Texas Fish & Game August 2019 by Texas Fish & Game

Line Drive:

When Fluorocarbon Counts

August 2019 | $3.95

Getting Ready for a Big Fall

www.FishGame.com

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Pause for Jaws on the Grayfin Express

Avoiding Heat Stroke in the Outdoors

Texas White-Wings on the Move 7/11/19 2:42 PM

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Inside FISH & GAME www.FishGame.com Published by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. TEXAS FISH & GAME is the largest independent, family-owned outdoor publication in America. Owned by Ron & Stephanie Ward and Roy & Ardia Neves.

by ROY and ARDIA NEVES TF&G Owners

ROY AND ARDIA NEVES PUBLISHERS

Getting Schooled

CHESTER MOORE EDITOR IN CHIEF

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

S THIS ISSUE GOES TO PRESS, WE WILL BE IN FORT WORTH AT THE TEXAS Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention. Then, as the mail trucks are delivering the issue to homes across Texas, we will be in Corpus Christi at the annual conference of the Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas (VATAT). Attending these gatherings has been an annual event for TEXAS FISH & GAME since the early 1990s. In fact, we’ve been sharing our outdoors content with ag teachers and students so long that there are now 20-year veteran teachers who remember reading FISH & GAME in their classes when they were students. We’ve written about our partnership with Texas ag teachers a number of times. The centerpiece of the partnership is a classroom subscription program that we developed for the Wildlife and Recreation Management Course that ag departments began offering almost thirty years ago. The course not only provides education on wildlife and the many ways available for Texans to enjoy those resources, but it also gives students an opportunity to obtain their hunter safety certificate while taking the course. As we have written, the course was wildly popular from the beginning. In fact, the hunter safety component was responsible for attracting a wave of non-ag students. After three decades, the class has remained highly popular. At the conferences each year, as we renew existing class subscriptions and sign up new teachers, it is not unusual for the student counts for a single school to exceed 100. We have 750 schools in the program now, and expect to add another hundred to two hundred schools this year. This enables us to reach more than 40,000 students each semester. Because it is a one-semester class, that means that each year we are exposing our outdoor content to more than 80,000 Texas young people. Another 200 schools will get us in front of more than 100,000 students. In a crazy world where people across multi-generational divides continue to retreat further and further into the isolated confines of their mobile devices, where virtual reality becomes more and more attractive than genuine reality, and where, in such a disruptive cultural environment hunting and fishing seem destined for irrelevance, we have found a spark of hope that there are large numbers of young people who still want a connection to the outdoors, in a real and meaningful way. For as long as we have been nurturing this bond with teachers and students, the fishing and hunting industries have been bemoaning the “inevitable” shrinking of their universes and preaching the need to recruit youth to the sports. “Take a Kid Fishing” has been an industry-promoted directive and rallying cry for decades now. Youth hunts and special youth seasons have been used to recruit young people to the gun sports. High school bass fishing has become a successful interscholastic sport across the country. Despite these laudable efforts, the declines in participation numbers continue, unabated. Which is why, year after year, we keep getting new shots of adrenaline with our annual excursions to the FFA and VATAT gatherings. If there is a future for fishing and hunting, the heart of it lies in these organizations and with these groups of kids. They represent the nucleus of enthusiasm for traditional outdoors sports. As agriculture students and FFA members, you would expect these kids to be inclined toward traditional interests such as fishing and hunting. But it is also affirming to see the diversity of ethnic and geo-demographic makeup of the students. Some of the highest class counts we sign up each year come from some of Texas’s larger inner city schools. Outdoor industry leaders continue their appeals and warnings about the need to recruit new blood to the ranks of anglers and hunters. Well, we’re doing it in great numbers here in Texas... helping educate 80,000 future sportsmen every school year. And we’re doing it with hardly any support from our own industry. Imagine what we could accomplish with this enormous opportunity if we could get the industry behind it. We’ll keep you posted on that.

E-mail Roy at rneves@ﬁshgame.com and Ardia at aneves@ﬁshgame.com

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TEXAS FISH & GAME (ISSN 0887-4174) is published monthly by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC., 247 Airtex Dr. Houston, TX 77090. ©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 $24.95; 2 years $42.95; 3 years $58.95. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 247 Airtex Dr. Houston, TX 77090. 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, 247 Airtex Dr. Houston, TX 77090. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 247 Airtex Dr. Houston, TX 77090. Email change of address to: subscriptions@fishgame.com. Email new orders to: subscriptions@fishgame.com. Email subscription questions to: subscriptions@fishgame.com. Periodical postage paid at Houston, TX 77267-9946 and at additional mailing offices.

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Contents August 2019 | Vol. 36 • No. 4

FEATURE ARTICLES

THE GRAYFIN EXPRESS Wade-fishing in the surf, anglers are also treading on prime shark turf.

by Joe Doggett

COVER STORY BIG HORN HEROES How hunters are saving America’s wild sheep, with a look at just how wide their range is, from California, the Rocky Mountain states, and into Texas.

by CHESTER MOORE

Pike on the Edge by DOUG PIKE

Bare Bones Hunting

Texas Tactical

Bass University

Editor’s Notes

Texas Boating

LINE DRIVE What are the advantages of fluorocarbon, and when and where is it best used?

TF&G Report • 34 The News of the Nation

by LOU MARULLO

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by PETE ROBBINS

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Hotshots 34 Texas Action Photos Focus 36 Coastal Columns 46 Texas Hotspots 52 Sportsman’s Daybook Tides & Prime Fishing Times

DEPARTMENTS

by DUSTIN ELLERMANN

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Ten common-sense tips to keep you from getting overheated in the outdoors.

TEXAS OUTDOOR NATION

by Chester Moore

by LENNY RUDOW

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HEAT STROKE IN THE OUTDOORS by Dustin Vaughn Warncke

COLUMNS

Once limited to the Rio Grande Valley, white-winged dove now roam all over Texas.

by Matt Williams

story and cover photo by Chester Moore

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WHITE-WINGS IN TEXAS

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by TFG Readers

Ready for Fall Special Section

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Outdoor Directory Fish & Game Photos by TFG Readers

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LETTERS to the Editor Bass Eat Bass JUST READ YOUR ARTICLE IN THE May 2019 issue of Texas Fish & Game Magazine (“Texas Freshwater” by Matt Williams). The title caught my eye. As you can see from the pictures attached we have had the same experience.

the correct terminology. It would lend more credence to the article.

Doug Haas Deer Park, Texas DO IT AGAIN. NEXT TIME WITH comparative photos. Help protect snakes from being killed due to anti-snake hysteria.

Ed Chaney Laguna Vista, Texas Editor’s Note: This article was a very timely reprinting of a TFG article at fishgame.com and it got great response. We will be doing some special animal identification stories there coming up. Snakes are first up so sign up for our e-newsletter at fishgame.com to keep up.

Neither of these fish were hooked, they were spotted at the surface of the water. My friend slowly trolled over to see what exactly was happening and found these two fish. He was able to capture and separate them. The larger fish was a 6 pounder and the smaller was 4lbs. Both were successfully released back into the lake. These pictures are from 2015 in a private club lake near Athens Texas.

Flounder Revelation IT WAS MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I met Chester Moore the editor of Texas Fish & Game Magazine. He had a dream he was working on at that time, a dream that many others could not see nor agree with. What was that dream you ask? Well Chester wanted to bring back the flounder population and was working hard chasing every angle and selling his dream and ideas to others. Now back in the late ’90s early 2000s flounder were scarce and the old huge females we called saddle blankets were far and few in-between. I remember back in the ’70s when we could fish the beach along the Bolivar Peninsula with cane poles and catch flounders without getting in ankle deep water. I haven’t seen flounder fishing like that since. Well Chester pushed and crusaded until his dream came to light. New flounder bag limits and sizes were passed. It was then a lot of others tried to take credit for all of Chester’s hard work. Also a lot of anglers were upset with the new bag limits and sizes. Chester got a lot of flack on one end and glory on the other. But even when his glory

Mike Leamon

Joe’s Snake ID GREAT ARTICLE JOE D! VERY TIMEly, they are really active right now. Through the years I have really enjoyed your writings, and encourage you to please keep it up!

Bob Crow Hillsboro, Texas I LOVED THE ARTICLE YOU WROTE and wish more people would relocate them rather than kill them. I just wish you had used venomous or non-venomous in place of poisonous or non-poisonous, since that is 6

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was being stolen by others he kept his head high and leaned on God to find his way through and that he did. Since the new regulations were passed within a few years we saw a great shift in the flounder populations. There’s so much more to this story, and I’ve left out so many details to keep it short, but I cannot give enough praise to this man, Chester Moore. He loves the great outdoors and he really cares. The proof is standing right under our noses. I wrote this today because I heard that on Stewart Beach in Galveston kids were catching thumb-size flounder with their hands from the beach and today my son caught a small flounder about the size of your palm from the beach at SeaRim State Park in Sabine Pass. I thought I’d never see the day we could catch flounder from the beach again, but one man started a movement that rallied into many who helped to make it all possible. In a few more years I hope to bring my grandsons back to Sea Rim solely to target flounders from the shoreline like I did as a child. Thank you Mr. Moore.

Marcus Heﬂin Editor: Wow. Thank you for your kind words. I definitely kicked the flounder snowball off the hill and did my best to keep it rolling, but there are many others such as the folks at Sea Center Texas, different biologists at TPWD and UTMSI and CCA officials who did much as well. But it has definitely been a passion of mine. I can’t thank you enough for recognizing that. Flounder numbers are still stressed due to climatic issues. That will have to be addressed at some point, but if the regulations had not changed we would be in dire trouble with flounder. Let’s hope one day the beaches are loaded with flounders, and we can all gather together to fish from the bank and enjoy free, quality flounder fishing access. God bless!

Email your comments to: editor@ﬁshgame.com

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

Feral Hogs Invade the North

EEING A FERAL HOG IN thick snow was surreal to me. I had seen thousands in swamps, cactus thickets and rocky canyons in Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida, but seeing one bust out from behind a tree on a snow-covered hill in Michigan was wild. This was back in 2001; just 20 years after the first feral hogs were spotted in Michigan. Now they are in virtually every county in the state. The feral hog issue is definitely most pronounced in the South but hogs are becoming increasingly common in the North. A decade ago I did an interview with a radio station in New Jersey because they had just opened a hog hunting. The host wanted advice about how to deal with these invasive exotics. If states on the northern tier of their range in America do not take action, hogs will gain a permanent foothold above the MasonDixon line. Some states have taken an unusual stance on dealing with hogs. They have made hunting them illegal. It seems counterintuitive to eliminate a potential method of removing many hogs. In states such as New York, Minnesota and Kansas, they reason that the spread of feral hogs has had much to do with ranches that put them behind high fences for hunting. Hogs of course escape and the population outside the fence spreads. I have no doubt this has contributed greatly to the spread of hogs in my native Texas and have written on this here in Texas Fish & Game. It’s a bizarre idea to prohibit a hunter who is out to seek deer, for example, from killing a hog when at the end of the day, state officials will have to kill hogs to stop their spread. 8

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The author photographed this hog in a snow-covered forest in Michigan in 2000.

Perhaps simply banning importing them or transporting live pigs would be better. It will be interesting to see how management of hogs changes as they multiply. Will states that ban hunting hogs see success in their fight against this foreign invader? Or will they have to change their tactics? I predicted the urban areas of the country would see a huge increase in hogs including gigantic ones. We are seeing that unfold at this very moment. I am now predicting the following regarding hogs: • Within a decade every state in the Northeast will have growing hog populations, perhaps with the exception of Maine. If you give hogs remote areas in which to prosper, they can go virtually undetected for a while. That will give them a chance to breed enough to usurp standard control practices. • The push to poison hogs will continue. Texas hunters and wildlife lovers resisted that a few years back, but there are now studies going on now that use sodium nitrite, which has been employed in Australia in the past. I predict if Texas hunters put up a fight again, we’ll see northern states give the green light to “experimental” poisoning. that will pave the way for a more open door on this practice in the United States. |

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• Hog hunting prices will continue to increase in Texas. As landowners complain about too many hogs on their property, many of them will keep raising the price of hunting. So are hogs a problem on their property? or only a problem if they are not marketable? I feel for landowners who have done their best to contain hogs, but not so much for those who charge $1,000 for a hog hunt, then wonder why they can’t kill enough to lessen the damage on their properties. • Cities will go to extreme measures to eliminate hogs. Several already allow hunters with dogs to take them out. Who would have thought any major city would allow something that could potentially get animal rights activists so worked up? I guess in the long run some solutions can only be found through a hunter who actually has a clue about how things work and has a nice pack of cur dogs. These highly adaptive swine have proved they can thrive in the face of great pressure from hunters, professional hog trappers and even growing urbanization. The feral hog invasion of the north continues. It will take intensive action and focused management to stop their forward momentum.

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@ﬁshgame.com PHOTO: CHESTER MOORE

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

Fishing Lure Rehab

F YOU WAIT LONG ENOUGH, OLD almost always becomes new. That’s true with haircuts, cars, baseball bats—and fishing lures. As a fisherman and baseball coach, I get asked on a regular basis whether old lures will still catch fish, or old bats will still clobber baseballs. The answer to both questions is always the same. “Yes, if you put them in the game.” Whether those old lures have lived out the past 10 or 20 years in a forgotten corner of the garage, they came your way via inheritance, or you found them at a garage sale, fishing lures are fishing lures. Every one of them, with a little attention, can be knotted up and put right back into action. That lure potentially will work as well or better—I’ll explain why later—than it did originally. To be clear, this is not to say that junk isn’t junk. A lure that’s been battered and beaten and broken is ripe for disposal. The packrats among us might remove reusable hardware before chucking an old plug into the garbage can, but as a rule, keep the treasures and toss the trash without overthinking which is which. If you’re a fisherman, and your eyes still see “fishy” when you look down at an old plug or spoon or spinnerbait in your open palm, then yes, keep it. Throw it, and it will catch fish. The resurrection process should begin with a cleaning, but don’t go to all that trouble for individual lures. Wait until you’ve got a pile. Then set aside an honest hour to breathe new PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

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monofilament on a bulky reel and heavy fiberglass rod? I do. Those points didn’t find purchase nearly so often as do today’s super-sharp hooks tied to braided line and yanked home by a strong, lightning-fast rod. My good friend Joe Doggett still has a soft spot for all the old tackle. I’m lucky enough to be 10 years his junior and not so nostalgic for direct-drive reels and stainless-steel rods and water-sopping Dacron line. My thumb rode the spools of free-turning levelwinds, and I have no desire to go retro except out past the end of the rod. In each of my tackle boxes, some lures haven’t yet seen their first out-of-package birthdays, Other lures might be creeping up on half my age, which means they’ve probably earned at least two fresh sets of hooks and hardware. Plenty of the remaining fall somewhere between those two extremes. On the right tide or wind or water condition, cloudy or clear, any one of those lures might speak to me as “the one” that needs to be on the line. New lures are rookies. They made the team and showed lots of potential. Maybe they even had some playing time on other teams, but they have no track record with me. At the other end, beyond all the middle ground on the bench, they are the veterans, a little longer in the tooth and maybe a step slower. But with two outs in the ninth, game tied and a runner in scoring position, I’ll always send to the plate—or over the water—the one most likely to get me a hit.

life into that stack of old baits. You’ll need a container of soapy water, a container of clean water, a toothbrush, maybe a little toothpaste for heavier grime. Add a roll of paper towels or stack of old handkerchiefs, and the tools to remove whatever hardware is on the plug or spoon. The cleaning of a plug destined for fishing as opposed to display is simple and shouldn’t require explanation to this audience. Remove the dirt, dry the lure, then either reattach or replace its hardware. If you like the color, leave it. If you think the bait would look better with dots or lines or red gills or a tail dip—or whatever else would instill confidence in you—paint it. Or let your kids paint a few, then show them the fish you caught on their creations.

Fishermen who are old enough or smart enough (or both) to recognize the perpetual value of spoons, can bring even the filthiest ones back to life with a good scrubbing. Once those spoons are cleaned, they can be kept that way longer, thanks to a tip from mid-coast kayaker Camille Null. Use a clear coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. When I earlier mentioned those old lures working better than in their original form, the reference was to advancements in hardware and reels, and the enhanced sensitivity of contemporary rods and lines. Remember trying to set the hooks of a big topwater plug down a long cast of stretchy T E X A S

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« Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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T TEN THOUSAND FEET, THE world seems radically different than it does below. This is especially true for someone like me who lives at an elevation of 10 feet, literally one thousand times lower than the place I found myself last June. My senses, however, felt a thousand times more alive than ever despite physical exhaustion from thin air and trekking up and down the mountains. It seemed despite two days of walking, driving, hiking and glassing mountainsides a personal dream of mine would remain elusive.

And then out of the corner of my eye, he appeared. A bighorn ram emerged from the edge of a steep slope and made its way toward me. I have encountered mountain lions, bears, monster whitetails, and even great white sharks in the wild but nothing compared to this. Through the lens of my camera, I was looking at the most majestic game animal in North America-the bighorn sheep. This beautiful rocky mountain ram grazed near the slopeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge and was joined by a smaller ram shortly. For a solid hour, I was within 30 yards of the animal that has fascinated me since childhood, and I am not sure I will ever be the same.

Photographing this Rocky Mountain bighorn was a dream come true for the author.

PHOTO: CHESTER MOORE

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America’s Wild Sheep and Their Range DESERT BIGHORN: This native of the Southwest is present from Mexico to the South, across the four corners into northern Nevada. They inhabit high desert with extremely trying conditions for hunters and sheep to survive. ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN: The sheep with the largest range is the Rocky Mountain bighorn. They not only inhabit the mountains of Colorado, Montana and Canada but are also found in Nebraska and recently reinhabiting parts of Oklahoma. They can be found on the highest peaks and in the valleys and are an icon used on everything from trucks to sports uniforms. DALL SHEEP: Found only in Alaska and Western Canada this snow-white sheep is as beautiful as its epic landscape. Hunters who have pursued them say not to let the white color fool you because they may be a little easier to glass than other sheep but nothing else is easy about hunting them. STONE SHEEP: Found only in British Columbia and the Yukon these sheep have a unique coloration part bighorn and part

Dall. Currently scientists are debating their exact makeup but for sheep hunters this may be the hardest to get and is most likely the most revered in North America due to its beauty and rarity. CALIFORNIA BIGHORN: This relatively little known subspecies of the bighorn ranges in the arid high country of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia. They have been the subject of some controversy over their population status in recent years.

« The Dall sheep of Alaska lives in some of the most remote habitat in North America.

It was surreal. It was emotional, and it was inspiring. North America has four main varieties of wild sheep-the Rocky Mountain bighorn, desert bighorn, stone sheep and Dall sheep. These make up the “Grand Slam”, a hunting quest few can endure or afford, but many hunters apply for sheep permits in western states in an attempt to at least get close to these mountain monarchs.

