tip my jigs with Mister Twister Curly Tails for their great live action. You can also fish striper-specific if you troll big baits or down rig big baits to keep the smaller white bass off your lures. Don’t forget this is also a great time to catch a PK monster largemouth bass. They will be roaming the flats close to drop-offs and old creek channel intersections. Pay attention to the birds and turtles as they will tell you where the bait is and in turn that’s where the fish will be.

BIG BEND

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Odom football jigs, Zara spooks, plastic lizards CONTACT: James Burkeen 830-734-9652 jjburkeen@gmail.com amistadbassin.com TIPS: The hydrilla is scattered in this area but thickening. Use Zara Spooks early, especially on cloudy days, and fish the points below the highways. At midmorning, move out to the hydrilla where it drops off into deep water and work Odom football jigs in greenpumpkin or Falcon Craw colors. Texas-rigged plastic lizards also work good in the hydrilla.

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LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Canyon Lake Marina GPS: N 29 54.576, W 98 14.2979 (29.9096, -98.2383)

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Stripers Go Low on Buchanan

by DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Lower Half of Main Lake GPS: N 30 46.2119, W 98 25.098 (30.7702, -98.4183)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live Shad CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@yahoo.com www.centraltexasfishing.com TIPS: Fish the lower half of the lake towards the dam area. Fish the down wind side of your boat with live shad either drifting or anchored in 25 to 35 feet concentrating on coves or ridges.

LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Highway 277 GPS: N29 30.32178, W100 54.9906 (29.505363, -100.91651)

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SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Topwater Lures CONTACT: Ken Milam 325-379-2051 kmilam@verizon.net www.striperfever.com.com TIPS: Look for White Bass to be in the Garrett Island area. Fish with topwater lures in the early morning and late evenings.

HILL COUNTRY

Play Football with Amistad Bass

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Garrett Island Area GPS: N 30 47.556, W 98 25.4459 (30.7926, -98.4241)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: ¼ oz. Shakey Head, Carolina rigged Watermelon flukes (1/2 oz. or ¾ oz. Tru-Tungsten weights), Senko type baits Texas rigged or weightless, use flukes weightless as well CONTACT: KC’S Bassin’ Guide Service 210-823-2153 kandie@gvtc.com www.kcbassinguide.com TIPS: “Be sure and fish the point near the drop off slowly. Work the shallows early and then move into the deeper depths. Bass are in their later summer homes and with the weather being warm are not opt to be aggressive in nature. Use a good rod like A DENALI rod in heavy weight and 7’ for Carolina rigging. This rod can handle anything you get into and then some.

Good summer colors include, watermelon red, blue fleck, June bug, (if really sunny) watermelon candy (dip it in chartreuse). Go early remember to hydrate regularly with water, wear hat & sunglasses, sun screen and snacks.”

LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Turkey Creek Point GPS: N 29 51.7079, W 98 12.948 (29.8618, -98.2158)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad in Pearl color CONTACT: Steve Nixon, Fishhooks Adventures 210-573-1230 steve@sanantoniofishingguides.com www.sanantoniofishingguides.com TIPS: “Trolling this area with downriggers seems to produce the best catches. Set the downriggers from 40 to 60 feet deep and look for schools of Striped Bass.

When located, vary trolling speeds until the fish strike.”

LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Lake Shore Drive Point Area GPS: N 29 51.7079, W 98 14.28 (29.8618, -98.2380)

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SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Live minnows or jigs CONTACT: Teach ‘Em to Fish Guide Service-Barry Dodd 210-771-0123 barry@teachemtofish.net www.teachemtofish.net TIPS: “Water temperature and days are still hot.

Crappie remain in their summer pattern of holding near the thermocline, along deep-water ledges, points and cover. The best and most comfortable times to fish in this Texas heat are daybreak until 10 AM, after 5 PM till dark and at night with lights. Live bait fished near the bottom often produces the best results but jigs work, as well. There are a couple brush piles on this main lake point, very good breaks, deep water and a long flat.”

LOCATION: Lake Austin HOTSPOT: Docks by Deep Water and Over-Hanging Brush GPS: N 30 19.464, W 97 50.316 (30.3244, -97.8386)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Pacemaker Jig, V&M Twin Tail Trailer, V&M Wild Craw Jr, Picasso Shock Blade, Picasso Tungsten Flipping Weight CONTACT: Brian Parker - Lake Austin Fishing 817-808-2227 lakeaustinfishing@yahoo.com www.LakeAustinFishing.com TIPS: September is typically a hot water month, which means these fish want to hide in the shadows. I enjoy flipping the Pacemaker Adrenaline jig with a V&M Twin Tail or Wild Craw trailer to each post of docks or skipping a my jig in the back of the docks. I also like flipping under heavy brush with a Picasso Tungsten Flipping weight (the only polished bore tungsten on the market) with a Wild Craw trailer. The good thing about flipping is you can cover water quickly and effectively by targeting areas that hold fish. If a dock reaches out into the lake, I’ll pick up a Picasso Shock Blade and run it beside the dock pilings for that reaction bite.

It’s good to throw at the same pilings more than once to give them another chance if they missed it the first time.

LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Kelly AFB Park Point GPS: N 30 33.732, W 98 20.988 (30.5622, -98.3498)

u TAP FOR ONLINE MAP

SPECIES: Bass and Crappie BEST BAITS: Worms, drop-shot rigs, crankbaits, buzzbaits and topwater baits CONTACT: Teach ‘Em to Fish Guide Service-Barry Dodd 210-771-0123 barry@teachemtofish.net www.teachemtofish.net TIPS: Bass and crappie remain in their summer patters of holding near the thermocline, along deep-water ledges, points and cover. Look for both species along points intersecting with a significant depth change.

Also look for vegetation near the main lake. Generally speaking, the best and most comfortable times to fish in this Texas heat are daybreak until 10 AM, after 7

T E X A S

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PM and at night. The 1/3 of the lake closest to the dam will supply the best water temperature and oxygen content. Work the inner vegetation very early with buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters and lipless cranks then move more to the weed line throwing lipped cranks and plastics after about 8 AM.

SOUTH TEXAS

Bass Action Still Hot on Coleto

by DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 28 44.4959, W 97 10.818 (28.7416, -97.1803)

u TAP FOR ONLINE MAP

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Rat-L-Trap in silver and black CONTACT: Rocky’s Guide Service 361-960-0566 TIPS: September is usually the last hot month of the year. Bugs are flying over the water and top water is usually explosive. It’s hard to beat top water action.

Early morning and late evening are great times but don’t discount the middle of the day. Personally, I usually catch my biggest fish mid-day. Fish are gonna be feeding hard preparing for the winter months. Action will be good on about anything you throw at them.

Rat-L-Traps are very productive outside the grass by deeper water. Sometimes just for grins I like to try different baits. It helps build the confidence level for different lures. Take plenty to drink and remember it’s a gift to get to go. Don’t forget to thank GOD before and after. May your bites be big and your fish be healthy.

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK SEPTEMBER 2016

Tides and Prime Times

USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).

T12

T4

T11

T10 T9

TIDE PREDICTIONS are located in the upper white boxes on the Calendar Pages. Use the Correction Table below, which is keyed to 23 other tide stations, to adjust low and high tide times.

T8 T17

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY is shown in the lower color boxes of the Calendar pages. Use the SOLUNAR ADJUSTMENT SCALE below to adjust times for points East and West of Galveston Channel.

T15 T16

TIDE PREDICTIONS are shown in graph form, with High and Low tide predictions in text immediately below.

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on many wildlife species.

T13 T6

T7

T3 T2 T1

T5

T14

AM & PM MINOR phases occur when the moon rises and sets. These phases last 1 to 2 hours.

T18

AM & PM MAJOR phases occur when the moon reaches its highest point overhead as well as when it is “underfoot” or at its highest point on the exact opposite side of the earth from your positoin (or literally under your feet). Most days have two Major Feeding Phases, each lasting about 2 hours.

