Texas Fish & Game December 2016 by Texas Fish & Game

VOICE OF THE TEXAS OUTDOOR NATION

Snipe Hunts: They are Real!

DECEMBER 2016 | $3.95

High-Tech Tactics to Bring Home a

A New Look at

Old Fishing Lures

Christmas

Ham

How to Succeed

When Deer Corn Fails The Future of

Texas Duck Hunting 1612-Dec-CoverDIG.indd 1

12 Ways to

Catch Big Trout

www.FishGame.com

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SUBSCRIPTIONS

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. ROY NEVES PUBLISHER

CHESTER MOORE

1745 GREENS ROAD, HOUSTON, TX 77032 PHONE

(800) 725-1134 MYACCOUNT.FISHGAME.COM

ARDIA NEVES

TEXAS FISH & GAME (ISSN 0887-4174) is published monthly by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC., 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. ©Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. All rights reserved. Content is not to be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. The publication assumes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs and manuscripts. Subscription rates: 1 year $19.00; 2 years $34.75; 3 years $48.50. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for response. Give old and new address and enclose latest mailing address label when writing about your subscription. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Email change of address to: subscriptions@fishgame.com. Email new orders to: subscriptions@fishgame.com. Email subscription questions to: subscriptions@fishgame.com.

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Table of

DECEMBER 2016 Volume 33 • NO. 8

Contents FEATURES

TWELVE WAYS TO CATCH BIG TROUT COVER STORY: High Tech Tactics Bring Home a Christmas Ham High-tech Santas have u responded to the wishes of hog hunters hoping to bring home some Christmas hams. Devices that are illegal for deer and other game animals—from night vision and thermal optics to lighted feeders—allow Yuletide hog hunters to defy darkness and other obstacles to score some holiday pork.

This may be the Christmas season, but it’s also the time of year when some really big speckled trout get caught. In the tradition of the “12 Days of Christmas,” we present 12 methods for catching these monster specks.

Story and Cover Photo by Chester Moore

by Marlin Stevens SUCCEEDING WHEN CORN FAILS Baiting deer with corn is the single-most effective hunting method in Texas. But there are times when it simply won’t work. Here are a few alternatives for success when the feeders fail.

by Matt Williams

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: A NEW LOOK AT OLD LURES Don’t just write off those old beat-up lures tangled in your tacklebox or dangling from a dusty rod. The scrapes and scars from past fights are solid proof of their residual battle worthiness.

by Doug Pike

Wild Game Christmas Christmas is a perfect time to eat wild game killed during the year. From nilgai and venison steaks to feral hog hams, it’s hard to go wrong with wild game on the Christmas dinner table. Not only delicious, these meats are also healthier—lower in fat and calories and higher in protein. In this Special Section is a collection of great recipes for your wild holiday cooking.

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THE FUTURE OF DUCK HUNTING This article breaks down the many variables facing waterfowl, habitat and hunters to draw an accurate picture of the challenges and opportunities that point to where duck hunting is headed.

TF&G Staff Report

by Chester Moore

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Contents (continued)

Inside FISH & GAME

COLUMNS

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

DEPARTMENTS

Nugent in the Wild

8 LETTERS 86 INDUSTRY

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

by Ted Nugent

TF&G Editor At Large

Commentary

by Kendal Hemphill

TF&G Political Commentator

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87 TEXAS TESTED 88 FISH AND GAME GEAR

by Matt Williams

Texas Saltwater

NEW SECTION

by Calixto Gonzales

TF&G Saltwater Editor

Texas Boating

by Lenny Rudow

TF&G Boating Editor

Practical Angler by Paul Bradshaw

TF&G Contributing Editor

Texas Guns

by Steve LaMascus

TF&G Firearms Editor

Texas Tasted

by Bryan Slaven

The Texas Gourmet

Bare Bones Hunting

by Lou Marullo

32 SNIIPE HUNTS 35 TF&G REPORT 36 TEXAS HOT SHOTS

38 TEXAS DEPT. OF DEFENSE

TF&G Hunting Editor

40 TEXAS DEPT. OF

Open Season

44 TEXAS COASTAL

by Reavis Wortham

TF&G Humor Editor

www.FishGame.com &

INSIDER

Texas Freshwater 94 TF&G PHOTOS TF&G Freshwater Editor

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Doggett at Large TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

ELCOME TO 2017. Well, okay, we know you’re most likely reading this in December, 2016. But while you’re leafing through this issue, relaxing between bursts of Tree Trimming energy and gift list checking, we’re already working on the February issue. So, to us, it’s next year. Such is the nature of publishing deadlines. While working on 2017, we couldn’t help getting excited about one theme that will resonate through all issues of the coming year: Texas Bass Fishing. In fact, 2017 will be a landmark year for bass fishing in The Lone Star State. Texas will host the Bassmaster Classic in March, a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at Toledo Bend and Bassfest at Sam Rayburn. In addition, B.A.S.S. will host a Central Open at the Sabine River in Orange. Meanwhile, the FLW tour will be hosting one of its stops at Lake Travis. We are now at the point where some of the largest tournaments in the state are high school tournaments with the SETX group having at times more than 400 teams fish a single event. And, for two years running, Toledo Bend has been ranked the number one bass lake in the nation. As the main outdoors information source in Texas, we plan to be all over this “Year of the Bass.” In fact, we were “all over it,” covering the full spectrum of bass fishing during these lean years well before the entire bass fishing world focused on Texas. You may recall several articles back in the dark days of the early twenty-teens, when much of East Texas was in the thirsty throes of a historic drought. Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Conroe and Fork were all suffering record low water levels. Our articles examined the “new lake effect” that occurs when waters recede in an established lake, exposing previously long-flooded lake beds. While dry, these areas experience the growth of new vegetation and other chemical and biological changes. When weather patterns return to normal and the water levels rise again to flood those areas, they can become supercharged breeding grounds for popular gamefish, especially bass and crappie. As predicted, the rains came back, the lakes re-filled, and an explosion in fish production rocked the world of bass fishing. Toledo Bend, at almost 50 years of age, had fallen into bass fishing mediocrity before the drought. The massive water body that occupies nearly one-fourth of the Texas-Louisiana border responded to the New Lake Effect with a vengeance. Toledo made such a rapid comeback from its low-water period that it leapfrogged to the top of the aforementioned list of bass lake rankings. And stayed there. Lake Conroe, which will host this year’s Bassmaster Classic, is especially near and dear to us. It’s virtually in our backyard. Plus, Roy graduated from Conroe High School the year the lake was under construction and, while working for his dad who was Montgomery County Surveyor, he actually ran many of the elevation lines in the original lake bed survey. So, Conroe is essentially TF&G’s “Home Lake.” It’s an exciting time to be a bass angler in Texas. Expect us to be right in the thick of it, with more articles, special sections and plenty of online coverage and videos documenting the Year of the Bass in the Lone Star State. Meanwhile, enjoy your Christmas and have a happy New Year, once you get here!

D E C E M B E R

by Chester Moore

TF&G Editor in Chief

Year of the Bass

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Editor’s Notes

CONSERVATION FOCUS

52 TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

62 PRIME TIMES

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LETTERS to the Editor Pike Fan WONDERFUL STORY (PIKE ON THE Edge) in the October issue. I agree, opportunistic feeders are becoming more and more common. My favorite method for duck blinds is building it without seats but walls too high to just sit on the floor. Of course the seats are with me on the boat ride over! Thanks for giving ideas to keep the outdoors an honest hardworking and endearing sport!

Jared McCulloch Wildlife Biologist Lease Administrator Huisache LLC

been the result of insufficiently depleted uranium, combined with the radioactive hide of the beast. Again, it might have been the heat generated by the high speed of the bullet passing through the atmosphere. Better luck next time. Too bad there was nothing left to mount. Peace and Good,

Jerry Jerry, thanks for the compliments. It is high praise, indeed, to be mentioned in the same breath with Reavis. I do wonder, though, why you called my piece “humor?” Strange. Passing strange. God bless and crisp triggers.

Chupacabra Talk I USUALLY FIND THE HUMOR IN your magazine under the byline of Reavis Wortham, but the October issue had its best humor by Steve LaMascus (“Calling the Chupa Cabra”). I have to wonder, though, if the “depleted uranium” bullet was fully depleted. I appreciate the armor piercing capability of the dp rounds, but the fission that resulted from the impact just might have

slaughter will continue until there is nothing left simply because it enriches some Kenyan “Big Men” politicians. The Richard Leakey quote describes an industrial operation that could only exist with “official” sponsorship/ protection. When I lived in Mombasa in 1990-93, folks openly discussed the slaughter of elephants for ivory in the Kenyatta Presidency by his brother-in-law Arthur Muhoho, whose operation was said to have been facilitated by shooting from Kenya Army helicopters. Things did seem to have slowed under President Daniel arap Moi in the 80’s and 90’s, though my friends did tell me at the time that a shipment of ivory went every week from Mombasa to the ME, probably Yemen. It is all so sad because Kenya wildlife was once so spectacular.

Don Stader Lakehills

—Steve LaMascus

Hemphill’s African View I APPRECIATED YOUR ARTICLE ON the slaughter of African wildlife in Oct. 2015 but greatly fear that, despite the science and wisdom you so eloquently expressed, the

From the October 2016 issue

Wildlife Expertise DEAR MR. MOORE, I APPRECIATE all of the wildlife expertise you bring to this publication and to the outdoors community in general. Your writing is a breath of fresh air and you can tell that you actually care about our resources. It is nice to read the words of someone who understands waterfowl migration and speckled trout spawning. Good stuff.

Jason Halton Editor: Thank you very much. I truly love wildlife and find it important to understand the things we pursue in the field.

Send Your Comments to: Texas Fish & Game 1745 Greens Rd Houston TX 77032 editor@ﬁshgame.com

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EDITOR’S Notes by CHESTER MOORE :: TF&G Editor-in-Chief

ECEMBER 27 WILL MARK two years since I lost my father Chester Moore, Sr. while hunting on our friend Robert Scherer’s South Texas deer ranch. My favorite hunting partner fell dead from a massive heart attack while cleaning the biggest eight-pointer he ever killed on a cool night in the South Texas brush country. After the shock of that moment and going through all of the legal things someone has to go through when a family member passes away, I left the ranch at 10 p.m. to make the seven hour drive home. It was the longest drive of my life. Luckily I had friends who met me three hours from home to finish so I would not fall asleep at the wheel. However, it did not make the trip any shorter. Every mile, every minute seemed like it took me farther away from my Dad and the love of deer hunting we shared. I say this not to gain sympathy because we all have tragedy befall us. It is part of this broken world we live in. However, I think it is important to consider how we respond to such tragedies. We usually hunt Scherer’s ranch every year but last year I just could not pick up the phone and make the call. Although I drive my Dad’s truck and inherited all kinds of outdoors gear from him, that was just too much. I could not even bring myself to go down to South Texas for another outdoors opportunity. Being able through friends to hunt in that part of the state was a big deal to Dad and me. If we did not have friends like the Scherers it would never happen, and if I were not an outdoor writer other invitations would not have opened up. We knew it, and we were grateful. The biggest pleasure of my career as an

“ Every mile, every minute seemed like it took me farther away.

“

The Drive

outdoor writer was taking my Dad on trips he never could have afforded or had access to, otherwise. Seeing my Dad shoot Canada geese in New York, shoot a monster buck in South Texas and catch sturgeon in Oregon were career highlights for me. The man who loved me unconditionally and took so much time to take me into the great outdoors deserved those opportunities. My hunting and fishing—but particularly hunting was so linked to Dad that it is hard for me to hit the field these days. Fishing is different because I was fishing by myself since

I was eight, but hunting reminds me so much of Dad that it still hurts. It’s not that I am overwhelmed with grief, but that the hunt is different. The hunts for me were as much about seeing him enjoy himself as it was me having a great time. But it is time I take that drive again. I may or may not call Robert and ask about to go down to his place but I will definitely make my way to South Texas this year in honor of my father. He would certainly want nothing less. I need the deer woods to feel peaceful again. I need to get excited by the prospect of the hunt, and I need to carry on the tradition Dad set for me. His father was not much on support and T E X A S

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mentorship. My Dad would beg and beg him to go fishing, but he would not take him. Finally when Dad was about 10 years old, he tied a string to his big toe and tied the other end to the front door. That way when his Dad opened the door, it would wake him up and he could try to talk him into going. It worked and Dad never forgot that trip. He even talked about it on our last trip together in 2014. I owe it to him and to me to put on the camouflage grease paint as we always did, climb in a blind and wait for a beautiful whitetail buck to come out. I will certainly do so on my Newton County lease this year and promise Dad a trip to South Texas. What drive do you need to take this year? Is there some place you have avoided because of a similar loss or have other factors changed your outdoors habits? Get back on your feet and take that drive to wherever you need to go and get back to the roots of your love of the great outdoors. The Lord put healing qualities in the woods and on the water. I have felt their healing in my life before, and I plan on immersing myself in them this fall. I am blessed to have a career that allows me to write, photograph and encounter wildlife and also to share messages like this with likeminded people. I thank God for it every day and never take it for granted. Have a wonderful Christmas season and dedicate 2017 to spending as much time with your families in the great outdoors as possible. Maybe I’ll see you out there.

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@ﬁshgame.com

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DOGGETT at Large by JOE DOGGETT :: TF&G Contributing Editor

Marsh Madness

EXAS OFFERS SOME OF THE finest duck hunting in the nation. The options are many and there’s no such thing as a “typical” situation. For example, we have bay flats, flooded timber, rice prairies, large reservoirs and small ponds or tanks. Each is a classic. However, for thousands of duck hunters across southeast Texas, one more stands as special: the marsh hunt. The vast marshes of the upper and middle coast have, for decades, provided excellent and accessible waterfowl hunting. Generations of duck hunters got their start on do-it-yourself trips to wildlife refuges, seasonal leases, and unguided walk-in operations. But nobody said “Marsh Madness” was easy. Once you abandon the nearest cattle levee or crushed shell road, the deep marsh can be brutal, a physical beat-down for the hunter determined to reach a choice pothole. The springy saltgrass clumps might provide semi-stable footing, but each step is different. Worst of all is the goo-pie muck that sucks and pulls with each booted step. Add the burden of toting a shotgun, decoy sack and accessory bag, and the desperate marsh truly is “no place for old men.” But many graying gunners continue to slog out there to meet the dawn. This is because first light across the windswept marsh becomes a glowing spectacle of lonesome sights and sounds you never would witness without sacrificing the sweat equity to get there. Distant roosts of geese and thrilling overflights of ducks are joined by hovering raptors and ranks and files of shorebirds and songbirds. A specialized shallow-draft boat or an ATV can mitigate the misery to some extent, but these conveyances have a tendency to get stuck or break down. Do this long enough, and one morning you will be forced to abandon the stalled support system and begin a grueling march to reach the tiny dot of the parked truck 10 |

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on the distant levee. Like poor Sisyphus of mythology, forever doomed to pushing a boulder uphill, you wonder if salvation ever is within reach. But, in a perverse way, perhaps the suffering helps make the marsh exceptional. You’ve done something significant. On the subject of “doing something,” the wise move for the aging hunter might be to book one of the many reliable dayhunt guides—and hope the pro’s equipment doesn’t fail. The most reliable marsh ducks are usually teal and gadwalls—and, yes, shovelers. The “spoonbills” (aka smiling mallards or grinners) generally are bad-mouthed at lodges and camps, but in truth, they have salvaged many slow days. The top prize, at least for salty veterans scouting the back potholes, is the mottled duck (black mallard or Texas Jack). These resident mallards tend to avoid big flocks and favor small water. But virtually all duck species common to the Central Flyway sooner or later show up in the deep marsh. Sadly, so do mosquitoes, cottonmouths, and alligators. On that note, don’t forget to pack a head net and/or repellent and a small light for scouting the predawn levee and blind. And, on a warm day, don’t allow your retriever to wander at large across canals or sloughs. The best marsh blinds usually are pits of some sort—the sunken profile helps blend with the low terrain. A box blind can stand out and ducks become skittish, often veering beyond shooting distance. This especially is true during late season. If several flocks shy from a blind, or simply prefer a nearby hole, a smart gambit is to bail from the hide and hike to intercept and hunker down in the available grass. Needless to say, this can be an arduous task if you’ve got an AARP card scrunched in your wallet—but the ambush might make the difference between one or two spoonies and a full strap of choice ducks. A billowing southeast wind piling off the Gulf is the top draw for marsh hunting. The ducks are restless under the whipping gusts, bouncing from pond to pond, and the heavy air encourages low trading. Wads of teal, especially, can be counted on to T E X A S

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dip and weave and buzz the marsh grass. On the subject of buzzing, all that honking wind helps discourage mosquitoes. Conversely, a calm bluebird day can mean slow going after the first 30 minutes or so of legal shooting light. Thick fog or heavy rain often is poor shooting, as the limited visibility encourages marsh ducks to sit tight. The best shooting usually occurs before midmorning; however, high flights of mallards and pintails trading from distant feeding fields sometimes drop under the high sun into the marsh ponds. This is true. It does happen, although waiting until, say, noon can become tedious. Bull sprigs or no bull sprigs, most hunters are ready to bail by around 10 o’clock. By then, both coffee and repellent probably are running low. Not to mention patience. A large spread of a hundred or more decoys on big water can be very effective because ducks tracking across the low terrain rely heavily on sight. However, the number of sacks often is dictated by reality. A long push on foot significantly cuts into the count. Two or three dozen decoys are more manageable, certainly easier to deal with when picking up and staggering out. On a back pothole, five or six mallard-type decoys often work well. You don’t need many counterfeits if you are set up on small water where the ducks are accustomed to landing. The pump-action shotgun is a traditional choice for many marsh masters. This is because you can feed the All American “corn shucker” a steady diet of mud, muck, and straw, and it will keep cycling. Some fine autoloaders certainly are available, but they are inherently more apt to jam. Toting a high-grade double gun into the marsh is a bad idea. The water is salty and the conditions are harsh, no place for fine checkering and intricate engraving. Plus, the third shot provided by the pump or autoloader can be a real advantage. In the sum, hunting the marsh is similar to wading the surf; the rough and tumble aspects may not be for everyone, but those who like it really, really like it.

Email Joe Doggett at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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PIKE on the Edge by DOUG PIKE :: TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

For a Secure Outdoors Future, Let Kids Go Wild ate meat for a family’s table. Participation in both activities ebbed a while back, and there was concern that the downturns would continue until someone among us became the final hunter or fisherman on the planet. That’s not been the case, however. In fact, I’m optimistic as ever and have real-life cases in point to justify the enthusiasm. In late-October, I had to call a plumber for some repairs. And had to take the plumber’s assistant to a hardware store to buy a new faucet. Young guy, good head on his shoulders. Opportunity.

“ Want some real hope?

“

NOTHER PRESIDENTIAL election is behind us, and neither the winners nor the losers have any idea how this country’s going to look in four years. At present, millions of noses on both sides still are being held until the fetid stench of these candidates’ campaigns clears. Whether your favorite won or lost, though, life – and my favorite outdoors season – goes on. And so must we. Aging tends to put a little crust on a fellow, and I’m no exception. I see the world through different glasses, starting with introduction of bifocals years ago, than did the generations that preceded and followed mine. That’s been the case forever, since the first parent looked at a teenager and wondered if civilization stood a snowball’s chance on an August sidewalk. The good part of our system – still the world’s best and if you don’t like it, move – is that no single person can derail the entire train. (We know that, because some have tried.) Greater power now is wielded by social forces, such as political correctness, which beat so many tambourines, and a general timidity among most of us to challenge anyone’s hurt feelings. If you pluck out politics and social issues, though, look beyond them and not allow them to run your life, there is a broad, positive thread running right through the middle of the blanket. Want some real hope? Want to be part of a genuine, positive change happening in this country? Then either stay on or get on the consumptive outdoor recreation train. Take a straight-up look at hunting and fishing these days. Not birding and day hiking, and certainly not wandering parks in search of Pokemon characters (and calling it “exercise”). I’m talking about straight-up fishing and hunting, activities that, when done correctly, gener-

“What do you do when you’re not learning how to be a plumber,” I asked him. “I hunt and fish,” Preston said. “I hunt deer, pigs, ducks, doves…I love bowhunting. I hunt everything I can.” Because he’s so passionate about natural resources, I count Preston as a future leader. Fish and wildlife, I believe, are the canaries in the mine of this nation. If we cease to cherish them, if we turn our backs on wild things and wild places, they’re gone. And with them will go a huge slice of hope. In the hands of Preston and his hunting buddies, all of whom are future contributors to conservation efforts and to society, things should be good. T E X A S

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Same for the hands of Skye Ball, who’s on Lumberton High School’s bass-fishing team, one among hundreds of such clubs in Texas and thousands around the country. I played golf in October with her father, Jason, and heard how much Skye loves to fish. She’s invested in that resource now because she enjoys the competition and time on the water with her family. In adulthood, Skye isn’t likely to turn her back on those fish or the water in which they live. Folks who recognize the importance of natural resources in all their forms and fashions, but especially those who also appreciate the taste of venison tenderloin or a redfish fillet buried in crabmeat, tend also to acknowledge their humble place in the world – and the tremendous responsibility each of us carries as caretakers of it all. There’s a new breed of conservationist within the ranks now who claims to be “all in” for the sakes of those resources but ignores – or worse, speaks aloud against – the values of fish and wildlife as things that are on this Earth for more than observation. So long as these non-hunters and nonfishermen can agree as non-consumers civilly to disagree with consumers of tasty animals, I welcome them aboard the conservation train. Turn coat and tell me I shouldn’t hunt or fish because they don’t like what I do, and we’ll have to part company. Without sportsmen, and I’m certainly not first to write this, wildlife and fisheries don’t stand a chance. I invest in wildlife and fisheries conservation because I like my sunrises over trees and not buildings. I like to fish, I like to hunt, and I like to bring home fresh meat. So long as there are young people such as Skye and Preston coming into productive adulthood with such deep understandings of natural resources, I like my chances as an outdoorsman to continue enjoying lush woods and clean water, and I like the chances of wildlife and fisheries.

Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com |

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NUGENT in the Wild by TED NUGENT :: TF&G Editor-at-Large

LOVE AMERICA SO MUCH IT hurts. As she struggles at the hands of political maniacs, my love and patriotism for her grows and I am driven beyond words to fight more and harder for her soul. I thank God every day that I was born American because only here in the United States of America can individual citizens still experience some real freedom, genuine independence and the American Dream of pursuing one’s individual happiness. But as much as I truly love America, I’m afraid I love Texas even more. Only in the great Republic of Texas can we the people actually experience more real freedom, a better independence and surely the best example of our American/Texan Dream of honest to God individual pursuit of happiness. I was born in Detroit, Michigan way back in 1948, and despite current inescapable evidence to the contrary, I swear to God the great state of Michigan and the amazing Motor City was for the most practical purposes just like Texas back then. People dedicated themselves to earning their own way. Nearly all Michiganiacs took great pride in self-sufficiency, a driving work ethic, making their own way and showing pride of ownership. Neighborliness was ubiquitous, crime was rare, we loved our guns and hunting, fishing and trapping were still a powerful way of life for almost everyone. You wouldn’t know it by the media, but many of those wonderful attributes remain alive and well to this very day, not only in my birth state of Michigan, but all across America. I could live anywhere in the world I want, and I do; right here smack dab in the middle of heaven on earth-Texas! There are many intricate pieces to the puzzle of life, and intelligent prioritization will always determine quality family time, but 12 |

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“ I could live anywhere in the world I want, and I do; right here smack dab in the middle of heaven on earth... Texas!

“

Texas in December

here in the mighty Lone Star State during the enchanting month of December, one would be hard pressed to find a more wonderful place on earth to spend the last month of the year. Hunting is always good in Texas, but I am convinced that December is the best month of all. The ducks and geese have begun moving down and the waterfowling opportunities here are what shotgunning dreams are made of. Cooler days make for optimal conditions for bird dogs, and the blues and bobs and ring-

neck pheasants in the panhandle will provide some of the best fun days afield a guy and his dog could ever want. More doves are in the state now and some areas of Texas rival the shooting frenzy found in South America slaughter zones. Though I don’t do any fishing myself in December, all my fishing buddies rave about the incredible fishing to be had around the holidays and maximize their time on the water with family and friends in the 12th month of the year. Of course varmints, hogs and exotics provide year round fun, sport and challenge statewide, but again, cool December days just make T E X A S

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it all that much better. Then there are the deer! Oh Glory Glory Hallelujah, indeed there are the deer, the world class amazing deer of Texas. Deerhunting fanatics from around the world converge on Texas in December for the best deerhunting to be found anywhere on planet earth. Whether it’s the trophy muledeer of West Texas or the diminutive Carmen Mountain whitetail subspecies out in the deep southwest, or the unprecedented quality whitetail hunting to be had statewide, Texas is the deerhunting capitol of the world, and I love it beyond words. I know a lot of deerhunters all around North America and to the man and woman they all fall under one or two deerhunting dream categories. They have either all come here to deerhunt at one time or another or they are planning on getting here to experience it as soon as they possibly can before they die. Christmas is the most powerful day of celebration for Christian families in America, but I am convinced that the many of us that celebrate the birth of Christ together actually increase the joy and family bonding when this special Holiday vacation includes time at deercamp together. When it is all said and done, participating as dedicated hands-on conservationist servants in God’s miraculous tooth, fang and claw natural predator/prey season of harvest ritual is truly one of the most intense ways to praise Him and thank Him for giving us His Son. The Nugent family sends our love and respect and a heartfelt Merry Christmas and good hunting to all our fellow Texas deerhunters in hopes for the best December deerhunting family time ever. Tiz the season to be jolly, so aim small miss small and deerhunt like you mean it. We hope you open many special gift packages of backstraps!

Email Ted Nugent at tnugent@ﬁshgame.com

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TF&G COMMENTARY by KENDAL HEMPHILL :: TF&G Political Editor

HRISTMAS IS ONE OF MY favorite times of year, which is surprising, considering the emotional trauma it brings. Most Christmas trauma, I’m convinced, is brought on by Christmas traditions. No season is so fraught with activities we all participate in, even though we usually don’t know where these activities came from, or how they got started. One of these is Christmas lights. No one knows why Americans decorate their trees, homes, vehicles, dogs, and children with lights during the Christmas season. An internet search will claim the habit began in 18th century Germany, when 18th century Germans started decorating their trees with candles during the holiday. If the Germans imported their candles from China, the way we import our Christmas lights, I doubt they worked very well. One candle goes out, they all go out, etc. Fine and good, but that doesn’t explain how lights ended up on every available surface in our lives. Decorating trees is one thing, but now we put lights on our eaves, around our windows, all over our yards, roofs, fences, and even lawn statuary. Granted, the lights are tiny, but when you have a bazillion of them they add up. Americans use, on average, 20 percent more electricity during the Christmas season than they do the rest of the winter. ’Tis the season to be jouley. Besides running up our electric bills, Christmas lights offer us the festive, holiday spirit of the fire hazard. More house fires occur during December than any other month of the year, on average. Some of these, of course, are chimney fires, and some are caused by space heaters, but Christmas lights account for their fair share—which isn’t surprising, considering that some folks decorate like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation.

“ No one knows why Americans decorate their trees, homes, vehicles, dogs, and children with lights.

