April 2008 by Texas Fish & Game

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Texas Fish & Game®

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APRIL 2008 • VOL. XXIII NO. 12

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Texas Fish & Game®

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APRIL 2008 • VOL. XXIII NO. 12

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INLAND EDITION

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

ROY NEVES PUBLISHER

DON ZAIDLE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CHESTER

MOORE

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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

MATT WILLIAMS • BOB HOOD • TED NUGENT • LOU MARULLO • REAVIS WORTHAM • JOE DOGGETT • KENDAL HEMPHILL • DOUG PIKE • CAPT. MIKE HOLMES • LENNY RUDOW • GREG BERLOCHER • STEVE LAMASCUS • PATRICK LEMIRE • PAUL BRADSHAW • HERMAN BRUNE • WAYNE C. WATSON • WALLY MARSHALL • BARRY ST. CLAIR • JIMMY D. MOORE • CALIXTO GONZALES • MARI HENRY • TOM BEHRENS •

FRESHWATER EDITOR HUNTING EDITOR BOWHUNTING EDITOR ASSOC. BOWHUNTING EDITOR HUMOR EDITOR SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR SENIOR OFFSHORE EDITOR ASSOC. OFFSHORE EDITOR BOATING EDITOR KAYAKING EDITOR FIREARMS EDITOR SALTWATER RIGS EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR NORTH HOTSPOTS EDITOR SALTWATER EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TROPHY QUEST COORDINATOR

P R O D U C T I O N

JIMMY BORNE ART DIRECTOR

LINDSAY WHITMAN

• GRAPHIC ARTIST

A D V E R T I S I N G

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COORDINATOR

MICHELLE WARD ADMINISTRATOR TEXAS FISH & GAME (ISSN 0887-4174) is published monthly by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC., 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. ©Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. The publication assumes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs and manuscripts. Subscription rates: 1 year $19.00: 2 years $34.75; 3 years $48.50. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for response. Give old and new address and enclose latest mailing address label when writing about your subscription. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Email change of address to: dhruzek@fishgame.com Email new orders to: dhruzek@fishgame.com Email subscription questions to: dhruzek@fishgame.com. Periodical class permit paid at Houston, TX 77267-9946 and at additional mailing offices.

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APRIL 2008 • Volume XXIII • NO.12

WHAT IF LAKE FORK DIDN’ T EXIST? Lake Fork, Texas has influenced bass fishing across the entire nation. But what if it had never been built? You might be surprised by the answer to that question.

by Matt Williams

STICKING IT TO TURKEY TF&G’s bowhunting editor has learned by experience that to take a wild turkey with bow and arrow, the hunter must pay hardcore dues, often in the form of missed birds on “gimme” shots.

by Ted Nugent

READING TIMBER TO FIND CRAPPIE Crappie are maybe the most angler-friendly fish when it comes to catching. Even so, some days the best anglers get skunked. But for those who know how to locate timber, fishless days are fewer & further between.

by Paul Bradshaw

SURVIVING THE STORM If you find yourself caught in a freak storm, knowing what to do, and when to do it, could keep you from getting blown away.

by Lenny Rudow

LOWER LAGUNA TROUT— WHATS REALLY GOING ON? Why have catches of “trophy” specks on the Lower Laguna Madre shown slightly negative trends, compared to the rest of the coast, resulting in the recent cutting in half of the daily bag limit?

by Chester Moore 4

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ON THE COVERS:

COASTAL: The sight-casters dream—a speckled trout cruising just under the surface of a Laguna Madre flat. Photo by Grady Allen, inset photo courtesy of Ted Nugent.

INLAND/NORTH: Speaking of dreamy visions... this beaut of a lunker on the business end of a soft plastic lure is a sight any angler would gladly burn into his memory. Photo by Doug Stamm, inset photo courtesy of Ted Nugent.

ALSO IN APRIL:

SALTWATER SOVEREIGNTY

The Feds are coming.

BY CALIXTO GONZALES

TURKEY HUNTING MYTHS

Some truths about a popular, yet misunderstood, game bird.

BY BOB HOOD

TEXAN JONES WINS CLASSIC

Alton Jones of Waco wins the Bassmaster World Championship.

BY MATT WILLIAMS

WILDCAT BEND ADVENTURE

Turning raw land into a slice of everything Texas.

BY CHESTER MOORE

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APRIL 2008 • Volume XXIII • NO.12

COLUMNS 16 Editor’s Notes

74 Texas Freshwater

Inspiring Essay Contestants

Choosing the Right Stick

by DON ZAIDLE TF&G Editor-in-Chief

by MATT WILLIAMS TF&G Freshwater Editor

24 Chester’s Notes

82 TF&G Test Pilot

Flounder Restoration Begins Now

Blazer Bay 220 Pro

by CHESTER MOORE TF&G Executive Editor

BIG BAGS & CATCHES TF&G REPORT

by PAUL BRADSHAW TF&G Contributing Editor

28 Doggett at Large

98 Texas Offshore

Plan B

by DOUG PIKE TF&G Offshore Editor

36 Texas Saltwater

TROPHY QUEST

TFG ON CAMPUS

Hot & Cold On NMFS

by CALIXTO GONZALES TF&G Saltwater Editor

44 Texas Bowhunter 102 Open Season Off-Season Bow-Varmints

One Thing Leads To Another

by TED NUGENT TF&G Bowhunting Editor

by REAVIS WORTHAM TF&G Humor Editor

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Greed

by JOE DOGGETT TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

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Senses—the “Three S’s”

by KENDAL HEMPHILL TF&G Commentator

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YOUR LETTERS

88 Texas Deer Hunting 18 Fooling a Deer’s

Special Hunts For Special Folks

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by LENNY RUDOW TF&G Boating Editor

26 Commentary

DEPARTMENTS

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100 WINGS OVER TEXAS

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BEER & SHARELUNKERS I guess I look at things from the “other side of the glass,” so to speak, than Mr. Haire in his campaign against the Budweiser-ShareLunker sponsorship (January 2008 TF&G Report). In his allegations, Mr. Haire claims that Anheuser-Busch promotes drinking and boating. Would that be like saying that the annual McDonald’s Bass Tournament at Sam Rayburn Lake promotes obesity in bass fishing? Or that the 200 hp motors made by Mercury, Yamaha, Honda, et al cause the wakes in the “no wake zones”? As for Kevin Fowler’s recordings, he is singing a song. It is not a documentary set to music. If Kevin’s song is promoting getting drunk and boating, would John Travolta’s “Hairspray,” Dustin Hoffman’s “Tootsie,” and Robin Williams’ “Mrs. Doubtfire” characters promote cross-dressing and transvestitism? Would Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard’s “Pancho and Lefty” promote illgotten gains and running from the law? Mr. Haire is quoted saying, ”...living in a State with a growing population, but limited public land and a fixed number of lakes.” This is something new? I’d bet that at no time since the existence of man has that ever been thought of before. I am not promoting drinking or unsafe acts on our public waters. Nature itself is dangerous enough. If Mr. Haire is this upset over A-B supporting the ShareLunker program, I’d hate to think what would happen if the Trojan Condom Company ever sponsored a TPWD program. Jack Whitman Friendswood, TX

MARULLO KUDOS I was thumbing through the February issue at the doctor’s office and noticed the new bowhunting column, Bowhunting Tech 8

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by Lou Marullo in the Almanac Trophy Fever section. I just wanted to say it’s great to have Ted Nugent pontificating and inspiring and a new nuts-and-bolts bowhunting column as well. Good call. Jason Summer Via email I love the new bowhunting column by Mr. Lou Marullo. The advice about gearing up for cold weather hunts really helped me out as I was invited to do some hog hunting in Oklahoma and it was in the single digits. I don’t think I would have been successful if I had not read some of that advice. I would like to see him do a column about how to enter a deer’s zone without crossing its bedding area. I found out last year that is why I scared a big buck away in the Sam Houston forest. Any help would be appreciated. Jason Longron Via email I’m glad that you got some good advice for cold weather hunts by reading my column. I would be happy to write a column on approaching a deer’s sanctuary. In fact, I look forward to it. Look for it in a future issue of Texas Fish & Game. Until then, enjoy the outdoors, and thanks for the great idea. —Lou Marullo

HOOD KUDOS Congratulations on assigning Bob Hood to the hunting editor position. A magnificent choice. I’ve known Bob since the days when he was a young writer, just starting out with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and giving it an outstanding one-two punch with John Thompson. On a fishing trip many years ago with the Texas Outdoor Writers Association, I was with Bob while fishing at a flooded Mexican village. A bunch of prizes was being awarded for different fishing categories. We saw a &

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submerged bucket partially filled with concrete, so I hooked it with my bait and hoisted into the boat. I won a new reel for having the heaviest stringer. It was the only thing I caught that day. I believe Bob and I got together a number of times at the Operation Orphans hunting camp near Mason. Again, congratulations on your choice. Al Williams Former Austin AmericanStatesman reporter; Long-time SCOT Wildlife News editor

GUIDES DEPLETE TROUT STOCKS Thank you, Texas Fish & Game, for publishing the letter from L.D. Westbrook of Azle, Texas, in your February issue. Mr. Westbrook hit the nail on the head on several areas of comment in his letter. The most factual point everyone should note is the total number of fish being taken daily by fishing guides depleting our fish stocks. I know and have seen guides take several trips in a day, each one a four-party trip, and bring in 80 to 100 pounds of fish to the dock at least twice daily. This goes on daily, month after month, year after year. Wake up, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department! Wake up, you good old fishing boys! You do not have to be very smart to do the math on this one. These fishing guides must have tighter bag limits and be monitored more closely. It is guides, not recreational fishermen that are depleting our fishing stocks every day. This is not an issue of guide vs. recreational fisherman, but an issue of conservation of our wildlife resources for coming generations to experience and enjoy. It is time for TPWD to step up and address this issue. D.G. McLeod USCG Captain & Fishing Guide Portland, TX

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GOOD GUIDES I really do like the magazine and coverage of bay fishing for trout and redfish. The February feature article “5.5 Tips for Bigger Trout,” spoke of two guides, Captains Ray and Grimes—both very good at what they do, I am sure. But the accompanying photo was of perhaps the most prolific big trout catcher there is, Captain Billy Sheka. I`ve fished with Capt. Bill for nearly 20 years and can`t remember how many 28- to 32inch trout we’ve released. Thanks for covering that which so many of us hold dear. W.M. Stafford Via email

TF&G IS THE BEST Thanks in part to the new Coastal Edition, I have seen Texas Fish & Game go from a really good publication to a great one. The wide variety of stories, new columns, and excellent photography from the cover to the inside stuff and the editorials are second to none. The fact you have bank fishing reports for each area alone sets you apart, much less that I can learn how to maintain my bowhunting equipment on one page and how to rig tackle on another. Something else is the fact that you don’t just glaze over conservation issues, but hit them right on. The story on the Neches Refuge in particular was right on and shows you don’t just stand up for one side but for what you think is right for the wild lands. Thank you for having such a great magazine. Kenneth Steele Pinehurst, TX Just wanted to say a few things to everyone that has anything to do with your magazine. I was born and raised in Anahuac, Texas. I grew up being taught by my grandfather to hunt and fish the freshwaters and saltwaters around our home. I returned from Vietnam in 1968, and my grandfather and I went out duck hunting on the Trinity River. On our way back, he showed me all the dead

ducks on the water that hunters took only the breast out of. After having to restrain myself from shooting those hunters, I never picked up a shotgun to hunt ducks again. Then we went out dove hunting in Monroe City, and he showed me how people were baiting the dove for rich people to hunt. I never shot a shotgun ever again. We went out to West Texas to hunt deer and turkey and he showed me how people were baiting those animals and birds, and I never picked up a rifle again. Then in the early 1970s, the commercial shrimpers and fisherman ruined Trinity Bay for me, so I never picked up a rod and reel till 1997, when I started fishing Lake Conroe and Lake Anahuac for catfish. I finally bought me a good boat from C&S Outboards and now I don’t have to fish just from the bank anymore, even though I still do and still love it. What all this is getting around to is I want to thank all of you. I was at the boat show in Houston last year and bought a subscription to your magazine. Now, in the past, I have bought different subscriptions, one being InFisherman, but none hold a candle to you on Texas waters. I find myself reading for hours every article in your magazine, even though I fish only for cats and perch. Even the hunting articles are great, although I don’t hunt, but did most of my early life. I’m retired now and one of the things I look forward to is you magazine coming in the mail. Again, you people are truly great and may God bless. J.H. Chuck “Skeeter” Martin Via email

CAN CANNED HUNTS Paul Bradshaw’s Texas Deer Hunting column in the February issue, “U.S. AntiHunting Bill Introduced,” was mis-titled. Unlike his Michigan and Maine examples, what this bill seeks to stop is not hunting. It is simply killing without accomplishment. It should be banned. In fact, all game farms should be shut down, regardless of species. These canned slaughters will end up destroying true hunting if not stopped, as the antis will gain a foothold with the non-hunting public using these “game farms” as an example.

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Anyone who calls this hunting doesn’t know what hunting really is. Just ask your editor, Mr. Zaidle. Clay Beard Corsicana, TX

WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING MAGNUM! I just finished reading Steve LaMascus’ Texas Guns & Gear column, “Do You Need a Magnum? ” in the February issue. It is refreshing to read a professional opinion that agrees with what I (as a novice hunter) confirmed some time ago. I started deer hunting in the Hill Country of Texas 12 years ago. I used my father-inlaw’s Winchester .243 while I was trying to decide on what rifle I should purchase. I talked with veteran hunters who recommended the long action .270, .30-06, 7mm Mag, etc. They all said the .243 was a “women

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and kids” gun and that I would lose too many deer from not enough knockdown power. I read many ballistic comparisons and began to wonder which is better—a smaller, faster cartridge or a bigger, slower one. While test-firing the others over a nineyear period, I kept successfully harvesting deer with the .243. I was leaning toward the .30-06, but could not fault the .243. I finally bought a heavy-barreled Savage. 243. My 17-year-old daughter went with me on the first hunt with it. She was always afraid of firing a rifle, but went just to please me. While in the box blind, I encouraged her to shoulder and aim the rifle at some deer under the feeder. She surprised me by calmly shooting a six-point buck! Her heart/lung aim ended in the shoulder and it dropped where it stood. I put a BSA scope on the rifle. It might not hold up to the recoil of magnum calibers, but it is an economical product that works fine on my rifle. Availability and price of

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ammo, slight recoil, and ease of muzzle blast all confirm that I don’t need a magnum. Hopefully, your column will save some hunter from making a regretful purchase of a rifle that he trades soon after. Good article. Steve Childree Via email

NECHES REFUGE Please accept my thanks for Chester Moore’s Chester’s Notes column on the Neches River Refuge. As a lifelong East Texan born and reared in Lufkin, I have always appreciated the “bottoms.” Now teaching at Texas A&M at Qatar, I hold those bottomlands in even more regard in contrast to the desert all around. James Hannah Via email

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Inspiring Essay Contestants In this space in the March issue, we announced the First Annual Texas Fish & Game/Outdoor Texas Camp Essay Contest for youths. The contest is open to youths 11-17. The rules are simple: Write a 1000-word essay on what the outdoors means to you, and why. Entries will be judged by TF&G staff. In the event of a tie, Texas Outdoor Camp owner David Todd will cast the deciding vote. Employees of Texas Fish & Game, its vendors, and advertisers or family members thereof are not eligible. Entries sent via email (essaycontest@fishgame.com) must be received no later than midnight May 1, 2008; entries sent via U.S. Postal Service (Essay Contest, Texas Fish & Game, 1745 Greens Rd; Houston, TX 77032) must be postmarked no later than midnight May 1. Entries submitted electronically (via email or a postal mailed CD) must be in MS Word or plain text (ASCII) format. Hard copy entries must be neatly typed, doublespaced, on 20-pound or better bond paper. First prize is a scholarship to the winner’s choice of the Texas Outdoor Fishing Camp or Hunting Camp, valued at $1000. The camps are held at Stoney Creek Ranch, near Columbus, Texas. Camp dates are: Fishing, June 8-14 and July 20-26; Hunting, June 15-21 and July 27-August 2. With an eye to inspiring entrants, below is an essay from an up-and-coming young outdoor writer (not a contest entrant), Kyle Tomek:

ONG BEFORE GETTING PUBLISHED, I ENJOYED writing. Writing assignments in school were always a strong point. Dreaded by all other students in class, writing was a tool that kept me on good terms with most of my English teachers. 16

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I was raised in an environment promoting the outdoors. Fortunately, fishing and hunting were introduced to me as a youngster. I was hooked from day one. When not nestled between the walls of a blind or chasing speckled trout and redfish, outdoors magazines and the fishing section of newspapers kept my attention. Most of my time outside school walls was spent on the water. With age, I became more obsessed with rod and reel. I was very fortunate to obtain a 15-foot flats scooter from my dad shortly after turning 16; this instantly created a monster. I spent every dollar I could scrounge for gas and fished the Matagorda Bay system inside and out. With two years of high school under my belt, my interest in writing flourished when the school newspaper welcomed with open arms my outdoors column. I was pleased at having free reign over whatever outdoor articles spilled from my pen. At some point, a passion for the outdoors fused with a liking for chronicling happenings in the outdoors. I had my sights set past the school paper, and soon established a goal of getting published “for real.” I wanted to write for a real magazine or newspaper, on the same playing field powered by long-time writers. Inexperience and age towered in my path. Like a sponge, I absorbed every article I got my hands on. I paid closer attention to the technical aspects of writing in class, and how my writing compared to others. At the same rate, I took note of ideas or article topics on fishing untapped by any other writer. Upon discovering how important the smallest details were for portraying experiences with words, I greased up my senses. I was stunned to see how much I took for granted on a normal fishing trip. I learned to give life to overlooked surroundings, smells, noises, and sounds. I mailed samples of my writings and desire for a youth outdoor writer column to countless outdoor publications. Time passed. Persistence in contacting publications and continued writing paid off. A magazine eventually expressed interest in the idea and gave me a chance. On reflection, I was oblivious to how my

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age and inexperience in writing were roadblocks to my writing path. I stood firm with a belief that my age was an advantage. Though my writing skills improved with time, I began seeing the signs of an age barrier in outdoor writing. It was, and continues to be, a challenge for breaking into other writing outlets. Like my writing, my involvement in the saltwater industry also advanced with time. I knew that in order to stay on the water near as much as I wanted, I needed money. I received my captain’s license and guided saltwater fishing charters during weekends and school breaks. This brought the benefits of generating material for outdoor articles, and the guiding fees complemented my college tuition. What I consider one of my favorite gains from outdoor writing was my first television appearance on ESPN II’s “Bass Tech.” I learned quickly as a teenager how to establish priorities and stay focused. I do not consider my experience in outdoor writing as qualifying me for “expert” status, but I do view my progress as respectable. Aside from the initial difficulties of developing credibility and being taken seriously at a young age, additional difficulties also exist. Creating fresh articles and finding time to write while juggling college, guiding, fishing, friends, and family makes outdoor writing challenging. However, satisfaction arises from receiving comments on your work or knowing that an angler learned something new. Into the future, I will continue outdoor writing and eventually expand my efforts to other outdoor sports. Connecting with hunters and fishermen is very important to me; this is why I strive to create the most innovative topics. I am currently focusing most of my attention on college. Until recently, a communications degree was my primary goal. With technology’s infinite growth, I am placing additional emphasis on opportunities with computers. For many anglers, the excitement of fishing ends upon leaving the water. For an outdoor writer, it is just the beginning. —Kyle Tomek

E-mail Don Zaidle at editor@fishgame.com

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Nugent Sweeps at OC Awards EXAS FISH & GAME BOWHUNTING EDITOR and outdoors industry legend Ted Nugent swept the People’s Choice categories at the Outdoor Channel’s Golden Moose Awards February 4 in Las Vegas. Nugent and his wife Shemane won for “Fan Favorite Hosts” and their show Spirit of the Wild took “Fan Favorite Hunting Series.”

“It’s an honor to have been selected by the people as favorites, and it’s not about me being a ‘rock star’. It is about connecting with the people at a spiritual and intellectual level and showing passion and enthusiasm for hunting, fishing, and trapping,” Nugent said. Many mainstream press outlets picked up Nugent’s win. During his time in Vegas for the Golden Moose awards and corresponding SHOT show, he filmed a segment with television sensation Criss Angel for his toprated A&E program Criss Angel, Mind Freak. “The appearances on these shows are not about getting my name out there or for any kind of vanity, but to represent to the public a fun, in your-face attitude about the lifestyle we all enjoy,” Nugent said. “I am proud to say I have used the fame I have as a bully pulpit to address the issues affecting the

CATFISH—Lake Palestine

BOAR—Houston

TUNA—Port Aransas

Gerald Peddy and Henry Wilson of Winnsboro, Texas, caught these catfish on Lake Palestine. The cats weighed from 29 pounds to 52 pounds.

Erica Clark, age 15, of Houston, Texas, stalked and shot this feral boar with her dad’s 7mm in Iola, Texas.

Steven Schmidt from Corpus Christi, Texas, caught this 138-pound yellowfin tuna out of Port Aransas.

working hard, playing hard Americans, and have never let up, and I never will.” Nugent also received the honor of being named to the Outdoor Life 25, the iconic magazine’s list of the people who have made the biggest impact in the outdoors industry. “We started the Outdoor Life 25 because we wanted to recognize high profile and grassroots individuals who have had the most positive impact on hunting and fishing,” said Todd Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Outdoor Life, in a press release about the awards. “To be included with such visionary leaders in conservation and in various facets of this industry as Dick & Jim Cabela and Ray Scott is a huge honor, and one I do not take lightly,” Nugent said. “The message that we do not have to apologize for collecting our dinner with bows and arrows, rifles, and shotguns is taking root and has been at the

BIG BAGS & CATCHES

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Ted Nugent’s show, “Spirit of the Wild” won awards for Fan Favorite Hosts and Fan Favorite Hunting Series.

core of my career for many years. The ongoing war against the outdoors community continues, and winning this amazing honor just gets me fired up more to continue to stand strong against the forces that would deny our God-given rights as Americans.” Nugent’s television program Spirit of the Wild is on the Outdoor Channel, Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and on Sundays at 12:00 a.m. —Chester Moore

Louisiana Deputy Teaches Kids Gun Safety When Captain Kenny Sanders, director of the Northwest Sheriff ’s Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, noticed children being injured and even killed in accidents with air rifles and BB guns, he decided to do something about it. But rather than approach the problem from the typical bureaucratic perspective and seek to ban the guns or limit their use to older children, Capt. Sanders started a program that teaches youngsters safety and proper handling of firearms. The program is called the “First Gun Course,” and is available free of charge to area children ages 8 to 12, as long as they bring a parent along. Since kids generally receive their first BB guns and small caliber rifles at Christmas, the course is offered a couple of times in late December. This year,

PHOTO COUTESY OF GOLDEN MOOSE AWARDS

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due to demand for the limited space in the classes, a third course date was arranged in early January. Ten years ago, Capt. Sanders became appalled at the unnecessary deaths of children because of totally preventable accidents with air guns. With little or no parental guidance or supervision, and no experience, kids were sometimes shooting one another, but more often harming themselves with ricocheting projectiles. Children struck by a BB or lead pellet in the temple or eye socket often die or suffer permanent damage. Since Capt. Sanders was responsible for the training of 1/4 of the law enforcement officers in Louisiana, he saw no reason he couldn’t train kids in firearm safety, and the First Gun Course was born. When word of the course got out, the program received donations of guns, ammunition, and money from Wal-Mart, local citizens, and other contributors. The law enforcement training facility is used during downtime, so the course costs taxpayers nothing. Besides the basics of firearm safety, the children are all allowed to shoot .22 rifles and small bore shotguns at fixed and thrown skeet-type targets. Guns are provided for kids who don’t have their own. Pre-registration is required, and space in the classes is limited, as some parents send their children through the course every year. Single mothers and parents with limited time or knowl-

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edge to train their kids in firearm safety especially benefit from the program. Capt. Sanders said he gets “flak from anti-gun groups,” complaints that he is teaching children to become killers. He tries to explain the program to these people, but so far has had no luck. Parents, on the other hand, often become donors, but the most satisfying result of the course is that more parents feel comfortable giving their children BB and pellet guns. For more information, contact the regional academy at 318-681-0735 or go to www.caddosheriff.org/NewTraining_Main.htm. —Kendal Hemphill

Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inducts Texan Crème The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in February inducted Texas icon Nick Crème into the organization’s iconic membership.

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Crème created the first soft plastic worm on his kitchen stove in 1949, revolutionizing bass fishing and creating an entire genre of fishing lures and techniques. When professional anglers began winning early B.A.S.S. tournaments on Crème Scoundrels and Shimmy Gals, the founder and owner of Crème Lures saw his business take off. Crème became one of the first tackle companies to sponsor a pro angler in 1967, when it offered John Powell of Alabama an $18,000 contract. Other 2008 inductees included Charlie Campbell and Virgil Ward of Missouri and Buck Perry of North Carolina, as the seventh group of inductees. Crème, Perry, and Ward were inducted posthumously. Charlie Campbell, a Missouri educator and celebrated coach for more than 15 years, would spend after-school hours and summers guiding nearby lakes. Multi-dimensional, he later owned a marine dealership,

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developed the Charlie Campbell CC Spinnerbait, and was instrumental in the design of the Bass Tracker boat for Bass Pro Shops. Buck Perry is widely acclaimed as the “father of structure fishing,” as he opened up America’s lakes and rivers to a different style of fishing than anyone had ever enjoyed. Before sonar, Perry was using his Spoonplugs and trolling tactics to catch deep-water and offshore bass that others did not even know existed. Virgil Ward had one of the most popular TV showcases of bass fishing techniques for 27 years with his very successful Virgil Ward’s Championship Fishing Show. Syndicated nationally for 20 years, Ward’s show in 1985 was rated No. 1 overall. Millions of fishing fans followed his weekly shows on 253 radio stations, and his advice in 450 newspapers.

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Flounder Restoration Begins Now

HE TEXAS FLOUNDER FISHERY IS IN TROUBLE. I do not mean the kind of trouble where anglers are catching a few less trophy-sized fish, or certain areas seeing small dips in population recruitment. Flounder are really in serious trouble in Texas. According to Mark Fisher with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD), compared to redfish and trout over the past 20 years, flounder catch rates in gill net surveys have declined 56 percent, while redfish have increased 55 percent and speckled trout numbers have jumped 37 percent. That is not a cyclical population shift or statistical aberration. That is a fishery on the brink of collapse unless action is taken now to set things on the right track. Over the last few years, the coast experienced slight increases in flounder numbers, but things went back into decline in 2007, which by most measures was the worst year ever for flounder according to TPWD’s exhaustive survey data. Shrimping by-catch has been the biggest culprit, as bottom-dwelling flatfish are easy pickings for sweeping trawls that scrape the bays day after day, year after year. “The current estimate [2006] for flounder by-catch from bay trawls is 203, 266, which is numbers of fish, not pounds. In contrast, 2001 estimates were 925, 336, and in 1994, the year before limited entry in the shrimping fleet was enacted, estimates were 1,520,506,” Fisher said. In Gulf waters, flounder caught in trawls are typically legal size and are sold as commercial catch. Yes, flounder are still commercially harvested in Texas waters, unlike redfish and speckled trout, which have been protected from wholesale slaughter for decades. 24

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TPWD’s surveys show the annual commercial harvest of flounder is now 41,680 fish, which according to Fisher is “well below the peak 560,300 pounds in 1986.” While the exact number of fish caught in 1986 is not available, it would take 100,000 fish weighing over 5-1/2 pounds to make that total, and it would be highly doubtful the average size would be anywhere near 5 pounds. Last year’s catch, by the way, was taken by 52 of the 329 commercial finfish license holders in the state. Recreational landings, including rod and reel and gigging, was 46,953 flounder from May 2006 to May 2007, which is a huge decline from the peak of 160,430 in 1992-93. However, when you look at the data more closely, you see that TPWD’s routine creel surveys are conducted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., so nighttime gigging trips are basically not included in these estimates. To gauge gigging pressure, TPWD conducted a special nighttime survey that found 55,517 recreationally gigged flounder taken between July and December 1991. Any way you slice it, flounder numbers are way down, and unless we change things now, they will likely continue to decline, and perhaps in 20 more years, to the point of no return. Remember, only 20 years ago, there were 56 percent more flounder out there, so that leaves only 44 percent to work with. We have an exciting opportunity to turn around this fishery in the same way TPWD and the Gulf Coast Conservation Association (now CCA) did with redfish nearly 30 years ago. We do not have to accept the status quo and see the state’s third most popular inland fish slide into oblivion. What will it take to make this happen? It could mean eliminating commercial harvest, which would put flounder on the same footing as specks and reds. Can you imagine the uproar if purse seines were still being used to catch trout? Think about that for a second. Bag limit cuts might be an effective management tool, as could exploring ways to lessen the effect of gigging without eliminating the practice, which is an important part of Texas fishing heritage. There have been no official proposals

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made, but these are really the only options out there. For sure, it will take the continued buyout of shrimping licenses by CCA, TPWD, and the buyback-focused group, Saltwater Conservation Association, which to date has retired 18 shrimping licenses and decommissioned three boats. It will also take supporting TPWD’s fledgling flounder breeding and stocking program, which has seen promising results and could be one of the keys to restoring this fishery. The crew at Sea Center Texas, P.R. Bass Marine Hatchery in Palacios; the CCA-CPL Marine Development Center in Corpus Christi; along with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Aransas Pass all deserve credit for their hard work on making a full-fledged flounder-stocking program within reach. I have been blessed to have worked with TPWD and CCA to catch flounder for use as broodstock in this program, and know firsthand we are right on the edge of something huge here. To help keep this moving forward, I have worked with TPWD Coastal Fisheries Director Dr. Larry McKinney to set up a fund with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation that can be used only for the flounder-stocking program. I will donate 50 percent of my remaining royalties of Flounder Fever and all proceeds from my fishing seminars this year to the fund. You can make donations by sending a check to the foundation and note that it should be deposited in the Aquatic Resources Account—Flounder Restoration. If you have any questions or comments on flounder conservation or the fund, send me an email. I would love to hear from you. Seeing flounder restored is the dream of many anglers on the coast and I truly believe we can make it happen if we seize the moment and take action. Are you willing to do that?

E-mail Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

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Special Hunts for Special Folks

E SAT ON THE LOW PORCH OF THE hunting cabin, talking quietly while the sun slipped slowly below the tree-lined horizon to our right. My companion had a rifle across his lap, just in case a deer wandered out of the live oaks that bordered the clearing around the cabin. Hunting, but not really hunting, just shooting the breeze and passing the time. There are few things in life more pleasant than sitting in a deer camp, visiting and watching the night creep in from the east. Our topics varied, from the problems facing the future of hunting in America, to Texas issues in particular, to weather and high fences and old friends. The salmon run in Alaska. Maybe we got into Colorado a little, maybe New Mexico. I scanned the tree line every few minutes, hoping more than my companion that a deer would appear, so I could watch him shoot. It would have been a new experience for me, helping a blind man line up a shot on a deer, but it never happened, and too soon, he raised the rifle, unloaded it, and held the trigger as he closed the bolt, releasing the spring tension. Stanley McGowen is the Texas Projects Coordinator for the Armed Forces Founda26

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tion. He arranges hunting and fishing activities for veterans who have special needs. They used to be called “disabled veterans,” and maybe they still are, but I don’t think of them as disabled anymore. To me, disabled means you can’t do the things you want to do. That isn’t the case with these folks. Stanley, for example, can’t see, but that doesn’t keep him from hunting. His rifle is equipped with a pistol scope, for long eye relief. A spotter looks over his shoulder through the scope, and tells Stanley when he is lined up. Other veterans who participate in Stanley’s hunts have different requirements. Some get around in wheelchairs, and have to be particular about where they hunt. Box blinds with ladders don’t do them much good, but then, box blinds are for lightweights, anyway. And these folks are not lightweights. They are serious hunters. Those who have lost the use of their arms and legs use special rifles that can be maneuvered and aimed by blowing or sucking on a tube. Some with limited sight use rifles controlled by special computers, their scopes’ sight pictures transferred to monitors that make it possible for the hunters to line up on game. The various processes are delicate and probably difficult to master, but we are talking about people who face difficult problems every day. They do whatever is necessary to accomplish their goals. Stanley is a good example. As a U.S. Army helicopter pilot he was stationed in Alaska in 1990, and decided an airplane would allow him and his son to hunt and fish wherever they wanted in the land of the midnight sun. He found a Cessna in Yuma, Arizona, and was headed north with it. After a stop at an airport in Utah, he lost power on takeoff and crashed. The impact threw him through the windscreen, and both his eyes were irreparably damaged. Stanley already had a master’s degree from Tarleton State University. After losing

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his sight, he obtained his Ph.D. in American History from TCU, and taught college history for a while, before deciding to help other veterans with special needs. He went to work for the AFF, and now, as he puts it, he shows people that “they can do the things they want to do, things they didn’t think they could.” I met Stanley during an annual barbecue dinner that Steve Toone holds for Stanley’s hunters at Steve’s home. Steve is another retired army helicopter pilot, and is Stanley’s local contact for an AFF deer hunt every January in Mason County. Stanley and some friends had been hunting on Steve’s ranch for a while before they arranged the first local AFF hunt in 2005, which was attended by three veterans with special needs. Steve and other Mason County ranchers, who belong to the Willow Creek Wildlife Management Association, graciously allow the veterans to hunt on their land. The hunters mostly stay in local motels, and the whole affair is supported by donations from sponsors, such as the Oglebay Norton Company. Fifteen veterans attended this year’s hunt, and all of them killed at least one deer. The conversation on the porch of Steve’s hunting cabin trailed off, and Stanley and I sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. I realized again the truth of a statement once made to me by a fellow who was missing an arm. He said, “Losing a limb doesn’t make someone disabled. They have to do that to themselves.” Stanley can’t see, but he isn’t disabled. If he had to quit hunting, though, that might be a different story.

E-mail Kendal Hemphill at commentary@fishgame.com

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Plan B

HE LAMENT, “YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE yesterday,” is fluently spoken (and bitterly understood) in every language of the angling world. Setbacks are frequent, and Plan B has salvaged many fishing trips for anglers with the foresight to anticipate change and adjust accordingly. The concept of shifting (level-wind) gears applies to most venues, fresh or salt, near or far. The idea is to remain flexible, ready to abandon Plan A if—when—circumstances conspire to seriously downgrade potential. Plan A focuses on a specific species. That’s the one you rig for and dream about. For example, the angler towing a boat to the Pineywoods typically is aiming at largemouth bass, the most popular and publicized freshwater fish in Texas. His salty counterpart hauling a center console to the coast probably is targeting speckled trout, the top inshore sport species in Texas. These are local Plan A’s, but the concept carries as far as you wish to travel with a fishing rod—or, more correctly, rods. From tropical beaches to snow-melt rivers, most of the lovingly packed tackle is intended for a primary species; indeed, Plan A is the reason you invested the time, money, and “sweat equity” to reach remote water. This is great, assuming Plan A pans out. It is not so great if Plan A deteriorates against a shift of wind, a collapse of temperature, or a flush of muddy runoff. And, to reiterate, no destination is immune to setbacks. You have to respect the resolve of the devotee determined to cast for a chosen species under increasingly contrary conditions, but waving quixotic graphite against the windmills of fishing fate sometimes defies logic. Logic supports Plan B. Plan B can be implemented two ways. The most obvious is to shift focus, targeting 28

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a less-desirable but readily available species less-impacted by the adverse conditions. A purist attitude often conspires against this reasonable approach—and this is a stance to guard against. Lighten up. The idea, after all, is to have fun and bend a rod. Freshwater catfish are a fine example. Many bass lakes host swarms of channel catfish and blue catfish, yet the rooster tails of bass boats routinely race over this potential in quest of Micropterus. Some bass anglers are disdainful of bottom fishing with bait for catfish (that purist thing again), but other Plan B’s on Texas lakes are available. Crappie over brush piles or white bass in feeder creeks are excellent options during spring. And, worth note, a crappie or a channel cat is an excellent catch-and-keep candidate— superior by most tastes to the largemouth bass. Spin the globe and pick a piece of water and the same concept applies. The fly fisherman wading an Alaskan stream for prized rainbow trout might salvage a slow outing by switching to plentiful Arctic grayling. The peacock bass plugger in the Amazon might abandon a non-productive lagoon and hit a bend of slow current for rapid-fire action on piranhas. The bonefish sight-caster frustrated by heavy cloud cover on a Yucatan flat can turn a negative into a positive by working the low-light edges of mangrove creeks for small tarpon, snook and barracuda. Legitimate alternatives almost always are available, but many anglers fail to adequately prepare. This brings up the second way to implement a successful Plan B: Carry proper backup tackle. Do some homework, understand the available options, and outfit accordingly. The correct rod, lure, or terminal rigging can make a huge difference in success. You can “kinda, sorta” catch 1/2- to 1-pound white bass on standard largemouth bass crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but compact spoons, grubs, and tailspin-type lures are more effective because they do a superior job of representing the smaller threadfin shad that the average whites target.

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Significant to this discussion, several white-bass jigs or tailspinners can be bought for pocket change and take up little space. But they don’t do you much good back at home or on the shelf in the sporting goods store. Along the coast, Spanish mackerel is a good example of the importance of specialized Plan B rigging. The aspiring speckled trout fisherman “covered up” with marauding schools of sharp-toothed mackerel can switch to a short, thin wire leader and a small metal spoon and reap a lively session. Conversely, the unprepared plugger with no wire and a pouch of soft plastic “tails” sacrifices one frustrating cut-off after another. And when gearing for a possible Plan B, remember the fun factor. Most Plan B species are smaller than the A-Team fish, and a lighter backup rod and line can provide excellent sport. Often, the standard tackle is overkill. Returning to Alaska, the typical 14- or 15-inch grayling on a salmon 9-weight rod is little more than a fin-skidding nuisance as you plane it across the surface; however, the same fish rising to a No. 10 Royal Wulff on a 5-weight can be a memorable encounter. Closer to home, a hand-sized bluegill is borderline boring on level-wind bass tackle, but a 6-pound spinning outfit can make a big event out of an afternoon among the lily pads. But not all Plan B’s are scaled down. If the alternate carries serious shoulders, upgrade accordingly. Wielding a whippy 12pound speckled trout casting outfit in the path of a rampaging school of 20- to 25pound jack crevalle is a classic example of “carrying a knife to a gun fight.” Plan B’s come in many sizes and shapes and it remains for the opportunistic angler to anticipate the possibilities on specific water or under changing circumstances. The right Plan B can be a trip-saver; better yet, it might make you forget (at least temporarily) all about Plan A. E-mail Joe Doggett at doggett@fishgame.com

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by Matt Williams t is a place that all serious bass fishermen aspire to fish at least once in their lifetime. It is the undisputed Mecca of Texas fisheries, the cream of the cream, a spawning ground of piscatorial titans that has yielded two state record largemouths and nearly three-fourths of the Top 50 bass ever caught in the state. If you are a good angler, read your moon charts faithfully, and tell as few lies as possible, you just might go there when you die. If you haven’t already guessed, it is Lake Fork, where all bass-related conversation is punctuated with superlatives. No sane person would argue that Lake Fork has impacted bass fishing in ways we have only begun to explore. It has literally influenced the nation, drawing anglers from far and wide with a siren song of promise and hope for the fish of a lifetime. Indeed, Fork’s reach is long and of formidable strength. But what if this mighty bass factory had never been built? Would life as we know it still exist? Would the stars still shine? Would outdoor writers still wax poetic and spew purple metaphors? Texas Fish & Game wanted to find out. The notion of a Forkless Texas bassery was and is an intriguing proposition. Though not all of the potential ramifications can be anticipated, some things are absolute. Starting with the most obvious, the state record would be 16.90 pounds, not 18.18, and most likely the name Barry St. Clair would mean nothing to anyone except his family and acquaintances. Earl H. Crawford would be the name, and Pinkston the lake. The Pinkston fish held the top slot from February until November 1986, and remains the lake’s only entry on the official Top 50 list. Speaking of the Top 50 list, that venerable document would be very different, indeed. No longer would a single lake dominate; Fork currently has 35 entries, including seven of the Top 10. Minus Fork, the maximum number of Top 50 fish posted for any one lake would be a measly two. Interestingly, one of those impoundments is only a fraction of the size of 520-acre Lake Pinkston and is located in an area of the state better known for deer hunting than T E X A S

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bass fishing. It is a private impoundment called Lake Merritt. Located in Mills County near Goldthwaite, Merritt spans a meager 40 acres, but it is big on giant bass. Merritt added its second fish to the top 50 list in March 2007 when a 10-year-old Goldthwaite Elementary third grader named Jesse Roberson reeled in a 15.34pounder that currently ranks as the No. 34 heaviest Texas bass of all time. The fish earned Roberson the Bud ShareLunker Angler of the Year title last season and a Junior Angler State Record title. Amistad is another lake with two entries. The only surprise worth mentioning is that the 65,000-acre big bass factory near Del Rio hasn’t produced more fish on a heavyhitting list that bottoms out a 15.23 pounds. The only other lake with a pair of Top 50 entries is Possum Kingdom, a 17,600-acre reservoir located about 75 miles west of Ft. Worth. “PK” is one of only six lakes other than Fork to produce bass weighing upward of 16 pounds, but hasn’t been heard from since 1991 when it produced a 15.38pounder that is tied for the No. 41 spot with three Lake Fork lunkers. To say the Top 50 list has undergone a serious facelift since Fork began to rock more than two decades ago would be an understatement. You might say the 27,000-acre super lake near Quitman has kicked butt and taken names in that its performance record has overshadowed a number of other famous lakes, and wiped a host of others off the list completely. Three names that come to mind are Murvaul (3800 acres), Gibbons Creek (2800 acres), and Mill Creek (364 acres). Not so long ago, Murvaul and Gibbons Creek accounted for four Top 50 entries apiece. Mill Creek at one time had three. Today, Gibbons Creek and Mill Creek have only one entry each. Murvaul is absent from the list altogether. Interestingly, Murvaul was once regarded as one of the premier bass fisheries in the state. In the early 1970s, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department conducted an experimental breeding effort prototypical of the ShareLunker program, utilizing Murvaul brood fish. Gibbon’s Creek was once thought of as a &

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special place, too. So special, in fact, that it was the first Texas lake to have a slot limit in place when opened to recreational fishing, and one of the first Texas lakes with a mandatory catch-and-release-only regulation, which has since been relaxed. The performance of these small lakes suggests that without Fork, trophy bass fishing in Texas might go the way of California. In that state, small lakes of only a few hundred acres have been producing 20-poundclass fish for a number of years. Most recently, Mac Weakley of Carlsbad, California, caught and released a 25-pound, 1-ounce bass from 70-acre Dixon lake that would have been a new world record had it not

The point of the foregoing out-of-state digression is to lay some groundwork for comparison and introduce another difference in a Forkless world: Your tackle box, or more accurately the contents thereof, might be quite different. Quite a few lure designs and color patterns were created at the behest of Lake Fork guides and anglers. Pro angler Mark Pack of Emory has even built a highly successful tackle business and brand under the heading of Lake Fork Tackle. But Lake Fork’s economic impact digs much deeper than that. Angler traffic is where the big money comes from. Hundreds of thousands of anglers from around the

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Trophy bass fishing would be a very different proposition without Lake Fork.

been foul hooked in the back. The most prolific Left Coast mega-bass lake is 2230-acre Lake Castaic, which has produced two of the top five and six of the top 25 largemouth bass in the world. And, no, our state record is not on the list; it cuts off at 18.94 pounds. So influential is the Castaic mystique that several companies make lures targeted specifically for this lake. One outfit, the Castaic Lure Company, makes super-sized baits designed exclusively for this and other California lakes. The original bait was the Castaic Trout lure, a life-sized knock-off intended to capitalize on the resident lunkers’ predilection for annually-stocked rainbows, the consumption of which is credited for the bass’ gargantuan proportions. 32

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world visit Lake Fork each year, some multiple times, in hopes of catching a career largemouth. According to a Texas A&M University study conducted during the mid1990s, the state’s economy would be $27 million poorer in a Forkless world. It is hard to imagine Texas bass fishing without Fork, just as it would be hard to decide which lake might rank as the state’s top destination for trophy class largemouths these days if the renowned impoundment had never been built. There is a passel of great lakes in Texas. In fact, big bass are apt to show up just about anywhere. Proof can be found in TPWD ShareLunker program archives. Bud ShareLunker solicits anglers to “loan” bass weighing 13 pounds or more to &

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the state for spawning and genetics research. The initial goal is for the fish to spawn in captivity. A portion of the progeny are retained for study purposes that scientists hope will one day enable them to unravel some of the mysteries of big bass DNA. To date, 55 public lakes and more than a dozen private lakes have produced 441 ShareLunker entries. Take away Lake Fork’s 236 contributions and the total would decline more than 50 percent. Sam Rayburn held down the No. 2 spot among contributing lakes for years. Then, seemingly from nowhere, a little 2900-acre Panhandle reservoir called Alan Henry came along and stole its thunder. Following the 2006-07 season, Alan Henry had produced 25 official ShareLunker entries, compared to Sam Rayburn’s 22. Also noteworthy is that all of Alan Henry’s entries came during the seven-year period spanning 2000-07. In 2004-05, it became the first lake in the history of the program to contribute more fish than Fork in a single season, then backed it up with a repeat performance in 2005-06. Impressive as Alan Henry has been in

recent times, I would be reluctant to name it the state’s top destination for catching a big bass weighing upward of 8 pounds if Lake Fork did not exist. Lakes Falcon, Amistad, and Choke Canyon have been way too hot in recent times, and are apt to get hotter. The South Texas impoundments are currently riding a big bass high that is rapidly gaining the attention of trophy hunters across the state and beyond. Although the lakes have produced only 20 ShareLunkers between them, many will agree that the number does not accurately reflect the big bass potential of either impoundment. Anglers catch and release tons of big fish that TPWD never hears about. For example, Falcon fishing guide Charlie Haralson said his boat accounted for more than 60 bass topping the 10-pound mark last spring. Three of them weighed more than 13 pounds. “We were catching 5- to 8-pounders like crazy when I caught those fish, so we weighed them real quick, took pictures, and released them so we could get our baits back in the water,” Haralson said. “I just didn’t want to take the time to donate the fish. I

probably should have, but I didn’t.” As good as the “Golden Triangle” fisheries are, no one can deny that the quality of Texas bass fishing would not be at its current lofty levels without Lake Fork. The lake, after all, is the archetype upon which reservoir-fisheries are now modeled. From day one, Fork has served as a laboratory for the study of fisheries management and the production of trophy-sized bass. Without these and other contributions, bass management would be way behind the current state of affairs. Gains? Improbably, yes. Part of the big bass mystique would be restored, the sense of mystery and adventure rejuvenated in the minds of lunker-questing anglers. Big bass would be bigger news, rarer, and 10pounders would once again turn heads and make headlines. Whatever the speculative circumstances, I doubt any bass angler anywhere wants a Forkless world.