Drastic Decline & Radical Comeback

Across North America, current estimates of all wild sheep are 170,000 to 190,000, with over 50 percent being Dall’s and Stone sheep in Alaska, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon. Perhaps the greatest sheep comeback back is the desert bighorn of Texas. By 1960 the last native bighorn had disappeared from their Trans-Pecos habitat in the remote mountains, and fledgling efforts to translocate sheep from other states met with resistance from nature-especially mountain lions. But officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) persisted, and a group of hunters formed a Texas chapter of the Foundation For North American

According to Gray Thornton, President of the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) there were around two million wild sheep in North America before European settlement of the West. “Sheep numbers plummeted for a variety of reasons including diseases transmitted from domestic sheep, unregulated hunting and habitat loss, reaching their low point in the 1950s at around 25,000 in all of North America,” he said. Now according to Thornton through cooperative efforts by western fish & game agencies and conservation organizations like WSF, bighorn sheep now number more than 80,000 in the western U.S. and Canada. 12

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Wild Sheep (now WSF) that eventually merged into the Texas Bighorn Society. From raising funds to create a breeding area for sheep in the Sierra Diablos to helping organize translocation efforts, these groups and others have overseen a Texas sheep population that moved from few to 1,500 in 50 years. But officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) persisted, and a group of hunters formed what is now the Texas Bighorn Society. They, along with other hunter-conservationist groups, have helped bring these great animals back to huntable numbers. “It’s an incredible comeback. And as long as we keep pushing forward great things can PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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PHOTO: TPWD

These bighorn sheep are part of Texas’s growing population that is beginning to thrive in the Trans Pecos region.

continue happening for desert bighorn sheep in Texas,” said Froylan Hernandez, TPWD” s desert bighorn sheep program leader. Hernandez said sheep hunters are passionate and give back more than they take. “They really care about these animals and prove it with their efforts and generosity.”

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According to WSF officials, more than 22,000 sheep throughout North America have been translocated since programs began 90 years ago. This represents 1,500 separate trasnslocation operations which have recently proved to not only increase bighorn numbers but boost genetic diversity

among wild sheep. They estimate the per sheep cost of these efforts is $4,700. That breaks down as follows. • Net-gun Trap & Transplant $800 • Diagnostic Lab & Disease Testing $400 • Store on Board GPS collar $3,500

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Home Grown Bighorn Support

N 1981, A SMALL GROUP OF BIGHORN SUPPORTERS formed the Texas Chapter of FNAWS (Foundation for North American Wild Sheep) and the Texas Bighorn Society, and began an intense lobbying effort to obtain support for the re-introduction effort in the Texas Legislature and with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. These two groups later merged under the auspices of the Texas Bighorn Society. Their efforts garnered the support of House Speaker Gib Lewis, TPWD Commissioner Perry Bass, Director Charles

Travis, and others for refunding the bighorn sheep program. TBS is dedicated to returning bighorns to all their native ranges in the state, which would take the current numbers of 1,500 bighorns closer to 3000 of these desert monarchs. All money raised from membership dues and our annual Roundup Weekend and Auction is used exclusively to help return desert bighorns to the mountains and people of Texas. For more information go to www.Texasbighornsociety.org

TPWD’s leadership along with the vision of the Texas Bighorn Society and help from the Wild Sheep Foundation, Dallas Safari Club and others have helped make this a modern-day conservation success story of epic proportions. But the future is uncertain. It will take a broader awareness of their presence in the arid Trans Pecos to support things like proper domestic sheep grazing practices, so their diseases do not impact the easily infected bighorns. This license plate, along with the media blitz that has introduced it will go a long way and creating a path for bighorns to find their way into the mainstream Texas wildlife consciousness.

WSF’s “Take One, Put One Back” program allows hunters to make a donation when buying a permit or a sheep hunt, drawing a special sheep permit, taking a sheep or just to “put a sheep on the mountain.” Hunters have helped bighorns in many unique ways and a recently adopted program allows anyone of any income level to participate in sheep conservation actively.

License For Bighorns

The desert bighorn sheep is now officially a celebrity in Texas. A new conservation license plate features a stunning bighorn image, and those who purchase them for $30 get the satisfaction of knowing $22 goes directly to sheep conservation efforts of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). The new plate design is a first for TPWD.

Free Wild Sheep School Curriculum

F&G EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHESTER Moore and his wife Lisa have founded the Conservation Classroom to help bring cutting-edge wildlife education to home school families as well as other students across America. They are giving away a full month-long

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North American Wild Sheep curriculum to any educator whether home, private or public school. TEXAS FISH & GAME sends out weekly lessons to more than 750 public school teachers and in August these will be sent to these educators. “We love wild sheep in the Moore household and we want to educate young

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New generations must learn of these magnificent animals and be inspired to help them. There is no question however the greatest help will come from hunters. And while Texas bighorns offer one of America’s rarest hunting opportunities, there are opportunities. Annually around 15 permits are issued most of which go to private landowners who have sheep on their properties. Other tags go to the Texas Bighorn Society, Wild Sheep Foundation and Texas Wildlife Association to auction off. Most of the funds come back directly to bighorn conservation efforts. The Texas Bighorn Society auction in July 2019 set its all time record for a Texas tag at $155,00 while the coveted

people about these great animals. This is our gift to wild sheep and to kids who love wildlife,” said Lisa Moore. “We’re super excited to be able to give this away when Texas Fish & Game starts sending out its weekly lessons in August. Roy and Ardia Neves have been visionaries in partnering with public schools and this is a little something we want to do to not only help wildlife but honor them for their hard and often unnoticed work in this area,” she said. To get the curriculum email chester@ chestermoore.com.

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PHOTO: CHASE MOUNTAIN/TPWD

In this 2010 photo you see one of 40 desert bighorn sheep that were being captured at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area using a helicopter, then moved by trailer to Big Bend Ranch State Park. It was the ﬁrst bighorn reintroduction at a Texas state park and was part of a growing history of reintroductions from Texas bighorn stocks that has paid big dividends.

Rocky Mountain bighorn tags have fetched upwards of $300,000. Sheep hunters spend big when conservation is the goal. For the rest of us, there are at least two opportunities through the Big Time Texas Hunts raffle system which offers a Texas

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bighorn, mule deer, pronghorn and whitetail and a separate bighorn only drawing. The chances are slim, but there is a chance. Just like the limited time I had to spend in the mountains last June to photograph bighorns, these animals can seem totally out

of reach, but hunters draw permits every year and about 50 percent of the Texas rams taken quality for the Boone & Crockett record book. A ram appeared from the edge of possibility for me, and it is possible to draw a permit here or in other states. It is good for hunters to have things that are difficult to obtain to remind us that nature can still offer the challenge of a lifetime. Even drawing a permit guarantees nothing, as sheep hunting is the most challenging of all challenges in North America. They are wary and inhabit places that push everyone to their physical and mental limits. Their conservation story and pursuit by hunters represent the best of what hunting can be. Even if we never participate in it, we can dream. And maybe that’s why bighorns are so revered. They represent the dreams of hunters both fulfilled and unfulfilled and move us to do what is best for all wildlife and its habitat.

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HE SNOOK WAS WHIPPED. I was wading waist-deep along the edge of a channel in the (aptly named) Shark River country of the Everglades. The shining silver and yellow fish weighed five or six pounds, small for the region, but big in the eyes of a Texas plugger. I raised the rod tip and the snook slid with bristling fins across the tannin-stained surface. The black lateral line was plainly visible. My right hand reached to clamp the mean lower lip. The open jaws of a bull shark materialized—simply raged from nowhere. I was looking straight into the incoming maw and blunt snout three or four feet from my extended fingers. The six-foot shark slammed into the snook, chopping it cleanly in a semi-circle just behind the gills. I felt the wash of the big fish as its momentum carried past my legs.

I yelled and backpedaled into shin-deep water. I remained in shin-deep water the remainder of the day. The fact remains that the jacked-up bull shark could have missed the snook and hit my outstretched hand or, startled, slashed out and ripped a serious chunk from my calf or thigh. Sharks scare me. This is because, as lifetime wader and surfer, I am repeatedly invading their element. They are out there. But I can’t quit; I am drawn to the wildness, the openness of the surf. But sharks scare me. The fact that specialized heavy-tackle anglers occasionally catch huge tigers, bulls, even hammerheads, from the Texas surf does little to console this fear. Probably my closest encounter with a big shark occurred at the Chandeleur Islands—and I never even saw the brute. Longtime friend David Boyles and I were wading waistdeep along the channel on the upper end of the old (pre-Katrina) Curlew Island. The late-afternoon tide was running and low sun glare shimmered across the surface. I insisted my old partner take the lead—not because I am such a nice guy but because his stringer most likely would draw first fire from any incoming predator. We each had several specks on our long stringers. The proper heavy cord surf stringer is rigged with a cork, allowing the wader to slide caught fish to the far end to bobble near the surface.

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Boyles hooked another trout, and I sidled closer, figuring to help him out if a school was within reach. His stringer hung straight in the flow; the cork was about 10 feet from him, but only three or four feet in front of me. A monstrous swirl boiled from the glare and engulfed the softball-sized cork. Boyles and I bolted for the shallows. In his wake trailed the empty stringer, cut cleanly a foot or so from the cork. The float and three strung trout were gone. On the subject of the Chandeleurs, the most aggressive shark that I recall chased a hooked fish onto the dry beach. I was wading knee-deep on one of the barrier sandbars. A three-pound skipjack snatched my silver spoon and ran like a bonefish and jumped like a baby tarpon—a terrific game fish that doesn’t get enough credit. Then, abruptly, the “ladyfish” reversed course and ran straight at me. A five-foot, mustard-colored lemon shark streaked in attack. The ladyfish shot scant yards past my rod and launched with a wash of foam onto the beach. The lemon followed, grabbing the luckless skipjack amid a scatter of sand and shells. Then it thrashed back into the water and vanished.

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Sharks feeding in shallows will grab ﬂies and plugs as well as strung ﬁsh.

The line was cut. I stood speechless, having just watched a shark feed on dry sand behind me. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that a lemon shark with all its flags flying is not a serious predator. These are among the memorable close encounters. There have been others. But keep in mind this record encompasses more than

50 years of coastal wading; the chances of encountering a shark on a given day are slim. The odds of getting bitten—let alone killed—along the Texas coast are extremely low. In fact, drowning is a far greater risk. At least three swimmers were lost during a siege of rough surf during May. To my knowledge, not even a Band-Aid has been required to cover any Texas shark encounters during 2019,although a swimmer recently was attacked and killed off Maui, Hawaii. Most inshore sharks are in the surf, but primary bays can attract them. This is especially true near major passes and channels feeding the Gulf. Once, while I dragged a trout-laden stringer back to the anchored boat across a thigh-deep Matagorda Bay flat, my cord yanked tight. I staggered and spun to see the pale belly of a six- or seven-foot blacktip rolling up under the cork. The shark snatched a two-pound speck, then rolled again and took another one. Then it cruised casually from view. The fact that I was at least 100 yards from the center console and three more fish remained on the cord, did little to lower my pulse rate.

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My most recent encounter with the Grayfin Express—again in the surf—was last July off Surfside Beach, near Freeport. A green tide was on the beach. Rickey Morris and I were wading along the second bar and casting plugs into the head-high gut. I drew a hard strike then the line went slack. The 30-pound shock leader was cut cleanly, and my classic old Bingo Flash was gone. Several yards away, Morris got a heavy strike and “stayed stuck.” The fish fought in a wide circle, then worked close. It was a three-foot shark with a sharp snout—a spinner, I think. The surf was infested with them. Several times we had them follow lures and swirl away. Then a shark cut one of my strung trout in half, and we decided enough was enough. Granted, they were little “ankle snappers,” but larger ones could have been out there. The whole incident got me thinking about the potential danger of hand-grabbing fish in waist- or chest-deep water. Often, it takes several attempts to grip a thrashing trout properly (across the shoulder, just behind the flared gill plates).

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Even a small shark making an aggressive pass at the wrong time during the splashy drill could nail a finger or wrist. Murky “trout green” water only encourages this risk. Frankly, I am amazed that more Texas waders have not been bitten during these hand-grabbing attempts. A short landing net tucked in the back of the wading belt is an excellent idea. So, also, is keeping the stringer at full length, with all fish segregated under the cork. Only a rookie uses a short, thin stringer or allows wave action to wrap the cord around waist or legs. Wearing a girdle of gleaming, bleeding specks is—well, think about it. In fairness, during a long career, I’ve only seen two really big sharks while wading. By “really big” I mean 9- or 10-footers. Both were tigers. One was in waist-deep water in the Seychelles, so that doesn’t count for much, here. But the other was chest-deep near San Luis Pass. The tiger glided broadside in a lifting green swell about 20 or 30 feet away, and the bold vertical stripes were obvious. I was horrified, absolutely terrified. The image was indelible—the overlord of the outside bar. The fact that large sharks are

caught on those big rods from the beach (mainly off Padre Island) is proof that such encounters are possible during the summer months. Of course, large sharks are plentiful offshore. Near or far, rare is the serious offshore angler who has not seen them circling or lost sizable fish to them. Most shark species in the Gulf of Mexico are after fish, not people. I totally get that. But fish can be the potential problem. Understand that the successful surf wader towing a stringer is trolling for sharks, and the wader playing a fish is chumming for sharks. If a significant shark makes a determined pass, the wader has entered a red zone where all the comforting statistics are way back on the dry beach. You are waist deep, alone and helpless. I don’t care if your mother was Wonder Woman or your old man was Tarzan, a close encounter with the Grayfin Express will scare the bloody, freaking hell out of you.

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

How Wide Is Your Boating Safety Margin?

HERE WAS A TIME WHEN outfitting your boat with high-tech safety gear was prohibitively expensive. Those days, thankfully, are long gone. In fact, there’s a slew of gear on the market today that can vastly improve your safety margin at a cost that’s shockingly low. Today there’s really no excuse for failing to have at least one of these aboard your boat.

The new ACR ResQLink is the smallest floating personal locator beacon available today and it’s no larger than those old flip phones, yet it has the functions and features of a full-sized unit. It has a foldout antenna, a built-in strobe, and GPS functionality. If you ever have the need to trigger it, the ResQLink utilizes the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system to alert the Coast Guard and give them your exact location. New models have a small LCD screen called the AquaLink View and have a battery life of up to 35 hours, a signal strength of 6.3 watts, and they float. So, how much do you have to shell out for this type of capability? Just what will the latest and greatest in a PLB cost? Prices start at a mere $300 and there’s no monthly activation fee. That’s dirt-cheap, for the ability to send out an SOS anywhere, any time. What about EPIRBS? These days, you can find them at the $400 price-point. A PLB goes with an individual, and EPIRBS are registered to a boat. They’re a bit larger, have more potent batteries, and often have more feaResQLink tures such as personal strobes and the locator ability to float beacon upright. Whichever you choose, these devices make your boat astronomically safer every time you leave the dock.

PLBs and EPIRBS Having a PLB aboard your boat adds another layer of safety. Like an EPIRB, the PLB broadcasts an SOS along with your position data when it’s activated.

Digital Selective Calling (DSC) If you have a VHF radio on your boat, this safety feature isn’t just inexpensive—it’s absolutely free. All fixed-mount VHFs built in the past decade have DSC capabilities. Many 20

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handheld models now have it as well, though the range is much more limited. To take advantage of DSC you have to register for a (free) MMSI number, then program it into your radio. (Doing so is uber-easy—just pull up Google and type in “Get MMSI” and you’ll have it in moments). VHFs with built-in GPS will then be DSC-active. Those without an internal GPS will need to be interfaced with your chartplotter/GPS. Don’t worry, this consists of merely connecting two wires: a data-in positive and a data-in negative on the radio with the data-out positive and data-out negative from the chartplotter. Any chartplotter that’s NMEA2000 compatible (which is virtually all chartplotters, these days) already has those wires hanging out the back, just waiting to be hooked up. Google-up the model of your radio and chartplotter. It’ll take you all of 10 seconds to figure out how to do it and 10 minutes to actually attach the wires. Once DSC is active, if you ever need to call the USCG in an emergency your radio will automatically broadcast not only your verbal communication, but also your exact GPS location, the size and type of your boat, your speed and direction of travel, and other information. The moment you hit the SOS button and say “mayday,” you give SAR personnel the critical data they need to get to the scene faster and more efficiently.

PFDs We won’t dwell on this one because unless you do your boating in West Uzbeki-beki-bekistan-stan, you already know the score. Today’s belts and suspender-style PFDs are incredibly comfortable. In fact, you’ll forget you’re wearing one moments after clipping it on. Cheap ones go for about a hundred bucks, and even expensive ones with hydrostatic activation are only around twice that much.

Satellite Communicators Satellite messengers have come a long way in recent years. Although they do require subPHOTOS: COURTESY RESQLINK & FELL MARINE

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scription plans, (as low as $12 a month for basic functionality), they offer a safety margin with added value. You can use them not only to call for help in an emergency, but also to send and receive text messages from virtually anywhere on the face of the planet, regardless of cell coverage.

messengers, once again, is amazingly affordable and ranges from just $150 to $400.

Wireless Kill Switch How often do you actually attach your outboard’s kill switch lanyard to yourself? If you’re like 99.9-percent of all boaters, you never even think about it.

The answer? —a wireless kill switch. Both Fell Marine and Autotether make models with “base stations” that mount in the boat and attach to the kill switch. They have small keyFOB-like units you can wear as you would a watch or lanyard, or clip to a belt or PFD.

Fell Marine’s wireless kill switch system.

Since Garmin purchased DeLorme a few years back, they’ve rolled out some interesting new models with greatly expanded capabilities. This triggered a dose of competitiveness in the field. SPOT also has new models, and features such as keyboards, LCD screens, and pairing with your cell phone. Pricing for these satellite

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We don’t blame you. Those lanyards are a pain in the keister. When you wear them, you’re more likely to lean too far the wrong way and shut off the engine by accident than you ever are to trigger it in an emergency. Yet, if you get thrown from the boat when you’re out alone, it can be a total lifesaver.

Distance or water immersion triggers them and shuts down your boat’s engine with no physical lanyard required. That. Is. Smart.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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ter Greg Nelson already had a pretty good idea. That’s why he dumped us along the fringes of a 200-acre grain field on the outskirts of town the following morning. He cordially pointed us in the right direction and wished us a good hunt before driving away. It turned out to be great one. Shortly after daylight birds began pouring out of nearby residential areas, sometimes in gangs so thick they resembled dark puffs of smoke against the rising sun. Large flocks of white-wings skirted the tree line at our back, but it was the doubles and triples that peeled off and offered challenging broadside shots at 35 yards that interested us the most. We were in the birds’ breakfast spot and they wanted in there. Volley after volley, shot after shot, we gradually filled our daily limit and backed it up with a similar shoot the following day. In looking back, it was one of the best weekends of pass shooting I have

’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER my first experience with whitewinged doves. I was in the company of a great friend who is no longer here to hunt and fish or drink a beer with me. Jerry Simmons and I arrived in Uvalde shortly after noon on the eve of another Texas dove season, but it appeared as though we had rolled into the City of Chevrons. The plump-chested birds were everywhere. They were perched on power lines. Strolling leisurely down sidewalks. And zipping in and out of traffic like bees buzzing a hive. There were white-wings sipping water at the curbsides. We even saw a few birds loafing on convenience store gas signs, which at the time advertised diesel for $1.70 per gallon. Simmons and I could only imagine how many birds might be hunkered down in the big live oaks and pecans lining both sides of U.S. Highway 90. Hunting outfit22 |

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ever experienced -- typical of well-timed outing in good white-wing country.