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Just the act of hanging the lights can be dangerous. Climbing ladders, operating staple guns, and walking around on roofs is always risky, but it’s even more hazardous when it’s cold and it starts to get dark early and homeowners begin to run out of time to get their lights up. Most of us work, after all, and there are only so many Saturdays in a week. Christmas waits for no man—or woman. If the lights don’t get you, the Christmas food will. No other holiday is so delicious as Christmas, although Thanksgiving runs it a close second.

In our family, Christmas is the only time we see certain foods, and all these special Christmas dishes are made with one common, ubiquitous ingredient—calories. We have pecan pie and buttermilk pie and coconut pie and cakes and cookies year-round, but we have far more of them during the Christmas holidays, in both variety and quantity. We also add divinity, date loaf, fudge, pecan brittle, pralines, chocolate covered peanuts, and plenty of other holiday candies. If you can’t get fat with us at Christmastime, you’re just not trying. My favorite Christmas tradition, however, is the Christmas tree. When I was a kid we T E X A S

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always had a real tree, which my dad would go out and cut and bring home. Since we lived in Central Texas the tree was always a juniper, what we called a cedar tree, and it wasn’t really a tree, but an oversized bush. It was generally short and roundish and insolent looking, although my dad was always careful to choose a tree which could be viewed from any angle and still look thin. This tree would be hauled to the house, squeezed through the front door, and stood in a five-gallon metal bucket in the living room. We wedged rocks into the bucket around the bole, which kept the tree standing upright until no one was looking. Then it would slowly topple over. We usually had to lean the tree up in a corner, where it brooded insolently. Mom always put water in the bucket, to keep the tree “fresh,” and the bucket always leaked. My brother and I helped decorate the tree, which guaranteed a festive hideousness that can only be achieved by adolescent children. The lights we used were old, with frayed wires and huge bulbs that got too hot to touch, and were liable to set the tree on fire if left on too long. The whole experience was marvelous. That’s what Christmas traditions are. They’re expensive, dangerous, fattening, and tacky, and I love every single one of them. During this festive holiday season, I would like to offer a sincere, heartfelt Merry Christmas to all TF&G readers everywhere. I hope you find wonderful gifts under your tree and delicious food on your table. I hope you are able to spend time with your friends and those members of your family with who you are still on speaking terms. I hope all your favorite football teams win, or at least don’t lose too badly. And I hope you fill your freezer with tasty, healthy venison, quail, turkey, and whatever else you hunt.

Email Kendal Hemphill at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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11/2/16 2:14 PM

with HIGH-TECH and HARD CORE TACTICS story by CHESTER MOORE 14 |

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HERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN A CHRISTMAS ham, and in my opinion there is no ham better than that made from wild hogs. I killed a 200-pounder back in 1995, and we had a ham cured out of it for Christmas. We were blown away with the taste, and we love to have wild ham when we can. Sometimes collecting that ham is seriously challenging so hunters have to go hardcore and get high tech. That means going out at night and using the many technical devices that are illegal for hunting deer and other game animals in the state. Since wildlife officials want to take out as many hogs as possible, it is by all means necessary. That includes tools of the trade that are as much special ops as they are hook and bullet.

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Night Vision Night vision is becoming increasingly popular with hog hunters and for good reason. It gives you a really cool (albeit green) look at the nighttime world.

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A deer that sees a hunter can send wary hogs packing. Hog hunter Daniel Stark of Killer Instinct Outdoors says he likes to use ghillie suits to make sure hogs and the abundant deer and other game in the areas he hunts can’t see him.

Night vision equipment comes in generation 1, 2, 3, and 3-plus levels and in the form of rifle scopes, monoculars or binoculars. Generation 1 offers a rather dim view of the night world and are only effective if used in conjunction with an infrared light. These lights can only be seen using night vision equipment and animals cannot see it or at least it does not bother them. Generation 2

is not much better, but it is an upgrade. I own a pair of generation 3 and have used 3-plus. Despite being much more expensive, they are worth the investment if you really feel you need them. In most instances you can use them without infrared light although in thickets or on really dark nights it might be necessary. Night vision scopes are easy to use and operate pretty much on the same principle

PHOTO: CHSTER MOORE

Red filtered lights are an invaluable tool in nighttime hog hunting. In most cases hogs do not mind a red light shining on them, so this allows a hunter several options for hunting them. I said the hogs do not mind red lights “in most cases,” because I had an experience in the Pineywoods of East Texas where five big hogs were hitting bait. As soon as I turned on the red light they scattered. The wind was in my face and there is no way they could have heard the light being turned on from that range, but somehow the light spooked them. The first time I used red lights was back in 1991. My father, Chester Moore, Sr., made them by cutting a clear red plastic clipboard the diameter of our flashlight and mounting it with clips. Now, many commercial red filters are made that fit on headlights and even mount on scopes, and they are all extremely effective.

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as standard scopes, only the price tag is way higher. Hunters wanting to use night vision monoculars or binoculars have two optionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; use them to spot game and then shine them, or use a laser sight. I have done both and have had limited success with the laser sight method. The light shows up great. It is no problem to view, but your view is obscured. Objects tend to appear much smaller than they really are, which can cause some unique problems. The first time I used my night vision goggles in unison with a laser sight was on some private property near my home. I had a feeder set up and had to walk about a half-mile through the woods to this particular stand. I told myself I would only shoot a 50 to 75 pound hog since I did not feel like dragging a big one through the woods. When a group of hogs came in, I paid careful attention to pick out the smallest. I put the red dot behind its ear, squeezed the trigger on my rifle and watched it fall while the others scattered in all directions through the darkened woods. The term â&#x20AC;&#x153;ground shrinkageâ&#x20AC;? is often used in hunting circles to describe the sensation of

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shooting an animal thinking it was large on the hoof or sported a large rack and realizing it was much smaller in reality. Well, this was exactly the opposite of that. It was ground growage! What I thought was a 75-pound hog weighed 125 pounds give or take a few and was a real pain to drag back to my truck. I felt like I had run the triathlon after that ordeal.

Thermal Imaging If night vision is the Cadillac of hog hunting gear, then thermal imaging is the Ferrari. Thermal imaging picks up heat signatures, and in modern devices it can give incredible target clarity. It is on the rise in Texas and is starting to become affordable I recently had an opportunity to use the Sig Sauer Echo 1 Thermal Reflex Sight and was blown away with how easy it was to use and the clarity of the image. Night vision has some limitations in dimly lit areas. Thermal imaging does not. It takes hog hunting to an entirely new level.

Feeder lights The latest trend in hog hunting is the use of feeder lights, which are lights that typically

mount on a solar panel or are battery operated on a timer. They come on automatically after dark or at pre set times. After a few nights the hogs become accustomed to feeding around the lights. This allows hunters to shoot with regular rifle scopes from distances as far as 100 yards and even do some highly productive nighttime bowhunting. Some of these lights are green like the ones used by fishermen to lure in crappie, speckled trout and other species. Others offer a standard white light. If you decid to undertake hog hunting at night, make sure you have permission to be on the property and make a courtesy call to the local game warden to let them know you are in the area. That way, if they get a call from someone saying they saw lights on a certain piece of property they will not have to waste their time and efforts checking you out. Plus, you might just get some good hunting tips as wardens cover lots of ground and come across many hogs in the process. Now, go collect that Christmas ham and use whatever means necessary (and legal)!

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ES, IT IS THE CHRISTMAS season but it is also the month when water temperatures cool and speckled trout move into their winter patterns. Some of the biggest trout of the year are caught during this period so we thought in the tradition of the “12 Days of Christmas” we would give you 12 legitimate and often underutilized methods for catching monster trout beginning now. Here we go… 18 |

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PHOTO: JOHN N. FELSHER

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THE LARGEST trout eat the largest prey. Researchers in Texas and Mississippi have found mullet to be the preferred food of the biggest trout. Frequently the mullet is half or two-thirds the size of the trout. Fishing a large, mullet (or croaker) imitating lure is a great way to find big trout. You will get fewer overall bites but the chances of one of those bites being the elusive 30 inches goes up greatly. SIGHT AND sound combined in a lure can make a huge difference in catching big trout. Trout have a layer of tissue that allows them to see in low light conditions and be superior night feeders. Fishing the pre-dawn hours and using lures or baits with a glowing quality or that create a stark silhouette can help you exploit this quality and score on big trout. Sagittae are the sound receptors in fish and trout have large ones. They are very keen to sounds made by humans and other fish. Of sound in fish. Throwing lures delicately and working lures and popping corks in a fashion mimicking natural sounds can go a long way to helping anglers catch bigger, wary trout. Considering adding tiny rattles to large soft plastics to tap into both the visual and audio workings of trout. WE HAVE all heard of the controversial live croaker for trout bait but what about cut ballyhoo? Anglers in South Texas claimed ballyhoo worked as good as croaker and even had some people wanting to ban its use because of its effectiveness on big fish. A desire to ban bait is always a sign that it works. BIG TROUT eat small trout. When choosing topwater or other hard plastic lures consider ones that closely mimic the patterns of a speckled trout. Consider that big trout 20 |

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are attracted to small trout feeding not just to eat on what they are eating but to eat on them. A trout colored topwater which is rarely fished on the Texas coast could help you score on monster specks. DO NOT overlook jetties during winter. Few anglers target trout there but there are big fish hanging around the rocks this time of year. Consider fishing on the shallow end of then jetties near the beach on warms days and around boat cuts during the first bit of tidal movement. You will not likely get as much action as other anglers but you might just catch the trout of a lifetime. DO NOT set the hook as soon as you get a “blow up”. Big trout will often circle a plug or hit at it once and circle and then take it down. Wait until the lure is under the water. Also consider the biggest trout often “slurp” the plug under which is not quite as dramatic to see. That is until you reel in a monster trout. CAPT. JIM ONDERDONK a Baffin Bay guide said he often rigs up clients inexperienced with topwaters with a topwater/Bass Assassin combo. He rigs the Assassin as a trailer for the surface lure and most of the time when the trout comes up toward the surface it takes the Assassin first. “It works really well, especially for people who just don’t have a lot of experience fishing topwaters. It’s exciting for people to get a blowup but heartbreaking for them to miss one of these fish because down here

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A more patient hook set will get more big trout in the net.

it really could be the trout of a lifetime.” This is essentially the same concept Mark Davis of television’s Bigwater Adventures uses with a popping cork. “I have caught huge trout, 30 inches, on a popping cork and a soft plastic and it never ceases to blow people away.” The popping action mimics the sounds of smaller trout feeding which in turn brings in larger trout. A HANDFUL of anglers on the Upper Coast report seeing alligator garfish and huge speckled trout together in some of the deeper marsh canals. In fact, some anglers locate their trout by first finding the gar. Gar go into an almost sedentary mode during winter so they do not pose much of a threat to the trout and while there is no verified connection between the species, the few anglers who have shared this strategy know what they are doing. SALINITY CAN be a factor in locating trophy trout. Researchers with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have found that big trout tend to prefer water that is close in salinity to seawater to more brackish water. 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 like shallow flats along channels and with them come baitfish. When you have the combination of water that is more saline, a few degrees warmer than that in the upper reaches of the system on top of a high presence of mullet and other baitfish you have serious trophy trout potenPHOTOS: TOP, JOHN N. FELSHER; BOTTOM, TF&G

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tial. Looking at this research alone helps you eliminate hundreds of square miles of habitat and focus more intensely on the areas where the big trout you seek are more abundant. AS NOTED in TF&G EditorIn-Chief Chester Moore’s book Texas Trout Tactics, male trout make a “croaking” noise. If you catch a bunch of males in an area return there in the evening and prepare to fish late. Males will gather in a spawning aggregation and croak en masse to attract

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females. This is a highly overlooked time to find big trout at their peak weight. Also consider that many trout particular the big ones do not move far. Of the 477 spotted seatrout tagged in a migration study in Alabama, 58 returns were received, and 53 percent exhibited no movement. If you missed a big sow in a particular spot, chances are she is still very nearby.

“Drift with the current and let the lure bounce, bump and crash into the oyster reef. Yes, you will lose jigheads but the angler who can discipline themselves to fish this way typically scores on bigger trout. Make sure you have enough line out to where you are not vertically fishing. The lure will not be able to work properly that way. In addition, it is important to keep contact with the lure.”

ANOTHER TIDBIT from Texas Trout Tactics involves oyster reefs. Many anglers know the importance of oyster reefs in the life cycles but miss the fact you need to get violent with the shell to catch the most and biggest fish. “The most important thing to keep in mind about reef fishing is to use sand eel imitations and fish them on the right sized jighead. Fishing with 1/8-ounce jig heads is great for shallow reefs with light currents, but you need something heavier that will get down to the bottom and be able to fight heavier current.”

AS WINTER wears on, warmth becomes increasingly important. Any mud flat adjacent to deep water like the Intracoastal Canal or a ship channel is a great place to find big trout. They will spend most of their time in the deep water with stable temperatures but move onto the flats to feed on warm, sunny afternoons. The dark mud retains heat and even slight increases in water temperature will spark baitfish movement and in turn trout predation.

11/3/16 4:23 PM

Other Alternatives to Baiting Deer story and photos by

Matt Williams

’D BE LYING IF I SAID I’VE never popped a deer with its head down, munching corn beneath an automatic feeder. My guess is the same could be said for the majority

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of Texas’ 650,000-plus deer hunters. There is not much glamour in shooting a deer with its nose buried in the dirt, grubbing for golden kernels of corn. In my book, it carries about the same chalT E X A S

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lenge as shooting fish in a barrel. Corn feeder goes off. Deer steps out. Click safety. Boom.

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Game over. It might seem sort of shady to mug a deer around a corn feeder. But the truth is, many deer management programs would suffer without it.

Baiting with corn to lure deer into the open is by far the single-most effective way to hunt whitetails in Texas. Hunters in all part of the state rely on corn feeding stations to lure deer from dense cover for T E X A S

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easy viewing and close evaluation. The practice is especially popular among game managers in the Edwards Plateau and South Texas brush country, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two richest deer regions. |

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Although corn provides very little nutritional value to deer, it is way cheaper than high protein pellets. It also is somewhat addictive. In fact, when made available at the same spot on a consistent basis, eating corn can become somewhat of a habit. Once deer become accustomed to eating corn, they will travel great distances, and sometimes risk walking into open areas to get it. This naturally increases the odds of crossing paths with a hunter who has placed a stand at strategic location. As effective as baiting with corn can be, however, there are times when it simply doesn’t work. You’ll know it when it happens because stand hours will gradually turn painful as corn piles up on the ground with nothing but songbirds and squirrels showing up to eat it. In really dead periods the golden kernels might sit there long enough to go to seed and begin forming stalks. Ben Bartlett of Lufkin is a hardcore archer from Lufkin who doesn’t invest much time hunting around corn stations, largely because most mature bucks are inherently wary of them, and he enjoys of challenge trying to beat them at their own game. But he knows plenty of hunters who love their corn and has heard them singing the blues this time of year more than once. According to Bartlett, the main reason deer sometimes get “turned off” to corn is because more preferred natural food sources are available. In eastern Texas, mast produced by various oaks as well as persimmon and black gum are heavily preferred over corn. In bumper mast years, the shift can seemingly occur overnight, almost as if somebody flicked a light switch. Bartlett’s advice when corn doesn’t seem to be the ticket? “Figure out what they are eating and hunt there,” he said. “Deer will always prefer natural mast over corn, so that corn feeder that was their number one food source will become a distant second when the acorns hit the ground. That’s why I prefer hunting a natural preferred food source every time. “Fortunately for many East Texas hunters, about the earliest one can expect acorns to drop (water oak and willow oak, and red oak varieties) is mid-October,” Bartlett said. “If the red oak family didn’t produce, they’ll get a ‘bye’ for another couple of weeks until the white oak varieties begin to drop sometime around November 1. The corn pile watcher 24 |

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Corn is less nutritional for deer, but is cheaper—and somewhat addictive.

should always pray for a local acorn crop failure.” Bartlett says East Texas whitetails seem to prefer some varieties of acorns over others. “Rarely will you see all varieties of oaks produce in a single year,” he said. “Water oak usually will produce a good crop every two or three years and white oak and post oak are not as regular. Deer seem to prefer the white oak acorn varieties over red oak. If I find an isolated area loaded with white oak or post oak acorns, I’ll be logging the hours there.” Lendell Martin, Jr., has witnessed similar lulls in activity at his family’s 15,000-acre Rio Springs ranch near Del Rio. Martin feeds corn by the ton, but there are times when the ranch’s vast live oaks and pecans get more play. “We’ve got quite a few deer and the feeders only go off twice a day, so sometimes there isn’t enough to go around,” Martin said. “A lot of people don’t know they’ll eat pecans, but they do—hull and all. They’ll even eat prickly pear on occasion, especially when it gets really cold.” Even when the deer are feeding heavily on corn, Martin thinks your chances of killing good buck may be better hunting around alternate food sources or dim trails leading to T E X A S

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and from a feeding station. “A lot of your bigger bucks won’t come around a feeder except at night— they’re just too smart,” he said. “But they will skirt them looking for does once the rut starts. That’s when those trails leading in and out from a feeder can pay off.” Kevin Wisener agrees with Martin’s policy about hunting the perimeter around a feeder as opposed to right on top of it. Wisener is a Houston County archer with several great bucks to his credit. “Feeders are great for keeping does in an area,” Wisener said. “During the rut you can kill a good buck on the outskirts of a feeder, which is usually out of sight of a box stand gun hunter, but in capable view of a bow hunter. My advice is to have a stand that gives chances and view to bucks that are only checking the area for a hot doe, that would never come within 75 yards of an open view feeder. I am a firm believer in food plots and lanes with no feeders.” Speaking of food plots, David Perkins says December is a perfect time to give rye, oat and other supplemental food plots a boost with a shot of fertilizer. Add water and this will produce new tender growth. This might attract deer that aren’t coming to corn. PHOTOS: MATT WILLIAMS

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Perkins says now is a good time to look to out-of-the way places for reclusive old whitetails that have gone into the post rut lockdown, particularly in deep East Texas. “To be successful at killing big bucks in December, you won’t be hunting high traffic areas,” Perkins said. “You’ll be hunting in relation to thick cover where you may not be able to see more than 30 yards in any direction. In those kinds of places, you’ve got to have the mindset that you aren’t going to see a lot of deer, but that you just might see a good one.” Veteran Texas bass pro Tommy Martin of Hemphill always swaps his flipping stick for a compound bow and heads to his 40,000-acre lease near Childress when deer season rolls around. Martin says there is always a period in the Panhandle country when the deer get off the corn and switch to native forage. “It’s always early in the season, especially in years like this one when everything is green and lush,” Martin said. “They’ll still come to corn, but not near as well as they will after we get a killing freeze.” Martin says one of his favorite ways to hunt when the deer aren’t coming to corn,

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is to creep around in his high-rack truck and glass the landscape with binoculars for antlers glimmering in the sun or the flash of a twitching tail. “The main keys are to be quiet and go slow, like 2 mph,” Martin said. “You can see a lot of deer you otherwise might not see.” Another tactic worth trying when the deer quit coming to corn is rattling. According to Bartlett, clashing real or synthetic antlers together on a crisp December morning doesn’t always work in eastern Texas, but when it does it can be like magic. “If you have the ability to roam during the season, and the local herd has a decent buck: doe ratio, rattling and calling can produce some exciting results,” Bartlett said. “A decoy (buck or doe or both) used in conjunction can be a real plus, but only if a wily ol’ buck can see it from a distance. I’ve seen bucks “surprised” at close range by a decoy shortly wind up in the next county.” Feeders may only go off a couple of times a day, so there often isn’t enough corn to go around.

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The Fish Never Go Out of Style, So Why Should the Lures? story by Doug Pike 26 |

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F YOU CALL YOURSELF A BASS FISHERMAN— NEVER, NEVER throw away a functional fishing lure or abandon a productive technique. As young adults, and understandably so, fishermen tend to gravitate toward the newest and most highly touted tackle available within their budgets. They read about trending strategies (hopefully in magazines such as this one) and hope to

be first in their peer group to show off a new skill or piece of equipment. I was no different 30, 40 years ago. I bought the best I could afford out of a nearly empty wallet, read everything I could get my eyes on about fishing, and couldn’t wait to outdo my buddies on the water. Then I got a chance to fish with an “old guy” from work on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. At the time, neither of us had been on the lake more than a couple of times each. My competitive side wanted to bet him a cheeseburger that I could catch the most or maybe the biggest, but the little part of my brain I trust most said to keep my mouth shut. So I did, except to make small talk about conditions and favorite fishing spots and whether we preferred saltwater or freshwater. As we loaded the boat, I noticed that his gear was generally inferior to mine, his tackle box was stuffed with tired, banged up plugs and a handful of disorganized and unimpressive plastic worms. I wanted to tell that little part of my brain to look the other way so I could slam-dunk a win on that cheeseburger, but I held my tongue. Good thing, too. By sunset, I’d had a decent day, but he’d handled three fish to each of mine. I tried everything I knew, which wasn’t all that much and was exactly why I didn’t catch the most or the biggest bass. I was stuck in the present, limited by two things: a lack of experience, and a stubborn refusal to ask for advice. T E X A S

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Beat-up lures in an old tacklebox may look outdated, but many are actually battle-tested producers.

One thing I learned that day, and it’s a good lesson for any fisherman, is that another angler’s tackle can tell you a lot about whether he or she has skills. Lures that never get bitten don’t lose paint. Tackle trays that have nothing out of place probably never got opened or closed under the pressure of biting fish and fading sunlight. Maybe it’s just that the person is nuts for organization and has loads of free time to sort and stack and clean and organize. But probably not. My tackle bags and boxes look as though they’ve been to war and back. And not just a recent war. I’ve got plugs that are decades old, and I’ve got plugs still “new-in-box” from as recently as two weeks ago at this writing. The bags and boxes contain what goes into battle. The garage is the armory. This past spring, I had to make some hard “sell, give away or keep” decisions out there. A purge was absolutely necessary. That I understood. But when you physically look at each and every lure and ask yourself which of the three piles it should hit, things get tough. Two teenagers from down the street helped, especially with the “give away” pile. Gear that landed there served as payment for the muscle they used to toss the “sell” stuff into a U-Haul truck and take to the estate sale at my mother’s home. (The fishing tackle was a big hit there.) Interestingly, I kept nearly as many older 28 |

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plugs and soft plastics as newer ones. As I’d pull a box of baits and consider its fate, it was productivity that mattered most. Did the lure catch more than a couple of fish for me? If so, it stayed. If not, I asked the guys if they saw potential. And the stuff that didn’t pass either garage inspection found new homes with fishermen who, at the estate sale, looked at those baits and couldn’t pass them up. Bass fishing techniques are similarly timeless. There are dozens of ways now to rig a plastic worm, but on the right day under the right circumstances, an old-school Texas rig is still as effective as it ever was. The pros can count at least as many ways to retrieve a spinnerbait, but someone new to fishing likely will get enough bites to maintain a smile by simply slinging it out there and winding it steadily back. Oftentimes, especially on smaller lakes, some of the newer tackle can show up in front of fish so often that they learn to snub it. Case in point: At a close-to-home place my son and I call the Snow Cone Lake, shorelines get pounded with spinnerbaits and unweighted worms. Throw those, even under ideal conditions, and you might get five bites. There are plenty more fish around that lake, but most of them recognize both lures and swim away from them, not toward them. Walking the same shoreline loop recently, T E X A S

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to remind my 8-year-old son that he’s not the best fisherman in the family (yet, but he’s gaining), I stuck nearly a dozen making longer casts with a frog-colored Jitterbug that’s nearly as old as am I. Sometimes, success is as simple as throwing the fish a “curve,” a lure they don’t see twice on weekdays and three times every Saturday. This past winter, on a closet shelf, I came upon stacked copies of Freshwater Strategies, a book I wrote for Texas Fish & Game quite a while back. I read a page here and a page there and realized that the information is as valid today as it was when it was written. The photos are dated, but the “strategies” will still fool fish Bass are bass. Crappie are crappie. And the fish we’re chasing now have never been tempted by any plug or soft bait that was new when the book was written. In regard to many aspects of our lives, we’re told to be “flexible,” which I’d define as an openness to change, maybe a willingness to step outside our comfort zones and try new things. Or old things. Stay in touch with the times, especially with your rods, reels and lines, but be “flexible” in your tackle box. Every now and then, turn backward to find a “new” lure. That, or fish with an old guy once or twice.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK

11/2/16 2:18 PM

Texas FRESHWATER by MATT WILLIAMS :: TF&G Freshwater Editor

Tweaking Lunkers

HE FIRST PHASE IN A SERIES of tweaks to the much fabled Toyota ShareLunker program is now in place. Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Inland Fisheries Division is revamping its Florida bass hatchery brood stock while regaining angler confidence and bolstering participation in what is arguably the most high-profile program run by the state agency. Implemented three decades ago, ShareLunker is a spawning and genetics research program founded on the belief that big bass produce big bass. The program encourages anglers to “loan” Texas-caught lunkers weighing 13 pounds or more to the state so scientists can use them for selective breeding and hopefully to one day unravel some of the mysteries behind big bass genetics. To date, there have been 565 ShareLunkers turned in from more than 60 public reservoirs and several private lakes. The program has been a huge public relations success and has helped biologists make neat strides in genetic fingerprinting and develop some good techniques for handling outsize bass. However, the program hasn’t done much in terms of producing the gargantuan bass that scientists had originally hoped it would. Texas’s current state record of 18.18 pounds has been in place for nearly 25 years without any threat of being derailed. Although a few double-digit fish have been caught that biologists were able to identify as ShareLunker offspring, none have come close to the record, or cracking the Top 50. The lack of success combined with an overall 27 percent mortality rate (only 18 percent over the last four years) has caused some anglers to begin questioning the validity of the program. It didn’t help the cause when the department got itself into a public relations pickle in 2014 over quietly stocking more than

7,000 ShareLunker offspring into a private “contract” lake. I’m not sure that these things have negatively affected angler participation in recent years, but I do know the 2015-16 ShareLunker season produced only two entries—the worst year since the program launched in 1986-87. I am also aware of three 13- to 14-pound bass caught on East Texas lakes last season, but not turned in. More anglers have chosen not to participate in recent years, particularly those who have caught big fish from Lake Falcon. TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division has seen some significant leadership changes in recent times with Craig Bonds replacing Gary Saul as Chief of Inland Fisheries and Mandy Scott taking over Alan Forshage’s position as director of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. The department also has hired Kyle Brookshear to head up the ShareLunker program. Last summer, Bonds and his staff began brainstorming ways to tweak the ShareLunker program to increase productivity and rekindle the positive buzz that once surrounded it. After reviewing their plans, it appears they are headed in in the right direction. Here is a synopsis: THREE MONTHS FOR SPAWING: The program’s historic seven-month timeline (October 1 to April 30) remains in place. However beginning this year, biologists will only attempt to spawn fish that are caught between January 1 and March 31. The change is based on 30 years of ShareLunker data showing that 75 percent of all ShareLunkers were caught during this time frame and that 85 percent of the successful spawns have occurred during the same period. Biologists will still be dispatched to verify weights and obtain fin clips from fish caught outside the restricted spawning period, after which the fish may be released. Fisheries experts say the restricted spawning period will minimize the risks for mortality. CALL CROSSBREEDS: ShareLunker program leaders adopted a protocol in the early 2000s to spawn only fish determined to have pure Florida genes because of hatchery space T E X A S

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limitations and the belief that pure Floridas are genetically superior to crossbreeds. Several intergrades weighing upwards of 15 pounds, including a pair of 16-pounders, have been turned away from the spawning phase of the program over the last few years. This season, hatchery raceways will be open to intergrades. However, their offspring will be segregated from those with pure Florida genes. PRIVATE LAKES OUT: Private lakes are still welcome to loan fish to the program, but they are no longer eligible to receive a portion of ShareLunker offspring. REBUILDING BROODERS: Beginning this year, TPWD will begin replacing its Florida bass hatchery stock with offspring obtained through the selective breeding of Texas ShareLunkers. TPWD’s Chief of Inland Hatcheries Todd Engeling says the department’s current Florida bass program is built around 1,248 males and 1,159 females. The biologist says the rebuild could be complete within six to seven years. LUNKERS DOWN THE ROAD: TPWD is looking hard at creating a smaller weight threshold and expanding the program to 12 months under a format similar to what Florida has done with its popular TrophyCatch program. Anglers, who catch and release fish weighing eight pounds or more in Florida are eligible to win all sorts of cool prizes, provided the catch is documented properly. Bonds pointed out that 13 pounds would remain the minimum for entering a fish in the ShareLunker spawning. However, creating a lesser threshold for the electronic entry of smaller fish, say eight to ten pounds, could mean a drastic increase in angler participation and positive publicity for Texas bass fishing. It is worth noting that Florida’s TrophyCatch program is only four years old, and it gave away its 5,000th prize last August.