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Hot & Cold On NMFS

LSEWHERE IN THIS ISSUE, I WROTE AN exploration of what the feds are—or have been—up to regarding offshore fishing regulations, approached from the angle, “what we know, we don’t know,” which draws inspiration from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous “What we know we know, what we know we don’t know, and what we don’t know we don’t know.” I suppose one could translate that as a Stone Cold Steve Austin salute to the National Marine Fisheries Service, but it isn’t. I would never think of doing that, though, because I haven’t figured out what, exactly, my opinion is of NMFS. NMFS has a daunting task: It has to manage all of the fisheries in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which stretches out to 200 nautical miles from shore on all three coasts. It has to assess and predict the conditions of stocks, regulate them, ensure compliance, and work to end wasteful fishing practices. It has to balance competing public needs such as recreational and commercial fishing concerns, and tend to the primary concerns of the resources. It’s a huge job and, more often than not, NMFS doesn’t do it very well. It was under NMFS’ watch that the Grand Banks stock Atlantic cod, one of the most important fish species in human history, collapsed to less than 1 percent of historic levels. While trying to manage the stock, which included tighter and tighter recreational bag limits, the federal government was either unable or unwilling to stop the destructive practice of bottom trawling, which is the equivalent of strip mining the ocean floor. Bottom trawling is indiscriminate in what it kills, and takes every fish, large and small. Entire schools of these fish were destroyed, and the smaller members of the species—which the hook and line 36

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commercials used to release to replenish the stock—turned into so much by-catch, if they were even discarded. Most fisheries biologists predict that the Grand Banks cod fishery will never recover, especially since the cod, the apex predator of the ecosystem, has been removed, and every member of the remaining food chain moved up one spot. Now, the cod’s ecological niche has been filled, so there is literally no room for it. The entire situation was an example of a spectacular blunder by the federal government. On the other hand, it is possible that NMFS learned its lesson from the cod debacle. Its handling of the recovery of Atlantic swordfish (no longer considered overfished), striped bass, redfish, and jewfish should be applauded. NMFS practiced common sense conservation with swordfish by closing to commercial long-lining the historic nursery areas for these unique and mysterious fish, and the stocks rebounded quickly. The redfish story is an amazing example of the federal government working with private conservation groups such as the Coastal Conservation Association in stopping the commercial overharvest of bull redfish in federal waters. They showed insight by realizing these brood fish were more valuable swimming around than served blackened on a plate in Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant. The once rare jewfish is now so ubiquitous that saltwater anglers in Florida and Texas believe that a limited season should be enacted for them. So, just when I begin to rethink my opinion about NMFS, it goes and pulls the stunts it has during the red snapper battle royal. Its handling of the stock assessment of Gulf snapper is bad enough. Its stubborn refusal to even consider that it might be underestimating the stock in the face of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department numbers that show a steady increase in the 0-1 age group is mind-boggling. The Gulf Council’s act of proposing Alternative 2, which would force all holders of a Federal Reef Fish Permit (in other words, charter and head boat captains)

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to adhere to federal regulations while fishing in state waters after TPWD followed the wishes of Texas anglers and tabled the federal petition to bring state rules in line with federal is punitive and smacks of arrogance. Add the proposed rule that allows one amberjack for every two people on a boat (i.e. a limit of 1/2 fisher per angler) and you can see why Texans have such a low opinion of the feds. There seems to be a very wide disconnect between the reality that fishermen see on the water and policy created by bureaucrats in an office. It’s frustrating. So, I should be down on NMFS, right? Well, not so fast. Every once in a while, if you teach long enough, you get that one student who really, really tries, but can’t quite make it. He’s a good kid, hard working, is always on time, and never gives you any trouble, but his best work never grades above 55 or 60. In the end, you forgive his shortcomings and give him a 70. To do otherwise is cruel. Besides, sometimes that kid makes a big footprint in the world. Under that premise, should NMFS be graded on a curve, too? The problem is, there is so much at stake in fisheries management in Texas that allowing that curve is liable to result in an A+ fishery becoming a C- fishery. If that happens, then a lot of captains, mates, store clerks, and marina employees will be out of work. I’m glad I don’t work for NMFS. I would never want that job. As this issue went to press, the Gulf Council recommended that the new regulations include one amberjack with a minimum length of 30 inches per person, with no harvest by captain or crew allowed. According to the proposed regulation, there will be no season closure or “1/2 fish per person” nonsense. This decision further reinforces my quandary.

E-mail Calixto Gonzales cgonzales@fishgame.com

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by Ted Nugent

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couldn’t believe my eyes. From the spooky, surreal fog of the big swamp emerged a bobbing red head, instantly followed by the deep, soul shattering, rumbling thunder of a mature turkey gobble that rattled the damp, smoky silence. I was about to come unglued. Gripping my old reliable Bear recurve bow a bit too tightly, I readied myself for the unbelievable gimme bowshot at a rare Eastern wild turkey encounter in the mystical forests of Michigan. I missed. I missed by a mile actually. I don’t know if it was the shock of actually seeing my first wild turkey or the fact that he was looking clean through me at less than 20 yards, but whatever the cause, he jetted out of there all the wiser and me all the warier. That first of many missed turkey with the bow and arrow took place many, many years ago before I had the faintest idea about how to arrow a longbeard. I would luck into a few good arrows on majestic Rio Grand gobblers during my annual winter Texas safaris over the years due to sheer numbers of

opportunities, but getting to full draw on The Omniscient One would never come easy, I assure you. A bowhunter must pay his dues hardcore in order to earn a bowkilled gobbler, like for no other big game animal anywhere. I’ll say it again: If wild turkey had the sense of smell of a deer, no one would ever kill one. They are that cagey. My most memorable turkey bow kill came with a very special man. Dear friend and BloodBrother, Mr. Mike Mirelles, was the chief biologist and hunting guide for the legendary Kennedy Ranch Sarito Safaris in South Texas. A master bowhunter and wildlife specialist, if you were fortunate enough to be guided by gentleman Mike, you were assured the hunt of a lifetime. On a spring nilgai, turkey, and hog safari at this eternal wildlife paradise, Mike and I would work into the wind each morning before daybreak, working the thick mesquite jungles hoping to get in close on any one of the highly desirable archery trophies. Mike would expertly yelp on his diaphragm and box call, toms constantly gobbling back from all corners of this amazing game-infested paradise. After one such series of calls, a trio of

gobblers lit it up ahead of us at about 200 yards, and Mike knew that they were in a long, shallow depression surrounded by a ridge of mesquite, cactus, and live oak that would provide decent stalking cover. We ran full speed to the edge of the area and I bellycrawled the last 50 yards to the lip of the valley. As I rose to one knee for a look-see, two huge longbeards were facing off at 35 yards, and I instinctively drew back and took a bead on the closest tom. My arrow was true, and a great Rio Grand was mine! On this hunt, and most of my turkey kills with the bow over 50-plus years of bowhunting, my equipment consists of the exact same rig I bowhunt all my big game with. A 50to 60-pound draw weight compound bow, shooting aluminum or carbon arrows in the 400- to 600-grain range, tipped with a razor sharp, two-blade, forward cutting broadhead. I’ve hit and lost only one turkey over the years, and to this day, I can’t tell you why, but a razor sharp broadhead through the vitals of a big tom turkey usually brings about the same results of such a hit on any big game—delicious, soul cleansing protein for the grill and grand memories forever.

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Most of my bowhunting buddies are much better shots than I am, and some of them like to head shoot their spring gobblers. Though some are so sniper-like that they kill them with steel blunts, Zwickey judo heads, and regular big game broadheads, more and more are using the amazing Gobbler Guillotine and Magnus BullHead turkey heads that literally slice off the bird’s head with long, extended, scalpel-sharp, flaring blades. Deadly. For the rest of us, a solid shot low in the body beneath the wing butt is still the best, as a turkey’s vitals lie in their body where you would expect their guts to be. Next time you kill a bird or prepare one for the Thanksgiving table, examine the location of the vitals and you will see that the heart and lungs are quite low, somewhat underneath the majority of the entrails. Many of my birds have also been anchored with an arrow dead on the point of the wing butt, breaking them down for a quick flopping death. You will hear claims from many astute bowhunters about the importance of our arrows staying in the bird to keep it from flying away. I don’t agree. Like on all arrow-

killed critters, the job of the broadhead is to slice up organs and maximize blood loss. An arrow that goes clean through an animal always accomplishes this to the best if its ability. Therefore, I am convinced that complete penetration is best on turkey just as it is on deer, elk, caribou, and hogs. Every one of the deadliest bowhunters I know agrees with this. I go with the advice of masters like Randy Ulmer, Chuck Adams, Bob Foulkrod, Fred Bear, and others. You should, too. There is no question that the No. 1 boon to turkey bowhunters today is the development of the pop-up portable tent blind. I first saw this innovative concept successfully put to use back around 1980 in Missouri. Now, with the amazing Double Bull blinds and so many others, turkey hunting with the bow and arrow is a booming and mostly successful springtime ritual for archers across America. For some wonderful reason, wild turkeys will usually accept a freshly set up ground blind and still come to a decoy if good calling is performed. Other game, like deer, pronghorn, and bear, will oftentimes look cautiously at a new item in their living

rooms, but turkeys for the most part will come strutting right in. Thank God. Within the dark confines of these blinds, the turkey’s amazing eyesight is somewhat overcome and an archer can go through the necessary motion of drawing his bow when that perfect shot presents itself. The same attention to silent gear and clothing is just as critical as when deer hunting and, of course, precise shot placement is always essential. I have successfully arrowed wise old toms from makeshift forest debris ground blinds, permanent Shadow Hunter and various other blinds, both elevated and on the ground, and I have even bow-killed my share of turkey from conventional tree stands set up for deer hunting. Know for sure, though, that a wild turkey will pick up on the slightest movement from an elevated position faster than any other animal. Shot timing, killer camo, and silhouette breaking cover is critical. I had just arrowed a handsome nilgai antelope on the King Ranch and was heading back to camp for some assistance in retrieving this amazing archery trophy. The wind was howling, with vegetation whipping

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wildly all around me. Walking slowly in hopes of encountering a hog or javelina, I saw a flash of blue and red up ahead, and immediately ducked into the swinging, swaying windblown scrub. Three iridescent Rio Grand gobblers were heading straight toward me amongst the thick scrub, and the wind-blown thickets covered my sound and movement as I jerked a turkey-feathered shaft from my bow quiver. Here they come. At 20 yards, they picked along totally

oblivious to my presence hunkered down in the green bushes. When the lead bird entered the thin window in the scrub, my arrow slammed into its wing butt and blew it off its feet. The other two longbeards sprung straight up into the air as I yanked a second arrow from my quiver and snapped it onto the bowstring. The two toms slapped their wings violently, jumped, and kicked the fallen bird that was now flopping in a circle. I picked out a second Rio and let ‘er rip. Now

there were two big gobblers flopping around on the ground, center-punched with razor sharp Nugent Blade broadheads. The third bird stretched its neck and looked frantically all around, and then simply ran off as fast as its drumsticks could go. I carefully extracted myself from the fleshgrabbing thorns and walked gingerly to my Texas turkey double. Both birds were dead now, side-by-side in the blowing Texas scrub, arrows sticking straight up out of them. My arrows were hand fletched with natural turkey feathers, and it was rather moving to sit down with my two birds, knowing that harvested turkey from the past had supplied arrow steering components for my sacred bowhunt this morning. The circle will not be broken.

The Gobbler Guillotine A Texas company, Arrowdynamic Solutions, makes one of the most interesting and possibly most effective specialty arrowheads for turkey, the Gobbler Guillotine, so named because it literally decapitates a turkey when hit in the neck. The four-blade head is designed to optimize effectiveness and expand the target area for a near-instant killing neck shot, eliminating the need to chase down or run the risk of losing a bird. The heads are strong enough to be effective on game up to the size of African ostriches. There is a video of an ostrich hunt as well as several turkey hunts available on the manufacturer’s website, and on Youtube.com (search for “Gobbler Guillotine”). Four 2-inch knifelike blades create an effective lethal contact area of four inches. On contact, sacrificial protective sleeves disintegrate, exposing the full length of the blades. The heads come in two basic versions—standard, and a crossbow model made smaller to clear the cocking stirrup. The heads are available from outdoors retailers such as Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops, or directly from the manufacturer. —Don Zaidle Contact: Arrowdynamic Solutions, 512-515-6299, www.arrowds.com

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Off-Season BowVarmints

WAS STUMP-SHOOTING—YOU KNOW, ROVING haphazardly through my beloved forest, ever-present bow and arrows in hand, flinging judo-tipped arrows at anything and everything I felt like—stumps, bushes, leaves, clots of turf, a dead branch, a clod of dirt; everything here and there. The easygoing, carefree pace of such casual archery will teach us much about just how accurate we and our hunting bows can be. Without a trace of “buck fever” to super-pump a nerveracking adrenalin overload, I seem to be able to drill the smallest of targets at longer ranges with ridiculous consistency. Teaching our eyes and brain through trial and error to better guesstimate varying yardages in real field conditions is something that must be accomplished out here in the wild. I get a real kick out of it and try to force myself to remember just exactly how I do it for when the big game season kicks in. Even though stump-shooting is without pressure, I nonetheless remain in full stealth mode just to keep my predator radar tuned in, since I am on hunting grounds. I simply crave all that is wild and cherish all my beloved time afield. Like hand-eye coordination and all that is the hunt, that higher level of awareness needs constant training as well. I remain cocked, locked, and ready to rock, Doc—slow, attentive, on full alert. Stealth turns me on. As I yanked an arrow from a rotting oak stump, a flicker of movement off in the shadows grabbed my eye. As I slowly slid my arrow back into my quiver, I could see the 44

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masked marauder sneaking through a long, thick row of multiflora rose tangles where some large boulders rimmed the ridgeline. The big raccoon hadn’t noticed the old bowhunter, but I was already making my move. Surely there is a no more environmentally positive activity than killing raccoons, and I was ready to do my duty. Working my way behind the little egg-eating, barn-wrecking, rabies-spreading felon of the wild rascal, I moved carefully only when he moved. The little bandit would halt abruptly and raise its head, and I would freeze midstep, knowing that these persecuted woodland devils were uncanny in their evasive survival skills. When the coon disappeared momentarily behind a deadfall, I

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scooted a little quicker to cover 20 or 30 steps, closing the distance to about 30 yards when he showed himself on the other side. My broadhead-tipped arrow was already nocked and I whipped the arrow back into the corner of my mouth, picked a tiny spot atop his foreleg, and let ‘er rip. In a single flurry of fur and white feathers, the arrow was in and out of the furbearing varmint. He spun wildly in a whirling blur, let out a weird squawking sound, and tried to run as fast as his little legs would take him. But his death dash lasted only a few yards before he tumbled ass over teakettle, flopped one time, then lay still. Beautiful!

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I was in heaven. I’m sure I have killed thousands of raccoons in my long outdoor lifetime, but it is always a thrill, especially with the bow and arrow during a stumpshooting stroll. He was a big daddy coon with a raggedy, tattered fur coat. I don’t think he was mangy, but certainly not a prime pelt specimen. Nonetheless, I sure admired him for the bowhunting trophy that he was. I cannot count the times I have enjoyed arrowing squirrel, rabbit, ‘coon, possum, skunk, fox, coyote, crow, groundhog, river rat, chipmunk, gopher, prairie dog, snake, turtle; the occasional dove, quail, and grouse; and in my youth, many pigeons, sparrows, and starlings. It is all good, clean fun, and like my hero Sitting Bull, I am a hunter. If there were no more deer or buffalo to hunt, I would hunt mice, for I am a hunter, and it is what I do. Disciplining our archery on such small evasive targets will go a long way in perfecting our capability of making good arrows on larger game. We all know that pinpoint accuracy is everything when that moment of truth arrives after much dedication, sacrifice, and a good load of luck. If we can train ourselves to zero in on a tiny spot to put our arrow on a raccoon-sized critter, we can surely be more accurate on deer and elk. Often, when I am about to take a shot at a deer, I actually talk myself into hitting the squirrel’s vitals that I envision behind the shoulder of the deer. For when I miss a squirrel with my bow, it is rarely by more than an inch or two, which translates into a smackdown on a heart/lung size target on a deer or other big game. Try to get out as much as possible in between big game seasons. Sponge up the great Spiritwild. Shoot ‘em up! Enjoy the little things in life. It is grand fun and the ultimate bowhunting practice.

E-mail Ted Nugent at bowhunting@fishgame.com

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by Paul Bradshaw

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rappie are easy to catch—aren’t they? Unlike their finicky cousin, the largemouth bass, they don’t require tons of gear, the ability to learn 8000 different fishing techniques, and a little bit if of luck to catch. Just drop a jig or dangle a minnow in the middle of a brush pile, and every few minutes along swims an unsuspecting crappie willing to take the bait. They are so compliant and angler-friendly that just about any idiot can go out and catch a limit. Then why in the world did I get skunked the other day when I took my wife and daughter crappie fishing? That’s right, skunked. Not even a nibble. The women in my house were not happy. It happens to the best of us, but for those anglers out there who know how to locate crappie on standing timber, brush piles, and laydowns, those fishless days are few and far between. More so than just about any other type of freshwater fish, crappie strongly relate to and hangout in thick cover. If you want to catch crappie, expect to donate a few hooks or jigs to the junk they live in. If you don’t lose a few hooks, then you are not fishing the right places. Be it manmade crappie condo’s or natural standing timber, crappie are a cover-oriented fish. Sure, there are certain times of the year when crappie will suspend in deep water following shad, or move onto shallow flats to spawn, but the majority of the time, if you find cover, there will be crappie on it.

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The task then becomes determining which type of cover the fish are relating to the most, and then to find where on the cover said crappie are hiding. I’ve been on trips where having the jig on the wrong side of the tree produced little activity, while moving it just a few feet to the other side brought repeated strikes. Yes, it can be that specific. Some people call it “fishing in a barrel.” There are fishermen who make their livings putting paying customers on crappie, and for them, getting skunked isn’t an option. If I don’t catch anything, I eat a bologna sandwich; if they don’t catch anything, they don’t get repeat business, so the majority of their time on the water is spent locating crappie, and when they tell you where the fish are, you better listen.

Standing Timber When I think of standing timber, I think about bass fishing—but realistically, I should grab my spinning gear and start tossing small jigs at this vertical structure to catch some monster crappie. If you have fished bridge pilings before, then you are

accustomed to the type of angling required to fish standing timber. The only problem you have now is figuring out which trees hold fish and which ones do not. Not all standing timber is created equal, but it really isn’t the lumber itself that sets it apart, but rather the location of certain trees that make them more appealing than others. To determine if the trees you have chosen to fish look just as good to the crappie as they do to you requires a little work with your depthfinder or a topographical lake map. Every lake in Texas has old creek channels running through it that lead from the backs of coves into the main lake, and eventually into the main channel of the river that was dammed to form the reservoir. These channels act as migratory highways for crappie. Due to this, standing timber on the edge of an old creek channel holds more crappie than standing timber on a large mud flat. If you are traveling down the interstate and need fuel, you typically hit the gas stations closest to the road. Crappie are the same way, stopping to refuel at the timber nearest the creek channels. Use your depthfinder or lake map to locate a channel and hit the clos-

est standing timber. There are two basic methods for fishing standing timber, each dependent on how deep the fish are suspending next to the timber. When crappie are suspended deep (over 10 feet), tie on a small 1/32-ounce, jig on light line with a split shot about 18 inches above it. With a tube body on the jig (I like white or black/chartreuse, and a fishing partner swears by watermelon), drop the rig all the way to the bottom then reel up a couple turns. If nothing bites after a few minutes, reel up another turn. Repeat this process until you catch a few fish, noting the depth (number of turns on the reel handle) the fish are suspending. When the crappie are shallow, switch from a jig to a small spinnerbait. Back away from the timber and cast past it, letting the spinnerbait fall on a tight line. The crappie will bite as the spinner swings past the tree. This technique requires a light action rod and makes the angler become a line watcher, since sometimes the only way to detect the bite is to notice the small jump in the line when the crappie sucks in the bait. To me, the most important part of fishing standing timber is to know which side of the tree the crappie are relating to. The rule of thumb I follow when searching the timber is to fish the shady side of the trees. I have been on multiple trips where a bait on the sunny side would go untouched while dropping on the shady side resulted in instant hook-ups.

Planted Brush Sam Rayburn is nationally renowned as a first rate bass lake, but the crappie fishery ain’t too shabby, either. Big crappie are regularly caught on Big Sam, many of them coming off the thousands upon thousands of brush piles planted annually by anglers. Some fishermen have been known to stretch the truth, but in this case I am not (well, not much, anyway): This past winter while fishing, I watched a dump truck with the bed full of discarded Christmas trees launching a bass boat on Rayburn. The driver then proceeded to run the majority of the day pulling trees out of the bed of the truck and sinking them in various locations in the lake. That was a man serious about his crappie fishing. Most people think that you can throw a Christmas tree in a lake and a few weeks later, a school of crappie will start calling it home, but that’s not always the case. The 48

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angler with the dump truck full of trees had very specific locations where he was planting trees, and they all revolved around one thingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the mouths of coves. If you look at the mouth of a cove, whether it is a large cover connected to the main body of the lake or a small cove leading into another larger cove, you will find a creek channel. Dropping trees at the mouths of coves provides a staging point for fish migrating into shallow water to spawn. Crappie will stop at these trees on the way in during the prespawn period, and again on the way out during post-spawn. Fishing planted brush is very straightforward. Vertical presentations work best and lead to less snagging on limbs. Like on standing timber, a small jig with a split shot on the line above it will put fish in the boat, but sometimes the crappie want live bait. If this is the case, just swap the jig for a small bait hook and live minnow. If the brush is thick, switch to a drop-shot rig with a weight on the end of the line and a hook with minnow 18 inches above it. The weight on the end of the line will help pull the bait down

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into the brush, but be prepared to get hung on the limbs a few times.

Fallen Timber To a crappie, a fallen tree is just as good as a standing or sunken one. Many crappie hang around downed trees in the spring, and some fallen timber might hold them yearround if it is in the correct location. A downed tree that has fallen over deep water can hold crappie throughout the year, since they can stay on the same piece of cover but still move up and down the water column. In the spring, fallen timber in shallow water in the back of spawning coves is the first place a crappie angler should look. There are some instances where instead of spawning on traditional beds, crappie will drop their eggs in the thicker limbs of the fallen timber. A pair of polarized sunglasses will help spot these fish and any others hanging out in the shadows. There are two basic methods for catching crappie in downed timber, one for live bait anglers and the other for the artificial crowd:

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Since the trees are fairly shallow, anglers cannot park their boat right on top of them and fish vertically, so bait fishermen have to move beyond just a hook, minnow, and weight. Use a slip cork above a split shot and hook to cast a minnow into the cover, letting it sit for a few minutes. Cast to the tips of the limbs first to catch any fish hanging around the edges, then gradually working your casts into the trunk of the tree. Anglers using artificials have several choices for probing fallen trees. Small spinnerbaits are relatively snag-proof, so they can be thrown into the middle of the brush and pulled through without getting hung up. Other options include small crankbaits, hard jerkbaits, and downsized soft jerkbaits. Nobody said that crappie angling would always be easy, but if you take the time to learn how to locate and fish these three types of habitat, your days of hauling in nothing but water will decrease and your fillet knife will get a lot more use.

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TF&G reader Randy Freytag, his brother Russell Freytag, and Russell’s sons, Max and Alan Freytag, were fishing near Port O’Connor in late July. In this photo, Randy is fishing in the bay as a tornado builds over Port O’Connor.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDY FREYTAG

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Getting caught on the water by a freak and unexpected storm can happen to even the most cautious angler or boater. Once you’re caught, your options get real skinny. Still, knowing what to do and when to do it can keep you from getting blown away.

by Lenny Rudow

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ut on the water, when Mother Nature shakes a big stick at you, there is no fight-or-flight response—it’s all flight. But this time, running wasn’t an option. Half a dozen squalls bounced around in the sky like a giant pinball machine of fury, shooting lightning bolts in every direction. Because of some meteorological snafu, there was no well-defined front, no common direction to the flow of the storms, and no logical organization. One went south at 20 mph while the one right next to it shifted north at 30 mph. Some of the storms merged, ripped apart, then merged again. From the helm of my 24foot center console, it looked completely bizarre, and very scary. It also made it impossible to run in a safe direction— because there was none. A wall of 40 to 50 mph winds slammed into the boat, shoving it sideways across the water so quickly we made a visible wake. I throttled up and got the nose of the boat pointed into the wind again. The waves built, and in a matter of seconds, 5- to 6footers started slamming into us. I gave the

order—lifejackets, for everyone. Then the lightning started raining down. It seemed to be everywhere, accompanied by ear-splitting thunder, so much that it seemed impossible to escape being struck. Then a wall of sideways-moving rain rammed us, so thick I began to lose sight of the bow. When I tried peeking around the windscreen, the droplets were coming so fast it felt like a thousand bees stinging my face. With zero visibility, maintaining headway was going to be impossible. Yet, keeping the bow into the waves would be imperative if we were going to stay afloat, so I told my mate to deploy the anchor along with every inch of rode in the locker. Once the hook grabbed and we jolted to a stop, we were at nature’s mercy. Huddling behind the console, three of us shivered in drenched, scared misery. Thunderclaps buffeted us without respite, so loud that talking was nearly impossible. The waves topped 8 feet, maybe 10, throwing the boat back and forth and yanking it violently against the anchor line. We could do nothing but hold on, wait, and pray. We felt the bolts holding down the chock rip through the fiberglass; we could do nothing as we saw the bow

lights and a bowrail stanchion get sheared off by the anchor line; we could do nothing as the lightning’s intense heat shredded oxygen molecules into ions that re-formed into ozone molecules, filling the air with an eerie smell. Twenty minutes later, the storms were racing off to threaten different people in a different boat in a different place. We were shaken, but fine. The storm damage to my boat was minimal. Was it luck that saved us, or good seamanship? A combination of both. When you hit the point where your boat is being battered, thrown, and pounded so much that you realize you’re no longer in control and your life is in jeopardy, will you know how to survive? When and where to run are the most important questions you have to answer. Situations like the one described are rare, and usually you can avoid getting slammed. You have an easier time of it if you have radar, which will allow you to see the storm coming and track its direction. Remember, don’t wait until it’s right on top of you to start moving. When the edge of the storm is

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NOAA

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A waterspout (tornado at sea) is one of the most extreme weather events an angler is likely to encounter short of a hurricane. 10 miles away, you have already waited too long. Lightning can strike from many miles away, and nearly 30 percent of all lightning strike victims report being under blue skies when the event occurred. So, get moving when the storm is still 10 to 15 miles in the distance. If you hear an unusual hissing sound, check your VHF antennae, outriggers, and fishing rods that are pointing skyward and you will quickly discover where the sound is coming from. When one of these items starts cackling, you’re in serious trouble; electricity in the air is reaching critical mass and lightning strikes are not far behind. Take down or lower the item(s) if possible, and get out of there fast. Life jackets, life jackets, life jackets. Make sure everyone has one on before the going gets tougher. Once you’ve fulfilled this duty, prepare to idle at 45-degrees into the seas. Don’t even try to run once you’re in the storm; there’s no reason to, since most squalls are isolated and blow past as quickly as they pop up. (We’re assuming here that 56

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your judgment is good enough that you’ll remain at the dock when a large, predictable storm is on the way.) Most of the time, you’ll experience harsh conditions for only a matter of minutes. Instead of rushing for port in the middle of them—and the reduced visibility, heavy seas, and course-altering gusts—use just use enough power to hold your position. If there’s time, secure your gear. Loose coolers, gear bags, fenders, and the like can be expected to roll across the deck, fall off shelves, and generally cause havoc. Before the nasty stuff hits, secure everything you can. If you have a heavy cooler or other weighty items, tie them down aft so they don’t weigh down the bow. Also check all hatches and ports to ensure they’re properly dogged and watertight. If you have other heavy cargo, get rid of it. Pump your bilges dry, drain the livewell, and pump out meltoff in the fishboxes. While all this has been going on, note your position on the GPS in case it becomes necessary to call for help. We’re talking latitude and longitude, not “sorta near the third

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red channel marker 20 minutes from the inlet.” Write it down on something, so if your electronics get fried by a lightning blast, you still know your basic location. Speaking of calling for help: If things are getting extreme, call someone such as a friend, relative, or a dock hand at the marina and tell them your position and situation. Make arrangements to check in every 15 minutes, and ask that they call the Coast Guard if you fail to check in at the appointed time. If you can’t give your exact position because you don’t have a GPS aboard—what have you been thinking? You can pick up a reliable handheld unit for a hundred bucks. There is absolutely no excuse not to have one. In fact, there’s no excuse for not having a backup unit, too. If you’re within a mile or two of land and visibility is good enough that you can make it, follow that old saying, “any port in a storm.” If you can get to a pier (private, public, whatever) before the nasty stuff hits, do so. I’m a firm believer in leaving other people’s property alone and wouldn’t dream of mooring to someone else’s pier in normal circumstances, but in this case, safety takes precedence over property rights. Tie off and head for cover. If you lose power or if can’t maintain headway, it’s imperative that you deploy an anchor or a sea anchor to keep the bow into the seas. In both cases, let out every inch of scope you have. If there is no sea anchor or anchor aboard, a 5-gallon bucket tied to a rope will work as a sea anchor for a small, open boat. When you’re getting slammed, never ever put up a full aft enclosure, especially on stern drive and inboard boats. First of all, on any type of boat, a full enclosure is bound to restrict already-poor visibility. It will act as a sail, too, and make steering tougher. Then, there’s the possibility a strong gust will rip the enclosure open, and you’ll have flapping canvass and swinging aluminum struts adding to the mayhem. The most significant reason to not put up an aft enclosure is that it might trap fumes. Exhaust fumes may come up through a deck hatch or, thanks to the station-wagon effect, roll up and under the enclosure. This is a very real danger, especially on boats with engine hatches that aren’t airtight, including stern-drives and small inboards. Running with heavy seas is also a poor idea. Keeping the waves astern does two things—both bad: First, it increases the

chances of shipping water, because large waves can roll over the transom more easily than over the bow. You can run along the back of a wave for a while, and this tactic is useful for running inlets or making way when an emergency requires you to run for the dock. But try this for long and you discover that, eventually, the wave you are riding will merge with another, or sink below you into nothingness. Then you’ll be over the top and surfing out of control, or in the trough

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between two waves larger than your boat. Not good. Secondly, running with the seas will extend the amount of time you’re getting battered, since you’ll be moving more or less with the storm’s direction of travel. And remember, you don’t want to fight this storm for any longer than you need to. When Mother Nature starts waving that stick, run!

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by Chester Moore 58

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ower Laguna Madre is a shallow body of water separating South Padre Island from the Texas mainland. In the world of fisheries management, it separates the speckled trout regulations in its clear, hypersaline waters from the rest of the coast. Last year, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) Commission voted to change the bag limit in Lower Laguna Madre from the coast-wide 10 trout per day to five, responding to growing controversy over a decline in trophy-sized fish and certain fishing practices common in the region. As with any fishery, many factors are involved. Let’s look at some of those factors and let you decide what is really going on. First, let’s look at the facts or what we know about the fishery beyond speculation. In a briefing to TPW commissioners, Randy Blankinship, TPWD’s ecosystem leader for Lower Laguna Madre, said the department’s data showed good numbers of spotted seatrout entering the fishery. “Still, fewer fish over 20 inches are being landed, even though fishing pressure has remained constant or even slightly increased in recent years,” Blankinship said. “Because coast-wide trends are positive and the Lower Laguna Madre is the only bay system exhibiting negative trends in spotted seatrout, a regional management approach appears to be one option to accomplish the goal of maintaining a world-class fishery.” TPWD officials noted that trout still flourish in the large, hypersaline bay, which boasts more than 185 square miles of seagrass meadows. “Catch rates for speckled trout, as they are commonly called, are measured in number of fish caught per hour or catch per unit of effort (CPUE),” according to a TPWD statement. Further, coastwise CPUE has continued to rise. “In the Lower Laguna Madre, from the Land Cut down to South Bay, the CPUE has been declining. The catch rates in the lower Laguna Madre are still high as compared to other bay systems, but clearly are not being maintained at historical highs,” Blankenship said. “Lower Laguna Madre has exhibited over the last several years a trend that is not as upward moving, showing a slightly negative trend in relative abundance. It does not mean our fishery is in trouble, but it isn’t seeing the general upwards trends that the rest of coast has.” So, what has caused the negative trend in abundance of speckled trout? Is it the proliferation of live croaker and perhaps even cut ballyhoo as bait?

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A passionate contingent of fishing guides and other anglers have been arguing over the last few years that the use of croaker (and to a lesser extent, cut ballyhoo) is so effective for catching speckled trout—especially big ones—that it is harming the population. In a way, TPWD officials addressed this issue a few years back when they changed the trout regulations to allow only one trout greater than 25 inches per day. However, that did not stop the anti-croaker movement, which grew to the point that certain lodges and guides literally fly flags showing their disdain for anglers using croaker as bait. During summer months, most of the trout in the region spend their time in seagrass beds, where they are easy pickings for anglers using live croaker, according to those who oppose the bait’s use. They point out that during the time the decline in recruitment of trout into the fishery began, use of croaker increased dramatically, and the opposition contends it was a major factor. TPWD’s official statement on croaker as bait is a seven-pointed explanation of the many facets of the issue. On the harvest of trophy-sized trout, TPWD’s Larry McEachron wrote: “Large trout have provided up to 4-6 spawns during their lifetime. They have provided the trout population millions of offspring. Since few trout live much longer than 8 years, most fish larger than 25 inches are nearing the end of their life. It makes sense to utilize these fish in a trophy fishery. Our regulations are set up to allow maximum spawns and survival given all the different environmental conditions while providing a trophy fishery.” Another possible factor in the decline is the number of guides in the region, which some recreational anglers say is the cause of the decline in trout. “I’ve seen more fishing guides over the last four or five years than ever down here,” said Texas Fish & Game reader Kevin Pierce of Corpus Christi. “If you look on the internet, there are many part-time guides and then you have the big services as well. I think that all of these guides putting intelligent fishing pressure on this area day after day is what is causing the problem. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the more people who pound an area day after day, who use GPS, and know the area intimately, the more big 60

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fish they are going to take.” Guide numbers have increased all along the Texas coast, but it is worth noting that guides are paid to take out recreational anglers, many of which do not have their own boats and get to fish only a few times a year. They are providing a service, but fishing pressure in general could be one of the problems. Lower Laguna Madre is a relatively easy area to put pressure on, and the popularity of this region for its magnumsized specks and super abundant redfish could be a factor. Perhaps the greatest factors of all are ones that might not make as good internet forum fodder, or that seem like ancient history, are two major events of nature itself: a freeze and a drought. Blankinship said this trend began in the

Are guides to blame for an alleged decline in Laguna Madre “trophy” trout numbers? freeze of 1997, which “killed more speckled trout, in particular a lot of the large ones, than the freezes or 83 or 89 did. And we were the only area of the state that got affected by the freeze like that.” This freeze did not get much play statewide, but those who live in the region will remember the devastation it caused. “On top of that, we had a record drought from the late 90s until about 2002 that had a big effect here, and we also had an increase in the number of guides and overall fishing pressure. It’s really a big combination of factors,” Blankinship said.

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Besides taking some pressure off the fishery, the five fish limit has also set up the first regional bag limit on the Texas coast. TPWD’s coastal fisheries director Dr. Larry McKinney said some anglers have argued it would be better to apply the remedy statewide rather than to just one region. “The support for this idea can largely be characterized as three key arguments/opinions,” McKinney said. “One argument is that anglers would not come to an area where bag limits were lower, thus causing adverse economic impacts to that region. Another argument is that fishing pressure on adjacent areas would increase to deleterious levels. The last argument can be described as ‘the camel’s nose under the tent’ or, if regional management was ever adopted, it might eventually come to my bay, and that would be bad for me. “From a management perspective, it makes no sense to ‘fix’ a problem if it does not exist. If you have a flat tire, you do not buy four new ones; you repair the flat.” One of the big questions being asked by anglers in the region is whether similar measures will be used for Upper Laguna Madre in the near future. “Data indicates that the upper Laguna Madre region, directly adjacent to the LLM, can withstand any reasonably expected increase in pressure. Should a regional approach be adopted, that will be something that will be closely watched,” McKinney wrote in an essay on the controversy. “Monitoring data show that trout populations in Texas (excepting the LLM) are headed in the right direction for both overall abundance and for the numbers of ‘big trout’.” Is all of this just a power play by the state to enact much stricter coastal fishing rules as some have suggested? Are anglers fishing with croaker “raping the resource” as yet others have suggested? Did increased fishing pressure get to be too much for this fragile ecosystem? On the other hand, did a combination of factors including the heavy hand of nature deal a bad hand to the Lower Laguna Madre trout population? The truth is out there, but what it is, that’s for you to decide.