T19

T20

PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

PEAK TIMES: When a Solunar Period falls within 30 minutes to an hour of sunrise or sunset, anticipate increased action. A moon rise or moon set during one of these periods will cause even greater action. If a FULL or NEW MOON occurs during a Solunar Period, expect the best action of the season.

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

PLACE Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass Jetty Sabine Pass Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass Galveston Bay, S. Jetty Port Bolivar

HIGH -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14

LOW -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH Galveston Channel/Bays T7 Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +3:54 T8 Eagle Point +6:05 T9 Clear Lake +10:21 T10 Morgans Point T11 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39

LOW +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15

KEY T12 T13 T14 T15 T16 T17

PLACE Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay Gilchrist, East Bay Jamaica Beach, W. Bay Alligator Point, W. Bay Christmas Pt Galveston Pleasure Pier

HIGH +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -1:06

LOW +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:33 +2:31 -1:06

KEY T18 T19 T20 T21 T22 T23

PLACE HIGH San Luis Pass -0.09 Freeport Harbor -0:44 Pass Cavallo 0:00 Aransas Pass -0:03 Padre Island (So. End) -0:24 Port Isabel +1:02

LOW -0.09 -1:02 -1:20 -1:31 -1:45 -0:42

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION T22 T23

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

READING THE GRAPH

Moon l Moon Overhead l Underfoot

Fishing Score Graph

Day’s Best Day’s 2nd Score Best Score

n

Best Day Overall

MOON PHASES

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter «= Good Day by Moon Phase 76 |

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SEPTEMBER 2016

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

29 High Tide: FEET

3:29 AM Low Tide: 8:51 AM High Tide: 1:37 PM Low Tide: 8:28 PM

TUESDAY

30 High Tide:

1.72ft.

1.26ft.

1.53ft.

0.03ft.

4:03 AM Low Tide: 9:20 AM High Tide: 2:31 PM Low Tide: 9:13 PM

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Aug 31 « Sep 1l 2 « High Tide: 4:56 AM 1.61ft.

High Tide: 5:19 AM

1.69ft.

1.17ft.

1.56ft.

0.12ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

4:31 AM 9:48 AM 3:21 PM 9:55 PM

1.65ft.

1.07ft.

1.57ft.

0.24ft.

3 « High Tide: 5:41 AM

1.58ft.

Low Tide: 10:54 AM 0.85ft.

High Tide: 4:57 PM 1.53ft.

Low Tide: 11:11 PM 0.55ft.

Low Tide: 10:19 AM 0.96ft.

High Tide: 4:09 PM 1.56ft.

Low Tide: 10:34 PM 0.38ft.

1.56ft.

Low Tide: 11:31 AM 0.74ft.

High Tide: 5:48 PM 1.49ft.

Low Tide: 11:47 PM 0.73ft.

SUNDAY

4 « High Tide: 6:03 AM

1.53ft.

Low Tide: 12:11 PM 0.65ft.

High Tide: 6:45 PM 1.45ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

PRIME TIME

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

10:00A — 12:00P

11:00A — 1:00P

12:00 — 2:00 PM

12:30 — 2:30 PM

1:30 — 3:30 PM

2:00 — 4:00 PM

2:30 — 4:30 PM

Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 7:44p Moonrise: 4:17a Set: 5:58p AM Minor: 3:21a AM Major: 9:35a PM Minor: 3:48p PM Major: 10:01p Moon Overhead: 11:09a Moon Underfoot: 11:35p

Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 7:43p Moonrise: 5:15a Set: 6:41p AM Minor: 4:09a AM Major: 10:21a PM Minor: 4:34p PM Major: 10:47p Moon Overhead: 12:00p Moon Underfoot: None

Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 7:42p Moonrise: 6:12a Set: 7:21p AM Minor: 4:56a AM Major: 11:08a PM Minor: 5:20p PM Major: 11:32p Moon Overhead: 12:49p Moon Underfoot: 12:25a

Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 7:41p Moonrise: 7:08a Set: 7:59p AM Minor: 5:43a AM Major: 11:54a PM Minor: 6:06p PM Major: 12:17p Moon Overhead: 1:36p Moon Underfoot: 1:13a

Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 7:40p Moonrise: 8:03a Set: 8:35p AM Minor: 6:30a AM Major: 12:19a PM Minor: 6:52p PM Major: 12:41p Moon Overhead: 2:21p Moon Underfoot: 1:59a

Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 7:39p Moonrise: 8:56a Set: 9:09p AM Minor: 7:18a AM Major: 1:07a PM Minor: 7:40p PM Major: 1:29p Moon Overhead: 3:05p Moon Underfoot: 2:43a

Sunrise: 6:58a Set: 7:38p Moonrise: 9:49a Set: 9:44p AM Minor: 8:06a AM Major: 1:55a PM Minor: 8:28p PM Major: 2:17p Moon Overhead: 3:48p Moon Underfoot: 3:27a

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

5 Low Tide: FEET

12:25 AM High Tide: 6:22 AM Low Tide: 12:54 PM High Tide: 7:53 PM

TUESDAY

6 Low Tide:

0.91ft.

1.49ft.

0.57ft.

1.41ft.

1:04 AM High Tide: 6:38 AM Low Tide: 1:41 PM High Tide: 9:26 PM

WEDNESDAY

7 Low Tide:

1.09ft.

1.46ft.

0.52ft.

1.40ft.

1:51 AM High Tide: 6:40 AM Low Tide: 2:32 PM High Tide: 11:25 PM

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

8 Low Tide:

1.25ft.

1.43ft.

0.48ft.

1.45ft.

9 º High Tide:

3:07 AM 1.38ft.

High Tide: 6:11 AM 1.42ft.

Low Tide: 3:27 PM 0.46ft.

Low Tide:

SATURDAY

10 High Tide:

1:03 AM 1.53ft.

4:24 PM 0.42ft.

Low Tide:

1:56 AM 1.61ft.

5:21 PM 0.38ft.

SUNDAY

11 High Tide: Low Tide:

2:29 AM 1.67ft.

6:14 PM 0.32ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

3:30 — 5:30 PM

4:00 — 6:00 PM

10:30A — 12:30P

11:00A — 1:00P

12:00 — 2:00 PM

1:00 — 3:00 PM

2:00 — 4:00 PM

Sunrise: 6:58a Set: 7:36p Moonrise: 10:41a Set: 10:19p AM Minor: 8:55a AM Major: 2:44a PM Minor: 9:17p PM Major: 3:06p Moon Overhead: 4:32p Moon Underfoot: 4:10a

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 7:35p Moonrise: 11:32a Set: 10:56p AM Minor: 9:43a AM Major: 3:33a PM Minor: 10:05p PM Major: 3:54p Moon Overhead: 5:16p Moon Underfoot: 4:54a

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 7:34p Moonrise: 12:24p Set: 11:34p AM Minor: 10:32a AM Major: 4:21a PM Minor: 10:54p PM Major: 4:43p Moon Overhead: 6:00p Moon Underfoot: 5:38a

Sunrise: 7:00a Set: 7:33p Moonrise: 1:15p Set: None AM Minor: 11:20a AM Major: 5:09a PM Minor: 11:43p PM Major: 5:32p Moon Overhead: 6:46p Moon Underfoot: 6:23a

Sunrise: 7:00a Set: 7:32p Moonrise: 2:06p Set: 12:16a AM Minor: ----AM Major: 5:56a PM Minor: 12:08p PM Major: 6:20p Moon Overhead: 7:34p Moon Underfoot: 7:10a

Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 7:30p Moonrise: 2:57p Set: 1:01a AM Minor: 12:31a AM Major: 6:43a PM Minor: 12:55p PM Major: 7:08p Moon Overhead: 8:23p Moon Underfoot: 7:58a

Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 7:29p Moonrise: 3:46p Set: 1:50a AM Minor: 1:17a AM Major: 7:30a PM Minor: 1:42p PM Major: 7:55p Moon Overhead: 9:14p Moon Underfoot: 8:49a

MOON PHASES

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Moon l Overhead l Moon Underfoot

READING THE GRAPH

MONDAY

TUESDAY

12 High Tide: FEET

12p

PRIME TIME

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

13 High Tide:

2:51 AM 1.70ft.