Identifying Whitewings So named for a brilliant white patch clearly visible on both wings while in flight or at rest, white-wings are classylooking birds with dark lines on their cheeks and crimson eyes framed in baby blue. The square-tailed doves are noticeably larger than their mourning dove cousins, yet smaller than exotic Eurasian-collared doves that are frequently found on the same turf. Hear one and you’ll know it by the bird’s signature trill, a distinctive foursyllable chant sometimes described as “who cooks for you.” Another distinguishing trait is the manner in which the birds fly. According to Owen Fitzsimmons, white-wings tend to follow a much more predictable path in flight than darting,

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diving, mourners. This naturally makes them easier to peg with a scattergun, but they still pose a darned challenging target. “In flight, white-wings are bulkier and slower and usually have a more direct flight path than the often erratic, zigzagging mourning doves,” said Fitzsimmons, a wildlife biologist who heads up the webless migratory bird program for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Mourning doves have been clocked at 55 miles per hour, and I would imagine that white-wings might be able to approach that with a really stiff tailwind. Otherwise they probably average around 30-35 mph.”

White-wings Then and Now Dove hunters are prone to bump into a white-wing anywhere in Texas nowadays, but prior to the early 1980s the gregarious birds were seldom seen very far north of the Rio Grande. Fitzsimmons says major freeze events from the 1950s-80s repeatedly killed off citrus crops in the Rio Grande Valley, destroying much of their preferred nesting habitat. Not all the birds left, but some of them did. While the Valley still maintains some the densest concentrations of state’s whitewings, the birds have gradually expanded their range northward. Along the way they have adapted well to the city life and free groceries that come with it. “The lack of nesting habitat in the Rio Grande Valley prompted birds to begin taking advantage of the rapid urbanization in south Texas in the 80s and 90s, and they have expanded into urban areas throughout the state over the past 30 years,” Fitzsimmons said. “Urban and residential areas often provide large, mature live oak, ash, and pecan trees for nesting and roosting, and plenty of backyard food and water resources throughout the year.” And their numbers are growing at a rapid pace. In the late 1990s, Texas had white-wing breeding population estimated at around 1.5 million birds. Today, Fitzsimmons says they number around 10-12 million. By comparison, last year’s mourning dove population in Texas was estimated at around 35 million. The biologist says the most recent estimates show around 80 percent of Texas white-wings have set up camp in and around urban areas throughout the state, and their

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numbers continue to expand. “White-wings are now breeding in Oklahoma, and they are ranging across the continental US with sightings all the way into southern Canada, Fitzsimmons said.”

Hotspots for White-Wings Fitzsimmons says the Rio Grande Valley remains stronghold for hunting white wings, but adds that significant breeding numbers also have been documented along I-35 corridor from D/FW to San Antonio and throughout the state’s South Dove Zone. He said big cites like San Antonio and Dallas have big numbers of birds that frequently spill over into smaller towns and communities in outlying areas. “We have limited data for harvest by county, but typically counties in central Texas (Guadalupe, Travis, Bell, Williamson), south and west of San Antonio (Bexar, Atascosa, Medina, Frio, Uvalde), south of Houston (Wharton, Matagorda) and Rio Grande Valley (Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr) consistently rank near the top for white-winged dove harvest,” he said. “There aren’t any indications that suggest that white-wing expansion is slowing down, so I expect that white-wing hunting opportunity will continue to improve in other parts of the state in the future.” The biologist says Texas dove hunters shoot about 2-3 million white-wings each year. Not surprisingly, the best hunting almost always takes place in close proximity to urban areas, usually relation to cultivated grain fields found along the outskirts. Sunflower, milo and cornfields attract hordes of birds. The also can found in areas with native forbs and grasses that thrive when rainfall is sufficient. “Some of the best white-wing hunting in the state is in fields just outside of towns like Uvalde, Hondo, El Campo, and even large cities like San Antonio and Houston,” Fitzsimmons said. “Urban areas provide plenty of refuge during the day with water and large trees to loaf in. If you can pattern these birds you can have some outstanding hunts within spitting distance of town.” No arguments, here.

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

Get Ready, Get Set, Hunt!

OW! CAN YOU BELIEVE it? Hunting season is finally right around the corner. Bow season begins next month, and rifle season is not far behind—although, I am. By now, I usually have my bow sighted in for field tips, and have already spent many nights shooting at targets. I have to get on the stick and get to it. I also have to finish my early season scouting so I can get my tree stands in place on my lease and clear out any brush or branches that might be in the way for a good shot. I know what you are thinking. “Why did you wait until now to get everything ready for bow season?” To be honest, it has been one crazy year. I know it sounds like a cliché, but I really was busy. My touring schedule kept me out of the country for almost three months. As I write this column, I am sitting in an airport on route to Europe for yet another segment of the tour. Fortunately, this will only last three weeks, and I vow that as soon as I get home, daily practice will be part of my regimen. I only hope that my fellow brothers and sisters of the hunting world have not followed my bad example. I hope you have been diligent about your scouting and your practice so that when the moment of truth finally comes, you will be ready. Early pre-season scouting is so important. Weather can change the lay of the land. With some of the weather that Texas has endured lately, things might be worse this year than last. You need to find out whether the deer have changed their pattern. On my lease, the owner of the property decided to clear three fields so

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Every year, I find that I need to adjust my sights just a little to be as accurate as I can be. If you have not set up your tree stands yet, get out there and do it as soon as possible. The whitetails need time to get used to seeing them without a hunter inside. If you wait until a few days before the season, any deer that strolls through your area will notice the strange thing in their living space and be extremely cautious. Chances of them spotting you in your stand are good…at least for them, not so much for you! On a final note, I realize that not everyone will hunt whitetails out of a tree stand, and that is all right. Some hunters do not feel safe or are unable to climb up into the stand. The answer is either a natural ground blind (logs and blowdowns strategically placed to conceal the hunter) or using a portable ground blind. Any regular readers of my column know that I am not a huge fan of portable ground blinds for deer. They work great for turkeys, but for some reason, I have not had luck with whitetails using this type of blind. I think the deer see that they do not blend in with the surroundings, and they immediately draw their attention. Recently, I used a new blind from Redneck called the Ghillie Soft-Sided Blind. It is unbelievable! I love it! It blends in with the surroundings and the material on the outside floats with every breeze, which makes it look realistic. The shooting windows are super quiet to open, and the entrance zipper is also a ton quieter than tight- fitting portables. You should look it up and try it yourself. The only downside I found with this blind is that you need to set it up and leave it for a future hunt. It weighs more than 130 pounds because of the steel frame. Believe me, it is so rugged that a strong wind will not affect it in any way. Hey! The hunting season is just days away. Enjoy and remember… Have fun and hunt safe.

he could plant corn. I cannot blame him for wanted to make a little more profit from his fields but that move changed everything for me. By clearing the three fields, he also removed all of the thick area that the deer used for bedding. It used to be perfect cover for whitetails. It was perfect for the hunters as well. To see at least 20 deer or more on the property was not uncommon. As a matter of fact, I do not recall a day when I did not have action on this lease. Not anymore. The deer have vanished from the area. Now, I have changed my hunting location to greener pastures where I see more sign. I write this so you will understand how important it is to check your area BEFORE the season begins. A bad storm could wipe out a few trees that you used for a tree stand in previous years. The food source you planned on hunting over might not be there this year. You never know—until you get out the foot leather express and do a little hiking to investigate for yourself. Now is a good time to remind all bowhunters that you must take the time to practice. Earlier in this column I mentioned practicing with field tips. This is, of course, a great idea. For one thing, you are not flinging razor sharp broadheads down field. I know from personal experience that no matter how much the target companies advertise their product will stop broadheads, I have yet to find one that can not only stop sharp broadheads, but last an entire season without falling apart. Usually, the blades will tear the target apart after a few weeks of heavy practice. Field tips do not ruin the target. You can shoot thousands of arrows and still not see much wear on the target. Most veteran bow hunters will wait until the last two weeks before the season before using a razor-sharp broadhead to practice with. This step cannot be ignored. Some hunters have no problem and find that their broadheads fly the same as their field tips. On the other hand, some hunters DO have a problem, and I fall in the later category. F I S H

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Texas TACTICAL by DUSTIN ELLERMANN :: TF&G Contributing Editor

Holosun 530G

The 530G ships in a well-padded, hard plastic case that looks watertight as well. It also includes a honeycomb-looking, kill-flash lens for the tactical guys, as well as a windage and elevation adjustment tool. It has a regular flathead screwdriver tip with a Torx bit on the

T’S NO SECRET THAT A QUALITY electronic optic for your defensive rifle can easily cost upwards of $600. However Holosun offers a line of optics that I’ve found to be both reliable and affordable. I covered the Holosun 503CU in the past, and I still love that model. It still serves me well, and I’ve beaten the mess out of it—on purpose. That’s a regular hazard when a company sends me something to review. It still holds zero, and I absolutely love the solar feature because it extends the battery life and even allows the optic to work without a battery in daylight. It also adjusts automatically to ambient light. That’s how an optic should work: thought free, worry free—just shoot. More recently I’ve been running the 530GGR Elite (yes the model numbers are confusing and plentiful). It, too, has served me well. The previous 503CU saw a little .223 action and mostly .22LR use, but the newer and beefier 530G resides on my IWI Galil in 7.62x39mm and has taken even more of a beating. The 530G looks somewhat like a Trijicon ACOG tube. That’s just another feature of Holosun. If you prefer a particular style— RMR, Aimpoint, EOTech, etc—chances are they have an optic that resembles the style of your liking for your aesthetic pleasure. The titanium tube has a low profile without too much thickness or with a projection lens blocking your view. There is no “lens shift” with angled lenses that make you disoriented like even some high-end brands that I have used. The glass is clear, and the removable lens caps are surprisingly clear. So much so, that I hardly ever need to flip them up. Most of the time I don’t even realize that they are still down. However, the lens caps do fall off easily when they are open if you bump them against something. 26

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2 MOA on, the optic has up to 50,000 hour battery life on a single CR2032. The extra 65 MOA ring reduces it to 20,000 hours of use which is still more than 26 months. The reticle is also available in your choice of red or green models.

A little rain won’t hurt this optic. The Holosun 530G boasts of an impressively long battery life, two reticle features, quick lever rail mount, a glare kill ﬂash hider as well as transparent lens caps.

other end for adjusting your quick-mount lever tension. The optic has the same “shake awake” feature that I love so much about Holosun. You’ll always think the optic is on because as soon as you pick it up it, resumes its last setting even though it falls asleep after a few hours of no movement. The brightness adjustment buttons are placed on top of the optic so it’s ambidextrous. You also have the option of having a 2 MOA dot reticle or a 2 MOA dot with a 65 MOA ring similar to an EOTech. With just the |

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Finally the user-friendly price - this 530G can be found on Amazon for under $400, and more simple Holosuns can be found under $200. You can find out more and browse the hundreds of models at www.holosun.com.

« Email Dustin Ellermann at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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HE SUMMER MONTHS are HOT! That is no surprise to Texans - especially in the “dog days” of summer. It is vitally important to stay cool and hydrated this time of year. Avoiding overheating or heat stroke can be a life and death battle and, over my 40-year lifetime, I have seen a lot of people hurting because they either didn’t prepare well for the great outdoors or were caught in a situation for which they were not expecting. Heat stroke itself is a medical condition that can occur if your body temperature rises to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If left untreated, heat stroke can quickly damage your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles so this is a road most of us want to avoid at all costs. Here are some tips to help you in exploring the great outdoors and avoiding the dangers of the extreme Texas heat.

1) MAKE AN OLD-SCHOOL “AIR CONDITIONER” TOWEL. One of the tips I have seen many roofing contractors and landscapers use over the years is a clean towel or rag soaked in cold or cool water and rung out, then draped around the neck. This simple idea has saved my bacon in the outdoors more than once. It keeps your body temperature cool when the heat is on. 2) KEEP YOUR DRINKS COOL AND DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. Sports drinks that replenish electrolytes and water are key here. One of my favorite products to keep cold things cold with or without ice is a line of products called Arctic Ice (arctic-ice.com). These ice packs keep regular ice up to 50% longer and will keep your ice chest cooler, drier and fresher than using regular ice alone. Speaking of coolers, keep your ice chest colder longer by conserving cooler space, propping if off the ground so air can circulate underneath it and pack it with conserving inside space in mind. Hot air is the enemy here so keep that lid closed and even consider draping a wet towel over it for the evaporative effect to keep your ice chest cooler!

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3) STAY IN THE SHADE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. This should go without saying but I have been with many outdoorsmen who don’t understand the basic concept of taking cover when they start to show mild signs of heat stress. Find a tree or structure with a roof or some type of cover and cool down. Take frequent breaks from direct sunlight in the shade as well where possible. 4) SCHEDULE YOUR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES INTELLIGENTLY. This may sound like a simple “nobrainer” point to make but I run into people who schedule what they do outdoors in the summer during the hottest times of the day. Think smart and plan accordingly. 5) AVOID EATING HOT AND HEAVY MEALS. When in the summer outdoors hot food typically adds more heat to your body and that is the last thing you want on a hot day. 6) AVOID ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. I know many of us enjoy a cold adult beverage in the outdoors from time to time but it is important to limit or eliminate beer and hard liquor cocktails when the heat is on as these can dehydrate the body quickly if not combated with hydrating drinks. 7) APPLY A GOOD SUNSCREEN. It is no secret that sunburn can affect your body’s ability to cool down and also make you dehydrated. One new sunscreens I have been using lately is Reeler’s Shield, which goes on like a deodorant instead of a messy gel or cream. I am much more inclined to use this sunscreen every time I spend time out in the sun and, especially, the heat of the day (outdoortechwear.com/ reelers-shield/). 8) WEAR A GOOD WIDE BRIMMED HAT FOR MAXIMUM SHADE. Another new product on the outdoor scene is Pop Hat (thepophat.com). This wide brim packable hat folds up to only 6 inches and can fit just about anywhere when not in use and “pops” into a hat when you need it. What a great idea! 9) DRESS APPROPRIATELY. Light-colored lightweight and loosefitting clothing are the best choices when taking on a hot day. One of our Texas Fish

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& Game performance t-shirts is a good example of the quality of modern clothing that is designed with sun protection and keeping the body cool in mind. Check these out at FishGame.com. 10) KNOW YOUR LIMITS. Be conscious of the level of your own physical condition and fitness, and avoid exerting yourself beyond your limits. My goal with these tips is not only to help you to think smarter about what you do in the heat of the outdoors but also these products and planning considerations might save your life or the life of someone you love and care about in the future and that is some serious business. Sure, it is easy to get carried away on a summer fishing trip or September dove hunting excursion but knowing the signs of heat stress and responding before it’s too late is very important for everyone involved in your outdoor adventures. It is also important to be aware of signs and symptoms to look for in heat stress and heat stroke such as high body temperature, altered mental state or behavior, nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate and headache. If you think someone is experiencing heat stroke, it is important to get them cooled down by whatever means necessary. This could include removing excess clothing, getting into shade or indoors where possible and using ice packs, cold water or wet towels on persons head, neck and armpits. If signs are still evident of medical distress, seek medical attention and do not delay as this can become a serious matter. Even if you are used to the blazing Texas heat, these are some good considerations to help you stay safe when nature delivers 100 degree plus days. The great outdoor pursuits we all love are here for us to enjoy with our friends and family, doing what we are passionate about and my goal is for these considerations to help you have an awesome day in the outdoors stay cool and healthy.

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7/10/19 9:30 AM

The BASS University by PETE ROBBINS :: for TF&G and Bass University

The Dean Goes Up a Creek for Bass

HEN THE MERCURY approaches or even surpasses triple digits, Texas bass can go into a funk. Just like during the coldest periods of the year, they’re effectively shocked into inactive, and they feed only when necessary. For many of us, that means finding them on deep offshore structure where they’re less likely to be affected by the heat. But sometimes it pays to go to the opposite extreme. That’s a solution that Pete “The Dean” Gluszek, one of the founders of The Bass University, realized as he traveled the country during the hot-weather months. He noted that many of his competitors ventured into the tributaries, but found their midsections to be a dead zone. If only they’d gone a bit farther, they might’ve hit the motherlode. “One of the things that I do in the stinking heat is to look for cool running creeks,” he said. “During the dog days they can be five or ten degrees cooler than the rest of the lake. That draws in bait, and bait draws in bass.” He finds likely candidates by looking at Google Earth, his GPS or even a paper topo map and identifying longer tributaries that meander through wooded or rocky areas. “Short creeks don’t do it,” he explained. “They need to drain a decent watershed. It has to be really hot for this to work. Air temperatures in the eighties won’t do it.” Once he’s identified some likely candidates he’ll start a milk run, not bothering to look anywhere until he gets to the extreme end. Once he arrives, the first sign is visible on his temperature gauge. “If it’s increasing, 30

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it’s not going to be a draw,” he said. After that, the next sign is often that “life appears out of nowhere. You’ll see baitfish flipping.

You’ll see bass cruising. Those are the kind of explosive conditions that I’m looking for, where all of that biomass is in one area. All of the life will be stacked up in the back third or back quarter.” When he finds those conditions, a variety of baits and presentations will work, but The Dean keeps it simple. One favorite is a Rapala Cover Pop, or any aggressive topwater that “pulls fish out. Those fish are cruising around with blind eyes. They’re inactive or weird, so you need to generate a reaction strike.” If that doesn’t get them to fire up, he’ll turn to finesse, and usually that means a simple soft plastic stickbait. Of course, lure colors and other options may vary depending on cover, water color and the forage that’s present. These fish will be more active than those that dwell in hotter sections of the lake. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be indiscriminate about what they eat. The good news is you’ll often have them to yourself. You can Power Pole down and rotate through options until you find the right one. Alternatively, you can rest them for a period of time and return when they’ve had a chance to settle down. Once you’ve found this to be a viable pattern on a hot August day, it still takes some work to find the key areas. “Most creeks won’t run cool,” Gluszek said. “It’s a low percentage deal. Out of 10 that you identify on a map, maybe two or three will be good, but the ones that are, can be a bonanza.”