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anny Leal will tell you that it used to be much easier. Serving as a part-time deckhand on the privately owned offshore boat Dos Semanas Mas was easier and much more fun. Most days from spring to fall were spent running to the canyons or the 100-fathom curve and trolling for pelagics, or jumping weed patches for dorado and ling. On other days, if the owners didn’t want to run so far, or were short on time, or the seas were just a bit sloppy, then it was a short run out of Port Mansfield and along the Padre Island Shoreline to find one of a plethora of rocks and wrecks that were a scant two or three miles from shore in state waters, and loaded with red snapper. You might even find one of those transient ling sniffing around. “Those are nice trips,” Leal said. “A quick run out, catch your state limit of four snapper each, maybe the ling, a quick run back in. We would be back at El Jefe’s restaurant having an early lunch at 11:30.” Recently, the National Marine Fisheries 62

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Service (NMFS) tried unsuccessfully to petition the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to bring state red snapper limits (four fish, 15-inch minimum size) into line with the federal limit of two fish per person no shorter than 16 inches. The TPW Commission rejected the petition, but that doesn’t stop the feds from petitioning for the changes again, perhaps even applying a bit of arm twisting to the commission. Whatever the outcome, Leal believes it is a harbinger of things to come. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s going to get the point that it’s not worth going out anymore.”

Uninvited Guests You can’t argue with the fact that Texans are a fiercely independent lot that does not merely take fierce pride in our independence, but revel in it. Whether due to having fought for independence from Mexico, being the only state to enter the United States by treaty rather than annexation of territory, or being the largest state in the contiguous 48, Texans have long believed that Texas should be run by Texans. If any state has embraced

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the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution with absolute conviction, it is Texas. Nowhere is this idea of state sovereignty more vividly illustrated than in the management of our fisheries. Texas enjoys an Exclusive Economic Zone that stretches out nine nautical miles from shore (most states have an EEZ of two). In that EEZ, the state has imposed not only its own bag limits on red snapper, but also shark, king mackerel, and other important sports species. Texas also imposes a shrimping season that runs from July to May, whereas the federal shrimping season is a yearlong affair. Much to the chagrin of recreational anglers, charter captains, and party boat owners, the federal government wants to impose its management strategies on the Lone Star State. The federal sentiment is straightforward enough: the red snapper stocks in Texas waters are part of the same Gulf of Mexico biomass, and therefore part of the same management unit. It is only logical that all the fish within the management unit be “protected” by the same size and bag limits.

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During statewide scoping meetings to gauge public reception of the proposals, response was united and unequivocal: “Not only no, but absolutely not.” The most common sentiment among Texas fishermen, whether recreational or professional (charter captains and party boat operators) is that the NMFS is woefully ignorant of the red snapper fishery in Texas waters, which is by everyone’s evaluation in excellent shape.

“There is nothing wrong with our red snapper numbers,” said Captain Frank Vasquez. “I take charters out all summer and we find limits of snapper a couple of miles off the beach, and we almost never have to measure a fish.” In fact, red snapper have become so plentiful that they have achieved a status similar to the jewfish in Florida. The fish known by its politically name “Goliath grouper” had been federally protected since 1990, when

numbers were critically low. Since then, numbers have rebounded to the point that Florida fishermen consider them a nuisance because of their habit of taking bait intended for other species, or actually attacking hooked fish. Similarly, red snapper tend to get in the way when fishing for other species. “We were trolling over the Texas Clipper [sunk just beyond state waters as an artificial reef] for kingfish,” said Captain Steve Strohmeyer. “We caught 36 big red snapper. They get so thick that you can’t fish for anything else. It’s crazy.” Yet, according to NMFS data, red snapper stocks are not in good shape.

Weird Math Part of the problem with NMFS stock assessments, according to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), is that its stock assessments do not include the best available science. NMFS uses data from recreational catch, effort, participation, and harvest estimates when calculating stock assessments. Other information, such as marine fuel sales, bait and tackle sales, boat rentals, and ridership on party boats is considered anecdotal and thus useless. That same industry information, said Texas RFA director Jim Smarr, gives a more accurate rendering of how many fishermen are chasing red snapper, and thus creates a more accurate statistical snapshot of red snapper numbers. Simply put, factoring in how many fishermen are actually targeting red snapper helps establish the overall health of stocks. “We believe NMFS, by omitting industry data, fails to include some of the best indicators of trends available,” said Smarr. Another major sticking point is that federal harvest estimates are not based on dockside surveys, as TPWD statistics are, but rather on phone surveys. Many recreational fishermen that target species that fall under federal management never receive a phone call for the survey, so the question remains: How can NMFS develop any sort of accurate baseline to use for its estimates. (In fairness, it would be impractical for fisheries agents to call every fisherman that might fish in federal waters; this fact might underscore the need for dockside surveys.) 64

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Serving Several Masters Former Corpus Christi Caller-Times columnist Bill Walraven once wrote: “No matter what you do, you’re going to tick someone off.” NMFS might agree with that sentiment. Perhaps the biggest burden NMFS et al must shoulder is that they must accommodate several interest groups, which ultimately means some policies will do little more than irritate one or more group. Federal Guidelines, said TPWD Mark Fisher, coastal fisheries science director, must balance recreational angling, commercial angling, and general conservation issues: “That’s not always easy, because someone is always going to feel shortchanged.” Smarr countered that, though it might be true, but the feds do not take into account what the immediate impact of their management decisions might be, especially in the recreational sector. “NMFS’ argument is that a little bit of immediate pain will be offset by long-term economic gains when the resources dramati-

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cally improve,” said Smarr. “Where the argument fails is how businesses that make up the recreational fishing infrastructure will meet financial obligations waiting for this boon to arrive. If participation due to more stringent regulations declines, these businesses will be forever lost.” Many party boat concerns up and down the Texas coast have been forced to sell off their fleets and shutter their business due to the collapse in federal reef fish permits. The imposition of the two-snapper bag limit scared off most customers, and the remaining fishermen were too few to offset rising overhead due mainly to fuel costs. Adding insult to injury is the seeming federal accommodation of commercial interests by allowing them to maintain the lion’s share of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of red snapper (51 percent). Add on the proposed federal regulation change to greater amberjack bag limits, which would allow commercial harvest to retain a higher percentage of the TAC while limiting recreational fishermen to one amberjack for every two fishermen (or half an amberjack per angler) and the outcry

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from Texas fishermen is understandable. All Vasquez could do was shake his head and laugh. “I guess that means that if I fish alone and catch an amberjack, I can keep only one fillet and throw the other one back,” he said.

Weapons of Mass Destruction A big concern of many Texas anglers is that the federal government, through the NMFS Gulf Council, will make moves to force compliance with their “petitions.” No stronger example exists than the Gulf Council’s response to TPWD’s decision to reject the federal red snapper petition. On January 29, the Gulf Council voted 4-2 to adopt a regulation it called “Action 13, Alternative 2,” which calls for all vessels in possession of federal commercial or charter reef fish permits to abide by the more restrictive of either a federal bag and size limit for red snapper, or state bag and size limits. Simply put, all head boat operators

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and charter captains who wish to have a federal reef permit must abide by the two-fish, 16 inch limit while fishing in Texas waters. “What that means,” said Captain Steve Strohmeyer, “is that charter captains are now part-time operations.” Monty Weeks, owner/operator of 2Coolfishing.com, a popular website among Texas bay and blue water fishermen, cautioned that the regulation is not canon yet.

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“This isn’t the end of the road, it’s just the start,” Weeks said. “It’s got to go out for scoping. Each state will have at least one public hearing during scoping, where we can show up and voice our disapproval over this decision. After that, then it goes back to the Council for a vote, and then and only then is it off to the Department of Commerce for adoption as a law.” It is a long road, but many captains and

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coastal business owners are concerned about the economic ramifications should Commerce sign off on the regulation. The scariest power that the federal government has is the ability to unilaterally close entire swaths of the Gulf of Mexico as Marine Protected Areas (MPA), a.k.a. “no Fishing Zones.” As the RFA points out, the federal government has established precedent by using a presidential Executive Order to establish MPA that close off areas to ground fishing. The Hawaiian Islands Marine Reserve and the Channel Islands MPA off the California Coast were both created by executive mandate. “Based on these actions,” said Smarr, “the chances of the executive branch declaring MPAs along the Texas Coast should not be dismissed.” The area most likely to be targeted for MPA designation would be Flower Garden Banks. The Flower Garden, along with nearby Stetson Bank, are already Marine Sanctuaries because of the unique fauna that populates these salt domes. The area, located some 110 nautical miles south of Sabine Pass, is also a popular long-range destination for pelagic and bottom fishermen, as well as scuba divers. Because it is considered a unique and diverse habitat, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Marine Sanctuary would be completely designated an MPA, which would effectively close it off to at least bottom-fishing, and perhaps all fishing. Should this happen, a popular and legendary destination spot for ambitious fishermen would be closed. Ultimately, even if it is without intent, federal regulation agencies have gone a long way toward raising the ire of Texas coastal fisherman, which many feel is an example of shortsightedness. “We could be their best tools,” said Leal. “We could be their eyes out there, and report if anything is going on. Instead, they treat us like the enemy, or at least like we have no brains. Then again, it’s the federal government. Are you surprised?”

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ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS ARMSTRONG

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by Bob Hood

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istory tells us that in the late 1770s, the wild turkey lost by one congressional vote to the bald eagle of becoming our national symbol, but that was a bigger setback for Benjamin Franklin than it was for the wild turkey. The status of the bald eagle is unquestionable and it has served us well as our national symbol, and that’s exactly as it should be. However, Franklin’s nomination of the turkey and its ultimate defeat in the vote for a national bird did not lower the turkey’s place in the hearts of hunters, who have for centuries recognized it as one of the most exciting and often misunderstood quarries they pursue. Indeed, each spring, hunters across the nation observe the turkey as one of the most challenging game birds in our fields and woods, as well as one of the best-eating birds we can place on our tables. Remember, the turkey did not become the chosen bird for one of America’s most cherished holidays—Thanksgiving—without a good reason. Indeed, the turkey is a favorite dinner fare at Thanksgiving and other special occasions for hunters and nonhunters alike, and I would challenge anyone who says differently. Fame does not always come without false beliefs, myths, and misconceptions, however, and the turkey certainly has received its share of those. So, let’s go straight to some of the myths and misconceptions that surround this magnificent bird. First, to set the record straight, let’s start with the one about turkey being so dumb and fascinated by raindrops that many of them have drowned after looking up at the rain with their beaks open. Whoever thought that one up certainly knew nothing about the anatomy of a turkey. Turkey do not have binocular vision, so it would be impossible for them to “look up” at the rain. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads, so it seems only natural to me that they would have to turn their heads sideways to look up. And if they did look up into a falling rain, why would they do so with open

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beaks? I certainly can understand why, during drought times, a little rain might astonish turkey. After all, I remember one long drought period in West Texas when threeyear-old bullfrogs were drowning because they didn’t know how to swim. But I think turkey are a little smarter than that. So, while considering the fact that rain actually is good for the birds by providing moisture for their eggs to hatch, as well as spurring the growth of mast crops, agricultural crops, weeds, and insect populations, one must conclude that rain also is good for hunters when they are looking for turkey tracks and other sign. And that brings up another myth: that all turkey tracks and dung look the same. Any veteran turkey hunter knows that adult gobbler tracks are larger than those left by adult hens, and if you ever have paid attention, there is a difference in the shape of their dung as well. With that established, let’s take a closer look at turkey dung. After all, the businessmen in Benson, Minnesota, certainly have. The dung of an adult gobbler generally is larger than that of a hen and most often is “J” shaped, whereas that of a hen is usually smaller and straight. This identification certainly is important to turkey hunters searching for gobblers, but it means the ringing of cash registers to the folks at Benson, where they are using huge amounts of dung from the wild turkey’s cousin, the domestic variety, to produce a new source of alternate fuel. Talk about turkey power! Although some hunters, especially those who have been busted by the birds, might disagree, turkey do not have X-ray vision. Also, they cannot hear the ticking of a watch at 20 yards as some hunters have claimed. They do not hear 10 times better than humans, and they certainly cannot detect the smallest error in your calling. While true that turkey do have keen eyesight, they become more alarmed by seeing motion or something obviously out of place in their environment, than they are by a hunter who has remained motionless. And, yes, they can hear well, but if they could hear a watch ticking at 20 yards, few of them

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would ever be bagged. If you ever have heard the pathetic attempts of a young gobbler or hen trying to vocalize the natural clucks, yelps, putts, purrs, and gobbles of its species, you should realize that even the most novice turkey caller can produce better sounds than some of the real birds do. Another myth I heard recently was from a fellow who admitted he had called in only two gobblers in the past five spring seasons, but had failed to bag either. He blamed his bad luck on his theory that any gobbler that has answered a call but wasn’t shot simply will never again answer a call. That is the type of reasoning that helps destroy a hunter’s confidence, which it apparently had done for this fellow. Turkey hunters not only relish their memories of being successful with their calls, they also relish the excellent meat that turkey provide. While most turkey eaten during the Thanksgiving holidays are domestic birds raised solely for that purpose (other than the ones at Benson, Minnesota), many hunters who take wild turkey during the spring and fall turkey seasons in their states cook the birds for both Thanksgiving and other special occasions. That brings up another myth about this grand bird: that eating turkey will make you sleepy. That is a theory that has been put through many scientific evaluations. The truth is that it is not true. What is true is that turkey meat contains tryptophan, an amino acid involved in sleep and mood control. However, beef, chicken, and other animals also possess tryptophan. If you get sleepy after eating turkey at Thanksgiving, it probably has more to do with all the beer, stuffing, and pumpkin pie you consumed. The first Thanksgiving dinners were religious and social affairs, so it shouldn’t be surprising that many participants took naps after eating turkey. And, no, the first Thanksgiving dinner was not the one by the Pilgrims. Texans have two claims to holding the first Thanksgiving affairs in America—both in the 1500s (one at San Elizario near El Paso, and the other in the Panhandle) but, then, Berkley Plantation on Virginia’s James

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River claims it held the first Thanksgiving in 1619. I’m not giving up Texas’ claims, but President Kennedy apparently did in 1963 when he officially recognized Berkeley Plantation as America’s first Thanksgiving celebration. Did the folks at either of these affairs feast on turkey? My guess is that if there were any turkey hunters around, that’s exactly what they had. If not, they sure were missing out on a great opportunity. Do turkey wishbones bring good luck? That’s another question that can be as much truth as it is myth, depending upon how you want to look at things. I’m not sure when or where the tradition of pulling a turkey’s wishbone originated, but surely a pair of turkey hunters must have been involved— perhaps even contesting over the last morsel of turkey. If you don’t know what a wish bone pull is, it is the traditional contest between two people who take the wishbone from the carcass of a turkey and, with each person holding one of the two stems by their pinkie fin-

ger, pull it apart. The one who winds up with the longest “stem” is the winner. He then must close his eyes and make a wish, one that never is to be revealed to anyone else unless he chooses to forfeit his wish. The wishbone, or furcula as it is known among biologist types, is an important part of the birds’ flight mechanics. It is elastic and acts as a spring that stores and releases energy during the flapping of the wings. It is made by the fusion of two collarbones at the sternum. When dried and wrapped by a pair of pinkie fingers, it can be your avenue to good success on your next turkey-hunting trip. That is, it can be if you are the winner. Being superstitious helps, too, of course. So, when you head to the woods and creeks this spring season after turkey, think positive. Don’t worry about any of them drowning in the rain or someone from Benson, Minnesota, being ahead of you scooping up the poop so you can’t find the sign. Hunt hard and never quit cold turkey.

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Wild Turkey Facts • A true “turkey grand slam” or “turkey slam” is to bag each of the five North American subspecies in the same year or season: Eastern, Osceola (Florida), Rio Grande, Merriam’s, and Gould’s. Texas hosts three of the subspecies— predominantly Rio Grande, Eastern in East Texas, and small pockets of Merriam’s in West Texas. • A turkey of any species has between 5000 and 6000 feathers arranged in patterns called “feather tracts.” • A turkey can run at speeds up to 25 mph and fly up to 55 mph. • Turkey hens lay 10 to 12 eggs during a two-week period, usually laying one egg per day. The hen incubates the eggs for about 28 days, occasionally turning and rearranging them until they are ready to hatch.

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Choosing the Right Stick

HANNON HALE PITCHED A BLACK/BLUE JIG into a flooded huisache bush and waited patiently as the lure made a slow descent through the twisted maze of limbs and branches. The bait hadn’t fallen very far when Hale felt the familiar thump of another Lake Falcon largemouth. He reacted almost instantaneously with a solid hookset. It’s a good thing, too. Falcon bass are bruisers. Hook one in a bush, and you have a serious fight on your hands. The battle can be easily lost unless you get the upper hand quickly. Interestingly, Hale’s 4-pound bass exploded out of the water on the exact path the jig had taken on the way in—a good sign his heavy-action flippin’ stick had performed the job it was built to do. The flippin’ stick is one of the many “specialty” tools anglers sometimes reach for when special situations arise. It is a heavy favorite when bass are holding in thick cover such as bushes, brush, and grass. That is because it has some serious backbone. Flippin’ sticks are built with a heavy “action” or “power.” In fishing lingo, that translates to the stiffness of the rod. The stiffer the rod, more leverage you have. Think of a broomstick. The lighter the action, the less leverage you have. Think of a car antenna. “Specialty” rods are available for other freshwater fishing applications. There are forgiving rods designed to help take the work 74

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out of retrieving big-bill crankbaits, and fast action rods that deliver the goods for making long casts with spinnerbaits, topwater plugs, and jerkbaits. The list goes on and on. There are rods designed specifically for throwing wacky worms, dragging a Carolina-rig (the Falcon Rods “Carolina Lizard Dragger” comes to mind), and ripping lipless crankbaits. Some companies even build rods to cater to the frog fishing fad. Erig Naig knows a thing or two about choosing fishing rods. Naig is the senior marketing manager for Pure Fishing, the parent company of Berkley and Fenwick,

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two of the nation’s leading manufacturers of fishing rods. I recently caught up with Naig and asked him to provide a basic crash course on choosing fishing rods to suit specific applications. According to Naig, the first line of business in choosing a fishing rod is making comparisons to find one that feels good in your hands and suits your budget. The next step is matching the rod to the technique. “Certain rods are better suited for certain applications than others,” Naig said. “You don’t want to use a pool cue for throwing a crankbait, and you don’t want something wimpy to go flippin’.” Naig offered the following guidelines for choosing bait-casting rods for bass fishing: Jigs, Worms, & Soft Jerkbaits: Naig likes a 6-1/2- to 7-foot rod with a medi-

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um/heavy action. The rod should have a fast tip and plenty of backbone on the lower half for driving the hook through a soft plastic and into the bass’ jaw. “If you were only going to buy one rod to do just about everything, this would be it,” Naig said. Spinnerbaits, Jerkbaits, Topwaters, & Buzzbaits: Naig suggested a to 6to 6-1/2-foot rod with a medium action and moderate tip. The rod should be more forgiving from tip to butt than the worm rod, to provide the fish ample time to eat the bait before you set the hook. The moderate tip also provides more of a whipping action for launching longer casts. Crankbaits: A crankbait is adorned by two treble hooks. It works best when the fish are allowed to “load up” on the rod and hook themselves. Naig said a 6-1/2- to 7-foot rod with a medium or medium/light action is a good choice for crankbaits. The extra length lends to improved castability. Frogs: Buzzfrogs and hollow body frogs shine the brightest when worked in relation to thick grass mats or lily pads, usually on braided line. It takes a rod with some backbone to horse the fish out of the muck. “I like a rod with a ton of power for frog fishing,” Naig said. “A 7-foot medium/heavy or heavy action is the perfect frogging rod, so long as the tip is not so fast that it causes you to jerk the bait away from the fish before it is hooked.” If you are still confused about which rod to choose, check out the Berkley and Fenwick links on the Pure Fishing website (www.purefishing.com). There you will find helpful guides that list individual rods along with pertinent information to help you select the one that best suits your needs.

E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com

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all it a prophetic turn of events or a lucky cast in the dark: The Texas Fish & Game March 2008 cover photo (planned months in advance) featuring Ardent Reels bass pro Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, could not have rolled off the presses in a more timely manner. Just days after our spring issue began finding its way into the hands of subscribers, Jones went to Lake Hartwell in Greenville, South Carolina, and showed the world why he is recognized as one of the most consistent anglers on tour today, as he capped a stellar season with a convincing victory at the 38th annual Bassmaster Classic that earned him what many consider professional bass fishing’s most hallowed title. Jones’ Classic win, his first in 11 trips to bass fishing’s “Big Show,” came on the heels of a tactful practice and near flawless deep-water performance that helped him amass 49 pounds, 7 ounces of bass over three competition days to claim the tournament’s grand prize of $500,000. 76

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A personable pro whose wife, Jimmye Sue, and three children accompany him just about everywhere his job takes him, Jones bested 49 of the nation’s top ranked anglers en route to winning the championship crown with a sizable cushion of more than 5 pounds over second-place finisher Cliff Pace of Petal, Mississippi. After 16 years of trying, the former Richland-Chambers Reservoir fishing guide has finally realized a personal goal dreamt of since he was just a kid—and he is loving every minute of it. “Winning the Bassmaster Classic is everything that I ever dreamed that it would and could be,” Jones said. “I watched as the first 10 Classics I fished were won by my peers. I was excited for each one of those guys, and I can remember getting choked up seeing them take that victory lap that we all dream about. I wasn’t disappointed when I got to do it myself, and the neat thing is my wife and kids made the lap with me. “God gave us all a great day that we can remember for the rest of our lives I don’t want anyone to think that Alton Jones is the Great One who won the Classic. God chose to bestow that blessing on me. That’s the long and the short of it.” Jones’ name is nothing new to the leader board in big league bassing arenas. The Classic victory is his fifth BASS win and his 27th Top 10 finish since he turned pro in 1991. Through 146 career BASS events, the 44-year old angler has accumulated more than $1.58 million in earnings, an average of nearly $11,000 per tournament. It takes skill to rack up numbers like those. Moreover, it takes a special blend of perseverance, patience, and confidence to get bass to bite consistently, particularly under topsy-turvy weather conditions as bore down on the popular South Carolina fishery when the Classic showdown got underway. First, it got cold. Then it rained. Then the sleet and wind came. Finally, the sun came out and the weather began to warm. Then it turned nasty all over again. Through it all, Jones remained poised as an alley cat about to pounce on its next meal. He had to in order to capitalize on what few opportunities came his way, while simultaneously avoiding the distractions of fishing in foul weather and being tailed by a flotilla of spectator boats that at times numbered into the 70s. Jones said he got 29 bites over three days of competition. Amazingly, he converted 28 78

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Alton Jones hoists the trophy awarded for winning the 2008 Bassmasters Classic world title, which earned him a half-million dollars.

PHOTO COURTESY ESPN/BASS

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of them into bass-in-hand. “That’s pretty much unheard of, but fortunately, everything went almost perfect for me out there,” he said. “I only lost one fish the entire tournament. Execution is critical in any tournament, but it is especially important during the Classic. You just can’t afford any missed opportunities.” Jones’ game plan was built around the submerged ditches and creeks with timber he discovered in water 28-40 feet deep using his Humminbird 1197 side-imaging sonar. Getting bites down there was anything but easy. In fact, it was downright slow fishing that turned into somewhat of a grind as the

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tournament dragged on. Jones said he maintained sharp focus on his game by “taking baby steps” throughout each day: “My plan was to stay with the basics, set attainable goals, and go after them one by one. Rather than thinking about catching a limit, I focused on two things every day: catch the next fish, and make every cast count. I tried to be efficient with my time and emotions, and I paid close attention to every cast and presentation. I fished extremely slow, which paid off for me on the final day when I only got five solid bites and put every fish in the boat.” Jones relied on four baits to earn the

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Classic crown: a Cotton Cordell CC spoon, a pair of prototype jigs from Booyah, a Pigskin football-head jig, and an AJ’s Go2 jig. Both jigs wore extra long, brown/purple living rubber skirts. Jones dressed the baits with a 3-inch black/blue flake YUM chunk to add some bulk and simulate the color of crawfish he dug out of the throats of several bass during pre-tournament practice. Jones didn’t realize it at the time, but the crawfish discovery was one of the keys that helped him unlock the gate to his winning pattern. Another was having the confidence to try something different when his primary pattern waned. “The first day of practice, I figured out where the quality fish were positioned in relation to timber and ditches, but vertical fishing with the spoon was the only way I could catch them,” Jones said. “The problem was the bite only lasted about 30 minutes in the morning and it was over. The challenge was trying to figure out alternative methods to catch those fish once the spoon bite subsided.” Jones left the boat ramp on his final practice day with intentions of accomplishing just

that. He quickly learned that Hartwell’s lunkers shared a special affinity for the jig. “I went to one of my spots and used my Ardent XS1000 to make a super-long cast parallel to the ditch,” Jones said. “When the bait hit bottom, I moved it once and it went ‘thump.’ I thought, Hmmm, set the hook, and caught a 3-1/2 pounder.” Thinking the bite might have been a fluke, Jones motored to a different spot to try to duplicate it. He caught a 4-pounder on the second cast. “I knew right then and there that the jig pattern had potential,” Jones said. “I felt confident my fish would hold and they wouldn’t be bothered by all the spectator traffic like the shallow fish would. I really felt like I could be in contention at that point if I just fished my game and executed the pattern.” Jones fished his game to the tune of five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces, during the opening round, which placed him in 10th place roughly 3-1/2 pounds behind Day 1 leader and Classic rookie Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio. He followed up on Day 2 as he parlayed five of his eight

keepers into an even heavier limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, to jump into the driver’s seat ahead of Hartley by 1 pound, 3 ounces. Realizing he was in position to win a title he had been dreaming about since he was a youthful pond hopper under the direction of his grandfather, Jones did what only a true champion could have done on Day 3: He stayed cool, stuck with his game plan, and milked his pattern for all it was worth—a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces that permanently etched his name into bass fishing history as one of the sport’s all-time greats. “Winning the Classic is something I will never forget,” Jones said. “It has really been a humbling experience. The words of support from my friends, family, and people I don’t even know have been overwhelming. I even received a phone call from the White House with a message that President Bush wanted to speak to me. I consider that a great honor. I guess you could say my eleventh trip to a Classic was a charm.”

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Blazer Bay 220 Professional

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into the bilge. On many lesser boats, that water would simply run into the console and wreak havoc with your gear. The Blazer shot onto plane in seconds and weaved through tight turns like a thoroughbred, while pounding down the chop without hesitation, rattles, or bangs. The hull bottom features a small pocket at the transom, and draft was reduced even further with a hydraulic jack plate. Once the flats are within casting range, you will have no problem powering up the electric trolling motor, since there’s dedicated stowage for the batteries inside the console. Performance? Hot. Looks? Hot. Fishability? Hot; there is just no better word to describe the Blazer Bay 220 Professional.

PHOTO BY BLAZER BOATS

F YOU WANT A BOAT SO HOT IT SIZZLES, THE Blazer Bay 220 Professional has all the fishing features you need to compete in top-level tournaments, finish details that will surprise even the pickiest of mariners, and handling as sporty as a two-seater. The foredeck of the Blazer Bay is flanked with rod boxes, and in the foredeck itself

there’s a pair of fishboxes. There are three livewells, one for anglers fishing at the bow under the forward console seat and two aft wells in the aft deck. Open the hatch next to the center aft well to gain easy access to all of the boat’s pumps and mechanical systems. The leaning post, which is capped off by a quartet of rocket launchers, houses a 94quart cooler below. Pull-up cleats make fly fishing snag-free, while seat pedestal bases (one in the bow, and two in the aft deck) mean you can lean back and relax while you cast. To get a real feel for just how well the Blazer Bay is thought-out, poke your head into the center console and look at the undersides of the vertical console rod racks. Each rod tube has a small drain tube fitted to the bottom, which will carry any errant water

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Fooling a Deer’s Senses: the “Three S’s”

HERE ARE ONLY FIVE SENSES, AND DOPEY isn’t one of them—touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound. All animals (you included) sense the outside world through these five basic means and base their reactions on the interpretation of information thus obtained. When deer are trying to stay away from predators (you included), they use three of the five senses more than the others: sight, sound, and smell—the “three S’s.” If you are getting close enough to a deer that it can use its senses of touch and taste to detect you, then we need to talk. For the rest of us, the key to bagging a buck is fooling at least two of its three S’s, and if possible, all three. Just about any hunter will tell you that smell is the most important S that must be addressed. A deer can see or hear you and still hang around long enough for you to take a shot, but the second it busts you by scent, it’s all over. If you have to make the decision between being seen or smelled by a deer, go with seen because you will lose every time if it smells you. I hate to break it to you, but you stink. Well, to a deer, anyway. Your wife might think you smell manly, but deer think you smell like trouble. With the proliferation of activated charcoal scent-absorbing clothing, soaps that make your underwear smell like a pine forest, and countless variations of deer, fox, and opossum pee in a bottle, there is no excuse for you to smell like you. Buy some scent eliminating spray and use it. If you have an aversion to pouring pee on your boots, then store them in a plastic bag with cedar shavings. The point is, don’t just sit back doing nothing, hoping the wind is always in your favor. Be active enough to try to make yourself smell less like you and more 88

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like the outdoors—or nothing at all. I have an acquaintance, who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent, that prances through the woods in an attempt to fool a deer’s sense of hearing. That’s right, prances. It’s funny to watch, but the results are hard to argue with; he kills deer. His theory is that no matter how much he tries to be quite, he is going to make some noise while walking through the woods. So, instead of trying to eliminate the noise, he just “camouflages” it by walking on his toes in a semi erratic manner, mimicking the sounds like a squirrel running through the leaves instead of a 200-pound hunter trying to be stealthy. He looks like a dork, but sounds like a squirrel, and that’s what matters. There are two tips you need to know before attempting the “walk the squirrel” method. First, you must walk on your toes. If you walk in the natural heel-toe biped locomotion, you make a distinctly human sound. Squirrels and deer put their entire foot down at once, so to mimic this sound, you must walk on your toes. Second, make short bursts, not long sprints when walking like this. Start next to one tree, pick another one 5-10 yards away, and quickly walk to it. Stand next to it and scan the entire area around you for a few minutes before picking another tree and walking to it. You will sound like a squirrel feeding as it bounces from tree to tree. Just don’t let your buddies see you doing it. When hunting slightly open areas, I employ a similar tactic; but instead of running from tree to tree, I walk steadily, making short grunts like a buck following a doe. Last year on opening day, my first stand of the evening was busted up by a neighbor’s dog that ran by chasing a rabbit. Fairly sure that

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any deer that might have been around were now long gone, I decided to head for another stand. Following a creek, I was quick stepping my way toward the second stand, racing the sun and using the walk and grunt method, when across the creek a buck answered. Less than 40 yards away, but invisible through a veil of thick brush lining the creek, the buck paced back and forth, answering me every time I grunted, but refusing to come across. An hour later, with legal shooting time closed, the buck finally crossed the creek and I watched it travel north through the underbrush as I went south back to camp. When trying to trick a deer’s sense of hearing, just remember that you don’t have to be silent, but you can’t sound like you. The third S, sight, is much more advanced than yours, and in order to fool it, you need to employ the same tactics as deer do. On the last hunt of last year, I was stillhunting along a hill covered in sage grass when I noticed something that didn’t look right. Two white patches were sticking up above the grass that just seemed out of place. Glassing them quickly, the white patches turned into a pair of ears attached to a whitetailed buck. Standing in the tall grass, all that I could see of it even through binoculars was from the eyes up. Hunters need to do the same thing. It is not mandatory to hide your entire body, just break up your outline. If you are sitting in the woods, choose a tree that is wider than your shoulders and has some bushes around it. If you are still-hunting and spot a deer, keep a tree between you and the deer to break up your silhouette. Taking a deer doesn’t mean you have to be invisible, silent, and odorless. It just means you can’t look, sound, or smell like you.

E-mail Paul Bradshaw at deerhunting@fishgame.com

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How to Worm a Redfish

ICK CRÈME REVOLUTIONIZED BASS FISHING when he developed the first supple plastic worm in the 1950s. His Texas-rigged worms allowed anglers to penetrate thick canopies of submerged brush and dense aquatic vegetation, and catch fish that couldn’t be reached with conventional lures. The plastic worm has been hailed as the most effective bass lure ever made. What Crème never imagined is that his molded plastic worms are just as effective for catching redfish and speckled trout as for bass. Over the last 20 years, a number of “bass lures” have made the transition from freshto saltwater. The list includes broken backs, lipless crankbaits, dog-walking topwaters, and spinnerbaits. Lure manufacturers started churning out saltwater versions that quickly took up residence in salty tackle boxes. “Back in the early 80s, Bingos and MirrOlures were the only plugs used in the bays,” said Captain Chuck Scates (361727-1200), a Rockport-based light tackle guide. “But none of them were weedless. The only weedless lure we had was a spoon.” PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

Before his move to Rockport, Scates spent many years guiding the shallow waters of Lower Laguna Madre, which consists of several hundred square miles of water ranging in depth from 1 to 3 feet. “Lower Laguna is blanketed with lush beds of seagrass, and when big trout and

by Greg Berlocher reds got in there to feed, it was virtually impossible to present a standard lure to them,” Scates said. “Plastic worms allowed us to fish in the thick grass without fouling.” Why would a trout or redfish eat something modeled after the angle worms found in gardens and flowerbeds? It just so happens that “bass worms” have a striking resemblance to shrimp eel, which is a favorite of trout and redfish. Shrimp eel (Ophichthus gomesii) belong to a family known as snake eels, a name that is entirely fitting. Shrimp eels, commonly referred to as sand eels on the Texas coast, are found in all of our bays and spend much of their lives burrowed under a thin layer of sand or mud, with only their heads exposed. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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In flounder-like fashion, they dine on unsuspecting shrimp and baitfishes that wander too close. My first encounter with a shrimp eel was a memorable one. On my first floundering trip with my dad, we were working the backside of a sandbar, swinging hissing Colemans and toting hoe-handled gigs. Filled with the excitement of my first nocturnal excursion, I eagerly scoured the bottom with my eyes, intent on gigging my first flattie. Out of the darkness swims a shrimp eel, heading directly for my lantern. The menacing fins on the top and bottom of the eel’s thick cigar body were fully extended, making it look a lot like the deadly sea snakes featured on the Jacques Cousteau special I saw on television the week before. Although the snakes on television are found only in the Pacific islands, my quest for my first flounder took a quick detour to the spoil island nearby. Years later, I discovered that shrimp eels are nocturnal and remain tucked under their silt blankets until the sun goes down. Because they are nocturnal, many coastal anglers have never seen one. Gut studies &

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In This Issue C1

COVER STORY • How to Worm a Redfish | BY GREG BERLOCHER

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

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TEXAS HOTSPOTS • Texas’ Hottest Fishing Spots | BY CALIXTO GONZALES & JD MOORE HOTSPOTS FOCUS: UPPER COAST • Sabine Spring | BY CAPT. SKIP JAMES HOTSPOTS FOCUS: GALVESTON COMPLEX • “Heading” for Better Action | BY CAPT. MIKE HOLMES HOTSPOTS FOCUS: MATAGORDA & MID COAST • April No-Foolin’ | BY BINK GRIMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: ROCKPORT TO PORT ARANSAS • Pier Gaffers | BY CAPT. MAC GABLE

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: CORPUS TO BAFFIN BAYS • Topwater April | BY CAPT. JIM ONDERDONK

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: LOWER COAST • The Color Change | BY CALIXTO GONZALES SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides, Solunar Table, Best Hunting/Fishing Times | BY TF&G STAFF

GEARING UP SECTION

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TEXAS TESTED • Mann’s Bait Co., Texas Trout Killer, and more | BY TF&G STAFF

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NEW PRODUCTS • What’s New From Top Outdoor Manufacturers | BY TF&G STAFF

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INDUSTRY INSIDER • Evinrude, Ande, and more | BY TF&G STAFF

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SHOOT THIS • Thompson/Center Icon Rifle | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

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TEXAS BOATING • Boat Math | BY LENNY RUDOW

HOW-TO SECTION SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • T-Ball Rig | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Shallow-Water Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW TEXAS KAYAKING • The Wind is Your Friend – Sort Of | BY GREG BERLOCHER MISTER CRAPPIE • Shooting Docks for Crappie | BY WALLY MARSHALL REDFISH TRAILS • Sails on the Fly | BY DR. TOMMY LOMONTE HUNT TEXAS • Old Guns | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Varmint Cartridges Today | BY STEVE LAMASCUS TEXAS OUTDOOR LAW • Game Warden Games | BY WAYNE C. WATSON WILDERNESS TRAILS • The Lostrider | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE HUNTING SECTION • C38 SPECIAL Trophy Fever | TF&G S INSIDER • Young Gun | C52 TOURNAMENT M W WITH BARRY • The Lost Art of Tying Knots | B C56 AFIELD S .C WOO’S CORNER • Topwater, Cranking, & C57 Carolina Rigging | W D PAGE • It’s All in the Spots | C62 GURLZ M H TALES • Crowkiller | C64 SPORTING R Z. W CHESTER IN THE FIELD • Conservation C68 Marathon | C M FROM THE COAST • C70 NEWS Sabine Lake: Louisiana Eyeing Oyster Reef | TF&G S BY

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TEXAS TASTED • Venison Chili | BY BRYAN SLAVEN INSIDE CCA TEXAS • Texas & the Legislative Process | BY LUKE GILES DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

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done by TPWD reveal that redfish readily consume shrimp eels. Since redfish spend a lot of time rooting along the bottom, it isn’t surprising that they spook buried eels and then devour them in a violent rush. Scates and friends discovered that tailing redfish can’t draw the distinction between a shrimp eel and plastic worm. “Tailing redfish are on a mission,” Scates explained. “They are hungry, and if you drop a worm in front of a feeding school, they are going to race to see who gets it first.” Back in the early 1980s, there were not a lot of plastic worms sold on the Texas coast. As such, Scates had to pour his own. At the end of every trip, he would save old worms that were destroyed and put them all— regardless of color—into a common melting pot. “We ended up with some pretty amazing colors,” Scates said with a chuckle. “It didn’t matter what they looked like, though, because they all caught fish.”

Just like bass fishermen, coastal anglers must contend with thick aquatic vegetation. The only difference is that many coastal grass beds are in knee-deep water, or less. When fish are holding in the thick stuff, hardware options are limited. Even when you can snake a jig tail back weed-free, the grass might be so thick the fish doesn’t see your offering. Topwaters are certainly an option, but when the grass grows all the way to the surface, dangling trebles foul quickly. Plus, the loud splat! of a topwater belly-flopping in 9 inches of water will set off a panicked exodus more times than not. Floating grass is another maddening problem, fouling the most weedless lure inches after touchdown. Fishing in a patch of thatch is hard and frustrating. Enter the plastic worm. “Texas-rigged worms are great when fishing in thick grass,” Scates said. “They are

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completely weedless and can be presented very slowly. Sometimes it takes the fish a while to see your lure in very thick grass.” Scates stressed the importance of getting the worm into the fish’s field of vision: “We make the mistake of looking down into the water with polarized glasses and assuming it is as clear as tap water, but it isn’t clear at all. The next time you are fishing what you think is ‘gin clear’ water, put on a pair of goggles and put your face in the water. You will discover that the water isn’t as clear as you think. Bacteria, plankton, and silt cloud the water and limit the distance a fish can see. “The strike zone is really only a foot or two. If you zip a lure or fly through the strike zone too fast, the fish will loose sight of it quickly. But you can drag a worm in close and then hop it up and down three or four times, within the strike zone. You can do that with other lures.”

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Scates’ personal favorites are 7-inch Culprit worms, but noted that size isn’t that important. “I have caught fish on 12-inch worms. When fish are hungry, they are going to eat it,” Scates said. “When the fish see your lure and react, it is important that you continue your retrieve. It isn’t natural for a baitfish to sit still when a large predator is getting ready to eat it.” To maximize casting distance on the flats, Scates uses spinning gear and scales down his line to 8-pound-test. He noted that moving up to 10-pound-test reduces casting distance by 10 feet—a significant reduction on days when fish are wary of your approach. To minimize cut-offs, Scates adds a dozen inches of leader material to the tag end of his line. He noted that some fishermen use barrel swivels to join different sections of line. “The problem with swivels is that they

catch grass,” Scates said. “Fish are going to respond to movement, and a hungry fish might attack the grass-covered swivel rather than your worm.” To enhance his casting distance, he threads on a 1/8-ounce bullet-style slip sinker onto his line. If fish are orbiting a little farther out, he will scale up to 1/4- or 3/8-ounce slip sinkers. “You don’t need to worry about wide gap hooks,” said Scates. “Match the hook to the size worm you are using. A 1/0 long shank hook is about as big as I use. The point of the hook should be inserted into the worm where the body begins to narrow down.” Because Scates fishes with light line, he penetrates the worm’s body fully with the hook so there isn’t any resistance during a hook-set. “Big trout like plastics worms, too,” Scates said. “Trout spook up shrimp eels in

shallow water and they will eat plastic worms just like redfish do.” As proof, Scates noted a cover shot of an outdoor magazine published in the 1980s featuring Leroy Summerland with a 12pound trout. “That fish was caught on a plastic worm,” Scates said. Many bass fishermen avoid throwing worms because the action is slow and requires concentration to discern whether a small tick of the line is a strike or the lure bumping over a branch. Saltwater worm fishermen don’t have this problem. Watching a redfish or trout blow a hole in skinny water as they pounce on a worm is every bit as exciting as the explosion that comes on a topwater. Plastic worms are the last major bass food group to make the jump to saltwater. Nick Crème is smiling.