Email Matt Williams at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com |

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TF&G Staff Report 30 |

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GRAPHIC IMAGE: TF&G

11/2/16 5:19 PM

HAT IS THE FUTURE OF duck hunting in Texas and beyond? The answer to that question depends upon whom you ask and what aspect of the waterfowl issue they understand best. There is no one simple answer as to what the future holds for those of us who crave the experience of hunting ducks and geese and sharing a quiet morning on the water with a retriever. In fact, there are so many issues at hand that it boggles the mind to consider all of the factors that go into making a fall flight. For this article, we have investigated these variables and broken them down into an easily readable format that paints an accurate picture of the problems we are facing right now and where they might take us in the not-so-distant future. One of the biggest factors contributing to our lack of success in the last years has been rice production. Statewide production has dropped 62 percent over the last 30 years, but in Orange, Jefferson, Chambers, Liberty, Galveston and Brazoria Counties, it has dropped 73 percent and much of that been in the last 12 to 15 years. You will often hear duck and goose reports referred to as “east of Houston” and “west of Houston”. That is because Houston is a real dividing line in terms of waterfowl habitat and we have had the worst end of the deal. In 1990, there were 60,000 duck hunters in Texas and by the year 2000 there were 120,000. That has fallen by about 20,000, but it still puts great pressure on public lands in particular and moved ducks toward areas with little pressure such as the Panhandle and Hill Country. “There is simply a lack of pressure in much of the state,” said guide Roger Bacon. “I take a group up to the Panhandle every year now and have learned no one hunts ducks up there. You cannot find steel shot west of Forth Worth, so if you go, bring your own shot because they’re not going to have it.” “It just makes sense,” he added. “Where there is food, water and the least pressure, there are going to be ducks.” There are much bigger problems, however, where ducks nest in the prairie pothole region. For every one percent decline in native grasslands in the prairie pothole region of the U.S. and Canada, there will be 25,000 fewer ducks in the fall. Consider that the current loss rate is 2.5 percent per year, and you can see there are big problems for ducks and duck hunters to face right now. That means 62,500 fewer ducks annually, and in 14 years that number totals 875,000. This does not factor in the annual fluctuation due to drought, predation and other factors. This is simply acreage lost to farm and development in that crucial region of North America, and it translates to ducks that nature can never produce. Duck hunters on the Texas Coast faced very poor hunting from about 2002-2004. Although numerous factors affect our

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region during the fall migration, the fact is that things will only get worse if current trends continue in the prairie pothole region. “That area really is the most crucial zone and pretty much is the duck factory of the country. The issues that affect ducks there, end up affecting hunters in Texas,” said Jim Ringelman, Director of Conservation Programs for Ducks Unlimited (DU). That region of the country has typically been ranching country and according to Ringelman, cattle and ducks work well together. “Cattle and ducks have much of the same needs. They need grass and they need water. The problem comes when people convert ranches to farmland. The big farms like to drain the ponds because they can grow crops on the pond acreage, and that gives the ducks less habitat for nesting,” Ringelman said. DU has been working on what they call “conservation easements” where they work out an agreement with landowners to pay them a fee for what the farmed area of wetlands on the property would be worth. In exchange, the landowners must not develop the wetlands. “Easements are a great way for us to keep some of these wetlands intact and try to preserve what we have,” Ringelman said. A different kind of problem comes in the form of nesting success related to predation. Different kinds of predators exist in the region than there were even 50 years ago such as raccoons, which were historically not present on the plains. Red foxes and skunks are also in much higher numbers than ever, because the bottom fell out of the trapping market and government trappers became an endangered species. For example, say 100 hens lay 500 eggs and on the second try; they lay 500 eggs for a total of 1000 eggs. Fifty percent of those nests will be destroyed on the first nesting. Some 35 percent will perish on the second nesting. You can assume that out of that you will have 150 ducklings survive to hatch and then a large portion of them die from predation after being born. We have had many years of strong fall flights, but as you can see there are many problems brewing that already impact duck hunting. How we respond to these things will make a difference in the future of waterfowl hunting. Ducks are certainly not in danger of extinction, but we are one big, prolonger drought away from a vastly different world of duck hunting. Most modern duck hunters have never had a season half the length of our current seasons or a three-bird limit. A couple of years of solid drought on the prairies could make that happen. And if we turn a blind eye to habitat problems, the picture could look vastly different in 20 years. We need to take time to understand what makes waterfowling its absolute best and move toward making those things happen.

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IX ARMED MEN IN LINE abreast formation headed across a soggy pasture to search for an elusive quarry. Without warning, a tiny screeching object exploded from beneath a clump of weeds almost at the feet of one man. It hurtled itself toward another man and zipped along in erratic flight screaming like a banshee on fire. With little time to react, the camo-clad man turned and fired instinctively three times without effect. Showing no signs of injury, the creature flashed past another man and landed about 100 yards away.

“I saw where he went down,” said Wayne Jenkins, an avid snipe hunter. “That’s the great thing about snipe. They fly fast and furious, but they don’t usually fly very far. We can kick him up again for another chance.” Because of a legendary practical joke, many people refuse to believe that such a bird as a snipe even exists. Most people have heard about “snipe hunts.” A “snipe hunt” of legend typically occurs when someone wants to play a trick on a rather dim-witted or gullible and often inebriated acquaintance. Typically fueled by copious quantities of adult beverages, a group of “sportsmen” convinces a neophyte outdoorsman

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to go to some remote location at night. The jokesters tell the intended victim to hold a sack and stand in the woods making strange sounds to call the snipe. The perpetrators of the ruse promise to beat the bushes to flush the snipe so that their victim, er, hunting partner, can catch the creatures in the sack. Instead, the pranksters get in their vehicles and leave the poor individual stranded in the dark and literally holding the bag. Real snipe hunting, for an actual live gamebird with loaded firearms as opposed to “loaded” pranksters, looks nothing like the snipe hunting of legend. In the United States, people hunt common snipe, also called Wilson’s snipe. Many people incorrectly refer to the birds as a “jack snipe,” a small, rare shorebird cousin native to the British Isles. One of 81 sandpiper species, the largest family of shorebirds, common snipe sport relatively long wings, short tails and long probing bills like woodcock. Longer and more streamlined than woodcock, snipe grow mottled and striped feathers with flecks of brown, black and buff camouflage compared to the rich chestnut brown of woodcock. Like their woodcock cousins, snipe use their extremely long, flexible bills to probe soft mud for food. With incredibly sensitive tips on their bills, the birds can locate food underground just by feel. These wading birds eat insects, worms, small mollusks, grubs, snails, small crustaceans or other tiny creatures. Unlike woodcock, which prefer thickly wooded swamps and forested bottomlands, snipe seek open country such as rice fields and marshes. Although they prefer fresh to brackish marshes, they visit salt marshes. Migratory and abundant, snipe breed in Canada and the northern United States. Each fall, these birds head south and descend upon marshes and damp fields along the Gulf Coast. They begin arriving on the Gulf Coast by mid-October and remain until April. Sportsmen might not see a bird one day, but a severe cold front can push thousands of snipe south to Texas by the next day. In Texas, most snipe congregate in the freshwater marshes and river deltas along the coast. However, snipe do venture far inland and might appear almost anywhere in the Lone Star State where they can find soft soil and food. Away from the coast, snipe can thrive in meadows, cow pastures, moist soil units, reedy lake shorelines, river sandbars, bogs, fallow fields, soggy pastures, damp agricultural lands or any other mushy spots. Unlike ducks, which like standing water, snipe prefer dampness rather than wetness and head to the soft, muddy shorelines of major water bodies.

REPORT: NEWS 35 u TF&G OF THE NATION Reported by TF&G Staff

HOT 36 u TEXAS SHOTS Trophy Photos from TF&G Readers

DEPT. OF 38 u TEXAS DEFENSE by Steve LaMasus and Dustin Ellermann

40 u TEXAS DEPT. OF CONSERVATION

by Will Leschper and Andi Cooper

44 u TEXAS COASTAL FORECAST

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

52 u TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

by Tom Behrens, Dustin Warncke and Dean Heffner

66 u SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK Tides and SoLunar Data

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE u

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The crop fields between Austin, Victoria and Houston can hold abundant snipe. Away from the coastal plain, the prairies between Waco and the Red River traditionally hold numerous birds every winter. In the arid country of central to West Texas and up to the Panhandle, snipe might even occasionally appear probing the mud around reservoirs, streams, stock tanks or farm pounds. Swift and erratic fliers, snipe challenge even the best wing shots. Knocking down these diminutive feathered rockets doesn’t require heavy firepower. One or two pellets could bring a bird down. However, making those pellets land in the right place requires considerable skill. Some might say luck. In a good area, sportsmen can burn up a lot of ammunition before bagging a daily limit of eight snipe. Snipe fly so erratically that the word “sniper,” describing a military marksman, originated with British sportsmen hunting jacksnipe. With the guns available before the 20th century, only the best shots could hit these unpredictable, swift fliers. Shooters who could consistently hit these little speedsters earned the title “snipers.” Although offering extremely challenging sport, these tiny shorebirds generally don’t attract much attention. Most snipe probably fall to sportsmen pursuing other game than people intentionally hunting them. Rabbit, quail or dove hunters might occasionally kick them up in soggy fields or wet pastures. More snipe probably fall to coastal waterfowl hunters as bonus game than anyone actually targeting the long-billed birds. Any place that might attract ducks or geese would also appeal to snipe. Waterfowlers frequently see snipe flying over their blinds as they hunker down in the marshes or rice fields waiting for ducks or geese to appear. Sometimes, flocks of zooming snipe briefly fool waterfowlers into thinking teal buzzed them, until they see their long bills. Quite often, hunters grow bored watching empty skies waiting for ducks or geese to appear. On good days, sportsmen might bag a quick limit of waterfowl, but don’t want to head home so early. On those days, waterfowlers might begin walking the marshes or fields to kick up snipe. Many a snipe fell to a full choke load of Number 4 or BB-sized steel, although no one would recommend those 34 |

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Crop ﬁelds between Austin, Victoria and Houston can hold abundant snipe.

shot sizes for hunting these diminutive birds. People who intentionally target snipe should bring Number 7.5 or 8 lead shot, where legal, and shoot an improved cylinder or open choke. Not classified as waterfowl, snipe do not fall under the federal non-toxic shot rules. However, some properties, particularly federal refuges, might stipulate the use of non-toxic shot for all game species. If so, use Number 6 or 7.5 steel – and bring lots of it. Snipe make a habit of humbling even outstanding wing shooters. To hunt snipe, sportsmen don’t need to arrive before dawn or set out hundreds of decoys like waterfowlers, although old market hunters did use wooden shorebird decoys. In fact, snipe hunters don’t need much elaborate equipment at all. Just a good scattergun, boots and plenty of ammunition would suffice. In the rice fields, marshes and wet prairies of Texas, many people might hunt ducks in the morning, return to the lodge for lunch and a nap. Then, head out that afternoon to walk the same fields where they hunted that morning kicking up snipe. When hunting snipe, sportsmen can work in teams. Spread out through a field or marsh in a line at safe intervals and walk to flush birds from thick cover. A snipe often freezes in a grass clump, flushing only at the last second right before someone steps on it. Startled snipe let out a distinctive, yet indescribable raspy scream. Few who hear the sound of snipe exploding in their faces could possibly forget the experience. Just one or two such T E X A S

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encounters could turn a normal hunter into a snipe addict for life. When flushed, snipe zigzag over the grass tops with rapidly beating wings pushing them at high speed, but not for long. Snipe routinely fly just long enough to escape danger and frequently land again in the same field or section of marsh. Sometimes, they land behind the hunter, perhaps where they flushed previously. Hunters who mark snipe landing sites can keep jumping the birds several times. Sometimes, hunters split into two groups. One group skirts around the hunting area, takes up positions at the opposite end and waits. The other group pushes toward the first group as long as safety permits. The driving party might take shots at flushing birds. The stationary hunters may fire at birds driven in their direction. Sometimes, hunters in a wide plowed field, cow pasture or extensive marsh can keep snipe moving for hours. Flushing dogs can help on a snipe hunt; even goofy partially trained ones, as long as they stay fairly close to the sportsmen. Wideranging dogs might jump snipe well out of range. A good retriever may find more birds in thick grass. With outstanding marsh camouflage, these buff-colored little birds can fall into thick grass and easily disappear almost at the feet of a hunter. Since people don’t need much equipment or finesse to bag birds, hunting snipe makes a great way to introduce children to wing shooting. In a good area, the youngsters see plenty of action and can fire their guns frequently. If they can learn to hit snipe, they can hit anything that flies. On a highly mobile, hunt, they can walk, talk and don’t need to sit still or quiet for long periods. People could even work over a part of a field, head back to the truck or boat to take a break and then go back out hunting again. In Texas, sportsmen can hunt snipe from Oct. 29, 2016, to Feb. 12, 2017, this season. Most snipe hunting takes place in conjunction with waterfowl seasons, but after those seasons end, sportsmen might find themselves alone on coastal prairies, marshes or wet agricultural fields surrounded by thousands of snipe.

PHOTO: JOHN PHOTO: N. FELSHER CREDIT

11/2/16 3:57 PM

The NATIONAL

News of TEXAS

TPWD Conﬁrms Four Class 1 Black Bear Sightings in East Texas ONE OF THE COOL THINGS ABOUT leaving a game camera in the woods is you never know what might be on the flash card when you go back to review the images. Game managers and deer hunters routinely use cameras to monitor deer movements around corn feeders and along well-beaten trails, but whitetails aren’t the only critters that sometimes walk in front of the viewfinder. A few East Texas landowners have been making some neat discoveries at their game camera sets in recent months, and their findings have grabbed the attention of wildlife biologists all around the region. We’ve got bears, folks. Since August, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife experts in Tyler have fielded a number of reports from landowners/hunters about black bears on their property. Four of the incidents have been substantiated with photographs deemed authentic enough for biologists to call them “Class 1” sightings. “That’s part of the criteria we use for establishing a Class 1 sighting,” said Dave Holderman, a TPWD wildlife diversity biologist based in Tyler. “It’s where we have some type of physical proof (such as a carcass), an expert eyewitness account or photographic evidence that we are able to substantiate as authentic.” Holderman is TPWD’s point man when it comes to black bears in this neck of the woods. He said all of the recent Class 1 sightings -- one in Bowie County near Dekalb, one in Smith County about 10 miles from Whitehouse and two in northern Red River County -- were accompanied by game camera photographs taken around corn feeders on private property. One photo series shows PHOTOS: TPWD

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a bear approaching a feeder, then running away after it apparently knocked the feeder over to get at the goodies inside. This isn’t the first time an East Texas landowner has yelled bear to TPWD and followup investigations have turned up rock-solid evidence to support the claim. Holderman noted that there have been around 20 Class 1 sightings documented in eastern Texas over the last 20 years. Most have occurred in counties in far northeast Texas near Oklahoma and Arkansas, both of which have significant black bear populations. The biologist added that the department has responded to numerous other reports of black bears in eastern Texas over the years, but a high percentage of them have lacked evidence convincing enough to be labeled as Class 1. Holderman said there have been about 2-6 “Class 2” sightings recorded annually in East Texas over the last four years. A sighting is considered a Class 2 when there is a detailed description of a bear made by an experienced observer, but no physi-

cal or verifiable photographic evidence is obtained. “Those Class 2 sightings have occurred over a much broader area spanning down into southeast Texas counties like Polk, Angelina and Tyler,” Holderman said. TPWD District 6 leader Gary Calkins of Jasper ruled on a Class 2 sighting about three months ago in Newton County. While investigating the report, Calkins said he found what looked to be bear sign on some trees, but there were no tracks, hair or other definitive evidence to say it was a bear for certain. “It’s been a pretty good while since we’ve had Class 1 sighting in southeast Texas, but we have had some very credible reports where we just didn’t have the physical evidence to bump the sighting to a Class 1,” Holderman said. “Louisiana has a lot of black bears and they are ranging westward. I would suspect that the Class 2 sightings in southeast Texas are bears that are coming across the Sabine River out of Louisiana.” According to past TPWD reports,

there have been a couple of sightings of sows with cubs -- one in Shelby County in 1993 and another in Jasper County in 1995. Holderman notes that the most recent Class 1 sightings in Red River, Bowie and Smith counties are the first Class 1 sightings documented in East Texas since Sept. 2011. It is also the first-ever Class 1 black bear sighting documented in Smith County. “The Smith County bear is the most surprising to me, but if you look at it on a scale of how far a bear can travel it’s not that far from the source population, which is likely southeast Oklahoma or southwest Arkansas. There are lots of bears in that country.” Depending on how you map it, the Smith County bear may have traveled 100-150 miles, possibly farther, to find its way to the Whitehouse area where it was ultimately documented by a game camera. What experts can’t say for certain is what caused the bear to leave its home range and trek so deep into eastern Texas, but Holderman

MOUNTAIN LION

WHITETAIL

Comstock

Jim Hogg County

This mountain lion was shot by reader Mitch Nau near Comstock on September 23, and recovered the next day. The free range cat was taken with no dogs, and no bait. The kill required two shots from a Howa 22-250 on the run at approximately 200 yards.

Ten-year-old Park Burroughs shot this deer while hunting with his dad in Jim Hogg County. The buck scored 157 Boone & Crocket.

Visit FishGame.com to upload your own TEXAS HOT SHOTS and Vote for our next Winners 36 |

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The Bear Essentials BLACK BEARS NEVER TOTALLY DISappeared in Texas but their numbers certainly plummeted after years of poaching. Now over the last two decades a small but steady trickle of bears from Mexico have moved into and inhabited the Trans Pecos and an increase in reports in East Texas suggest migration from Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. That variety of black bear is Ursus americanus luteolus, the Louisiana Black Bear and it was just removed from

offered up a couple of good guesses. “It’s purely speculation, but I would guess that the two things that might drive a bear out of a source population in Arkansas, Oklahoma or Louisiana are either a food shortage in the region

BASS Brushy Creek This is one of the two bass eight-yearold Riley Jackson caught on a chatter bait with back to back casts in a pond in Brushy Creek. Both were released after having to make a deal with her.

the federal list of threatened species, although it remains on the Texas list. Shooting a black bear in Texas is a state crime, which could get a poacher in serious trouble. Another potential problem is misidentification, since bears and feral hogs can look similar at a distance, especially when someone is not expecting to see a bear. According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) brochure Bear Safety in Mind, bears are normally shy and not aggressive to humans. “But if a bear regularly visits a ranch or deer stand, people should try to scare it with rocks, a slingshot or air horn. If people encounter a bear at close range, they should talk calmly while backing away slowly. Don’t make direct eye contact,

and don’t run away. If a bear approaches you, stand your ground and raise your arms, backpack or jacket to appear larger. Yell at the bear to scare it off.” Unlike grizzly encounters where playing dead could be a saving grace, it could make things worse if a black bear decides to attack. The proper response to a black bear attack is to fight back. Attacks are super rare and if current trends continue there will likely be more black bear sightings in Texas. Just the thought of seeing a black bear here in Texas makes things seem a bit wilder and gives hope to those of us concerned about the wildlife and wildlife habitat.

of those source populations or some sort of population density factor,” he said. “Bears aren’t good dispersers because the females don’t disperse well at all. The males are programmed to start dispersing once they become independent from their mother. “I think the best hypothesis for what is going on is that those bears might range out 100 miles or so from their natal area looking around for other bears,” he added. “Ultimately, a young male is going to be looking for a female to breed. Once they get over here where this no resident bear population they figure it out pretty quickly and they go in a different direction or head back towards their natal population.” Interestingly, there was a time when eastern Texas was home to large numbers of black bears and other animals like the red wolf, jaguar and mountain lion whose populations were wiped by early settlers who lumbered their habitat and shot them into oblivion. Holderman said native native populations of black bears in East Texas were pretty much wiped out by 1910 by hunters. Early reports document that two Liberty County hunters once killed 182 bears within a 10-mile radius of the Trinity River drainage between 1883-85. According to TPWD reports, the last native black bear shot in East Texas is believed to have been killed in the late 1950s in Polk County. That’s sad stuff to think about. Maddening

in a sense. What’s even sadder is that the damage will probably never be reversed, despite efforts to help push the process along. In 2005, TPWD adopted the East Texas Black Bear Conservation and Management Plan and established the East Texas Black Bear Task Force to work towards helping restore black bear populations to their native range through education, research and habitat management. TPWD has always stood fast that stocking bears isn’t part of the plan. And it never will be without public and political support to back it. Instead the goal of the department and its coalition of partners is to educate people about bears and to conduct research to identify suitable habitat for them should the spillover from other adjacent states continue. With deer season just around the corner, East Texas hunters headed to the woods are reminded to be sure of their targets and not mistake a black bear for an outsize feral hog. The bears are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and shooting one could be costly. Sightings are rare, but if you are fortunate enough to see one, take a picture if you can or report it to TPWD so they check things out. Contact Holderman at 903-566-1626 or Calkins at 409-384-6894.

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—Chester Moore

—Matt Williams

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TEXAS Dept. of

:: Self Defense :: Tactical :: Training Tips

by DUSTIN ELLERMANN and STAN SKINNER

:: Gear

Night Stalkers TEXANS ENJOY ALMOST NO restrictions on night-time varmint hunting using artificial light and even firearm silencers, as long as you hunt on private property that you own—or, of course, with permission. Hunting varmints with predator calls and artificial light has a long tradition in Texas. In the 1950s, Winston and Murry Burnham popularized night-time varmint calling in the Hill Country around their hometown, Marble Falls. In those days, artificial light usually meant a battery-powered headlamp or a carbide lamp mounted on a miner’s helmet. Since that time, seductive whimpers and screeches from a Burnham Brothers varmint call in the hands of a Texas hunter have enticed count-

Make Mine a Nine THE IDEAL SELF-DEFENSE CALIBER debate will likely never end, and this editorial is not to attempt such. However my purpose is to explain why the 9mm is my cartridge of choice. Ballistics has many variables, but many gun owners simply look at size. Like the age old saying goes: “Why do you carry a .45?” “Because they don’t make a .46.” Before the era of dependable expanding hollow point bullets this argument had its place. Even the U.S. military which usually observes the 1899 Hague Convention by utilizing non-expanding rounds, finds itself lacking

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less coyotes, bobcats and other varmints to their doom. In the last decade or two, Texas hunters have added feral hogs to the list of varmints hunted at night. It’s interesting to note that according to Texas law, feral hogs are not “non-game animals” like coyotes, bobcats, etc. Instead they are considered “exotic livestock,” along with blackbucks, axis deer and the like. However, unlike blackbucks and axis deer, feral hogs do an estimated $52 million in damage annually to the Texas agriculture industry. As exotic livestock, feral hogs are the property of the landowner, not the citizens of the state (Texas Agricultural Code Section 161.002). This means landowners and their agents (you) can legally kill feral hogs on the landowners property without a hunting license if the hogs are causing damage. Having said that, you should have a valid Texas hunting license anyway, to alleviate any concern by a game warden that you might be hunting something other than hogs. In fact, TPWD politely asks you to make a courtesy call to your local game warden about your plans before a night hunt.

Today’s feral hog hunters have several high-tech options for night vision including night vision goggles and gun sights using light amplifiers (starlight scopes) or thermal sighting equipment. Light amplification and thermal night vision are passive devices, meaning they do not emit illumination of any kind. A light amplification device takes in faint ambient light such as moonlight, then processes it through an image intensifier resulting in a visible image viewable through the eyepiece lens. Thermal night vision detects the differences in the infrared radiation (heat) emitted by all objects, including animals. Warm-blooded animals such as hogs are quite easy to distinguish against the generally cooler background. Both types of night vision rifle sights are effective for night hunting, but both have certain drawbacks. Light amplification devices must have a certain amount of ambient light. They do not work in total or near-total darkness. Thermal sights are difficult to sight-in properly because they do not use visible light at all. Printed paper targets don’t show con-

power when using pistol cartridges loaded with full metal jacket bullets. But we aren’t limited to non-expanding rounds, so we don’t have to just rely on raw size of the projectile. We can look at muzzle velocity, bullet weight, and transferred energy in an effort to calculate a perfect defense round that will stop threats in the least amount of time. The problem is that stopping a threat isn’t that specific. You can have a round that transfers 100 percent of its energy and expands 100 percent to tear the most tissue and create shock in a threat, but if the bullet isn’t placed where it

needs to be it won’t be effective. And that’s how I made my choice for 9mm. I used to carry a .40 S&W for defense mimicking the leading law enforcement choice. But once I started shooting more competition, I wanted to shoot the most affordable caliber in an effort to be able to train with more rounds per my budget. But I also recommend 9mm to new shooters as well. One reason is the softer recoil of a quality pistol that fits your hand well (not tiny guns!). But the other reason is you can purchase twice the ammunition because of 9mm’s more effective economies of scale. So, you can practice shooting twice as much. If you can become twice as proficient with your handgun, then you will be more likely to place your rounds where they are needed in a defensive situation. Also, the industry as a whole seems to be

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trasting temperatures and appear blank to a thermal sight. In addition, both types are fairly expensive. A good quality light amplification sight can cost from $1,500 to $3,000 or more for the more sophisticated versions. Thermal sights are even more expensive, ranging from $3,000 to more than $5,000 and up. On top of that, both types are easily damaged beyond repair if the unprotected objective lens is exposed to direct sunlight. Fortunately Texas hunters have a much less expensive and highly effective way to put feral hogs in their crosshairs at night—Active infrared night vision. NiteSite, LLC, located in Fort Worth Texas offers three affordable active infrared night vision models to provide crisp and clear images through your existing riflescope. This includes the shortrange VIPER, which illuminates targets out to 110 yards, the medium-range WOLF, good to about 330 yards and the long-range EAGLE, which extends illumination to 550 yards or more. The NiteSite places an infrared camera on the eyepiece lens of your riflescope to look through the scope’s optics. The device uses the existing riflescope reticle to target your quarry. A powerful infrared LED illuminator mounts atop your scope tube. A 3 ½-inch viewing screen on the back of the illuminator module provides your target image.

existing rear sight with a railmounted aperture sight. This allows me to use a conventional mounting position for my riflescope, but it still allows a forward-mounted long eye-relief scope as the original scout rifle concept specifies. I also replaced

Depending on the model a NiteSite will cost

The author’s modified Ruger Scout Rifle uses a WOLF model active infrared NiteSite attached to a Leupold VX-III 1.5-5X riflescope.

you about the same as a good quality (but not top-end) riflescope. Unlike other night vision devices, however, the NiteSite converts your existing riflescope to night vision, so there is no need to re-zero. As a bonus, the NiteSite works in daylight, too—even with the infrared emitter turned off. My NiteSite is the WOLF model, which I have mounted on my slightly modified, lefthand Ruger Scout Rifle in .308 Winchester. I replaced its forward-mounted picatinny rail with an extended rail from XS® Sight Systems (also of Fort Worth, Texas). This rail extends back to the rear receiver ring, replacing the

The Black Hills .45ACP, .40S&W and 9mm hollowpoints were within hundredths of an inch of expansion

cutting ties with the .40 S&W. The .40 is a higher-pressure cartridge, with a little more recoil and snap than a 9mm and even the softer shooting .45 ACP. PHOTOS: TOP, STAN SKINNER; BOTTOM, DUSTIN ELLERMANN

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the factory standard flash hider with a silencer adapter/flash hider to attach my SureFire silencer—but that’s a subject for another time. It took me a bit longer than the advertised 60 seconds to attach the NiteSite to my Leupold VX-III 1.5-5X riflescope, but hey—it was my first time, and I had to do some head-scratching here and there. If I need to do it again, I could probably come close to the 60 second mark. Fully set up with its stock-mounted lithium ion battery pack, the NiteSite adds a pound and a couple of ounces to the Scout Rifle. It is fairly bulky, but that is an acceptable trade-off for the night vision capability. I haven’t had the opportunity to test the illuminator out to 330 yards, but everything seems to work as advertised. A small quirk I’ll have to get accustomed to, is shooting without my normal cheek weld. Instead, I must position my head upright to see the forwardmounted view screen. From a shooting bench or through the window of a hunting blind, it’s not too difficult, but I need some practice time with various field positions. By the way, it does work well in full daylight. I can hardly wait for the opportunity to try out my new rig on a night ambush for feral hogs. I have no doubt it will contribute to a significant reduction in the local hog population—and a significant up-tick in my freezer’s inventory. —by Stan Skinner

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TEXAS Dept. of :: Edited by WILL LESCHPER

Hunters Bring in Big Buck$

OR MANY FOLKS, DEER hunting is life. From Amarillo to Brownsville, north to south, and Texarkana to El Paso, east to west, it’s easy to see why. Local business owners revel in seeing camouflage from head to toe, lifted pickups towing gear-laden trailers and all those hunters who bring along their wallets. This begins with lease preparations in September, through February when everything must be secured and packed away. It’s a fact that the dollars flowing into those communities can make the entire year for small shops. The most recent economic impact survey from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on outdoor recreation sheds light on just how much money we’re talking about. That survey showed that more than one million residents and nonresidents 16 and older bought hunting licenses in Texas—a figure that has continued to hold steady at seven figures for years.