Low Tide: 8:44 AM 1.38ft.

High Tide: 11:36 AM 1.41ft.

Low Tide: 7:03 PM 0.27ft.

Fishing Score Graph

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

14 High Tide:

3:10 AM 1.72ft.

Low Tide: 8:33 AM 1.31ft.

High Tide: 12:50 PM 1.49ft.

Low Tide: 7:50 PM 0.24ft.

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

15 « High Tide: 3:48 AM

3:29 AM 1.74ft.

Low Tide: 8:50 AM 1.20ft.

High Tide: 1:50 PM 1.59ft.

Low Tide: 8:35 PM 0.24ft.

n

SATURDAY

16 « High Tide: 4:10 AM

1.74ft.

Low Tide: 9:18 AM 1.04ft.

High Tide: 2:46 PM 1.69ft.

Low Tide: 9:20 PM 0.30ft.

17 ¡ High Tide: 4:34 AM

1.74ft.

Low Tide: 9:53 AM 0.85ft.

High Tide: 3:44 PM 1.77ft.

Low Tide: 10:05 PM 0.42ft.

1.73ft.

Low Tide: 10:34 AM 0.65ft.

High Tide: 4:43 PM 1.82ft.

Low Tide: 10:51 PM 0.60ft.

SUNDAY

18 « High Tide: 5:00 AM

1.72ft.

Low Tide: 11:18 AM 0.47ft.

High Tide: 5:45 PM 1.84ft.

Low Tide: 11:38 PM 0.81ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

PRIME TIME

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM

4:00 — 6:00 PM

4:30 — 6:30 AM

11:00A — 1:00P

6:00 — 7:00 PM

1:00 — 3:00 AM

1:30 — 3:30 AM

Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 7:28p Moonrise: 4:34p Set: 2:44a AM Minor: 2:03a AM Major: 8:16a PM Minor: 2:29p PM Major: 8:42p Moon Overhead: 10:06p Moon Underfoot: 9:40a

Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 7:27p Moonrise: 5:20p Set: 3:41a AM Minor: 2:49a AM Major: 9:03a PM Minor: 3:16p PM Major: 9:29p Moon Overhead: 10:59p Moon Underfoot: 10:33a

Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 7:26p Moonrise: 6:05p Set: 4:41a AM Minor: 3:37a AM Major: 9:50a PM Minor: 4:03p PM Major: 10:17p Moon Overhead: 11:52p Moon Underfoot: 11:26a

Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 7:24p Moonrise: 6:49p Set: 5:44a AM Minor: 4:25a AM Major: 10:39a PM Minor: 4:52p PM Major: 11:05p Moon Overhead: None Moon Underfoot: 12:19p

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 7:23p Moonrise: 7:32p Set: 6:48a AM Minor: 5:16a AM Major: 11:30a PM Minor: 5:43p PM Major: 11:57p Moon Overhead: 12:46a Moon Underfoot: 1:13p

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 7:22p Moonrise: 8:15p Set: 7:53a AM Minor: 6:10a AM Major: 12:00a PM Minor: 6:37p PM Major: 12:24p Moon Overhead: 1:40a Moon Underfoot: 2:07p

Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 7:21p Moonrise: 8:59p Set: 8:58a AM Minor: 7:08a AM Major: 12:54a PM Minor: 7:35p PM Major: 1:22p Moon Overhead: 2:34a Moon Underfoot: 3:01p

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

TUESDAY

20 Low Tide:

19 « High Tide: 5:27 AM

12:29 AM High Tide: 5:55 AM Low Tide: 1:00 PM High Tide: 8:10 PM

1.70ft.

Low Tide: 12:07 PM 0.32ft.

High Tide: 6:53 PM 1.83ft.

FEET

WEDNESDAY

21 Low Tide:

1.04ft.

1.67ft.

0.22ft.

1.80ft.

1:25 AM High Tide: 6:25 AM Low Tide: 1:58 PM High Tide: 9:38 PM

THURSDAY

22 Low Tide:

1.25ft.

1.64ft.

0.18ft.

1.77ft.

2:35 AM High Tide: 6:56 AM Low Tide: 3:03 PM High Tide: 11:13 PM

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

24 High Tide:

23 » Low Tide: 4:23 AM

1.41ft.

1.60ft.

0.18ft.

1.78ft.

12:37 AM Low Tide: 6:57 AM High Tide: 9:50 AM Low Tide: 5:22 PM

1.50ft.

High Tide: 7:41 AM 1.54ft.

Low Tide: 4:12 PM 0.22ft.

1.80ft.

1.47ft.

1.50ft.

0.26ft.

SUNDAY

25 High Tide:

1:37 AM 1.80ft.

Low Tide: 7:46 AM 1.39ft.

High Tide: 11:41 AM 1.52ft.

Low Tide: 6:28 PM 0.31ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

2:30 — 4:30 AM

3:30 — 5:30 AM

4:00 — 6:00 AM

11:00A — 1:00P

12:00 — 2:00 PM

1:00 — 3:00 PM

2:00 — 3:00 PM

Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 7:19p Moonrise: 9:45p Set: 10:05a AM Minor: 8:09a AM Major: 1:55a PM Minor: 8:36p PM Major: 2:23p Moon Overhead: 3:29a Moon Underfoot: 3:57p

Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 7:18p Moonrise: 10:33p Set: 11:10a AM Minor: 9:11a AM Major: 2:57a PM Minor: 9:40p PM Major: 3:25p Moon Overhead: 4:25a Moon Underfoot: 4:54p

Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 7:17p Moonrise: 11:24p Set: 12:15p AM Minor: 10:14a AM Major: 4:00a PM Minor: 10:43p PM Major: 4:28p Moon Overhead: 5:22a Moon Underfoot: 5:51p

Sunrise: 7:07a Set: 7:16p Moonrise: None Set: 1:17p AM Minor: 11:16a AM Major: 5:01a PM Minor: 11:44p PM Major: 5:30p Moon Overhead: 6:19a Moon Underfoot: 6:48p

Sunrise: 7:07a Set: 7:15p Moonrise: 12:18a Set: 2:15p AM Minor: ----AM Major: 6:00a PM Minor: 12:14p PM Major: 6:28p Moon Overhead: 7:16a Moon Underfoot: 7:44p

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 7:13p Moonrise: 1:14a Set: 3:08p AM Minor: 12:40a AM Major: 6:54a PM Minor: 1:08p PM Major: 7:22p Moon Overhead: 8:12a Moon Underfoot: 8:39p

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 7:12p Moonrise: 2:12a Set: 3:57p AM Minor: 1:31a AM Major: 7:45a PM Minor: 1:58p PM Major: 8:11p Moon Overhead: 9:06a Moon Underfoot: 9:32p

MOON PHASES

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Moon l Overhead l Moon Underfoot

READING THE GRAPH

MONDAY

TUESDAY

26 High Tide: FEET

12p

PRIME TIME

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

27 High Tide:

2:22 AM 1.79ft.

Low Tide: 8:13 AM 1.29ft.

High Tide: 12:58 PM 1.58ft.

Low Tide: 7:27 PM 0.37ft.

Fishing Score Graph

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

28 High Tide:

2:55 AM 1.76ft.

Low Tide: 8:37 AM 1.18ft.

High Tide: 2:00 PM 1.64ft.

Low Tide: 8:18 PM 0.45ft.

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

29 « High Tide: 3:44 AM

3:22 AM 1.73ft.

Low Tide: 9:00 AM 1.05ft.

High Tide: 2:53 PM 1.68ft.

Low Tide: 9:02 PM 0.56ft.

n

SATURDAY

30 « High Tide: 4:04 AM

1.70ft.

Low Tide: 9:25 AM 0.91ft.

High Tide: 3:41 PM 1.71ft.

Low Tide: 9:41 PM 0.68ft.

SUNDAY

1 Oct l 2 « High Tide: 4:23 AM 1.66ft.

High Tide: 4:40 AM

1.68ft.

Low Tide: 9:53 AM 0.78ft.

High Tide: 4:26 PM 1.72ft.

Low Tide: 10:17 PM 0.82ft.

Low Tide: 10:24 AM 0.65ft.