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by Calixto Gonzales, South Zone Fishing Editor & JD Moore, North Zone Fishing Editor

Ballyhoo a Speck

CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Mild weather rolls in during spring, and the flood tides bring in fresh, warmer water into South Bay. Fish the grass flats for both trout and redfish that have rejuvenated appetites. Look for depth changes, potholes, and oyster clumps, or anything that trout might use as ambush points.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South Bay GPS: N26 1.785, W97 11.011

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo; topwaters early; soft plastics in white/chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, red/chartreuse

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Color Change GPS: N26 10.429, W97 12.759 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp; soft plastics in

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chartreuse, Nuclear Chicken, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Luke Bonura, 956457-2101 TIPS: Fish the “trout green” water that marks the boundary between the grass flats and sand that stretches all the way to the ICW. The trout will mostly be just inside the murkier water. Live shrimp or a soft plastic can be fished under an Alameda or popping cork set around 24- to 28-inch depths. If the water is still under 65 degrees, work closer to the bottom. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre

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warm. Work the edges of the channel during a high tide, the mouth of the channel on a falling tide. Use live shrimp or-better stilllive finger mullet on a split shot rig. Gulp! shrimp or shad are good artificials to use. These fish aren’t as aggressive as they are in the summer, and they tent to mouth the bait. When you feel dead weight on your line, be patient before setting the hook. Three to five seconds should do. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Cullen Channel GPS: N26 15.159, W97 17.273 SPECIES: redfish, flounder BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork; topwaters early; red spinnerbaits; soft plastics in clear/red, red/white, Pearl/red CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Flounder join redfish on hunts for forage when spring begins to warm the shallow waters that Cullen Channel links together. Fish when there is moving water, whether during a flood or ebb tide. If you are drifting the edges of the channel for redfish, use shrimp under a popping cork, or topwaters

and spinnerbaits early in the morning. Flounder will be lurking along the drop-offs and will attack baits or jigs worked along the bottom. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Peyton’s Bay GPS: N26 25.948, W97 22.269 SPECIES: redfish, trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork; topwaters early; red spinnerbaits, soft plastics in clear/red, red/white, Pearl/red CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Fish the northern shoreline of Peyton’s. Line up with the spoil islands that bracket the yellow cabin and drift parallel to them in the 2- to 3-foot depths. On a clear day, you can see redfish working the bottom and you can cast to them with either a plastic/spinner combo or gold spoon. If you are prospecting, either a topwater or live shrimp/popping cork combination will help cover water until you locate fish. LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: East Cut

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GPS: N26 33.000, W97 17.029 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Gulp! Shrimp; soft plastics in Pearl/red, Strawberry/white; Topwaters in Bone, chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: When warm water starts flowing into the bay from the Gulf during spring, the cuts along the shoreline of the East Cut are the first to attract fish. Any fisherman who moseys up the cut will find some concentrations of chunky redfish and trout up there. Fish topwaters up in the cuts early in morning, move back as the sun rises up in the sky and fish the edges. Fish soft plastics deeper on a 1/4-ounce jighead. LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Community Bar GPS: N26 35.144, W97 25.644 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in red/white, Limetreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Warm water flowing in from the Gulf affects the West shoreline nearest to Port first. Trout and redfish start showing up around Community Bar before other areas. Captain Neal predicts that the fishing should start showing the results of the new five-fish bag limit this spring. Use soft plastics around the edges of the Bar to find both trout and redfish. Fish slowly to work deeper water.

Deviled Redfish LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Center Reef GPS: N27 16.206, W97 34.362

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Strawberry/black back, Plum/chartreuse, Rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse C8

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CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Work the rocks as slowly as you can. Fish use these reefs for cover and ambush points. A Corky Devil in a dark pattern is tough to beat. An underrated technique is to fish a 3/16- to 1/4-ounce jig/plastic under a Mansfield Mauler or Alameda Float. The combination tends to force fishermen to slow down their retrieve, which is just what you need to tempt some of these Baffin bruisers. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: JFK Causeway GPS: N27 38.052, W97 14.773 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Fish the edges of cuts and breaks along the causeway. Though topwaters are effective very early in the morning, you can also score with soft plastics fished on a 1/4ounce jighead worked near the bottom at a good clip. These fish are deep, but the change of season and warmer water has them aggressive. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Pure Oil Channel GPS: N27 32.462, W97 19.423 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Smoke, Limetreuse (offcolored water) CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Concentrate on the edges of the channel when looking for speckled trout. Live shrimp under a popping cork or a live pinfish or croaker on a 1/4-ounce fish-finder rig are very effective. Grinders can use shad tails in patterns that include chartreuse. If the water is off-colored, go all the way and use a bait in full Limetreuse. Use a 3/16- to 1/4-ounce jighead to work near the bottom.

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GPS: N27 31.570, W97 17.850 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Smoke, Limetreuse (offcolored water) CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Captain Engel recommended that fishermen focus on areas where channel edges can be fished. The area where the Pure Oil Channel connects to the ICW is no exception. Both channels serve as migration routes for fish, and the intersection of the two is a good spot to try for some of them. Live bait can be fished on a free-line with a split shot, or under a popping cork. Soft plastics can be used under a cork, as well. It will force to fish more methodically. LOCATION: Gulf of Mexico HOTSPOT: Bob Hall Pier (bank access) GPS: N27 34.55, W97 13.07 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live finger mullet, shrimp; soft plastics in red/white, Glitter, Glow CONTACT: Bob Hall Pier, 361-948-8558 TIPS: If the sargassum weed isn’t too thick this April, night fishing for speckled trout can be steady. Most plank walkers use freelined live shrimp or finger mullet, but soft plastics produce quite well, too. Try the venerable Speck Rig with two Glow worms. If you hook a fish, then bring it in slowly, another trout may hit the trailing lure, and then the fun really begins. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Traylor Island GPS: N27 56.706, W97 4.437 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live croaker, perch; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Morning Glory CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Fish the outside shoreline for aggressive speckled trout. Start in shallower water early in the morning, and then slowly work out to deeper water as the day progresses. If you prefer lures over live bait, fish with a 1/4-ounce head so that you can aggressively work deeper water. Don’t be surprised if these fish try and take the rod from your hands. Spring has sprung.

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LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Quarantine Shoreline GPS: N27 54.450, W97 3.490 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live finger shrimp; plastics in Bone, chartreuse patterns CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Work the edges of deeper water with soft plastics or live bait. April begins the steady water warm up that stretches to June, and fish start feeding more aggressively. Either live bait or soft plastics will work; don’t be afraid to sling a topwater early in the morning along the shoreline.

cuts on the north end of Sabine, and redfish and speckled trout move in to take advantage of the young-of-year bait. Fish the edges of bayou shorelines with small topwaters early in the morning. Back off and fish slightly deeper water later on with 3- to 4inch plastics on a 3/16-ounce jighead near the bottom. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Midlake Humps GPS: N29 54.906, W93 50.415

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastic in chartreuse patterns; crankbaits CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 401-7862018 TIPS: If there are no birds working over schools of feeding fish, electronics will help you locate the humps. Drift over the humps and fish through them with shad tails. A novel approach is to use a crankbait to dig down deep. If the crank bangs along the bottom, you’ll get a fish’s attention. Fish are

LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Island GPS: N27 50.032, W97 10.000 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Morning Glory, Limetreuse CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Focus on the outside drop-offs of the island. Trout and redfish will be picketing the area, looking for prey to nail. A lively croaker or live shrimp is touch to beat, but soft plastics worked along the edges will produce fish, too. Again, use a larger (3/16- to 1/4-ounce) jighead to get down to where the fish are while still working the lure at a good clip.

Game Fish Eat Young LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Willow Bayou GPS: N29 52.057, W93 53.010

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aggressive when they are on the feed, and will attack any fast-moving bait that rumbles by them. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Hannah’s Reef GPS: N29 28.632, W94 45.809 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Corky in Pearl/chartreuse; Catch 2000 in topwater patterns; live shrimp CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Fishing continues to improve around the reefs in East Galveston Bay as the weather improves. Hannah’s is a good spot to find springtime fish. Captain Knighten prefers an incoming time, but any sort of moving water washing around and over the reefs is a good fishing time. Watch for jumping bait and slicks. If neither is present, begin working the down current side with either live shrimp under a popping cork or a slow sinking plug such as a B&L Corky or Catch 2000. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Deep Reef GPS: N29 31.863, W94 39.039 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Corky in Pearl/chartreuse, Catch 2000 in topwater patterns; eel-style plastics; live shrimp/popping cork CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Again, moving water is the key to finding where fish will hold over the reef.

When you locate the down-current side of the reef, begin fishing slowly and methodically with a slow-sinking lure such as a Corky or Saltwater Assassin on a 1/8-ounce jighead. Live shrimp or soft plastics under a popping cork will help you slow down, and the fish will key in on the sound. LOCATION: West Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Campbell’s Bayou GPS: N29 20.639, W94 53.675 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse; Corky in Pearl/chartreuse; topwaters CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Watch for bird activity. When you see the birds, start throwing soft plastics under them. Work the bait back slowly so that it works deeper in the water column where the larger fish hang to pick up leftovers. If there are no birds, then try wading the shoreline with topwaters. LOCATION: West Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Jones Bay GPS: N29 17.806, W94 56.208 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp; soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse; topwaters CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Redfish are active over the shell reefs and are feeding. Live shrimp under a popping cork will help locate fish. Soft plas-

tics worked near the bottom around the reefs will work, as well. Use a fluorocarbon leader to keep the shell from cutting you off. All the same, check your leader for kinks, and retie frequently.

Yeah Mon Cats LOCATION: Texana HOTSPOT: Lake Texana State Park (shore access) GPS: N28 58.278, W96 32.203

SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shrimp, cut shad, prepared bait CONTACT: Park Office, 361-782-5718 TIPS: Springtime catfishing picks up along the park shoreline. Cut bait such as fresh shad, or shrimp are popular baits, as are some prepared baits such as Yeah Mon! by Fish Bites. A bobber rig is more a better choice to fish around here because of the sunken timber and branches. The park pier also provides excellent fishing. LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Tiger Island GPS: N26 41.428, W99 7.779 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: plastic worms in Black Grape, black; white spinnerbait/gold blades CONTACT: Falcon Lake State Park, 800792-1112 TIPS: The edges of the same flooded retamas that produced big stringers of catfish through March will also produce some husky bass. Look for the tops of trees to be pushing through the surface and work Texas-rigged worms around the bases of the trees. Another good option is to slowly work a spinnerbait through the trees. A gold blade is more effective in stained water. LOCATION: Town Resaca HOTSPOT: Brownsville-Ringold Park GPS: N25 55.09, W 97 29.54 SPECIES: alligator gar

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BEST BAIT: fresh cut non-game fish CONTACT: Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, 956-542-4341 TIPS: Gar hunters should focus their attentions on South Texas during the spring and summer. The resacas (sort of manmade bayous) in Brownsville, Los Fresnos, and San Benito are loaded with big alligator gar. As the water warms in April, these prehistoric beasts become more active than normal. You can tempt one into biting with a chunk of mullet, carp, or sunfish on a 7/0 hook under an oversized bobber. Let the fish run with the bait. When it stops, it’s getting ready to swallow it. Set the hook and hang on.

Humps for Stripes LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Paradise Point GPS: N30 51.303, W98 25.553

Sassy Linesides LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: The Islands GPS: N33 50.087, W96 44.060

CONTACT: Bill Carey, 877-786-4477, bigfish@graysoncable.com TIPS: Stripers will be hungry with lake temperatures warming up. Soft plastics are the lures of choice. Rip Tide Sassy Shad and curly tails with 1/2- to 1-ounce jigheads in chartreuse and white Glow work the best. Work around the islands and cuts, main lake points and creek channels. Live shad will work well anchoring on structure. Drift behind the islands in 10 to 25 feet depths and expect some great striper action. BANK ACCESS: Eisenhower State Park, stripers, catfish, crappie, whites; live bait

The Crappie Mill LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, South HOTSPOT: Mills Creek GPS: N31 11.903, W93 38.387

Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at hotspotssouth@fishgame.com Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: artificial lures, live shad A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Sabine Spring

ARLY SPRING HAS ALWAYS EARNED A TRACK record of consistency on Sabine Lake. Unlike the Galveston Bay complex, Sabine is only 120 square miles of water. She warms up much faster than most of the Texas Coastal Bay Systems. In fact, every year for the last 15 years or so we usually see a few Galveston fishing guides pulling their early spring trips over here. Last year, I asked one of the Galveston guides why he would pull $100 thousand worth of gear down that old, dark singlelane Highway 73 at five in the morning instead of trying to find fish in Galveston Bay. He said, “Our waters just don’t warm up as quickly as Sabine.” There is no single species we target each spring. Everything is biting. Following are some techniques and areas you might wish to try on your Sabine spring fling. For speckled trout, your best chance of limiting out is greatest on the south end near the causeway bridge. Just north of the bridge

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is the famous Causeway Reef. Anglers from all along the coast work the reef in spring. Water depth is as deep as 20 feet, and the reef is always the first area where the specks seem to show up each year. Most anglers simply drift the reef using plastics. This portion of the bay consists of a lot of oyster, points, humps, and isolated shell islands. Using 20-pound-test is a must or you will go through a lot of lead. Our best producing plastic over the years has been an Old BaySide 4-inch Speck Grub. We are partial to Glow color with a chartreuse tail. Depending on wind and the speed of the tide, you want to experiment with 1/4- to 3/8-ounce leadheads. When we work the shallow flats adjacent to the reef, we drift using a popping cork. This is our “go to” method for finding nomadic schools of trout using the flats. We like using an Old BaySide Speculizer cork rigged with a 1/4ounce jighead and straight tail plastic. Again, Glow body and chartreuse tail works best. Incidentally, each year I remind anglers to carry a gallon milk jug with about 20 feet of line with a heavy weight rigged to it. When you hit an area that is holding fish, simply drop the jug and go back through that spot. Many times, specks will be holding in tight groups near drop-offs. A few years ago, I fished with Doug Pike of the Houston Chronicle (also this magazine’s offshore fishing editor). Doug called the buoy system my “JPS”—Jug Positioning System. The marker buoy might be old school, but it works. Reds are simple to locate. Work you way down the eastern bank of the bay from Johnson Bayou to Garrison Ridge. Early in the morning, throw tight against the bank. As the sun gets to the 10 a.m. position, cast about two boat lengths off the bank and work all the way back to the boat. Quarterounce jigheads rigged with plastics work best. Topwaters such as MirrOlure She Dogs in dark colors will draw strikes and help locate packs of these croaker-on-

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steroids. Keep your binoculars handy. As you fish the banks, check the open water for working gulls. For the last several years, we have had a lot of redfish caught under the birds in the middle of the day in April. For flounder—which are my personal favorite because they seem to offer more of a challenge—work the mouths of the many bayous located on the eastern side of the bay. There is a tremendous population dynamic when it comes to flatties on Sabine. We like using a 1/4-ounce jig with a 4-inch plastic tipped with fresh shrimp. High tides in the morning work best. There you go—all the information you need to make your spring trip to Sabine Lake a success. Contact: Skip James 409-886-5341, jjames@gt.rr.com.

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Twin Lakes/Cuts & Culverts off Hwy. 87 LOCATION: Hwy. 87 North of Veteran Bridge & South of Bridge City SPECIES: flounder, redfish BEST BAITS: fresh dead shrimp BEST TIMES: High tides in the morning. PHOTOS BY CAPT. SKIP JAMES

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‘Heading’ for Better Action

PRIL SHOWERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BRING spring flowers, so one would expect them to be warm and gentle. Of course, you, I, and Al Gore know that the weather is not always what it is expected to be. I have shivered on fishing/camping trips in mid-April when an unexpected front came in and caught everyone with their warm clothing at home, and I’ve spent early spring on the marina dock where boat work in the shade was a chilly proposition. Other years, what passes for winter here on the Texas coast transitions straight to the heat of

summer, without the buffer period of spring. Under the surface of our bays and tidal streams, however, the transition from clear water caused by the flushing action of extreme changes in tide heights over the winter to more off-color water due to those spring showers and the runoff they create is just about a given—except in the upper bays like Trinity and East Bay, where heavy rains in the Trinity River watershed sometimes muddy and freshen bay waters to nearly unfishable levels. With mild air temperatures likely and slightly off color water conditions, fishing for trout and reds will be better with live bait in most cases. Reds even prefer fresh dead bait that puts some scent in the water, making it easier for them to locate. Scented soft plastic lures and spray on attractants have value now, also. Flashy lures like the venerable spoon and big spinner baits that bay anglers are beginning to understand work as well in salt as in freshwater can be seen easier at this time of year, but a noisy topwater can also be located easily by fish more on the

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Galveston Jetties, channel side SPECIES: sheepshead BEST BAITS: fresh dead shrimp, fiddler crab BEST TIMES: Any tidal movement, in or out. move in warmer water. Panfishes are still a good bet for easy action in April, and we should be sure to include sheepshead in this category. I was first introduced to these unconventional fish when we caught a bunch in a shrimp net on Sabine Lake, many, many years ago. Although more difficult to clean—sometimes even a bit hazardous—than a speckled trout, the effort is worth it for the end result. Like triggerfish offshore, sheepshead fall under the description given to a young cannibal by his father when they found a small airplane with missionaries aboard crashed in the deep jungle. “There’s a lot you have to throw away, son, but the inside is delicious!” The clean, white meat has a flavor not unlike the shellfish they feed on, and is a real springtime treat. Look for “sheeps” around structure that holds barnacles, like jetty rocks or dock and pier pilings. You can often hear them popping barnacles off pilings and even boat bottoms in a quiet marina. They also feed over oyster reefs. Although their normal prey is stationary and requires those amazing teeth to dislodge it, they certainly don’t mind an easier meal of a dead shrimp dropped on their nose. Use small, but strong trebles, as those same teeth will mangle a hook, and be very alert for their pecking—a quick strike can result in a lip hooked fish. Capt. Mike Holmes runs tarpon, shark, and bluewater trips on a classic 31 Bertram. To book a trip, call 979-415-0535. Email him at mholmes@fishgame.com.

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April No-Foolin’

Y FIRST TOPWATER TROUT OF THE NEW Year is usually duped in April. The first staunch sting of a plug vindicates what everyone has been hoping— warmer water temperatures. As temperatures climbed into the mid 70s and humidity levels hover in the same neighborhood, I smile, knowing every degree the mercury rises, fishing success does the same. April winds are always a nemesis. That is

not news to anglers who regularly fish in the spring. The good news is, the closer we get to summer, the calmer the winds traditionally become. “The winds are always tough,” said guide Mark Talasek. “When the winds die a bit, we are able to get out to the deeper reefs and drift. But when the wind blows, the tides are high enough to get in the back lakes and find redfish.” April coincides with the arrival of glass minnows on the shorelines; brown pelicans usually point the way. Incoming spring tides flood the shallows with these tiny anchovies, and trout and reds are normally right behind the bait. “The glass minnows start stacking up around Green’s and Cotton’s in West

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THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Matagorda Jetty Pier LOCATION: Matagorda SPECIES: black drum, redfish, sheepshead BEST BAITS: cracked blue crab, peeled shrimp BEST TIMES: Moving tide. Matagorda Bay,” said guide Bobby Gardner. “Look for brown pelicans diving on the shoreline and they will tell you where the balls of bait are.” Gardner likes tossing clear, Pearl or Glow colored Norton Sand Eels or Bull Minnows,

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Pier Gaffers

T’S TIME TO WAX THE BOAT, CHECK THE TRAILER tires, fill those buddy bearings, and launch that nautical beauty. You gotta love April. Many changes take place in our beloved bays (Copano, St. Charles, Mesquite, Ayres, Carlos) this time of year, and most of the changes mean good fishing. With warmer ambient temperatures come the prevailing south wind and the rising indications on the depth-finder temperature gauge. Phytosociology teaches us that the relationship between warmer water, phytoplankton, and baitfishes means good fishing is upon us. This time of year, the croaker bite is turning on and those that stock their livewells with this golden wonder are often rewarded with limits of nice trout as well as reds. If I go to my favorite bait shop and the bait tank is silent (the croaker ain’t croaking), I pass it up for better options. Out in the surf, the menhaden are starting their spring and summer runs into the channels and cuts of the bay, and the angler that can throw a cast net and fill a bucket with

these slimy, smelly beauties will be rewarded with some big reds and trout. This is also a good time for black drum and their run, so put some cracked crab and fresh dead shrimp (peeled) in the cooler as well. All of the baits above can be fished on the simple fish-finder or Carolina rig. This is prime time for bait, but for those “prank bait” purists, a natural colored DOA or Electric Grape shrimp tail will still catch fish; plus, this is the beginning of some excellent topwater action. On the cooler water temperature days, seek black mud bottoms adjacent to channels. On warmer water temperature days, seek the deep-water shell reefs (4-6 feet). Copano Bay: The Copano pier with fresh squid is a good place to set up and fish for gafftop. Also, look for muddy patches of water as you drive the ski basin and Fulton/Rockport water frontage, as well as Lamar Beach Road. The muddy patches (especially if birds are working over them) mean gaffers are working. Any place next to a channel is a good place for these elegant fish. Eel soaked in “anise oil” will stay on the hook better and creates a slick that will bring the gaffers to you. If don’t like the gafftop’s slime (who

does? ), a trick from my buddy, Douglas Rives, is to get an old 48-quart or bigger ice chest and partially fill it with bagged ice and water. The chunks of ice work the slime off the fish as they slosh around in the cooler. Makes for easier cleaning, and most of the slime dumps out with the ice. Before you turn up your nose at the notion of purposely fishing for let alone eating (gasp!) gafftops, I am reminded of a dear friend of mine, Ira Regiene, (I wish he was

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: St. Charles Bay Cut SPECIES: trout, reds BEST BAITS: free-lined live shrimp, finger mullet, mud minnows BEST TIMES: Moving tide still able to fish with me—I miss those days) and I fed our families in the lean times on these saltwater cats. They fight like a freight train and can wreck a medium-action spinning reel. If bled properly and filleted, they taste like trout—just moister. Contact: Capt. Mac Gable, Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: MATAGORDA & MID COAST Continued from Page C15 though he is not against hurling a big plug. “I throw plastics when I have to, but, I am a topwater man,” he said. “Trout and those big old redfish love pouncing on a Pearl/chartreuse She Dog.” Black drum begin their spring jaunt to the Gulf to spawn. Those set up in channels leading to the ocean fare well with cracked blue crab. Spots like San Luis Pass, Mitchell’s Cut, the mouth of the Colorado River, and Pass Cavallo are proven locales where black bullies are known to roam. “I can catch both bull reds and large drum at the Port O’Connor jetty,” said C16

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T E X A S

guide Dan Poffenberger. “Watch your depths. Most of the time, they will hang in 30 feet of water or deeper.” Spring also prompts flounder to move back into the bay estuaries where they left in the fall to propagate in the ocean. The same areas where black drum are taken hold flatfish, too. Though the spring run of flounder is not near as fast and furious as the fall affair, positioning yourself near cuts and drains leading to the bay pays off. “The tides come back up and the flounder begin to show,” said Talasek. “We gig quite a few on the shorelines and there are always plenty of fish.” Talasek said Oyster Lake and Crab

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

Lake are great spots for boaters to take a couple of quarts of live shrimp and spend a day popping corks on the shell. On a falling tide, work the shorelines nearest the Intracoastal. The north shoreline is most productive on a swollen tide. “Watch for mullet jumping, then set up a drift and cover some ground,” he said. “If you hit a couple, gently toss out the anchor or circle wide and drift through the area again. These lakes have been holding redfish for as long as I have been alive.” Contact: Bink Grimes, www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com

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Topwater April

AN, I REALLY LOVE THE MONTH OF APRIL. The bay’s temperatures have warmed up and the Baffin Big Girls are in full swing, their metabolisms now set in full speed, some times feeding two or three times a day. Mother Lagoon now has active predators looking for easy prey. You could not find a better time to find some explosive premiere topwater action. MirrOlure’s have been my go-to baits for years. They have just about every color and size you would ever need. I like choosing a topwater lure that looks like the natural live bait, i.e., mullet. Working from Corpus south, start on the King Ranch shoreline. This area has pro-

duced big numbers of heavy trout, with a mixed bag of reds to boot. You can wade- of drift-fish this area. If you drift-fish, you might want to invest in a second drift sock (sea anchor), as this will help slow your boat drift speed down if the April winds get up. Work your way down to Bird Island. This whole area is great place to drift. Also, jump in behind the Twin Palms area. I have seen several good trout fall to topwaters here. Moving down Baffin way, don’t forget the Badlands. Baitfishes will be all over this area. Fish the inside and outside of the Tide Gauge Bar. Three years ago, I picked up a 32-inch, 11-pound trout just inside the sand bar. Don’t pass up fishing the Meadows just past the mouth of Baffin. Trout and reds will be steady. Last but not least, Rocky Slough will produce some very heavy stringers. The key factor when fishing a topwater is to imitate the baitfish in the area. I cannot stress this enough.

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Packery Channel Jetty SPECIES: trout, redfish, snook BEST BAITS: live or dead shrimp BEST TIMES: during any tidal movement Fishing with topwaters is not rocket surgery, and once you have hooked up you first fish, you will be hooked for life. Contact: Capt. Jim “Donk” Onderdonk, 361-774-7710, www.pocolocolodge.com

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The Color Change

S SPRING BEGINS TO SERENADE LOWER Laguna Madre with soft southeasterly winds after the howling gales of March and February, young fishermen’s eyes look north. Way north. Every flats boat that can will be zipping off toward the long flats of Gaswells, or Cullen Bay, or Dunkin’s, or Three Island, or Green Island with the express purpose of looking for schools of hungry speckled trout and redfish that have been playing hide-and-seek all winter long. The savvy fisherman, or at least the ones reading this, will know that such a long trip isn’t necessary to find good action. All it takes is a short jaunt to a very productive, but underfished, spot. The color change that forms where the

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grass flats near the South Padre Island Convention Center meets up with the sand and spoils of the ICW is an excellent springtime fishing spot. Speckled trout and redfish utilize the change in water clarity (which switches from gin-clear to “trout green” so abruptly that a sharply defined boundary is formed) as cover from which to ambush prey. The color change also provides fish with a safety zone they can easily retreat to when cruising the grass flats. A great feature about the Color Change is that it is a short hop from Jim’s Pier, or any other conveniently located marina. It isn’t difficult to find, because there aren’t any obscure landmarks to remember, and if the bite is on, as it often is in April, you don’t have to burn gas looking for a more productive area. The ease of returning to port also makes the Color Change a great place to bring children fishing. If they get tired, a short run back gets them to their airconditioned hotel room or condo, watching Sponge Bob (you might even be able to

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

sneak back for another hour or two of fishing). The key word when fishing the Color Change is “slow.” A long slow drift is the most effective strategy because it allows you to efficiently cover the zone between the clear and sandy water. Begin your drift just inside the boundary and allow the wind to dictate your direction. A straight southerly wind will push you parallel with the boundary line, and a southeasterly will create a more perpendicular drift. If the wind is a little stiffer than usual, a drift sock will slow you down to a more efficient speed. Predators will be feeding on mostly young-of-the year baitfishes and shrimp in April, so it’s important that the bait and lures you use reflect that trend. Live shrimp is always going to work. This is a classic shrimp-and-popping-cork scenario. I prefer to fish with a 3-inch Alameda float, or one of the new rattle floats that Texas Tackle Factory makes. These two floats are made of hollow plastic loaded with small BBs. When worked, they not only provide the bloop! of a good popping cork, but the rattles add to the racket and continue to provide sound while the rig is at rest. Fish key in on the rattle corks more effectively. A 24-inch, 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, No. 3 split shot, and 2/0 Kahle hook rounds out the popping cork rig. The Kahle hook is much better than the typical treble hook because it is less prone to tearing up a fish. Mostly, the hook lodges in the top of a fish’s mouth or in the corner of the jaw, making release much easier. If you don’t want to drop a double sawbuck on a quart of live shrimp, imitations are just as effective. The main go-to artificial on the coast is the Gulp! 3-inch Shrimp. You can fish the tail on a 1/8-ounce jighead, or on the same live shrimp rig. Shrimp tails are also effective bounced along the bottom. Fish them slowly with about a two-second pause between twitches. I’ve been experiencing a great deal of success using Tsunami’s Holo Shrimp

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underneath rattle floats. The Halo shrimp bears a lifelike resemblance to the real thing, except it comes in colors that a live bug would never be caught dead in. Glow/chartreuse and Glow are very effective in the sandy green water of the Color Change. Clear/gold flake and clear/silver flake are effective on sunny days. If fish are moving out onto the grass flats, switch to chartreuse. To finish off the illusion, liberally slather on a shrimp-flavored scent such as Carolina Lunker Sauce. The scent also leaves a slick behind the bait that trout and redfish will follow. Shad tails are also very effective around the color change. The throbbing “boot tail” of a Norton Bull minnow, H&H Queen Cocahoe, or Berkley Power Mullet is an

effective fish attractor. Again, colors such as Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, or the ageless Strawberry/white are the standards. When the sun gets higher in the sky later in the morning, keep out an eye for dark patches of weeds scattered throughout the sandy bottom inside the Color Change. These clumps of grass offer still another ambush point that speckled trout utilize when feeding. Cast over or parallel to these patches and work your bait through or by them. Again, the key word is “slow,” so make sure your drift doesn’t take you by them too quickly. Don’t discount a clump as being too small. I once caught a 27-inch trout that ambushed my bait from a weed clump the size of a garbage can lid. A short run, easy location, and good fish-

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

ing—what more could you want from a fishing spot. Contact: Calixto Gonzales by email at hotspotssouth@fishgame.com

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Pirates Landing Fishing Pier GPS LOCATION: N26 4.450”, W97 12.33 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST TIME: Nighttime with live shrimp on a free-line rig

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Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008 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

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.

T9 T8

T13 T7

T6 T17

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

T15 T16

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 a wide variety of wildlife species.

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. 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.

T20

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 right

of 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

T22 T23

View TIDE PREDICTIONS for all Texas Coastal Tide Stations and DATES at...

www.FishGame.com 2 0 0 8 /

T E X A S

LOW +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15

KEY PLACE T12 Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay T13 Gilchrist, East Bay T14 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay T15 Alligator Point, W. Bay T16 Christmas Pt T17 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 San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor Pass Cavallo Aransas Pass Padre Island (So. End) Port Isabel

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

• A P R I L

TIDE PREDICTIONS are shown in graph form, with High and Low tide predictions in text immediately below.

AM & PM MINOR phases occur when the moon rises and sets. These phases last 1 to 2 hours.

T14 T18

T19

C20

T3 T2 T1

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

HIGH -0.09 -0:44 0:00 -0:03 -0:24 +1:02

LOW -0.09 -1:02 -1:20 -1:31 -1:45 -0:42

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Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Apr 1

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

z55

Sunrise: 7:06a Moonrise: 3:36a

Set: 7:33p Set: 2:09p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 4:14a

Set: 7:33p Set: 3:11p

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: 4:49a

Set: 7:34p Set: 4:14p

Sunrise: 7:02a Moonrise: 5:22a

Set: 7:34p Set: 5:16p

Sunrise: 7:01a Moonrise: 5:54a

Set: 7:35p Set: 6:20p

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 6:27a

Set: 7:35p Set: 7:26p

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 7:02a

Set: 7:36p Set: 8:36p

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Minor: 2:06a

PM Minor: 2:30p

AM Minor: 2:49a

PM Minor: 3:14p

AM Minor: 3:32a

PM Minor: 3:55p

AM Minor: 4:14a

PM Minor: 4:38p

AM Minor: 4:59a

PM Minor: 5:24p

AM Minor: 6:25a

PM Minor: 6:51p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

AM Major: 8:18a

PM Major: 8:43p

AM Major: 9:02a

PM Major: 9:26p

AM Major: 9:43a

PM Major: 10:07p

AM Major: 10:26a

PM Major: 10:50p

AM Major: 11:11a

PM Major: 11:36p

AM Major: 12:11a

PM Major: 12:38p

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:28a

Moon Overhead: 9:40a

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:16a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:52p

Moon Overhead: 12:03p

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:45p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Mar 31

WEDNESDAY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p +2.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:04p

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 10:52p

BEST:

3:15-9:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:39p

BEST:

4:00-8:20 AM

BEST:

9:00-11:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: None

Moon Underfoot: 12:28a

BEST:

9:40AM-12:10PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:18a

BEST:

10:20AM-1:00PM

+2.0

BEST:

11:00AM-1:55PM

12:05-2:30 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

Low Tide: 6:27 am High Tide: 3:22 pm

0.08 ft 1.31 ft

Low Tide: 7:21 am High Tide: 3:24 pm Low Tide: 8:41 pm

0.10 ft 1.28 ft 1.06 ft

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

12:46 am 8:09 am 3:31 pm 8:39 pm

1.17 ft 0.15 ft 1.24 ft 0.87 ft

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

2:10 am 8:56 am 3:40 pm 9:04 pm

1.26 ft 0.26 ft 1.20 ft 0.62 ft

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

3:23 am 9:43 am 3:49 pm 9:38 pm

1.37 ft 0.42 ft 1.17 ft 0.34 ft

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

4:32 am 10:30 am 3:58 pm 10:17 pm

1.48 ft 0.63 ft 1.17 ft 0.05 ft

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

5:40 am 11:19 am 4:05 pm 11:00 pm

1.58 ft 0.87 ft 1.20 ft -0.19 ft

KEYS TO USING THE TIDE AND SOLUNAR GRAPHS TIDE LE VEL GRAPH: Yellow: Daylight Tab: Peak Fishing Period Green: Falling Tide Blue: Rising Tide Red Graph: Fishing Score

12a

BEST:

7:05-9:40 PM

12p

SOLUNAR AC TIVIT Y: 12a

AM/PM Timeline Light Blue: Nighttime

MINOR Feeding Periods (+/- 1.5 Hrs.)

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

Time Moon is at its Highest Point in the 12a Sky

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

Gold Fish: Best Time Blue Fish: Good Time

AM/PM Timeline

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

12p

MOON PHASE SYMBOLS

MAJOR Feeding Periods (+/- 2 Hrs.)

12a

Time Moon is Directly Underfoot (at its peak on opposite side of the earth)

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

z {

= New Moon = Fi rst Quarter = New Moon = L a s t Q u a r te r = Best Da y

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 12:55-3:15 PM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Set: 7:37p Set: 9:48p

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 8:27a

AM Minor: 6:45a

PM Minor: 7:14p

AM Major: 12:31a

PM Major: 1:00p

Moon Overhead: 2:41p 6a

12p

WEDNESDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Set: 7:37p Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 11:01p Moonrise: 9:20a

Set: 7:38p Set: None

AM Minor: 7:48a

PM Minor: 8:19p

AM Minor: 8:57a

PM Minor: 9:28p

AM Minor: 10:06a

PM Minor: 10:38p

AM Minor: 11:13a

PM Minor: 11:44p

AM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 1:33a

PM Major: 2:04p

AM Major: 2:41a

PM Major: 3:12p

AM Major: 3:50a

PM Major: 4:22p

AM Major: 4:58a

PM Major: 5:29p

AM Major: 6:01a

12p

Set: 7:39p Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:38p Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 10:20a Set: 12:11a Moonrise: 11:25a Set: 1:14a

Moon Overhead: 4:44p

Moon Overhead: 3:41p 12a

THURSDAY

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:47p 12a

12p

Sunrise: 6:52a Set: 7:39p Moonrise: 12:32p Set: 2:08a

Sunrise: 6:51a Moonrise: 1:38p

Set: 7:40p Set: 2:55a

PM Minor: 12:16p

AM Minor: 12:44a

PM Minor: 1:11p

PM Major: 6:30p

AM Major: 6:57a

PM Major: 7:24p

Moon Overhead: 7:47p

Moon Overhead: 6:49p 12a

SUNDAY

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:40p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 7:42a

12a

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:12a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:11a BEST:

12:55-3:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:12a BEST:

2:00-4:14 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:16a BEST:

3:10-5:20 PM

3:34-5:50 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:19a BEST:

4:50-7:00 AM

Moon Underfoot: 7:19a BEST:

6:25-8:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 8:14a +2.0

BEST:

7:20-8:50 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

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

C22

6:50 am 12:10 pm 4:08 pm 11:49 pm

1.64 ft High Tide: 8:05 am 1.10 ft Low Tide: 1:03 pm 1.28 ft High Tide: 4:04 pm -0.37 ft

• A P R I L

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1.67 ft 1.31 ft 1.37 ft

T E X A S

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

12:42 am 9:28 am 2:15 pm 3:31 pm

F i s h

-0.46 ft Low Tide: 1:42 am -0.46 ft Low Tide: 2:50 am -0.38 ft Low Tide: 4:07 am 1.66 ft High Tide: 11:03 am 1.64 ft High Tide: 12:41 pm 1.61 ft High Tide: 1:45 pm 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

-0.26 ft Low Tide: 1.56 ft High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

5:28 am 2:18 pm 8:56 pm 10:08 pm

-0.12 ft 1.47 ft 1.19 ft 1.20 ft

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

12:55-3:15 PM

= Peak Fishing Period

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

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 8

SUNDAY

1 9

{ 20

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 2:42p

Set: 7:41p Set: 3:34a

Sunrise: 6:49a Moonrise: 3:41p

Set: 7:41p Set: 4:07a

Sunrise: 6:48a Moonrise: 4:38p

Set: 7:42p Set: 4:38a

Sunrise: 6:47a Moonrise: 5:33p

Set: 7:42p Set: 5:06a

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 6:28p

Set: 7:43p Set: 5:33a

Sunrise: 6:45a Moonrise: 7:23p

Set: 7:44p Set: 6:02a

Sunrise: 6:44a Moonrise: 8:20p

Set: 7:44p Set: 6:32a

AM Minor: 1:34a

PM Minor: 1:58p

AM Minor: 2:18a

PM Minor: 2:40p

AM Minor: 2:57a

PM Minor: 3:18p

AM Minor: 3:34a

PM Minor: 3:54p

AM Minor: 4:11a

PM Minor: 4:31p

AM Minor: 4:49a

PM Minor: 5:10p

AM Minor: 5:31a

PM Minor: 5:53p

AM Major: 7:46a

PM Major: 8:11p

AM Major: 8:29a

PM Major: 8:52p

AM Major: 9:08a

PM Major: 9:29p

AM Major: 9:44a

PM Major: 10:05p

AM Major: 10:21a

PM Major: 10:41p

AM Major: 11:00a

PM Major: 11:21p

AM Major: 11:42a

PM Major: ——-

Moon Overhead: 9:28p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:55p

Moon Overhead: 10:13p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:36p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:18a

Moon Overhead: None 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:00a 12a

12p

FEET

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:05a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 9:51a BEST:

8:05-10:00 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:35a BEST:

8:45-10:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:16a BEST:

9:20-11:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:57a BEST:

10:00PM-12:00AM

Moon Underfoot: 12:39p BEST:

10:15AM-12:20PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:22p +2.0

BEST:

10:55AM-1:10PM

11:35AM-1:45PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

Low Tide: 6:45 am High Tide: 2:38 pm Low Tide: 8:33 pm

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0.03 ft 1.37 ft 1.02 ft

• A P R I L

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

12:28 am 7:52 am 2:51 pm 8:47 pm

2 0 0 8 /

1.19 ft 0.21 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

T E X A S

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

1:59 am 8:50 am 3:02 pm 9:07 pm

F i s h

1.25 ft 0.41 ft 1.21 ft 0.59 ft

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

3:14 am 9:41 am 3:12 pm 9:31 pm

1.33 ft 0.61 ft 1.17 ft 0.38 ft

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

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

4:18 am 10:28 am 3:20 pm 9:56 pm

1.41 ft 0.81 ft 1.17 ft 0.21 ft

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

5:15 am 11:12 am 3:26 pm 10:24 pm

1.48 ft 0.98 ft 1.18 ft 0.08 ft

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

6:07 am 11:54 am 3:26 pm 10:53 pm

1.53 ft 1.12 ft 1.22 ft 0.01 ft

-1.0

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z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008 MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

Sunrise: 6:42a Set: 7:45p Moonrise: 10:14p Set: 7:42a

Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 7:46p Moonrise: 11:09p Set: 8:24a

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

2 1

2 2

12a

Sunrise: 6:43a Moonrise: 9:18p

Set: 7:45p Set: 7:05a

AM Minor: 6:17a

PM Minor: 6:40p

AM Minor: 7:06a

PM Minor: 7:30p

AM Minor: 7:59a

AM Major: 12:05a

PM Major: 12:28p

AM Major: 12:54a

PM Major: 1:18p

AM Major: 1:47a

Moon Overhead: 1:45a 6a

12p

12a

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:40a Moonrise: None

Set: 7:47p Set: 9:11a

Sunrise: 6:39a Moonrise: None

PM Minor: 8:24p

AM Minor: 8:54a

PM Minor: 9:20p

PM Major: 2:12p

AM Major: 2:42a

PM Major: 3:07p

Moon Overhead: 3:20a

Moon Overhead: 2:32a 12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 4:10a 12a

12p

SATURDAY

2 7

Set: 7:47p Sunrise: 6:38a Set: 7:48p Sunrise: 6:37a Set: 10:02a Moonrise: 12:48a Set: 10:58a Moonrise: 1:31a

Set: 7:49p Set: 11:56a

AM Minor: 9:50a

PM Minor: 10:15p

AM Minor: 10:45a

PM Minor: 11:10p

AM Minor: 11:38a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 3:37a

PM Major: 4:03p

AM Major: 4:32a

PM Major: 4:58p

AM Major: 5:26a

PM Major: 5:50p

Moon Overhead: 5:52a

Moon Overhead: 5:01a 12a

SUNDAY

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:42a 12a

12p

FEET

BEST:

12:20-2:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:56p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:45p BEST:

7:25-9:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:36p BEST:

8:20-9:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:26p BEST:

2:40-4:45 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:17p BEST:

3:30-4:55 AM

4:25-6:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 7:06p +2.0

BEST:

5:20-7:15 AM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:08p +2.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

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

6:58 am 12:33 pm 3:15 pm 11:26 pm

1.55 ft High Tide: 7:50 am 1.23 ft Low Tide: 1:09 pm 1.26 ft High Tide: 2:32 pm -0.02 ft

1.54 ft 1.32 ft 1.32 ft

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

12:03 am 8:48 am 1:32 pm 2:00 pm

-0.01 ft 1.52 ft 1.38 ft 1.38 ft

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

12:43 am 9:55 am 1:36 pm 2:18 pm

0.02 ft 1.49 ft 1.43 ft 1.43 ft

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

1:28 am 11:13 am 2:04 pm 2:26 pm

0.08 ft 1.48 ft 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

Low Tide: 2:19 am 0.13 ft High Tide: 12:28 pm 1.48 ft

Low Tide: 3:14 am High Tide: 1:05 pm

0.19 ft 1.48 ft

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 12:55-3:15 PM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

May 1

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:49p Sunrise: 6:35a Set: 12:56p Moonrise: 2:45a