Annual deer-hunter participation and harvest surveys conducted annually by Texas Parks & Wildlife show that in good seasons roughly 600,000 of those more than a million hunters are pursuing deer. Those hunters take more than a half-million bucks and does from a statewide herd that numbers in excess of four million. That’s a lot of folks digging into their bank accounts to collect bone

and backstraps, a true economic driver of the first order. Although the federal survey includes a host of numbers, the overall

Researchers Are Poking Around in Quail Guts THE ROLLING PLAINS QUAIL Research Ranch in Fisher County is soliciting crop contents of quail taken across the Rolling Plains (including in Texas and Oklahoma) in an attempt to build a 40 |

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comprehensive seed collection of plants eaten by quail. Hunters are asked that as you clean birds, dissect out the crop and empty the contents into an empty shotgun shell box T E X A S

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impact of hunting in Texas is clear. Huntingrelated expenditures added up to more than $1.8 billion. A healthy chunk of those funds goes directly toward deer-hunting trips, gear, food and lodging, among other purchases. According to studies from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, those expenditures have a multiplier effect of double those amounts. This provides revenue across multiple business interests. Moreover, a study compiled for Texas Parks & Wildlife by an outside agency showed a total economic effect multiplier of nearly three. All that funding has a trickle-down effect, helping to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into our local state economy each fall and winter.

so they will dry out, then tape the seams with duct tape. Do not put them in a plastic bag as they will mold. At the completion of your quail season send the box and contents to RPQRR, P.O. Box 220, Roby, TX 79543-0220. Information: www.quailresearch.org.

« PHOTO: CANSTOCK

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That dollar amount includes valuable funds headed to outfitters, mom-and-pop shops and those making a direct living off the hunting industry. However,the federal taxes generated by the overall industry end up going back into state coffers earmarked for needed resource protections and improvements. In that respect, hunting is conservation, with a direct correlation to improving habitat and in some cases access and opportunities. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service annually distributes revenue to each state’s wildlife agency through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration program. Those funds come from excise taxes on the sale of everything from sporting firearms and ammunition to archery equipment. In 2016, this totaled more than $32 million that came back to Texas for wildlife restoration efforts. Pittman-Robertson funds allow the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Division to offer many services, including technical guidance to private landowners who control roughly 95 percent of wildlife habitat in Texas. This also funded TPWD surveys and research for development of hunting regulations, operation and management of

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late 1990s. They were designed to improve the age structure of buck herds, increase the opportunity to hunt those bucks and encourage better habitat management. For the most part, that framework has been wildly successful and the restrictions are now in place in more than 60 counties in the Post Oak, Pineywoods and northern coastal prairie regions.

Email Will Leschper at WillLeschperOutdoors@gmail.com

Ballistic gel penetration and expansion results were very similar except for the .380 that only penetrated 8.5 inches.

the .40 S&W. And even now, the FBI, which was instrumental in creating the .40 S&W from the powerful 10mm is converting back to the 9mm—and we can’t overlook the higher magazine capacity of a 9mm as well. But size still means something, right? Sure it does. Larger holes leave more damage. But when you look at the hard numbers, there is hardly a difference in just hole size. I recently shot six of Black Hills Ammunition most popular defense rounds into ballistic gel to compare results. Although the .380 lacked much penetration with only 9 inches depth and 0.48 inches expansion, the 9mm, .45, .38 special all penetrated within two inches of each other in depths of 14.75 to 16 inches with expansions of 0.63 to 0.69 inches. The .40 S&W with Barnes Tac-XP bullets 42 |

Wildlife Management Areas and conducting research and developing techniques for managing wildlife populations and wildlife habitat. Hunters also play a vital role in deer management at the statewide level, which also means a lot for conservation efforts. Those hundreds of thousands of hunters are the main mechanism by which TPWD influences overall deer numbers, buck-to-doe ratios and various herd genetics, while helping to increase or reduce populations based on selective harvest. The clear example of this conservation role and management framework is the antler restriction move implemented in a half-dozen Post Oak region counties in the

expanded the most at 0.7 inches but also lacked depth with 11.25 inches. The .357 Magnum fired into the second block of gel expanded to .53 inches with 18 inches depth. But even then the expansion difference of the .40 S&W’s impressive 0.7 inches compared to the tiny .380’s 0.48 inches only leaves a dif-

ference of 0.22 inches. Think about how tiny of a difference less than a quarter of an inch makes. And we argue over calibers because of 0.22 inches? Instead of arguing over the size of the hole, why not train more to put the hole closer to the bulls eye? And that’s my entire position. Train with the most affordable caliber, and develop your skills to put that hole where you need it regardless of size. —by Dustin Ellermann

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Coastal Focus: SABINE :: by Capt. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

ECEMBER IS HERE AND IT signifies an end as well as a beginning. It is the end of another fine year on Sabine Lake and the beginning of some of the best redfishing on the upper Texas Coast. Trout, redfish and flounders have cooperated quite nicely for the past several months and now, all of a sudden Old Man Winter is banging on the door. There is no need to worry though because the redfish bite will keep going strong this month and should even become a little more consistent as we get closer to Christmas. The December redfish bite has always

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Redﬁsh are pretty easy to catch year round, but December has become prime time.

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December Beginnings & Endings

been something we look forward to. The east bank of Sabine Lake will produce lots of reds this month, but if it’s anything close to how it’s been in recent years, it will pale in comparison to the action in the bayous.

There’s no doubt they will be cruising the shorelines of Sabine Lake looking for an easy meal, but if you want real, consistent rod bending action, deep in the bayous is

where you want to be. Redfish are pretty easy to catch year round, but here on Sabine the month of December has become prime time for targeting them in the chilly waters of the bayous. It is pretty much a matter of finding bait. Mullet is a major source of nutrition for redfish in the winter, mainly because other options such as shad and shrimp become scarcer as the water temperature drops. Therefore, if you happen to see a school of mullet, or even one or two cruising the shallow bank, there is a very good chance that there are some hungry reds nearby. On nice calm days, it shouldn’t be hard to find mullet along long stretches at shoreline in the bayous. If you’ve located the bait, you’ve probably located the fish—especially if there’s any tidal movement. Small drains and cuts leading to the back lakes in the marsh will usually hold the most bait and fish. Dark colored soft plastics such as Morning Glory, Red Shad and Texas Roach rigged on 1/8 oz. lead heads work very well. Gold spoons and spinner baits are also hard to beat. If you’re having difficulty locating any bait, look for dead giveaways like wakes and mud boils. These are pretty common occurrences, as these fish will aggressively feed in just inches of water.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Walter Umphrey State Park Fishing Pier SPECIES: Redﬁsh, Whiting, Black Drum BAITS/LURES: Fresh Dead Shrimp, Finger Mullet, Cut Bait BEST TIMES: All Day

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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Coastal Focus: GALVESTON :: by Capt. MIKE HOLMES

The Holidays are Special for Fishermen Too

HE HOLIDAY SEASON FOR most Americans—Texans proudly among them—begins in earnest with the approach of Christmas. This is a time to spend with family and friends. However, there is no reason fishing can’t be one of the activities enjoyed by all. December weather on our coast is normally temperate enough to allow us to enjoy activities near the water, and our resident fish species should be feeding and in their usual haunts. Should colder weather decide to visit us— which is always possible—there will still be fish to catch. They just might be feeding slower, and in deeper water. Most experienced Texas fishermen know the routine by now—on warmer, sunny days, shallow reefs in the bays should see feeding fish. When cooler temperatures invade, reds, trout, and flounders will seek the slightly warmer temperatures of deeper holes, channels, and the nearby Gulf. They still have to eat, but nature schools them well—pardon the pun—and they will hunt for larger bait species, which take longer to fully digest. This enables them to effectively store food to last a longer period of time. It has been known for many years that larger trout do this pretty much all during the year, but especially in winter. This means that a larger, fish-imitating artificial lure will probably be more attractive to a hungry “sow” trout at this time of year than a smaller, shrimp imitation. When using natural baits, a live finger mullet or croaker has even more appeal. However, a “fresh dead” bait, with maybe the tail cut off to allow blood and other body oils to leave a scent trail can initiate a stalk from a hungry predator. With the artificial, work it deep and slow, staying alert for a “bump” or “tap” rather

than a hard strike. Natural baits should be worked slowly or not at all. Simply letting them dangle in a likely spot of water will often be enough, or let any current move the bait with it. In this technique, either use a float to speed the drift in weak current, or let the bait “drag” a sinker across the bottom—which can slow a drift going too fast, and create puffs of mud that imitate the movement of a real, struggling baitfish. A BIG plus to fishing colder water on the upper Texas coast is the reduced activity from crabs and “bait stealing” small fish such as hard head catfish. There will still be some of these around, but certainly not in the overwhelming numbers sometimes encountered in summer Live bait may also be more difficult to

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come by, but the fisherman dedicated to gathering his own bait supply can use cast nets, small bait seines, and jar-type mud minnow traps to get—well, mud minnows! Also worth collecting and using are finger mullet, shad, and small croakers. These bait species can be captured by the same methods used to gather mud minnows. Any live bait species that are actually captured alive at this time of year will be fairly well accustomed to colder water. Certainly, too warm water will seldom be a problem in December, so they can more easily be kept fresh and alive. Usually this can be accomplished without the need for pumps or bubblers to add oxygen to the bait tank water. Live shrimp might be hard to find at the bait shops that stay open all year, but some can also be obtained in the bait nets. Dead bait is certainly better than no bait at all. In cold water, the scent of a bait might be more effective than lively movement. Frozen shrimp, mullet, shad, and squid are just about always available. Those really serious about CONTINUED ON PAGE

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Coastal Focus: MATAGORDA :: by Contributing Editor MIKE PRICE

Try One More Cast; It May Be Turn-On Time

O YOU HAVE YOUR HONEY hole, a fishing spot that has produced for you many times. You know the water temperatures and tidal movements that you like, and you might even consider barometric pressure, or phases of the moon. However, the challenge of fishing is that you can go back to the same location, but conditions are never exactly the same. Having said that, the fishing last December was great; it may not repeat this December, but I’m going back to my honey holes and seek out a combination of as many of the same conditions as possible that produced fish last year. On December 1, I launched my kayak into Turtle Bay at three p.m. The wind was from the north at eight mph. It was cloudy and the air temperature was 58°F, the tide was outgoing

strong, and the water temperature was 57°F. I anchored my kayak so that I could cast across water flowing out of a marsh into Turtle Bay. I caught a small redfish on the first cast and was encouraged, but I had anchored downwind of some very smelly white pelicans. However, I decided to put up with the smell and see if the trough would produce more action. Trout between 15 and 20 inches were mixed in with the small reds, and they were hungry. I didn’t count the number I caught, but I kept five. To top off this hour of splendid fishing (disregarding the pelican poop smell), I enjoyed hearing and seeing 10 large flocks of geese fly over. It was December 6, with a light wind out of the NNE. Tide was strong incoming, water

temperatures were from 54 to 59°F, and it was sunny with air temperatures from 51 to 70°F. My wife, Janet, and I were fishing on the north side of West Matagorda Bay. The water was very clear and only 6 to 18 inches deep, and the fish were not on the flats. Then Janet found a hole five feet deep that held fish. Using five-inch Chicken-OnA-Chain Bass Assassin soft plastics, on 1/16 ounce jig heads tipped with small pieces of Fishbite, we caught 16 trout, two flounders, and four redfish. We kept five trout. On December 8, Jeff Wiley and I launched our kayaks at Oyster Lake. There was a light wind from the south. The tide was outgoing strong, water temperatures were from 54 to 60°F, and it was a sunny day with air temperatures from 50 to 71°F. We anchored our kayaks in a very strong flow of water coming out of Oyster Lake. The water was three to four feet deep in a trough surrounded by flats that were two feet deep. We lobbed three-inch Egret Baits Wedge Tail soft plastic minnows into the fast moving water, and kept tight lines as we let the lures sink. then we brought them back with the tidal movement. Nearly every cast drew a bite. We caught 27 trout and kept five each. The common factors in all three of these fun fishing experiences were: water temperatures between 54 and 60°F, strong moving water, water depth two to four feet deeper than surrounding terrain, and all locations were on the north side of West Matagorda Bay.

East Matagorda Bay One of the fishing spots on my boat’s GPS is named “2 O’clock,” because after fishing the area for hours with very little action, the fish finally turned on at 2 O’clock. No one is able to predict exactly when the fish will feed; instead experienced fishermen say, “Be patient and keep chucking those lures.” I was kayak fishing the back lakes in East Matagorda Bay on a frustrating morning with very few bites, when I moved into the bay and let the light wind push me along the shoreline. I finally got a solid hook up at 2:30 p.m. I put the 23-inch red on the stringer. Then I saw a 46 |

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little fish jump for its life near the shoreline, and tossed over there. This yielded a 22-inch red, so my spirits, which had been flagging, really picked up. I was retrieving my Egret Baits five-inch Wedge Tail Minnow about an inch beneath the surface over grass, when a very deep bronze-colored redfish charged the lure and come half out of the water. I laughed and reeled, but after a couple minutes of fighting, the fish got loose and swam off. I thought, “No matter, I really enjoyed that.” Certainly the south side of the bays can produce good fishing in December, but when the wind is light from the north (a common occurrence in December), try the north side. When you think, “I’m discouraged, they are not biting,” try one more cast, it may be “turnon time.”

THE BANK BITE SARGENT, TEXAS: Take FM 457 south to Sargent. The road ends at the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). You can purchase live bait at CD’s and ﬁsh

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winter fishing might freeze some of the bait they catch in warmer weather for use this time of year. Since the holidays are best enjoyed with family and friends, taking advantage of a good weather “envelope” can be a very good way to use some of that Holiday time off from school or work . A fish fry organized around a fresh catch only makes it better.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Generally, deeper water reached by pier, jetty, or rock groin is a better “bet” than shallow shore lines.. from their 100-foot bulkhead on the ICW. CD’s is owned by Dean Garner. Dean said, “We sell live and fresh dead shrimp, crabs, and piggy perch and we do not use chemicals on the bait; after we have it for two days we dump it in the ICW.” For

SPECIES: Redfish, speckled trout, flounder, croaker – while none of these might be encountered in really large numbers, all can be found at least occasionally. BAIT: Generally, natural baits are more effective in cold water, but fish-imitating plugs or spoons worked very slowly near the bottom can produce good catches in the right spots. BEST TIME: Tides will not be as strong, so fish when you have the opportunity. Night fishing under lights can be the very best cold water opportunity – whether off a pier or dock, jetty, or any spot deep water is reasonably close to shore.

Email Mike Holmes at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com food and drinks stop at Lefty’s Bar and Grill, next to CD’s.

Email Mike Price at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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Coastal Focus: MID COAST :: by Capt. CHRIS MARTIN

Cold Water Trophy Bait

HE END OF NOVEMBER AND the beginning of December is when a lot of occasional coastal anglers clean their rods and reels and store them until they are ready to use them again in the spring. These anglers have other things to do at this time of the year, deer hunting for example—or they figure it is just getting too cold to fish. But whatever their reason, they are missing out on some really fantastic trout action this month.

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Those coastal anglers in the know, however, are a die-hard breed who love to chase cold-water speckled trout during sometimes harsh conditions. They use an often mixed variety of artificial baits that aren’t guaranteed by anyone to work on enticing the fish on any given day under any certain conditions. These select anglers do it because they love to fish. It’s that simple. Some say that trout leave the bays and travel to the beachfront when the water gets cold. Others swear that the trout can be found nowhere else other than in the deepest sections of water when temperatures plummet. And then there are those who will say that the trout actually don’t move, or go, anywhere at all when the mercury in the thermometer drops. If you ask some of the “old salts,” they may say that the trout might move ever so slightly so as to take advantage of any food source they may discover. This might mean that trout stay in the bay, or move out to the Gulf. They might move from the shell and grass of the bays to the soft mud of the Intracoastal Waterway. Regardless of whatever slight alterations they may make in their location, there’s still going to be those avid anglers willing to don their waders in even the chilliest of circumstances to try their luck at tossing one of their favorite lures at a trophy trout. If you happen to be one who prefers the presentation of live bait, but who isn’t afraid to try something new this winter—try tossing a plastic tail under your float on your next trip. Try some of the more brilliantly-colored plastic tails in the top three feet of the water column whenever that section of the water is clean. If the water appears muddy on top, try your luck closer to the bottom while working one or more different varieties of plastic offerings in one of the many darker colors—Morning Glory, Plum/Chartreuse, Roach, etc. The number of options for artificial bait continues to grow for traditional wading anglers. Depending upon the area where you are wading, numerous brands of baits are available. Some of the major producers over time have been MirroLure’s 52M and 72M models, the entire Corky lineup of plastic suspenders, T E X A S

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the ever-popular Johnson Sprite spoons, and other plugs such as the minnow line of baits from Rebel, and the many, many varieties of top water offerings. With the exception of the surface walkers, of course, all of these baits will be tougher to maneuver in grass or around heavy shell because they tend to work close to the bottom. That’s why you should familiarize yourself with slow-sinking and suspending baits. Along our coastal bend region of Texas, wading anglers deal with grass and shell on a regular basis. Slow-sinkers and suspending baits allow you to hang an offering in the middle of the water column just above the tips of the grass where the cold-water baitfish are hanging out. This is particularly fun whenever you happen to find a group of trout hanging in the same area looking for injured bait fish to ambush above the grass. For those new to the realm of fishing with lures, and with all the different kinds of artificial baits available, it can be confusing about the use for each of the different kinds of baits. For example, shrimp-imitating soft-plastic baits are very good plastic baits for trout in the wintertime. They have a makeup and scent that imitates live bait very well. The most popular styles with speck fishermen are the shrimp bodies and the jerk bait styles. The minnowimitating plastics, along with worm and eel resemblances, represent another popular soft bait for wintertime trout. Soft, plastic tails are secured to a lead jighead and then worked very slowly at a particular depth, or directly across the bay floor. These soft baits attached to a lead jighead attract trout through sight, smell, and even sound whenever the bait is dragged across the bottom. Cold-water coastal anglers have truly benefited from some of these synthetic baits that have been designed to release a scent into the water that’s capable of attracting trout from a long way off.

Contact Capt. Chris Martin at bayﬂatslodge@gmail.com or visit bayﬂatslodge.com

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11/2/16 3:57 PM

Coastal Focus: ROCKPORT :: by Capt. MAC GABLE

Getting Ready to Fish

OST PEOPLE DON’T catch my attention as I find most are running hard at the speed of light and their brains are at the outer limits of what we call sanity—all trying to keep up with this thing we call life. I’m sure I’m not noticed much either, as I guess on the average I am pretty boring when compared to my peers. I do have an eye, I’ve been told, for noticing unique things and people. The status quo doesn’t interest me much for I’ve found as a species we, or at least most of us, tend to gravitate toward the same things. We are a social species yet we like to be left alone—except when we don’t want to be left alone. We like to be recognized but only in a favorable way and steer clear of calamitous and disadvantageous detection. Still there are those who just seem to have a different way about them. They don’t seem to care or better yet have no recollection nor acknowledge what others think. They seem to go about their way in a quiet but purposeful way—these are the people who catch my attention. Take for example the guy who launched his boat from the top of his truck—no trailer, no tags, no wheels just a few strategically placed rollers, pulleys and cables. When I asked him where the idea came from he said “I was having trouble getting my old trailer registered so I asked myself ‘Why does a boat need a trailer?’” It was a sight to behold, but although it took longer to launch, it worked. How about the guy who sealed up his small fiberglass Casita travel trailer watertight and added a trolling motor because he couldn’t afford a boat?

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“I will,” he theorized, “be able to enjoy my hot coffee, cook meals, and not have to run back to the dock when the sun goes down, but rather enjoy the comforts of my own bed right on the water.” On her maiden voyage/launch, the little trailer floated like a cork, drifted slightly away from the dock and capsized. After a quizzical look the guy burst out laughing and then matter-of-factly said “Guess she’s a little top heavy but ballast will fix that.” One I just can’t forget was while at HEB (grocery store). I immediately noticed a young man in line at the checkout with 20 or so tubes of Preparation H. he didn’t seem to be the least bit hesitant or timid about his selection, but seemed to have that look of purpose. “That’s a lot of personalized grease!” I more asked than said to him. He looked at me with a questionable stare, not knowing what I was talking about. “Collecting medical supplies for folks I asked?” “Oh no sir, it’s for my fishing” he said.

He had my attention. “I use it as bait; well, I put in ON my bait.” “Really?” I questioned. “Yes sir,” he told me. “I didn’t have the money a while back for bait so grandpa told me I could use his tackle box, and I might find something in the box to fish with. It was in the tackle box. “Nothing was biting so I took some Vienna sausages I had for lunch and remembered grandpa told me he used it to grease THINGS, and it helped him when he fished. So I squirted some of it on the sausage, and man did it work!!! “If you read about it, it has shark oil in it. Anyway they don’t have it at bait stands or tackle stores, but there is always plenty of it here. It doesn’t wash off, and it greases my reel good too. Mom and dad use it at home as well.” You can’t make something like this up. I dare you to try! There is one elderly lady I had seen many times at almost all of the boat ramps in our area, she seemed to have that very THING

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Forecast: ROCKPORT about her that just set her apart. You know, like she had a secret that she was privately enjoying. Over time I began to pay close attention to her as she launched her boat. She was always alone. Having been around boat ramps much of my life I can tell pretty quickly those who have the art of launching and loading mastered, and she did. She always had a dog with her, didn’t have a live well on the boat from what I could see, and every so often I would catch a glimpse of a fishing rod. She wasn’t talkative, but was cordial and gracefully polite. She didn’t seem to need the usual banter that exists at our boat ramps, but went about her quiet way and never tarried. I would see her out on the water, usually set up where there was little or no fish to my knowledge. Many times I never saw a fishing rod, but I was sure there had to be one. I made a mental note to introduce myself, but she wasn’t the kind of person who was easy to approach—always on the move, purposeful and yet in a peaceful way. Her pace was one that you just didn’t want to interrupt. Her winch strap broke trying to load her boat on one blustery day, so I hastened to help. After tying her boat strap off I introduced myself and asked how the fishing was, she said it was great. “Well, you’ll have a good supper tonight” I mused. “I don’t eat fish” she said. “Well they are fun to catch” I continued. “Truthfully I don’t catch many.” “You are on the water more than most guides I know,” I quipped, “so I’d say your sand bagging me a little here.” She laughed “Me? A sand bagger? Not hardly.” “You must be an artificial angler,” I said, “because I never see any bait on your boat.” Again she laughed. “I don’t know the first thing about artificial fishing. I use whatever bait I can freeze and keep in my ice chest.” “Well ma’am” (she then told me her name) “I can tell you some good spots to fish fresh dead or frozen bait.” “No fun in that” she said. “You see I don’t have to catch fish to enjoy the day.” “Ahhh…then you are a boater more than a lady angler.” “Not at all. Boating has no real purpose, 50 |

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but now fishing, well, fishing has a purpose now doesn’t it.” I knew I was about to learn something. “My husband passed away, and my children have their own lives. I feel very much in the way when I spend too much time with them, even though I probably am not. “I believe one needs a purpose, and I like the purpose of fishing. Truthfully I like getting ready to go fishing. It takes a lot of time as I’m sure you know. The ‘readying ritual’ I go through keeps me busy, and I find much joy in it. It keeps me vital and whole and I sleep better at night after getting ready for and spending the day fishing. “Not to sound like a cliché, but it’s not about catching a fish so much anymore as it is the journey. Preparing and being ready to catch a fish works for me. You see we spend so very little time in that moment when we achieve our actual purpose, so for me enjoying the trek is the key to a happier life.” “Wow” I said admiringly, “I think you just took me to school.” She smiled. “Truth is you’ll understand it more as you get older—enjoy the day. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!” ••• WADING THE COLD: I LIKE WADE fishing this time of year for two reasons. 1. It’s soft plastics heaven and one can arm themselves with an arsenal of great lures 2. The water is usually clear and sight casting to fish is a lot of fun. Think slow retrieves and move very slowly, casting more than just one time in the same spot. COPANO BAY: Black drum tend to congregate at the mouth of Mission Bay, and that angler who has a few days to fish has a good chance of hooking up with some of these good-tasting, hard fighters. A light Carolina rig is a great option with peeled shrimp being a great bait choice. The deeper edges of Egery Island is a good place for trout using new penny colored Jerk Shad or free lined live shrimp. ARANSAS BAY: The mouth of Allyn’s Bight is a good place for reds and trout using free-lined finger mullet and/or free-lined live shrimp. The deep edges of Ninemile Point T E X A S

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(six to nine feet) is a good bet for trout using sand eels in chartreuse and silver mud colors. Mack Reef is a good spot for trout using a silent cork and live shrimp.