« Email Pete Robbins at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com Pete Gluszek

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PHOTO: PETE GLUSZEK/BASS UNIVERSITY

7/10/19 9:01 AM

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7/10/19 11:47 PM

ISHING LINE IS A HIGHLY OVERLOOKED part of fishing. Anglers will sometimes debate whether they need to use a braided or monofilament, but only the most savvy anglers make the distinction between using monofilament and fluorocarbon. Monofilament is the standard edition line used by most anglers for most applications and is tried and true Fluorocarbon is a material code name for PDVF, a blend of fluoride and carbon. There are all kinds of fluorocarbons used in various industrial capacities but the kind anglers use is PVDF. This type of line has the same refractive properties as water and is virtually invisible even in the clearest waters. Some fish get line shy, so using fluorocarbon can help counteract their wariness. 32

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I have seen this not only in super-clear freshwater lakes, but also on the coast when clear tides move in. In Oct. 2010, my father and I fished an area and started catching flounder immediately. The tide was coming in strong, and the visibility was about a foot. Within 30 minutes clear water from the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel moved in and the bite shut off. I mean went to nothing. As the clear water moved in and shifted the visibility to four feet, (crystal clear) the bite shut off. That is, until we moved toward the “murk” line. When we cast into the murk line the fish bit, and as we moved down with the murkier water we kept catching fish. I could physically see fish on the bottom. They had nothing to do with biting, but they fed aggressively in the pocket of murkier water.

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PHOTO: JOHN N. FELSHER

7/11/19 2:02 PM

REPORT: NEWS 34 u TF&G OF THE NATION Reported by TF&G Staff

HOT 34 u TEXAS SHOTS Trophy Photos from TF&G Readers

36 u TEXAS COASTAL FORECAST

by Capt. Eddie Hernandez, Capt. Mike Holmes, Mike Price, Capt. Chris Martin, Capt. Mac Gable, Tom Behrens, Capt. Sally Black and Calixto Gonzales

46 u TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

by Tom Behrens, Dustin Warncke and Dean Heffner

52 u SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK Tides and SoLunar Data For two weeks the water in the channel stayed super-clear, so I went from fishing moss green-colored 50-pound braid to 15-pound. Fluorocarbon: The fish would not strike the lure rigged on braid, but aggressively took the same lure on fluorocarbon. Fluorocarbon also has the advantage of being more “sensitive” than monofilament line. I do a lot of crappie fishing and have discovered P-Line fluoroclear, which is sensitive enough to help me detect light crappie, but is also stealthy. Major League Fishing pro and 2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion Michael Iaconelli is a big proponent of “finesse” fishing. He said fluorocarbon is a big part of that. “Finesse fishing is all about the approach and presentation,” Iaconelli said. “You slow things down and give them a more lifelike approach.” CONTINUED ON PAGE

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7/11/19 2:03 PM

The NATIONAL

TF&G Editor Honored For Bear Conservation

News of TEXAS

came up with was the issue of black bears.” Moore said many outdoor lovers are not aware that black bears are moving in and out of Texas through Louisiana and Arkansas, and that a growing population exists in the Trans Pecos region. “I want people to be aware of bears,” he said. “Part of that is educating hog hunters to be careful of their targets as a bear and a hog can appear similar at a distance, especially if you have no idea bears are in the area. I also wanted to get the message across that killing a bear in Texas is illegal. The population has not grown large enough to justify a hunting season—yet.” Moore has long worked to get the word out on Texas bears, creating a bear awareness poster, partnering with Texas Fish &

TEXAS FISH & GAME EDITOR-INChief Chester Moore was honored by the Press Club of Southeast Texas for his “Be Texas Bear Aware” public service announcements that run on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI. The goal is to help the Texas black bear comeback. Moore took first place in the Radio Public Service Announcement category at the group’s annual Excellence in Media awards. “It’s a real honor to be awarded by such a great organization and especially for something so special to me,” Moore said. “I had the opportunity to create public service announcements on wildlife for KLVI, which is always great about supporting wildlife conservation. The first one I

Chester Moore and KLVI’s Harold Mann show off their ﬁrst place awards at the Press Club of Southeast Texas’s annual awards ceremony.

Game beginning in 2007 that has gone to thousands of readers and other concerned citizens and students. TF&G has distrib-

STRIPED BASS

RED SNAPPER

Lake Tawakoni

Gulf of Mexico

Les Romo of Georgetown caught this striper on Lake Tawakoni while ﬁshing with his future son-in-law Cory Terre (right) and guide Michael Littlejohn.

Ted Caryl and Bill Smith of Houston with two of the red snapper they caught on a recent Gulf outing.

Visit FishGame.com to upload your own TEXAS HOT SHOTS and Vote for our next Winners 34

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NEWS PHOTO: JIM LOVE

7/11/19 2:03 PM

FEATURE STORY: LINE DRIVE t CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 In his new book, Finesse Fishing with Michael Iaconelli he addresses his finesse concept at length and discusses the advantages of fluorocarbon. “Fluorocarbon definitely has its advantages,” he said. “A lot of times using a tube

uted it through the magazine, e-newsletter and through high school wildlife classes. “Black bears are an important part of Texas’ legacy and seeing them come back is exciting,” Moore said. “If my efforts and those of my media partners such as KLVI and Texas Fish & Game help a little bit, that makes me happy. Moore also placed in four other categories including radio talk

jig or a small worm on pressured fish in conjunction with fluorocarbon line can be a game changer, especially in clear water conditions.” Modern fluorocarbon casts much better and has less line memory than products that hit the market 20 years ago, but you still need to take precautions. Iaconelli rec-

ommends anglers spray line conditioner on a handkerchief, grip it around their line and reel through it as it goes onto the spool. “That can make a big difference in how the line performs,” he said.

show for Moore Outdoors on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI, a pink dolphin photo and photo gallery from fishgame.com and an indepen-

dent blog for The Wildlife Journalist.

« «

BLACKBUCK Real County Aiden Matey, age 5, of Victoria, shot his ﬁrst blackbuck antelope on a hunt in Real County.

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7/11/19 2:03 PM

Coastal Focus: SABINE :: by Capt. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

Get Acclimated

NOTHER AUGUST HAS found its way to Texas’s uppermost bay system. With it comes some of the hottest fish catching action and hottest temperatures of the year. To say “it’s hot” on Sabine in August is truly an understatement. If you haven’t been outside acclimating yourself to these brutal temperatures, you may want to reconsider spending a day on the water this month. A swimming pool or water park is probably

a better option. For those of us who have been spoiled this summer by beautiful green water, abundant sunshine, temperatures in the 90s and salt spray, I couldn’t think of a better place to be than Sabine Lake. It’s just a matter of time before we’re looking for a jacket and changing our strategies, but I’m savoring every precious moment of what is left of summer in 2019. Actually, still quite a bit is left. Here in Southeast Texas we usually don’t experience any fall-like conditions until around late October or November. But still, it is August, so I’m going to take advantage of it while we’ve got it. I’m going to continue doing what we do to put fish in the box and love every minute of it. One of our favorite things to do for hefty trout in some pretty solid numbers is to throw topwaters in the

Sabine Neches ship channel. There’s about a two-hour window early in the morning and before sunset when the big sows can’t resist the sound and zigzag of a topwater plug. Walking the dog over scattered shell/mud in two to seven feet of water can be just what the doctor ordered. Fishing decent water with good tidal movement is essential, if you want something to brag about at the end of the day. Concentrating on areas that consistently hold bait will up the odds tremendously in your favor. The entire stretch of shoreline from LNG to Louisiana Point is second to none when it comes to attracting and holding bait and fish. The ever-changing bottom contour with fluctuating depths, coupled with good incoming or outgoing tides is the reason. Throw in pretty water and favorable winds, and you should be exactly where you want to be in August on Sabine. High pitched She Dogs, or Skitterwalks, with their tight, easy to work pattern are go-to choices for a topwater plug that the fish can’t ignore. Everyone has his or her favorite colors, but pink/silver, black/chartreuse head, bone and pearl are all high in the confidence category. When you feel the sun on your shoulders, switch to soft plastics such as H&H Cocaho Minnow, Down South Lures or Assassins. Bounce them off the bottom with 1/8- or ¼-ounce lead heads or fish them under a popping cork. There is still time to catch fish at your favorite summertime spots so get out there and take advantage of the fantastic late summer action. That is, of course, if you’re acclimated to the heat. If not, you may want to consider going to a nice water park.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Pleasure Island SPECIES: Reds, Flounder, Black Drum BAITS: Fresh Dead Shrimp, Mud Minnows BEST TIMES: All Day. Best with moving tides.

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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Coastal Focus: GALVESTON :: by Capt. MIKE HOLMES

Try To Stay Cool In ‘Hot’ August Fishing

UGUST IS A “MIX” MONTH of sorts for anglers on the upper Texas coast. Warm water is great for bringing just about all of our popular sport and food fishes into active feeding modes. However, the days can also be too hot in the August sun to spend extended times in a boat or in the water for comfort or safety. Early mornings and late evenings are best. Dawn is a great time to be on—or in—the water. There will be a few hours of moderate temperature, and fish will be feeding with more enthusiasm. Humid breezes off the Gulf or bay waters will be very comfortable before the summer sun turns up the thermostat. Active schools of bait fish and shrimp will have gamefish wanting to get their feeding done before the heat sets in. Inshore targets will include sand trout and speckled trout, redfish, croakers and smaller panfish in bays and coastal streams that “empty” into them. Tidal movement is especially important when the days get hot. Although reefs and sand flats might pay off early and late. Deeper water—or shallows close to deeper water—will be the best bet to find fish as the day grows longer. Live bait will be at a premium, both for its effect and because it will be harder to both get live shrimp—and keep them alive. A good bait well with air pumped through the water and protection for the heat of the sun is valuable this time of year. A cast net can help provide live bait that is “tuned” to the water temperature and salinity in the area you are fishing. Fresh dead bait is always a viable second choice, but there will be times when a good artificial offering may be better— especially soft plastic versions. Many inshore fish will come from and go to the surf at this time of year. So, this is a good starting and ending spot for the fishing day. Around the various passes will be a good area for extra

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Bay ﬁshing close to the shelter of deep water—especially early and late in the day, or at night, can be good. The surf and offshore also run under the same time frames. SPECIES: Just about all-common bay species will be available when temps are to their liking. “Offshore” species will visit the surf early and late in the day and at night. BAIT: Summer is a prime time for live bait, when it can be obtained and kept live. Fresh dead bait works under most conditions, and artiﬁcial lures geared to the expected quarry will produce. BEST TIME: Early or late, or at night, unless during a cooling period brought on by rain or other forms of cloud cover.

effort, as long as currents aren’t hazardous. Night fishing can be the best use of time now, whether in bay or surf. Boat piers, rock groins, jetties, or docks can give better access to fish than fishing from shore. The nighttime surf can have hefty fish prowling in the warm months, also. Offshore in warm weather, the quarry will likely be kept safe and comfortable by water depth, but the fisherman needs to take care of himself. Open boats rate below those with some form of shade, and trolling will help cool you down as air temps go up. Just about any species, from king mackerel and sharks to tarpon will visit the Texas surf. However, more common catches will be Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, redfish, and trout. Whether you wet a line in search of fresh seafood or a trophy catch—or both—the sum-

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mer waters of the Gulf can be great in August. However, the angler must be careful to avoid an overdose of heat and/or sun while enjoying the best the Gulf has to offer.

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Email Mike Holmes at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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7/11/19 2:03 PM

Coastal Focus: MATAGORDA :: by Contributing Editor MIKE PRICE

Reading the Surf

N AUGUST WE GET MORE DAYS when conditions allow us to get out into the surf and fish without being tumbled by waves, and under the right circumstances, the fish are there. When the wind is light, water is blue and clear, and the tide is high and incoming, you have almost everything you want to catch speckled trout in the surf. The missing condition is location. Where should you wade into the surf? and why should you choose that spot? Of course if you see birds working, you should get out where you can drop a lure into that area. However, feeding birds, the shrimp, and the feeding fish predators tend to move, so it may be a fleeting bite. To find a sustained bite, find a spot where

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A trout in the surf.

trout are getting a constant flow of bait fish or shrimp being pushed through a cut, up onto

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a sandbar, or swirling in an eddy. To find this spot, you need calm clear water so that you can see the subtleties of the waves and current interacting with the sandbars. Here is an excerpt from the book, A Hand on Your Shoulder by Matagorda fisherman and creator of the lure ED Special, Eddie Douglas: “In August 2014, my grandson Davidson and I drove eight miles down the beach looking at beautiful calm water and high tide, but nobody was catching fish. Then I saw this bar, it was a long bar and it ran way out and created swells, not breakers, meaning that it was shallow out there. I stopped and my grandson said, “What are you doing?” I said, “We are going to fish right here.” He said, “Why right here?” I said, “You see the big swells.” “Yes.” “I’m going to leave you on this end where it is flat, and I want you to throw your lure at those swells, up on the bar, and the swells will bring the lure off. I’m going to get on PHOTO: MIKE PRICE

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the other side,” which was about thirty-five yards away. The first trout that I caught was 28 inches. He stood there and caught 30 or 35 trout. We released trout after we both caught our limits. Five guys on one side of us had not caught one single fish, and neither had the four guys on the other side of us. They were watching us, and there were three cars on the beach, the driver of one using binoculars, watching the show. I called the fishermen on either side of us over and gave them all one of my lures and put them to fishing in that spot and explained why they should fish there.” There were two reasons that Eddie and his grandson caught lots of trout while other surf fishermen were not catching. First, Eddie and his grandson were in locations where trout were getting a constant flow of bait because of the currents and waves interacting with the terrain. The other reason Eddie and his grandson caught fish is that they were using the ED Special, a custom made black brokenback lure with yellow spots that is capable of being worked on the surface or underwater. Last August, my grandson and I went to

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Coastal Que BBQ in Matagorda, (which serves great BBQ) and as we stood in line, we were talking to Captain Coach Floyd Ciruti who had just returned from fishing in the surf with Eddie Douglas. Coach said, “Eddie and I fished three days this week when the wind came out of the north, and we tore them up with the biggest trout 27 inches. People were stopping and watching Eddie fish and buying his lure on the beach. He sold them for the regular price of $25, but he could have sold them for $50.” Timing of the tide is important when fishing the surf. The best situation is an incoming tide at daybreak that peaks at about 9:30 a.m. This will bring bait right into the first gut. That was the situation one August day when people all up and down the beach were catching fish. The next day high tide was at 2:30 a.m., which meant that water was going out at daybreak. There were some trout in the surf, but nothing like the day before. The birds were working two hundred yards offshore. Look for calm, clear, water and incoming tide—and look for sandbar formations that

tend to keep bait in one area. When you find those conditions, you will find the trout. You can buy Eddie’s lure and his book by calling him at 979-240-3212. He will no doubt give you some free advice about how to catch trout in the surf.

THE BANK BITE SURF: If the surf is calm, it is the best place to ﬁsh in August. On Matagorda beach they grade the sand for about one mile on either side of the entrance. You can usually get a two-wheel-drive vehicle on and off the beach without getting stuck, but if you go beyond that you need a four-wheeldrive vehicle.

« Email Mike Price at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

7/11/19 2:03 PM

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

Stay Cool in August

month of the year in our part of Texas. It can be extremely difficult for many coastal anglers to find their speckled trout limits on a regular basis. Anglers can do a few things, however, that will help produce full boxes of late-summer trout under these somewhat stressful conditions. There’s hot, and then there’s August! Bay water temperatures fluctuate between nighttime and the heat of the daylight sun, but they don’t ever really “cool down” much at all. The water stays warm night and day. Regardless, overnight darkness drops water temps in shallow flats areas by at least a couple degrees. This can make a huge difference to the trout. Anglers fishing shallow flats just prior to sunrise, often stand a much greater chance at some fast-paced success—until the morning sun hits the water. Once that happens, the baitfish and the trout typically fall off the flats into deeper water in search of cooler temps. If cloud cover is present at sunrise, the trout bite along the flats might last a little longer. Try using smaller baits in this skinny water, as the bigger baits may simply make too much noise. If top water fishing is your game, try baits such as the Super Spook Junior, or the Skitter Walk Junior. Keep things small if you use plastic baits, as well. Try something like the smaller bull minnows with flapping tails, or even the ever-popular original shrimp tails. Just stay away from the bigger five- to sixinch baits. Once the water on the flats gets hot and the trout begin their transition, they’re not going to want to travel any farther than they absolutely have to. So, look for the bite to continue in the nearest drop off area adjacent to the flat where you were fishing earlier in the morning. A couple of feet may be all it takes for the fish, so check things out good before moving on to even deeper water. Once the trout decide on a deep-water spot, they’re going to search for the thermocline—the coolest portion of the water column—where they’ll hang out for the remainder of the day. The thermocline won’t

T’S SORT OF FUNNY THAT AS hot is it is out on the water this month; summertime is when there are more people doing it than any other time of the year. Vacation time and the seasonal break in various hunting seasons are probably two of the main reasons we see so many summertime anglers. However, it can certainly be downright uncomfortable. August tends to be the absolute hottest

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necessarily be on the bottom, and it won’t be at the surface, so the fish will be suspended somewhere in between. The trout won’t be able to see as well at these depths, so if you’re tossing artificial baits use bigger baits in really dark colors, which casts a much better silhouette in darker water, or bright colors that provide a greater contrast in murky water conditions. Similarly, if you’re presenting live shrimp in deep water, change your cork to one that has some weight to it and that makes a lot of noise. Make sure to adjust your leader beneath your cork to a depth of at least four feet. You might have to investigate a couple different depths before locating the strike zone, but once you find it, you should be able to reproduce the bite over and over again. Moving water, or tides, will also help cool hot bay waters this month because water that’s moving is always cooler than water that’s standing still. Water movement, especially an incoming tide, helps bring cooler water into the bays through major Gulf passes. Anglers who fish flats just adjacent to some of these passes can experience some great trout action when the tides are moving. Other summertime cool water options you might like to look into are shaded areas lsuch as oil or gas platform structures, bridges, and docks. The shade provided by these structures can cool the water a few degrees, which is all it takes sometimes. Nighttime fishing is also an alternative. This presents its own advantages and disadvantages that we’ll save for discussion at a later time. Right now, just remember the word “cool”, and learn to look for it at different times in different places throughout the course of each August day. Good luck, and be careful out there.

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

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Coastal Focus: ROCKPORT :: by Capt. MAC GABLE

Dead Right

T THE TIME OF THE WRITing of this article, a kayak fisherman was tragically killed in the bay waters of this area. The incident is still under investigation but from early indications it appears the kayaker was hit by a boat in the early morning hours. Although this type of accident is thankfully rare, life-threatening close calls are all too common. Every week I hear a story about a boater that narrowly missed running into or over a kayaker. What’s interesting is how these incidents are seen SO differently between a kayaker and a boater. The kayaker almost always says they saw the powered boat a long way off and gave ample warning, both visual and audible to the boater they were there. The boater always sees it differently. Most having never seen or heard any sign that a kayaker was anywhere around, but due to their “expert boating skills” was able to avoid the accident at the last second. It needs to be noted some of these narrow misses were not misses at all, but rather did impact, scrape or capsize the kayak and its occupants with the very best results being the contents of said kayak at the bottom of the bay, the worst being injury to the angler. I’m not going to delve into who has more rights, the kayaker or the boater. I will however give my considered opinion about the root causes of these avoidable close encounters of the H2O/aqua kind. Visual impairment is number one, meaning any reason that limits sight is a recipe for disaster on the water. This includes, but is not limited to, leaving the dock in the dark of early morning or late evening, a tactic of guides and highly motivated anglers. This also includes kayaks that are not lighted (which I see every week). Yes, there are some boats guilty of this as well, however kayaks are by far the biggest perpetrators of not being lighted in the dark hours.