High Tide: 5:10 PM 1.71ft.

Low Tide: 10:52 PM 0.96ft.

1.64ft.

Low Tide: 10:57 AM 0.55ft.

High Tide: 5:54 PM 1.70ft.

Low Tide: 11:27 PM 1.09ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

PRIME TIME

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

6a

12p

6p

PRIME TIME

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

PRIME TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM

4:00 — 6:00 PM

10:30A — 12:30P

11:30A — 1:30P

12:00 — 2:00 PM

1:00 — 3:00 PM

2:00 — 4:00 PM

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 7:11p Moonrise: 3:09a Set: 4:41p AM Minor: 2:19a AM Major: 8:31a PM Minor: 2:44p PM Major: 8:56p Moon Overhead: 9:57a Moon Underfoot: 10:22p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 7:10p Moonrise: 4:06a Set: 5:21p AM Minor: 3:03a AM Major: 9:15a PM Minor: 3:27p PM Major: 9:39p Moon Overhead: 10:46a Moon Underfoot: 11:09p

Sunrise: 7:10a Set: 7:08p Moonrise: 5:02a Set: 5:59p AM Minor: 3:46a AM Major: 9:57a PM Minor: 4:09p PM Major: 10:20p Moon Overhead: 11:33a Moon Underfoot: 11:55p

Sunrise: 7:10a Set: 7:07p Moonrise: 5:56a Set: 6:35p AM Minor: 4:28a AM Major: 10:39a PM Minor: 4:50p PM Major: 11:01p Moon Overhead: 12:18p Moon Underfoot: None

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 7:06p Moonrise: 6:49a Set: 7:10p AM Minor: 5:10a AM Major: 11:21a PM Minor: 5:32p PM Major: 11:43p Moon Overhead: 1:02p Moon Underfoot: 12:40a

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 7:05p Moonrise: 7:42a Set: 7:44p AM Minor: 5:54a AM Major: ----PM Minor: 6:15p PM Major: 12:26p Moon Overhead: 1:45p Moon Underfoot: 1:23a

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 7:04p Moonrise: 8:34a Set: 8:19p AM Minor: 6:39a AM Major: 12:28a PM Minor: 7:01p PM Major: 12:50p Moon Overhead: 2:28p Moon Underfoot: 2:07a

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Texas BOATING

by LENNY RUDOW :: TF&G Boating Editor

Trial by Fire... and Water

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UST AS TRUTH IS STRANGER than fiction, reality is a lot tougher on boating gear than any planned testing procedure. Is that Garmin eTrex waterproof hand-held GPS really going to survive a dunking?

You can perform the IPX-7 rating test and submerge it underwater for 30 minutes at three

meters. Or, you could carry that unit aboard your boat until the day your three-year-old throws it over the side while you’re anchored at a local beach eating lunch. The water may not be exactly three meters deep (it was up to my neck). You may not be watching a stopwatch as you feel along the bottom with your feet (it took quite a while to find it, pinch it between my feet, and tread water one-handed while reaching down to grab it). But the fact that the unit survived the ordeal says a lot more about its hardiness than any variable-controlled laboratory test ever could.

I’ve inadvertently put boating gear through five other unintentional torture-tests over the years that proved to be quite educational. Here they are:

LED Impact-O-Rama While wreck fishing 12 miles off the coast, dark clouds began gathering on the horizon. I had three kids under 10 years old aboard, so I decided to pull anchor and head for the barn ASAP. Unfortunately, the storm was building and moving as fast as a bass boat racing to make the tournament weigh-ins. We had barely cleaned up and secured to run, when the thunder and lightning began. I firewalled the throttles, and ran for the inlet at full-tilt.

After I crashed into a few steep three-foot waves, the bracket mounting my Imtra LED cockpit flood light to the T-top frame vibrated loose. For the next 12 miles, every time we hit a wave the light swung up and then smashed down onto the aluminum pipe. I wasn’t about to stop in the quickly deteriorating conditions just to save the light or make it stop clanging, so it went through hundreds of bell-ringing impacts over the next half hour.

This fall, the oldest child who was aboard for that adventure is heading for her first year of college. Although that light looks like someone beat on it with a ball-peen hammer, it still works just fine.

Gyro-soakification I’ve used a pair of Fujinon gyro-stabilized 14 x 40 Techno-Stabi binoculars for more than a decade now. Few tools are as helpful when it comes to finding fish. At twice the power of most marine binocs, I can spot flocks of diving birds from seven or eight miles away. I can see whether there’s a boat on my favored hotspot de jure before I spend 20 minutes running over there. Also, I can spot fins moving across the flats from hundreds of yards. These abilities are rather shocking, mostly because those Techno-Stabies should be as dead as a doornail.

Some five or six years ago they disappeared; I had carelessly set them down on a cooler, and when I next reached for them—poof! They were gone.

I didn’t piece together what had happened

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Texas BOATING until a month later, when I discovered them in the bilge. The day they disappeared, I had propped open a bilge hatch, to tighten up a livewell pump hose that had worked itself loose.

At some point we must have been rocked by a wave, the binoculars must have taken a tumble into the open hatch, and somehow I didn’t notice. Until, of course, I found them half-submerged and covered in gooey bilgecrud.

Since the Techno-Stabis aren’t even IPXrated for waterproofing, I assumed the gyroscope’s electronic innards had been saturated with saltwater and corroded into a gooey mess.

Imagine my surprise when I cleaned the binoculars off, replaced the batteries, pressed the power button, and they worked. They still work today.

Trolling Motor Mayhem My kids and I enjoy crabbing with a trot

line. One day we were happily scooping the critters, one after the next, as we ran down the line, when suddenly it went taut. We stopped the boat, gave a good hard tug, and whatever the line was stuck on started rising to the surface. A Minn Kota electric trolling motor, covered in barnacles, soon broke the surface.

We decided it would make a neat lawn ornament (assuming Mom would go along with the idea), so we took it home. We never imagined even for a moment that the thing would actually work, after sitting on the bottom of the bay long enough for barnacles to grow on it.

So we were rather shocked when, on a whim, I clipped the leads to a 12-volt battery, turned the throttle, and the propeller started spinning. It was lucky that we were able to put the motor back into service, because Mom most certainly did not go along with our idea.

A Decade Afloat

A Mustang Survival Bomber Jacket Float-

coat has been my very favorite boating jacket for 10 years running. It’s warm, it’s comfortable, and the thin layer of foam running throughout the jacket turns it into a USCG-approved Type III PFD. But Mustang’s warranty only spans one year, and you’d think that after five, eight, or certainly 10 years, it would need replacing, right? Wrong.

Although I can’t point to any one single torturous event, my Mustang has been through an awful lot of real-world adversity. It’s been ripped while removing hooks that were cast errantly into my shoulder, but the rip-stop nylon really does stop ripping. It’s been saturated countless times, but the closed-cell foam really is closed and doesn’t absorb any water.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the zippers, which are common failure-points on jackets that age in the saltwater environment, still work perfectly even after going up and down thousands of times.

Trailer Torture Just how rugged is an Icom M88 VHF radio? I found out after setting mine down on the asphalt next to a pile of gear, while unloading the boat after a fishing trip. I managed to forget all about it while packing the truck, jumped into the driver’s seat, and proceeded to tow my tandem-axle 3,000-pound rig right over the radio. D’op!

I might not have even noticed, except that another boater saw the radio and waved me down before I left the parking lot. The casing was gouged and the volume button wobbled when I turned it, but the radio still worked like a charm. For all I know, it might still be operational today. But I can’t tell you for sure, since I managed to lose the dang thing a few years later—while unloading the boat at the ramp.

I’m sure lab testing is a valuable practice, and can help manufacturers make better products. But when it comes to discovering which boating gear will last for ages, there’s just no substitute for real-world use—and abuse.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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The Practical ANGLER

by GREG BERLOCHER | TF&G Contributing Editor

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HE GULF OF MEXICO IS A temperamental body of water, changing moods with the seasons.

Winter’s storms turn the Gulf into a raging tempest, but as time pases, the Gulf begins to settle as spring turns to summer. Angry seas transition into rolling swells, becoming navigable to anglers with seaworthy boats.