Set: 7:50p Set: 1:57p

Sunrise: 6:34a Moonrise: 3:18a

Set: 7:50p Set: 2:58p

Sunrise: 6:33a Moonrise: 3:50a

Set: 7:51p Set: 4:00p

Sunrise: 6:33a Moonrise: 4:22a

Set: 7:52p Set: 5:04p

Sunrise: 6:32a Moonrise: 4:55a

Set: 7:52p Set: 6:11p

Sunrise: 6:31a Moonrise: 5:33a

Set: 7:53p Set: 7:23p

AM Minor: 12:04a

PM Minor: 12:28p

AM Minor: 12:51a

PM Minor: 1:15p

AM Minor: 1:35a

PM Minor: 1:58p

AM Minor: 2:17a

PM Minor: 2:40p

AM Minor: 2:57a

PM Minor: 3:21p

AM Minor: 3:40a

PM Minor: 4:06p

AM Minor: 4:28a

PM Minor: 4:56p

AM Major: 6:16a

PM Major: 6:40p

AM Major: 7:03a

PM Major: 7:27p

AM Major: 7:47a

PM Major: 8:10p

AM Major: 8:28a

PM Major: 8:52p

AM Major: 9:09a

PM Major: 9:34p

AM Major: 9:53a

PM Major: 10:19p

AM Major: 10:42a

PM Major: 11:10p

Moon Overhead: 7:30a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:05a

Moon Overhead: 8:18a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:51a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:29a

Moon Overhead: 10:39a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:23p 12a

12p

FEET

+2.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:54p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 8:41p BEST:

6:35-8:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 9:28p BEST:

7:20-9:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:14p

Moon Underfoot: 11:03p

BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

BEST:

8:25-10:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:55p BEST:

9:05-11:15 AM

Moon Underfoot: None BEST:

9:50AM-12:10PM

+2.0

10:40AM-1:00PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 2:10a

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

Low Tide: 4:14 am High Tide: 1:23 pm

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0.26 ft 1.45 ft

• A P R I L

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

5:15 am 1:35 pm 8:10 pm 11:21 pm

2 0 0 8 /

0.35 ft 1.40 ft 1.10 ft 1.14 ft

T E X A S

Low Tide: 6:17 am High Tide: 1:45 pm Low Tide: 7:37 pm

F i s h

0.47 ft 1.34 ft 0.88 ft

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

1:15 am 7:19 am 1:53 pm 7:57 pm

1.23 ft 0.62 ft 1.29 ft 0.59 ft

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

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

2:39 am 8:22 am 2:01 pm 8:30 pm

1.39 ft 0.81 ft 1.27 ft 0.26 ft

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

3:52 am 9:24 am 2:07 pm 9:10 pm

1.56 ft 1.01 ft 1.29 ft -0.05 ft

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

5:00 am 10:26 am 2:13 pm 9:54 pm

1.72 ft 1.21 ft 1.35 ft -0.32 ft

-1.0

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Mann’s Tidewater Spoon For me to write a long, intensive review of this product would be a waste of time. Spoons are simple and effective, and this one is killer for catching redfish after redfish. Mann’s has managed to improve on the basic spoon by using the hook in the welding process, which helps prevent line twist and takes away any need for a swivel. I have fished this at Sabine Lake and Baffin Bay and found it easy to cast long distances, and smooth in running through vegetation and around obstructions. Redfish love spoons, and I find they offer other advantages for anglers. Since you can cast the spoon a long distance, you can throw past schools of reds and run the lure through them instead of hitting the school and risking scaring them away. If you are looking for a top spoon for redfish, give this one a try. Contact: Mann’s Bait Company, 334687-5716, www.mannsbait.com —Chester Moore

Texas Trout Killer The name says it all. The Texas Trout Killer is a truly killer lure for catching speckled trout. During 2007, the Pearl/chartreuse- and red shad-colored versions have been in my tackle box nonstop. The thing I like about it is the lure can be rigged on a free-line, jighead, or fish-finder (Carolina) rig and consistently catch fish. During a trip to Rockport, I was able to catch dozens of specks from a pier at night by simply bouncing them on the bottom on a 1/8-ounce jighead. C28

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Although the lure is called a “Trout Killer,” a number of the anglers fishing the Redfish Cup Texas tournaments used it to successfully catch big reds. One of the best things about these lures is the manufacturer managed to get a seemingly perfectly blend of durability and action. The baits will survive more than one trout strike, yet are not so rigid that you lose action. In my opinion, that is very important from both an economic standpoint of not having to replace lures after every single trip, and it also saves time fishing. If you are constantly tying on lures, you are wasting fish time. If you are looking to catch some big specks, check out the Texas Trout Killer. You will not be disappointed. Contact: Texas Tackle Factory, 361-5754751, www.texastacklefactory.com —CM

Maxima Ultragreen Line The invisibility of fishing line is hotly debated among anglers and manufacturers. A lot of it has to do with the various levels of clarity and shade in the water. On the upper coast, the water is often sandy-green around the jetties and short rigs, which is where I tested Maxima green line. With the water racing out at a breakneck pace, I did not feel like donn i n g scuba gear to check out how invisible the

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

line is underwater, so I tried a different tact. I purposely fished for the super line-shy flounder that hang around the boat cut of the Sabine Jetties. I have used various lines out there and found that only a couple will produce a good bite. The results were that I was able to catch a few nice flounder, and found the line has great sensitivity and abrasion resistance. I purposely cast some jigs into the rocks to see how the line would do, and the only reason I had to break off was because the jigheads got hung up. To be perfectly honest, with the advances in modern fishing lines, it’s difficult to do a field test that tells much. With Maxima Ultragreen, I do know it helped produce some fish in difficult situations and stood up against tough conditions. For those reasons, I can say I recommend you give it a shot. Contact: Maxima America, 714-8505966, www.maxima-lines.com —CM

Livingston Lures Talking Croaker If the activists who are trying to ban croaker as a baitfish get their way, a new lure by Livingston Lures might become the replacement. It’s called the “Talking Croaker” and it literally makes a croaking type noise when moved through the water. I got under the water in my parent’s swimming pool and had my wife cast the lure and work it as if she were fishing. Although it did not sound exactly like a croaker, there is a definite croaking type of sound made by the lure, which impressed me quite a bit. Sound travels five times faster in water than it does in air, and the drumming sound of a croaker is what most fishing experts believe makes them such effective bait for speckled trout. Being able to mimic this sound could give anglers a huge advantage. I have had limited time fishing the lure

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

ALMANAC C.qxd

since I picked it up, so I can’t tell you I caught a monster sow speck on it, but I have caught a few trout and a redfish, so I know it will catch fish. I cannot tell you if they have hit a home run with this product, but I can tell you I will definitely be picking up more of these lures to try out. I think there is good potential here. —CM

sounds of feeding predators and fleeing prey, which attracts fish and increases your chance of catching them.” That is what all popping corks are designed to do, and most on the market are effective. This one has some unique properties; the most impressive is casting distance. Someone fishing from the surf, for example, wanting to cast toward schooling specks that are usually out of distance, might be able to make up the difference with this cool cork. Oh, and if you pick some up, make sure to keep the following in mind for rigging them: “When rigging the Outcast, the main line from your rod, as well as the leader to your hook, are both attached to the same barrel swivel eye on top of the cork. This rigging configuration allows the cork to be cast like a projectile with the bait or lure trailing behind. “As the cork approaches its target, applying slight pressure to the spool of your reel will allow the cork to land first and then the bait land beyond, decreasing the chance of tangles during splashdown. Using monofilament or fluorocarbon for leader material allows the length to be easily adjusted to meet everchanging fishing conditions. “It is recommended that no weight be attached between the leader and the cork, allowing your bait to swim freely or your lure to fall slowly. This will create a more realistic presentation and increase the number of fish you catch.” Contact: Midcoast Products, www.midcoastprodcuts.com —CM

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Polaris Rigs Out Hunter Edition of its Ranger XP

New Break Up design (hood, dash, rims, decals); Custom Custom Cut & Sew Browning seat with Buck Mark decal; Noshine wrinkle black paint (cab frame, bumpers, screen); Factory installed 4000 lb. Warn winch; Dual Lock & Ride Mossy Oak Gun Scabbards

No Ranger limited edition line up would be complete without a hunter edition. This machine has all of the features of the Ranger XP with the addition of a Mossy Oak patterned body and Browning Buck Mark accents. The Ranger XP’s Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) coupled with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS), will ensure a great hunt regardless of what Mother Nature throws your way. Features on this limited edition model include: New Mossy Oak

Charter Arms Has Something for the Ladies Charter Arms takes aim at the female market segment with the introduction of the Pink Lady revolver. A variation of Charter’s popular .38 Special Undercover Lite, the Pink Lady offers the same durability, power and lighter weight as its predecessor, but with a unique and attractive pink finish.

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T E X A S

Polaris Ranger XP, Mossy Oak Browning Edition.

This departure from the standard stainless-or-black selection is part of Charter’s ongoing effort to serve the

The MSRP (US) is 12,299, and the MSRP (Canada) is $16,199. Contact: Polaris Industries, 2100 Hwy 55, Medina, MN 55340. Phone: 763-542-0500 Web: www.polarisindustries.com

fastest growing market segment in shooting sports. “For personal protection at home or for concealed carry,

the female shooter demands the same quality engineering as her male counterpart,” says Charles Brown of MKS Supply, the exclusive marketer for Charter Arms. “But there’s more to it. She also appreciates the per-

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

sonal touches that make the revolver uniquely her own. With the new .38 Special Pink Lady, Charter meets her demands with reliability and style.” Charter Arms—setting the American standard in affordable personal protection. For more than 40 years, Charter Arms has maintained the tradition of craftsmanship found in Connecticut’s Gun Valley. High quality Americanmade and assembled, Charter Arms revolvers are available from reputable firearms distributors nationwide and carry an unconditional lifetime warranty. For more information contact Charter Arms at 866-769-4867 or on the web at www.charterfirearms.com.

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Quickly measure your catch with minimum hand-to-fish contact with the Fish Taco.

hands from slime and cuts and saves time from water to live well or cooler. The Fish Taco is easier and better than boards or rulers because you only need one hand to grip and measure. The Fish Taco helps keep you legal and eliminates the guesswork. Great for gifts! The Fish Taco is the official fish measuring device for these tournament circuits: Big Fish Cliff Tournament, The Ultimate Crappie Challenge and Crappie Anglers of Texas For information please contact: Scott Solis, 682-225-7676 Website: www.onthespotwithscott.com

New Ultra-High Speed Reels from Daiwa Daiwa has added new smaller STT20H and STT30H UltraHigh Speed models to its popular Saltist conventional reel series, both ideal for use with today’s high-strength braided lines. Featuring rugged “Full Metal Jacket” construction, super strong alloy gearing and

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

smooth, powerful drag systems, Daiwa’s new pint-sized Saltists are ready to take on hard-fighting challengers. Virtually all of the STT20H and STT30H components are made of metal, allowing for maximum durability and reliability. Both models feature rigid, one-piece aluminum frames built to stand up to tackletesting game fish and harsh Daiwa SST20H marine conditions. Inside this

rugged exterior housing, four ball bearings (including CRBB bearings) and a roller bearing ensure optimum smoothness and troublefree operation. Shielded to keep grit and

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Carson Adds to High-Def Binocular Line

ing hours and when glassing just before dusk. Their 420 ft. field of view at 1,000yds. rounds out all of the key features. These binoculars are fully multicoated, O-ring sealed, phase coated, waterproof and fogproof, with a MSRP of $340. Carson brings a level of high-end optical performance, not previously found at these price points. Guides, hunters and birders have come to appreciate and respect Carson as a source of

The tremendous acceptance of Carson’s first two models in their XM-HD high definition binocular series, offering ultra-bright images even in low-light conditions, created a demand for a binocular that fits hunters to a “T”. The new XM-832 HD’s weigh in at just 20.6oz and are perfect for a hunter’s days in the field. The 84.7% light transmission is invaluable during early mornabrasives out, Daiwa’s CRBB bearings last up to 12 times longer than ordinary ball bearings in a saltwater environment. Both the STT20H and STT30H boast a blazing fast 6.1:1 gear ratio for rapid lure retrieval and keeping up with saltwater speedsters. The new additions supply plenty of cranking power as well, thanks to oversized gears machined from Daiwa’s exclusive high-strength alloy stock. Anglers will also appreciate the Saltist’s smooth, consistent drag with stainless and grease-

impregnated washers – just the ticket for putting the brakes on big, determined adversaries. Additional Saltist features include a dual anti-reverse system, a dual- position handle and an aluminum rod clamp. Both the STT20H and STT30H models have an MSRP of $159.99. For the more information, please call 562-802-9589 or E-mail inquiries to: info@daiwa.com. Website: www.daiwa.com.

Put Ole Betsy at Your Fingertips Great Day now offers a universal-mounting, two-gun rack that puts “Ole Betsy” at your fingertips as you cruise your hunting property. The Quick-Draw Gun Rack fits all “side-by-side” type utility vehicles (Kawasaki Mule, Polaris Ranger, John Deere Gator, Artic Cat Prowler, all golf cart-style vehicles, etc.). The Quick-Draw mounts in a “stand alone” fashion and can be positioned for quick access and maximum use of passenger space. The Quick-Draw holds two guns (rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader) securely and pro-

Quick Draw Gun Rack fits all side-by-side ATVs. C32

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premium optics and a name you can trust. Carson Optical is known for product innovation, exceptional customer service and value. The people at Carson are marketing specialists, offering outstanding packaging and strong advertising and editorial support. Their line of products was created with the end user in mind. Contact: 1-800-9-OPTICS or visit www.carsonoptical.com. E-mail: info@carsonoptical.com. tected in soft, cushioned clips. Great Day’s unique pull-tabs form and fit the holding cradles to the exact size of the stock or forearm of the gun it is holding—no more loose fits to disturb the delicate sight and scope settings. Another great feature of the QuickDraw is that it can be set at the preferred angle. Look for the Quick-Draw in major catalogues and retailers. Suggested retail for the Quick-Draw is $80.00. For more information, visit www.greatdayinc.com—or call 866-649-1918, Ext 137. Made with pride in the USA!

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Quickswirl makes lure changes quick & easy. Raw Material: The raw material we use is comprised of .026 dia. stainless steel wire and is specifically made for abrasion resistance and protection from sharp teeth. It has been torsion straightened and treated so it is nearly invisible beneath the water, and has a dark coffee colored finish. These specifications ensure the highest quality product every time. For more information about quickswirl and where to buy it, go to www.quickswirl.com or email them info@quickswirl.com or call their offices @ 512-771-0598.

Texas Troubedour Hits Big with New Record For years George Strait has been known as the “King of Country” and “The Texas Troubadour.” Exemplary titles such as these don’t come easy and with twenty plus years experience under his belt, the country superstar continues to break records – including his own. “I Saw God Today” is the highest single debut of George Strait’s illustrious career. This brand new song debuted at #19 on t h e R&R and

Billboard radio charts this week. When contacted with this news, George said, “Wow, let me just say a huge thank you to country radio! I love you guys.” The upcoming CD, appropriately entitled Troubadour, will be released on April 1st. It brings about some notable collaborations including a duet with the great Patty Loveless, and long time songwriting partner, Dean Dillon. Distinguished songwriter Leslie Satcher also lends her songwriting expertise to a good number of the twelve tracks. Since his debut in 1981, Strait has sold more than 62 million records and counting. With 32 different platinum or multi-platinum albums, he’s earned the second most certifications of any artist in any genre, following only Elvis Presley. George Strait has received more than 50 major entertainment industry awards and countless nominations. Strait has 70 Country Music Association nominations, was the CMA “Vocalist of the Year” five times and the only artist in history to be so honored in two different decades. He recently took home the CMA Album of the Year award for It Just Comes Natural.

Texan George Strait’s new single, “I Saw God Today,” debuted at No. 19.

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Lansky MultiTool Lansky Sharpeners—the world’s most recognized and respected name in sharpening—launches a new product line with the introduction of their Professional Grade Industrial MultiTool (LMT 100). As the cornerstone product of the company’s new Knife & Tool Division, the Lansky Industrial MultiTool sets the benchmark in offering functional, innovative designs—quality engineered in the Lansky tradition to meet exacting performance standards. Lansky’s Industrial MultiTool delivers 20-tool functionality with the strength and heavy-duty durability of rustproof, 420 HC stainless steel construction. This multi-tool is full-sized and combines utility with substance to manhandle tough jobs. Measuring 6-1/4” open, it folds down to a compact 4-1/8” closed length Lanksy and weighs in at 9.6 oz. Milti-Tool The Lansky MultiTool is engineered to outperform the competition and is distinguished by its detailed fit and finish. The ergonomic design features contoured handles with a matte, bead-blasted finish to assure truly comfortable, no-pinch usage combined with a positive, secure grip and great balance. Pliers deploy with a flick of the wrist, and integrated tools and blades open smoothly from the inboard handle positions and lock in place for safe use. The multi-tool stows into a handsome, hard-wearing, reinforced, ballistic nylon sheath with snap closure. The sheath also has an internal pocket to hold the included 1/4” socket and bit accessory set. This gutsy tool has the versatility and muscle to power through the job at hand. Protected by Lansky’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. Contact: Lansky Sharpeners, (P) 702.361.7511, (F) 702.896.9511, (E) info@lansky.com, Web: www.lansky.com

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Evinrude Rolls Out 300hp Outboard

RP’S NEWEST ADDITION TO THE 2008 Evinrude E-TEC outboard engine line is now available at Evinrude dealerships worldwide. The 300-hp models, with new SLE Magnum gearcase, offer the unique combination of industry-leading innovation, performance, and ease-of-use that all Evinrude E-TEC engines provide for boaters who seek a premium power of choice. “The 300-hp Evinrude E-TEC engine gives off-shore anglers and high performance boating enthusiasts a new choice in low maintenance, low emission outboard power,” said Roch Lambert, vice president and general manager, Outboard Marine Engines, BRP. “The 300-hp carries the same 3-year/300hour benefit of no dealer scheduled maintenance, consistent with all Evinrude E-TEC engines. No other brand of outboard engine allows consumers to spend more time on the water. We’re confident that this unique benefit now delivered in the 300-hp engine will enable the Evinrude brand to continue its strong growth in the market.” “The international success of Evinrude ETEC engines is incredible and it continues to change the industry,” noted Michel Hade, vice president and general manager, BRP International Division. “The Evinrude brand has been a key driver of growth, resulting in increased profitability for our dealers, distributors and BRP, and aiding in the transition to cleaner emission products in many mar-

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kets. As we continue to expand our state-ofthe-art Evinrude line-up, we further define, through the E-TEC technology, world leading products that deliver the best recreational experience available.” With 3.4 liters of displacement, the engine offers more torque, low-end power, and top speed than similar competitive two- and fourstroke outboard engines. This additional power allows boaters to plane heavy loads, pull skiers, wake boarders, or tubers better than ever before. Additional torque is particularly beneficial for boating in high altitude areas and in hot climates. The Evinrude E-TEC 300-hp wraps a big block two-stroke direct injection power plant in a compact, lightweight design that provides more performance than competitive engines at the same horsepower. An amazing high power to low weight ratio provides a host of advantages including greater fuel efficiency, less draft for improved boat handling, faster boat planing, and less stress on the structural integrity of the boat transom. One of the biggest benefits of the unique Evinrude E-TEC technology is increased fuel economy and extended boating range. Performance testing has shown that the new 300-hp engine can deliver as much as 35-40percent improvement in fuel economy and 50-percent improvement in oil consumption when compared to traditional electronic fuel injection (EFI) models. The 300-hp Evinrude E-TEC includes an all-new SLE Magnum high performance gearcase—the most durable V-6 gearcase BRP has ever made. Its hydrodynamic design increases speed and engine efficiency while providing superior control. A computer-designed leading edge reduces the chance of weeds wrapping around the housing that could compromise cooling and performance. Secondary water inlets, located at the nose of the gearcase housing, provide improved cooling over a wider range of conditions. An innovative forward gear and bearing design increases strength and durability while movement and wear are greatly reduced with a

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new prop-shaft bearing carrier. The new Evinrude E-TEC 300-hp engine is available in white 25- and 30-inch shaft models as well as counter-rotating models and carries BRP’s unbeatable factorybacked three-year non-declining warranty.

Ande Line No. 1 for Fourth Year The IGFA has published 481 New IGFA World Records were caught on ANDE line in 2007, bringing ANDE 1786 current IGFA World Records, more than any other line. New world records in freshwater were caught on ANDE line, bringing ANDE 547 current IGFA freshwater world records; 78 new IGFA world records for fly-fishing were caught on ANDE line, bringing ANDE 510 current IGFA fly-fishing world records. ANDE has provided great line at a reasonable price to anglers the world over for over 50 years.

Bass Pro, Tracker Retail Innovator of the Year

The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution, named John L. (Johnny) Morris the Retail Innovator of the Year. Johnny Morris, founder and creator of one of the most beloved and recognizable brands in the world, created Bass Pro Shops simply because of his love of bass fishing and the outdoors. After using his own bait and stocking it in his father’s liquor stores, John quickly began to recognize sports fishermen’s need for specialized equipment and grew the idea into what has become a major tourist destina-

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tion in virtually every store location. Three decades later, Bass Pro Shops continues to invoke the fantasy of every outdoor sportsman. Other recipients were Terry Lundgren, Chairman and CEO of Macy’s, Inc., with the Gold Medal Award, and Lane Crawford, an Asian retailer, with the International Retailer of the Year Award. “This year’s retail award winners have continued to keep up with their customers by providing some of the most advanced, innovative ideas around to handle their demands,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “We are thrilled to honor these visionaries for all they’ve accomplished in the ever-changing world of retail.”

Mossy Oak BioLogic Exec Pens Thriller Novel

Bobby Cole, a Mossy Oak BioLogic executive, has written The Dummy Line (Context Publishing Co., 19 February 2008, $24.95), an action-packed suspenseful novel that will keep readers on the edges of their seats and quite possibility out of the woods at night. Jake Crosby, a troubled stockbroker, has planned a weekend escape at his hunting camp with his nine-year-old daughter, Katy. In the middle of the night, a gang of redneck drug dealers attempts to break into the remote camp. The gang’s display of heinous intentions toward Jake and Katy causes Jake to make gut-wrenching decisions. Running for their lives, Jake and Katy take the only escape route available, which leads them deep into Alabama’s Noxubee River swamp. Crazed with blood lust and demanding immediate vengeance for their own, the frenzied gang anticipates Jake’s desperate moves as they stalk them throughout the night. Jake’s choices put into motion a sequence of events that threatens everyone associated with him, and an unwitting young couple who happen to be in the wrong place at the worst possible time. Randall Wallace, New York Times Bestseller and writer-director-producer (“Braveheart,” “Pearl Harbor,” “We Were Soldiers,” “Man in the Iron Mask”) said: “Good novels grow out of a writer’s rich

imagination and love for his subject, and Bobby Cole shows both in The Dummy Line. A walk through the woods will never be the same again.” Will Primos, founder of Primos Hunting Calls, said: “Wow! What a book! I couldn’t put it down. My heart raced as every emotion ran through me as the main character dealt with one crisis after another—situations we hope and pray we never encounter with our loved ones. This is definitely not a book for the tree stand. You won’t notice anything going on around you—including that big deer of a lifetime!” Multiple No. 1 New York Times Bestseller, Jill Conner Browne, said: “Bobby Cole weaves just the right amount of humor into a thrilling story that otherwise would be way too scary for me to read. The Dummy Line single-handedly eliminates the threat of hunting camps being taken over by women and children.” Kyle Jennings, Context Publishing Company’s Publisher, said: “Bobby Cole’s story deftly taps into the reader’s base fears and instincts while revealing the defining moments in one’s own character develop-

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ment. The Dummy Line is a fine piece of storytelling and I’m proud to be associated with it and Mr. Cole.” Bobby Cole said: “Most of us that have been to a remote camp, hunting or fishing, probably have gotten a little spooked at night. The Dummy Line takes those emotions and twists them around a dangerous, worst-case scenario that could easily happen to any of us. Throw in the drama of having a young child involved, and you’ve got a powerful story that grabs you. I had a ball writing it, and I know that I’ll never leave my camp doors unlocked again!” The Dummy Line is available at www.amazon.com; personalized copies at www.readbobbycole.com; or directly from the publisher at www.contextpublishing.com. Bobby Cole, a Montgomery, Alabama, native, is Executive Vice President and COO of Mossy Oak BioLogic. He is an avid wildlife manager, hunter, and supporter of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, who loves writing in his free time. Bobby lives with his wife and daughter in West Point, Mississippi.

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Thompson/ Center Icon Rifle

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the tricks for making it more accurate. I first saw the Icon at the SHOT show last year, but I didn’t get my hands on one for several months. I finally received an Icon in .308 Winchester and began testing. First appearance was favorable, and the first three-shot group was quite good at just over an inch. However, further testing revealed a problem. If more than three shots were fired quickly, the rounds began to spread and climb up and to the left. I tried other ammunition and nothing seemed to correct the problem. I finally decided it was a problem with the bedding in the stock. Since the gun has a very high-tech aluminum bedding-block, I did not think that the bedding of the action was the culprit. That left the barrel channel. Closer inspection revealed that the channel was off to the left, causing the right side to bind

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against the barrel. I took the gun out of its stock, drug out my barrel channel rasp, and cleaned out the barrel channel to the point where there was obvious clearance between the barrel and the right side of the channel, and made certain that the barrel did not touch the wood anywhere in the barrel channel. The barrel was then completely free-floating. Back at the bench, the first few shots evidenced the problem was solved. It seemed that wherever the crosshairs were resting on the target was exactly where the bullet hit. With my handloads, the average three-shot groups were less than 1 inch, as promised by T/C. It seemed, however, this Icon didn’t like many of the factory loads, but as I shoot mostly handloads, that was not a problem. I shot several factory offerings in the gun and

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it did not produce top-grade accuracy with any of them. I had hoped it would shoot the Federal Fusion, since I really like that bullet, and it is usually extremely accurate, but it seemed to like that load least of all, spreading them around over a couple of inches. It might simply be a peculiarity of this particular gun, which seems likely in view of T/C’s usual quality and accuracy. All in all, I am very happy with the Icon. It is beautifully finished and has a very nice piece of walnut for the stock. The checkering is clean,

crisp, and tastefully done. Mine came with a fancy facetted bolt handle. It looks very nice, but my personal prejudices are for the easy-to-grasp standard large knob. Since the Icon was designed so that the owner could change the bolt handle to something else, I will order one I like and replace it. The tool to make the change comes with the gun, and the change takes about a minute to accomplish. The Icon’s short bolt rise is also a nice design feature. Instead of the 60 to 90 degrees of most bolt actions, the Icon is more like 40 degrees. I

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have found nothing that tells me what the specifications are, so that is a guess, but I like the feature. The Thompson/Center Icon is a great piece of work. It is a good-looking, good-shooting gun. Now that T/C is introducing a long-action version chambered in .270, .30-06, .25-06, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .300 Winchester Magnum, it seems that it is just about everything the discriminating rifleman could want, and the price is downright reasonable.

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Texas Hunter Takes World Record Gobbler

HEN CHERYLNN DRY OF VICTORIA, Texas, thought about pulling an April Fool’s Day prank on her prankster-prone father last year, she had what she thought would be a perfect chance: She would call him after an April 1 opening day spring turkey hunt with her husband and tell her father she had just shot the biggest gobbler in the world, regardless whether she actually had bagged a gobbler. Fortunately for Dry, she had to change her tactics, both about what type of April Fool’s Day prank she might pull and about how she would try to bag her first spring gobbler on a family ranch near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas. Soon after the echoes from Dry’s 12-gauge had faded into silence that spring morning, Dry and her husband/hunting partner Glen Dry were standing over what later would be recognized as the all-time world record Rio Grande turkey, a magnificent bird that sported seven beards and scored 161.4375 points under the National Wild Turkey Federation record scoring system. It beat the former record of 160.7500 points set by Brooks Owens in 1991 with an eight-bearded tom that he took in Mills County, Texas. In addition to having seven beards ranging in length from about 7-1/4 to 11-3/4 inches,

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Cherylnn’s gobbler weighed 21.9375 pounds. One spur measured 1 inch and the other measured 0.850 inches. Cherylnn also

by Bob Hood is the only woman on the Top 20 world records list. “I had no idea turkeys sometimes have multiple beards, and I did not realize the significance of [the turkey scoring system] at

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the time,” Cherylnn said. “We let out a few Aggie whoops to anyone who might have heard the shot. I dialed my dad’s cell phone and hoped my hyperventilation would make him take me seriously. ‘Dad, this ain’t no April Fool’s. Come see the turkey I just shot,’ I told him.” The events surrounding Cherylnn ‘s feat are almost as unusual as the remarkable gobbler she bagged. It certainly was not the normal sit “still, call turkey, shoot it” type of hunt. The day before the season opened, the Drys set a pop-up blind at the edge of a green meadow about 200 yards from a creek where they knew turkeys often roosted, but they didn’t put any chairs in it. In the pre-dawn darkness on opening day, Cherylnn lugged two folding metal chairs to the blind through water and mud brought about by recent rains. The chairs “occasionally banged together as I slid through the mud,” she said. Her husband carried the 12-gauge autoloader, his bag of calls, and two hen decoys including one that he put an 8-inch beard onto when they were set up near the blind. Once inside the blind, the Drys awaited daylight as the chairs began to sink up to 4 inches in the mud. Cherylnn said she began to think more about her planned April’s Fool’s joke on her father. Daylight finally arrived, and with it came silence. The Drys soon began to wonder if they had chosen the right spot. Finally, a tom turkey gobbled from somewhere down the creek. It was followed by the gobbles from anther turkey and then more gobbles from a third tom.

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever Cherylnn Dry hoists her world record gobbler.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHERYLNN DRY

Cherylnn said she felt for the first time the intensity such moments bring to virtually all spring turkey hunters. “There were at least three gobblers sounding off,” Dry said. “Glen used a box call at first, and they kept gobbling, but it didn’t seem like they were coming to us. He tried a mouth call for a while, and they continued to gobble, but none were coming closer. I am not the most patient person in the world, so I started thinking that maybe we should move toward the gobbles.” Minutes passed and the Drys decided to make a move toward the gobblers. They left the blind and moved to a tree about 30 yards from it. Glen made a series of clucks with his mouth call and a gobbler answered with five gobbles. Another series of gobbles from the bird indicated he was moving closer. Suddenly, the Drys realized that the gobbler had moved to within about 100 yards. The Drys were 30 yards from the blind and the decoys were 15 yards on the other side of it. Not a good situation.

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYLNN DRY

The new world record Rio Grande gobbler had seven beards ranging from 7-1/4 to 11-3/4 inches long.

“We decided to make a run back for the blind,” Cherylnn said. “I went first, staying in the trees and keeping low, but running as fast as I could with the 12-gauge.” Cherylnn made it to the blind but her husband didn’t. As his wife headed for the blind, Glen spotted the gobbler farther down the creek. He immediately crouched

beside a tree. “A little panic flowed through me as I realized I was going to be on my own,” Cherylnn said. Then she realized they had left the Velcro camo-mesh windows of the pop-up blind shut to keep out mosquitoes. Then she saw the big tom move into the pasture road about 100 yards away, strutting,

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turning, and strutting some more. Cherylnn said she knew she would not be able to pull the Velcro windows open without making noise. Her husband had quit calling and the gobbler continued closing in on the two decoys. The gobbler moved into a grove of elms 20 or 30 yards away and Cherylnn knew that once it cleared them she would have her shot. Cherylnn said she tried to use one of the chairs as a rest for her shotgun, but it was stuck in the mud. The gobbler stayed in a full strut all the way to the decoys. Cherylnn knelt down, pressed the barrel close to one of the mesh windows, and put the bead on the gobbler’s head. The rest is history and one for the record books. “I’ve been blessed growing up with just about every coveted hunting and fishing opportunity in Texas, from whitetails in Webb County to speckled trout under the lights on the Intracoastal Canal,” Cherylnn said. “I’ve got memories to last a lifetime of my family enjoying God’s great outdoors together. The spring gobbler is now a clear part of that memory book, and April 1 will forever be circled on my calendar for more than one reason.”

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Turkey the Hard Way Part 2

With deer, the desired impact is a full passthrough, which will create maximum hemorrhaging and an adequate blood trail. However, with turkey, it is better for the arrow to remain in the bird after contact. The turkey won’t be able to take flight, making recovery much easier. Many turkey have been lost simply because they flew away after the fatal hit. By the way, the hogs and coyotes wish to thank you at this time. Delicious, they say! Some hunters prefer to have a bow set up for hunting deer and another one for small game. Of course, you can use your deer-hunting bow and it will work just fine. Try cranking the weight down a few turns for turkey hunting. It will slow the arrow just enough so a pass through will be harder to achieve. Remember to count the number of full turns you do on each limb so that the bow will stay tuned and ready for the next hunt. The sight pins will also change a bit. Practice a little before you hunt with this change and set your pins accordingly. Will the broadheads that you use for deer work just as well for turkeys? The short answer is yes. Again, the arrow should not

pass completely through the turkey. On a personal level, I prefer to use mechanical broadheads for turkey and fixed blades for deer. Call it a trial and error thing, if you will. It has been my experience that the fixed blades have a better chance of passing completely through a turkey. I have not had that occurrence while using mechanical heads. I realize that a lot of you reading this will be scratching your heads saying, “That makes no sense.” I used to say that, too, but since I changed to the mechanical broadheads used in conjunction with lighter draw weight, I have had no arrows pass through at all. If you decide that fixed blades work for you, then let me suggest a few adjustments. There are companies that sell attachments that fit on the shaft of your arrow just behind the broadhead. These can be anything from a metal spring object that grips the meat of the bird upon entry, to a rubber washer that fits tight up against the shaft to slow the arrow on impact. Specialty heads are another option. Check out the Gobbler Guillotine in Ted Nugent’s “Sticking it to Turkey” feature elsewhere in this issue. Texas has a huge population of Rio Grande turkey. As of the last count, it was over 600,000 birds. What makes Texas even more appealing is the fact that along with Rio Grandes, there is also a growing population of eastern turkey in the Pineywoods, as well as a few pockets in the Trans Pecos region. A hunter can take a big chunk of a Grand Slam right here in Texas. No other state offers that. With all of this extra hunting opportunity, there should be plenty of successful bowhunters. Believe me, once you take a bird with a bow, you might never again take a shotgun turkey hunting. On a side note, it would be interesting to have an occasional question-and-answer column. Send your archery questions to me via email at lmarullo@fishgame.com E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

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DEER—ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

BOAR—DUVAL COUNTY, TEXAS

Caleb Lenard, age 15, and brother Ryan Lenard, age 13, of Rusk, Texas, killed these deer within three minutes of each other during a youth hunt in Anderson County, Texas.

Caeden Hunt, age 8, from Mont Belvieu, Texas, shot this boar in Duval County while dove hunting with his dad. It had 3-1/2-inch tusks and weighed approximately 200 pounds. He shot this hog in a stock tank 10 times with his single-shot 22 before it went down.

MALLARD—LAKE WACO, TEXAS

ELK—BEDIAS, TEXAS

Max Burmeister, age 17, of Leroy, Texas, shot this banded mallard hen while hunting on Lake Waco. It was his seventh duck ever and was banded in North Dakota.

Sixteen-year-old Keith Bellow of Spring, Texas, Riley Herridge, age 9, had a great year hunting and took this 6x7 bull elk while hunting the “Circle E fishing. He killed this whitetail deer in Borden Ranch” with guide Robert Eichenour. He was County using a bolt action .223 at 175 yards. shooting a Remington 700 SPS .308 caliber.

GOT BUCKS? GOT HOGS? GOT TURKEYS? GOT BANDED DUCKS?

WHITETAIL DEER—BORDEN COUNTY, TEXAS

If so, we need photos and hunting stories for our new TROPHY FEVER SPECIAL SECTION. Send pics and hunting tales to : TROPHY FEVER SPECIAL SECTION 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032 or by email: photos@fishgame.com.

PLEASE INCLUDE PHOTO CAPTION: NAME HOMETOWN WHEN & WHERE TAKEN SIZE AND WEIGHT

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.) A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Boat Math

around 20 gph wide-open (many do slightly better than this) and in the neighborhood of 11 gph at cruise.

CAN TAKE 6-FOOT SWELLS, A TIGHT WHITE-CAP bay chop, and a cabin full of diesel fumes without getting seasick, but if you want to make me toss my cookies, it’s as easy as one, two, three—just show me some numerals, and my stomach starts flipping and flopping as if I was back in Mr. Ames’s fourth-grade arithmetic class. Alas, even a die-hard mariner must, at times, learn to weather the storm of numeric calculations. Why? Because those darned digits will help make you a better boater. Learn these equations, and you will see what I mean.

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Immersed in Arithmetic: Ever wonder just how much X number of pounds will make your boat sink? If you are all alone, will you be able to run over flats that you would go aground on with a pair of 300pound Bubbas aboard? The simple answer is “yes,” and you will see why once you grasp Pounds-per-inch Immersion. Hold on tight, folks, we are going to do some serious (cringe!) calculations: multiply waterline length by waterline beam, then

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Alas, even a die-hard mariner must learn to weather the storm of numeric calculations.

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multiple by 0.76. The result is called the “waterplane area.” Next, multiply the waterplane area by 5.34 to get pounds per inch. This number will tell you how many pounds it takes to sink your boat by one more inch. An example: Your Acme Glitzcraft is 20 feet long at the waterline and 8 feet wide. 20 x 8 x 0.76 = 212.6, which is your waterplane area. Next, multiply that 212.6 waterplane area by 5.34 to get 650.56. That means that if you put two 300-pound Bubbas aboard plus their 50.56-pound picnic basket, the Glitzcraft’s draft will increase by exactly 1 inch. Plane Numbers: Exactly when does your boat break a plane? That’s simple

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enough to find out, with a little (ugh!) computation. This one has one of those annoying little “check marks” (the symbol for square root) in it, but it’s still doable: 1.34√waterline length = hull speed When a boat exceeds its hull speed, it’s officially planing. Just in case some folks don’t get it, let’s go back to that Glitzcraft example, but this time, the boat’s waterline length is 25 and we need the square root of the boat’s waterline length, so we will use this nice, easy round number. The square root of 25 is 5, of course, so we multiply 5 by 1.34, to get 6.7. And that’s your planning speed, in mph. As soon as that Glitzcraft exceeds 6.7 mph, it is, to some degree, exceeding its hull length and therefore planning. A Moment of Your Time: Another nifty formula expresses “trimming moment.” A trimming moment is the effect of relocating weight aboard your boat, and essentially describes how it will change the trim of the boat due to the shift, in foot-pounds of pressure. It goes like this: TM = W x D where: TM = trimming moment W = weight D = distance Let’s say there is a 160-pound man in that old Glitzcraft. He is standing in the bow of the boat, and decides to move aft. He stands up, and walks 7.5 feet toward the stern. We can multiply 160 (weight in pounds) by 7.5 (distance in feet) and conclude that he has completed a trimming moment of 1200 foot-pounds. Digital Distance: If you are going to add radar to a relatively small boat, this calculation is a must-have. In many cases, people buy radars that are simply too potent for their boat, because a radar’s range is not

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only limited by power, it’s also limited by the height of the antenna. Here is the formula: 1.22 x √antennae height in feet + 1.22 x √target height in feet. This calculation will give you the radar’s range in nautical miles. If you want it in meters (we can’t imagine why, Frenchie, but if you insist) simply change the 1.22 to 2.21. For an example, let’s pretend your boat has a radome mounted on a hard top that’s 9 feet above the water. Your target is a rock jetty that’s also 9 feet off the water. The square root of 9 is 3, so the calculation is 1.22 x 3 + 1.22 x 3, which equals 3.66 + 3.66, or 7.32. No matter how good that radar unit is—be it a 4-, 6-, or 10-kilowatt machine—you won’t see that rock jetty until your boat is just 7.32 nautical miles away from it.

Let’s say you would like to install a new electric trolling motor, which draws 40 amps at full speed. The wire run from the battery to the motor is 15 feet and the acceptable voltage drop is 0.5. The formula will look like this:

Conductor Computation: Many boaters will, sooner or later, have to replace a wire or two or run a new one when installing a new piece of electronics. How will you know exactly what size wire to use? It’s simple, with this conductor computation:

10.8 x 40 x 15 = 12,960 CM ———————————— 0.5 To get that motor running, you will need to use wire that is at least 12,960 circular mils (which is 8-gauge, 19-strand copper). Now, will this motor provide enough

power for your boat? If you are not sure, you might want to try changing thrust into horsepower, a measurement that we are all a little more used to. Luckily, the formula’s simple: multiply amps x volts, to get watts of power. Then multiply by .95, because most quality electric motors are about 95-percent efficient. So, if you have a 24-volt motor using 40 amps, that means you have 960 watts. Account for the inefficiency, and you get 912 watts. Since 750 watts equals one horsepower, we can divide 912 by 750, and know the motor puts out 1.2 horsepower. As a point of reference, electrics this size will usually be rated between 70- and 76pound-thrust motors.