They are required to be lighted by law. I’ve had several kayakers debate this with me. So, for the record, this is what the TPWD Water Safety Act says under kayaks, subsection Lights Exception 6: “If sidelights and stern light are not practical, it must have and exhibit at least one bright light, lantern, or flashlight from sunset to sunrise in all weather.” I might add under the definition of lights it says the light needs to be visible for up to two miles. Why wouldn’t a person want to do this? While we’re on the subject, I believe an audible sounding device should be required as well but as of this writing it is not. I suggest at least get a nautical whistle; they cost $5 and can split your eardrum and save your life! Don’t turn the page here if I’m stepping on your kayak toes. It’s an affectionate request

Speed It kills on the roads and on the water. There is absolutely no reason for a boater

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on our bays to go over 30 mph, but EVERY morning I see boaters in the pitch-black dark, running 50-plus mph to “beat the crowds,” and we guides are the worst of the bunch. I wish speed limits would be applied to our waterways; it WILL save lives. Most of those running these high speeds don’t have a clue how to handle a boat at 30 mph much less 60 mph. It takes the average boater four to five seconds before he or she pulls the throttle or turns the wheel in an avoidance maneuver. In that span of time at 50 mph, that same boat will travel more than the length of a football field. Depth perception on the water is VERY difficult to judge. It’s virtually impossible for a novice boater because often there are no reference points for comparison. Again this does not bid well for small water craft such as kayaks. The kayak’s low profile coupled with those in camo colors make them hard to see, even on a bright, clear day. Once in Mesquite Bay I saw a kayaker in the only egress channel

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Forecast: ROCKPORT missed the kayak by less than three feet, having never seen him due to his low profile. Luckily, he was going slowly. At the last minute, he saw the angler’s rod and swerved. I have seen kayaks with small flags extending up from their craft, and every chance I get I compliment them on their choice. I, for one, believe this should be required equipment for these small watercraft as it makes them 10 times more visible. I believe kayaks are the future for our bays: they are green, easy on our grasses, oyster reefs and are pretty much non-pollutants. Also, their prices make them accessible to most anglers. They are, however, not without risks. When a boat and a kayak collide, the kayaker will almost always suffer the greatest. In these tragedies no one wins, you can be LEGALLY right, but unfortunately you can also be DEAD right.

between two bodies of water. I called a friend in the area to alert him to be careful if he used the channel. The kayaker had assumed what I call the “stealth position.” He leaned his body forward flat with the kayak to avoid spooking a school of fish he was targeting. A few minutes later my friend

• • • I THINK AUGUST IS A GREAT TIME for half-day trips. The heat is usually too much for most people to stay out all day. It’s hard on bait in a live well, too. Most guides have half-day charters, and some welcome the reprieve from the 100-plus degree temperatures. COPANO BAY: Early morning, the area close to Turtle Pen is good for reds using finger mullet on a free-line rig. This area requires some stealth, so approach slowly and quietly. Copano Reef is a good spot for trout, using a popping cork and live shrimp. Free-line croakers work here. ARANSAS BAY: Multiple cuts on the north side of Mud Island, created by Harvey, are good spots for reds and trout. Late evening is best with a moving tide. Cut mullet works best for the reds and piggy perch for the trout on a light Carolina rig.

ST CHARLES BAY: Cowchip is a good spot for reds, using mud minnows. Anchor up in the shallows near the bank and throw into the deeper water edges. I like a light Carolina rig in this area. The mouth of Cavasso Creek is a good spot for trout. Drifts in this area can produce keeper trout 42

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using topwaters in red/white, blue/gold or soft plastics in morning glory or nuclear chicken. CARLOS BAY: Drifts across Carlos Lake for trout and reds is still a good choice here. A bubble cork with an imitation shrimp such as the Egret Vudu Shrimp worked slowly as you drift, is a good choice. Cedar Reef is good for black drum using live shrimp on a light Carolina rig. MESQUITE BAY: On high tide the cuts running from Ballou Island are good wade spots for reds and some big trout using croaker free-lined. During the week, set up at the mouth where the ICW and the bay intersect for reds. This can be a high traffic area so be wise. Late evening is best. Cast into the deeper water of the ICW using finger mullet on a medium Carolina rig. AYERS BAY: Second Chain Islands is good spot for trout using croaker free-lined. This is a good wade area as well. Gafftops are plentiful in the deeper waters mid-bay, using a popping cork and shrimp. Gafftop is a much under-rated game fish that pulls like a freight train and is great table fare.

THE BANK BITE The area at the north end of the LBJ causeway is a much over-looked area for bank ﬁshermen. Some very large black drums hang here during the summer. In the early morning to late evening, reds frequent this area close to the old pilings. Access is available at the old state pier parking lot.

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

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Coastal Focus: ARANSAS/CORPUS :: by Contributing Editor TOM BEHRENS

NEWS RELEASE RECENTLY reported that Mark Stock, a Florida angler, landed what he said is a record class tiger shark on April 25 while fishing off Marco Island, Florida. The creature measured 14½ feet. The current Florida state record is a 1,065-pound tiger shark measured at 12½ feet. It was caught out of Pensacola waters in 1981. Stock’s shark was estimated to weigh more than 1,100 pounds, but its exact weight will never be known as it was immediately released. In Texas the tiger shark record is 1,129 pounds, 13.5 feet long, and was caught May 24, 1982. According to TPWD there are 14 different species of sharks swimming in Texas coastal waters. Bull, tiger, blacktip, hammerhead, Atlantic sharpnose and lemon are the most common. Sharks are present all along the coast, including the middle coast areas of Corpus Christi and Aransas Bays. Port Mansfield fishing guide, Rudy Romero, gave an emphatic yes to question of sharks in the water where he and his clients fish. “We have a lot of bull and black tip sharks. We use big live baits free-lined to catch big speckled trout, and the sharks occasionally dine on the trout baits.” Romero and clients target deep waters around South Padre Island Causeway in August for trout. The sharks hang out along the bordering sand bars, looking for a meal. Fishing guide Tommy Countz reports that he will see sharks in the shallow water if he’s wading, but they never bother him. “When I started fishing we didn’t have a shark problem,” Countz said. “Probably the first 15 years, I can count on one hand how many times I had a shark take a fish off my stringer or bite a tail off. Then all of sudden the sharks got smart and figured out these

“ In Texas, the Tiger shark record is 1,129 pounds.

“

The Shark Mystique

Williams targets smaller sharks, in the 40to 150-pound range, “something a kid could catch. Usually a boy 12 years old can catch a 100-pound shark. I can usually tell how big the fish is when they hook the fish. If it’s more than the kid can handle, I give the rod to the father.” Fishing guide Glenn Ging recalled an encounter with a shark last summer. “We were wading and noticed a big bull shark up in a gut in knee-deep water. As we waded along we spooked him. He ran toward us, and through us. It was scary, but he wasn’t after us. He was trying to get back to deep water. Even with the buckets, they will come up, smell them, and turn around. I haven’t had a shark mess with anybody.” Ging’s bucket is a five-gallon bucket with holes drilled in it, rigged up with a lid and pool noodles. “I think the biggest shark encounter T E X A S

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comes if you wade and drag a stringer,” said Ging. “Sooner or later, a shark is going to come up and eat some of your fish.” “We still use stringers a lot of time but only in certain areas,” Ging said. “If I’m wading the outside of sand bars, or some of the deeper water spots, I generally take my buckets. If I’m wading flats, up on the bars, on grass flats I just use a stringer.” Williams’s terminal tackle on shark fishing trips consists of 50-pound monofilament, heavy-duty black swivel, a nine-foot rod, and 150-pound test monofilament tied to a 15/0 circle hook. A mullet, piggy perch or other big live bait is what should be on the hook. “Everybody catches one and has a lot of fun, catching up to 30 fish a day,” said Williams. “In most cases we let all the sharks go, except for the black tips. You can keep one of those, and they are good to eat.” Williams biggest shark was about 900 pounds, which was caught 60 miles offshore. “We were using about a 15-pound jackfish for bait. We got it up to the boat, saw it, took some pictures of it in the water, and let it go.” Much has been written about not wading in shorts or cutoffs. The white skin reminds a shark of the underbelly of another fish. Ging said he wades in cutoffs and has never had a close encounter with a shark. Romero said that if he or a client sees sharks, they slowly back off and get back to the boat. A fishing friend I had a few years back, carried an automatic rifle on board his boat. If a shark took one of his baits instead of a kingfish, he broke out the rifle and shot it as it got up alongside his boat. Don’t do that. Remind me to tell you the story of what happened one time when he fired the gun off as we were anchored close to a shrimp boat with a sleeping crew.

guys walking around in the water with a fishing rod in their hand are easy prey for a good meal. It got worse. Normally we find sand shark sightings in the surf. They just come up, bite the tail off. They don’t really get that aggressive.” Mike Williams is well known along the Texas coast as Tarpon Express. “They (shark) used to be kind of an offbeat fish, but now they are our main trips in the summer months,” said Williams. “Some of the biggest tarpon of the year are caught while we are on shark trips.”

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« Email Tom Behrens at ContactUs@ﬁshgame.com

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Coastal Focus: BAFFIN BAY :: by Capt. SALLY BLACK

Primetime Heat

steps and make as little noise as possible. Put yourself at the top of the food chain. Hold the fly in your hand and have about 10 to 15 feet of fly line out of the tip of the rod. With this method, one back cast can get a fly to a fish close by (most fly casts are less than 20 feet). Watch the baitfish moving, see shadows on the bottom, watch the bottom through small waves that move downwind. Redfish are shaped like footballs. In grassy areas, they are truly copper colored, white, black and blue. Black drums are gray with dark gray vertical stripes, with high withers that are white. Although these two fish, “red drum” and “black drum” are in the same family, they feed much differently. Redfish will heartily pursue moving food (your fly), black drums like to “find” their food, picking up little bits as they graze slowly along the bottom. Don’t expect to catch these two fish species using the same technique. Cross a redfish’s path with your fly, and he will chase it. Drop a fly for a black drum to find. Then when he does, move it ever so slightly, and he will pick it up off the bottom. Catch on to this game. It’s one of the most challenging styles of fishing on the Texas Coast and highly underrated. The rod and the line are the two most important tools for the fly fisherman. Buy the most expensive fly rod you can afford and match it with the most expensive fly line. A local fly shop (or your friendly fly-fishing guide) can recommend some brands and styles to look at. In fly-fishing, the fly rod throws the fly line. The fly line has a weighted front “taper” that loads the rod, much like a lure loads a spinning or casting rod, pre-cast. Fly-casting is easy. Most everyone tries to overcomplicate the entire style of fishing, but really, it takes about 15 minutes of training to settle out the basics of the game. Borrow someone’s gear before making an investment in fly equipment. Get the feel for it. Then, when it gets in your blood, go make the purchase. Fly shops that know saltwater fishing are

HE HOT SUMMER ON THE Texas coast is prime time for sight casters and fly fishermen, especially on uncrowded Baffin Bay. It’s covered in shallow, clear, grassy shorelines and long strips of sand up tight against its banks. It’s just perfect for redfish and black drum to cruise looking for the tiny morsels they crave. Whether you walk the bank to stalk your prey or be poled around by your best friend on the poling platform, from now until at least the middle of October, the game is on. Even if you transition from a casting rod to a fly rod, make the decision to hold that fly rod at least 50 perent of the day to ensure long-term fly success. To get serious about fly-fishing, we call it “live and die on the fly.” This means don’t put down the fly rod for the casting rod when things get tough. The only way to get better at fly-fishing is to do it. On the job training is most effective when you deal with the real world—wind, line management and most important, try to see the fish before they see you. Putting the game together without thinking about the details is when beginners start catching fish. See the fish; make the cast. Seeing the fish is the number one obstacle, and this is the start of fly-fishing success. Wear a hat with a dark under brim. It will stop the refection of the sun off the water from reaching your eyes. Then, get a great pair of polarized sunglasses with brown, amber or copper lens. These colors ensure the most color contrast when you look through the water to the bottom. Other lens colors do not work. Walk slowly without making a sound or pushing a wall of water out in front. If you can hear yourself wading, you are moving your legs too fast. Slow down and take bigger, longer 44

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very helpful to beginners. They know that once you get hooked, you will be their client for life. Don’t think of fly fishing as a new hobby, just think about it as another tool in your “allaround angler” toolbox. Whenever the conditions warrant it, pull out the right weapon for the job. This summer is especially exciting for Baffin Bay fly anglers. It’s clear; it’s grassy and full of bait, including lots of crabs. That means all manner of shallow water predators will be up in the ankle-deep water, feeding some parts of the day and night. They eat small things, such as crabs, shrimp, glass minnows, and other tiny baits and worms. That’s why a small shrimp or crab fly is so effective. It matches what’s up there where the fish are feeding. Throw a fly that you can see, so you know exactly where it is any time during the presentation. You’ll actually see it disappear into the mouth of a hungry predator to set the hook. Sight casting, with either a lure or a fly, is about as addictive a fishing game as any. Be prepared to be lured to the bank on every wade-fishing trip when the conditions are right. Once you catch that first fish on a fly, you will be officially addicted. You’ll never go on a fishing trip without one. I guarantee it. Now is the time to book your summer fly-fishing trips at Baffin Bay Rod and Gun. There’s a good reason we call it “The Last Best Place on the Texas Coast.” With no crowds, we’ll have happy fish. We also have a pool and a new casting pond for you to practice your casts. Come see for yourself. See you soon.

Contact Capt. Sally Black at 361-205-0624 Email: Sally@CaptainSally.com Web: www.BaffinBayRodandGun.com Facebook: Baffin Bay Rod and Gun Twitter: @CaptainSally Instagram: baffin_bay_rod_and_gun

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

Dawn Patrol

HE SOUTH TEXAS COAST, most notably from Aransas Pass at the top to the Coastal Bend, to Brazos Santiago (“The Arms of Saint James”) at the mouth of the Lower Laguna Madre has long been the haven of the Mosquito Fleet. This is a colloquialism for swarms of small (sub 22-foot) bay and flats boats. Their owners take advantage of the unique blue water fishery the region offers beginning in spring and on until the first major cold front in November. Steady southeasterly breezes and a prevailing current push blue Gulf of Mexico waters very close to shore, often right up to the mouths of passes and into adjoining bays. With the clean, nutrient-rich waters, come a plethora of pelagic gamefish, including bonito, Spanish and Cero mackerel and, the prize of the small boater, large kingfish. Some nice kings are out there starting in spring. You don’t have the big tankers that you find way offshore, the 40 to 45 pounders. However, you have plenty of nice, solid 36- to 44-inch class kings, and you will get lots over 48 inches when the water gets into the 80s in the summer. In a 22 foot BayQuest, with three fishermen and a bunch of rods and tackle, a 42-inch king can be plenty big enough. Kayak devotees also get involved in the fun, often putting in right off the jetties or a nearby beach and paddling out the short distance where Texas kings lurk. Sometimes kingfish will actually roam farther in and actually be caught in the passes themselves. It is not uncommon on the Lower Laguna Madre for an angler chasing trout and redfish near Brazos Santiago to suddenly have their reel burned by a scorching king run before the leader parts. There can be several days where flat-calm conditions prevail from dawn to dusk. Then,

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most belligerent kingfish. The Tranx 400 has enough line capacity that only the biggest kings have a chance of dumping it. Sometimes, the kingfish prefer meat. In that case, natural baits are good to tempt them. Ribbonfish is always popular, but a horse mullet in the 8- to 10-inch range is tremendously effective. Be sure to use a stinger hook toward the rear of the bait. Kingfish prefer to bite prey in half, come back around, and finish the job. The stinger will prevent them from leaving you with half a mullet. Farther south, around Brazos Santiago, natural bait is also very popular. Many anglers slow troll with ribbonfish or mullet around the points of the jetties and along the adjoining beachfront. Rather than the typical multi-hook kingfish rig that most anglers use, Some anglers prefer a single 10/0 Eagle Claw 190 Off-set Circle hook. This might miss more fish than anglers who use the multiple hook rigs, but a few believe that the benefits far outweigh the costs. When using smaller live mullet, Use a single-hook rig with the hook through the nose. With a mullet in the five- to six-inch range, kings tend to engulf the bait rather than bite them in half. Trolling tackle for nearshore kings is a tad lighter than the bigger stuff popular for the huge smokers. A combo such as the Penn Squall 20LW conventional reel loaded with 25-pound Ande matched to a Squall trolling rod is economical and very effective. A large spinning reel in the 6000 range loaded with 30-pound braid is also a good choice. Even bay tackle such as the casting and spinning outfits used for trout and redfish will work, but again, you run the risk of getting stripped of all your line. Then all you can do is stand there, mouth agape.

as the spring and summer days warm along the South Texas Coast, the southeast wind tends to pick up. By late morning to mid-afternoon, the seas around jetties and passes can start to stack up and get a bit sloppy, which makes for tougher fishing conditions. The upward velocity curve of the wind necessitates that Mosquiteers make plans for an early trip. This will usually be from gray light to whatever time the wind and waves begin to be more than they can comfortably handle. If you hope to chase a few kingfish early in the morning, get to the Mansfield Pass out of Port Mansfield, and set up a troll. Begin a slow drift-troll of the point of the jetties and work toward the one-mile buoy, in deeper water. An effective technique is to bump troll with plugs or ribbonfish. Never stop scanning for some kind of activity on the water. Whether it’s a bird working or fleeing fish, or fish tearing into bait schools, direct your troll in that direction. Sometimes, it may be a school of bonitas or Spanish mackerel, but it can also be some smoker king causing all sorts of trouble. Another favored pattern that experienced captains such as Chad Kinney use on Mosquito Fleet kingfish is casting tipsters. Remarkably, you can use many of the same topwater plugs that you toss for inshore species such as speckled trout and redfish. Popular choices are the Bomber Badonka-Donk minnows, Super Spooks, and the Mirr-O-Lure Dog and Pup family. Kingfish are known to launch themselves clean out of the water and high into the air going after a plug. If you intend to try your hand at throwing a topwater at a king, make sure you’re properly equipped. Popping rods should be in the upper range of what you would use for redfish, preferably in medium to medium heavy. A high capacity reel is also a must for the long runs a belligerent mackerel can make. My typical nearshore topwater rod is a TFO Tactical GISSWC 705-1 with a Shimano Tranx 400 loaded with 30-pound PowerPro Blue. This outfit can handle a one-ounce River2Sea WideGlide (my favorite topwater) and still have the backbone to snub all but the F I S H

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« 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

SALTWATER Trinity Trout Find a Place in the Sun

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.

by Tom Behrens

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Sun Gas Wells GPS: N 29 38.858, W 94 54.2 (29.6476, -94.9033)

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LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Ladies Pass GPS: N 29 28.471, W 94 43.251 (29.4745, -94.7209)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Ralph Frazier 281-337-0321 www.fraziersguideservice.com TIPS: “A lot of anglers will be dredging croaker around the reefs.” Capt. Frazier

LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Hanna’s Reef GPS: N 29 28.471, W 94 43.251 (29.4745, -94.7209)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Ralph Frazier 281-337-0321 www.fraziersguideservice.com TIPS: Walking the jetties: “People still walk, but I

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Ralph Frazier 281-337-0321 www.fraziersguideservice.com A U G U S T

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Ralph Frazier 281-337-0321 www.fraziersguideservice.com TIPS: “We definitely try to fish the jetties because you get a chance to catch a mixed bag of fish. On an incoming tide, fish the outside of the jetty; on outgoing tide, fish the channel side.” Capt. Frazier LOCATION: Matagorda HOTSPOT: Matagorda Surf GPS: N 28 35.666, W 95 59.268 (28.5944, -95.9878)

LOCATION: Galveston HOTSPOT: North Jetty GPS: N 29 21.272, W 94 43.091 (29.3545, -94.7182)

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LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Dows Reef GPS: N 29 38.932, W 94 48.436 (29.6489, -94.8073)

TIPS: “There should be birds working in August. A live shrimp under a popping cork should produce ﬁsh.” Capt. Frazier

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Ralph Frazier 281-337-0321 www.fraziersguideservice.com TIPS: Fishing the wells: “I like to get up current, so the bait cam move back toward the wells. Once we ﬁnd ﬁsh, we go back around the well and drop anchor,” Capt. Frazier

don’t recommend it. The North Jetty has a walkway out to the boat cut. I walked out on one and broke an ankle. The pros walk them using golf shoes that have metal spikes.” Capt. Frazier

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic shrimp tails or topwater baits CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: “When it’s green at the beach, that’s my ﬁrst choice to ﬁsh,” said Capt. Ging. He will casting She Dogs, and She Pups, looking for holes in the beachfront where the water has washed out sand.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Drulls Lump GPS: N 28 42.285, W 95 50.066 (28.7048, -95.8344)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Popping Cork with Live Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: “In August we will be ﬁshing the middle of the bay over deep shell in East Bay, wading the grass beds in West Bay, and the surf when the wind allows us.” Capt. Ging LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay HOTSPOT: Halfmoon Shoal GPS: N 28 43.371, W 95 46.228 (28.7229, -95.7705)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Popping Cork with Live Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: “Set up long drifts ﬁshing live shrimp under corks….once we locate the ﬁsh, then we make drifts over the top of them.” Capt. Ging LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay HOTSPOT: Tres Palacios Bay GPS: N 28 42.452, W 96 12.346 (28.7075, -96.2058)

baits CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: “We will target the grass beds along the south shoreline from Cullen House down to the Port O’Connor Jetties.” Capt. Ging

LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Sabine Channel GPS: N 29 59.87, W 93 46.171 (29.9978, -93.7695)

LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay HOTSPOT: Peninsula Shoreline GPS: N 28 28.801, W 96 15.753 (28.4800, -96.2626)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp or soft plastic shrimp tails CONTACT: Capt. Bill Watkins 409-673-9211 97862018@sbcglobal.net www.ﬁshsabinelake.com TIPS: Capt. Watkins reports trout and redﬁsh will be off the jetties and ship channel. Trout be at the short rigs and beachfront. Look for birds working popping shrimp.

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic shrimp tails or topwater baits CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: “If the water is fairly clear, I will throw a lot of natural colors…Chicken on a Chain and Roach. For topwaters I like chrome/black back or chrome/pink back.” Capt. Ging

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Aransas Specks are Real Mudders

LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay HOTSPOT: Cottons Bayou Shoreline GPS: N 28 31.342, W 96 12.489 (28.5224, -96.2082)

by Tom Behrens

• • • SPOTLIGHT LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: North Mud Island GPS: N 27 56.78, W 97 1.54 (27.9463, -97.0257)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic shrimp tails or topwater baits CONTACT: Capt. Glenn Ging 979-479-1460 glennging@gmail.com www.glennsguideservice.com TIPS: Capt. Ging likes the Hogie Swimming Jack and Down South Plastics, along with a 1/8 oz. jig head.

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic Shrimp Tails CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com treblejcharters.com TIPS: Capt. McPartland likes to use soft plastics on the deep side of the islands, 4-6.maybe 7-8 deep. Topwaters will work in the early morning.

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic shrimp tails or topwater T E X A S

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Corpus Christi Bay Wells GPS: N 27 44.764, W 97 11.141 (27.7461, -97.1857)

956-226-3561 TIPS: “Wading puts less pressure on the ﬁsh. Anchor a couple 100 yards from your ﬁshing spot and carefully work your way through the water.” Capt. Romero

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Land Cut Spoils GPS: N 26 49.564, W 97 28.129 (26.8261, -97.4688)

LOCATION: Port Mansﬁeld HOTSPOT: ICW Spoils GPS: N 26 36.398, W 97 24.102 (26.6066, -97.4017)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastic Shrimp Tails CONTACT: Capt. Jack McPartland 361-290-6302 treblejcharters@yahoo.com treblejcharters.com TIPS: “If I’m fishing a well, I will be looking for fish in 12-15 of water…fish looking for cooler water temperatures.” Capt. McPartland

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Free line live croaker, pin perch, piggy perch or mullet. CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: “I use Bay Banger chatter weights,” said Capt. Romero. “The BBs are bigger, louder, make a solid noise. Moving water is essential; outgoing tide is the perfect tide.”

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Bafﬁn, Mansﬁeld, S. Padre Trout

LOCATION: Port Mansﬁeld HOTSPOT: Ricon de San Jose GPS: N 26 46.837, W 97 28.481 (26.7806, -97.4747)

•• SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Free line live croaker, pin perch, piggy perch or mullet. CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: The second spawn of trout should occur in late August and into the fall months. Capt. Romero is fishing for trophy trout. Wading is the preferred method. LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Redfish Shoreline GPS: N 26 36.868, W 97 26.532 (26.6145, -97.4422)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Gambler and Down South soft plastics CONTACT: Capt. Gilbert Esquivel 361-522-8496 TIPS: Capt. Esquivel likes a four inch soft plastic in red/white tail along with a 1/16 oz. jig head. “The lighter jig head allows me to slow down the retrieve over vegetation and not get hung up.”

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LOCATION: South Padre Island HOTSPOT: Northeast of East Cut GPS: N 26 33.852, W 97 16.495 (26.5642, -97.2749)

by Tom Behrens

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Bafﬁn Bay HOTSPOT: Slough Rocks GPS: N 27 18.651, W 97 33.465 (27.3109, -97.5578)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Free line live croaker, pin perch, piggy perch or mullet. CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: When wading the shorelines, target deep potholes that are surrounded by grass.

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Free line live croaker, pin perch, piggy perch or mullet. CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: Rigging up: Capt. Romero uses braided line with a 30 lb. monoﬁlament leader, about 17 inches long, and a #5 or #6 croaker hook.

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Free line live croaker, pin perch, piggy perch or mullet. CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 2 0 1 9

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FISHING HOTSPOTS FRESHWATER Gator Bass at Caddo Lake

by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Caddo Lake HOTSPOT: Alligator Bayou GPS: N 32 43.1699, W 94 5.424 (32.7195, -94.0904)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: 6”-8” plastic worms, ﬂukes, senkos CONTACT: Caddo Lake Guide Service/Paul Keith 318-455-3437 caddoguide1@att.net www.caddolakeﬁshing.com TIPS: Fish the drop off edges of the hydrilla grass in the creeks. Early in the day is usually best as it is when the water is coolest. Pay special attention to creek bends and creek intersections as these are great ambush points.

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LOCATION: Lake Conroe HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 28.992, W 95 35.064 (30.4832, -95.5844)

cubes on two different locations and come back to the ﬁrst, tie up and get my boat back in the same position. Using a spinning reel with a treble hook, an 1/8 ounce egg sinker and a piece of cut sponge wrapped around it; dip it in the bait and drop it to the bottom. Stay in contact with the bottom raising the bait up and down slowly until you feel some resistance. Then, set the hook. You can on most days catch limits of ﬁsh in just a few hours. Bank Access: Stowaway Marina

CONTACT: Lance Vick 903-312-0609 lance@lakeforkbass.com www.guideonlakefork.com TIPS: August is traditionally the hottest month of the year. Stop ﬁshing? No way! Some of the best summer time ﬁshing can be done in August. The early morning bite over shallow grass beds can be just what the doctor ordered. Popping frogs and Zara Spooks can get you feeling better. Then when the sun gets high in the sky break out the Finch Nasty Vicktory football head jig. Work it along bottom of points, humps and road beds in water ranging from 20-25 foot, concentrating on the hard spots. Black and blue and Peanut butter and jelly are great colors for this time of year. If they don’t want the jig, a 1/2 oz. Shakey Head with a Grandebass Airtail Wiggler will tempt them into biting. Put a rattle in the tail for added attraction. The Airtail Wiggler is the only worm that can add a rattle. On a crowded lake like Fork, ever advantage counts. Drink plenty of water and enjoy the Texas sunshine on one of the best lakes in Texas!

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Chaney Area GPS: N 32 48.24, W 95 33.366 (32.8040, -95.5561)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Zara Spooks, chrome Rat-L-Traps, white swimbaits, drop shots, Carolina rigs, bass jigs CONTACT: Doug Shampine 940-902-3855 doug@lakeforktrophybass.com www.lakeforktrophybass.com TIPS: August is a fun month for bass ﬁshing on Lake Fork. The early morning top water bite using Zara Spooks is good, especially in the Chaney area of the lake. The bass are now schooling early, chasing shad and you can throw a Spook, chrome Rat-L-Trap or a white swimbait it to the schooling bass as you see them come up chasing shad. The action normally lasts until about 10am. Then you will need to check the main lake points and deeper creeks in 15 –20 feet using Carolina rigs and bass jigs for the deeper bite. A drop shot will also work well this time of the year. Check out Dale, Ray, and Little Caney creeks for the deeper main lake points.

LOCATION: Lake Livingston HOTSPOT: Dam Area GPS: N 30 37.9019, W 95 2.466 (30.6317, -95.0411)

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad, 1 ¼ oz white slabs, spoons, Tsunami Holographic hot pink/gold 4” Swim Shad CONTACT: David S. Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602 dave@palmettoguideservice.com www.palmettoguideservice.com TIPS: “Look for birds working in the early mornings over roaming schools of stripers. Follow the birds and throw the Swim Shad into the school. When the schools go down, use your electronics in the same areas to locate fish on the humps and ridges. Troll the Tsunami Swim Shad behind a #10 jet diver over the humps or jig the white slabs over the humps and feel for a strike on a falling bait. This time of year I like to get on the water around 6:30am and be off the water by 10:30 cleaning fish. Good luck fishing Livingston! BANK ACCESS: Browder’s Marina.”

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Elm Creek GPS: N 32 55.8479, W 95 42.36 (32.9308, -95.7060)

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Primos Dipping Bait CONTACT: Richard Tatsch 936-661-7920 admin@fishdudetx.com www.fishdudetx.com TIPS: Locate stumps lining the river channel edge and tie off in 20 to 25 foot of water. Use a bag of cattle cubes to bring the fish to you. I will dump a half bag of

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Popping frogs, Zara Spooks, Finch Nasty Vicktory football head jig, 1/2 oz. Shakey Head with a Grandebass Air Tail Wiggler, T E X A S

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Sam Rayburn Lake HOTSPOT: Couchatana Creek GPS: N 31 13.14, W 94 6.324 (31.2190, -94.1054)

LOCATION: Toledo Bend North HOTSPOT: Martinez Bayou GPS: N 31 35.406, W 93 50.5679 (31.5901, -93.8428)

Twister Hawg Frog as trailer | Crappie: jigs CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff 903-561-7299 or 903-530-2201 ricky@rickysguideservice.com www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Bass ﬁshing is good around boat docks and along the creek in the county line area. Concentrate on stumps and other structure. For crappie action, ﬁsh brush piles in 15 feet of water and under bridges.

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Top water frogs, soft plastics, spinnerbaits, big crankbaits, 10” Texas rigged worms CONTACT: Mike Knight 936-635-2427 notechmike@hotmail.com www.easttxﬁshingguide.com TIPS: Sam Rayburn in August should be fabulous all over this giant lake. There should be a great top water frog bite over the pepper grass mats. If the lake stays at about the same level, there should be good early/ late action on the outside edges of the hay grass on plastics and spinnerbaits for solid 2 to 5 lb. ﬁsh. Look for bigger trophy size lunkers on offshore river ledges, creek bends, junctions and humps.

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Top water lures, crankbaits, soft plastics CONTACT: Greg Crafts, Toledo Bend Guide Service and Lake Cottages 936-368-7151 gregcrafts@yahoo.com www.toledobendguide.com TIPS: Early morning and late evening work shallow grass ﬂats, lily pads and pepper grass close to deep water with top water plugs, stick baits, frogs, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, shallow diving and lipless crank baits and ﬁnesse plastics (Senkos, Flukes, and Trick worms). When the sun gets overhead or the bite slows down, back out to deeper water along creek channel drops, river ledges, timberlines, main lake ridges and humps, secondary and main lake points with mid to deep diving crank baits, slab spoons, tail spinners and Texas or Carolina rigged soft plastics. Watch for schooling bass and keep a lipless crankbait, shallow diving crankbait and top water plug handy.

LOCATION: Toledo Bend Lake HOTSPOT: Big Branch GPS: N 31 17.58, W 93 44.412 (31.2930, -93.7402)

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Flag Down Palestine Bass and Crappie

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, soft plastics CONTACT: Mike Knight 936-635-2427 notechmike@hotmail.com www.easttxﬁshingguide.com TIPS: August at Toledo Bend can be great for a bass ﬁsherman with a big “IF”. IF he understands deep water electronics and if he can stand the summer heat. The best bites will be along the old river ledges and offshore humps in 25 to 30 foot depths. Look for the south 1/3 of the lake with the clearest water to be the best producing area.

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by Dustin Warncke & Dean Heffner

• • • SPOTLIGHT LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Flag Bay GPS: N 32 11.058, W 95 27.33 (32.1843, -95.4555)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: In August the bass move out a little deeper in the middle of the lake. When It gets a little warmer and it’s super bright out, ﬁsh the bridges or the rip rap where there is access to deeper water. LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: Back of Cedar Creek GPS: N31 9.88098, W97 27.48396 (31.164683, -97.458066)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass and Crappie BEST BAITS: Bass: Indian swim jig w/ Mister

LOCATION: Bachman Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 51.258, W 96 51.8459 (32.8543, -96.8641)

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Deep-diving crankbaits, Carolinarigged soft plastics CONTACT: Bob Maindelle 254-368-7411 Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: This creek has abundant shad typically holding over shoulders of the creek channel. Fish a deep-diving crankbait on light line in the upper end to scrape these shoulders. Once ﬁsh are located, ﬁsh a Carolina rig to thoroughly cover the area.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 16.11, W 96 7.7279 (32.2685, -96.1288)

SPECIES: Hybrid Striper BEST BAITS: Deep diver crankbaits CONTACT: Jason Barber 903-603-2047 kingscreekadventures@yahoo.com www.kingscreekadventures.com TIPS: This is a great time of year to load up on hybrids! Troll humps and points on the main lake in 14’ to 24’ with deep divers at about 3 mph. LOCATION: Lake Eagle Mountain HOTSPOT: The Old Walnut Creek Bed GPS: N 32 54.3033, W 97 30.907 (32.9051, -97.5151)

SPECIES: White bass BEST BAITS: Hell pet CONTACT: Johnny Stevens 817-597-6598 johnnystevens@1scom.net johnnysguideservice.com TIPS: “This area is the old Walnut Creek bed. Troll the hell pet rig in this area. Sand bass love this area as the water reaches summer time temperature.” LOCATION: Fayette County Reservoir HOTSPOT: Snake Island Point GPS: N 29 55.877, W 96 43.366 (29.9313, -96.7228)

SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch bait, cut shad

LOCATION: Granger Lake HOTSPOT: Dam Area GPS: N 30 41.502, W 97 20.2319 (30.6917, -97.3372)

LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Intake Channel GPS: N 30 37.0213, W 96 4.3309 (30.6170, -96.0722)

SPECIES: White Bass and Catfish BEST BAITS: Slabs, marabou jigs tipped with Berkley Crappie Nibbles CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell 512-365-7761 crappie1@hotmail.com www.gotcrappie.com TIPS: Right now the white bass are schooling on the humps and ridges out from the dam. They can be found from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, during the hottest part of the day. Find the fish on your sonar and position your boat right on top of the hump or ridge. Use a slab spoon and work the spoon by bouncing or dragging it along the bottom. The largest fish are close to the bottom. The crappie are also very good now and are much fatter than they have been all summer. Use a marabou jig tipped with a Berkley Crappie Nibble. Hold the jig right above the structure and wait for the tap. Good luck and good fishing.

SPECIES: Catﬁsh BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch bait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.ﬁshtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Water is warm right now and chumming works great. Anchor on left side of intake, in the trees. Fish should show up in 15 minutes or so, attracted to the chum. Fish cork just off the bottom or tight line for both channel and blue cats. LOCATION: Lake Granbury HOTSPOT: Lower Ends GPS: N 32 22.659, W 97 42.009 (32.3777, -97.7002)

LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Little Ridge Point GPS: N 33 3.7859, W 96 27.792 (33.0631, -96.4632)

SPECIES: Striped bass BEST BAITS: Live shad and perch; white or chartreuse curly tail trailers on large pony head jigs for downrigging CONTACT: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters 817-578-0023 TIPS: Work channel ledges near feeding flats or humps in 15 feet of water. Fish large live baits on a Carolina rig and use a balloon to float the presentation away from the boat. Freelining a shad with a balloon in the shallows will produce bigger fish as well. Granbury water temperatures continue in the upper 80’s and summertime is in full force. Thermocline is present T E X A S

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and all ﬁsh are in the top layer of water. Striped bass continue to be good early and late on the lower ends on humps that are above the thermocline. White bass are schooling early and late on shad on several areas of the main lake.

CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Anchor 20-25 foot deep off the point. Chum close to the boat and fish straight down, using tight lines. It is best to fish on a light wind day here at this hotspot.

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass & White Bass BEST BAITS: Largemouth Bass: white & chartreuse spinnerbaits, square bill crankbaits, Series 5 Sexy Shad | White Bass: white top water lures CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 thorn_alex@yahoo.com TexasOklahomaFishingGuide.com TIPS: Fish the rip rap and rocks for largemouth bass. |

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FISHING HOTSPOTS simmonsroyce@hotmail.com www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: The hot summer months are ideal for schooling top water white bass action and the Pelican Island area is always a good hotspot to check out in the early morning. Literally acres of whites will be chasing shad to the surface and feeding on them and Pelican is as good as any spot to find them. Tie on just about any small shiny top water lure and you’re in business. I like a clear Tiny Torpedo or about the smallest blue/chrome Rat-L-Trap you can throw on a spinning rod. When the fish stop feeding on the surface, don’t leave right away as you can often catch them slabbing off the bottom. This type of fishing is about as much FUN as you can find and ideal for kiddos!