Then, in late summer, the Gulf changes yet again, becoming placid and taking on a docile personality. Even bay boats can safely navigate the flat waters. If you yearn to play tug-of-war with a large fish, the shallow Gulf teems with cooperative fish as summer prepares to transition to autumn.

The autumn equinox occurs on September 22 this year. As this astronomically significant date approaches, baitfish in the bays begin to push through passes into the open gulf to spawn and over-winter.

The amount and variety of bait that heads to the Gulf for the winter is staggering. Silver and striped mullet, pin perch, piggy perch, and croaker, as well as white and brown shrimp are part of this exodus. Some baitfish remain in the bays throughout the winter, but large numbers of their brethren elect to head to deeper water.

Arriving in the naked Gulf waters, the menagerie of defenseless bait concentrates into tight schools seeking safety from marauding predators. It doesn’t take long for sharks, jackfish, tarpon, and bull reds to discover these huge balls of bait.

Often overlooked by anglers because of their minimal appeal on the plate, little tunny are a worthy adversary, which can be found in large numbers in the shallow Gulf just a short ride from any jetty. Commonly called little tuna and false albacore, Euthynnus alletteratus is a powerful foe when caught on light tackle.

Little tunny are schooling fish and do every-

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“ The amount and variety of bait that heads to the Gulf for the winter is staggering.

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String Stretchers

thing quickly. Their motor doesn’t have an Off switch. About the size of a football, the tunashaped fish often breach the surface pursuing food. Fresh from the water, little tunny, or bonito, are strikingly beautiful; the dark, wavy lines superimposed on the fish’s vivid green or blue back is a good visual reference. Although brutes to thirty-pounds occur, most fish run in the eight-ten pound range—an ideal size to do battle with on sturdy saltwater tackle.

Little tunny like to slash through baitfish near the surface. Wheeling and crashing gulls

will betray their presence from a distance. A good pair of binoculars is a valuable ally when you search for feeding fish. I find that schooling activity increases in the afternoon. It seems I am always greeted by numerous schools boiling the water as I approach the jetties on an inbound heading.

Fishing for little tunny is definitely a run and gun afair. To find fish, you need to be mobile, which is a good thing. Even when there aren’t fish around, the man-made breeze created by the ponies on your transom is blessed relief from the searing heat of summer.

Once you spot a school of feeding fish, take a minute to determine which direction they are heading and then try to get in front of them.

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Forget your trolling motor. These fish are so fast, you can’t keep up with them. Running right up to a school and shutting down your outboard will spook the baitfish, which in turn puts down the little tunny.

Large spoons and jigs are good options if you want to fish wth lures. A short section of wire leader will minimize bite-offs in case mackerel crash the dinner party.

Retrieve your lure as fast as you can as offshore fish dine on things that swim quickly. A lure that is retreieved slowly is unnatural and will be politely ignored. Rip your rod tip forward periodically to increase your lure speed in hopes of triggering a reaction strike.

Sweetening the hook of your lure with a cigar minnow, or sardine, can also improve your success. If the little tunny give your lures the cold shoulder, try trolling.

Throwing out a handful of chum will often hold a feeding school for a while. Have a pile of cut chum standing by, so when you get into some acction all you have to do is pitch out a few chunks.

The shallow gulf offers plenty of opportunties for bay fishermen who want to venture beyond the jetties. Several words of caution: File a game plan with a friend and then stick to it. Let them know when you are launching, how far out in the Gulf you will venture, and when you expect to be back at the ramp.

Although slick calm Gulf waters are very inviting to the bay angler, don’t venture beyond a reasonable distance from the beach.

The shallow Gulf is full of hungry predators right now. If you want to have your string stretched, you won’t have to go too far beyond the end of the jetties to find some action.

Email Greg Berlocher at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Texas GUNS

by STEVE LAMASCUS | TF&G Shooting Editor

Revolvers: Double Versus Single Action

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HE EVOLUTION OF HANDguns is relatively simple. It began with a muzzle loading single shot touched off (literally) with a match, then progressed in logical steps, arriving at the modern single-action (SA) and doubleaction (DA) revolvers we have today— as well as modern semi-autos.

Today the semi-auto has become the gold standard for the self-defense weapon, replacing the DA revolver in the holsters of most police officers and CCL holders. However, the revolver still has a lot going for it, especially for hunting.

It is pretty much foolproof and will fire even dented or corroded ammunition if you can cram it into the chamber. On the other hand, a semi-auto requires almost perfect ammo to function properly.

If you have a misfire with a DA revolver all that’s necessary is to pull the trigger again.

Many people still cling to their revolvers, and to a certain extent I am one of them. I love my revolvers, especially in the big-bore and magnum calibers.

The real question is which is best, the SA or DA? I know one retired sheriff who still carries a Colt Peacemaker in .44 Special as his concealed carry gun. However, the DA is, for most people, far and away the best choice for a selfdefense weapon.

I freely admit that I generally carry one of a pair of 1911s in .45 ACP for concealed carry, but another of my favorite weapons is a 2 1/2inch Smith &Wesson Model 19. Loaded with 125-grain .357 Magnum hollow points, it has stopping power and concealability. Tucked under a loose shirt in an El Paso Saddlery Street Combat holster it is well hidden and fast to get into action.

At this moment I am in my workshop,

which sits a few feet from my house in the middle of several hundred acres of brush. As I sit here working on this article, a new Ruger Single-Nine .22 Magnum hangs on my belt.

Since I am more worried about rattlesnakes and skunks than bad guys, the little nine shot .22 Magnum is a perfect companion. And it would probably work pretty well should I be faced with a serious self-defense situation. The .22 WMR with 40-grain hollow points packs a pretty mean wallop.

At other times, in the same situation, I might carry a Smith & Wesson Mountain Gun in .45 Colt. A pair of #9 shot snake loads would be loaded up front, followed by four 250-grain Keith semi-wadcutters. Or I might opt for a four-inch Model 29 .44 Magnum, loaded the same way, or even a little nickelplated .38 Special Model 36 Chief’s Special with a bobbed hammer. Mostly, it depends on my mood and what I plan to do for the rest of the day.

If I am going hunting with a handgun, I leave the shorter guns at home and carry either a 5.5inch Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum, a Ruger Red Hawk, also in .44 Magnum, but with a 7.5-inch barrel, or a beautiful old S&W Model 27 .357 Magnum with a six-inch barrel.

As for which is better—well, I guess, as I said before, it depends. However, the vast majority who own a DA revolver will never shoot it double action, but will pull back the hammer and shoot it single action. That’s because the trigger pull is so much better. In that situation it matters not at all which you choose.

On the other hand if you use your revolver for concealed carry, and have learned to shoot it double action (the way you should), the DA gun is much, much better. Although a SA is just about as quick as a DA for the first shot, the DA is much faster to shoot in a quick, aimed series of shots.

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A person who is properly trained to shoot double action is astoundingly accurate. I shoot just about as well double action as I do single action, but I practiced almost daily for a lot of years. Also, the DA is much faster to reload than the SA. I would have to say that for most situations the DA is better than the SA. Although either will shoot very well, the faster reloading, the faster second and third shot, and the ability to shoot it either doubleor single-action, gives it a distinct advantage.

On the other hand, the SA’s sloping grips that allow the gun to turn up in your hand handles recoil better, and a good SA, like the Rugers, is tough as an anvil.

The big DAs, like the S&W N-Frames, with their heavy cylinders are subject to bending the crane, which can cause mis-timing and end shake if you flip the cylinder in and out like you see in the movies. Don’t ever do this! You don’t have to baby them, but neither should you abuse them. Handled properly a good DA will last several lifetimes.

Skeeter Skelton loved his SAs, and even made one arrest while carrying a 7 1/2- inch Ruger Super Blackhawk. His buddy, the famous Border Patrol gun slick, Bill Jordan, was a DA fan, all the way. Both knew more about handguns than I ever will. So, in the end, I suppose it all boils down to what you like best.