ST CHARLES BAY: The cut between Aransas Bay and St. Charles Bay is a wade worth making this time of year. Work the shallow edges of the shell on warmer days and the deeper water of the cut on colder days. Deep runners like a Rapala Shad Rap and Rattle Traps in blue and gold are good choices. CARLOS BAY: Drifts across Carlos Lake are good for trout and a few reds using soft plastics in morning glory and electric chicken colors. Slow retrieves and many casts to the same spot is the key to success. Cape Carlos Dugout is a good spot for bottom fishing cut mullet or menhaden on a medium to heavy Carolina rig.. MESQUITE BAY: The mouth of Cedar Bayou is a good place for reds using finger mullet or mud minnows free—lined. Beldons Dugout is a good place for reds using cut menhaden on a fish finder rig.. AYERS BAY: Some black drum may be found on Ayers Reef using peeled shrimp and a light Carolina rig. Some sheepshead on the north shoreline with small kahle hooks and cut squid is the ticket. Free-lined is best or a very light split shot about 18 inches up from the hook

THE BANK BITE THE LBJ CAUSEWAY ﬁshing pier is a good place to set up for some medium to large black drum. The large drums bite well on cracked crabs and the smaller to medium drums bite well on cut squid or peeled shrimp. Patience is the key here.

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

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

Fronts Push Fish, and Fishermen, into the Deep

HE FIRST SIGNIFICANT COLD front struck the Lower Texas Coast in late October this year, which hinted at an earlier winter than in recent years. Though it is rare that any one cold front will drop water temperatures precipitously (unless some monstrous Siberian express comes ripping down from the north, which has been known to happen), a series of steady cold snaps can bring waters down to below the comfort level of most game fish and fishermen. The trick is finding where the fish have gone. The thing is that fish essentially live in a captured medium. When it gets cold, they can’t pack up and move to Panama until April. Trout and redfish have to basically seek out water that is more comfortable to their cold-blooded physiology. The key is deep water. Fishermen being fishermen, most of us are willing to brave 50, 40, even high-30 degree weather to wet a line, especially if we’ve had a trip to the coast planned for quite some time. Our wives will stay buried under the blankets and mumble that we’re crazy. Our dogs won’t even get up and follow us to the kitchen, but we’ll grab rods and tackle box, hitch up the Dargel, and make the run to the coast. The only thing that will keep us in bed is a howling north wind. No one will buck that. If you are among the happy few who will brave drizzle, even rain, and cold temperatures to have a shot at some trout, there are plenty of deep water spots to capture your attention. Some of them are not very far from most Port Isabel and South Padre Island boat ramps. One spot that anglers who don’t want to venture too far from port should consider

is the Port Isabel Turning Basin. The deep water of the turning basin is a major fish magnet after a serious cold snap, and it can offer some excellent fishing. Speckled trout will hold along the dropoff near the shoreline. A depth finder can be very useful here, because it will pinpoint the depth break. Some anglers prefer anchoring in the shallows and casting out toward the drop-off, but I’ve been more successful dogging-up in deeper water and casting up to the edge, then easing the bait or lure into the drop-off. Tackle and techniques are relatively simple. A live shrimp on a #1/0 Octopus 14 inches below a #3 split shot will present a very natural offering that a trout won’t pass up. Let the bait fall along the edge on a semi-slack line. When you feel a bump or see the line jump, ease the rod up until the line comes tight, and you’re hooked up. Faux shrimp, such as those produced by Gulp! or Live Target are good choices too. Fish them the same way as you would live bait. Another good cold-water trout spot near the Turning Basin is the Y. This is the confluence of the Port Isabel Boat Channel and the Brownsville Ship Channel. The drop-offs along the inner channel edges and the points have structure that trout aggregate around in cooler weather. The mangroves on the channel and center island shorelines are also keen trout and redfish spots when the weather is warmer and fish move up to forage. If you choose to work the shallows on a mild day, a gold spoon, Topwater in Bone or Pearl, or a swimbait such as aYum Money Minnow, which simulates the profile of a mullet, is tough to beat. An underrated, but effective, lure for this T E X A S

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application is the jerkbait. A tail such as the venerable Bass Assassin or the KVD Perfect Plastic shad can be fished slowly on an unweighted worm hook. The lure will suspend in the water column when paused, and they can be hard to beat. Another great quality of the bait is that a fish in a neutral mood can come up on it and suck it in with minimal effort, whereas a heavier lure may not get the fish’s attention too much. One last thing, this is structure-oriented fishing. Do not be surprised if you run into a variety of structure-loving species during your outing. It is not uncommon to find sheepshead, mangrove snapper, black drum, or even a flounder keeping company with the trout in your cooler. All these fish gravitate to deep-water structure at one point or another during foul weather. On one trip, my fishing partner Jim Brewster and I were only catching dink trout after dink trout. On speculation, I eased my boat farther away from the drop-off and located a school of keeper-sized drum cruising along the bottom of the depth-break. Still, the trout were there, and they will be pretty much all winter when the weather goes in the toilet.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Dolphin Cove SPECIES: Black Drum, Sand Trout TECHNIQUES: Fish with shrimp or crab on a bottom rig. Use heavier tackle if you’re after drum.

Email Cal Gonzales at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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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.

Reds, Trout Like Hot Chocolate

GPS: N 29 4.663, W 95 10.495 (29.0777, -95.1749)

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by TOM BEHRENS

LOCATION: Chocolate Bay HOTSPOT: Chocolate Bay Shoreline GPS: N 29 7.797, W 95 9.54 (29.1300, -95.1590)

LOCATION: Chocolate Bay HOTSPOT: Chocolate Bayou GPS: N 29 11.622, W 95 9.948 (29.1937, -95.1658) u TAP FOR ONLINE MAP

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp under a popping cork CONTACT: Capt. Joe Madsen 281-960-6960 www.facebook/joe.madsen.7 TIPS: “The ﬁsh are going through a transition period, moving from one type of structure to another, from sand bottom too a muddy shell bottom,” Capt. Madsen LOCATION: Chocolate Bay HOTSPOT: The Narrows GPS: N 29 10.983, W 95 6.4 (29.1831, -95.1067)

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SPECIES: Redﬁsh BEST BAITS: Down Soft Paddle Tails CONTACT: Capt. Joe Madsen 281-960-6960 www.facebook/joe.madsen.7 TIPS: “Shrimp will pull out of the marsh with tides, and you will see redﬁsh schooled up in back lakes.” Capt. Madsen LOCATION: Christmas Bay HOTSPOT: Wildlife Refuge Shoreline GPS: N 29 3.6329, W 95 12.1849 (29.0606, -95.2031)

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Down Soft Paddle Tails CONTACT: Capt. Joe Madsen 281-960-6960 www.facebook/joe.madsen.7 TIPS: “Bigger fish will eat fin fish in the winter less, whereas the smaller trout and school fish will eat lots of shrimp and smaller baits.” Capt. Madsen

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: TTF Trout Keller soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Joe Madsen 281-960-6960 www.facebook/joe.madsen.7 TIPS: “You will see birds working in the middle of the bay. The trout will be in the deeper water.” Capt. Madsen

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: TTF Trout Keller soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Joe Madsen 281-960-6960 www.facebook/joe.madsen.7 TIPS: “Redfish will be schooled up in the back lakes, sitting on the banks feeding on shrimp, finger mullet, etc.” Capt. Madsen LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Bird Island GPS: N 28 43.86, W 95 45.6169 (28.7310, -95.7603)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordafishing.com TIPS: “Historically, the first couple of weeks in December are always real good for us. You will find some bird activity. If the shrimp leave, then we concentrate on two different areas.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Half Moon Shoal GPS: N 28 43.345, W 95 46.392 (28.7224, -95.7732)

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LOCATION: Christmas Bay HOTSPOT: Christmas Point T E X A S

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FISHING HOTSPOTS SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordafishing.com TIPS: “One is on the east end, some big mud flats that we drift. They seem to concentrate a lot of fish on them.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Raymond Shoal GPS: N 28 33.63, W 96 18.084 (28.5605, -96.3014)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordaﬁshing.com TIPS: “On the west end of the bay there is a big shell reef that attracts a lot of trout.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Boiler Bayou GPS: N 28 38.4682, W 95 35.6479 (28.6411, -95.5941)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordaﬁshing.com TIPS: “Normally sometime in mid to late December we will start getting some cold snaps that will start dropping the water temperature and that will drive the shrimp off.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Burnett Bay GPS: N 29 46.1136, W 95 3.0462 (29.7686, -95.0508)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com www.gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Favorite lure colors are pearl, chartreuse, black or plum, depending on what the water color is. He uses a 1/4-ounce jig head, dragging it along the bottom, letting the fish pick it up. LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Scotts Bay GPS: N 29 44.628, W 95 2.364 (29.7438, -95.0394)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com www.gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “Concentrate on finding some mullet action. You won’t find a great deal, just a mullet or two, and then really work that area; don’t give up on it. I will spend 30-45 minutes casting in 180 degrees around me, making sure I have worked the whole area.” Capt. Marcaccio LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Greens Lake GPS: N 29 16.248, W 94 59.538 (29.2708, -94.9923)

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LOCATION: Galveston West Bay HOTSPOT: North Deer Island Flats GPS: N 29 16.954, W 94 56.223 (29.2826, -94.9371)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com www.gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Capt. Paul says fishing in December is more based on frontal passages than anything else. Fishing the day of the front, in his, opinion, is not time well spent. LOCATION: Galveston West Bay HOTSPOT: South Deer Island Flats GPS: N 29 16.2109, W 94 51.96 (29.2702, -94.8660)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com www.gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “Best fishing will be two days after a cold front” says Marcaccio. “Your water levels are going to be 2-3 feet lower than normal. Water temperatures in a normal December, should be in the higher 50s.” LOCATION: Galveston West Bay HOTSPOT: Confederate Reef GPS: N 29 15.7549, W 94 55.177 (29.2626, -94.9196)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041

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captpaul@gofishgalveston.com www.gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “Your best bite is probably going to happen after 10:00 a.m., and probably be closer to 3:00 p.m., depending on moon phase and tidal flow.” Capt. Marcaccio

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure MirrOdene CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@goﬁshgalveston.com www.goﬁshgalveston.com TIPS: “In West Bay, the number one spot for wading is Confederate Reef, North Deer Island. The bottom is pretty solid. Moving tides are essential. I don’t care which way it’s moving, as long as it’s moving.” Capt. Marcaccio LOCATION: Matagorda HOTSPOT: Selkirk Island GPS: N 28 45.3324, W 95 59.3808 (28.7555, -95.9897)

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www.matagordafishing.com TIPS: “The nice thing about fishing the river in the wintertime is that you can have a Norther blowing and you can find some protected areas that wind doesn’t seem to bother you that much.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Black Bayou GPS: N 29 59.866, W 93 45.1819 (29.9978, -93.7530)

MIDDLE COAST

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics and Topwaters CONTACT: Capt. Bill Watkins 409-673-9211 4097862018@sbcglobal.net TIPS: “In December, I will probably switch over to a ﬁve inch Provoker by MirrOlure.” Capt. Watkins LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Greens Bayou GPS: N 28 29.719, W 96 14.222 (28.4953, -96.2370)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordafishing.com TIPS: How far up the river to begin looking for fish: “The 521 bridge, probably about 8 miles above the Intracoastal. Most of the fish will be in an area around Selkirk Island.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: Matagorda HOTSPOT: Colorado River GPS: N 28 35.683, W 95 58.981 (28.5947, -95.9830)

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by TOM BEHRENS LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Packery Channel Jetties GPS: N 27 36.8549, W 97 11.976 (27.6143, -97.1996)

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SPECIES: Flounder BEST BAITS: Finger Mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahool.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: A full moon at times can affect how good the founder ﬁshing can be, “But sometimes with a full moon they won’t move at all,” says Capt. Jack. “I’ve see the bite get better after the moon has gone down.” LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: San Jose Shoreline GPS: N 28 0.7279, W 96 58.365 (28.0121, -96.9728)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordaﬁshing.com TIPS: “When the water temperature cools, start looking for murky streaks in the clear water. Make long drifts and throw paddle tail soft plastics using a heavier lead head jig.” Capt. Countz LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Cottons Bayou GPS: N 28 30.45, W 96 12.3816 (28.5075, -96.2064)

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SPECIES: Redﬁsh BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net www.matagordaﬁshing.com TIPS: “You want to be tickling the shell with your bait. As you drift you have to work it so you don’t hang up a bunch, but you want to keep it pretty close to the bottom.” Capt. Countz recommends a 1/4-ounce lead head jig.

SPECIES: Flounder BEST BAITS: Finger Mullet

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FISHING HOTSPOTS CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahool.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: “Flounder ﬁshing should be good for at least the ﬁrst two weeks of December. It all depends on how severe our cold fronts are.” Capt. McPartland LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Half Moon Reef GPS: N 28 4.5259, W 96 59.062 (28.0754, -96.9844)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahool.com www.treble-j-charters.com

TIPS: Trout should be on deeper structure. Free lining a soft plastic bait should work once they are located. McPartland’s favorite color is Pumpkin Seed/ chartreuse. LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: South Pass Lake GPS: N 29 17.5339, W 96 35.365 (29.2922, -96.5894)

LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: Shoalwater Bay GPS: N 28 21.85, W 96 34.0819 (28.3642, -96.5680)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails and gold spoons CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufﬂingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “For trout I would focus on the bay fronts and the deeper creeks coming in and out of the ponds out

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of Matagorda Island.” Capt. Kendrick

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufﬂingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “Shoalwater Bay has a combination of mud, grass, and sand. When the wind gets in there, it chops the grass up and it ﬂoats. It’s hard to throw anything but a tail in there.” Capt. Kendrick LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay

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FISHING HOTSPOTS HOTSPOT: Long Lake Island GPS: N 28 20.95, W 96 35.265 (28.3492, -96.5878)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufﬂingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “One of my favorite spots for trout ﬁshing during December is South Pass. The actual pass is pretty muddy, but one of the creeks is fairly deep, 6-7 feet deep with a sandy bottom. When the sun gets up, the trout like to get in the creeks.” Capt. Hendricks LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: Contee Lake GPS: N 28 17.7839, W 96 33.682 (28.2964, -96.5614)

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Sardines or cracked crab CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufflingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “If you run up on a school of redfish in real shallow water, it’s hard to get them to bite; if I run up on a school of redfish in dirty water, I’ve had fish or six man limits in 30 minutes.

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Sardines or cracked crab CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufflingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: Cut bait for redfish: “sardines are oily, put out a scent to the redfish. We use a 5/0 croaker hook with a Carolina rig, one ounce weight, and a leader of about 18 inches.” Capt. Kendrick LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: Fish Pond GPS: N 28 21.867, W 96 24.415 (28.3645, -96.4069)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477

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LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: The Lagoon GPS: N 28 23.263, W 96 30.946 (28.3877, -96.5158)

LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: Whitakers Flats GPS: N 28 22.7219, W 96 26.2139 (28.3787, -96.4369)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufflingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: Kendrick likes to wade fish, primarily, to work an area a lot more thoroughly without disturbing the fish. “You can’t just run over the fish.” LOCATION: Espiritu Santo Bay HOTSPOT: Mule Slough GPS: N 28 22.584, W 96 24.7319 (28.3764, -96.4122)

rufflingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “I see people all the time fishing the clear water we have during this time of the year. When we get some low tides and the water gets really clear, it doesn’t matter how much bait you find, you are not going to catch some fish.” Capt. Kendrick

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Sardines or cracked crab CONTACT: Capt. Brandon Kendrick 936-671-3477 rufflingfeathers@yahoo.com www.rfguideservice.com TIPS: “Pinfish will nibble on the sardine, breaking the sardine up, creating a slick. A redfish comes up and just hammers it. When you get that solid bite, I tell the customer to lower the rod and then ‘flag pole’ it.” Capt. Kendrick LOCATION: Port Aransas HOTSPOT: Lydia Ann Channel GPS: N 27 52.218, W 97 2.883 (27.8703, -97.0481)

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SPECIES: Flounder BEST BAITS: Finger Mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahool.com www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: Capt. Jack says tidal movement is more important to ﬂounder than any other ﬁsh.. “I think it’s better with outgoing tide, overall, but even incoming is better than nothing at all.” LOCATION: Port Aransas HOTSPOT: South Jetty GPS: N 27 49.966, W 97 2.548 (27.8328, -97.0425)

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SPECIES: Flounder BEST BAITS: Finger Mullet CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahool.com

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FISHING HOTSPOTS www.treble-j-charters.com TIPS: The flounder will be making their major migration move out into the Gulf. Any place, such as the jetties or channels, is a good place to intersect a flatfish on his journey. LOCATION: San Antonio Bay HOTSPOT: Chicken Foot Reef GPS: N28 15.92496 W96 47.34588 (28.265416, -96.789098)

sand in December, right on the drop-offs, working his lure from deep to shallow. “The ﬁsh are going to be sitting low waiting for any opportunity to feed.” Capt. Prado LOCATION: Arroyo Colorado HOTSPOT: Mouth of Arroyo Colorado River GPS: N 26 20.266, W 97 29.5909 (26.3378, -97.4932)

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Holly Beach GPS: N26 41.10354 W97 25.63914 (26.685059, -97.427319)

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SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Kelley Wigglers and Down South soft plastic lures mainly in dark colors with 1/8-ounce jig heads CONTACT: Capt. Lynn Smith 361-935-6833 CaptLynn@TexasSaltwaterFishing.com TIPS: We will be concentrating on deeper reefs as the water cools down--shell and mud. Look for baitﬁsh action and stay close to the channels.

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Joseph Prado 956-357-1301 www.facebook.com/jospeh.prado TIPS: “I don’t like to throw a big lure in December. If you’re a ﬁsh, you’re going to hit something small and easy to catch. The smaller the lure the better chance you have in enticing ﬁsh to eat.” Capt. Prado

SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Cut bait, live shrimp. Topwaters on warm days, soft plastics in Mullet, Smoke, Morning Glory. CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: There are some big trout in this area, and they are hungry. Scan for big ﬁsh sunning themselves over mud. Swim a fresh mullet or a large topwater over them for best results. If the water is cooler, ﬁsh in deeper water with soft plastics or cut bait.

LOWER COAST

Butcher Some Laguna Specks by CALIXTO GONZALES and TOM BEHRENS LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Butchers Island GPS: N 26 38.1019, W 97 23.149 (26.6350, -97.3858)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics CONTACT: Capt. Joseph Prado 956-357-1301 www.facebook.com/jospeh.prado TIPS: Prado is ﬁshing the transition from grass to

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Queen Isabella Causeway GPS: N26 5.20602 W97 11.03898 (26.086767, -97.183983)

GPS: N26 10.24398 W97 18.15498 (26.170733, -97.302583)

SPECIES: redﬁsh BEST BAITS: Live bait, cut bait. Soft plastics in dark patterns, chartreuse combos. CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: Crummy weather doesn’t seem to bother the spottails, which will forage in the dirty water kicked up by a north wind. On calmer days, try topwaters ﬁshed slowly along the shoreline. If the water is too messy, or nothing is biting, back off and switch to tails or bait on a popping cork rig. LOCATION: South Bay HOTSPOT: South Bay GPS: N26 1.665 W97 12.34698 (26.02775, -97.205783)

SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: : Live shrimp, ﬁnger mullet, soft plastics in red/white, pearl/glow, pearl/chartreuse. CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: Big trout live in South Bay year around. They’ll eat mullet, so try swimming a fresh one on a large Khale hook. Large topwaters and four to six-inch soft plastics also work well, too. Especially effective is a 7” BassAssassin in Red Shad.

PINEY WOODS

Hot Dam Crappie on Lake Fork

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Atascosa Wildlife Refuge

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SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Live bait. Gulp! Shrimp in glow, new penny, gold spinnerbaits with red/white tail CONTACT: Captain Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094, 956-433-6028 southtexasredﬁsh@gmail.com TIPS: Fish just inside the color change between clear and sandy water. The off-colored water retains warmth more effectively and offers cover for predators. You can work live shrimp or Gulp! tails under a popping or Alameda ﬂoat. Fish slowly and deliberately. These trout may not be as aggressive as in spring, but they are there.

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SPECIES: sheepshead BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, fresh shrimp. CONTACT: Captain Carlos Garcia 956-433-6094, 956-433-6028 southtexasredﬁsh20@gmail.com TIPS: Fish live or fresh shrimp around causeway pilings on split shot rigs. These guys are notorious bait-stealers, so a smaller hook is the way to go. Some ﬁshermen use a #2 long-shank hook like the Eagle Claw 066N to zap them, but a more effective hook may be a 1/0 LazerSharp L7226 Octopus-style hook. The short shank and wide gap has a higher hook-up ratio, and they seem to lodge in the corner of the sheepie’s mouth . LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Color Change GPS: N26 7.5 W97 13.99998 (26.125, -97.233333)

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LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Dam Area GPS: N 32 48.6642, W 95 32.064 (32.8111, -95.5344)

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SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Minnows and jigs in Electric Chicken or a jig with pink and green. CONTACT: Doug Shampine 940-902-3855 doug@lakeforktrophybass.com www.lakeforktrophybass.com TIPS: December is a great time to crappie fish on Lake Fork. This is the first month the length limit changes on the lake and you must keep your first 25 crappie per person, no matter the size. The reason is that the crappie go deeper in the winter and when they are caught from the 35-45 foot range it will kill the crappie when you get it to the surface and no body wants to see dead fish floating around. So where to look for these deeper fish? Around the damn in that 30-foot plus range there are many humps where the crappie hang out. Depending on how warm or cold December is, will be the factor on depth. The warmer weather will have them shallower. The colder the water, the deeper they will be. Another place to check will be the flats in the mouth of Little Caney or Woodpecker point. LOCATION: Caddo Lake HOTSPOT: Ames Basin GPS: N 32 42.756, W 94 5.376 (32.7126, -94.0896)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Chatterbaits, swim jigs and magnum flukes. CONTACT: Caddo Lake Guide Service/Paul Keith 318-455-3437 caddoguide1@att.net www.caddolakefishing.com TIPS: Fish the flats in areas in and like Ames Basin. Hydrilla covers all this part of the lake and is 2-5 ft. deep. Watch for schooling fish paying particular attention to any fish eating birds and shad hanging around in particular areas. Shad colored baits listed above

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FISHING HOTSPOTS work well here. A secondary pattern would be ﬂipping any dark colored jig and trailer around the base of the trees in the same type areas. LOCATION: Lake Conroe HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 26.226, W 95 35.508 (30.4371, -95.5918)

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points is my good shallow pattern. Deep pattern spoons on points and humps and umbrella rigs around bridges put big uns’ in boat for me. Good ﬁshin’ all! “ LOCATION: Lake Livingston HOTSPOT: Mid-Lake River Channel at the Old 190 Bridge GPS: N 30 45.3959, W 95 6.864

(30.7566, -95.1144)

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SPECIES: Catﬁsh

SPECIES: Hybrid Stripers BEST BAITS: Live shad, Storm Swim Shad, crankbaits and jigging spoons CONTACT: Richard Tatsch 936-291-1277 admin@fishdudetx.com www.fishdudetx.com TIPS: The hybrids will begin their aggressive feeding habits in December. They should be in the 16 to 28 foot range along the channel edges and humps on the main lake. Use live shad to be more productive. Artificial baits like swim shad and crankbaits also work well if you find a good school of fish. Look for some of the humps with bait stacked up around it and drop a jigging spoon. Let it hit bottom and jerk it in a fairly aggressive manner. Do it repeatedly along the edges where the bait is bunched up, and it won’t be long before something is going to try and jerk the rod out of your hand. LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Main Lake Points GPS: N 32 50.4419, W 95 37.506 (32.8407, -95.6251)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Lipless rattle baits, bass jigs, spoons and umbrella rigs CONTACT: Lance Vick 903-312-0609 lance@lakeforkbass.com www.guideonlakefork.com TIPS: “December is great on Lake Fork. For one the lake is not as busy as people are hunting and/or it’s cold but that doesn’t keep big ones from biting. Flipping jigs at standing timber, around creek channel bends and cranking lipless rattle baits around grass on

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FISHING HOTSPOTS BEST BAITS: Fresh dead shad or live perch CONTACT: David S. Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602 dave@palmettoguideservice.com www.palmettoguideservice.com TIPS: “Carolina rig off the bottom near drop offs in the old river channel. Drift baits across ﬂats. BANK ACCESS: Governor’s Point” LOCATION: Toledo Bend North HOTSPOT: The Hey Meadow GPS: N 31 42.912, W 93 48.7379 (31.7152, -93.8123)

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SPECIES: Crappie & white bass BEST BAITS: Slab spoons & Rat-L-Traps for the Sandies and shiners and jigs for the Crappie CONTACT: Greg Crafts, Toledo Bend Guide Service and Lake Cottages 936-368-7151 gregcrafts@yahoo.com www.toledobendguide.com TIPS: My annual Christmas gift to you: two “Hotspot” species in one location. - Catch both Crappie and White Bass. Here on Toledo Bend we are blessed to be able to fish year round. December is the time to kill two birds with one stone, or I should say two limits of fish with one rod and two baits in the same relative location. December is a prime month to be fishing on the north-end of the lake for both Crappie and White Bass. The Crappie will be bunched up on the main lake river channel ledges over planted and natural brush. And, the White bass will be on the channel sandbars.