CM =K x A x L ——————— E where: CM = circular mills (wire size necessary) K = 10.8 A = load in amps L = length of the conductor, in feet E = acceptable maximum voltage drop at unit

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I have enjoyed as much of this as I can stand. You will have to excuse me for now. I am about to lose my lunch and if I look at one more number…

E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com

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T-Ball Rig

“T

-BALL”—NOT THE CHILD’S GAME BUT a tool for your fishing arsenal. This is about another “T” ball—a 1-1/2 x 2-inch stainless steel, two-piece ball intended for brewing tea, available in grocery stores for about $2. Like many products out there, it’s a multiuse item. They didn’t plan it that way I ’m sure, but a fisherman somewhere came to use one as a chum carrier, increasing his catch rate over his bait’s scent alone. I first heard of this use of a tea ball last year from Lee Bull, a fellow fisherman. I’ve also recently seen a purpose-built variation in a fishing catalog out of Florida called a “Bait Cage.” I haven’t tried that one, but I have used the T-ball. Attached by its snap to the top eye of a swivel on a double drop rig, it has seemed to work by helping to entice hits when fishing for vermilion snapper. I have caught them without it and with it. Using the tea ball rig is another of the many ways to hopefully speed up your catch results, particularly for vermilion snapper. Speeding up the allowable catch isn’t a bad thing, since no matter how aggressively they are feeding, they can stop, for whatever reason, as quickly as they started. To modify a tea ball for use as a chum carrier, the first step is to cut the “loop” attachment point on the top half at its midpoint and carefully fold the two ends inward; now is also the time to drill the center hole in the bottom half to 1/8-inch. After unscrewing and separating the two halves, bend the ends flush with the inside of the top half (see the illustration). This gives the

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crimp connection on the cable room to pass through the opening and a solid area for the 1/4- to 3/8-inch plastic bead to seat on. The cable is then crimped after forming a loop through the bead. The crimped cable is next passed through the hole and out the top half and crimped again after forming a loop in its outer end for the snap. The snap’s wire size should be small enough to easily pass through the top eye of the swivel at the top of your double drop vermilion snapper rig. Use the same procedure on the

bottom half as used on the top half for the wire, bead, crimping, etc., except this time, with a small bank sinker in the bottom loop, as shown. Some of the flow-through holes in the bottom half are also to be carefully drilled out to 1/8-inch to increase flow rate through the ball. Do this drilling with the halves screwed together for easier, safer handling and to greatly reduce chances of bending the

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tea ball out of shape. Don’t over tighten; a gentle stop and slight back off is perfect. The bottom half ’s numerous holes, along with the current, gravity and rod tip twitches, and the small sinker’s loading and unloading twitches, combine to give the best scent cone drifting down current. The reflected light off the stainless steel will do its part, too. To fish it, fill the T-ball with finely chopped chum, such as squid, sardine, or loosely packed cotton, saturated with the liquid or gel attractant of your choice. Its position above a double drop rig has the chum pieces/scent falling down and away. When the locals follow the scent cone, your baited hooks are near the narrow end of that cone and the next tug on your line could be a couple of fat vermilions. Your 30- to 40-pound mono double-drop rig should be made up so its length, from the swivel to the top dropper leg, has about 4 inches clearance between it and the bottom of the T-ball. Use light wire circle hooks, such as Daiichi D84Z in size 3/0, baited with small pieces of cut squid that are positioned so as not to block the hook point to shank gap area. A 1- to 3-ounce bank sinker on the bottom of the double drop rig is sufficient in most cases. When fishing circle hooks, wait for the loaded rod to bend down tight and stay there, then wind to assure the hookup. Small bites must be ignored when fishing these hooks. While playing this form of T-Ball isn’t part of the child’s game we’re all familiar with, it can add to your fishing fun and success, whether it’s offshore, along the coast, or in the bays. E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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ShallowWater Spooning

POONS ARE AN UNDERUTILIZED TOOL IN THE bass angler’s bag. I have a few rusting away in my tackle box, but generally drag them out only to cast for schooling white bass or the occasional redfish while fishing in saltwater. On a rare occasion, I use one for vertically fishing after deep-water winter bass, but where a spoon really shines is in the spring around shallowwater grass beds. Many northern anglers chasing pike and musky already know the benefits of chunking a spoon into grass, but down here in Texas, we prefer to use plastics. We even have a plastic worm rigging technique named after our state, and the Texas rig is one of the most popular techniques yearround. However, a combination of spoon and soft plastic is one of the most productive methods of fishing grass and other shallow cover in spring, and can even be used on into summer as bass move into deeper water to wait for fall. Weedless spoons have been around for the better part of the last century, and have probably caught just about every kind of fish that swims. Straight out of the box, spoons look like a minnow swimming through the grass without a care in the world. With a little dressing, it can mimic a frog, crawfish, or even a snake, all of which a bass will readily devour. Rigging a weedless spoon and trailer combination is fairly straightforward, and apparently popular because some lure manufactures produce spoons specifically for this ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

rig. These spoons have a small slot along the shank of the hook so a soft plastic trailer can be threaded on the majority of the hook. If you cannot find one of these spoons, then your basic Johnson’s Silver Minnow or any one of the imitations will work just fine. If all you can find is a jigging spoon, then it can work as well, with a simple modification. Jigging spoons are typically armed with a treble hook. Treble hooks and grass don’t mix, so simply replace the treble with a weedless worm hook. Depending on what you want the spoon to imitate, your choices for trailers are limited only by the amount of soft plastic baits you typically carry with you. If the predominant forage in the lake you fish is crawfish, then tip your spoon with a tube, grub, or creature bait. Push the hook through the nose of the bait, leaving the legs and tentacles dangling off the back. You can swim the spoon around cover or crawl it along the bottom like a jig. If you want to imitate a snake, use a long worm as the trailer, the longer the better. I have some hand-poured worms just over 12 inches long that I use for this, but smaller worms will work. Thread the worm onto the hook by pushing the point into the nose and then back out about 1/2-inch down the

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body. The worm should extend straight out from the back of the spoon, and when swam through a lily pad field, looks just like a snake. A bait that has taken off and gained popularity in the past few years is the soft plastic frog, such as the Stanley Ribbit, which

also works well when added to a spoon. Just like with a creature bait, you rig the frog by pushing the point of the hook through the nose of the bait. Swim the spoon and frog combination near the surface, over cover occasionally, stopping the retrieve to let the spoon fall, making the frog legs flutter. If you read the promotional information that comes with most spoons, the majority of them advise that their super-secret design is so outstanding that it doesn’t allow the spoon to spin and thus eliminates line twist. Don’t believe it. Any bait designed to flutter back and forth will roll, twisting the line. To eliminate line twist, tie a short leader to the spoon and then connect the leader to the main line with a barrel swivel. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com

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The Wind is Your Friend—Sort Of

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miss. The results depend heavily on finding the warmest water possible and fishing in areas that have a lot of bait activity. Anglers who fish from center consoles often drift, allowing the wind to push their vessels over long stretches of promising water. This technique was the genesis for the old saying, “The wind is your friend.” There have been several corollaries to that statement, the most accurate being,

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“The wind is your friend—as long as it is less than 20 miles per hour.” True words, my friends, especially if you paddle a kayak. The wind is the paddler’s friend—kinda— and coastal kayak fishermen should take advantage of the wind rather than fight it whenever possible. Since fish are scattered in the spring, the best strategy is to cover a lot of territory rather than home in on a specific area. Just like their gel-coated brethren, kayaks are good platforms to drift-fish from. I prefer to turn sidesaddle in my sit-on-top and dangle my legs in front of the hull. The wind pushes me along while I make downwind casts. The wind helps maximize casting distance, which is important since the water is extremely clear in the spring. Should the wind push your hull a little too fast for your liking, you can slow its velocity by deploying a sash weight or drift anchor. Kayak-sized drift socks are about 18-inches long and provide the same braking effect as larger ones deployed from bay boats. Sash weights are used to counterbalance wooden double-hung windows. Unfortunately, those elegant old windows are going the way of carrier pigeons, but you can still find the weights at flea markets and garage sales. The weights drag along the bottom like a mini-anchor, thereby slowing your progress. Slowing your drift rate is advantageous, as it allows you to work the water in front of you thoroughly before you drift through it. This is especially important to hardware slingers, as it allows them to slow the speed of the retrieve. Another way to cheat the wind is to make a one-way trip. One-way trips require a bit of planning before setting off, but are worth the extra effort when the wind velocity ratchets up. Two vehicles are staged along the shoreline a reasonable distance from each other. You launch from one site and take out at the next. Then, all the paddlers can drive back to the original vehicle and sort out gear there. Before and after cold fronts, southeaster-

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ly winds dominate the coast. On many shorelines in Texas bays, a southeast wind will push you, more or less, parallel with the shore. The added benefit here is the lee of the shoreline offers some protection from the wind, and there is usually a thin strip of trout-clear water to be found. If you fish with a group, you can use three vehicles and plan to cover longer distances, which will increase the likelihood of intercepting fish. The extra vehicle staged in the middle allows you to short-circuit the plan if you find fish loitering sooner than you

planed, or if inclement weather hits. River paddlers have been using this shuttle technique for decades. One note about the weather: Spring cold fronts unleash biting winds and frigid rain, but when they will actually push through to the coast is only a weatherman’s prediction. Don’t assume the talking heads on television are reliable. Regardless what the forecast says, keep out a keen eye for threatening conditions. Trout and redfish will be scattered for the next several months until summer’s grasp

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takes hold along the coast. Until that time, you will likely have to cover lots of territory to find fish. Use the wind to your advantage, and not only will you catch more fish, your arms, shoulders, and back will thank you at the end of the day. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com

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Shooting Docks for Crappie

VER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, SHOOTING docks has become more popular than Hank Williams, turnip greens, and Tony Romo. This deadly technique of shooting docks can be done on any lake in Texas that has a lot of boat docks, fishing piers, marinas, or any structure that provides a lot of shade out over the water, because shade is the No. 1 structure for crappie or any game fish. There are many lakes in our great state that have some or all of these places to target crappie. In most cases, you can catch crappie around one of these structures year around, so I guess all your problems are solved on how to target Texas slabs; but not so fast, now. So, just how do you shoot for crappie? I start out with my ultralight combo, 6-pound Mr. Crappie Hi-Vis line, and a bunch of marabou Blakemore Road Runners; 1/16or 1/32-ounce work great. Hop into my boat and off to see just how many boat docks I can fish before catching my limit, which is 25 per person and each must be 10 inches long. When you approach a dock that you think could hold crappie under it, look at the dock real close and see which side has the most shade; look for the darkest spot under that dock. Most of our docks in Texas are free standing with piers going down into the bottom of the lake. The piers are mostly made of steel, or if you are lucky, you have pulled up to a dock that the piers are made of wood or concrete, or maybe a real old dock. I look for docks that have big sun decks built low to the water; that helps provide lots of shade for the crappie, and are hard to get to for most anglers.

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Docks that have boat lifts or boats will provide even more shade. Of course, the dead giveaway for the perfect dock is a set of rod holders mounted on the handrails, a crappie light hanging down close to the water, and an old minnow bucket still floating from last night out on their dock. Now I’m ready to make that first shot under the perfect dock that most people just dream about. I reach down and open my spinning reel with my trigger finger, holding the Mr. Crappie Hi-Vis line tight, and reach out to grab my Road Runner with my thumb and index finger by the lead head of the lure. Make sure when you put the head between your thumb and index finger that the hook is facing outward. Make sure that your lure is between your first guide on your rod and the top of your reel; that allows plenty of room to pull back on the lure to load up the rod tip. Then, with one swift motion with your line parallel with the water, release your trigger finger and the Road Runner at the same time. This will propel the lure way back under the dock to that hard to reach dark spot where Mr. Crappie lives. Wherever you point your rod, it is just like a gun; the lure is going in that direction. Once the lure hits the water, close your spinning reel with your free hand and start a slow retrieve back to the boat. All of a sudden, your line pops out straighter than a banjo string, and you feel that awesome thump on your line. Guess what? Mister Crappie has been taken prisoner! A lot of times when I’m shooting these

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docks, you don’t have to put any action on the bait; the roadrunner’s blade puts off a lot of vibration. Just about 90 percent of the time, it is a reaction strike that the crappie makes, and most of the time, he won’t do it but once. Then, it’s too late. Your are in control now that you have him on your line. When the bite gets a little tough sometimes, on deep-water docks I have a little technique called the Wally Wiggle. When you shoot the lure under the dock and it starts to fall, just take your rod tip and pop it down; it will make the blade on the Road Runner make a popping sound, and also make the lure dance to get the crappie’s attention. This technique really works. Be sure to always have a dip net ready, because if you get that big slab on, you don’t want to lose him. How many times have you tried to lift the fish in the boat, and had to tell that story about the big ‘un that got away? Until your next fishing trip, practice shooting a lure under a board about 2 feet off the ground while sitting in a chair. See how far your can get the lure under the board without touching the ground. It’s an art. Until next time, crappie trails to you. E-mail Wally Marshall at mrcrappie@fishgame.com. Visit his website at www.mrcrappie.com

PHOTOS BY ROY NEVES

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Sails on the Fly

OR THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE WEEKEND AFTER Super Bowl, I take a fishing trip along with a group of guys to Costa Rica for some great billfishing action. Some friends of mine from South Padre Island began this trip about 15 or 20 years ago. They had found a small fishing village on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica named Quepos and began making an annual trip, fishing, meeting locals, and watching the small town grow. Anywhere from 5 to 25 guys will show up with no pre-arranged plans. The fishing is a la carte; three or four guys will charter a boat and take turns reeling in the sails. The next day, a different group might book an inshore trip out of a panga or a fly trip for billfish. The real fun for me is when we target billfish on the fly. The Annual Harry Gray Invitational Fly Fishing Tournament is held out of the local restaurant called El Gran Escape (their trademark is “No billfish on the menu”). They are passionate about flyfishing for billfish, so when you catch your first billfish on the fly, they will display your fly with all the information in their trophy case at the restaurant. (My fly is right next to Larry Cszonka’s.) Better yet, my friends Zeke Garrett, Jed Dixon, and Bill Morehead caught their first sailfish on the same fly. Let me explain... It is pretty difficult to hook, fight, and land a billfish on any light tackle, much less a fly rig, and more so to retrieve the fly from the mouths of three different sailfish all on one trip. This is pretty remarkable when you realize all the steps required to land one billfish, much less three. A number of things make it more difficult. First, you have to put out a spread of PHOTO BY DR. TOMMY LOMONTE

teasers on the left side of the boat and raise the outrigger on the right side (if your righthanded) to make room for casting the fly. We drag teasers (without hooks) to bring the fish right behind the boat. Believe me, when that fish comes in hot slashing the teasers and all lit up, it will get the juices flowing. Teamwork is a must to get a shot at one of those pointy-nosed pelagics. The guy with the fly rod has to be ready to make the cast just as the guy teasing the fish to the boat pulls the teaser out of the water, and the captain has to put the engines in neutral (the boat cannot be in gear for a legal catch). After the guy on the teaser pulls the bait out of the water, the fish is looking around for the bait, and that is when you drop the fly in front of him and bam! the rodeo begins. It is kind of like sight-casting to redfish, only different. With teamwork, good tackle, and good fortune (and a lot of sweat), you can get A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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your fly on the wall at the El Gran Escape. This annual fishing trip is fantastic and always an adventure. But, to find guys from all walks of life, from all over the country, all with the same passion for fishing, is phenomenal. We have Big Zeke, a restaurateur from South Padre Island; Bill the software engineer from Houston, Jed the lotto winner, now from who-knows; Big Jim the concrete contractor from New Jersey (who might have a clue where Jimmy Hoffa is); and the list goes on. It seems that no matter the background or where each of us is from, it is fabulous to collect this many Americans in a small Costa Rican fishing village that share the passion for catching billfish— especially on the fly. E-mail Tommy Lomonte at tlomonte@fishgame.com. Visit his website, www.DrRedfish.com.

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Young Gun

19-year old professional bass angler who last fall etched is name into the sport’s history books when he became the youngest angler on record to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series tour.

ed by his ability to fool largemouth and smallmouth bass with artificial lures.

by Matt Williams

HAT DO THE NAMES DAVID CLYDE AND Corey Waldrop have in common? Clyde was a hard-throwing southpaw phenom from the Houston area who was drafted by the Texas Rangers fresh out of high school in 1973. At the age of 18, he was the youngest player to see action in a major league baseball game that year. Waldrop doesn’t play baseball. He’s is a

Clyde’s stint in the majors was relatively short lived. His career ended at the young age of 26 because of arm injuries. Pro baseball junkies often reflect on the former Westchester High School sensation as a budding star that fizzled because he was rushed into the big leagues before he was ready. Waldrop’s future in the major leagues will not hinge on his ability to overpower hitters with blazing fastballs. Instead, it will be decid-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ESPN

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19-year-old pro bass angler Corey Waldrop. A personable pro with thick, wavy red hair, Waldrop thinks he has the talent department covered well enough to be a serious player for years to come. The main question is whether his pockets will be deep enough to make it over the hump. It costs a mint to follow the Elite Series trail, one that will lead him to 11 different

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Old Guns

HILE GROWING UP AS A YOUNGSTER IN Fort Worth, I spent as much time as possible prowling the mesquite and live oak pastures of my grandparents’ 400-acre dairy in Comanche County 100 miles away. It was there while hunting rabbits in the briar fencerows and along the well-worn cow paths that I learned about firearms. Whenever I visited my grandparents, I slept in a spare bedroom of their big white house with red awnings that stood at the top of a hill overlooking the pasture. Four hundred acres might not seem like a lot of land to some folks, but it was a lot of real estate to me, and I prowled it from corner to corner and in between ever chance I got; first with a Red Ryder BB gun, later with a Stephens Target .22 rifle that belonged to my grandfather, and even later with his 20gauge pump shotgun. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, and I bet most hunters remember fondly learning to hunt with a borrowed gun or one of their own. My grandfather kept his .22 rifle and 20-gauge shotgun in his kitchen, propped in a corner next to the refrigerator. He would awake me an hour before daybreak, when he headed to the barn to milk his cows. As soon as I got dressed, I grabbed the .22 or 20-gauge, went to the barn for a quick visit with my grandfather, and then headed for the pasture. As I grew older, I was able to buy my own rifles and shotguns, including a .22 Western Auto branded single-shot, a .30-06 03-A3 Springfield rifle that I gave $50 for and picked out of a barrel full of surplus military rifles in a Fort Worth department store, and others that I still own. Each of these firearms holds special memories, but there is one particular “oldie’ that today means as much to me about the

future as it does of the past—an Ithaca M66 single-shot 12-gauge with a 30-inch full choke barrel. Model numbers might mean little to anyone not familiar with the gun, but the reason the Ithaca means so much to me is because it has become my turkey gun of choice. Sure, everyone has their favorite turkey gun, and there certainly are a lot of really nice gobbler-getters out there that have provided many hunters with great results. Mine, though, has and always will be the Ithaca M-66. The reason I hold the shotgun in such high esteem is simple: my 35-year history of hunting with it, or vice versa, if you choose. Like memories built from hunting behind an old bird dog, it is rewarding to remember the events of 35 years hunting with the old’ M-66, and it also is exciting to think about hunting with it again this spring turkey season. For those not familiar with the Ithaca M66, it looks like a lever-action shotgun, but isn’t. The only function of its lever is to break it open. A single hammer cocks the gun. There is no safety other than the rebounding hammer, or the gun being opened. The Model 66 was introduced by Ithaca in 1963 and was available through 1978. I bought mine in 1966 for predator hunting, not spring turkey hunting, which wasn’t available in Texas until a few years later. The 30-inch full choke barrel loaded with 3-inch No. 2s has done a number on numerous coyotes, foxes, and bobcats, but in the early years of Texas’ spring turkey hunting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the M-66 took a backseat on my first tries for spring turkey. The fact that I chose to go after my first gobblers with a Savage .222/20-gauge over-and-under speaks more for my lack off confidence in calling turkey than it does for the guns themselves. I shot my first gobbler in the Hill Country with the M-66 single-shot in 1973, and I have picked up no other shotgun in all of A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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the spring turkey seasons in Texas, Kentucky, and elsewhere since. The Ithaca M-66, because of its age, can be considered a relic, but it is a relic that still performs its job well. A gun does not have to be a relic, however, to build special memories for the one who shoots it. Whether you own several old or new firearms or simply own one or two of them, there is a good chance one particular gun has a special meaning to you. I can’t say that I have pampered my old M-66 over the many years it has been with me. The numerous scars on its stock and forearm and its worn finish attest to that. I’ve crawled through mud holes and over rock piles with it, swam a couple of flooded creeks with it, used it to pry my way through thick brush, and have let it bounce around in the back of numerous pickup trucks. No, this relic has by no means been pampered, and if I could do it all over again from the beginning, I wouldn’t change a thing. E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com. &

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Varmint Cartridges Today

duced the short-lived .225 Winchester to take its place. The .225 was called a “semirimmed” cartridge because it had a rim, but headspaced on the shoulder. However, call it what you want, if that isn’t a rim then I’ve never seen one. Other than that, the .225 was a very good cartridge, producing velocities above 3500 fps with 55-grain bullets. In addition to these factory cartridges, there was a whole slew of wildcats. The best of the lot were probably the .219 Zipper and the .22/250. The .22/250 was so good that Remington eventually adopted it and made it a factory cartridge. In 1964, Remington introduced the .223 Remington, a civilian version of the 5.56x45 NATO round. Remington had also been experimenting with another .22-

caliber cartridge for the military. It was the very fine .222 Remington Magnum. The .222 Magnum, introduced in 1958, is slightly superior to the .223 ballistically, but the fact that the .223 was the U.S. military round, and all that free, or at least very cheap, military brass was going to be available soon, blew the .222 Magnum out of the race. It is still a very good varmint round, doing very easily what the .223 has to be pushed hard to accomplish. Today, we have most of the above plus a number of fine factory cartridges in the .22caliber category. The .22/250 is one of the best and is still one of the most popular, as it deserves to be. It is a real hotrod, and extremely versatile. It can be loaded up to over 3600 fps with a 55-grain bullet, or it

TOURNAMENT INSIDER Continued from Page C52 lakes in eight states between now and August. Entry fees for the season total $55,000. Tack on the high price of fuel and other travel expenses and the price tag for a single season can easily blossom beyond $80,000. Chump change for some; a huge sum of money for a teenager who eats, sleeps, and breathes bass fishing, but has limited sponsors to help fund his habit. His plan? A Legend Boats pro staffer, Waldrop said he hopes to use his age as a marketing tool to attract sponsors. “I am going to try to use it to my advantage,” he said. “My age should give me an approach to getting sponsors than some of the other anglers don’t have. When I do well, it might put me in the spotlight a little more than another angler, because I am so young. It will be a great avenue to generate some great exposure, which is what sponsors are looking for.” In the meantime, Waldrop is beating the C54

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bushes trying to drum up as much financial support he can. Elite Series pros are allowed to pay their entry fees in scheduled installments throughout the season. Waldrop managed to come up with the money ($7000) to cover the first installment due in December. Others will be due soon. “It is going to be like paying on a house mortgage from hell,” Waldrop said. “I’ve been hustling, trying to get it done. I know this is not going to be easy, but I am going to give it my best shot. I may have to sleep in my truck and eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the road. But I am willing to do it if that is what it takes. It will make the fire inside me burn hotter to do good out there. The rewards are worth it.” Waldrop’s upbeat attitude probably won’t come as much of a surprise to those who know him. A top-ranked graduate from All Saints Episcopal School in Ft. Worth, Waldrop chose bass fishing over college after logging one semester at TCU in fall 2006 as a premed student. His said his parents supported his decision to swap his books for a flippin’ stick, based on the understanding

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that he was going to pursue the dream on his own. “Fishing is my passion — its what I love and do,” Waldrop said. “My parents have my back 100 percent on this, but their feelings are that I should do it on my own so I’ll gain some respect for what I am doing. I completely agree with that.” How does it feel to be the pup in a pit with Van Dam, Reese, Brauer, and the rest of the big dogs? “I’m fishing against the elite anglers in the business, the best of the best,” Waldrop said. “When you look down through the list of competitors you see a lot of household names. I’m really excited about this opportunity. It’s going to be a treat to fish against them. I fished hard all year to be where I am. Now my goal is make the most of it.” The 2008 Elite Series tour got underway last month with two stops in Florida. Waldrop and the rest of the 110-angler field will make back-to-back stops in Texas this month. The first is at Lake Falcon, April 36, then Amistad, April 10-13.

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can be loaded down to levels equal to the .222 and even lower. The new .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum is another hot .22 caliber. It is ballistically about like the .22/250. It has become very popular very quickly and a wide range of factory ammunition is available for it. It is an accurate, powerful round chambered in some fine rifles. I have used it to take hogs and coyotes, and not found it wanting. I don’t think it will do anything the .22/250 won’t do, but if you want a new varmint rifle, it is a good choice. One of the newest is the .204 Ruger. This is the first mainstream centerfire factory entry into the .20-caliber niche. There have been a number of wildcats over the years, but the .20 caliber has never gained the popularity of the .17s. I have used the .204 Ruger on several hunts in several different rifles and found it an impressive little cartridge. At well over 4000 fps, the .204 is the current factory velocity king. Interestingly, the .222 Remington Magnum is the parent case from which the .204 was derived. The .204 Ruger is an up and coming star. It is

pleasant to shoot, shoots very flat, bucks wind pretty well, is very accurate, and hits very hard. I have truly enjoyed using it and have been impressed with its performance. I do not think it is as versatile as the .22/250, but for a .20 caliber, it is most impressive, shooting flatter than the .223 and hitting just as hard at ranges up to 300 yards. The old .22 Hornet is still popular and a great cartridge for small varmints out to around 150 yards. It will take coyotes, but the range needs to be short and the shot precisely placed. It is more at home as a fox/raccoon/bobcat rifle, or in a prairie dog town where the shots are kept fairly short. At the other end of the spectrum is the .220 Swift, which seems to be making another comeback. That’s good, because the old Swift is still one of the best varmint cartridges ever designed. With modern bullets and powders, and modern steel, it becomes even better and doesn’t eat barrels for breakfast as it once did. The .223 is by far the most popular of the .22 calibers. It is sufficiently powerful for most varmint hunting applications, and until the need for ammunition for the war in

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the Middle East took over all the ammunition factories, ammo was plentiful and cheap. Now it is getting hard to find .223 ammo and the price has gone out of sight. Hopefully, this will reverse itself when the war is finally won and the boys come home. The .22/250 is one of the best—if not the best—of the current varmint rounds. It is, however, too powerful for extended periods on a prairie dog town, and wears out barrels a bit faster than the .223. It is at its best as a rifle for long-range varminting for woodchucks or rockchucks, and might be the ultimate choice for predator calling. If I could have only one .22-caliber varmint rifle, it would be a .22/250. The .223 WSSM is the equal of the .22/250, but not much more. It is short and accurate, but feeds rough in all the guns I have tried it in; with its huge diameter and sharp shoulder, it can do nothing else. However, it is an efficient, powerful round and a good choice for the long-range varminter. E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com

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The Lost Art of Tying Knots

lot of satisfaction to be gained by having the knowledge necessary for this ancient skill. Knots are a part of our western history as evidenced by the popularity of dispatching bad guys with the infamous hangman’s noose. Television and movie westerns from yesteryear, when good always triumphed over evil, featured close-ups of the knot on a regular basis as a stern reminder to viewers that bad guys would end up at the end of a rope.

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For most of us, knot education ceased after kindergarten.

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Technology has done away with the need for a lot of good knots. Used to be that securing cargo required knowing how to tie

a trucker’s hitch. Now ratchet winches, and bungee cords have done away with the need to know how to tie one of the best knots ever invented. Velcro, technology’s version of the common cocklebur, has eliminated the need to tie a lot of knots. I am not even sure if knot tying is still part of the curriculum for kindergarten students because of Velcro. Replacing those shoe laces with straps made from the hook and loop material, has made it much easier to get shoes on the little devils. Those of us who fish are still required to learn how to tie knots and some have taken the process to new levels of complexity. Fly fishermen are probably the most ambitious knot tiers and are constantly inventing new ways to tie the various types of backing, fly line and leader material to each other in complicated ways. Let’s see, they use an arbor knot to tie the backing to the reel spool, a blood knot to attach the backing to the fly line, a nail knot to secure the fly line to the leader and an improved clinch knot to tie on the fly. Those are just some of the various twists and turns they use in their knotty world. Personally, I have managed to survive in the fishing business by remembering how to tie about half-a-dozen of the many knots described in intricate, indecipherable detail, in pocket-guide knot books. Those booklets are designed not for fishermen, but for people who have knot-tying fetishes. The knots I have found to be most useful, listed in order of importance, are the improved clinch, Palomar, blood knot, bowline, halfhitch, and figure eight. These six methods of weaving rope or fishing line will handle just about any basic knot tying need. Here is a neat website that actually shows through animation, how to tie the above mentioned knots and many more. Access it on-line at www.animatedknots.com It seems a real shame to lose a good fish to a poorly tied knot and yet I see it all the time among anglers who do not fish a lot. Landing a fish, especially a big one, is tough

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Topwater, Cranking, & Carolina Rigging

ID MAY THROUGH MID JUNE IS PRIME time shad spawning. Most of this happens after the bass have spawned, giving the bass plenty to feed on. I like to look around rocky banks and especially riprap. Another prime place is docks that have Styrofoam floats, as the shad love these. You can get a quick pattern going when you find the shad on one of these structures. Marina docks are also another prime place to look, if the shad are doing their thing. First, I will work a Bagley’s Bango lure in black and silver around rock points, or along side of the floating docks. If the bass don’t want a prop type bait, then I will go to a popper like the Bagley Pop’N B or the Bass Pro Shops Z Pop. If these are not working, go to an XPS Slim Dog. This is a walk the dog type lure that imitates a wounded shad. I fish all my topwater baits on a Woo Daves’ Extreme 6-foot ML rod and us 14-pound XPS line. A little tip is to coat the first 10 feet of your line with fly line dressing for a lot better action. On most topwater lures, I use a double loop knot that free up the action on the lures. Another good technique this time of year is just to put your MotorGuide on high speed and go down the bank fishing. You will be surprised at the fish you catch on nothing places. Next, I will fish a shad colored or black silver Bagley’s Small Fry, as this is the best shad imitation lure I have ever used around docks and riprap or shallow drops. I use Woo Daves’ Extreme 6-foot ML rod with 10-pound XPS line. Give the lure a lot of stop and go retrieve and put some action

gimmick, but a lure that works great in grass or lily pads. You can call Wes Cox at 866378-FISH for more information.

into it. If you can catch current around riprap corners or bridge pilings, this is a deadly lure in June. One thing you definitely want to look for is blue herrings on the bank, if they are there so are the shad. Another tip, if your topwater action slows down, go back over the same area with a Zoom double fluke rig. If you can find shallow humps or shoals, this is also a prime area to fish any of the lures mentioned above. The Carolina rig is in its prime right now. I use at least a 3-foot leader and a lot of times 4 feet. I will fish a 3/4-ounce Lindy’s Rattlin’ No-Snagg weight and a Mustad 1/0 wide gap offset hook with a Zoom centipede or Zoom lizard, fluke, or Trick worm. The reason I like the long leader is because the fish are hungry and when they hear the sinker hit the water, they are looking. Once the sinker hits bottom then the lure sinks four feet slowly and they can’t stand it. You need to wait 10 to 15 seconds before moving the lure. Then, you need to be checking on the first move to see if something feels funny. A lot of times the fish is on there right away. Use a 7-foot, 4inch Woo Daves’ Extreme rod with 17pound XPS fluorocarbon test on main line and a 10- to 12-pound XPS leader. I like to use XPS fluorocarbon line because of the feel. Now I want to tell you about a new lure called the Slickfish. This is a topwater lure that can be thrown into the thickest of cover and it will not hang up. The hooks are inside the lure and are triggered on a spring to pop out on the hook-set. This is not a A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Game Warden Games

S MOST WHO WERE NOT BORN IN A BARN know, Texas game wardens are the peace officers charged with enforcing fish, game, and wildlife laws. The cases they investigate range from the mundane to intriguing and downright funny. Here are a few recent cases of note:

suspects were not located, but the evidence was seized. The investigation determined that both ATVs were stolen. The warden remained in the area until 11:00 p.m., when he observed a vehicle leaving a nearby pasture. Upon receiving backup, a felony vehicle stop was made. Four subjects were arrested without incident. After searching the property with warrants, the officers recovered more than 100 stolen items, including: stolen hunting equipment, commercial tools, TVs, and guns. The ongoing investigation has resolved numerous cases in several counties. Felony charges up to $20,000 were filed for possession of drug items, evading arrest, deadly conduct, and stolen property. Eight Deer Heads in a Shed: February 5,2008, a Potter County game warden and a Randall County game warden went to an Amarillo home to investigate a city cleanup crew member’s claim that there were eight deer heads in a shed behind the home. After inspecting the deer heads, the wardens determined them to be fresh, noting that deer season had ended two months ago. The occupant of the home invited the wardens

inside and showed them the fresh deer meat that filled his freezer. The occupant said the last deer was brought home two days ago. Soon after, the main suspect arrived at the home and confessed to killing eight mule deer during the last seven to eight months. A hunting rifle that had been stolen 10 years ago was also found in the home. Cases are pending. Get Your Own License: January 19, 2008, a Val Verde County game warden inspected the kills of a hunting camp and found several misdemeanors. The warden found two deer to be tagged with a female’s hunting license, as well as a 6-point buck in violation of the spike and antlerless season. Upon returning to the camp, one hunter said there were no female hunters in the group. Shortly after, another hunter said his wife killed the two does, but left camp to return home. After a short visit with the warden, the hunter said he had used his wife’s tags and that she had not been hunting. Another hunter stepped forward and claimed ownership of the 6-point buck. Appropriate charges were filed on both hunters. Cases and restitution are pending on the three deer.

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Ironically, they said they were aware that shooting deer without a hunting license is illegal. Call it Game Warden’s Intuition: In January, a Lamb County game warden testified before a grand jury concerning a case he filed against a Bailey County man for hunting without landowner consent. During the mule deer season, the warden received a call from a landowner saying a deer had been shot from the road. Upon the warden’s arrival, an adjoining landowner

said there had been a misunderstanding and that his hunters had shot the deer, causing it to run across the road and die. Feeling uneasy about the story, the warden began an investigation that proved that the story had been concocted by the hunters who had tagged and reported the deer. E-mail Wayne Watson at outlaw@fishgame.com.

Young Hunters Spotlight WhiteTailed Deer at Night: In January, a Kendall County game warden filed multiple charges against two young hunters, after receiving information about their late night hunting activities. Upon being caught with a freshly killed buck at 2:00 a.m., the hunters said they didn’t know spotlighting and hunting white-tailed deer at night was illegal.

AFIELD WITH BARRY Continued from Page C56 enough when everything goes correctly. Why handicap such a joyful event by devoting less attention to the weakest link between angler and fish? The tell tale sign of a failed knot is usually evident by examining the end of the line after the big one gets away. There will be a small section of curled line where the knot slipped and left only a memory of what used to be there—a lousy knot and a big fish. There is a certain sense of satisfaction in being able to whip out a bowline or half-hitch knot when the need arises. Humans are fascinated by knot games, puzzles, and other enigmas that appear as magic to the unskilled. I fondly remember certain string games when I was a youngster and the he or she who was a master of the crow’s foot or the seemingly impossible thumb-loop trick, were regarded with a certain amount of awe. Things have changed considerably since then, but knowing how to tie good knots is still the mark of an individual who takes pride in the craftsmanship of a skill that others can only marvel at. E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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The Lostrider

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ters, in Choteau, Montana, gave me the first riding job that didn’t include a hometown connection or best friend/brother-in-law type alliance. They needed a wrangler and guide that knew his way around a pack mule, and knew something about camping in the Bob

that succumbed to my tutelage, and I spent a number of years taking care of wilderness camps for an outfitter that was my buddy. But this would be the first trial to see if I measured up to the “rider for hire” wandering grub line cowboy ideal, that I idolized in

Montana, the Early Days…

HE INEXPLICABLE OCCURS AND LIFE DIVES off the steady path. It may be the loss of a job, death in the family, an auto accident, or any variety of uncontrollable circumstances that renders us small and helpless. Without warning we get that sick-gut feeling and any façade that we have erected to protect our dignity and character dissolves. We are left standing naked before our peers. Our faults and problems are obvious, like stretch marks expanding across yellow rolls of belly fat, awaiting society’s inspection. The sun is too hot, the light is too harsh, honesty is too painful, and at least for a moment, family and friends can’t help. We are alone, lost, and must find our way back to the steady path. And, all the while we must prove to ourselves and the rest of the world that we have got the gumption to overcome life’s obstacles. It’s all about the state of mind and our moral compass that enables us to maintain our composure and act appropriately at the darkest times. But then again, there are those who apply a more laid back earthy approach to solving every crisis. The drawling western men live by a simple code. They stroll across the yard with their hats kicked back, twirling a rope, and swaggering in high-heeled boots while contemplating their latest dilemma. Then ZIP! in true Will Rogers fashion, they snake a loop on the affair and wrest a solution that will endure any questions. Theirs’ is a code that is so basic that at times it may seem they depend on their horse to aide them in sticking to the trail both literally and figuratively. They know that there will always be at least one four-footed compadre with common sense to listen to their C60

Any man who thinks he is too old, too experienced, or too elite to be tested everyday is a pretentious fool. With that thought in mind, my mettle was under self-scrutiny. A Lazy H Outfit-

woes; however, if that damn horse quits them, life goes straight to hell.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERMAN BRUNE

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Will James’, Lone Cowboy. Fortunately for my sake, the first summer trip went without any major screw-ups. It was established early on that I was the straw boss and with the responsibility came accountability. The only troubling incident was that I had to recommend dismissing another mule packer, and then find a replacement. Again fortunately, I knew where to look and soon Tom Bayne on the payroll. The folks that owned the outfit were retired schoolteachers and didn’t come on the trips. Instead they sent their daughter to cook and trusted me to insure the guest’s safety and satisfaction. They had also warned me that a few of the horses were pure Democrats and resented hard work. Given the chance, several of the fuzzy lamebrains may make a break for home pastures and free grain whenever turned loose to forage. This wasn’t something to which I was accustomed. All the stock I had ever wrangled seemed happier with the tall mountain grass and daily routines than loafing around in a short-grass feedlot on the ranch. Nevertheless, I kept a sharp lookout for equine escape artists. The next three trips were pure joy. We packed over Headquarters Pass into the Sun River Valley, camped on Gates Creek, fly fished all day, and recounted Wild West stories around the nightly campfire. The horses and mules turned their springtime fat into muscle and the entire crew acclimated to mountain living and sleeping under the stars. None of the caballos exhibited any inclinations to mutiny, and we sashayed into our fifth trip that would take us along the Chinese Wall. It was a 10-day jaunt through some of the most scenic and sensitive alpine locales in the lower 48 states. As we neared the wall the temperature dropped and the grass for the livestock became scant. On the fourth day, we slid from our bedrolls early. Tom grazed the stock while I began to break camp and mante pack loads. The grocery boxes, cooking fly, and much of our equipment could be made ready. Once the guests were awake and stuffing breakfast in their face, I could break down the stove, wrap up their tents, and pack the rest of the gear. Then Tom brought in the remuda and we began feeding and saddling. The next exercise was putting the clients on the trail and sending them ahead with the cook. Mean-

while, Tom and I finished organizing and loading our pack mule strings. The plan was to leave the north fork of the Sun River, follow the Chinese Wall, and then drop down to Indian Point on the west fork of the Sun. The distance from the starting point to the destination is 20 miles. Now, riding single that far is a full day. Tearing down camp, then leading a string of eight mules up the mountain and then back down, and then reconstructing camp is a chore. A pack string averages three miles per hour and

grazes three hours at dawn and three hours at dusk. Such a day starts well before daylight and ends with frazzled guides drifting up to the campfire in hopes of finding leftovers from supper. The tale of how the Lostrider got his name concludes in the May issue. E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com

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It’s All in the Spots

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WEETIE, THIS IS GREAT, JUST YOU and me out here fishing today,” David said. “We are going to put you on one big spotted fellar. I can feel it. This is going to be your day to catch that big red.” “I don’t know, I think I am snakebit,” I whined. “I never seem to catch a big red.” “Nah, you just haven’t had your day yet.” “All the times that we have been out fishing, and all I seem to have mastered—and I use the term lightly—is the art of fishing but not catching. Okay, there was that stingray I caught once, and of course those stupid hardheads. Oh, and that really ugly miniature barracuda—and even it was small. I want a red—a big red! David, they know! Those darn fishes know I am a novice. Is it the way I bait the line, hold the line, or pop my line?” “Don’t you worry, Baby. Today is the day. But it is ‘pop your bait,’ not your line. Look, the wind has laid down, it is warm, and remember what the guide said on the dock: They are stacked up like cord wood.” “What do guides know? They always say that. They just get us non-catching bull red fishermen salivating and thinking today is going to be the day.” “Gosh-darnit, Baby! That guy has my favorite spot out there on the jetties. Okay, no problem, we will just go down here a bit. Umm, I wonder… well, maybe right about here. No, this is no good. Maybe down a little farther. Yikes, we better not get too close to the rocks. Rocks and fiberglass are not a good combination. No, I think I should come out a little more. Gosh, I sure wish my trolling motor was working. I wonder if

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those reds are up against the rocks. I wonder what the depth is here. It sure would help if I knew the depth. Man, I wish I had remembered the Lowrance. Darn, I really wanted that spot up there… is that guy still there? Crap! We are facing the wrong way, better turn around. The current is going to push us right into the rocks if I anchor up like this. Yep, better turn around.” For the love of Mike! (Who is Mike anyway?) I want to get my rod in the water. All right, already! And men think women have a hard time making up their minds. “Okay, Baby, we are all set. Look out, fish, here she comes!” Finally, shrimp on hook and rod in water. Now come here, Mr. Red! No more fooling around. Gosh, I can’t remember—do I bounce it along, let it lay on the bottom, or reel it in a little at a time? Oh, great! They are going to know… those reds are going to know it is me. “David, the current is too strong. It is pulling my line into the boat.” “Yeah, I know. We probably need to move.” Move? I just started fishing. What about the catching part? How is a gurl suppose to find her groove if we keep moving? “Is that guy still in my spot?” “Wait! David, I’ve got something!” “Okay! Remember, pull up, and reel down. That’s it! Good job. Not too fast. Keep the line taut. Take your time.” Take my time? Why is it that everything requires patience? “He feels pretty big. Not huge or anything, but pretty big.” Gosh, the picture! David is going to take my picture with my redfish. I hope my hair looks all right. Oh, man, my lipstick! I didn’t put on any lipstick! Okay, well, just suck in your stomach. Please, please let it be a red! I know it is not a bull red. It is not strong enough, but it feels like it is a decent size. What is that? Crap! Where is the spot? I do not see a spot!