I’ve been at it for nearly 50 years now, and I still haven’t firmly decided. When I do, I’ll let you know. But don’t hold your breath.

Email Steve LaMascus at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Industry INSIDER South Austin Marine Superstore

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PURCHASING A NEW BOAT IN CENtral Texas has never been easier. South Austin Marine Superstore makes the process of boat ownership a pleasant experience whether it is a boat owner’s first time or if they have owned many boats in the past.

Specializing in many styles and brands of boats, from fishing to pleasure boating, this premier boat dealer has some exceptional unique features.

From a fully stocked parts and accessories department to an in-house repair facility, South Austin Marine Superstore is fully prepared to handle any need a boat owner might have. The superstore is family owned and operated by brothers Kenneth and Wayne Black. This year, South Austin Marine is celebrating 42 years in business.

During the Central Texas drought over the last several years, many boat dealers had to close their doors, but South Austin Marine’s great longevity in the Central Texas area and their excellent customer service allowed them to prosper when others failed. What sets them apart from many other boat dealers is the quality of their service before and after the sale. This keeps customers coming back to them year after year for all of their boating needs.

South Austin Marine carries 12 different brands of boats with multiple models in stock for each line of boat they offer. They pride themselves in having sales consultants that specialize in each brand of boat they carry. Having a brand expert for every brand 88 |

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South Austin Marine has two locations serving Central Texas boaters.

The Boat Superstore has a department specializing in fishing boats and service.

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South Austin Marine carries twelve different brands of boats.

is their reviews on consumer rating websites such as Yelp and a A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It is apparent that this marine dealer is more than just a boat retailer. They go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their customer’s needs.

The dealerships are ocated at 5340 Hwy 290 West in Austin and near Lake Travis at 3003 Hwy 620 North. Check them out online at www.southaustinmarine.com.

they offer gives the customer peace of mind that they are getting the best information and product knowledge possible about a boat before they make a purchase. The range of boats they carry is amazing, and varies from freshwater and saltwater fishing, pontoons, runabouts, inboard ski boats, performance boats, and cruisers. They also have a dedicated make ready facility for new and used boat deliveries, and offer almost any option available to add to a new boat so that is rigged and ready to go when the customers comes to pick up their new boat. South Austin Marine also has its own in-house financing department to make owning your next boat purchase even more affordable.

Their parts and accessories department is fully stocked with just about any part or boating accessory you may need. They also have a wake shop for all of your watersports needs. In their service department, they have fully certified technicians that are here to help you with any service needs for your boat.

All of these different aspects make South Austin Marine one of the best boat dealers in the State of Texas. Even more impressive

South Austin Marine has served Central Texas for 42 years.

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Fish and Game GEAR Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount 1

proof operation to 1 meter for 30 minutes; the light is IPX4 rated for water-resistant operation when the remote switch is installed. It features an impact-resistant construction and an operating temperature range of -40o to + 120o F. The

NEW STREAMLIGHT PROTAC RAIL Mount 1 features Integrated Rail Clamp to Fit Picatinny Rails is a weapon-mounted light featuring 350 lumens and a dedicated fixed-mount for Picatinny rails.

new model is fabricated from 6000 series machined aluminum with a black anodized finish and feature a high temperature, impact-

Streamlight ProTac

resistant Boro Float glass lens.

The ProTac Rail Mount 1 comes with Streamlight’s Limited Lifetime Warranty.

The light is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts operating under low-light conditions.

The ProTac Rail Mount 1 features a rugged, integrated rail clamp that securely attaches to rifles, carbines, and sub-machine guns with a MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) rail. Using a high power C4 LED, the light delivers blinding white light and a concentrated beam with optimum peripheral illumination. The “dual fuel” ProTac Rail Mount 1 accepts either one 3V CR123A lithium battery or one AA alkaline battery, depending on availability or user preference.

Offering high, low and strobe settings, the ProTac Rail Mount 1 features a TENTAP programmable switch that allows the user to select one of three programs: high/ strobe (factory default); high only; or low/ high. The light offers users the choice of using a remote pressure or standard pushbottom tail switch, both enabling one-handed operation for all three settings.

With the standard push-button switch installed, the light is rated IPX7 for water90 |

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mer coating called Slickset™ gives anglers the advantage. Utilizing Slickset coating, Fusion19 hooks easily penetrate with less force to catch more fish, and conserve energy during long days on the water.

The versatile family of Fusion19 hooks includes nine bass-specific designs including extra-wide gap (EWG), superline EWG, weedless EWG, weighted EWG, offset worm, dropshot, heavy cover, swimbait and weighted swimbait hooks.

Each package of Fusion19 hooks features an innovative, resealable clam for easier storage.

Fusion19 packaging helps novice and advanced anglers quickly, while fishing or at the store, identify the hook to best suit their need. On each package, there are easy-to-read keys to identify which soft baits work best with each hook.

Fusion19 hooks have a smoke satin finish and an MSRP of $3.99 to $5.99, in counts from four to eight hooks per package.

Can a Fish Hook be Rust & Corrosion Too Sharp?

BERKLEY HOOKS ARE ENGINEERED Protection in a to be sharpest on the market.

Towelette Bass anglers understand the importance of sharp hooks, though most don’t practice their hook sharpening skills often enough. The new Berkley Fusion19™ hooks give novice and avid anglers the sharpest hooks that stay sharper Berkley SWB70

longer than any other on the market.

These needle-point hooks are designed to withstand the toughest, thickest cover without damaging structural integrity. The traditionally rich Japanese philosophy of making superior swords and knives combined with a technologically-advanced poly|

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QMAXX FANS MAY THINK THEIR favorite gun and knife cleaners/lubricants couldn’t get any better. But now BLU and Black Diamond are available in single-use Wipes for superior rust and corrosion protection in a clean, convenient, carryanywhere packet.

When it comes to cleaning, lubricating and protecting handguns, rifles, shotguns, “black” guns, knives (and most sports gear vulnerable to rust and corrosion) QMaxx Wipes are large enough (7” x 9”) and tough enough for the job. The plastic, leak-proof packet makes it easy to take QMaxx anywhere.

QMaxx BLU is the versatile 4-in-1 cleaner, lubricant, and rust/corrosion pro-

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Hogue OverMolded Rifle Stocks

tectant and preventative. It’s safe for the finest firearms and professional/factory bluing finishes and protects longer than the competition.

QMaxx Black Diamond is specially formulated to remove powder and carbon buildup in black guns while leaving a dryto-the-touch protective coating. NanoMaxx Technology reduces friction on moving action parts, choke tubes and gas pistons and keeps black guns operating at peak performance.

QMaxx formulations are engineered using state-of-the-art science: All QMaxx products are heavier than water to push moisture away from surfaces. They bond with metal surfaces to stop existing corrosion and prevent future problems.

Since 2010, QMaxx Products Group has been Hogue stocks developing patentpending, anti-corrosion, water-displacing technology to protect metal equipment, machinery, parts and gear for industrial, military and consumer markets.

Direct questions about BLU and Black Diamond Wipes, call 1-888-389-9455 or email info@qmaxxproducts.com . Visit QMaxx Products Group website at qmaxxproducts.com.

HOGUE OVERMOLDED RUBBER rifle stocks are molded from durable synthetic rubber that is neither spongy nor tacky yet provides a soft recoil absorbing feel without affecting accuracy. This modern rubber requires a completely different molding process than ordinary neoprene, resulting in a superior stock. The flexibility of Hogue’s materials and molding process has allowed them to produce rubber stocks with features that outperform others.

The design process for Hogue’s Tactical Thumbhole stock leveraged the company’s considerable experience in competition shooting. From butt pad to forend the emphasis on ergonomics and function is obvious: the forend is wider and more curvaceous than the company’s “Sporter” style rifle stock for more stability when used without a bipod; the pistol grip enables a natural, secure, comfortable grip angle; the cheek weld enhances fast target acquisition through a rifle scope and the bench rest hook opens up different shouldering options depending on the shooting situation.

Designed primar-

ily for heavy-barreled (.920 inch diameter) 10/22 rifles, the new stock will also accommodate standard contour barrels.