PRAIRIES & LAKES

Kick Some Bass on Palestine

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Big Eye Jig in black/blue, Big Eye spinnerbait in white and shaky head worm CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff 903-561-7299or903-530-2201 ricky@rickysguideservice.com www. rickysguideservice.com TIPS: “Fish the creek channel in 6 -10 foot and ﬁsh the ledges which will be about 3-6 foot deep. Fish any and all tree stumps along the creek. Down south the best thing I like to do is to ﬁsh the boat docks on the main lake south of The Villages Marina. Fish them with the same lures and also a shaky head worm.” LOCATION: Bachman Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 51.1859, W 96 52.014 (32.8531, -96.8669)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: 10” red and black worms Carolina rigged CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: Everything is shallow right now so ﬁsh in 1-8 feet of water. Bass prospects are good early and late. Bigger ﬁsh being caught at midnight hours on 10 inch red and black worms Carolina rigged. We are seeing a 3-6 lb. average. LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Mid to Lower Main Lake GPS: N 32 14.0339, W 96 5.868 (32.2339, -96.0978)

by DUSTIN WARNCKE and DEAN HEFFNER

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LOCATION: Eagle Mountain Lake HOTSPOT: Twin Points Hump GPS: N 32 53.16, W 97 29.672 (32.8860, -97.4945)

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SPECIES: White bass BEST BAITS: Mepps spinner or Tail Spinners, Slabs with a fly 12-in. above CONTACT: Johnny Stevens 817-597-6598 johnnystevens@1scom.net johnnysguideservice.com TIPS: “This area has two very large humps surrounded by deeper water. During the late fall shad congregate around these humps and the sand Bass follow. I find the shad and fish on Electronics and jig straight up and down with a slab and fly and many times you will get a double. For people who like to cast. For people who like to cast. Fan cast over these humps with a Mepps spinner or a tail spinner worked very slowly off the bottom.” LOCATION: Fayette County Res. HOTSPOT: Pond at end of discharge GPS: N 29 55.662, W 96 45.054 (29.9277, -96.7509)

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SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait/worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.ﬁshtales-guideservice.com

LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Kick-a-Poo Creek GPS: N 32 17.67, W 95 30.2219 (32.2945, -95.5037)

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SPECIES: Hybrid Stripers BEST BAITS: Soft plastics CONTACT: Jason Barber 903-603-2047 kingscreekadventures@yahoo.com www.kingscreekadventures.com TIPS: Fish the main basin of the lake from mid lake south in 25’ to 50’ of water using your electronics to locate bait and ﬁsh suspended throughout. Present the bait vertical off the bottom 2’ to 10’ up depending on where the ﬁsh are hanging. Use the “dead sticking” technique with soft plastics.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS TIPS: This old pond offers deep water close to shore. Submerged rocks just under the water along the dam of this pond hold ﬁsh early and late in the day. Look shallower for cats at night, around the rocks. LOCATION: Gibbons Creek HOTSPOT: Troy’s Ridge GPS: N 30 38.412, W 96 3.2279 (30.6402, -96.0538)

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channel ledges near baitﬁsh congregations. Some days the Stripers will be active and will push baitﬁsh to the surface for some great topwater action. LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 33 5.5079, W 96 28.6799 (33.0918, -96.4780)

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SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: Shad, Shrimp, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.ﬁshtales-guideservice.com TIPS: This area is close to the hot water discharge and, therefore, holds shad. Trees and stumps are in this area for cover. Tight line here and expect cats that can be small or huge. LOCATION: Granger Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake Flats and Points GPS: N 30 42.624, W 97 20.8019 (30.7104, -97.3467)

(31.1182, -97.4901)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Bass jigs and jerkbaits in natural colors CONTACT: Henry Niemiec 254-368-0294 surestrikeguideservice@yahoo.com TIPS: “If jig fishing is your style of fishing, this is the time of the year for you. In December in Central Texas the bass have fattened up and have moved to their winter holding areas. Now is the time to be thinking about fishing deep points. Points close to deep river channels are going to be key for this time of the season. Fish natural color baits and keep in mind you will need to fish them really slow. Bass will not chase a bait and are looking for an easy target. Just because bass have moved to deep water, does not mean that they cannot be still taken in shallow water. On those nicer days in late fall, early winter, fish a jerkbait around stick-ups along the shoreline. Here again, natural colors work the best. The thing to remember now is fishing will be much slower but a fish of a lifetime could be only a cast away.” LOCATION: Lake Granbury HOTSPOT: Lower end near Blue Water Shores GPS: N 32 23.014, W 97 42.55 u TAP FOR (32.3836, -97.7092)

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SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Flukes CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: “ Both White Bass and Crappie will be suspended in about 18-25 feet. Tapping on the boat with a rubber mallet or a broomstick will usually call them in as they will come to investigate the noise. Dead sticking ﬂukes is usually the best bet. “ LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts HOTSPOT: Pasture GPS: N 33 26.167, W 96 59.079 (33.4361, -96.9847)

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SPECIES: Blue Catfish BEST BAITS: Shad, perch and cut bait CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell 512-365-7761 crappie1@hotmail.com www.gotcrappie.com TIPS: With the weather getting colder and fronts coming in, the blue catfish become active feeding on shad being blown in to shallow points and flats. Jug lines work well for this type of pattern. However, rod and reel will also work well . For jug lines, use 11/0 Mustad Tuna circle hooks. I like to make a 20 ft. main line with 2 hooks on each jug line. Put them in 12 to 15 feet of water and they will catch the good eating blues. For rod and reel, fish the shallow windy shorelines where the shad are concentrated. Good luck and good fishing. LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: Main Lake Points GPS: N 31 7.092, W 97 29.4059

SPECIES: Striped bass BEST BAITS: White flukes and bass assassins on a 3/4 jig head CONTACT: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters 817-578-0023 unfairadvantagecharters.com TIPS: Jigs worked off the bottom in 20 to 30 feet of water where baitfish are located. Look for hovering birds and tip your bait with chartreuse dye. Bring your binoculars. Granbury water temperatures continue to fall into the 50s and winter patterns are taking shape. The constant passage of cool fronts continues to dominant the weather patterns. Winter fishing is in full force after the first freeze. Wintering birds are here in full force pointing you to active fish. Stripers are good on T E X A S

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SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: ¾ to 1-ounce slabs CONTACT: Jim Walling 940-391-5534 Jimwwalling@icloud.com TIPS: This area is located east of Wolf Island and has provided great ﬁshing trips this time of year ever since the lake opened in 1990. It is along a tree line and creek channel. The water is about 35 feet deep. Slabs jigged on the bottom has produced double-digit largemouth bass. LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Rocky Creek Road Bed GPS: N 30 18.522, W 96 33.39 (30.3087, -96.5565)

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SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait or cut shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Use a tight line here in 15’-18’ of water along a roadbed. Use 1/0 Kahle hook with shad or #4 treble with CJ’s bait. Shad are moving deeper and fish will follow them. LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow HOTSPOT: Weed Beds GPS: N31 1.72872 W97 33.0057 (31.028812, -97.550095)

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SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Slabs, Sassy Shads on lead-head jigs, spoons CONTACT: Tony Parker 903-348-1619 tawakonifishing@yahoo.com tonyparkerfishing.co TIPS: Concentrate on the deepest or fastest dropoff at the end of the point. Work Slabs, spoons or Sassy Shad jigs in chartreuse, white and a combination of the two off the bottom, beginning at the top of the point and working out into deeper water to locate the bite. Watch your depth finder to locate schools of shad or schools of white bass. Start early in the morning and as the sun rises work your way out to the end of the point at the dropoff. LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Juniper Point East GPS: N 33 51.888, W 96 49.83 (33.8648, -96.8305)

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Chrome/blue back lipless crankbaits or a shad colored weightless ﬂukes CONTACT: Henry Niemiec -Sure Strike Guide Service 254-368-0294 surestrikeguideservice@yahoo.com www.surestrikeguideservice.com TIPS: The lake level is still dangerously low (9.75 feet low) and caution is a must. The water is stained at the lower end and clearer towards the dam. Fishing has been good early and then again in the evenings and both largemouths and a few smallmouths are being caught. Fish crankbaits along the edge of weed beds and ﬂukes on top of weed beds. LOCATION: Lake Tawakoni HOTSPOT: Sky Point GPS: N32 53.4261 W95 56.80956 (32.890435, -95.946826)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Road Runner and Sassy Shad jigs CONTACT: Bill Carey 903-786-4477 bigfish@striperexpress.com www.striperexpress.com TIPS: “Few anglers know how good fishing is in December. Cool water temperatures make the fish go into a feeding frenzy. Large fish up to 20 pounds will be on the prowl. A 4 to 6 inch Sassy Shad on a 1-ounce jighead will work the best. Texoma’s stripers prefer white glow and chartreuse colors. Road Runner 1 ounce jigs with a 7-inch worm are deadly on the big fish holding on structure. Fish the main lake points, mouths of creeks and humps near deep water. Always keep your eyes on the seagulls. Large schools of stripers can be under the birds. Bank Access: Juniper Point East” LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Main Lake and State Park Shoreline

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GPS: N 31 54.8279, W 97 21.1019 (31.9138, -97.3517)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass and White Bass BEST BAITS: White Bass: RSR lures 1 oz. chartreuse and holographic slabs, RSR white with holographic slabs. Striped Bass: 1/2oz Stripaholic Jigs from www.rsrlures.comwith 4” chartreuse swim baits CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Wintertime fishing is here. The water is cold and the bite is hot! The cold-water temperatures have pushed the bait from the creeks and they have ganged up in a safety in numbers type deal in the main lake. Some of the satellite schools of stripers have merged into larger schools and are trapping the bait to the surface and up in the cuts along the shoreline. Making long casts under the diving birds with a medium retrieve using the soft plastic swim baits while maneuvering the boat to the outside edge of the school. Having a lot of fun and catching a lot of fish. On days that the fish aren’t pushing the bait to the surface we are making long casts with the swim baits and slow trolling (strolling) with the trolling motor set on a medium slow speed. Remember the water is cold and the shad are lethargic. When you think you’re fishing slow enough, slow down a little more. Find the schools on ledges and edges and drop the slab to the bottom bouncing it up and down. Remember to work it slowly and try different columns of the water to figure out which depth produces fish. LOCATION: Richland Chambers Lake HOTSPOT: Windsock Point GPS: N 31 56.424, W 96 7.194 (31.9404, -96.1199)

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SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: 1 oz. RSR Silver Glitter slab or 2 oz. chartreuse jigging spoon CONTACT: Royce Simmons 903-389-4117 simmonsroyce@hotmail.com www.goneﬁshin.biz

G A M E ®

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FISHING HOTSPOTS TIPS: “In December and usually for the remainder of the winter, the Windsock Point will hold quality White Bass and sometimes a great big Hybrid Striper. Fish will relate to the deeper sides ( 30’-35’ depths) of the Windsock Point and will normally be on or near the bottom. However, sometimes if you move out into the 50’ water depth, you’ll find huge schools of suspended fish. We use a 1 oz. RSR Silver Glitter slab or even a 2oz. chartreuse jigging spoon and jig it slowly off the bottom. If the fish are suspended, reel up to the depth they are in and then move the slab very slowly or even just hold it in place. (This is called “deadsticking”) Keep the drag set loosely on your reel as this is a prime time to hook into a large Hybrid Striper.“ LOCATION: Tawakoni HOTSPOT: Two Mile Bridge Area GPS: N32 54.34242 W95 58.83252 (32.905707, -95.980542)

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SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Punch bait CONTACT: Tony Parker 903-348-1619 tawakonifishing@yahoo.com tonyparkerfishing.com TIPS: Use your sonar unit to locate where the main channel crosses beneath the two-mile bridge. Chum both sides of the river channel beneath the bridge with soured maize. Also chum a bridge piling to the east and west side of the channel closer to the shorelines. Use punch bait on a No. 4 treble hook and fish vertically close to the edge of the channel or close to the bridge pilings.

PANHANDLE

Rainbows In the PK Tailrace by DUSTIN WARNCKE and DEAN HEFFNER

GPS: N 32 51.4976, W 98 24.6984 (32.8583, -98.4116)

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SPECIES: Rainbow trout BEST BAITS: spoons, spinnerbaits, corn, trout nibbles CONTACT: Michael D. Homer Jr., Texas Parks & Wildlife Department 325-692-0921 michael.homer@tpwd.texas.gov TIPS: Almost every year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) releases hatchery-raised trout in the Possum Kingdom tailrace during the cold season to provide unique ﬁshing opportunities for Texas ﬁshermen. Rainbow trout can be caught by hook-and-line with spoons and spinner baits, corn, and trout nibbles. For the exact stocking schedule be sure to check out the TPWD website. LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry HOTSPOT: Back of Main Creeks GPS: N 33 1.866, W 101 3.7979 (33.0311, -101.0633)

SPECIES: White, striped bass, hybrids BEST BAITS: live shad, jigs, slabs CONTACT: Dean Heffner 940-329-0036 fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: First off, pay attention to the birds, as they will put you on schooling/feeding ﬁsh. Stripers, hybrids and white bass will push baits along the old river channel and up onto the sandbars. On cloudy days they might be in 8 to 10 feet of water or in 18 to 25 feet. Live bait is best, but jigs and slabs are best this time of year hopped right off bottom. Pay close attention to your graph and any humps, dips and drop–offs. You might ﬁnd some black bass in a school and they will eat a slab, but love a silver spoon even better.

BIG BEND

Play Bridge with Amistad Bass

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by DUSTIN WARNCKE

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Shaky heads with worm, bass jigs, crankbaits and hard or soft jerkbaits CONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services 806-792-9220 nclayton42@sbcglobal.net http://www.lakealanhenry.com/norman_clayton.htm TIPS: In December, ﬁsh the pretty days just before the cold fronts come through. Look in the back of the creeks ﬁrst and then any of the steep banks with shaky heads with a worm, a jig, or even a crankbait. Don’t be afraid to try a jerkbait, hard or soft. Look in the backs of Big Grape, Little Grape, Ince, Rocky Creeks and also the main lake of the Brazos River. Fish Fun-Fish Safe! LOCATION: Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Bird Island GPS: N 32 56.377, W 98 25.987 (32.9396, -98.4331)

LOCATION: Lake Amistad HOTSPOT: Bridge Pilings GPS: N 29 29.124, W 101 01.984 (29.4854, -101.033067)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: soft plastics CONTACT: Stan Gerzsenyl 830-768-3648 stan@amistadbass.com www.amistadbass.com TIPS: Afternoon is best. Drop-shot with a 4-inch worm.

LOCATION: Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Tailrace

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FISHING HOTSPOTS HILL COUNTRY

Crappie, Bass on the Guadalupe by DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Guadalupe River Area GPS: N 29 53.892, W 98 18.7199 (29.8982, -98.3120)

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SPECIES: Crappie & largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Top water lures, spinnerbaits, squarebilled crankbaits, and wacky-rigged worms CONTACT: Barry Dodd - Teach ‘Em to Fish Guide Service 210-771-0123 barrydodd.tetf@gmail.com www.teachemtofish.net TIPS: The water temperature will fall into the low 60’s in December. Both bass and crappie are still chasing schools of baitfish so they are in one place today and another place tomorrow. The cool fronts are becoming more influential on the surface water temperature and can drop several degrees overnight. Game fish respond to prefrontal conditions with feeding frenzies but can have lockjaw for a couple days with postfrontal conditions. Remember that neither largemouth bass nor crappie prefer places in direct north wind or strong current. LOCATION: Lake Austin HOTSPOT: Hog Pen Creek GPS: N 30 20.5199, W 97 48.8999 (30.3420, -97.8150)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Picasso Double Underspin, Picasso Flashback Rig, V&M Pacemaker Jigs, V&M Wild Lizzie 6.5, V&M Thunder Shad Jr, V&M Ledge Blade, Bass Maﬁa Boxes, Custom Angle Rods, StormR Cold

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Weather Gear CONTACT: Brian Parker - Lake Austin Fishing 817-808-2227 lakeaustinfishing@yahoo.com www.LakeAustinFishing.com TIPS: I consider December bass fishing in Texas the best month and the best weather to catch giants. Picasso Lures have 2 new baits, the Double Underspin and the Flashback. Use a V&M Thunder Shad and Thunder Shad Jr trailer. If there’s wind on the water, I will throw the Picasso Flashback loaded with V&M Thunder Shad Jr’s or The Picasso Double Underspin with a V&M Thunder Shad trailer. Cloudy or low light conditions I like using non-glitter colors and sunny conditions I use some glitter trailers. If there’s no wind, I will go to deeper water and throw a V&M Pacemaker jig or a Texas rigged V&M Wild Lizzie 6.5. I work them very slowly or crawl it to entice those big girls to eat. If I feel the big fish want a moving bait deep I will tie on a V&M 1oz Ledge Blade with a Thunder Shad trailer and slow roll it across breaks. LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Shaw Island Area GPS: N 30 49.0619, W 98 24.924 (30.8177, -98.4154)

CONTACT: Ken Milam 325-379-2051 kmilam@verizon.net www.striperfever.com TIPS: “Catﬁsh will be along the old river bed around and off the sides of humps. Cut perch, carp and Shad should be the best bait.”

SOUTH TEXAS

Channel Falcon Creek Bass by DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 28 43.632, W 97 11.1359 (28.7272, -97.1856)

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SPECIES: White Bass and Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live Shad and top water lures CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasﬁshing@yahoo.com www.centraltexasﬁshing.com TIPS: Fish mid-lake towards Shaw Island drifting or anchor with live shad in 30’ to 50’ of water. Some top water showing throughout day but they don’t stay up very long in most cases. Pay close attention to the Willow sticking up near Shaw Island in the mornings. LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Humps and Old River Bed GPS: N 30 48.216, W 98 23.994 (30.8036, -98.3999)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Plum, Red Shad, Blue Fleck or any other colored lure that resembles shad, silver Rat-LTraps and Zoom pearl white fluke CONTACT: Rocky’s Guide Service 361-960-0566 TIPS: Merry Christmas. May Santa bring us all new boats! Ha! It’s the season to be jolly and a lot of fishing! In the south the big bass spawn early. At Coleto the main food source will be shad. Anything that looks like shad will be productive. Plum colors represent shad. Red Shad, Blue Fleck colors and silver Rat-LTraps are good. I’m still partial to my Zoom pearl white fluke. Weedless and shallow while the sun is high will produce big bites this time of year. I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a great New Year!

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SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: Cut perch, carp or shad

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK DECEMBER 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

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 T6 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 T7

T3 T2 T1

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

Best Day Overall

MOON PHASES

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter «= Good Day by Moon Phase 66 |

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DECEMBER 2016

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

28 «

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: FEET

1:35 AM 8:30 AM 4:18 PM 9:28 PM

TUESDAY

29 l

1.34ft. -0.10ft. 1.54ft. 1.09ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:52 AM 9:03 AM 4:55 PM 10:04 PM

WEDNESDAY

30 «

1.32ft. -0.16ft. 1.53ft. 1.13ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:04 AM 9:37 AM 5:32 PM 10:41 PM

THURSDAY

Dec 1 «

1.30ft. -0.18ft. 1.51ft. 1.17ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:11 AM 10:12 AM 6:12 PM 11:23 PM

1.27ft. -0.17ft. 1.48ft. 1.19ft.

FRIDAY

High Tide: 2:14 AM 1.25ft. Low Tide: 10:49 AM -0.13ft. High Tide: 6:57 PM 1.45ft.

SATURDAY

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

12:16 AM 2:19 AM 11:28 AM 7:46 PM

1.20ft. 1.22ft. -0.07ft. 1.42ft.

SUNDAY

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

1:45 AM 2:15 AM 12:11 PM 8:35 PM

1.18ft. 1.18ft. 0.01ft. 1.38ft.

FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

PRIME TIME

12a

12p

PRIME TIME

12a

12p

PRIME TIME

12a

12p

4:00 — 6:00 AM

5:00 — 7:00 AM

5:30 — 7:30 AM

6:00 — 8:00 AM

6:30 — 8:30 AM

7:00 — 9:00 AM

7:30 — 9:30 AM

Sunrise: 6:53a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 6:00a Set: 5:11p AM Minor: 3:45a AM Major: 9:57a PM Minor: 4:08p PM Major: 10:19p Moon Overhead: 11:37a Moon Underfoot: None

Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 6:52a Set: 5:52p AM Minor: 4:30a AM Major: 10:41a PM Minor: 4:53p PM Major: 11:05p Moon Overhead: 12:23p Moon Underfoot: None

Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 7:43a Set: 6:37p AM Minor: 5:18a AM Major: 11:02a PM Minor: 5:41p PM Major: ----Moon Overhead: 1:10p Moon Underfoot: 12:46a

Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 8:32a Set: 7:24p AM Minor: 6:08a AM Major: 11:52a PM Minor: 6:32p PM Major: 12:20p Moon Overhead: 1:58p Moon Underfoot: 1:34a

Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 9:20a Set: 8:15p AM Minor: 7:01a AM Major: 12:49a PM Minor: 7:25p PM Major: 1:13p Moon Overhead: 2:47p Moon Underfoot: 2:23a

Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 10:06a Set: 9:09p AM Minor: 7:55a AM Major: 1:43a PM Minor: 8:20p PM Major: 2:08p Moon Overhead: 3:36p Moon Underfoot: 3:12a

Sunrise: 6:58a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 10:50a Set: 10:04p AM Minor: 8:50a AM Major: 2:37a PM Minor: 9:14p PM Major: 3:02p Moon Overhead: 4:26p Moon Underfoot: 4:01a

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PRIME TIME

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

TUESDAY

6º

Low Tide: 12:59 PM 0.11ft. High Tide: 9:18 PM 1.35ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

FEET

4:20 AM 4:47 AM 1:55 PM 9:52 PM

WEDNESDAY

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

0.96ft. 0.96ft. 0.24ft. 1.32ft.

4:23 AM 8:40 AM 3:00 PM 10:21 PM

THURSDAY

0.77ft. 0.90ft. 0.38ft. 1.30ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

4:55 AM 10:51 AM 4:10 PM 10:49 PM

FRIDAY

0.52ft. 1.00ft. 0.53ft. 1.29ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

5:32 AM 12:14 PM 5:21 PM 11:19 PM

SATURDAY

0.24ft. 1.17ft. 0.66ft. 1.29ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

6:13 AM 1:19 PM 6:26 PM 11:51 PM

-0.06ft. 1.35ft. 0.78ft. 1.31ft.

SUNDAY

Low Tide: 6:56 AM -0.33ft. High Tide: 2:16 PM 1.50ft. Low Tide: 7:26 PM 0.88ft. FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

8:30 — 9:30 AM

9:30 — 11:30 AM

12:00 — 2:00 AM

6:30 — 8:30 PM

7:30 — 9:30 PM

8:30 — 10:30 PM

9:30 — 11:30 PM

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 11:32a Set: 11:01p AM Minor: 9:44a AM Major: 3:31a PM Minor: 10:08p PM Major: 3:56p Moon Overhead: 5:15p Moon Underfoot: 4:50a

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 12:13p Set: None AM Minor: 10:36a AM Major: 4:24a PM Minor: 11:01p PM Major: 4:48p Moon Overhead: 6:04p Moon Underfoot: 5:39a

Sunrise: 7:00a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 12:53p Set: None AM Minor: 11:27a AM Major: 5:14a PM Minor: 11:52p PM Major: 5:39p Moon Overhead: 6:54p Moon Underfoot: 6:29a

Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 1:33p Set: 1:00a AM Minor: ----AM Major: 6:03a PM Minor: 12:15p PM Major: 6:28p Moon Overhead: 7:45p Moon Underfoot: 7:19a

Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 5:20p Moonrise: 2:14p Set: 2:02a AM Minor: 12:37a AM Major: 6:50a PM Minor: 1:03p PM Major: 7:16p Moon Overhead: 8:37p Moon Underfoot: 8:11a

Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 5:21p Moonrise: 2:58p Set: 3:07a AM Minor: 1:24a AM Major: 7:37a PM Minor: 1:51p PM Major: 8:05p Moon Overhead: 9:32p Moon Underfoot: 9:05a

Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 5:21p Moonrise: 3:45p Set: 4:13a AM Minor: 2:12a AM Major: 8:26a PM Minor: 2:41p PM Major: 8:55p Moon Overhead: 10:30p Moon Underfoot: 10:01a

READING THE GRAPH

MONDAY

12 «

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: FEET

MOON PHASES

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Fishing Score Moon l Overhead l Moon Graph Underfoot

12:26 AM 7:42 AM 3:10 PM 8:19 PM

TUESDAY

13 «

1.33ft. -0.54ft. 1.60ft. 0.95ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:03 AM 8:28 AM 4:02 PM 9:09 PM

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

14 ¡

1.36ft. -0.68ft. 1.63ft. 1.00ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:44 AM 9:16 AM 4:53 PM 9:57 PM

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

15 «

1.37ft. -0.72ft. 1.60ft. 1.03ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:26 AM 10:05 AM 5:46 PM 10:47 PM

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

1.35ft. -0.67ft. 1.53ft. 1.02ft.

16 « High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

3:11 AM 10:56 AM 6:39 PM 11:43 PM

1.29ft. -0.55ft. 1.44ft. 0.98ft.

SATURDAY

High Tide: 4:02 AM 1.19ft. Low Tide: 11:48 AM -0.37ft. High Tide: 7:33 PM 1.34ft.

SUNDAY

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

12:50 AM 5:05 AM 12:41 PM 8:24 PM

0.91ft. 1.06ft. -0.15ft. 1.26ft.

FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

12a

PRIME TIME

12p

PRIME TIME

12a

12p

PRIME TIME

12a

12p

10:30P — 12:30A

4:00 — 6:00 AM

11:30P — 1:30A

5:00 — 7:00 AM

6:00 — 8:00 AM

2:30 — 4:30 AM

4:00 — 6:00 PM

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 5:21p Moonrise: 4:36p Set: 5:20a AM Minor: 3:04a AM Major: 9:19a PM Minor: 3:34p PM Major: 9:48p Moon Overhead: 11:29p Moon Underfoot: 10:59a

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 5:21p Moonrise: 5:31p Set: 6:27a AM Minor: 4:00a AM Major: 10:15a PM Minor: 4:31p PM Major: 10:46p Moon Overhead: None Moon Underfoot: 12:00p

Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 5:22p Moonrise: 6:31p Set: 7:31a AM Minor: 5:01a AM Major: 11:16a PM Minor: 5:31p PM Major: 11:47p Moon Overhead: 12:31a Moon Underfoot: 1:01p

Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 5:22p Moonrise: 7:33p Set: 8:31a AM Minor: 6:04a AM Major: ----PM Minor: 6:34p PM Major: 12:19p Moon Overhead: 1:32a Moon Underfoot: 2:01p

Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 5:22p Moonrise: 8:36p Set: 9:25a AM Minor: 7:09a AM Major: 12:54a PM Minor: 7:37p PM Major: 1:23p Moon Overhead: 2:31a Moon Underfoot: 2:59p

Sunrise: 7:07a Set: 5:23p Moonrise: 9:38p Set: 10:14a AM Minor: 8:11a AM Major: 1:58a PM Minor: 8:38p PM Major: 2:25p Moon Overhead: 3:27a Moon Underfoot: 3:54p

Sunrise: 7:07a Set: 5:23p Moonrise: 10:37p Set: 10:58a AM Minor: 9:10a AM Major: 2:57a PM Minor: 9:35p PM Major: 3:23p Moon Overhead: 4:20a Moon Underfoot: 4:45p

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

19 FEET

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

2:08 AM 6:45 AM 1:39 PM 9:12 PM

TUESDAY

0.79ft. 0.92ft. 0.08ft. 1.19ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

3:26 AM 8:56 AM 2:41 PM 9:53 PM

WEDNESDAY

21 »

0.62ft. 0.85ft. 0.30ft. 1.15ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

4:25 AM 10:49 AM 3:51 PM 10:29 PM

THURSDAY

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

0.43ft. 0.88ft. 0.49ft. 1.11ft.

5:09 AM 12:16 PM 5:04 PM 11:02 PM

FRIDAY

0.24ft. 0.97ft. 0.64ft. 1.09ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

5:46 AM 1:22 PM 6:14 PM 11:31 PM

SATURDAY

0.05ft. 1.08ft. 0.75ft. 1.08ft.

Low Tide: 6:21 AM -0.12ft. High Tide: 2:16 PM 1.16ft. Low Tide: 7:14 PM 0.82ft.

SUNDAY

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:00 AM 6:55 AM 3:00 PM 8:03 PM

1.07ft. -0.25ft. 1.23ft. 0.86ft.