White and chartreuse spinnerbaits work well early in the morning. Then switch to a square bill crankbait, a 1 to 6 foot diver, until approximately 9 AM. Then switch to a 12 to 15 foot Series 5 Sexy Shad. For white bass we have a thermocline which should be expected. There might be top water action every morning and evening. Otherwise look for them on every main point and the humps outside of Little Ridge point. This year white is the color of choice. If they’re not out there check for them in 1 to 3 foot along any wind-blown banks. If the white egrets are lining the bank the ﬁsh will be there too. LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts HOTSPOT: Brush Pile GPS: N 33 24.127, W 97 5.314 (33.4021, -97.0886)

LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Little Crappie Point GPS: N 30 18.5001, W 96 31.7601 (30.3083, -96.5293)

SPECIES: Crappie, white bass BEST BAITS: Minnows, swimbaits CONTACT: Justin Wilson 214-538-2780 justinwilson371@yahoo.com TIPS: White bass are still really good on topwaters early in the morning and should continue throughout the month. When you find them on top, I recommend small swimbaits, white or chartreuse on a 1/4 oz. jig head. They will hit just about anything when they’re schooling but using the single hook makes for a quicker release and more time catching vs. a treble hook on a hard plastic. The crappie bite has been tough, still catching quite a few smaller fish. Summer fishing pressure has the ratio of keepers to throwbacks at about 1:5. Look for these fish holding close to brush piles in 25-35 foot of water.

SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs in light blue or grey CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.ﬁshtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Fish 1/16 oz. jigs. Try free falling jig and try lowering jig to brush pile slowly. Minnows under a cork, ﬁshed right above brush or large rocks, works as well.

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Topwater lures, jigworm, Texas-rigged soft plastics CONTACT: Bob Maindelle 254-368-7411 Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Top water lures, Rat-L-Traps, slabs CONTACT: Royce Simmons 903-389-4117

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LOCATION: Lake Tawakoni HOTSPOT: Sycamore Cove GPS: N 32 55.818, W 95 58.8 (32.9303, -95.9800)

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rigs, live shad CONTACT: Andrew Taylor, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service (903) 269-6587 etxbass@gmail.com www.Laketawakoni.guide TIPS: In August, you will find me Carolina rigging shad on 24” leaders. Typically, I’m structure fishing early in the day, hitting humps and sides of embankments. After the sun gets up and the water starts to turn warm, I typically head out to deep water, around 35’45’. I spend a lot of time on my electronics searching for schools of stripers. Once a school is located and depending on the size, I figure out how we will set up on them. If the schools are moving super-fast, I like to set up a slow drift, dragging large threadfins. If the schools seem to commit and hold under the boat, we will “Spotlock” and let them feed under us. LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Juniper Point and the Islands GPS: N 33 51.888, W 96 49.8779 (33.8648, -96.8313)

LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Lake HOTSPOT: Timbered Shoreline GPS: N31 2.12478, W97 34.75896 (31.035413, -97.579316)

LOCATION: Richland Chambers Lake HOTSPOT: Pelican Island GPS: N 31 58.9439, W 96 10.5959 (31.9824, -96.1766)

TIPS: Fish topwaters up through 9 a.m. Use Bass Assassin-style soft plastics and Zara Spook style lures to match forage size. After the topwater bite dies go with Watermelon-seed or Smoke, blue-red ﬂake soft plastics around emergent or submerged timber.

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Top water lures, Sassy Shad jigs CONTACT: Bill Carey 903-786-4477 bigfishlaketexoma@gmail.com www.striperexpress.com TIPS: “The big fish move onto the flats in August. Early mornings, cast Pencil Poppers and Chug Bugs on the shallow banks. Mid-morning, change your lures to

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FISHING HOTSPOTS Sassy Shad soft plastics. Concentrate on the flats that run about twenty feet in depth. Locate the creek channel and drop offs as these are the routes the fish use to move up from deep water. Later in the morning, when the seagulls arrive, pay close attention to the birds as they are the best fish finder. Bank Access: West Juniper Point and Mill Creek Flats” LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Old Hwy 22 Road Bed & Mouth of Little Rocky Creek GPS: N 31 52.038, W 97 23.1659 (31.8673, -97.3861)

Henry Bass Start Mouthing Off

TIPS: The fish have made their migration to the dam and it`s an early morning/late evening/cloudy day bite. The old wives’ tale, “Early bird gets the worm,” is very true this time of year. Live shad is always best for bait but trolling also works well this time of year. We use Mister Twister trailer tails this time of year because fish just can`t resist them. Big stick baits and hard broken tail baits work well but find a sandy flat and drag them around to find out how deep they run before running them, so you don’t lose them in the trees or rocks. Topwater action is great at daylight, under the clouds or at dusk. My preferred bait is a POP-R but there’s so many versions out now there is too many to name but stick to ones that walk the dog or like the Pop-R goes “bloop-bloop versus the prop baits for some reason that works well on Whitney but not at PK.

by Dustin Warncke & Dean Heffner

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry HOTSPOT: Mouth of Rocky Creek GPS: N 33 1.698, W 101 6.504 (33.0283, -101.1084)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: White buck tail jigs and white Snake worm trailers, white jigs with chartreuse, Snake worm trailers from Striper Sniper Tackle CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Down-rigging and trolling is still the ticket on Whitney during the summer months. This is a little later bite than the norm. The best bites down-rigging seem to be after 8:30 AM and last until mid-afternoon. Fishing like this is a great way to kick back enjoy the scenery and catch a lot of ﬁsh plus it keeps the boat moving and creates a breeze on these dog days of summer. The key is to note on your graph where the thermocline is and set your baits just above it. I like to also target areas where the thermocline meets structure and pull white-on-white jigs and trailers or any combination of white and chartreuse at 19’ to 22’ in areas like along the roadbed at the State Park and around the mouth of Little Rocky creek.

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Think Inside the Box for Bass

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Large soft plastic worms CONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services 806-792-9220 nclayton42@sbcglobal.net www.lakealanhenry.com/fishing-guides.html TIPS: “August is the perfect month to try to fish at night and beat the heat. At night you have the lake to yourself. It’s cool and the fish usually bite. At night, I fish mostly the clear water area on Alan Henry with big worms. The clear water will mostly be found near the dam area. If fishing in the day time, you will need to use your depth finder to locate the schools of shad. If you find the shad, you will find the bass. The bass this time of year will be schooled up in the channels of the creeks and in the mouths of the creeks. The shad schools can be anywhere, and it changes from day to day. Here today - gone tomorrow. Fish fun - fish safe!”

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SPECIES: Stripers, hybrids BEST BAITS: Live shad, Mister Twister trailers, stick baits, topwaters CONTACT: Dean Heffner 940-329-0036 fav7734@aceweb.com

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SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Texas-rigged plastic worms, Senkos, crawdad-colored medium-diving crankbaits CONTACT: Larry Scruggs 210-789-1645 TIPS: Fish the backs of the pockets with crankbaits and plastic worms early and then move out to the points and edges of hydrilla beds from late-morning until mid-day. Return to the backs of the coves during the late-evening hours for more active ﬁsh.

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by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Amistad HOTSPOT: Box Canyon GPS: N29 31.4325, W101 10.209 (29.523875, -101.170150)

LOCATION: Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Stump Patch GPS: N 32 52.516, W 98 29.427 (32.8753, -98.4905)

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FISHING HOTSPOTS Stripers and White Bass on Buchanan

gold or silver ﬂash is another good bet. Use all of this with your downriggers! Live shad or blue gills will be the best baits overall. White bass will be in mid lake area around Garret Island or Shaw Island. Fish tree tops along the old river bed as well.” LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Scuba Diver’s Point GPS: N 29 51.8879, W 98 12.8399 (29.8648, -98.2140)

by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Mid-Lake to Dam Area GPS: N 30 46.53, W 98 25.2119 (30.7755, -98.4202)

••

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Rapala Snap Rap in gold orange color CONTACT: Capt. Steve Nixon, Fishhooks Adventures (210) 573-1230 steve@sanantoniofishingguides.com http://www.sanantoniofishingguides.com TIPS: “Fish this area from 40 to 60 feet deep and look for schools of striped bass on your fish finder. When located, I hold the boat in place with my trolling motor and vary presentations with the Snap Rap until we get a strike. The west side of the point seems to produce best. Tight lines and fish on!”

••

•••

Sulpher Smells Like Bass on Coleto

•••

LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 45.7619, W 98 25.638 (30.7627, -98.4273)

by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Sulphur Creek GPS: N 28 43.32, W 97 11.6759 (28.7220, -97.1946) SPECIES: Striped Bass and White Bass BEST BAITS: White 1/2 oz. jigs with either white or chartreuse flirts or worms, Long A 15’s or 16’s in black or blue back gold or silver flash, both of the above on downriggers, live shad, live bluegills CONTACT: Ken Milam 325-379-2051 kmilam@verizon.net www.striperfever.com.com TIPS: “Stripers will be in the main lake looking for cooler water! Trolling white 1/2 oz. jigs with either white or chartreuse flirts or worms is a good tactic. Trolling Long A 15’s or 16’s in black or blue back |

A U G U S T

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2 0 1 9

•••

LOCATION: Lake Calaveras HOTSPOT: Corvina Cove GPS: N29 17.2557, W98 19.70952 (29.287595, -98.328492)

SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@gmail.com www.centraltexasfishing.com TIPS: Fish mid-lake to the dam early morning and late evening. Fish drifting or anchored with 5-8” live shad. Concentrate on 25-30 foot depths on humps and ridges around Flag Island. Mid-day fish near or just above the trees in 50-70 foot of water.

Texas so take plenty to drink and some extra for those on your boat that might forget. Also, we never know when a break down might happen! If you want some fun, tie on a 1/2 oz. white Lunker buzzbait very early morning or very late evening. Slow roll it along any structure, rocks, grass and docks, even during a little rain shower. I consider this a big bass bait - more or less in the same category as a spinnerbait. You’re sure to draw a big bite.

T E X A S

F I S H

LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Siesta Shores Coves GPS: N26 51.63138, W99 15.6111 (26.860523, -99.260185)

••

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: 1/2 oz. white Lunker buzzbait CONTACT: Rocky’s Guide Service 361-960-0566 TIPS: As a rule, this is our hottest month in south |

SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Punch bait, cut shad CONTACT: Capt. Steve Nixon, Fishhooks Adventures (210) 573-1230 steve@sanantoniofishingguides.com http://www.sanantoniofishingguides.com TIPS: The warmer water temperatures are keeping the channel catfish in deeper water along the edges of the creek channel. Target 15 to 22 feet. Use soured maize to chum two to three areas 30 minutes before fishing. The morning action will be best.

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Plunker-type topwater lures, 11-inch plastic worms, deep-diving crankbaits CONTACT: Robert Amaya 956-765-1442 TIPS: Use topwater lures early near the shoreline and then after mid-morning ﬁsh the outside edges of the submerged brush with Texas-rigged plastic worms and deep-diving crankbaits at 12 to 18 feet deep.

G A M E ®

7/11/19 2:04 PM

TexasOutdoorNation-1908-DIG.indd 55

7/11/19 2:04 PM

Sportsman’s DAYBOOK AUGUST 2019

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 T17

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY is shown in the lower color boxes of the Calendar pages. Use the SOLUNAR ADJUSTMENT SCALE below to adjust times for points East and West of Galveston Channel.

T15 T16

TIDE PREDICTIONS are shown in graph form, with High and Low tide predictions in text immediately below. SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of inﬂuence on many wildlife species.

T13 T6

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

READING THE GRAPH

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

Moon Overhead

Fishing Score Graph

Moon Underfoot

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 56

A U G U S T

TexasOutdoorNation-1908-DIG.indd 56

2 0 1 9

T E X A S

F I S H

G A M E ®

7/11/19 2:04 PM

AUGUST 2019

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

High Tide: 4:49a Low Tide: 8:50p

TUESDAY

30 «

1.50ft. -0.46ft.

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

FEET

5:29a 10:25a 12:24p 9:39p

WEDNESDAY

31 l

1.58ft. 1.37ft. 1.38ft. -0.56ft.

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

6:07a 10:47a 1:54p 10:28p

THURSDAY

Aug 1 «

1.60ft. 1.34ft. 1.40ft. -0.59ft.

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

6:43a 11:23a 3:12p 11:17p

1.58ft. 1.26ft. 1.39ft. -0.52ft.

FRIDAY

2«

High Tide: 7:17a Low Tide: 12:07p High Tide: 4:30p

SATURDAY

3«

1.52ft. 1.12ft. 1.34ft.

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

12:07a 7:49a 12:58p 5:52p

SUNDAY

-0.36ft. 1.44ft. 0.94ft. 1.26ft.

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

12:56a 8:18a 1:54p 7:22p

-0.11ft. 1.36ft. 0.71ft. 1.16ft.

FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

4:00 — 6:00 PM

12p

12:00 — 2:00 PM

0.20ft. 1.29ft. 0.48ft. 1.09ft.

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

2:37a 9:10a 4:00p 10:57p

0.53ft. 1.24ft. 0.25ft. 1.10ft.

12a

0.85ft. 1.21ft. 0.05ft.

12p

12a

BEST TIME

12p

12a

BEST TIME

2:00 — 4:00 PM

Sunrise: 6:39a Sunset: 8:09p Moonrise: 9:25a Moon Set: 10:29p

AM Minor: 7:08a AM Major: 12:53a PM Minor: 7:37p PM Major: 1:23p

12a

4:00 — 6:00 PM Sunrise: 6:40a Sunset: 8:09p Moonrise: 10:32a Moon Set: 11:08p

AM Minor: 8:10a AM Major: 1:57a PM Minor: 8:38p PM Major: 2:24p

Moon Overhead: 3:05p Moon Underfoot: 2:36a

12p

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM

Sunrise: 6:39a Sunset: 8:10p Moonrise: 8:16a Moon Set: 9:47p

Moon Overhead: 2:06p Moon Underfoot: 1:36a

AM Minor: 9:11a AM Major: 2:58a PM Minor: 9:38p PM Major: 3:25p

Moon Overhead: 4:01p Moon Underfoot: 3:33a

Moon Overhead: 4:53p Moon Underfoot: 4:27a

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY Low Tide: 3:37a High Tide: 9:32a Low Tide: 5:05p

AM Minor: 6:05a AM Major: 11:46a PM Minor: 6:36p PM Major: 12:21p

Moon Overhead: 1:05p Moon Underfoot: 12:34a

12p

Sunrise: 6:38a Sunset: 8:11p Moonrise: 7:05a Moon Set: 9:01p

AM Minor: 5:04a AM Major: 11:20a PM Minor: 5:35p PM Major: 11:51p

TUESDAY

1:00 — 3:00 PM

Sunrise: 6:37a Sunset: 8:11p Moonrise: 5:57a Moon Set: 8:09p

Moon Overhead: 12:02p Moon Underfoot: None

MONDAY

12a

BEST TIME

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

READING THE GRAPH

FEET

BEST TIME

AM Minor: 4:06a AM Major: 10:22a PM Minor: 4:37p PM Major: 10:52p

Moon Overhead: 11:02a Moon Underfoot: 11:32p

1:45a 8:45a 2:56p 9:04p

12a

Sunrise: 6:37a Sunset: 8:12p Moonrise: 4:52a Moon Set: 7:12p

AM Minor: 3:12a AM Major: 9:27a PM Minor: 3:42p PM Major: 9:57p

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

5:00 — 7:00 PM

Sunrise: 6:36a Sunset: 8:13p Moonrise: 3:53a Moon Set: 6:11p

12p

BEST TIME

Day’s 2nd Best Score

Best Day Overall

THURSDAY

8º

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

1:00a 5:22a 9:52a 6:06p

1.20ft. 1.10ft. 1.21ft. -0.10ft.

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

FRIDAY

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

2:53a 8:38a 10:01a 7:05p

1.35ft. 1.22ft. 1.23ft. -0.21ft.

SATURDAY

High Tide: 4:05a Low Tide: 7:58p

SUNDAY

1.46ft. -0.26ft.

High Tide: 4:52a Low Tide: 8:46p

1.51ft. -0.28ft. FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

4:00 — 6:00 AM Sunrise: 6:40a Sunset: 8:08p Moonrise: 11:37a Moon Set: 11:46p

AM Minor: 10:10a AM Major: 3:57a PM Minor: 10:35p PM Major: 4:22p

Moon Overhead: 5:44p Moon Underfoot: 5:19a

12p

BEST TIME

5:00 — 7:00 AM Sunrise: 6:41a Sunset: 8:07p Moonrise: 12:40p Moon Set: None

AM Minor: 11:05a AM Major: 4:52a PM Minor: 11:30p PM Major: 5:17p

Moon Overhead: 6:34p Moon Underfoot: 6:09a

12a

12p

BEST TIME

12:30 — 2:30 PM Sunrise: 6:41a Sunset: 8:06p Moonrise: 1:42p Moon Set: 12:23a

AM Minor: 11:57a AM Major: 5:44a PM Minor: ----PM Major: 6:09p

Moon Overhead: 7:24p Moon Underfoot: 6:59a

T E X A S

TexasOutdoorNation-1908-DIG.indd 57

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

1:00 — 3:00 PM

2:00 — 4:00 PM Sunrise: 6:43a Sunset: 8:05p Moonrise: 3:42p Moon Set: 1:43a

AM Minor: 12:21a AM Major: 6:34a PM Minor: 12:47p PM Major: 6:59p

AM Minor: 1:09a AM Major: 7:22a PM Minor: 1:34p PM Major: 7:47p

Moon Overhead: 8:15p Moon Underfoot: 7:49a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:42a Sunset: 8:05p Moonrise: 2:42p Moon Set: 1:02a

F I S H

Moon Overhead: 9:06p Moon Underfoot: 8:40a

G A M E ®

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM Sunrise: 6:43a Sunset: 8:04p Moonrise: 4:39p Moon Set: 2:27a

12a

4:00 — 6:00 PM Sunrise: 6:44a Sunset: 8:03p Moonrise: 5:32p Moon Set: 3:15a

AM Minor: 1:55a AM Major: 8:08a PM Minor: 2:21p PM Major: 8:34p

AM Minor: 2:41a AM Major: 8:54a PM Minor: 3:07p PM Major: 9:20p

Moon Overhead: 9:57p Moon Underfoot: 9:32a A U G U S T

12p

BEST TIME

Moon Overhead: 10:49p Moon Underfoot: 10:23a

2 0 1 9

7/11/19 2:04 PM

Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

12 FEET

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

5:27a 11:31a 12:37p 9:29p

TUESDAY

1.52ft. 1.28ft. 1.28ft. -0.25ft.

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

5:54a 11:28a 1:48p 10:08p

WEDNESDAY

14 «

1.49ft. 1.27ft. 1.30ft. -0.19ft.

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

6:16a 11:25a 2:45p 10:42p

THURSDAY

15 «

1.44ft. 1.23ft. 1.31ft. -0.11ft.

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

6:35a 11:27a 3:37p 11:14p

1.40ft. 1.17ft. 1.31ft. -0.00ft.