Tactical Thumbhole rifle stocks are available in Black (MSRP $109.95) OD Green, Flat Dark Earth, Ghillie Green, or Purple (MSRP $129.95 for colors). Like Hogue’s Tactical Thumbhole 10/22 stocks are also available for two-piece takedown style 10/22 carbines T

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for both standard and .920 inch diameter barrels.

World’s First Magnetic Fishing Rod Roof Rack WITH OVER 3 YEARS OF DEVELOPment and testing it is one of the most innovative and efficient additions to the sport fishing industry. Requires no tools or hardware, it’s ready to go fishing when you are.

You can now transport 1 or 2 piece saltwater

and freshwater rods up to 12’ long with spinning or conventional reels that are rigged and ready for action. MAGNERAK holds 3 to 5 saltwater or freshwater rods in various combinations depending on heavy or light tackle setup: 2 rods up to 12’ and 1 up to 9’ or 3-5 rods up to 7’ long.

MAGNERAK M1’s 4 scratch resistant magnetic feet make it virtually impossible to move once attached. Safe and secure for US Highway legal speed limits up to 85 MPH. MAGNERAK is made with durable ABS plastic with UV protection and a glossy black finish. The device has a stainless steel hinge and lockable latches with keys. Your equipment is secured inside with Velcro straps and comes with a release strap to help you detach device. For a more permanent solution, MAGNERAK C1 clamp model is designed for vehicles with crossbars. Visit www.magnerak.com for more information. |

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Fish and Game GEAR New Rooster Tail Minnow WORDEN’S EVER POPULAR Rooster Tail spinner is now available with an all new body design. Called the Rooster Tail Minnow, the new spinner features a weighted body that has a realistic minnow shape and profile.

The minnow body is weighted and comes in a variety of different colors, matched up with the incredible pulsating Rooster Tail hackle, to make another version of the spinner to be used for a

Rooster Tail Minnow

variety of fish.

In all the new Rooster Tail Minnow comes in 15 color versions and four sizes 1/16, 1/8, 1/6 and ¼ Oz. The new spinner utilizes the original Rooster Tail willow leaf style spinner blade making it a great lure for casting and retrieving, trolling and jigging.

The new Rooster Tail Minnow will be productive in all kinds of water and light conditions and should make the versatile lure enticing to trout, bass, perch, crappie and other game fish.

For more information on the new Rooster Tail Minnow colors contact Yakima Bait Company at www.yakimabait.com.

The Remington Rescue Knife THIS FEATURE-DRIVEN REMINGTON R11517 Rescue Knife delivers safety and rescue benefits in one life-saving tool.

The new R11517 Rescue

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Knife features a 440 stainless steel blade that measures 3 inches long and weighs in at 4.6 ounces. The skeletonized textured handle provides a sure grip for extreme use. The glass breaker feature on the handle of the Rescue Knife allows windows to be shattered in one strike. A seatbelt cutter hook blade is incorporated to make it possible to slice

a seat belt in half without cutting the crash victim. It can also be used for treestand safety or other harness-related activities. The assisted open Rescue Knife gives confidence when protecting and saving lives and can also be carried for everyday lifestyles.

For More information visit bearandsoncutlery.com.

Serious Stopping Ammo in 7.62 x 39mm G2 RESEARCH announces a specialized new 7.62x39 mm AK/SKS round for hunting and selfdefense use. The G2 Research 7.62x39 Ripout Round is engineered to deliver serious penetration and produce a huge temporary and permanent wound

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even at the lower velocities inherent of this round (about 2,270 fps).

G2’s 124-grain, pure premium copper bullet expands (or, more accurately, opens up) into three large petals (tridents) of razoredged copper making a corkscrew-cutting chunk of hot, sharp metal about the diameter of a quarter; big by any account.

According to company spokesman Chris Nix, “The design construction keeps the bullet intact, creating excellent penetration and a massive wound channel, resulting in quick and humane big game kills in this loading.

It’s very efficient as a bush country hunting round and it is also suppressor-friendly.”

Whether it’s the humble SKS the popular AK-47 or new model short-throw boltaction rifles chambered in this popular caliber, if it’s low-recoil, accuracy and near-instant game killing performance one wants, the 7.62x39 Ripout Round is at the performance peak.

Learn more at www.G2Rammo.com.

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8/8/16 7:13 PM

New Acme Rattle Master Sounds Off RATTLE ADDS COMPELLING reasons for fish to bite.

Acme’s new “Rattle Master” adds sound to its roster of fish-attracting features! A jewelry-like finish draws them in while the built-in rattle closes the deal. Whether in fresh or salt water, pan-sized trout up to bragging-sized game fish, they can’t resist the Rattle Master. It casts like a bullet, and being made from solid brass, won’t bend, break, corrode or dull even in salt water. It’s great for vertical jigging during ice-season too.

Matt Bichanich, the National Sales Manager for Hard and Soft Fishing, the parent company of ACME lures, said that it was time to kick things up a notch for this proven lure.

“The Kastmaster spoon is iconic,” he said.

“And catches all types of fish for open water salt or fresh water, but it also is deadly for ice fishing, due to it’s awesome finish that refracts light and pulls fish in. But we are always researching new ways to attract fish and adding a rattle does just that.”

There is no other spoon that is as versatile as the original Kastmaster, but by adding a rattle, Bichanich knew that they would have a bait that went the extra mile for anglers, looking to catch a variety of species.

“The benefit of the new Rattle Master is that a person can go out and catch nearly anything that swims,” he said. “From walleyes under the ice, to suspending crappies, to bass hanging on the weed edges, to Great Lakes species, an angler can fish with one bait and catch anything. With people battling a ton of events from sports to family outings,

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Acme Rattle Master

we wanted a bait that would give them the most productive time on the water.”

The new Rattle Master will be available in the Fall of 2016. The lure comes in1/24oz3/8oz sizes in the following series: Tiger Glow Series, Rattle Standard Series, Rattle Tiger Series, Rattle Baitfish UV Series, Rattle

Baitfish UV/Glow Series.

For more information go visit their website: www.acmetackle.com

8/8/16 7:13 PM

Texas TASTED

by BRYAN SLAVEN :: The Texas Gourmet

Mesquite Grilled Dove Wraps

W

OULD YOU EVER TAKE A fish after it’s been caught, and allow it to sit out in the heat for a couple of hours?

I didn’t think so.

When dove hunting, most of the time, bagged doves are placed in the “game pocket” on the back of the hunting vest sometimes for hours. This causes a concentration of enzymes and bacteria that settles into the meat.

You should plan to have a cooler bag handy with ice and a few gallon-sized freezer zip lock bags. Personalize each bag if two or more are sharing a cooler, and try to place your doves in the cooler every 45 minutes or so.

This is to preserve the doves until proper clean¬ing can be done. The brine, which I describe in this recipe will aid in removing these undesireable enzymes and flavors from the meat, so you can begin the preparation with the clean and natural flavor of the dove.

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

water. They should be fully submersed. Add ½ cup sea salt to ½ gallon of ice water. Al-low meat to sit for 1-2 hours. Pour off water and rinse the meat again with cold water.

Preparation: In a mixing bowl add the following to the cream cheese: 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, garlic salt and basil leaves Stuff a Jalapeno half with ¾ tsp cream cheese mixture- place the breast on top of the cream cheese and place the purple onion on top of the breast. Wrap the pepper and breast with a half slice of bacon. Hold the ba¬con in place with a moist round toothpick. (Be sure to wrap tightly to hold in cheese)

FOR THE BRINE: Fillet the breast meat from the breast-plate.

Place the fillet halves into a large bowl of ice

FOR THE BASTE: (The baste will help to cook the bacon faster and keep the meat from over¬cooking and drying out.)

1 whole bottle of Syrah or Merlot wine ¾ jar Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly 3 T Soy Sauce 3 T Olive Oil 1 T Dijon Mustard 3 tsp. Beef Bullion 1 T Butter

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24 dove breasts 24 Jalapenos (halved and seeded to make 48 halves) 2 purple onions peeled and cut into 1” thick wedges 2 cakes of cream cheese (allow to sit out to soften for 1-2 hours)

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1 T Black Pepper 2 T Rosemary leaves-chopped coarsely 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic Place all of above ingredients in a sauce pan, over medium heat and reduce by ½ of volume.