FEET

+3.0

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12p

4:30 — 6:30 PM

5:30 — 7:30 AM

12:00 — 2:00 PM

7:00 — 9:00 PM

8:00 — 10:00 AM

8:30 — 10:30 AM

9:00 — 11:00 AM

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 5:24p Moonrise: None Set: 12:14p AM Minor: 10:53a AM Major: 4:42a PM Minor: 11:16p PM Major: 5:04p Moon Overhead: 5:56a Moon Underfoot: 6:18p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 5:24p Moonrise: 12:27a Set: 12:49p AM Minor: 11:38a AM Major: 5:27a PM Minor: 11:59p PM Major: 5:49p Moon Overhead: 6:40a Moon Underfoot: 7:02p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 5:25p Moonrise: 1:20a Set: 1:23p AM Minor: ----AM Major: 6:08a PM Minor: 12:19p PM Major: 6:30p Moon Overhead: 7:23a Moon Underfoot: 7:45p

Sunrise: 7:10a Set: 5:25p Moonrise: 2:11a Set: 1:57p AM Minor: 12:37a AM Major: 6:48a PM Minor: 12:58p PM Major: 7:09p Moon Overhead: 8:06a Moon Underfoot: 8:28p

Sunrise: 7:10a Set: 5:26p Moonrise: 3:03a Set: 2:32p AM Minor: 1:15a AM Major: 7:26a PM Minor: 1:37p PM Major: 7:48p Moon Overhead: 8:49a Moon Underfoot: 9:11p

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 5:26p Moonrise: 3:54a Set: 3:10p AM Minor: 1:54a AM Major: 8:05a PM Minor: 2:16p PM Major: 8:27p Moon Overhead: 9:34a Moon Underfoot: 9:56p

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

MOON PHASES

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Fishing Score Moon l Overhead l Moon Graph Underfoot

MONDAY 12:27 AM 7:30 AM 3:38 PM 8:43 PM

TUESDAY

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1.07ft. -0.36ft. 1.26ft. 0.89ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:52 AM 8:05 AM 4:12 PM 9:18 PM

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

28 l

1.06ft. -0.43ft. 1.28ft. 0.91ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:15 AM 8:40 AM 4:45 PM 9:50 PM

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Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 5:24p Moonrise: 11:33p Set: 11:37a AM Minor: 10:04a AM Major: 3:52a PM Minor: 10:28p PM Major: 4:16p Moon Overhead: 5:10a Moon Underfoot: 5:33p

READING THE GRAPH

FEET

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

29 «

1.06ft. -0.47ft. 1.27ft. 0.92ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:35 AM 9:16 AM 5:18 PM 10:23 PM

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

30 «

1.04ft. -0.48ft. 1.26ft. 0.92ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:56 AM 9:52 AM 5:51 PM 11:00 PM

1.03ft. -0.46ft. 1.24ft. 0.90ft.

SATURDAY

31 « High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:23 AM 10:29 AM 6:33 PM 11:42 PM

1.00ft. -0.42ft. 1.22ft. 0.91ft.

SUNDAY

Jan 1

High Tide: 2:49 AM 0.99ft. Low Tide: 11:09 AM -0.37ft. High Tide: 7:08 PM 1.19ft. FEET

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10:30A — 12:30P

4:00 — 6:00 AM

4:30 — 6:30 AM

5:00 — 7:00 AM

5:30 — 7:30 AM

6:00 — 8:00 AM

6:30 — 8:30 AM

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 5:27p Moonrise: 4:46a Set: 3:50p AM Minor: 2:33a AM Major: 8:45a PM Minor: 2:57p PM Major: 9:08p Moon Overhead: 10:19a Moon Underfoot: 10:42p

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 5:28p Moonrise: 5:38a Set: 4:33p AM Minor: 3:16a AM Major: 9:28a PM Minor: 3:40p PM Major: 9:51p Moon Overhead: 11:06a Moon Underfoot: 11:30p

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:28p Moonrise: 6:28a Set: 5:21p AM Minor: 4:01a AM Major: 10:13a PM Minor: 4:25p PM Major: 10:38p Moon Overhead: 11:55a Moon Underfoot: None

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:29p Moonrise: 7:18a Set: 6:11p AM Minor: 4:49a AM Major: 11:02a PM Minor: 5:14p PM Major: 11:26p Moon Overhead: 12:44p Moon Underfoot: 12:19a

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:29p Moonrise: 8:05a Set: 7:04p AM Minor: 5:40a AM Major: 11:24a PM Minor: 6:05p PM Major: ----Moon Overhead: 1:34p Moon Underfoot: 1:09a

Sunrise: 7:13a Set: 5:30p Moonrise: 8:50a Set: 8:00p AM Minor: 6:34a AM Major: 12:21a PM Minor: 6:58p PM Major: 12:46p Moon Overhead: 2:23p Moon Underfoot: 1:59a

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:30p Moonrise: 9:32a Set: 8:56p AM Minor: 7:28a AM Major: 1:15a PM Minor: 7:52p PM Major: 1:40p Moon Overhead: 3:13p Moon Underfoot: 2:48a

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Special SECTION

HRISTMAS DINNER IS A VERY special occasion. As family gathers to celebrate the most wonderful time of year, old family recipes are cooked and special attention is paid to all things culinary. Christmas is a perfect time to eat the wild

game killed throughout the year. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wild hog ham or axis deer steaks, it hard to go wrong with wild game around the Christmas dinner table.

by Chester Moore

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The folks over at Broken Arrow Ranch who produced high quality free-range wild version have some interesting things to say about venison and its health values.

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS “Consumers are often unaware of the tremendous health benefits of free-range venison. The Axis deer and South Texas (Nilgai) Antelope harvested by the Broken Arrow Ranch are naturally low in fat and calories and comparable to chicken breast. They are also excellent sources of protein and iron comparable to beef.” Let’s check out some of their statistics (Per four ounce serving).

Nilgai Antelope Fat: 2.1 grams Protein: 25 grams Calories: 121 Cholesterol: 58 milligrams

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Axis Deer Fat: 1.9 grams Protein: 26 Calories: 120 Cholesterol: 59 milligrams Whitetail venison is a little higher in fat and calories, but also has more protein.

Whitetail Deer (3-ounce serving) Fat: 2.1 grams Protein: 19.5 grams Calories: 102 Cholesterol: 72 milligrams

Now let’s compare those examples to a a couple of staple grocery store meats:

Extra Lean Ground Beef Fat: 18.5 Protein: 29 Calories: 290 Cholesterol: 95 milligrams

Skinless Chicken Breast Fat: 4.1 Protein: 35 Calories: 188 Cholesterol: 97 milligrams Let’s take a look at some other wild

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS Protein: 18.5 Cholesterol: 69 milligrams Calories: 97

Wild Boar (3-ounce serving) Fat: 2.8 grams Protein: 18.3 grams Calories: 104 Cholesterol: 55 milligrams Nilgai antelope are much lower in fat and calories than beef and actually lower in both than chicken breast.

game nutritional breakdowns from the USDA National Nutrient Database:

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American Bison (Buffalo)

Rabbit (3-ounce serving) Fat: 2 grams

Fat: 1.6 grams Protein: 18.4 grams Calories: 93 Cholesterol: 53 milligrams

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS Elk

Cholesterol: 67 milligrams

(3.5 ounces) Fat: .9 grams Protein: 22.8 grams Calories: 137

Calories: 102 Cholesterol: 64 milligrams

Duck Bobwhite Quail

Fat: 4 grams Protein: 16 grams

Fat: 2 grams Protein: 23 grams Calories: 145 Cholesterol: 94 milligrams

Alligator Fat: 4 grams Protein: 28 grams Calories: 190 Cholesterol: 75 milligrams As you can see wild game stacks up and in most cases betters even the leanest cuts of beef and chicken. Plus, it just plain tastes good. Who wants to be limited by eating chicken, beef and pork the rest of their life when in Texas we have so many wonderful and healthy wild game options. So now that you know it’s healthy, let’s give you a few recipes to try out this Christmas. We found recipes from around the country that could make your Christmas one to remember.

••• TEXAS FISH & GAME HUNTING Editor Lou Marullo shares with us a killer recipe for Italian sausage that will work with wild pork or deer.

Hot Italian Sausage: 3 tablespoons salt 3 ½ tablespoons of red pepper 4 tablespoons of crushed or ground fennel seeds Depending on your own taste, you 76 |

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may want to increase the amount of fennel you use. And if you like your hot sausage REALLY hot, just add some more red pepper. I like to use some garlic powder as well with both the hot and the sweet sausage. A little goes a long way. Once you make the seasoning, put it in a zip-lock bag and shake it up. Then, spread some of the seasoning on the meat. Mix about a quarter of the seasoning into the meat and use some water to make it easier to mix. Add more and more of the seasoning until it is used up while mixing it VERY WELL into the meat. Tom and I prefer to keep it in bulk form and just make our own patties then freeze them in smaller packages. My brother, Frank, prefers some of his sausage in sausage casings. This is easy to make as well. You just need an attachment to your grinder that the casings can slide on. If you decide to

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use casings, then know that it is easier if you soak them in water for about an hour first. Then, before you slide the casing on the attachment, force some water through the casing, which makes it much easier to slide it on the attachment. Now, if you want to make some breakfast sausage, I have a delicious recipe for that as well. Again, this is for every 10 pounds of meat and I use about 50 percent pork with the venison. You need to grind the meat first using a medium or hamburger sized blade on the grinder. Once it is through the first grind, then mix the seasoning in and grind it again. Keep mixing it all the time. So, for an unforgettable breakfast sausage, here is what you need. Enjoy!

•••

Venison Breakfast Sausage: 3 tablespoons salt 4 tablespoons Black Pepper 3 tablespoons Sage

••• THERE ARE COUNTLESS RECIPES out there for wild game delicacies that can make the holidays more enjoyable. Here are just a few of them.

Texas Bandera Smoked Quail This is a cool one from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Serves: 6-8 • 6 boneless smoked quail, small dice

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• ¼ cup Bronze Rub • ½ cup diced green chilies, Hatch or Anaheims • ½ cup goat cheese • 1 tablespoon shallots, minced • 2 tablespoons garlic, minced • ½ cup jicama, small dice • 1 bunch green onion tops, fine dice • 2 bunches cilantro leaves, roughly chopped • 2 limes, juiced • 1-teaspoon salt • 1 egg • ½ cup milk • 16 eggs roll wrappers • 1-quart canola or vegetable oil Smoke quail using ½ Bronze Rub. Set aside. Dice the smoked quail and mix with remaining Bronze Rub. Combine chilies, goat cheese, shallots, and garlic and reserve. Mix jicama, green onion, chopped

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cilantro, limejuice, and salt and reserve. Whisk the egg with the mil to make egg wash. In center of each egg roll wrapper, place 1-tablespoon quail mixture, 1-tablespoon goat cheese mixture, and 1-tablespoon jicama mixture. Fold egg roll wrappers around fillings. Follow the directions on the package. Brush last fold with egg wash to seal. Deep fry in oil until golden brown. Do this in batches of 4 so the oil doesn’t cool down. The egg rolls will float, so you will have to keep turning them to get even browning. It will probably take a couple of minutes to crisp the outside and heat the innards. If rolls have been refrigerated, increase cooking time to 3 -- 4 minutes.

••• Barbecue Wild Turkey This is a great recipe from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Ingredients:

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS • Wild turkey breast • ½ c. soy sauce • ½ c. water • 2 T. brown sugar • 2 T. vegetable or olive oil • ¼ tsp. black pepper • ½ tsp. crushed garlic • 1 T. lemon juice (fresh squeezed) • ¼ tsp. Tabasco sauce (or Frank’s Red Hot sauce) Instructions: Cut fresh or fully thawed meat into strips 1” long by ¼” thick. Mix other ingredients together, add meat and marinate overnight. Drain meat, keeping the marinade. Grill on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, basting with marinade.

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS ••• Venison Roast This one comes from the Department of Natural Resources in Ohio. • 2½-3 pound venison roast • Creole butter marinade, injected • Lawry’s seasoning salt • Pepper • Potatoes • Onion Inject creole butter marinade into the roast. Add the seasoning salt and pepper and place the roast into a medium sized cooking bag with potatoes. Cook the roast for 1½ hours. Remove the roast from the bag, cut and serve.

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••• Wild Boar Schnitzel Another recipe from TPWD • 2 lbs. raw, boneless loin of boar (makes 6 medallions) • 2 tablespoons Smoke Rub • 2 cups breadcrumbs • 2 eggs, beaten • 1-cup milk • 1-cup flour • ½ cup clarified butter • Salt and pepper to taste • 1-1/2 cups Hudson’s Apple Cider Brandy Sauce (see below) • 1 Granny Smith apple, julienned Season the loin with the Smoke Rub and smoke it 1 to 1-1/2 hours until medium rare to medium, an internal temperature of 140º. Slow smoking helps to tenderize and imparts a delicious flavor.

Remove from smoker and refrigerate whole. Grind dried breadcrumbs in food processor. We use crumbs from our pumpkin bread, but a dried French loaf or sourdough is fine. Slice loin into medallions ½” to ¾” thick. Between plastic wrap, pound with a mallet to an even ¼” thickness. Season the pounded medallions with salt and pepper. Combine eggs and milk and beat to make egg wash. Pass seasoned medallion through flour, then egg wash and then breadcrumbs. Heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering (325º -- 350º). Carefully lay in 3 cutlets and cook 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side until the crust is set and golden. Turn and cook the other side for an additional 2 minutes. Remove

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Wild Game CHRISTMAS from heat and hold warm. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Combine Apple Cider Brandy sauce and julienned apples in a saucepan and warm through. Spoon onto plate and top with schnitzel.

••• Crispy Pecan Redﬁsh And finally, for those who love fish, I had to throw this one in. It is one me and my wife Lisa found years ago searching out ways to cook the red we were catching. It’s a good one. 1-1/2 lbs. redfish fillets 1-cup milk 2 cup yellow cornmeal 1 tsp. hot sauce

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1/2 tsp. salt 1 stick unsalted butter 1/4-cup vegetable oil 1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup chopped parsley 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add parsley and lemon juice, stir to combine. Pour sauce over fillets and serve

immediately.

T E X A S

Wash fillets under cold running water and place in a bowl with milk, hot sauce, and salt. Allow to sit 15 minutes at room temperature. Heat 2 Tbs. butter and vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Drain fillets and dredge in cornmeal. Fry until crispy and brown, about two minutes on a side; do not crowd the pan. Pour grease out of skillet and add remaining butter. Place over medium heat, add nuts when butter melts. Stir constantly while the nuts brown.

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Texas SALTWATER by CALIXTO GONZALES :: TF&G Saltwater Editor

Empty Nests

HAD THE PRIVLEGE RECENTLY, of taking a friend of mine, Allen Foster, and his 12-year-old son, Justyn, fishing with Captain Carlos Garcia. A 60 pound stingray—the largest I’ve seen in some time—took both Allen and Justyn’s baits and was hooked up to both rods. Those two jumped around Captain Garcia’s boat while that big beast ran up and down the Intercoastal Waterway and turned them every which way but loose. The writer in me thought about the symblism of the remarkable father-son moment I was witnessing. The father in me felt a pang of nostalgia as I remembered some the father-son moments my boy and I shared when he was that young. I miss my son. He really hasn’t gone anywhere. After he graduated high school he received a sweetheart financial aid offer from the local university He, his mother and I decided his best, most economical option was to stay home and attend the local school. So, his room became his dormatory, the kitchen his cafeteria, and the bathroom his, well, bathroom. Still, we hardly see him unless it’s coming or going. He may still live at home, but like every young man or woman who matriculates from high school into college, my son has developed his own life, activiities related to his studies and comtemporaries. There are long nights in the campus libraries, labs, study and social sessions with his friend. He dated a person who was a “furry” for a little while. For the uninformed like me, that’s a person who is most comfortable dressing up like a critter. The relationship didn’t last; she mirgrated or went into hibernation or something. There is no time to go fishing with the old man. The end result is that I’m suffering from a 84 |

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horrible case of empty nest syndrome. I miss fishing with my boy. I don’t fault him. I’m sure his college friends are more tony than his folks. It’s just that I miss making the memories that we forged when he was growing up. Such as the time when he was four, and he caught a 20-inch trout under the lights on a Cheet-O. He thought the orange worms I was fishing with looked just like the snacks he was munching on, so he convinced me to put one of those cheesy munchies on his hook. He dropped it in the water, and the darn thing floated—until the trout came up and slurped it down. I was amazed. Then there was another trip later that year when he was using his brand new Snoopy pole Santa had left under the tree for him. He loved the Snoopy bobber so much that he got upset when it disappeared under the surface by the dock we were fishing. The only way to retreive it was to reel it in, along with the largest sheepshead I have ever seen. When we finally weighed the big convict fish, he pulled the De-Liar all the way down to 13 pounds. So, by the time my son was 5, he had caught a fish bigger than anything I ever caught until I was in my 20s. Little twerp. At one point during the early part of the fishing trip, Justyn asked me what to do if he fell overboard. I winked at him, and told him he sould stand up and climb back in the boat because the Lower Laguna Madre is only three feet deep on the average. It hearkened back to when my boy was eight, and we were fishing with Captain Jimmy Martinez. Calito stepped off the casting platform and fell into the water. He lay there flailing and hollering in abject fear, his vest preventing him from sinking. “Stand up!” I shouted. He stood up, and discovered the water was only waist deep to him. He had tno fear of the water after that.

Jimmy Martinez. We happened upon a big pod of redfish (I think the late Rudy Grigar would’ve called it a “Strawberry Patch”). Both Jimmy and I hooked up right away. My son was watching us and just steaming, when suddenly his rod was nearly yanked out his hands (no, it wasn’t a Snoopy rod, but rather a really nice Castaway/Shimano combo that Santa’s successor had left under the tree the previous Christmas). Fifteen intense minutes later, and my boy brought a 33-inch redfish to the net. While he was filling out the tag and pinning it on the fish, I thought my heart would explode out of my chest because I was so proud. Not as proud as I was when he was 15. He and my wife fished the Dargel Owner’s Tournament. There he was, in the throes of ptomaine poisoning from eating sour-cream colored nachos that he had left on the hotel room table overnight. A raging squall that should’ve had a name attached to it was pounding the Laguna Madre, and he managed to catch a redfish that won his age division. He was still very wobbly duiring the awards ceremony, but he showed up and walked up for his trophy. That boy had some real iron in his spine. You tend to take those moments for granted. We get so wrapped up in the moment we don’t notice a fork in the road a bit farther up. Inevitably, we parents take one branch of the fork, and our children, if we raise ‘em right, take the other. It isn’t bad, because that’s the way of good parentiing. It is bittersweet, though, because you know it will be some time before the two roads converge again. Sometimes the adult you meet is different from the kid you had. Not bad, just different. I like the young man he’s grown into, and I’m very proud of him. I miss the boy, though. It’s that empty nest thing.

WHEN HE WAS 12, I TOOK CALITO fishing with Captain Jimmy Martinez. He was excited because it was our first “He Man” trip. It was just the two of us and Captain

Email Cal Gonzales at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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Texas BOATING by LENNY RUDOW :: TF&G Boating Editor

OR WEEKS ON END I’VE BEEN floating in the brine. My throat, skin, and lungs have been seared by exposure to salty water and air, and I itch

all over. Both inside and outside, my body cries for a freshwater bath. I daydream of cool, clean water pouring over my head and running down every crease in my skin. I would give anything—anything—to feel a crisp, cleansing torrent wash away the salt that cakes my body and clogs my pores. I am your outboard engine. I know it’s within your power to give me what I so desperately need—the hose is right over there, I can see it through my tearing eyebolts. Yet even though you know that leaving saltwater in my veins does irreparable damage, here I sit. By failing to give me a thorough freshwater flush after each and every use in saltwater you are slowly killing me. I’m corroding from the inside out. The minerals left behind by evaporating saltwater restrict the flow in my cooling system. The neoprene vanes on my water pump impeller will be greeted with grit the next time I’m started up if you allow the water to dry and the salts to crystallize in my lower unit. So please, dear owner, give me a thorough freshwater flush for at least five minutes, after each and every time you run me in saltwater. My skin needs attention, too. Care for the finish on my cowl, and it will stay bright and shiny for many years. Leave it caked in salt then sit back as the sun’s rays beats down—and are magnified by those salt crystals—and my finish will look drab after just a few seasons. Don’t scoff; maintaining my good looks is a matter of smart economics, because my appearance will be a major factor when you go to sell me. Though it may be superficial, truth be told a great-looking cowl has just as much 86 |

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“ Don’t scoff; maintaining my good looks is a matter of smart economics.

“

Help Me Help You

impact as how beautiful I am on the inside when I’m trying to allure a prospective buyer. Can you even remember the last time you lovingly rubbed and buffed my finish with a thick, protective paste wax? I can’t either. I deserve that wax job every few months, not only because it keeps me looking good, but also because it protects my paint from UV damage. On top of that it makes it easier to clean me up at the end of the day, since a slick coating of wax fights off grime and scum lines trying to stick to my surface.

So give me a little paste-wax loving in the spring and in the fall. Make me gleam with that reflective (though much less protective) spray wax every couple weeks. And after each and every visit to saltwater, spray me down and wipe me clean with a microfiber mitt and some soapy water. Five years from now, I’ll still look like the gorgeous outboard you first fell for. Why are you looking at my lower unit like that? Do you see some new nicks and dings in my propeller? Smooth them out with a file, please. If you don’t, not only will my efficiency take a dip, the entire boat will be subjected to more vibrations. Every spring you should make sure my prop is looking good and if there’s any damage that goes beyond minor nicks and dings, have it reconditioned. Yes, I know you love me for what’s inside even more than for what’s outside. Remember that unlike a car engine and the easy life it enjoys on dry land, my crankshaft might spin T E X A S

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for hours on end upwards of 4,000 RPM. My oil breaks down much faster, and needs constant replacement. Same goes for my lower unit lube. To keep me running strong, both must be replaced at the appropriate intervals. So help keep the inner me beautiful by paying attention to my hour meter, and changing my lower unit lube and crankcase oil as my manufacturer recommends. After we’ve had so much fun together all year long and it’s time to wrap me up for the winter, change all of my lubes one more time regardless of how many hours have passed since the last oil change. If any water has gotten in through a seal or formed from condensation, letting it sit in me all winter long is begging for corrosion to appear or—worse yet—freeze damage to occur. I know it seems like I’m asking a lot, but if you’re going to expose me to the pain of saltwater use for months on end there are some other steps you need to take for me, too. Many owners forget that my trim and steering systems have Zerk fittings that need to be greased at least once a year. My pivot bearing is another sensitive spot, and it needs to be rinsed off thoroughly after every trip or corrosion may set it. Speaking of corrosion, there are a number of metal clips, fittings, and clamps under my cowl which will last a lot longer if, each spring, you give them a light spray with CorrosionX, Boeshield T9, or a similar corrosion-inhibitor. In fact, it’s a good idea to soak a rag with some of this stuff and give my entire powerhead a wipe-down. Ahhhh, thank you so much for that freshwater, and for all of this additional attention. Thanks to your help I’ll be more reliable, which means more fun for you out on the water. Your maintenance costs will go down, and my resale value will go up. Best of all, I’ll feel almost human once again.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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The Practical ANGLER by PAUL BRADSHAW | TF&G Contributing Editor

Fly Knots to Know

ADMIT IT, I FORGET A LOT OF stuff. I’m getting older, there’s a lot of useless junk rolling around in my head (like the fact that Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras) I have no idea why I know that. There are times when I get all jumbled and spout off moronic facts from my past such as the time I almost failed English my freshman year of college because I couldn’t write a coherent sentence. Sometimes I ramble on about nothing such as right now when I’ve forgotten the whole purpose of this article. So, I forget a lot of stuff and sometimes it takes my kids to remind me of this. For example, The Boy decided he wanted to start fly fishing which reminded me of some stuff I used to know when fly fishing. If you’ve ever done any fly fishing you know that although catching a fish on a fly rod is difficult, actually getting your gear to a state where you can start fishing is almost impossible. Why? Because there are 8,471 knots that have to be tied between your reel and the fly.

thigh bone—admit it you were singing it in your head). It’s a good idea to know how to tie all of these knots but I’m going to focus on just two of them. One because you can use it for just about any kind of fishing you do. The other, because you can use it to impress the ladies at the bait shop. The first knot we’re going to look at is the arbor knot. This is used to tie the main line to the arbor (line hold section) of your reel whether or not it is a fly, spinning, or bait casting reel. Now, keep in mind the intent of this knot is to simply attach the line to the reel, not hold a fish if it takes all of your line. If you lose enough line to see your arbor knot there is a good chance you’re not getting any of it back anyway. Start the arbor knot by running the tag end of the line around the spool (arbor) of the reel. Now tie an overhand knot with the tag end of the line going around the main line. Tie one more overhand knot in the tag end of the line without going around the main line. To tighten the knots, start pulling the main line away from the reel. Be sure not to let the second overhand knot you tied in the end of

Seriously. You have to connect the backing to the reel, the fly line to the backing, the leader to the fly line, the tippet to the leader, the fly to the tippet (the knee bone connected to the

the tag line slip through the first one before it gets tight. After both knots are cinched down clip off the excess tag end and finish spooling on the new line.

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The second knot we’ll look at is the nail knot, which originally used a nail to tie, but now you use a small tube (you would think we’d rename it but we don’t). If you’re fly fishing, this is used to connect your leader to your fly line. Start the nail knot with your fly line and leader lying parallel to each other with the tag end of the fly line on the right and the tag end of the leader on the left. Place a small tube in line with the fly line and leader. Hold the leader, fly line, and tube together with about ten inches of the tag end of the leader hanging out. Working left to right, wrap the tag end of the leader around the fly line, tube, and leader

about 8 times. Then take the tag end of the leader and run it through the tube from right to left. Remove the tube, pulling it left. Pull the tag end of the leader to cinch it down around your fly line. Trim the excess tag ends of the leader and fly line. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to put a small drop of glue on the knot to make sure it stays tied. So there you have it. There is one knot that you will use multiple times on every reel— along with one that you will probably never use in your lifetime, but you can use it to impress your friends.

Email Paul Bradshaw at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

ILLUSTRATION: PAUL BRADSHAW

11/2/16 4:31 PM

Texas GUNS by STEVE LAMASCUS | TF&G Shooting Editor

N MY EARLY YEARS AS A CONfirmed gun lover my normal financial life was one of being flat busted. Because of this, if I wanted a new gun I generally had to sell or trade one to get another. Having an insatiable curiosity about such things I sold or traded a lot of guns that I would give several sets of eye teeth to get back. Sad to say, there has been no recent developments in the realm of time machines, so I must console myself with misty memories and occasional bouts of melancholia. Since I know that I am only one of many thousands of like souls, I will share a few of my dumbest acts in the world of gun trades. One of the first such gun trades involved a very sweet 1903 Springfield. It had one of the early laminated stocks that looked like it was cut from a butcher’s block, a K10 Weaver scope, and a Jaeger custom trigger. I don’t remember what I traded for it, and I do not remember what I traded it for, but I do know that the latter was a really boneheaded deal. It is the first gun I owned that I wish desperately I could get back. I probably would replace the laminated stock, and I might have it rebarreled to some other caliber, but that Springfield was a true classic that is hard to find these days and would look wonderful in my modest collection of guns. The mid-1970s found me working as the Assistant Manager and Sporting Goods Manager of a Gibson’s Discount Center in Uvalde, Texas. I was in hog heaven, selling guns and sporting goods, always with my eye cocked for a good deal. The store did not do trades, but didn’t care if I did, as long as the store made a profit on the deal. Sometime in this period a buddy of mine

“ When you buy a gun, keep it!