FRIDAY

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

6:54a 11:43a 4:28p 11:43p

SATURDAY

17 «

1.36ft. 1.09ft. 1.29ft. 0.13ft.

High Tide: 7:13a Low Tide: 12:11p High Tide: 5:21p

1.33ft. 0.99ft. 1.24ft.

SUNDAY

18 « Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

12:11a 7:33a 12:45p 6:18p

0.28ft. 1.31ft. 0.89ft. 1.19ft.

FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

12:00 — 2:00 AM Sunrise: 6:44a Sunset: 8:02p Moonrise: 6:22p Moon Set: 4:05a

12p

0.45ft. 1.28ft. 0.79ft. 1.14ft.

12:00 — 2:00 PM

1:06a 8:05a 2:05p 8:46p

0.63ft. 1.26ft. 0.68ft. 1.11ft.

1:35a 8:10a 2:51p 10:26p

12a

0.82ft. 1.25ft. 0.56ft. 1.14ft.

12p

12a

BEST TIME

8:30 — 10:30 PM

AM Minor: 6:33a AM Major: 12:22a PM Minor: 6:55p PM Major: 12:44p

Moon Overhead: 1:16a Moon Underfoot: 1:39p

12p

12a

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:47a Sunset: 7:58p Moonrise: 9:02p Moon Set: 7:40a

AM Minor: 5:46a AM Major: 11:58a PM Minor: 6:09p PM Major: -----

9:00 — 11:00 PM Sunrise: 6:47a Sunset: 7:57p Moonrise: 9:34p Moon Set: 8:33a

AM Minor: 7:19a AM Major: 1:08a PM Minor: 7:40p PM Major: 1:30p

Moon Overhead: 2:02a Moon Underfoot: 2:24p

12p

12a

BEST TIME

8:30 — 10:30 AM Sunrise: 6:48a Sunset: 7:56p Moonrise: 10:04p Moon Set: 9:25a

AM Minor: 8:05a AM Major: 1:55a PM Minor: 8:26p PM Major: 2:15p

Moon Overhead: 2:45a Moon Underfoot: 3:06p

Moon Overhead: 3:27a Moon Underfoot: 3:47p

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

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

12:30 — 2:30 PM

Moon Overhead: 12:29a Moon Underfoot: 12:53p

12p

Sunrise: 6:46a Sunset: 7:59p Moonrise: 8:27p Moon Set: 6:46a

AM Minor: 5:00a AM Major: 11:12a PM Minor: 5:24p PM Major: 11:36p

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

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:46a Sunset: 8:00p Moonrise: 7:49p Moon Set: 5:52a

Moon Overhead: None Moon Underfoot: 12:04p

12a

BEST TIME

AM Minor: 4:13a AM Major: 10:26a PM Minor: 4:38p PM Major: 10:50p

MONDAY

FEET

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

READING THE GRAPH

12:38a 7:51a 1:24p 7:24p

12a

12:30 — 2:30 AM

Moon Overhead: 11:39p Moon Underfoot: 11:14a

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

Sunrise: 6:45a Sunset: 8:01p Moonrise: 7:08p Moon Set: 4:58a

AM Minor: 3:27a AM Major: 9:40a PM Minor: 3:52p PM Major: 10:05p

12p

BEST TIME

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

Low Tide: 2:06a High Tide: 7:59a Low Tide: 3:43p

1.01ft. 1.26ft. 0.43ft.

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

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

23 » High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:20a 2:42a 7:22a 4:40p

1.23ft. 1.20ft. 1.31ft. 0.29ft.

SATURDAY

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

2:10a 3:45a 6:51a 5:40p

1.37ft. 1.37ft. 1.40ft. 0.14ft.

SUNDAY

High Tide: 3:12a Low Tide: 6:40p

1.52ft. -0.02ft. FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 AM Sunrise: 6:48a Sunset: 7:55p Moonrise: 10:34p Moon Set: 10:17a

AM Minor: 8:51a AM Major: 2:41a PM Minor: 9:12p PM Major: 3:01p

Moon Overhead: 4:08a Moon Underfoot: 4:28p

12p

BEST TIME

4:00 — 6:00 AM Sunrise: 6:49a Sunset: 7:54p Moonrise: 11:05p Moon Set: 11:09a

AM Minor: 9:37a AM Major: 3:27a PM Minor: 9:58p PM Major: 3:48p

Moon Overhead: 4:49a Moon Underfoot: 5:09p

A U G U S T

TexasOutdoorNation-1908-DIG.indd 58

2 0 1 9

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

5:00 — 7:00 AM Sunrise: 6:50a Sunset: 7:53p Moonrise: 11:37p Moon Set: 12:02p

AM Minor: 10:24a AM Major: 4:13a PM Minor: 10:45p PM Major: 4:34p

12a

12:30 — 2:30 PM

AM Minor: 11:11a AM Major: 4:59a PM Minor: 11:33p PM Major: 5:22p

T E X A S

Moon Overhead: 6:14a Moon Underfoot: 6:37p

F I S H

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:50a Sunset: 7:52p Moonrise: None Moon Set: 12:57p

Moon Overhead: 5:30a Moon Underfoot: 5:52p

12p

BEST TIME

1:30 — 3:30 PM Sunrise: 6:51a Sunset: 7:51p Moonrise: 12:13a Moon Set: 1:54p

AM Minor: 11:59a AM Major: 5:47a PM Minor: ----PM Major: 6:11p

Moon Overhead: 7:01a Moon Underfoot: 7:26p

12a

12p

BEST TIME

2:00 — 4:00 PM Sunrise: 6:51a Sunset: 7:50p Moonrise: 12:54a Moon Set: 2:53p

AM Minor: 12:22a AM Major: 6:35a PM Minor: 12:49p PM Major: 7:02p

Moon Overhead: 7:51a Moon Underfoot: 8:18p

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM Sunrise: 6:52a Sunset: 7:49p Moonrise: 1:40a Moon Set: 3:54p

AM Minor: 1:12a AM Major: 7:26a PM Minor: 1:40p PM Major: 7:54p

Moon Overhead: 8:46a Moon Underfoot: 9:14p

G A M E ®

7/11/19 2:04 PM

AUGUST 2019

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

High Tide: 3:51a Low Tide: 7:38p

TUESDAY

1.62ft. -0.16ft.

High Tide: 4:24a Low Tide: 8:32p

WEDNESDAY

28 «

1.69ft. -0.25ft.

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

FEET

4:55a 9:41a 1:13p 9:25p

THURSDAY

29 «

1.70ft. 1.45ft. 1.53ft. -0.27ft.

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

5:24a 10:08a 2:39p 10:16p

FRIDAY

30 l «

1.68ft. 1.32ft. 1.57ft. -0.21ft.

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

5:52a 10:46a 3:56p 11:05p

SATURDAY

31 «

1.62ft. 1.14ft. 1.58ft. -0.05ft.

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

6:17a 11:30a 5:12p 11:54p

SUNDAY

1.55ft. 0.92ft. 1.56ft. 0.20ft.

Sep 1 « High Tide: 6:42a Low Tide: 12:19p High Tide: 6:30p

1.48ft. 0.69ft. 1.52ft. FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

3:30 — 5:30 PM

12p

11:00A — 1:00P

0.49ft. 1.43ft. 0.47ft. 1.47ft.

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

1:33a 7:28a 2:09p 9:29p

0.81ft. 1.40ft. 0.30ft. 1.45ft.

2:29a 7:47a 3:11p 11:17p

12a

1.10ft. 1.39ft. 0.18ft. 1.49ft.

12p

12a

BEST TIME

12p

12a

BEST TIME

12:30 — 2:30 PM Sunrise: 6:54a Sunset: 7:44p Moonrise: 7:01a Moon Set: 8:20p

1:30 — 3:30 PM

12a

2:30 — 4:30 Sunrise: 6:55a Sunset: 7:41p Moonrise: 9:18a Moon Set: 9:41p

AM Minor: 6:44a AM Major: 12:30a PM Minor: 7:11p PM Major: 12:57p

Moon Overhead: 1:44p Moon Underfoot: 1:16a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:55a Sunset: 7:43p Moonrise: 8:11a Moon Set: 9:02p

AM Minor: 5:45a AM Major: ----PM Minor: 6:14p PM Major: 12:28p

Moon Overhead: 12:46p Moon Underfoot: 12:16a

AM Minor: 7:42a AM Major: 1:29a PM Minor: 8:09p PM Major: 1:56p

Moon Overhead: 2:40p Moon Underfoot: 2:12a

Moon Overhead: 3:33p Moon Underfoot: 3:07a

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

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

AM Minor: 4:48a AM Major: 11:03a PM Minor: 5:18p PM Major: 11:33p

Moon Overhead: 11:46a Moon Underfoot: None

12p

Sunrise: 6:54a Sunset: 7:45p Moonrise: 5:50a Moon Set: 7:36p

AM Minor: 3:51a AM Major: 10:07a PM Minor: 4:22p PM Major: 10:37p

TUESDAY

11:30A — 1:30P

Sunrise: 6:53a Sunset: 7:46p Moonrise: 4:41a Moon Set: 6:46p

Moon Overhead: 10:44a Moon Underfoot: 11:15p

MONDAY

12a

BEST TIME

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

READING THE GRAPH

FEET

BEST TIME

AM Minor: 2:56a AM Major: 9:12a PM Minor: 3:27p PM Major: 9:42p

Moon Overhead: 9:44a Moon Underfoot: 10:14p

12:43a 7:06a 1:12p 7:55p

12a

Sunrise: 6:53a Sunset: 7:47p Moonrise: 3:34a Moon Set: 5:52p

AM Minor: 2:03a AM Major: 8:18a PM Minor: 2:33p PM Major: 8:48p

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

4:30 — 6:30 PM

Sunrise: 6:52a Sunset: 7:48p Moonrise: 2:34a Moon Set: 4:54p

Sep 2

12p

BEST TIME

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

Low Tide: 4:01a High Tide: 7:56a Low Tide: 4:19p

1.33ft. 1.39ft. 0.11ft.

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

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

6º

High Tide: 1:17a Low Tide: 5:29p

1.57ft. 0.07ft.

SATURDAY

High Tide: 2:49a Low Tide: 6:38p

SUNDAY

1.65ft. 0.06ft.

High Tide: 3:43a Low Tide: 7:38p

1.69ft. 0.08ft. FEET

+3.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM Sunrise: 6:56a Sunset: 7:40p Moonrise: 10:24a Moon Set: 10:19p

AM Minor: 8:41a AM Major: 2:28a PM Minor: 9:07p PM Major: 2:54p

Moon Overhead: 4:25p Moon Underfoot: 3:59a

12p

BEST TIME

4:00 — 6:00 PM Sunrise: 6:56a Sunset: 7:39p Moonrise: 11:29a Moon Set: 10:59p

AM Minor: 9:40a AM Major: 3:27a PM Minor: 10:06p PM Major: 3:53p

Moon Overhead: 5:17p Moon Underfoot: 4:51a

12a

12p

BEST TIME

4:00 — 6:00 AM Sunrise: 6:57a Sunset: 7:38p Moonrise: 12:33p Moon Set: 11:40p

AM Minor: 10:37a AM Major: 4:24a PM Minor: 11:03p PM Major: 4:50p

Moon Overhead: 6:09p Moon Underfoot: 5:43a

T E X A S

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12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

6:00 — 8:00 PM

1:30 — 3:30 PM Sunrise: 6:58a Sunset: 7:36p Moonrise: 2:34p Moon Set: 12:25a

AM Minor: 11:32a AM Major: 5:19a PM Minor: 11:58p PM Major: 5:45p

AM Minor: 12:01a AM Major: 6:12a PM Minor: 12:25p PM Major: 6:38p

Moon Overhead: 7:01p Moon Underfoot: 6:35a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:57a Sunset: 7:37p Moonrise: 1:35p Moon Set: None

F I S H

Moon Overhead: 7:54p Moon Underfoot: 7:27a

G A M E ®

12a

12p

12a

BEST TIME

2:00 — 4:00 PM Sunrise: 6:58a Sunset: 7:34p Moonrise: 3:29p Moon Set: 1:12a

12a

3:00 — 5:00 PM Sunrise: 6:59a Sunset: 7:33p Moonrise: 4:20p Moon Set: 2:02a

AM Minor: 12:49a AM Major: 7:02a PM Minor: 1:15p PM Major: 7:28p

AM Minor: 1:37a AM Major: 7:50a PM Minor: 2:03p PM Major: 8:16p

Moon Overhead: 8:46p Moon Underfoot: 8:20a A U G U S T

12p

BEST TIME

Moon Overhead: 9:37p Moon Underfoot: 9:11a

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7/11/19 2:04 PM

HIS YEAR IS NOT just any year for hunting and fishing. For me, it’s the beginning of a new journey of conservation through hunting and fishing and a renewal for the love of the pursuit. It’s easy, working in the outdoors 60

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business, to get worn out on certain things because, in my case, everything for the last 27 years involving fishing, hunting or wildlife has somehow related to my livelihood. Most of you don’t work in the business but even in our own lives it can be challenging to keep that fire of

enthusiasm lit for all things outdoors. Maybe you’ve lost friendships because of deer lease issues or, like me, had a family loss that meant losing your favorite hunting partner. I challenge you to renew you love for the great outdoors this year and follow my path for renewal.

by Chester Moore

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Special SECTION Get Outside-Now!

the great outdoors. Take some time, maybe a full day or a weekend and go to some unfamiliar place in the great outdoors and just bask in the glory of the Creation. I had an opportunity to do this while

Sometimes we need to be alone. And I am not talking about sitting away isolated in your house, reflecting on days gone by. I’m talking about alone in

fishing a remote section of the Nueces River. I found myself wading far into a particular creek that was not only one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Texas but was loaded with sun perch, largemouth and Guadalupe bass. I felt like a kid watching a red, white and blue bobber go under as I got bit every single cast for more than two hours and then even when the action slowed the scenery was intoxicating. Go find such a place and hit the field. Don’t go to your familiar deer lease or the same old fishing hole. Find something new and I promise it will help renew-you.

Get Flexible I have lost 16 pounds this year (gradually) and have four more to go before I reach my goal. Most of it has to do with eating a lot better. For me it’s restricting carbs and eliminating most sugars. Find a good eating plan that benefits you, your medical condition and lifestyle. I won’t sit here and recommend a bunch of exercises but I will recommend stretching. Being flexible is incredibly important in the great outdoors and is an area most of us never consider. A more flexible body is less likely to get injured hiking in rough country or simply slinging corn sacks into a deer feeder. Additionally it will allow you to feel better about the outdoors experience. I do the stretches from DDP Yoga and they help tremendously. I have stretched most days of my life since practicing Tae Kwon Do with Master David Howells back in the early 2000s and can outdo most of my friends by a long shot when it comes to flexibility. Figure out some safe stretches for you and get to it.

Practice Makes Conﬁdent Practice does not make perfect but it can make you far more confident when that big buck walks out. I will be practicing with my Matthew 62

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No Cam that was gifted to me by a good friend heavily by the time this story reaches you. I have big plans for archery season to not only hunt whitetail but I am planning on doing a lot of fall turkey hunting. In Texas fall turkey hunting means shooting turkeys incidental to deer. I am heading out specifically for turkey and plan on bagging my birds with the Matthews No cam. That means I will be shooting at a 3-D deer target as well as some cut outs I have of turkeys. They will be shot at various ranges and from challenging positions. I also have designs on catching some Guadalupe bass with a fly rod and I am super rusty so I will be practicing with that at my friends pond. And if I happen to catch a big bass in the process it will only make it that much better.

ready to scout for some hogs on the Polaris Ranger XP 1000 EPS Back Country edi-

tion. It has been a blessing this spring and a reminder that a good ATV is a huge help

Scout! Scout! Scout! At the time of this writing I was getting

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Special SECTION in scouting. Cruising backroad on deer leases, logging lanes and closely monitoring game cameras set out is much easier with an ATV. But if you don’t have one and I am currently only testing one out (and haven’t had one in a few years) looking hard by foot is a must. It is amazing what simply walking in the woods can teach you. Look for signs of the game you are pursuing whether it is the presence of early arriving teal on your favorite timber hole or whitetails on public land.

is incomplete. You owe it to yourself to understand these creatures that bring us so much happiness through pursuit. Reading books and studying journals helps but then taking to the field and applying that knowledge in person is what really makes the difference. I did a lot with turkey this spring and learned a lot while on some hard hunts for eastern birds both in Texas and New York. TF&G Hunting Editor Lou Marullo put me on a big, beautiful gobbler that came 350 yards down from us in a field and basically sat there for 30 minutes. The calls intrigued the bird and were what brought it in but it was the combination of Marullo’s variety of calls that got it to come just close enough to see one of the decoys was set up in the breeding

Knowing Your Quarry A hunter or fishermen that does not truly understand the wildlife the pursue

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position. Because of his scouting before I arrived he knew they were going at it pretty heavily and when the bird heard the right call and then got a glimpse of the hen decoy that looked ready for action he bolted in. And it was to his detriment. That reinforced the idea that wary turkeys need good audio and visual stimuli and learning that took study and field time. Both of those are fun but field time has it beat by a long shot. Get out there and get ready. There are things to learn and deer, dove, ducks, turkey, hogs, bass, crappie, trout and flounder to pursue.

G A M E ®

7/10/19 11:48 PM

Outdoor DIRECTORY Guides & Outfitters

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2019 EDITION

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7/10/19 8:48 AM

BLUEGILL Private Pond SHARK

Adelyn loves to ﬁsh, but she just can’t bring herself, yet, to touch the ﬁsh.

Galveston Haidyn Pyfer of North Richland Hills, Texas with the help of her father, Darren, shows of the shark that she caught near the North Jetty in Galveston.

CATFISH Lake Conroe Stephanie Dobos caught this 13.86-pound yellow catﬁsh on Lake Conroe.

REDFISH Neches River James Ray caught this limit of reds while ﬁshing the Neches River.

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SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO photos@FishGame.com For best results, send MED to HIGH quality JPEG digital ﬁles only, please.

Also Enter our PHOTO CONTEST: FishGame.com/texas-hotsots-upload No guarantee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

SHEEPSHEAD Undisclosed Luke Reno caught this sheepshead, using dead shrimp. It was the biggest he had ever caught.

WHITETAIL Graham Hatcher Railsback took down this trophy buck while on a youth hunt with his dad, Kevin, near Graham.

FRESHWATER FISHING Conroe Colton Highsmith is pictured ﬁshing a private pond near Conroe. Mom Kimberly Highsmith said, “There is nothing better than seeing your children love the same sport you love.”

BASS Sam Rayburn Jacey Pargac caught her ﬁrst bass, while ﬁshing on Lake Sam Rayburn using a blue/ white spinnerbait she picked out.

WHITETAIL Bafﬁn Bay Stephan Cardenas was ﬁshing the King Ranch shoreline with a buddy when this guy showed up out of nowhere. “Just another reason I love what I do,” Stephan said.

BASS Lake Naconiche Cam Rojas caught this 9.75-pound largemoutn on Lake Naconiche, with a live shiner on a slip-rig and a panﬁsh-long shank hook.

T E X A S

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