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It must have a spot! All redfish have spots! “Hey, Baby, it’s a sheepshead! A good size sheepshead, too! My, my, that is a big sheepshead.” “I don’t want no stinkin’ sheepshead! I ordered a redfish! We were hunting for redfish. The guide said they were stacked up like cordwood.” Liar, liar, pants on fire! Stupid dock talk. “Okay, I know what we will do: Let’s head over to the Military Cut. I always have good luck over there. It is warming up and I bet those reds will be in the flats about now.” Yah, yah, stacked up like cordwood. “This is the ticket! The wind has really laid down, the sun is out, nice and warm. Yep, I think we are in redfish alley.” Promises, promises! What is wrong with me? How come those redfish don’t like me? What is wrong with my bait? What, have I got gurl cooties? “David, David! Hold the phone! I’ve got one! Let’s see what we have here!” “Well, looky there! It is a redfish! Baby, you have a redfish.” “Let me see. Is it a big, honking red?” “It is puny! Pitifully small. That’s no good.” “I know, but if that one is there, then there most be others. I knew it! I knew we were in the right place.” “David!” “Another one? Jiminy, you just got your rod back in the water.” “Good night! Another small one! What is this? Miniature fishing?” “Be patient! They are down there.” Okay, fine! I can be patient! I can wait with the best of them. I’ve got plenty of shrimp, a number of rigged up rods, a sunny day. You pesky pescafish might be able to hide but you cannot run… or is it run but ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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cannot hide? Oh, it doesn’t matter; put your rod back in the water. “Here we go!” “Baby! Another one? I can’t even get my rod in the water before you’ve got one on the line again.” “Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap, too small!” Fine, so you reds want to play hardball, huh? Let’s load her up and put two shrimp on this time. Come on, Big Daddy! “Uh, David! Here we go!” “Baby, what are you up to now, six?” “Who cares! Look, it is minuscule. A pitiful excuse for a fish! This is starting to tick me off!” “Oh, my! Baby, look at that! I have never seen that!” “What? Seen what?” “Look at this fish’s spots.” Spot… spots. So what? I wanted that big bull red. One that you can take back to the dock and everyone says, “Now, that is a fine fish! You reel that in all by yourself, young lady?” “Holy mackerel! Look at the spots on this fish! I don’t think I have ever seen that many spots on a red before.” “Big deal! Spots, schmotz. David, it might as well be a sardine.” “No, no, I know, but I bet you are one of the few that has caught a redfish with that many spots. Look, it has one, two… eight, no, over 11 spots. I wonder what the record is for catching a redfish with the most spots?” Record? What do those spots mean? Is that a sign of age? Is that a mutation? Possibly a rare fish? “Really? Are they rare? Hard to catch? Not too many of these types around, huh?” “I have never seen that many spots on one fish before. Two, maybe three spots, but not this many. Pretty darn rare if you ask me” “Well, Captain, you sure know how to show a gurl a good time. I guess you know where to find those rare ones.” So, what is the big deal about catching a bull red anyway? All kinds of people have caught those. Nothing special about that, right? Yah, yah that’s… I’m the gurl that catches the rarest, the most peculiar, the weirdest, the oddest, and, yes, the one with the most spots, the one in a million gene pool mutation. When I get back, I am going to tell those guys on the dock: “What, you’ve never seen

a fish like that? Well, I am the gurl that can catch the idiosyncratic fish. What? Idiosyncratic? Too big of a word for you fellas? Whad-ja say? You’ve never seen that many spots on a red before? “It is all in the technique. You must have just the right finesse. Know just where to go. If you really want to catch these rare fish, the peculiar creatures of the sea, you have to load up your bait and then ever so gently flick your wrists back and forth. Not too fast, you understand. Those idiosyncratic fish are

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tricky. They can smell a novice a mile away. One wrong move and they won’t take your bait. “Yep, it takes years of practice and, of course, the patience of Job. “Nope, you can’t rush these things. Just keep at it. “Don’t worry, your day will come.” E-mail Mari Henry at gurlz@fishgame.com.

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Crowkiller

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One fall morning somewhere in the midnineties, he and I, along with our wives, were listening to country music beside the ever-present fire when several crows set up a

by Reavis Z. Wortham racket not far away. I knew Steve’s penchant for crow hunting, because he loves the activ-

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ity so much he has even created a business card called Crow Population Zero. He distributes the card to anyone willing to go crow hunting with him. “Watch this,” I told our spouses. Knagg rushed to his truck, handed me a shotgun, and plugged in a cassette tape. Through the open doors, a veritable cacophony emerged, enraging the nearby crows. PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

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They called for reinforcements, and then swarmed the area. I readied the shotgun, but the thick pine trees offered too much cover to the crows. Knagg pointed out an opening in the canopy above and cranked up the volume on his truck radio. The crows responded and when one flew across the open space backlit by blue sky, I hammered him. The bird fell, the others quickly departed, and I turned to find my best friend with a smile a mile wide. “You just love this, don’t you?” I asked. “Yep,” he said. “I’d rather hunt crows than to fish.” Now, that statement carried a lot of weight with this boy. The first time I’d witnessed his fixation for crow hunting came during a week long campaign to Florida and Georgia, when he was running for office in our professional organization, which will remain unnamed for reasons you’ll understand later. We stopped for gas along a rural highway somewhere in southern Georgia. As I pumped fuel into the rental car, a number of crows set up a racket across the highway. Knagg instantly went on point like a bird

dog, and then responded in a way that should be studied by psychologists. “Caaaaa!” he screeched, performing a pretty good imitation of a Texas crow. The crows immediately silenced and stared downward at us. “You Georgia crows have the stupidest call I’ve ever heard!” he shouted toward the tall pines across the road. Other customers at the pumps quickly completed their business and hurried away. “Caaaa!” Steve called over and over again, finally agitating the crows to the point that several more joined the action. They flew back and forth over the road, resting on highline wires and in the surrounding pine trees. “Wish we had a shotgun,” he said as we drove away from the maddened crows that forgot they’re supposed to be one of the wariest birds in North America. “You’re weird,” I told him. “You should get control of yourself when there are crows around.” “I just love to hunt them,” he answered. “Write about it,” I told him. Steve was a newspaper columnist for the Belo organization at the time. “People would enjoy your

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views on crow hunting.” That’s one suggestion I should have kept to myself. He wrote a column about crow hunting and after publication, he found himself in the midst of a storm of threatening letters from anti-hunters across the south. Some called for his dismissal from his job as a public servant because he hunted nongame animals. Some said he was in violation of state and federal laws for hunting crows (he wasn’t), and others simply wanted his head on a platter for admitting that he liked to hunt. After successfully weathering the long, vicious storm, he and I decided that a little research on crow hunting was in order, just in case we found ourselves in the midst of another hunting controversy. The American crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos (I’ve always wanted to write something in Latin), is kin to ravens, magpies, and jays. They are found just about everywhere in the Lone Star State: in open fields, heavily wooded areas, and the open prairie. Unfortunately, they are also found on croplands and in orchards, where large numbers of these omnivorous birds can do consider-

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able damage to cash crops. These birds will eat anything from grains, fruits, berries, and insects, to small mammals, roadkill, snakes, and discarded Big Macs. They are one of the most intelligent of all birds, and with their sharp eyesight and extreme wariness, seem to know exactly when and where to congregate just outside of shotgun range. Several of the angry letters Knagg received in the wake of his hunting column alleged that the birds are protected. That’s untrue. In Texas, crows are classified as unprotected birds and may be controlled without state or federal depredation permits where found committing, or about to commit, depredations on ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or when concentrated in numbers and in a manner that constitutes a health hazard or other nuisance. To me, that means they are pretty much

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fair game for licensed hunters. One letter suggested that shooting the bird without consuming the meat constituted an immoral act. There are numerous rea-

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Several angry letters alleged that the birds are protected. That’s untrue.

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sons for controlling this destructive bird. In agricultural areas, crows account for extensive damage to young plants. Their penchant for pulling up sprouting wheat and

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young corn is a nasty habit that costs farmers millions of dollars each year. In large masses, the birds can descend upon cultivated fruits and nuts, resulting in total crop losses. In those same large numbers, they also impact waterfowl populations, breaking open and eating the eggs, and by pecking to death and devouring fledglings. Recent years have been good to crows. These intelligent birds have joined other birds and mammals in adapting to urban environments. Crows and grackles (another highly destructive bird) form roosts in beltways and green spaces within city limits, fouling suburban areas with droppings and bringing the risks of disease to areas formerly safe from their contact. Their arrival also impacts local songbird populations and have driven many desirable birds away from their original nesting areas. A crow’s sensitivity to West Nile Virus

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and their gregarious roosting habits have concerned biologists with the possibility of them carrying this dangerous virus. They have been identified as a carrier and research is now underway to determine whether they can spread the disease due to their migratory nature. With all that said, crows are admired by many hunters due to their wary nature and intelligence, and because they provide an extended hunting season to those who enjoy shotgunning. It also gives youngsters an excellent start to bird hunting and, as mentioned, allowing shotgunners the opportunity to hunt year-round. Crows respond well to calls, both manual and electronic. Crow calling is raucous and annoying to many hunters like me. Knagg uses electronic calls almost exclusively, but he is one of the only people I have known who is successful at simply opening his truck doors and turning up the cassette tape. We have used my Johnny Stewart game calls with much success. Setting up just inside the treeline bordering a wide pasture, the powerful call and varied tapes of crows

feeding, fighting, or in danger, always brings them within effective shotgun range, at least until they figure out that they’ve been set up. The tape of a great horned owl acts like a crow magnet. Crows love a good fight, and a murder of crows (that’s the name for a group of crows, a murder, honest; it is said the name came from their propensity to kill, or murder, a wounded fellow crow) will get together to attack owls or even hawks. One successful technique I learned long ago is to shoot and call at the same time. As soon as a shot is taken and a bird falls, blow a distress call, or keep the caller on. Hearing that a fellow crow needs assistance, and recognizing that something out of the ordinary has happened to a friend, the murder will usually turn back to give him a hand, ensuring even more shooting. This success hinges on complete camouflage. A properly hidden hunter can shoot until his gun runs dry, but if he is seen, the hunt is suddenly over. Blinds for crows can be constructed just like duck blinds. Remember crows are smart, so use native cover to construct the blind. At the same time, camouflage is essential, so don’t show

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up in jeans and a denim shirt. A great horned owl decoy is always effective. Place one in the open and scatter a few black feathers around before beginning your call. Once a sharp-eyed scout sees the simulated carnage, he will call his friends and then they all join in for a good old-fashioned attack on their historical foe. This decoy, coupled with your calling, is sure to provide good shooting for novices and experienced hunters. For best results, use whatever shotgun you normally carry into the field; 12, 20, or 16 gauges all work well in the hands of experienced hunters. Knagg and I prefer 12 gauges loaded with No. 6 shot because of greater range and better knockdown power. This challenging bird provides an outstanding way to extend an all-too-short hunting season, is beneficial to farmers, and improves the marksmanship of any bird hunter.

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Conservation Marathon

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PHOTO BY LISA MOORE

HE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE FOUND FISHING back in focus for me, and working with some conservation projects. Check it out: Last year I had the pleasure of workA ing with the Golden Triangle Chapter

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE, SR.

of CCA to capture speckled trout and southern flounder from Sabine Lake for broodstock at Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson. Here, I am checking out one of the two trout tanks. These southern flounder came from B Texas Fish & Game’s first “Operation:

Broodstock” mission to capture flounder with CCA for Sea Center. These will be spawned by the time this magazine hits newsstands, and hopefully stocked into Sabine Lake if all goes well. There is also a tank at Sea Center for Galveston flounder as well.

Yes, it was sprinkling, cold, and nasty, but I had a blast fishing and hunting on Baffin Bay with Capt. Aubrey Black and Bruce Miller. C

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Sabine Lake: Louisiana Eyeing Oyster Reef

FTER HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA ravaged much of Louisiana’s oystering grounds, Bayou State officials considered opening har vest on Sabine Lake. In particular, they were looking at the big reef on the south end that so many anglers depend on for speckled trout fishing in the spring. “This reef is very important for Sabine Lake, as during the winter and spring it holds most of the forage for game fishes and is a key habitat for species like redfish and speckled trout,” said Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) Sabine Lake ecosystem manager Jerry Mambretti. “Louisiana’s interest in harvesting from that reef inspired us to get a grant from the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to map out and study that reef, and all of the hard bottom in Sabine Lake, and asses its value from an ecological standpoint.” The reef is believed to have never had commercial harvest, and could be the only “virgin” oyster reef on the Gulf Coast. “We looked as far back as the 1960s in the records and could find nothing regarding harvest from there,” Mambretti said. “By studying such a pristine reef, it gives us a chance to learn much about those types of systems and to learn how to better manage them.” Part of the TPWD grant will go toward a Doppler sonar-equipped boat that will map out Sabine Lake’s entire bottom up to about 18 inches in depth. That will get most of the lake and allow Mambretti and his crew to assess just how much hard bottom the system has. Besides the big reef on the south end, C70

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there are several pockets of mussel on the north end as well. Fishery managers are also looking at creating more reef habitat on Sabine Lake. This would involve putting down limestone, which would give oysters something on which to cling. “This will be a very comprehensive project and one that should be very beneficial to the management of Sabine Lake and its fisheries,” Mambretti said. Louisiana seems to have moved on to other areas for oyster harvest, but the threat still looms over the area. Largescale commercial harvest of oyster is very disruptive to a fishery, and could cause negative changes. Mambretti said that by learning the true value and scope of the reef, TPWD would be better equipped to ensure its management in the future. “We will begin this process late this spring or perhaps in early summer, and look forward to learning more about something that is so important to not only the Sabine Lake ecosystem, but recreational anglers in our area,” Mambretti said. —Chester Moore •••

Matagorda Gillnet Numbers Show Slight Decline The autumn gillnet surveys for East Matagorda Bay have been tallied. In the

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December 2007 issue, Texas Fish & Game reported about a push to ban croaker as live bait in that bay system, led by fishing guide Capt. Bill Pustejovsky. While long-term fisheries surveys show a gradual increase in the bay’s trout population, Pustejovsky called for autumn 2007 data, claiming the influence of croaker has been strongest over the past year. “I fish that bay every day and there has been a definite decline in the number of big fish we see,” Pustejovsky said. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Bill Balboa, the estimate for autumn 2007 is around 0.6 trout per hour, down slightly from autumn of 2006, which was around 0.7. There has been a decline, but for comparison, the catch rate was down to around 0.4 in autumn 2005 and then shot back up the following fall. “Fluctuations in catch rates are common and there are many factors that can be involved,” Balboa said. The spring catch rate was the highest ever on record since TPWD has been conducting surveys on East Matagorda Bay, beginning in 1985. The catch rate then was around 1.4 trout per hour. Balboa said that autumn numbers are usually below the spring numbers because of the habits of speckled trout, which typically leave shoreline areas and move into more open water. This year, heavy rains and low salinity levels were likely a factor. “It was wetter this year than in any of the 11 years I have worked down there,” Balboa said. “In July, we had as much freshwater inflow as we usually get in a year, and that in and of itself can make a huge difference. It has a domino effect as it pushes out bait and predators to find suitable salinities.” According to Balboa, the Galveston Bay Complex had a virtual mirror image in terms of spring versus autumn decline in catch rates, most likely due to environ-

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mental conditions. What does this mean for the push to ban croaker? At a meeting in Bay City last November, Balboa recommended interested parties form a grass roots effort if they wish to make any regulation changes. “We will certainly be monitoring what is going on out there,” Balboa said. “We are not going to let the fishery crash. We have proven that with what the department did in Lower Laguna Madre. We are always keeping a watchful eye on things.” —Chester Moore •••

Biofuel Might Contribute to Gulf “Dead Zone” In a story that appeared in the December 2007 issue about the Gulf “dead zone”, an oxygen depleted plume of water in the Gulf of Mexico, we reported the

zone was expanding and moving into Texas waters. New studies suggest the push for biofuel (ethanol) might be contributing to the expansion. According to an Associated Press article, with demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly, with devastating consequences. “We might be coming close to a tipping point,” said Matt Rota, director of the water resources program for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental group cited in the AP article. “The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted.” According to the article, “Environmentalists had hoped to cut nitrogen runoff by encouraging farmers to apply less fertilizer and establish buffers along waterways. But the demand for the cornbased fuel additive ethanol has driven up the price for the crop, which is selling for about $4 per bushel, up from a little more than $2 in 2002. “That enticed American farmers, mostly in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North

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Dakota, and South Dakota, to plant more than 93 million acres of corn in 2007, the most since 1944. They substituted corn for other crops, or made use of land not previously in cultivation.” The problem is that corn absorbs less nitrogen and much of the rest end ups in streams and travels down rivers into the Gulf. “The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that up to 210 million pounds of nitrogen fertilizer enter the Gulf of Mexico each year. Scientists had no immediate estimate for 2007, but said they expect the amount of fertilizer going into streams to increase with more acres of corn planted.” The result was the third largest dead zone on record (since 1985), and many bottom dwelling species such as crab dying in huge numbers. The AP article cited Louisiana crabbers complaining of pulling up many traps full of dead crab last year.

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Venison Chili W

of methods keep our minds occupied until we watch that venison on the hoof show up at the feeder. Now, with your harvest packaged and put up for the winter, some really cold Arctic air shows up. Neighbor, how long has it been since you had a big, thick, steaming bowl of venison chili? Well, that’s too long.

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2 lbs. “chili grind” beef chuck roast 1 lb. venison backstrap, cubed in 3/4inch pieces

Seasoning Bag No. 1

(make by placing ingredients in three layers of cheesecloth and tying up into a “bag”)

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4 Tbs chili powder (dark ancho) 3 cloves garlic 1 medium white onion 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Seasoning Bag No. 2

3 Tbs Sweet Chipotle Season All 3 Tbs cumin 2 tsp garlic powder 1/16 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp oregano leaf 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

PHOTOS BY JIM OLIVE

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Other Ingredients 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Swanson Chicken Broth 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Swanson Beef Broth 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes 1 can (8 oz.) Hunts “No Salt Added” tomato sauce 1 Knorr Beef Bullion cube 1 tsp light brown sugar 1 beer, Bock style Add room temperature meat to a hot cast iron skillet, brown until it starts to make it’s own juice. Stir continuously while adding both cans of broth, and Bag No. 1. Cook covered at a medium boil for 45 minutes. Uncover and stir every 10 minutes. Add water and beer as needed. Add tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and add Bag No. 2. Add one beef bullion cube. Add 1/2 tsp light brown sugar.

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Use the following to season to taste:

Be sure to catch The Texas Gourmet on the Academy Outdoors Show Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Southwest, 8:30 a.m. CST.

Salt Cayenne Pepper (for hot front taste) White Pepper (for hot front taste) Brown Sugar (for a sweeter taste)

S P O N S O R E D BY:

Contact Bryan Slaven, "The Texas Gourmet," at 888-234-7883, www.thetexasgourmet.com; or by email at

Ready to eat, but better the next day. Bon appetite.

KITCHEN SAFETY TIPS

OOD POISONING SICKENS MILLIONS OF consumers every year. We will be featuring a set of food safety tips with each of my monthly articles to educate you, the hunter, fisherman, or outdoor enthusiast about ways to protect your family and friends when handling food in a variety of circumstances. This months tips are about creating new traditions from old habits. These tips are from The American Dietetic Association (www.homefoodsafety.org/pages/ti ps/tips/holiday.jsp). Although these tips were written with holidays in mind, they apply any time. —Bryan Slaven

Reckless Thawing Old Habit: More than one out of four Americans admit to thawing their frozen meat dish on the kitchen counter, in the oven or even under hot water in the kitchen sink. New Tradition: To prevent the spread of harmful bacteria, frozen meats should be thawed (and marinated, for that matter) in a refrigerator set below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If pressed for time, you can thaw a wrapped frozen turkey (breast-side down) in a sink C74

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filled with cold tap water, making sure to change the water every 30 minutes.

packing your cold dish in a cooler or hot dish in an insulated bag to keep it safe and bacteria-free.

Holding Out on Hot Stuff

Rocking the Gravy Boat

Old Habit: When preparing a cooked dish that needs to chill (for storage or serving purposes), nearly four out of five home cooks think it’s necessary to wait until foods cool before putting them in the refrigerator. New Tradition: Once upon a time, placing hot foods in the refrigerator could lower the overall temperature of the fridge and cause foods to spoil. Not anymore. To ensure the freshness and safety of your freshly cooked foods, place them promptly in the refrigerator after cooking—no need to wait.

Old Habit: While a majority (71 percent) of home cooks remembers to bring gravy to a boil before serving it, many forget the same rule also applies during the encore presentation. In fact, more than half just reheat leftover gravy in the microwave until it’s hot before serving again. New Tradition: In order to eliminate harmful bacteria, always bring leftover gravy to a boil on the stove before serving it a second or even third time.

Covered Dish Delivery Old Habit: Three out of five potluck diners typically travel for at least one hour with their homemade covered dish to the dinner party. New Tradition: Pay close attention to how much time passes from the time you leave your door until your dish is eaten. If it’s more than two hours, consider

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The 5-second Floor Rule Old Habit: Nearly one out of four Americans say they abide by a specific “rule” to determine how long food is safe to eat after it falls on the floor, with the majority giving a green light to food rescued within three seconds. New Tradition: Tragic as it may be when a holiday treat topples to the floor, it’s never a good idea to eat it. In the spirit of “out with the old, in with the new,” toss it.

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Texas & the Legislative Process

EGISLATIVE YEARS ARE TRADITIONALLY BUSY for CCA Texas and our lobbyists in Austin. The 80th Texas Legislature in 2007 was no exception. With an avalanche of bills relating to our coastal

by Luke Giles resources, CCA Texas’ lobbyists Joey Park and Billy Phenix were in constant action in an effort to insure Texas legislators would hear the voices of over 50,000 CCA Texas members. With the 80th Texas Legislature barely in the rearview mirror, sights are already being set on 2009 and the 81st Texas Legislature. As always, CCA Texas will be in the thick of the action fighting for laws that ensure a healthy resource for future Texans to cherish. The 80th Texas Legislature drew to a close after 140 days of often-contentious debate over a variety of issues. Among these issues were a furious attempt to unseat the Speaker of the House and several attempts at challenging the Governor’s authority on several key issues. It was a lively and historic session. CCA Texas was heavily involved in several fights related to conservation. Perhaps the most important of these was the struggle to ensure proper amounts of inflows from our state’s streams and rivers reached our bays and estuaries. Sufficient freshwater inflows are vital for the health of our coastal resources; without freshwater many species in our saltwater habitats would be in serious jeopardy.

Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 3 went a long way in addressing the needs of our bays and estuaries relating to freshwater inflows. These bills, passed late in the session, will for the first time require the state to set aside freshwater for our natural coastal needs. Included in the bills is the establishment of the Environmental Flows Advisory Group and studies will be conducted to determine the sufficient amounts required to maintain the health of each of the state’s bay systems. Another important aspect of Senate Bill 3 is it allows for the conversion of senior water rights that have been held for other purposes, to be converted to environmental flow permits and allows for that water to be delivered to a bay system associated with the confluence of a particular river. CCA Texas was also in the center of the fight for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) funding. Millions of dollars generated through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses were going unspent by the Legislature. These monies were raised through Texas’ hunters and anglers with the intent they would be spent to improve the quality of their respective sports. CCA Texas worked tirelessly to successfully have these monies appropriated back to the department for their intended purposes. Now TPWD has millions more to spend on fishing and hunting related activities as well as hatcheries, game wardens and biologists. Simply because 2008 is not a legislative year does not mean there is not important business being undertaken in Austin. In the coming months the legislature and Sunset Advisory Commission will be reviewing how TPWD conducts business. CCA Texas will be an active participant in these meetings to ensure that TPWD is given the authority and financial backing needed to continue its many programs benefiting Texas’ coastal resources. Also, many of the legislative committees that oversee our state’s natural resources will begin having very important meetings in 2008. Many critical aspects of the people’s A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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business will be decided far in advance of the actual January 13, 2009, starting date for the 81st Legislature. In order to ensure the voice of conservationists is heard loud and clear, CCA Texas will have a strong presence at these meetings. In 2008, CCA Texas will continue to advocate and fight for Texas’ precious coastal resources. In so doing we will be talking with and informing members of the Texas Legislature in preparation for the coming 2009 legislative session. CCA Texas will once again be at the forefront of the conservation charge, ensuring the right thing is done for our resources so that future generations of Texans might enjoy them as much as their predecessors.

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GALVESTON

Evan Swa nso First Redfi n sh Coastal B end Outdoors

PORT ARANSAS

CORPUS CHRISTI tt Steve Sco Striper press Striper Ex e ic rv e S e id u G

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4670, ext. 5579.

TEXAS SALTWATER

ROCKPORT

BAFFIN BAY

GALVESTON

PORT ARANSAS

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TEXAS FRESHWATER

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Joey Austin 27.5-inch Trout ce Hillman Guide Servi

TEXAS FRESHWATER

Captain David Best um 62-pound Black Dr Caught /Released Best Guide Service

David Cardoshinsky Mahi-Mahi Coastal Bend Outdo ors

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

TEXAS HUNTING

LAKE TEXOMA

LAKE AMISTAD

COLORADO

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4670, ext. 5579.

SPOTLIGHT: COASTAL BEND OUTDOORS After years of taking friends and family members on their first saltwater adventures, I decided to take the next step and get my captain’s licence to get the title Captain Matt Danysh. Upon suggestion for the website address, the name Coastal Bend Outdoors was born. I have spent my whole life fishing near Corpus Christi, Texas, in the Upper Laguna Madre to Port Aransas and hunting the south Texas area. In my custom 22-foot Baymaster boat we can run the flats for speckled trout and redfish then fish drop-offs for flounder or other bay species. If deep blue water is your passion, we are headed out the jetties in our 26-foot twin outboard Offshore Power Boat (that’s the manufacture of the boat) in search of, but not limited to, kingfish, ling, mahi-mahi, wahoo, amberjacks, tuna, and bottom dwellers like snapper and grouper. During colder months, Jody, my retriever, and I target waterfowl in the bays and freshwater of the south Texas area with usual limits of redheads and other ducks like pintails, scaup, buffleheads, widgeon, and teal. We can accommodate almost any party with proper time to schedule. There are many different options in my area for any group or the whole family, from hotels to condos where you can be picked up on the water from your lodging. Call 361-9465200 or log on to www.CoastalBendOutdoors.com for more information or view our massive photo gallery. Come see me for your next saltwater hunting or fishing adventure. Capt. Matt Danysh 361-946-5200 www.CoastalBendOutdoors.com CaptMatt@coastalbendoutdoors.com A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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DEER—CROCKETT COUNTY, TEXAS

RAINBOW TROUT—CARL BARTON PARK, CONROE

Christopher Wheeless, age 10, of Round Rock, Texas, shot his first whitetail deer while hunting with his dad, Pat, at his grandfather’s ranch in Crockett County. He used a .222 at 80 yards.

Nine-year-old veteran angler, Dominic Nunciato and 5-year-old rookie angler, Gracie Nunciato, of Conroe, Texas, limited out on rainbow trout at Carl Barton Park. Both were using spinning rods with 4-pound-test and kernels of corn fished on the bottom.

DOE—CONCHO COUNTY, TEXAS

DEER—COTULLA, TEXAS

REDFISH—PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS

Benjamin Goff took this 60-pound doe with a .243 at 57 yards while hunting in Concho County on his grandfather’s deer lease. This was Benjamin’s first year to hunt.

Michael Andrews (seen with friends on right, holding deer’s tail) from Crosby, Texas, bagged this spike in Cotulla, Texas, in La Salle County. The deer weighed 120 pounds dressed out.

Kayla Sassin of San Antonio, Texas, admires her first keeper redfish, a 2 4-incher, caught while fishing near Port Aransas with sister Myriah, dad Cory, and grandparents Dan and LaVerne. She ended her day with her limit of three.

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO:

TF&G PHOTO ALBUM

1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

Note: All non-digital photos submitted become the property of Texas Fish & Game and will not be returned. TF&G makes no guarantee when or if any submitted photo will be published.

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LARGEMOUTH BASS—TAYLOR, TEXAS

FLOUNDER—BOLIVAR PENINSULA, TEXAS

Emmitt J. Fitzgerald caught these nice bass at a L-R Julia Ellisor and her daught Quitta Everitt of friend’s pond in Taylor, Texas. The fish were caught San Jacinto County, Texas, caught this nice using a Bubblegum Slug-Go. stringer of flounder at Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula. This was Julia’s first–but definitely not last!–flounder trip.

TROUT—BAFFIN BAY, TEXAS Candy Pepper from Houston, Texas, caught this 10-pound, 29-inch speckled trout–the biggest of her life–while fishing in Baffin Bay with Rick Swantner and guide John Mendleski of Corpus Christi.

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Crowkiller

EFORE HIS RECENT RETIREMENT, MY running buddy, Steve Knagg, and I spent a considerable amount of time at his country place in Centerville, Texas. Amidst several cabins scattered beneath tall pines, an open fire pit seemed to burn continuously. There we gathered with friends and family to enjoy the outdoors and unwind from stressful jobs. One fall morning somewhere in the midnineties, he and I, along with our wives, were listening to country music beside the ever-present fire when several crows set up a racket not far away. I knew Steve’s penchant for crow hunting, because he loves the activity so much he has even created a business card called Crow Population Zero. He distributes the card to anyone willing to go crow hunting with him. “Watch this,” I told our spouses. Knagg rushed to his truck, handed me a shotgun, and plugged in a cassette tape. Through the open doors, a veritable cacophony emerged, enraging the nearby crows. They called for reinforcements, and then

PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

swarmed the area. I readied the shotgun, but the thick pine trees offered too much cover to the crows. Knagg pointed out an opening in the canopy above and cranked up the volume on his truck radio. The crows responded and when one flew across the open space backlit

by Reavis Z. Wortham by blue sky, I hammered him. The bird fell, the others quickly departed, and I turned to find my best friend with a smile a mile wide. “You just love this, don’t you?” I asked. “Yep,” he said. “I’d rather hunt crows than to fish.” Now, that statement carried a lot of weight with this boy. The first time I’d witnessed his fixation for crow hunting came during a week long campaign to Florida and Georgia, when he was running for office in our professional organization, which will remain unnamed for reasons you’ll understand later. We stopped for gas along a rural highway A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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somewhere in southern Georgia. As I pumped fuel into the rental car, a number of crows set up a racket across the highway. Knagg instantly went on point like a bird dog, and then responded in a way that should be studied by psychologists. “Caaaaa!” he screeched, performing a pretty good imitation of a Texas crow. The crows immediately silenced and stared downward at us. “You Georgia crows have the stupidest call I’ve ever heard!” he shouted toward the tall pines across the road. Other customers at the pumps quickly completed their business and hurried away. “Caaaa!” Steve called over and over again, finally agitating the crows to the point that several more joined the action. They flew back and forth over the road, resting on highline wires and in the surrounding pine trees. “Wish we had a shotgun,” he said as we drove away from the maddened crows that forgot they’re supposed to be one of the wariest birds in North America. “You’re weird,” I told him. “You should &

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In This Issue

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INDUSTRY INSIDER • Evinrude, Ande, and more | BY TF&G STAFF

HOW-TO SECTION

COVER STORY • Crowkiller | BY REAVIS Z. WORTHAM

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

TEXAS HOTSPOTS • Texas’ Hottest Fishing Spots | BY CALIXTO GONZALES & JD MOORE

I18

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides, Solunar Table, Best Hunting/Fishing Times | BY TF&G STAFF

GEARING UP SECTION

I26

TEXAS TESTED • Mann’s Bait Co., Texas Trout Killer, and more | BY TF&G STAFF

I28

NEW PRODUCTS • What’s New From Top Outdoor Manufacturers | BY TF&G STAFF

I40 I42 I43 I44 I46 I50 I52 I54 I56

TEXAS BOATING • Boat Math | BY LENNY RUDOW SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • T-Ball Rig | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Shallow-Water Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW MISTER CRAPPIE • Shooting Docks for Crappie | BY WALLY MARSHALL TEXAS KAYAKING • The Wind is Your Friend | BY GREG BERLOCHER TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Varmint Cartridges Today | BY STEVE LAMASCUS HUNT TEXAS • Old Guns | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS OUTDOOR LAW • Warden Games | BY WAYNE C. WATSON WILDERNESS TRAILS • The Lostrider | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

I34

SHOOT THIS • Thompson/Center Icon Rifle | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

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SPECIAL HUNTING SECTION • Trophy Fever | BY TF&G STAFF WOO’S CORNER • Topwater, Cranking, & Carolina Rigging | BY WOO DAVES TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Young Gun | BY MATT WILLIAMS ON & OFF THE ROAD • ATV Deaths Decline | BY TF&G STAFF GURLZ PAGE • It’s All in the Spots | BY MARI HENRY MY PLACE OUTDOORS • Killing a Friend | BY RYAN VICK SPORTING TALES • How to Worm a Redfish | BY GREG BERLOCHER AFIELD WITH BARRY • The Lost Art of Tying Knots | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR TEXAS TASTED • Venison Chili | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

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get control of yourself when there are crows around.” “I just love to hunt them,” he answered. “Write about it,” I told him. Steve was a newspaper columnist for the Belo organization at the time. “People would enjoy your views on crow hunting.” That’s one suggestion I should have kept to myself. He wrote a column about crow hunting and after publication, he found himself in the midst of a storm of threatening letters from anti-hunters across the south. Some called for his dismissal from his job as a public servant because he hunted nongame animals. Some said he was in violation of state and federal laws for hunting crows (he wasn’t), and others simply wanted his head on a platter for admitting that he liked to hunt.

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Several of the angry letters Knagg received in the wake of his hunting column alleged that the birds are protected. That’s untrue. In Texas, crows are classified as unprotected birds and may be controlled without state or federal depredation permits where found committing, or about to com-

mit, depredations on ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or when concentrated in numbers and in a manner that constitutes a health hazard or other nuisance. To me, that means they are pretty much fair game for licensed hunters.

The American crow is kin to ravens, magpies, and jays.

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After successfully weathering the long, vicious storm, he and I decided that a little research on crow hunting was in order, just in case we found ourselves in the midst of another hunting controversy. The American crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos (I’ve always wanted to write something in Latin), is kin to ravens, magpies, and jays. They are found just about everywhere in the Lone Star State: in open fields, heavily wooded areas, and the open prairie. Unfortunately, they are also found on croplands and in orchards, where large numbers of these omnivorous birds can do considerable damage to cash crops. These birds will eat anything from grains, fruits, berries, and insects, to small mammals, roadkill, snakes, and discarded Big Macs. They are one of the most intelligent of all birds, and with their sharp eyesight and extreme wariness, seem to know exactly when and where to congregate just outside of shotgun range. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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One letter suggested that shooting the bird without consuming the meat constituted an immoral act. There are numerous reasons for controlling this destructive bird. In agricultural areas, crows account for extensive damage to young plants. Their penchant for pulling up sprouting wheat and young corn is a nasty habit that costs farmers millions of dollars each year. In large masses, the birds can descend upon cultivated fruits and nuts, resulting in total crop losses. In those same large numbers, they also impact waterfowl populations, breaking open and eating the eggs, and by pecking to death and devouring fledglings. Recent years have been good to crows. These intelligent birds have joined other birds and mammals in adapting to urban environments. Crows and grackles (another highly destructive bird) form roosts in beltways and green spaces within city limits,

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fouling suburban areas with droppings and bringing the risks of disease to areas formerly safe from their contact. Their arrival also impacts local songbird populations and have

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One successful technique I learned long ago is to shoot and call at the same time.

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driven many desirable birds away from their original nesting areas. A crow’s sensitivity to West Nile Virus and their gregarious roosting habits have

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concerned biologists with the possibility of them carrying this dangerous virus. They have been identified as a carrier and research is now underway to determine whether they can spread the disease due to their migratory nature. With all that said, crows are admired by many hunters due to their wary nature and intelligence, and because they provide an extended hunting season to those who enjoy shotgunning. It also gives youngsters an excellent start to bird hunting and, as mentioned, allowing shotgunners the opportunity to hunt year-round. Crows respond well to calls, both manual and electronic. Crow calling is raucous and annoying to many hunters like me. Knagg uses electronic calls almost exclusively, but he is one of the only people I have known who is successful at simply opening his truck doors and turning up the cassette tape.

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We have used my Johnny Stewart game calls with much success. Setting up just inside the treeline bordering a wide pasture, the powerful call and varied tapes of crows feeding, fighting, or in danger, always brings them within effective shotgun range, at least until they figure out that they’ve been set up. The tape of a great horned owl acts like a crow magnet. Crows love a good fight, and a murder of crows (that’s the name for a group of crows, a murder, honest; it is said the name came from their propensity to kill, or murder, a wounded fellow crow) will get together to attack owls or even hawks. One successful technique I learned long ago is to shoot and call at the same time. As soon as a shot is taken and a bird falls, blow a distress call, or keep the caller on. Hear-

ing that a fellow crow needs assistance, and recognizing that something out of the ordinary has happened to a friend, the murder will usually turn back to give him a hand, ensuring even more shooting. This success hinges on complete camouflage. A properly hidden hunter can shoot until his gun runs dry, but if he is seen, the hunt is suddenly over. Blinds for crows can be constructed just like duck blinds. Remember crows are smart, so use native cover to construct the blind. At the same time, camouflage is essential, so don’t show up in jeans and a denim shirt. A great horned owl decoy is always effective. Place one in the open and scatter a few black feathers around before beginning your call. Once a sharp-eyed scout sees the simu-

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lated carnage, he will call his friends and then they all join in for a good old-fashioned attack on their historical foe. This decoy, coupled with your calling, is sure to provide good shooting for novices and experienced hunters. For best results, use whatever shotgun you normally carry into the field; 12, 20, or 16 gauges all work well in the hands of experienced hunters. Knagg and I prefer 12 gauges loaded with No. 6 shot because of greater range and better knockdown power. This challenging bird provides an outstanding way to extend an all-too-short hunting season, is beneficial to farmers, and improves the marksmanship of any bird hunter.

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by Calixto Gonzales, South Zone Fishing Editor & JD Moore, North Zone Fishing Editor

Ballyhoo a Speck LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South Bay GPS: N26 1.785, W97 11.011

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo; topwaters early; soft plastics in white/chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, red/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Mild weather rolls in during spring, and the flood tides bring in fresh, warmer water into South Bay. Fish the grass flats for both trout and redfish that have rejuvenated appetites. Look for depth changes, potholes, and oyster clumps, or anything that trout might use as ambush points. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Color Change GPS: N26 10.429, W97 12.759 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp; soft plastics in chartreuse, Nuclear Chicken, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Luke Bonura, 956457-2101 TIPS: Fish the “trout green” water that marks the boundary between the grass flats and sand that stretches all the way to the ICW. The trout will mostly be just inside the murkier water. Live shrimp or a soft plastic can be fished under an Alameda or popping cork set around 24- to 28-inch depths. If the water is still under 65 degrees, work closer to the bottom. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre I6

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HOTSPOT: Long Bar GPS: N26 8.891, W97 17.740 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in red/white, new penny CONTACT: Captain Luke Bonura, 956457-2101 TIPS: Drift the length of the bar and work either live bait under a popping cork, or soft plastics near the bottom. Work with a steady, moderate pace. Trout are more aggressive in spring, but the larger fish are still deeper in the water column. Shad tails such as a Norton Bull Minnow are the best choices. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Dunkin Channel GPS: N26 20.170, W97 19.228 SPECIES: flounder BEST BAITS: live shrimp; Gulp! Shrimp in Nuclear Chicken, Lime Tiger; soft plastics in chartreuse patterns CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Flounder use channels to migrate in and out of bays when the water begins to warm. Work the edges of the channel during a high tide, the mouth of the channel on a falling tide. Use live shrimp or-better stilllive finger mullet on a split shot rig. Gulp! shrimp or shad are good artificials to use. These fish aren’t as aggressive as they are in the summer, and they tent to mouth the bait. When you feel dead weight on your line, be patient before setting the hook. Three to five seconds should do. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Cullen Channel GPS: N26 15.159, W97 17.273 SPECIES: redfish, flounder BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork; topwaters early; red spinnerbaits; soft plastics in clear/red, red/white, Pearl/red &

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Calixto

CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Flounder join redfish on hunts for forage when spring begins to warm the shallow waters that Cullen Channel links together. Fish when there is moving water, whether during a flood or ebb tide. If you are drifting the edges of the channel for redfish, use shrimp under a popping cork, or topwaters and spinnerbaits early in the morning. Flounder will be lurking along the drop-offs and will attack baits or jigs worked along the bottom. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Peyton’s Bay GPS: N26 25.948, W97 22.269 SPECIES: redfish, trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork; topwaters early; red spinnerbaits, soft plastics in clear/red, red/white, Pearl/red CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Fish the northern shoreline of Peyton’s. Line up with the spoil islands that bracket the yellow cabin and drift parallel to them in the 2- to 3-foot depths. On a clear day, you can see redfish working the bottom and you can cast to them with either a plastic/spinner combo or gold spoon. If you are prospecting, either a topwater or live shrimp/popping cork combination will help cover water until you locate fish. LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: East Cut GPS: N26 33.000, W97 17.029 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Gulp! Shrimp; soft plastics in Pearl/red, Strawberry/white; Topwaters in Bone, chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: When warm water starts flowing into the bay from the Gulf during spring, the

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cuts along the shoreline of the East Cut are the first to attract fish. Any fisherman who moseys up the cut will find some concentrations of chunky redfish and trout up there. Fish topwaters up in the cuts early in morning, move back as the sun rises up in the sky and fish the edges. Fish soft plastics deeper on a 1/4-ounce jighead. LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Community Bar GPS: N26 35.144, W97 25.644 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in red/white, Limetreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Warm water flowing in from the Gulf affects the West shoreline nearest to Port first. Trout and redfish start showing up around Community Bar before other areas. Captain Neal predicts that the fishing

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should start showing the results of the new five-fish bag limit this spring. Use soft plastics around the edges of the Bar to find both trout and redfish. Fish slowly to work deeper water.