“

Guns I Wish I had Kept

got hard up for money and wanted to trade a diamond ring for a Model 19 S&W. He had been hired as the police chief in a small town, with the understanding that he was to furnish his own sidearm. I made the trade, bought him his gun, and then turned around and traded the ring for a sweet little .410 Remington Model 1100 SA Skeet. The wood on the little gun was of fine grade. I shot it a bit for skeet, then decided I wanted something else and traded it off. I have regretted that trade for decades. Also in the mid-70s I bought a Winchester Model 101 over/under 20-gauge. It was a skeet model and was bored skeet and skeet—this being the days before screw-in chokes became commonplace. I shot the 101 a lot, both for

skeet and for doves and quail. It was probably one of the two most deadly quail quail guns I ever owned; the other is an SKB-made Ithaca side-by-side in 12-gauge, bored skeet and modified. I still have the Ithaca, but somehow I let go of the Winchester. For the life of me, I cannot remember what I did with it, just that it left the way of so many guns I loved and let escape. It was many years before I again had a shotgun of that quality. I once bought or traded for—I don’t remember which—a custom-built Sako Vixen in .17/222 caliber. It was a wildcat, but one that was super easy to make brass for. All one had to do was run a .222 Remington shell through the full-length sizer die, trim it to length, and you had a .17/222 shell. T E X A S

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This little gun had a nice stock that was Suigi finished, which turned it a very pale green color. I shot it a good bit, but as soon as the factory .17 Remington came out I sold it and bought a Model 700 Remington in the new factory caliber. The reasons I used were that it was a factory cartridge and was a faster caliber than the wildcat .17/222. Over the years I have several times started to build another .17/222 but just never got around to it. Maybe next year. Anyone have a Sako Vixen action they want to part with for a reasonable price? My first centerfire rifle was a .303 British Enfield. I bought it for, if memory serves, $30. At that time my father was doing a bit of amateur gunsmithing and was friends with a real gunsmith. He took the old battle rifle, put a new Bishop stock on it, refinished the metal parts, cut the 10-round magazine down to five, put a jeweled floorplate on the magazine, and a set of Lyman sights on the rifle. In the end it was a truly pretty gun. Then Dad joined the Border Patrol, went to the Academy for several months, and Mom, my brothers and sister, and I, spent the summer living with my maternal grandmother in Oklahoma City. Sad to say we had no money, at all. Finally, in a fit of desperation I sold the Enfield and a .22 rifle to a pawnshop for spending money. Obviously, in retrospect, I would love to have both of those guns back. There were many more such boneheaded sales and trades, but these are the ones that hurt the most. So here is my advice to those of you who have not yet been down this road. When you buy a gun, keep it! Unless there is a mechanical problem you can’t get fixed, keep it! If you want another gun, either save up the money or go without food, but don’t trade or sell anything. Either that or someday you will wake up and remember all those guns you wish you could get back. Merry Christmas everyone and God bless.

Email Steve LaMascus at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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11/2/16 4:32 PM

Industry INSIDER Boat & Travel Shows Return to Central Texas THE AUSTIN BOAT AND TRAVEL Trailer Show and the San Antonio Boat & Travel Trailer Show will return to Central Texas this January and February. These shows are a fun for the whole family and are expected to attract more than 20,000 outdoor enthusiasts in total. New for 2017, each show will include a children’s activity area featuring kid-fishing, providing a boat-load of fun for the little ones. For boating enthusiasts, there will be unbeatable deals on wakeboard boats, cruisers, pontoons and fishing boats, among other watercraft. For those who prefer to keep their travel on the ground, vehicles such as fifth wheels, truck campers and toy haulers will be on display for an up close look (there will not be motor homes at these events, only fifth wheels, travel trailers, truck campers and toy haulers will be exhibited). This is the perfect opportunity

for consumers to get an up-close look at a vast array of inventory all under one roof! Manufacturer representatives will be onhand with expert advice for anyone trying to determine what options will best fit their needs. Boating accessories and related services will be also be showcased including boat lifts, deck builders, fishing rods and reels and push poles. In addition, marinas and campgrounds will be on-site to highlight their services. Austin vendors include: Boat Town, Sail & Ski Center, South Austin Marine, Texas Malibu, The Ski Dock, Crestview RV, Camper Clinic II and many more! San Antonio vendors include: Boat Town, Lake LBJ Marineland, Kent Power Sports, Master Marine, Premier Yamaha, Pro-Line NewWater Boatworks, Sail & Ski Center, South Austin Marine, Woods Cycle Country, Outdoor Living RV and more coming soon!

Austin and San Antonio events are scheduled for late January and early February.

“These events are timed perfectly for the start of the vacation-planning season, as families begin making their recreational and travel schedule for the coming year” says Jennifer McKinney, Marketing Manager for both shows. Whether your passion is in the water or on land, experience all the Texas outdoor lifestyle has to offer by attending one of these shows in 2017.

Austin Boat & Travel Trailer Show Austin Convention Center: 500 E. Ceasar Chavez St., Austin Texas 78701 Hours of Operation are: • Thursday, Jan. 19: 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. • Friday, Jan. 20: 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. • Sat, Jan. 21: 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. • Sunday, Jan. 22: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Cost: • Adults: $10 • Children 7-12: $6 • Seniors 60+: $6 • Children under 7: Free

San Antonio Boat & Travel Trailer Show Alamodome: 100 Montana St, San Antonio Texas 78203 Hours of Operation are: • Thursday, Feb. 9: 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. • Friday, Feb. 10: 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. • Sat, Feb. 11: 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. • Sunday, Feb. 12: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Cost: • Adults: $10 • Children 7-12: $6 • Seniors 60+: $6 • Children under 7: Free Go online to: AustinBoatShow.com or SanAntonioBoatShow.com.

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11/2/16 4:33 PM

Texas TESTED The Vision 8 caught this eight pointer working a scrape.

Innovative Trail Cam IN THIS BUSY HI-TECH WORLD, IT may be hard to find the time needed for proper scouting and finding those whitetails. More and more hunters have embraced this technology and have purchased trail cameras to do some of their scouting for them. I have recently tried the Vision 8 Lightsout Tru Brown trail camera from Wildgame innovations. I installed the camera near one of my treestands in a thicket. And I was pleasantly surprised to see 3 different bucks in the imme-

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diate area of my stand. I even have a nice clear picture of a young 8 pointer working a scrape. With a trigger speed of ½ of a second, you can be assured that you will not miss any game that walks in front of this camera. It also takes video for up to 30 seconds. With a 32 GB SD/SDHC card that is not included, you can store as many pictures as you want and with 8 AA batteries (also not included), it will continue to work even if you can not check it for a while—and you will be able to see what the camera sees up to 65 feet away! Amazing! To keep people honest, it comes equipped with a lockable door and a space for a cable lock. Personally, I think it is sad that you even need such a thing but I understand perfectly why they are there. A durable strap is also included to mount the camera.

The bottom line is that the Vision 8 Lightsout Tru Brown trail camera takes amazing pictures and after many days of cold, wet, miserable weather, the camera worked flawlessly. I can’t wait to see what this camera captures next week! —by LOU MARULLO

11/2/16 4:34 PM

Fish and Game GEAR Ruger Knives Crafted by Texan

CRKT/Ruger

DESIGNED BY ROBERT CARTER, A Hillister, Texas-based craftsman with deep family ties and a rich knife making tradition, the 2-Stage is part of the exclusive CRKT/ Ruger knife collection. The series includes designs for everyday carry, hunting, tactical and survival uses with knives varying in size and finish. The 2-Stage is a no-nonsense, tactical folder featuring a black, stonewashed tanto blade and a machined, hard-anodized aluminum and stainless steel handle. A unique 4-position clip allows the knife to be custom fit to individual carrying preference, while the 2-Stage adds a frame lock for safety and blade flipper for quick, easy deployment. With lines that honor the tradition of the Ruger Precision Rifle, the 2-Stage is offered in full-size and compact models with options for full fine-edge or serrated blades. All 2-Stage knives feature a pommel punch/glass breaker to help aid in emergency situations. The manufacturers suggested retail price is $69 - $79. Visit www.ruger.com/micros/crkt.

Winged Hyper-Glide Hunts for Fish THE NEW HYPER-GLIDE LURE BY ACME Tackle Company offers several tech92 |

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niques and features for anglers but perhaps the most unique one is that the lure’s “wings” deploy when the lures falls- causing it to glide and search out wide areas beneath them. These same wings “flutter” when jigged or shaked vertically, looking just like pulsating gills, and also emit fish attracting noise for unprecedented action and attraction. The Hyper-Glide literally covers water

Hyper-Glide

like no other but ice angers will appreciate the incorporated VDrop System (VDS). VDS prevents wing-deployment and ensures a FAST vertical drop to get back to fish fast. VDS also keeps the lure in the SONAR cone of a flasher or locator which allows anglers to see right where the lure needs to be in the water column. Once the correct depth is reached, a simple sharp snap “releases” the line from the VDrop System, and the wings again deploy. T E X A S

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No batteries are required for wingdeployment, these baits are WATER-POWERED! They’re effective for both ice and open water fishing and provide an action that fish simply haven’t seen before and a variety of applications that anglers never thought possible. Available in 10 colors and 1.5-inch, 2-inch, and 2.5-inch models. For more information go to: www. acmetackle.com.

Light Up Your Wade HYDRO GLOW FISHING LIGHTS, known worldwide for its high quality 12v fishing lights, is very excited about its new line of lights designed specifically for gigging flounder. They offer two models for wading. The WM10 WadeMaster features a high output 10w LED for superb illumination underwater. The WM10 is a little over 4’ long. The WM10 is constructed of rigid anodized and powder coated aluminum to prevent corrosion and strong enough to withstand the rigors of flounder gigging. It has a conveniently located on/ off switch on the end, an adjustable shoulder strap to make it easy for using both hands when needed. The WM10 is powered by 4 WM10 WadeMaster

G A M E ®

11/2/16 4:34 PM

AA batteries so there is no need to drag that battery around any more. The Wademaster 5 is a little shorter and a little lighte, making it easy to handle for some women and even kids. It features the same rigid construction as the WM10 but with a somewhat smaller 5 watt light. With a suggested retail price of just $99.95 it is a deal. You can pick up your WadeMaster at Roy’s in Corpus Christi, Tackle Town in Rockport, Ace Hardware is Port Lavaca and Rockport, Marburgers, Academy Sports and coming to Cabela’s in January. For more information call 877-895-4569, email at hydroglow@gmail.com,, or ask for them at your local tackle supplier.

Work Sharp Combo.

keep behind the seat for any unexpected adventure! The Sportz Cove is perfect for tailgat-

For more information visit their website, worksharptools.com.

Work Sharp Combo Help Your SUV Knife Sharpener Throw More Shade THE COMBO KNIFE SHARPENER IS designed to be their fastest and easiest sharpener yet. It combines powered flexible abrasive belt technology with a manual ceramic honing rod. Work Sharp’s Combo sharpens pocket knives, hunting knives, serrated knives, kitchen knives and more. It uses precision sharpening and honing guides to get the perfect angle every time making it very fast and easy. Restore a dull knife to a perfect ‘as sharp as new’ edge with ease and repeatability.

EXPERIENCE MORE ENJOYMENT from your everyday outdoor adventures with the new Sportz Cove. The Sportz Cove is a compact, lightweight awning which attaches to the back of your SUV or minivan. It provides shade and shelter while onthe-go for any adventure. The universal attachment sleeve seamlessly connects to your mid to full-size SUV creating additional shade and comfort, making it the ultimate vehicle accessory. The compact and lightweight package is perfect to

ing, traveling, fishing, beaching, and even lounging at a picnic. The Sportz Cove fits a variety of mid to full-size SUV and minivan models ranging from a Honda CRV to Cadillac Escalade. Suggested retail price for the Sportz Cove is $139.99USD/$149.99CAD. For more information, visit www.napieroutdoors.com or call (800) 567-2434. Napier is the world’s largest developer and distributor of Vehicle Camping Tents. Since 1990, Napier has been changing the way people view camping, by reshaping and merging the automotive and outdoor industries together. We were the first to revolutionize the camping industry with our innovative and exciting vehicle tent concepts.

Napier’s Sportz Cove.

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11/2/16 4:34 PM

Texas TASTED by BRYAN SLAVEN :: The Texas Gourmet

Sugar Cured Wild Hog Ham

ANY HUNTERS AND other folks view the feral hog as a nuisance. As a result they are often shot and left to the critters for dinner. Many other hunters have taken the meat only to find it strong tasting and dry. The truth is, the meat is and can be fantastic and it is free of chemicals used in traditional processing. After skinning and quartering a feral hog, the meat should be placed in a cooler with plenty of ice to allow it to bleed down for a couple of days. This will remove most of the undesirable hormones and blood from the meat. Remember to trim off all fat from the roast as it will turn rancid if left on the meat, even in the freezer.

The Sugar Cure Starting with a 3 to 4 lb. roast, mix 1 pint each of sugar and sea or kosher salt into 1 gallon of cold water. Stir until dissolved. Place the roast in a large disposable plastic bag. Using your turkey injector, draw up two to three full syringes of the solution and inject it in next to the bone in several places on the roast. This will help the curing process to get to the places most vulnerable to spoiling when on a pit . Pour the rest of the cure solution in the bag with the roast. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag and tie it up tight and close to the meat. Place the bag in a refrigerator or a cooler lined with plenty of ice and allow it to sit in the solution for 24 hours. Then, remove from the bag, rinse it. It is now ready for the pit.

Pit Instructions I like to start with about 2 pounds of charcoal, then add a few seasoned apple wood and hickory chunks for smoke and flavor enhancement. Place the roast in the pit at the far end from the firebox with the temperature at about 250 degrees, and baste every 20 minutes or so. Flip the roast once and continue basting

until a meat thermometer inserted next to the bone registers 148 degrees. Remove from the pit to a platter and drape a piece of foil over the roast for 15 to 20 minutes before carving, to rest the meat. Heat remaining baste to a boil on the stove and use it as a sauce when serving. Try not to hurt yourself by attempting to eat the entire roast while carving it. Enjoy with your favorite sides.

Baste for the roast: 1/2 jar- Texas Gourmet’s mandarin orange serrano jelly 2T-honey 1 t- fresh rosemary leaves – chopped 1/2 stick of butter (salted is ok) 3 T-olive oil 1T- black pepper 2 T- soy sauce 2 cloves- fresh garlic, minced 1 T ground ginger 2 ounces – Crown Royal Bon Appétit!

Email Bryan Slaven at bryan@thetexasgourmet.com

Savory Sugar Cured Feral Hog Roast

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PHOTO: BRYAN SLAVEN

11/2/16 4:35 PM

Outdoor DIRECTORY Guides & Outfitters

Lodging

Destinations

Real Estate :: Gear

TEXAS FRESHWATER

TEXAS SALTWATER

HUNTING

LAKE AMISTAD

UPPER TEXAS COAST

SOUTH TEXAS

MID TEXAS COAST

Statement of ownership, management and circulation 1. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 2. Publication number: 7577-70. 3. Filing Date: 10/01/2016. 4. Issue freq: Monthly. 5. No. Issues Annually: 12. 6. Annual subscr. price: $19. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Contact Person, Roy Neves; Tel, 281-227-3001. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): Same. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher, Roy Neves, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; editor: Chester Moore, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; managing editor: n/a. 10. Owner: Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co. LLC; Full Name, Ronald A. Ward, Complete Address 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Full Name Roy C. Neves, Complete Address 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. 11. Known bondholders, Mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages of other securities: none. 12. Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: October 2015. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: Total published Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 97,929; No. copies of single Issue published nearest to filing date, 96,196. a. Total number of copies (net press run): Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 35161; No. copies of single Issue published nearest to filing date, 32525. b. Paid Circulation (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 29,308; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 28150. (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): 0. (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS®, Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 5693; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 4170; (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS®: Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 0; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 0. c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 35001; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 32142. d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside County Copies included on PS Form 3541: Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 160; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 205 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies included on PS Form 3541 Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 0; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 0 (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS®: Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 0; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 0. (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 0; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 0. e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4)): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 160; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 205. f. Total Distribution (sum 15c and 15e): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 35161; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 32525. g. Copies not Distributed: Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 756; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 805. h. Total (sum 15f and g): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 35917; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 33330. i. Percent paid: (15c divided by 15f times 100) Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 99.55%; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 99.37%. 16. Electronic Copy Circulation a. Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 62768; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 63671. b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 97769; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 95991. c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 97929; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 96196. d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16 b divided by 16c x 100): Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months, 99.84%; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing, 99.79%. 17. Publication of statement of ownership required. Will be printed in December 2016 issue of this publication 18. Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: Roy Neves, publisher, Date 10/1/16

DFW METROPLEX

LAKE TEXOMA

TEXAS SALTWATER LOWER TEXAS COAST

Innovative Outdoor Gear You Won’t Find Just Anywhere:

www.FishandGameGear.com

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11/2/16 4:36 PM

Bare Bones HUNTING by LOU MARULLO :: TF&G Hunting Editor

Merry Christmas!

T IS CHRISTMAS TIME AND THAT means it is also time to get that hunter in your family something he or she would love. If your hunter is like me, then he has already hinted for a few “much needed” items, even if we already have them. It is a strange phenomenon that happens every year during hunting season. Your boots were brand new last year but you obviously need the new and improved model. Bows are faster. Arrows fly better. Gotta have it! After all, it IS hunting season we are talking about is it not? Personally, I love to try new items pertaining to hunting gear all year long. One thing is for sure, this Christmas, I will check the packages under the tree and also in my stocking. I can tell you that I hang the largest stocking I can find on Christmas Eve. Keeping that in mind, here are some great ideas for that perfect gift and also some stocking stuffers as well. Let’s start with those stocking stuffers: Flextone has some fantastic calls for the outdoorsman to use. You name the game, and Flextone has a call that will help bring that animal in. I have used their deer calls, and I have to say they sound incredible. ThermaCell has replacement butane containers and extra scent-free units that fit on top of the ThermaCell. It would make a perfect stocking stuffer, and it’s something they will use every time they go hunting. A few pairs of nice cushiony hunting socks to keep the blisters away are always a welcome sight. Once, my wife gave me three pairs of socks and stuffed them with a few lottery tickets. I won $50! That means a trip to Academy! Yea for me! At the end of the day, if you run out of time to go looking for these items, then a 96 |

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coupleof packages of AA batteries (something that hunters need constantly), and a few gift certificates to Bass Pro or Academy outdoor stores would be outstanding! Now for some nice gift ideas. Wild Game Innovations has many outdoor stealth cameras to choose from. They take excellent pictures and have the time of day stamped on the photo. They are very user friendly, and the batteries seem to last the entire hunting season. The black flash will not spook the game at all. As a matter of fact, I have a picture of a nice nine-point buck making a scrape and then chewing on the braches above the scrape. He stayed right there while the camera just kept taking pictures. RealTree has some EZ hangers for any hunter in the field. Not only do they make a hanger that will hold your bow or rifle, they also carry one that will hold your crossbow in place ready to use at any time. RealTree has even developed an EZ hanger that will hold a camera. They also have one for your phone just in case you want to try filming your own hunt. How cool is that? Good optics are a must for hunters. It might be a spotting scope, a good pair of binoculars or a real nice scope for your rifle. Without a decent scope, you might miss the buck of your dreams, leaving you with the nightmare of a lifetime. Miss one big boy like that, and you will see him and relive that shot every night for months—maybe longer. There are many quality brands out there. Leupold is a favorite of mine, but I was recently introduced to a company called STYKA and was pleasantly surprised. Their binoculars are amazing, and the variable STYKA scope brings the game in nice and close and clear as a bell even in low light. For the bowhunters, Leupold has a new range finder that fits right on your bow. They call it the Vendetta 2. I have tried one, and I have to say that it’s extremely accurate. Once it’s calibrated on your bow, you pull your bowstring back and place your 20-yard pin on the target, no matter how far it is. Then T E X A S

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press the button that you have already mounted on your bow and you will have a read-out showing the exact distance to your target. A good range finder is a must for any bowhunter and this one is, by far, the best one I have seen. Here is a great gift— a nice backpack. With all the gear and gadgets that hunters carry (including a thermos of coffee), a backpack is almost a necessity. Alps Mountaineering has one they call the Crossfire X and another named Pursuit X. Both are extra roomy and even have a place to carry your bow or gun—and a thermos of coffee. They come equipped with a hydrator and a rain cover conveniently tucked in a pouch on the bottom of the pack. They are both loaded with many different zippered compartments to hold just about anything your heart desires. Did I mention you need to bring coffee? If you want something BIG under that tree this year, then maybe a big decoy from Flambeau would be perfect. One of the main reasons we like to go hunting in the first place is to have fun and hunting with a decoy is really fun. Combine scents with a decoy, and you can fool the wariest buck in the county. I have seen big boys travel a 300-yard field just to get nice and close to what he thinks is his new sweetheart. Big or small, there are many things to choose from that would make any hunter smile on Christmas morning. I want to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. My wish for all hunters is to have fun and hunt safe out there.

Email Lou Marullo at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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11/2/16 5:24 PM

Open SEASON by REAVIS Z. WORTHAM :: TF&G Humor Editor

Of Bucks and Bacon

RONG WILLIE, BIG JAKE, and I arrived at the Quanah lease with high expectations. The ranch we’re working on is alive with game, and we all wanted different things. Big Jake was after a distinctive eight-point that’d been hanging around his stand. I’d seen the same buck two weeks earlier. His antlers rose high before spreading beyond the deer’s ears and Big Jake wanted him for his wall. “I’ve never shot a buck that looks like that.” “You’ve never shot a buck,” I reminded my 6-foot 8-inch son-in-law. In order to meet his eye and establish my age-appropriate dominance, I had to tilt my head up and squint to see him up there. “Well, then. You don’t have to say it like that.” While Big Jake wanted the big buck, I’d seen a 12-point near my stand, but didn’t hold out much hope for success. He’d only shown himself once, during the rut when lust had overcome common sense, and he was chasing a doe across a plowed field. I wanted either a Lifetime Buck, or a doe for the freezer—nothing in between. We were out of venison, and the War Department frequently reminded me that I was going to the lease and coming back with nothing but a lot of mud on the truck and sandburs stuck in my pants. She put it this way. “Hey, Great White Hunter, forget the horns and shoot us some meat.” She’s direct that way. Wrong Willie on the other hand had his own ideas of a successful weekend. First, he wanted to get away from the house—check. Second, he wanted to eat bacon. Jan won’t let him have bacon at home, so he makes up for it on the lease. I was settled into my pop-up ground blind

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on Friday evening. Instead of hunting where I usually went, I let Big Jake have my old location because that’s where “High 8” lived. I settled into the new surroundings, laid the .243 across my knees and looked up to see High 8 standing right in front of me, not 40 yards away, offering a perfect shot. He was Big Jake’s deer, so I passed, cataloging that evening two six-points, a four-point, and two dozen does, all too young to shoot, three coveys of quail, and one big gobbler that flickered through a shelter belt without offering me a shot. Shelter belts are common in that part of Texas. Two rows of trees separated by about 20 yards of open land were planted during the Dust Bowl Days to block the wind. The belts defining individual pastures have aged well to provide excellent shelter and highways for game animals. Big Jake only saw a spike, but High 8 had drifted past Willie’s rifle muzzle just before dark. Willie fried acres of bacon Saturday morning, and we set out for our stands once again, burping hardwood smoke. I’d switched places with Big Jake so he could shoot High 8. I settled in before dawn. As the sun rose, High 8 came by with a six-point in tow. He stopped to offer me a shot he probably knew I wouldn’t take and left. By that time I think High 8 liked the smell of bacon coming off my clothes. Three coveys of quail moved by that morning, all driven away by does, but none that I wanted to shoot. I was waiting for a big, mature doe instead of a skinny little girl. Back at lunch, Willie eyed the cooler. “What are we having?” “Not bacon.” “I have bread. We can have bacon sandwiches.” “We had bacon for breakfast this morning, and we’ll have it again tomorrow. No.” “Well, I like bacon, as much as I liked seeing High 8 come by again this morning.” We high-fived to taunt Big Jake who sighed. “I only saw that spike again.” Willie settled for a ham sandwich. “Take my

stand tonight. You can shoot him then.” We were back in the stands by three that afternoon. Willie switched with Jake, and I moved again. High 8 came by, and I began to worry that we were forming some kind of relationship. A big doe finally stepped into the open. I took the shot, and my phone immediately lit up with texts from Big Jake. Did you shoot High 8? No. A doe. See High 8? Yes. Willie texted. What did you shoot? High 8 is in front of me. Are you eating a bacon sandwich? Yes. The next morning found Willie frying all the bacon he had left, which was two pounds. “Bacon sandwiches this morning.” I frowned. “All we have left is that dry foofoo artisan bread full of rosemary that your wife bought. It’s inedible. Tell her men like plain white bread, and besides, there’s no tomatoes, lettuce, or mayonnaise.” “Bacon on bread.” “It won’t be toasted.” He slapped several strips onto the foul bread. “It’s a new kind of bacon sandwich.” Burping bacon and rosemary in my stand which was again in a different location, I watched High 8 wander past. I gave him a friendly wave and Willie saw him an hour later. Big Jake, back in his original stand, enjoyed a spar between a four and six-point. My son-in-law is learning about life as my arteries harden. I’ll probably die from Wrong Willie’s bacon and leave High 8 in my will to Big Jake. It’s a shame, because I’m beginning to like that guy…High 8, I mean.

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Email Reavis Wortham at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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11/2/16 5:24 PM

BASS Bastrop

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Krystle Aultman caught and released these two bass, back to back, while ﬁshing in the Bastrop area. They put up a good ﬁght, but she brought them both in, using natural bait.

Lake Conroe William Pipkins caught seven-pound, 21-inch hybrid striped bass at Lake Conroe.

WHITETAIL Kinney County Nine-year-old Brogan Walters, shot his ﬁrst buck, a ninepointer that ﬁeld dressed 140 pounds. His Dad, David guided Brogan who made a perfect shot with his 22/250. The ranch, managed under an MLP is located near Spofford in Kinney County.

TURKEY Rocksprings Eleven-year-old Jonathan Holland, son of Nathan and Karen Holland, killed this turkey in Rocksprings on a hunt with his mom. The hunt was guided by Brady Helwig.

RED SNAPPER Freeport This is 37 year old David Fletcher with the very first fish he ever caught. He caught the red snapper (estimated 15 pounds) on a speed jig approximately 50 miles offshore, out of Freeport. He was fishing aboard Not Guilty Pleasure, a private vessel owned and captained by Donlee Smith, a longtime friend from college.

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GOLDEN CROAKER Galveston This is Mason Bates, age 5, who caught his very first fish in Galveston at the fishing pier on Seawall and 89th street. Dad and big brother Logan were with him to help. The fish was released.

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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.

BASS New Braunfels Six-year-old Mateo Martinez caught this big bass at River Acre Park in New Braunfels. He was ﬁshing with his dad, Juan Martinez, who wishes he’d been more prepared for such a big ﬁsh so he could have weighed and measured it.

BASS Sam Rayburn Five-year-old Lane Baker of Colmesneil caught this 5.12-pound bass on Lake Sam Rayburn while ﬁshing with his Dad and Uncle Scott.

COYOTE San Saba County “Coyote Ninja” Lane Dahse took out this predator while hunting in San Saba County with dad Rob Dahse.

HALIBUT British Columbia Morgan Williams of Houston with the catch of a lifetime, a 90-pound halibut he caught on a trip at Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

REDFISH Undisclosed Gary Ivy caught this bull red after a long day being called the “King of the Hardheads.” It was the catch and release of the day.

WHITETAIL Gregg County Taylor Campbell killed her ﬁrst 8 point buck, 144 4/8, in Gregg County on a property that is MLD Level 3. She shot the deer at approximately 100 yards with a 6.8mm Thompson Center ﬁrearm.

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