Remove from heat.

Grilling: Because they are small and delicate, and prone to flare ups on the fire, place the dove wraps indirectly over medium high heat on the grill, and keep it covered when not basting them. Turn the wraps every 4 to 5 minutes and baste them every time you turn them until bacon is browned. Remove from the grill to a platter, and cover loosely with a piece of foil for approximately 7 to 8 minutes to rest the meat.

Then remove the toothpicks and enjoy.

Visit our website at www.thetexasgourmet. com for other wild game and spicy food recipes and our finefamily of products.

Email Bryan Slaven at bryan@thetexasgourmet.com

PHOTO: BRYAN SLAVEN

8/8/16 7:00 PM

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Open SEASON

by REAVIS Z. WORTHAM :: TF&G Humor Editor

Preparation

WEAT TRICKED DOWN MY cheek as I pointed at a line of leaning metal fenceposts. “Those need to come down, too.”

Wrong Willie made a note on a pad in his hand. “This is all beginning to sound suspiciously like work.”

Big Jake looked as if he wanted to bolt, but I grabbed his shirttail. I couldn’t have held him if he’d wanted to really run. It would be like holding onto the back of a dually in four-wheeldrive, but it was enough to make him pause.

He frowned. “I thought we were just going to hunt here.”

“Some things are necessary,” Brother’n-law said. “Those posts are in the way, and if they don’t come out, one of us is gonna hit them with a truck.”

Big Jake crossed his arms, thinking. “What makes you say that?”

“You remember the last time we were here, and Brother’n-law tried to squeeze the fourwheeler between my truck and that mesquite tree?”

“Uh, yeah. He almost took the roof off the mule on that bottom limb.”

“Yep, all because he tried to miss that post leaning over there.”

Big Jake sighed. He had a bad experience with a T-post driver a couple of years ago that resulted in staples in his scalp. “All right, we’ll take them out. But I’m not putting any more in.”

Willie brightened. “We don’t have to. The guys who were on this deer lease last year tried to build a fence to keep the cows out of their camping spot, but we don’t care.”

I pointed. “Once the posts are out, we need to roll up all that loose wire.”

“That hole needs to be filled in before somebody falls in.”

I agreed with Brother’n-law. “I wonder why there’s a six foot deep hole right here beside the campsite.”

Willie shivered. “It’s six feet deep, seven feet

long, and three feet wide. That’s…” “…the size of a grave,” Cousin finished when I described the hole to him on the phone earlier in the week. “We have an open grave on our deer lease. Don’t that bother you?”

“Hadn’t thought about it that way until you brought it up, and now I’m a little worried. You still want to be on the lease?” I asked.

“You said there were quail.”

“I did.”

“Then I’m in. Open grave and all.”

I was thinking about that conversation while Brother’n-law studied the hole. “These boards across the top worry me. I think there’s something living down there.”

“Probably Bela Lugosi,” I answered.

“Huh?” I grinned at young Big Jake. “A famous vampire. Never mind. We’ll find out later. We also need to bring a mower out here and cut down all this tall grass. It won’t help the sandburs, but maybe they won’t stick so high on our legs.”

Big Jake looked crestfallen. “I brought my weedeater a couple of weeks ago, but it got overheated and quit.”

“We’ll use a mower. Then I’m going to build a firepit.”

Wrong Willie wiped sweat from his face.

“It’s a little warm to be talking about campfires.”

“You like a good fire on a cold night. I want to get it built before then.”

“Fine. I guess you’re gonna want to make it a perfect circle like the last time.”

“Yep. Gonna dig down a foot or so, then line it with rocks so we can rest our feet in front of the fire. Then I’m gonna put a keyhole on one end to cook over.”

“You gonna make your famous beef stew?”

Willie asked.

“Yep.” “Then I’ll help.”

“You writing all this down?”

“Oh.” Willie added the chores.

“Then we need to rig some lights, since we have that power pole, gather some wood, and after that we can get around to the deer stands.”

“You guys are making me tired,” Big Jake

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said. “I thought a deer lease was for relaxation.”

“It is. We relax once hunting season starts.”

Willie made another note. “Let’s see. Build two deer stands. Replace the boards and improve on two other deer stands. Run the owls out of the last stand and replace the floor and windows. Set up a feeder. Plant a food plot. Replace batteries in all the feeders. Fill the feeders…”

Willie continued to write as I came up with more ideas. “Level this area for the trailers, remember to buy a broom to sweep out all the sandburs, get some duct tape to pull said stickers from our pants, build a picnic table so we’ll have somewhere to eat, build a table to cook on, spray for stickers…”

Jake sat down, already exhausted. “You old men are killing me.”

Brother’n-law grinned. “You kids. You think you just pick up a rifle and go hunting?”

I laughed. “Maybe in the old days. Go on, Willie.”

“Maybe put up a sun shelter since there’s no shade right here, remember to bring a burn barrel, build a tripod to cook over the fire, spray those yellow-jackets under Big Jake’s stand…”

“What!!!???”

He’s severely allergic.

“Yep, three huge nests.”

He grabbed a can of wasp killer and a match. Brother’n law frowned. “What are you gonna do with those matches.”

“Make this a flamethrower. Then we can build a new stand and I won’t have to worry about getting stung!” He grabbed a shovel and threw them into the truck.

Willie made another note and read it aloud.

“Motivate Jake, and the work will get done.”

All the way over there, we came up with suggestions to motivate Big Jake and Willie wrote them down. “Fire pit to cook. Check.

Shade to keep cool. Check. Mow so Big Jake won’t get stickers. Check. Hey, I like having a younger person on the lease.”

Email Reavis Wortham at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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8/8/16 6:02 PM

BASS Bonham Addison Morgan caught this three-pound bass on a plastic wacky worm all by herself.

She worked the bait, set hook and reeled it in by herself. She caught it on her late great grandfather’s (Dalon Brakebill) farm in Bonham Texas.

CRAPPIE Spring Haley Swick, age 7, with her first crappie, a real slab. It was caught in a private pond in Spring, Texas while fishing her grandfather, J.T. Dibble, who holding the fish for her.

It was promptly released.

CATFISH Kyle Jackson Seijas caught the nice 8-pound, 22-inch channel catfish on shrimp at Kyle Lake in Kyle, Texas.

WHITETAIL Undisclosed Here is Ricky Juarez with his first buck, an 11-point taken on opening day. He is the next generation hunter.

WHITETAIL Comanche County This buck was taken in Comanche County during the youth season of 2016 by eleven-year-old Grady Puryear. Grady shot the ten-point buck at 142 yards.

SHEEPSHEAD Galveston Eight-year-old Kiley Spence of San Antonio and her first fish ever, caught on Galveston Bay. Notice the broken Graphite rod over her head—It was quite a fight.

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8/8/16 7:23 PM

MAIL TO: TFG PHOTOS 1745 Greens Rd, Houston TX 77032 NOTE: Print photos can not be returned.

EMAIL: photos@FishGame.com

For best results, send MED to HIGH quality JPEG digital files only, please.

No guarantee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

WHITETAIL Rusk County Ten-year-old Jonathan Holland took this drop tine buck off of Barton Farms in Rusk County.

He is the son of Nathan and Karen Holland.

BLACK DRUM Crystal Beach Seven-year-old Austin Matak (bottom row grey shirt) caught this 34-inch black drum in the Crystal Canal at Crystal Beach.

BLACK DRUM Rockport Georgette Freeman and son Kyle with a large black drum caught in Rockport.

BASS Lake Palestine Ricky Vandrgriff with a twelvepound bass caught on Lake Palestine Feb on Big Eye Jig Blue Candy color.

BASS Toledo Bend

REDFISH

Jacob Massey, age 9, of Houston caught this bass while fishing during spring break on the Texas side of Toledo Bend.

Galveston Five-year-old Bryce Winslow of College Station caught and released his first redfish while visiting his Papa in Sea Isle.

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