Deviled Redfish LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Center Reef GPS: N27 16.206, W97 34.362

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Strawberry/black back, Plum/chartreuse, Rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse

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ters.com TIPS: Fish the edges of cuts and breaks along the causeway. Though topwaters are effective very early in the morning, you can also score with soft plastics fished on a 1/4ounce jighead worked near the bottom at a good clip. These fish are deep, but the change of season and warmer water has them aggressive. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Pure Oil Channel GPS: N27 32.462, W97 19.423 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Smoke, Limetreuse (offcolored water) CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Concentrate on the edges of the channel when looking for speckled trout. Live shrimp under a popping cork or a live pinfish or croaker on a 1/4-ounce fish-finder rig are very effective. Grinders can use shad tails in patterns that include chartreuse. If the water is off-colored, go all the way and use a bait in full Limetreuse. Use a 3/16- to

1/4-ounce jighead to work near the bottom. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: ICW GPS: N27 31.570, W97 17.850 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Smoke, Limetreuse (offcolored water) CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Captain Engel recommended that fishermen focus on areas where channel edges can be fished. The area where the Pure Oil Channel connects to the ICW is no exception. Both channels serve as migration routes for fish, and the intersection of the two is a good spot to try for some of them. Live bait can be fished on a free-line with a split shot, or under a popping cork. Soft plastics can be used under a cork, as well. It will force to fish more methodically. LOCATION: Gulf of Mexico HOTSPOT: Bob Hall Pier (bank access) GPS: N27 34.55, W97 13.07 SPECIES: speckled trout

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BEST BAITS: live finger mullet, shrimp; soft plastics in red/white, Glitter, Glow CONTACT: Bob Hall Pier, 361-948-8558 TIPS: If the sargassum weed isn’t too thick this April, night fishing for speckled trout can be steady. Most plank walkers use freelined live shrimp or finger mullet, but soft plastics produce quite well, too. Try the venerable Speck Rig with two Glow worms. If you hook a fish, then bring it in slowly, another trout may hit the trailing lure, and then the fun really begins. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Traylor Island GPS: N27 56.706, W97 4.437 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live croaker, perch; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Morning Glory CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Fish the outside shoreline for aggressive speckled trout. Start in shallower water early in the morning, and then slowly work out to deeper water as the day progresses. If you prefer lures over live bait, fish with a 1/4-ounce head so that you can

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aggressively work deeper water. Don’t be surprised if these fish try and take the rod from your hands. Spring has sprung. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Quarantine Shoreline GPS: N27 54.450, W97 3.490

SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live finger shrimp; plastics in Bone, chartreuse patterns CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Work the edges of deeper water with soft plastics or live bait. April begins the

steady water warm up that stretches to June, and fish start feeding more aggressively. Either live bait or soft plastics will work; don’t be afraid to sling a topwater early in the morning along the shoreline. LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Island GPS: N27 50.032, W97 10.000 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse, Morning Glory, Limetreuse CONTACT: Captain Marvin Engel, 361658-6674 TIPS: Focus on the outside drop-offs of the island. Trout and redfish will be picketing the area, looking for prey to nail. A lively croaker or live shrimp is touch to beat, but soft plastics worked along the edges will produce fish, too. Again, use a larger (3/16- to 1/4-ounce) jighead to get down to where the fish are while still working the lure at a good clip.

Game Fish Eat Their Young LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Willow Bayou GPS: N29 52.057, W93 53.010

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: topwaters early; soft plastics in chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Opening Night CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 401-7862018 TIPS: Business really starts picking up when April kicks into gear. Warm water starts circulating through the bayous and cuts on the north end of Sabine, and redfish and speckled trout move in to take advantage of the young-of-year bait. Fish the edges of bayou shorelines with small topwaters early in the morning. Back off and fish slightly deeper water later on with 3- to 4-

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inch plastics on a 3/16-ounce jighead near the bottom. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Midlake Humps GPS: N29 54.906, W93 50.415 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastic in chartreuse patterns; crankbaits CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 401-7862018 TIPS: If there are no birds working over schools of feeding fish, electronics will help you locate the humps. Drift over the humps and fish through them with shad tails. A novel approach is to use a crankbait to dig down deep. If the crank bangs along the bottom, you’ll get a fish’s attention. Fish are aggressive when they are on the feed, and will attack any fast-moving bait that rumbles by them. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Hannah’s Reef GPS: N29 28.632, W94 45.809 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Corky in Pearl/chartreuse; Catch 2000 in topwater patterns; live shrimp CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Fishing continues to improve around the reefs in East Galveston Bay as the weather improves. Hannah’s is a good spot to find springtime fish. Captain Knighten prefers an incoming time, but any sort of moving water washing around and over the reefs is a good fishing time. Watch for jumping bait and slicks. If neither is present, begin working the down current side with either live shrimp under a popping cork or a slow sinking plug such as a B&L Corky or Catch 2000.

jighead. Live shrimp or soft plastics under a popping cork will help you slow down, and the fish will key in on the sound. LOCATION: West Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Campbell’s Bayou GPS: N29 20.639, W94 53.675 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse; Corky in Pearl/chartreuse; topwaters CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Watch for bird activity. When you see the birds, start throwing soft plastics under them. Work the bait back slowly so that it works deeper in the water column where the larger fish hang to pick up leftovers. If there are no birds, then try wading the shoreline with topwaters. LOCATION: West Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Jones Bay GPS: N29 17.806, W94 56.208 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp; soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse; topwaters

CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Redfish are active over the shell reefs and are feeding. Live shrimp under a popping cork will help locate fish. Soft plastics worked near the bottom around the reefs will work, as well. Use a fluorocarbon leader to keep the shell from cutting you off. All the same, check your leader for kinks, and retie frequently.

Yeah Mon Cats LOCATION: Texana HOTSPOT: Lake Texana State Park (shore access) GPS: N28 58.278, W96 32.203

SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shrimp, cut shad, prepared bait CONTACT: Park Office, 361-782-5718

LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Deep Reef GPS: N29 31.863, W94 39.039 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: Corky in Pearl/chartreuse, Catch 2000 in topwater patterns; eel-style plastics; live shrimp/popping cork CONTACT: Captain George Knighten, 832385-5821 TIPS: Again, moving water is the key to finding where fish will hold over the reef. When you locate the down-current side of the reef, begin fishing slowly and methodically with a slow-sinking lure such as a Corky or Saltwater Assassin on a 1/8-ounce A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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TIPS: Springtime catfishing picks up along the park shoreline. Cut bait such as fresh shad, or shrimp are popular baits, as are some prepared baits such as Yeah Mon! by Fish Bites. A bobber rig is more a better choice to fish around here because of the sunken timber and branches. The park pier also provides excellent fishing. LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Tiger Island GPS: N26 41.428, W99 7.779 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: plastic worms in Black Grape, black; white spinnerbait/gold blades CONTACT: Falcon Lake State Park, 800792-1112 TIPS: The edges of the same flooded retamas that produced big stringers of catfish through March will also produce some husky bass. Look for the tops of trees to be pushing through the surface and work Texas-rigged worms around the bases of the trees. Another good option is to slowly work a spinnerbait through the trees. A gold blade is more effective in stained water.

Humps for Stripes

LOCATION: Town Resaca HOTSPOT: Brownsville-Ringold Park GPS: N25 55.09, W 97 29.54 SPECIES: alligator gar

LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Paradise Point GPS: N30 51.303, W98 25.553

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: jigs; 1/4- to 1/2-ounce Silver

Pirk Minnow jigging spoons; white or white/chartreuse 1/2-ounce striper jigs; elongated deep-diving crankbaits; Rattlin’ Rogues or Bombers; live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work over the humps along deep creek and main river channel from mouth of the Colorado past Paradise Point to Shaw Island and Garrett Islands. BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, live bait off bottom for stripers LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Black Rock Park GPS: N30 46.777, W98 26.878 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: deep-running Shad Raps; Pirk Minnows, spinnerbaits, Tiny Traps; live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Troll Shad Raps. Jig Pirk Minnows or blade baits and Tiny Traps from Canyon of the Eagles to the first 200 yards inside of Silver or Morgan Creeks and along bluffs between those spots. Work points of coves and pockets from Black Rock to the Lighthouse. BANK ACCESS: Black Rock Park bank; catfish, crappie, bass; live bait best LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: Wilson Fox Park Cove GPS: N30 41.183, W97 20.668 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: 1/16-ounce marabou jigs, any color CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, crappie1@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish jigs in 1-2 feet of water. Work the entire shoreline of Wilson Fox Park Cove. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock for crappie; small minnows, crappie jigs LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Beaver Island GPS: N30 35.099, W98 24.442 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: weightless Flukes or plastic stickbaits; white/chartreuse spinnerbaits; Brush Hogs, plastic worms CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jim-

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files@moment.net TIPS: Work the above baits around Beaver Island, along Sunrise Beach, and Highland Haven. BANK ACCESS: Robin Hood Park, catfish, largemouth LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Confluence of Llano and Colorado Rivers GPS: N30 39.030, W98 25.630 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Shad Raps, jigs, Pirk minnows, blade baits, Tiny Traps CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Troll Shad Raps up either river arm until you hit a school of whites, then turn around and start jigging Pirk Minnows or blade baits and Tiny Traps. BANK ACCESS: Sandy Creek, white bass, crappie LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Dam Rocks SPECIES: catfish GPS: N29 55.049, W96 44.553 BEST BAITS: stink bait, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: A lot of fish have spawned already. Southerly winds are blowing food onto the flat and south-facing bank of this point. Anchor in about four feet of water and fish toward the shore, but not on the shoreline. Use a tight line with 1-ounce weight and # 4 treble hook. Use stink bait or chum to attract fish. Move 100 yards parallel to the bank either way and keep fishing. BANK ACCESS: Junk Yard Cove, all species LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Grass Beds GPS: N29 56.390, W96 44.620 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: shallow-running crankbaits in brown, orange, gray CONTACT: Bob Green, 281-460-9200, bobgreen@cvtv.net TIPS: Rip the crankbait through the grass, which is around 6 feet below the surface. Don’t worry about getting hung up. Also rip big-bladed spinnerbaits in crawfish colors as above. BANK ACCESS: Oak Thicket Ramp, all species LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: North Park Point

GPS: N29 52.330, W98 12.476 SPECIES: smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: Tomato, Green Pumpkin curly tail or spider grubs on jigheads; 1/8-ounce jigs; JDC drop shots; white/gray back suspending crankbaits CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work all the above baits in 8 feet to 22 feet of water. BANK ACCESS: Jacobs Creek Park, largemouth bass on Rat-L-Traps LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Comal Park Island GPS: N29 51.887, W98 14.367 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: jigging spoons, Gizz 4 crankbait, live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work the jigging spoons. Troll Gizz 4 crankbaits on down riggers. Drift-fish live shad. Work the intersection of Tom’s and Jacob’s Creeks with main river channel and humps between boat ramp No. 1 and the dam. BANK ACCESS: Canyon Park Campground, crappie on live minnows, crappie jigs LOCATION: Lake Richland Chambers HOTSPOT: Fisherman’s Point Marina GPS: N31 56.989, W96 09.281 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: small minnows, jigs CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 469-3715197, royce@gonefishin.biz TIPS: Work the coves and shallows along the shoreline on the southeast side of the lake for spawning crappie. Fish will be in water as shallow as one foot. They will take small minnows or jigs below a cork. BANK ACCESS: Fisherman’s Point, bass, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Whitney Cove GPS: N31 55.205, W97 20.696 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: Red Fins, Pencil Poppers; cut shad CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970 TIPS: Work shallow on the east shore and throw top water baits early and late. If it’s a clear day, back off after the sun is up good and use cut shad in a little deeper water along the edge that leads up to the shallows. On a good cloud cover day, you can stay on A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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this pattern all day long, as long as you don’t pressure one hole too long. Use this same pattern on other coves and points. BANK ACCESS: Loafers Bend Shore, stripers, whites; shallow cranks, topwaters LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Sand Point

GPS: N31 55.236, W97 20.855 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummer, Little George CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970 TIPS: Throw Tail Hummer or Little George up on the point and let bait bounce

off bottom, retrieving to deeper water. Note: You can tie a small jig like a Flea Fly above the Tail Hummer and catch two whites at a time. You can also work Loafer’s Bend shoreline. Throw Rat-L-Traps, Tail Hummers, and Little Georges toward shore and use medium retrieve back to the boat. BANK ACCESS: State Park Point, white bass; Little George, Tail Hummer LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Big Creek Park, East Shoreline GPS: N30 19.990, W96 33.881 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, crawfish, stink bait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: Shad are shallow now and that’s where the fish are. Anchor close to shore where casting can almost reach the shore or weed line. The baits of choice are shad and stink bait. Use a # 1 Kahle hook with shad, Carolina rigged with 12- to 14-inch leader. Fishing here will be best when wind is blowing straight into the bank. Fish will stack up in large schools, chasing the shad. BANK ACCESS: Big Creek Marina, all species

Sassy Linesides LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: The Islands GPS: N33 50.087, W96 44.060

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: artificial lures, live shad CONTACT: Bill Carey, 877-786-4477, bigfish@graysoncable.com TIPS: Stripers will be hungry with lake temperatures warming up. Soft plastics are the lures of choice. Rip Tide Sassy Shad and curly tails with 1/2- to 1-ounce jigheads in chartreuse and white Glow work the best. Work around the islands and cuts, main lake points and creek channels. Live shad will work well anchoring on structure. Drift behind the islands in 10 to 25 feet depths

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and expect some great striper action. BANK ACCESS: Eisenhower State Park, stripers, catfish, crappie, whites; live bait LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Railroad Trestle GPS: N33 03.286, W96 26.428 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Pepper’s spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse; buzzbait, Scum Frog CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, 800-965-0350 TIPS: Work the Pepper’s spinnerbaits in white on one rod and chartreuse/white on a second rod. Throw the buzzbait early in the morning, first out of the box. Later, use the Scum Frog in white/chartreuse and Pepper’s spinnerbait. BANK ACCESS: Clear Lake Pier, all species LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard HOTSPOT: Trinity River - East Fork, Yankee Creek GPS: N32 50.028, W96 29.878 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse Pepper’s Spinnerbait; black/blue Pepper’s jig tipped with Xcite Baits Craw; Injured Minda; shad pattern or chartreuse Bandit 200 Series crankbait CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, 800-965-0350 TIPS: Work the above baits all along the east fork of the Trinity. That’s where many tournaments are won. There’s an awful lot of riprap on Ray Hubbard; don’t overlook it. BANK ACCESS: Bay View Marina, all species LOCATION: Cedar Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Malakoff Bridge, Surrounding Docks off Hwy 198 GPS: N31 12.343, W96 10.503 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: 1/16-ounce jigs, any color CONTACT: Chuck Rollins, 903-288-5798, cwler@aol.com TIPS: Crappie will be spawning. Use a shallow water pattern in water less than 8 feet deep. Shooting under boat docks and bridge pillars will be your best bet. Use 4- to 10-pound-test line. BANK ACCESS: Highway 334 Public Park, cut bait for cats; small floats and crickets or worms for bream in weeds LOCATION: Cedar Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Star Harbor Point

GPS: N32 11.902, W96 04.910 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid striped bass BEST BAITS: 3/4-ounce chrome slabs CONTACT: Chuck Rollins, 903-288-5798, cwler@aol.com TIPS: Whites and hybrids will be loaded up on the main lake wind blown points. The heavier the wind, the more fish will be on that point. Water 8 to 12 feet deep will be best, although at times they will be just below the surface. Work the slabs on 10- to 12pound-test line. Star Harbor Point is the big point between the dam and the Caney Creek arm. Work between the flats and the point. BANK ACCESS: Highway 175 Bridge East, lures for bass, minnows for crappie LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Dale Creek GPS: N32 49.613, W95 35.559 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Mr. Twister Hawg Frog & Comida worms CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, ricky@rickysguideservice.com TIPS: The bass will be in full spawn, so fish all the small out of way pockets and you should find good numbers of fish, along with some trophy sized largemouth. Remember, covering a lot of water in the spring can hurt you when searching for trophy bass, so fish slow and cover the spots. You’ll catch more and larger bass as well. BANK ACCESS: Fork Public Park, bass; spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged worms LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Chaney Creek Point GPS: N32 48.307, W95 33.452 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: small hair jigs, plastic curly tail jigs; minnows with bobber CONTACT: Mike Rogge, 903-383-3406, microg@texascellnet.com TIPS: Crappie will be in the creeks ending their spawn. Work minnows, hair jigs. Curly tails on short line and bobber dropped in brush around the banks will produce. Alligator and School House Creeks in Big Caney will also be a good place to look. BANK ACCESS: Fork Public Park, bass; spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged worms LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool HOTSPOT: Lynn Creek Grass GPS: N32 37.671, W97 02.722 SPECIES: largemouth bass A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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BEST BAITS: double willow-blade spinnerbait in white, white/chartreuse; weightless or 1/16-ounce Texas-rigged Chompers Salty Sinker, flukes CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-3132878, r.maxwell@tx.rr.com TIPS: There will be pre-spawn, present, and past spawn fish to choose from. The Main Lake becomes more of a favorite because the fish are coming in and out of the same areas and staging on main lake points. Look for full and new moons to hit the areas on flats where bass are still spawning, especially on sunny days. Remember, Joe Pool is a backwards-flowing lake. Feeder creeks and rivers mainly flow from north to south. BANK ACCESS: Crappie Dock, crappie, live minnows LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Snake Island GPS: N31 55.215, W97 12.891 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: No. 4 Rat-L-Trap, slabs, Little George CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970 TIPS: Work around Snake Island, throwing toward the bank and retrieve back to the boat. After the sun rises, move just a little

deeper and bounce 3/4th ounce white/chartreuse Slabs off bottom. BANK ACCESS: Tail Race Fishing Pier, white bass; Little George, slabs, Rat-L-Trap LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Costello Island GPS: N32 54.142, W98 28.068 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: small shad, slabs, Rat-L-Trap CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: This is spawning time for stripers. It is also the most major spawn for shad and their predators. Start the morning by looking for blue herons and turtles congregating where the shad are practically jumping on the bank spawning. Around Bird and Costello Island are excellent spots to witness this phenomenon. If you see several blue herons working the same spot and fighting for turf, just watch for a minute to figure out which way down the bank the shad are going and elbow in between the herons to throw a cast net to fill your aerated shad minnow tank. Keep the gulls in mind. Depending on the weather, there should be enough gulls working to give many extra sets of eyes. Once achieved, stay on your trolling motor, back away to the first breakline 10 to 20 feet deep,

and slip the anchor over. It’s time to fish. BANK ACCESS: Sky Camp, stripers, live bait

The Crappie Mill LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, South HOTSPOT: Mills Creek GPS: N31 11.903, W93 38.387

SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: black/chartreuse or red/white 1/32-ounce black/blue jig; 1/32-ounce Road Runner CONTACT: Jim Morris, 409-579-3485, cypresscreekmarina@valornet.com TIPS: Work the back of Mill Creek or Clear Creek by using a light line, no more than 8-pound-test. “I double rig the above mentioned jigs. That way I can try two different colors.” BANK ACCESS: Toledo Bend State Park & Fishing Pier, crappie LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, South HOTSPOT: Buck Creek GPS: N31 10.078, W93 36.736 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: wacky worm, 1/8-ounce marabou jig CONTACT: Jim Morris, 409-579-3485, cypresscreekmarina@valornet.com TIPS: Work the back of Buck Creek. Go to where the creek “tees” and work the north bank, back and forth on each leg of the “tee.” BANK ACCESS: Toledo Bend State Park & Fishing Pier for crappie LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend - North HOTSPOT: Deer Camp Flats GPS: N31 49.419, W93 53.650 SPECIES: largemouth, spotted bass BEST BAITS: jig-n-pig, plastic lizards, jerkbaits, big plastic worms, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Mark Robinson, 936-3682211, Rlodge@eastex.net TIPS: Jig-n-pig pitched or flipped into or around button willows are an old Toledo Bend favorite. Plastic lizards fished slowly,

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Texas- or Carolina-rigged on top of the flats, ridges, and humps. Jerkbaits worked shallow around grass or bushes, 12-inch worms worked shallow around laydowns and stumps, and spinnerbaits worked almost anywhere shallow. Remember this: The larger the spinnerbait and the slower it’s worked, the bigger the bass it will produce. BANK ACCESS: San Miguel Park and Fishing Pier, bass; shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, North HOTSPOT: The River Channel GPS: N31 52.156, W93 52.963 SPECIES: white & striped bass BEST BAITS: tailspinners, jigging spoons, small cranks, Rat-L-Trap; live crawfish, minnows CONTACT: Mark Robinson, 936-3682211, Rlodge@eastex.net TIPS: Work the tailspinners, spoons, and live bait vertically over the inside bends of the river channel. Cast crankbaits as far as possible from deep water, on to the points in the river bend, retrieving them from shallow to deep at varying speeds.

BANK ACCESS: San Miguel Park and Fishing Pier, white bass; Rat-L-Trap, small cranks LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: R.C. Cove GPS: N30 37.479, W96 03.174 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: stinkbait, worms, shad on Carolina rig with 3/4-ounce sinker and No. 4 treble CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish are spawning now. Look for them in trees, stumps and around rocks in shallow water. Tie to stump or anchor and cast toward the stumps. Using chum is good in this area. Be sure to work the shoreline in 2 to 4 feet of water. If you use chum, keep fishing the chum area. The fish usually show up within 30 minutes. BANK ACCESS: 250-Foot Fishing Pier, all species on live bait LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Neches River Bend GPS: N32 17.926, W95 26.890

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Texas Spinnerbait 430 Special, 3/8-ounce; Mister Twister Comida Worm in black/blue, Watermelon CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-530220l, 903-561-7299 TIPS: The spawn will still be on. Fishing will be very good in the Neches River and at Old Folks Play Ground, just behind the Hawn Point area. Work the Texas Spinnerbait along the grass lines and near and through any brush along the channels. For those who like to “sight fish” you should concentrate on the south end of the main lake pockets. Here you’ll find brush and weed lines on the South end. Work your bait slowly and cover the area well. BANK ACCESS: Flat Creek Road, all species on live bait Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at hotspotssouth@fishgame.com Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com

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Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008 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

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.

T9 T8

T13 T7

T6 T17

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

T15 T16

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 a wide variety of wildlife species.

T20

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE Add or subtract the time shown at the right

of 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

T22 T23

View TIDE PREDICTIONS for all Texas Coastal Tide Stations and DATES at...

www.FishGame.com 2 0 0 8 /

T E X A S

LOW +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15

KEY PLACE T12 Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay T13 Gilchrist, East Bay T14 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay T15 Alligator Point, W. Bay T16 Christmas Pt T17 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 San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor Pass Cavallo Aransas Pass Padre Island (So. End) Port Isabel

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

• A P R I L

TIDE PREDICTIONS are shown in graph form, with High and Low tide predictions in text immediately below.

AM & PM MINOR phases occur when the moon rises and sets. These phases last 1 to 2 hours.

T14 T18

T19

I18

T3 T2 T1

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

HIGH -0.09 -0:44 0:00 -0:03 -0:24 +1:02

LOW -0.09 -1:02 -1:20 -1:31 -1:45 -0:42

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Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Apr 1

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

z55

Sunrise: 7:06a Moonrise: 3:36a

Set: 7:33p Set: 2:09p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 4:14a

Set: 7:33p Set: 3:11p

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: 4:49a

Set: 7:34p Set: 4:14p

Sunrise: 7:02a Moonrise: 5:22a

Set: 7:34p Set: 5:16p

Sunrise: 7:01a Moonrise: 5:54a

Set: 7:35p Set: 6:20p

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 6:27a

Set: 7:35p Set: 7:26p

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 7:02a

Set: 7:36p Set: 8:36p

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Minor: 2:06a

PM Minor: 2:30p

AM Minor: 2:49a

PM Minor: 3:14p

AM Minor: 3:32a

PM Minor: 3:55p

AM Minor: 4:14a

PM Minor: 4:38p

AM Minor: 4:59a

PM Minor: 5:24p

AM Minor: 6:25a

PM Minor: 6:51p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

AM Major: 8:18a

PM Major: 8:43p

AM Major: 9:02a

PM Major: 9:26p

AM Major: 9:43a

PM Major: 10:07p

AM Major: 10:26a

PM Major: 10:50p

AM Major: 11:11a

PM Major: 11:36p

AM Major: 12:11a

PM Major: 12:38p

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:28a

Moon Overhead: 9:40a

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:16a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:52p

Moon Overhead: 12:03p

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:45p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Mar 31

WEDNESDAY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p +2.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:04p

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 10:52p

BEST:

3:15-9:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:39p

BEST:

4:00-8:20 AM

BEST:

9:00-11:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: None

Moon Underfoot: 12:28a

BEST:

9:40AM-12:10PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:18a

BEST:

10:20AM-1:00PM

+2.0

BEST:

11:00AM-1:55PM

12:05-2:30 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

Low Tide: 6:27 am High Tide: 3:22 pm

0.08 ft 1.31 ft

Low Tide: 7:21 am High Tide: 3:24 pm Low Tide: 8:41 pm

0.10 ft 1.28 ft 1.06 ft

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

12:46 am 8:09 am 3:31 pm 8:39 pm

1.17 ft 0.15 ft 1.24 ft 0.87 ft

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

2:10 am 8:56 am 3:40 pm 9:04 pm

1.26 ft 0.26 ft 1.20 ft 0.62 ft

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

3:23 am 9:43 am 3:49 pm 9:38 pm

1.37 ft 0.42 ft 1.17 ft 0.34 ft

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

4:32 am 10:30 am 3:58 pm 10:17 pm

1.48 ft 0.63 ft 1.17 ft 0.05 ft

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

5:40 am 11:19 am 4:05 pm 11:00 pm

1.58 ft 0.87 ft 1.20 ft -0.19 ft

KEYS TO USING THE TIDE AND SOLUNAR GRAPHS TIDE LE VEL GRAPH: Yellow: Daylight Tab: Peak Fishing Period Green: Falling Tide Blue: Rising Tide Red Graph: Fishing Score

12a

BEST:

7:05-9:40 PM

12p

SOLUNAR AC TIVIT Y: 12a

AM/PM Timeline Light Blue: Nighttime

MINOR Feeding Periods (+/- 1.5 Hrs.)

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

Time Moon is at its Highest Point in the 12a Sky

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

Gold Fish: Best Time Blue Fish: Good Time

AM/PM Timeline

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

12p

MOON PHASE SYMBOLS

MAJOR Feeding Periods (+/- 2 Hrs.)

12a

Time Moon is Directly Underfoot (at its peak on opposite side of the earth)

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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z {

= New Moon = Fi rst Quarter = New Moon = L a s t Q u a r te r = Best Da y

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z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 12:55-3:15 PM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Set: 7:37p Set: 9:48p

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 8:27a

AM Minor: 6:45a

PM Minor: 7:14p

AM Major: 12:31a

PM Major: 1:00p

Moon Overhead: 2:41p 6a

12p

WEDNESDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Set: 7:37p Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 11:01p Moonrise: 9:20a

Set: 7:38p Set: None

AM Minor: 7:48a

PM Minor: 8:19p

AM Minor: 8:57a

PM Minor: 9:28p

AM Minor: 10:06a

PM Minor: 10:38p

AM Minor: 11:13a

PM Minor: 11:44p

AM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 1:33a

PM Major: 2:04p

AM Major: 2:41a

PM Major: 3:12p

AM Major: 3:50a

PM Major: 4:22p

AM Major: 4:58a

PM Major: 5:29p

AM Major: 6:01a

12p

Set: 7:39p Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:38p Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 10:20a Set: 12:11a Moonrise: 11:25a Set: 1:14a

Moon Overhead: 4:44p

Moon Overhead: 3:41p 12a

THURSDAY

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:47p 12a

12p

Sunrise: 6:52a Set: 7:39p Moonrise: 12:32p Set: 2:08a

Sunrise: 6:51a Moonrise: 1:38p

Set: 7:40p Set: 2:55a

PM Minor: 12:16p

AM Minor: 12:44a

PM Minor: 1:11p

PM Major: 6:30p

AM Major: 6:57a

PM Major: 7:24p

Moon Overhead: 7:47p

Moon Overhead: 6:49p 12a

SUNDAY

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:40p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 7:42a

12a

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:12a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:11a BEST:

12:55-3:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:12a BEST:

2:00-4:14 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:16a BEST:

3:10-5:20 PM

3:34-5:50 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:19a BEST:

4:50-7:00 AM

Moon Underfoot: 7:19a BEST:

6:25-8:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 8:14a +2.0

BEST:

7:20-8:50 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

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

I20

6:50 am 12:10 pm 4:08 pm 11:49 pm

1.64 ft High Tide: 8:05 am 1.10 ft Low Tide: 1:03 pm 1.28 ft High Tide: 4:04 pm -0.37 ft

• A P R I L

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1.67 ft 1.31 ft 1.37 ft

T E X A S

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

12:42 am 9:28 am 2:15 pm 3:31 pm

F i s h

-0.46 ft Low Tide: 1:42 am -0.46 ft Low Tide: 2:50 am -0.38 ft Low Tide: 4:07 am 1.66 ft High Tide: 11:03 am 1.64 ft High Tide: 12:41 pm 1.61 ft High Tide: 1:45 pm 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

-0.26 ft Low Tide: 1.56 ft High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

5:28 am 2:18 pm 8:56 pm 10:08 pm

-0.12 ft 1.47 ft 1.19 ft 1.20 ft

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

12:55-3:15 PM

= Peak Fishing Period

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

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 8

SUNDAY

1 9

{ 20

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 2:42p

Set: 7:41p Set: 3:34a

Sunrise: 6:49a Moonrise: 3:41p

Set: 7:41p Set: 4:07a

Sunrise: 6:48a Moonrise: 4:38p

Set: 7:42p Set: 4:38a

Sunrise: 6:47a Moonrise: 5:33p

Set: 7:42p Set: 5:06a

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 6:28p

Set: 7:43p Set: 5:33a

Sunrise: 6:45a Moonrise: 7:23p

Set: 7:44p Set: 6:02a

Sunrise: 6:44a Moonrise: 8:20p

Set: 7:44p Set: 6:32a

AM Minor: 1:34a

PM Minor: 1:58p

AM Minor: 2:18a

PM Minor: 2:40p

AM Minor: 2:57a

PM Minor: 3:18p

AM Minor: 3:34a

PM Minor: 3:54p

AM Minor: 4:11a

PM Minor: 4:31p

AM Minor: 4:49a

PM Minor: 5:10p

AM Minor: 5:31a

PM Minor: 5:53p

AM Major: 7:46a

PM Major: 8:11p

AM Major: 8:29a

PM Major: 8:52p

AM Major: 9:08a

PM Major: 9:29p

AM Major: 9:44a

PM Major: 10:05p

AM Major: 10:21a

PM Major: 10:41p

AM Major: 11:00a

PM Major: 11:21p

AM Major: 11:42a

PM Major: ——-

Moon Overhead: 9:28p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:55p

Moon Overhead: 10:13p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:36p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:18a

Moon Overhead: None 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:00a 12a

12p

FEET

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:05a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 9:51a BEST:

8:05-10:00 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:35a BEST:

8:45-10:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:16a BEST:

9:20-11:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:57a BEST:

10:00PM-12:00AM

Moon Underfoot: 12:39p BEST:

10:15AM-12:20PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:22p +2.0

BEST:

10:55AM-1:10PM

11:35AM-1:45PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

Low Tide: 6:45 am High Tide: 2:38 pm Low Tide: 8:33 pm

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0.03 ft 1.37 ft 1.02 ft

• A P R I L

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

12:28 am 7:52 am 2:51 pm 8:47 pm

2 0 0 8 /

1.19 ft 0.21 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

T E X A S

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

1:59 am 8:50 am 3:02 pm 9:07 pm

F i s h

1.25 ft 0.41 ft 1.21 ft 0.59 ft

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

3:14 am 9:41 am 3:12 pm 9:31 pm

1.33 ft 0.61 ft 1.17 ft 0.38 ft

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

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

4:18 am 10:28 am 3:20 pm 9:56 pm

1.41 ft 0.81 ft 1.17 ft 0.21 ft

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

5:15 am 11:12 am 3:26 pm 10:24 pm

1.48 ft 0.98 ft 1.18 ft 0.08 ft

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

6:07 am 11:54 am 3:26 pm 10:53 pm

1.53 ft 1.12 ft 1.22 ft 0.01 ft

-1.0

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z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008 MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

Sunrise: 6:42a Set: 7:45p Moonrise: 10:14p Set: 7:42a

Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 7:46p Moonrise: 11:09p Set: 8:24a

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

2 1

2 2

12a

Sunrise: 6:43a Moonrise: 9:18p

Set: 7:45p Set: 7:05a

AM Minor: 6:17a

PM Minor: 6:40p

AM Minor: 7:06a

PM Minor: 7:30p

AM Minor: 7:59a

AM Major: 12:05a

PM Major: 12:28p

AM Major: 12:54a

PM Major: 1:18p

AM Major: 1:47a

Moon Overhead: 1:45a 6a

12p

12a

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:40a Moonrise: None

Set: 7:47p Set: 9:11a

Sunrise: 6:39a Moonrise: None

PM Minor: 8:24p

AM Minor: 8:54a

PM Minor: 9:20p

PM Major: 2:12p

AM Major: 2:42a

PM Major: 3:07p

Moon Overhead: 3:20a

Moon Overhead: 2:32a 12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 4:10a

12a

12p

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

2 7

Set: 7:47p Sunrise: 6:38a Set: 7:48p Sunrise: 6:37a Set: 10:02a Moonrise: 12:48a Set: 10:58a Moonrise: 1:31a

Set: 7:49p Set: 11:56a

AM Minor: 9:50a

PM Minor: 10:15p

AM Minor: 10:45a

PM Minor: 11:10p

AM Minor: 11:38a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 3:37a

PM Major: 4:03p

AM Major: 4:32a

PM Major: 4:58p

AM Major: 5:26a

PM Major: 5:50p

Moon Overhead: 5:52a

Moon Overhead: 5:01a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:42a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:08p +2.0

BEST:

12:20-2:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:56p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:45p

Moon Underfoot: 4:36p

BEST:

7:25-9:10 PM

BEST:

8:20-9:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:26p BEST:

2:40-4:45 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:17p

Moon Underfoot: 7:06p

BEST:

3:30-4:55 AM

+2.0

BEST:

4:25-6:30 AM

5:20-7:15 AM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

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

6:58 am 12:33 pm 3:15 pm 11:26 pm

1.55 ft High Tide: 7:50 am 1.23 ft Low Tide: 1:09 pm 1.26 ft High Tide: 2:32 pm -0.02 ft

1.54 ft 1.32 ft 1.32 ft

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

12:03 am 8:48 am 1:32 pm 2:00 pm

-0.01 ft 1.52 ft 1.38 ft 1.38 ft

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

12:43 am 9:55 am 1:36 pm 2:18 pm

0.02 ft 1.49 ft 1.43 ft 1.43 ft

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

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

1:28 am 11:13 am 2:04 pm 2:26 pm

F i s h

0.08 ft 1.48 ft 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

Low Tide: 2:19 am 0.13 ft High Tide: 12:28 pm 1.48 ft

Low Tide: 3:14 am High Tide: 1:05 pm

G a m e ® / A P R I L

2 0 0 8

0.19 ft 1.48 ft

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z = New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r z = New Moon = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 12:55-3:15 PM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

May 1

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:49p Sunrise: 6:35a Set: 12:56p Moonrise: 2:45a

Set: 7:50p Set: 1:57p

Sunrise: 6:34a Moonrise: 3:18a

Set: 7:50p Set: 2:58p

Sunrise: 6:33a Moonrise: 3:50a

Set: 7:51p Set: 4:00p

Sunrise: 6:33a Moonrise: 4:22a

Set: 7:52p Set: 5:04p

Sunrise: 6:32a Moonrise: 4:55a

Set: 7:52p Set: 6:11p

Sunrise: 6:31a Moonrise: 5:33a

Set: 7:53p Set: 7:23p

AM Minor: 12:04a

PM Minor: 12:28p

AM Minor: 12:51a

PM Minor: 1:15p

AM Minor: 1:35a

PM Minor: 1:58p

AM Minor: 2:17a

PM Minor: 2:40p

AM Minor: 2:57a

PM Minor: 3:21p

AM Minor: 3:40a

PM Minor: 4:06p

AM Minor: 4:28a

PM Minor: 4:56p

AM Major: 6:16a

PM Major: 6:40p

AM Major: 7:03a

PM Major: 7:27p

AM Major: 7:47a

PM Major: 8:10p

AM Major: 8:28a

PM Major: 8:52p

AM Major: 9:09a

PM Major: 9:34p

AM Major: 9:53a

PM Major: 10:19p

AM Major: 10:42a

PM Major: 11:10p

Moon Overhead: 7:30a

12a

WEDNESDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:05a

Moon Overhead: 8:18a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:51a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:29a

Moon Overhead: 10:39a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:23p 12a

12p

FEET

+2.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:54p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 8:41p BEST:

6:35-8:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 9:28p BEST:

7:20-9:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:14p BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:03p BEST:

8:25-10:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:55p BEST:

9:05-11:15 AM

Moon Underfoot: None BEST:

9:50AM-12:10PM

+2.0

10:40AM-1:00PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 2:10a

Tides and Prime Times for APRIL 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

Low Tide: 4:14 am High Tide: 1:23 pm

0.26 ft 1.45 ft

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

5:15 am 1:35 pm 8:10 pm 11:21 pm

0.35 ft 1.40 ft 1.10 ft 1.14 ft

Low Tide: 6:17 am High Tide: 1:45 pm Low Tide: 7:37 pm

0.47 ft 1.34 ft 0.88 ft

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

1:15 am 7:19 am 1:53 pm 7:57 pm

1.23 ft 0.62 ft 1.29 ft 0.59 ft

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

2:39 am 8:22 am 2:01 pm 8:30 pm

1.39 ft 0.81 ft 1.27 ft 0.26 ft

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

3:52 am 9:24 am 2:07 pm 9:10 pm

1.56 ft 1.01 ft 1.29 ft -0.05 ft

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

5:00 am 10:26 am 2:13 pm 9:54 pm

1.72 ft 1.21 ft 1.35 ft -0.32 ft

-1.0

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• A P R I L

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T E X A S

der that hang around the boat cut of the Sabine Jetties. I have used various lines out there and found that only a couple will produce a good bite. The results were that I was able to catch a few nice flounder, and found the line has great sensitivity and abrasion resistance. I purposely cast some jigs into the rocks to see how the line would do, and the only reason I had to break off was because the jigheads got hung up. To be perfectly honest, with the advances in modern fishing lines, it’s difficult to do a field test that tells much. With Maxima Ultragreen, I do know it helped produce some fish in difficult situations and stood up against tough conditions. For those reasons, I can say I recommend you give it a shot. Contact: Maxima America, 714-8505966, www.maxima-lines.com —CM

Maxima Ultragreen Line

Livingston Lures Talking Croaker

The invisibility of fishing line is hotly debated among anglers and manufacturers. A lot of it has to do with the various levels of clarity and shade in the water. On the upper coast, the water is often sandy-green around the jetties and short rigs, which is where I tested Maxima green line. With the water racing out at a breakneck pace, I did not feel like donning scuba gear to check out how invisible the line is underwater, so I tried a different tact. I purposely fished for the super lineshy floun-

If the activists who are trying to ban croaker as a baitfish get their way, a new lure by Livingston Lures might become the replacement. It’s called the “Talking Croaker” and it literally makes a croaking type noise when moved through the water. I got under the water in my parent’s swimming pool and had my wife cast the lure and work it as if she were fishing. Although it did not sound exactly like a croaker, there is a definite croaking type of sound made by the lure, which impressed me quite a bit. Sound travels five times faster in water than it does in air, and the drumming sound of a croaker is what most fishing experts believe makes them such effective bait for speckled trout. Being able to mimic this sound could give anglers a huge advantage. I have had limited time fishing the lure since I picked it up, so I can’t tell you I

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

ALMANAC I.qxd

caught a monster sow speck on it, but I have caught a few trout and a redfish, so I know it will catch fish. I cannot tell you if they have hit a home run with this product, but I can tell you I will definitely be picking up more of these lures to try out. I think there is good potential here. —CM

something we are looking for, which is why I am mentioning the Outcast popping cork from Midcoast Products. I picked up some of these a couple of weeks ago and found their aerodynamic design and unique weight placement allows me to make casts that I never dreamed of with a popping cork. As the ad pitch says, “When the cork is retrieved with an aggressive popping action, the concave top and integrated rattle produce the sounds of feeding predators and fleeing prey, which attracts fish and increases your chance of catching them.” That is what all popping corks are designed to do, and most on the market are effective. This one has some unique properties; the most impressive is casting distance. Someone fishing from the surf, for example, wanting to cast toward schooling specks that are usually out of distance, might be able to make up the difference with this cool cork. Oh, and if you pick some up, make sure to keep the following in mind for rigging them:

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

“When rigging the Outcast, the main line from your rod, as well as the leader to your hook, are both attached to the same barrel swivel eye on top of the cork. This rigging configuration allows the cork to be cast like a projectile with the bait or lure trailing behind. “As the cork approaches its target, applying slight pressure to the spool of your reel will allow the cork to land first and then the bait land beyond, decreasing the chance of tangles during splashdown. Using monofilament or fluorocarbon for leader material allows the length to be easily adjusted to meet ever-changing fishing conditions. “It is recommended that no weight be attached between the leader and the cork, allowing your bait to swim freely or your lure to fall slowly. This will create a more realistic presentation and increase the number of fish you catch.” Contact: Midcoast Products, www.midcoastprodcuts.com —CM

G a m e ® / A P R I L

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Polaris Rigs Out Hunter Edition of its Ranger XP No Ranger limited edition line up would be complete without a hunter edition. This machine has all of the features of the Ranger XP with the addition of a Mossy Oak patterned body and Browning Buck Mark accents. The Ranger XP’s Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) coupled with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS), will ensure a great hunt regardless of what Mother Nature throws your way. Features on this limited edition model include: New Mossy Oak New Break Up design (hood, dash, rims, decals); Custom Custom Cut & Sew Browning seat with Buck Mark decal; No-shine wrinkle black paint (cab frame,

bumpers, screen); Factory installed 4000 lb. Warn winch; Dual Lock & Ride Mossy Oak Gun Scabbards The MSRP (US) is 12,299, and the MSRP (Canada) is $16,199. Contact: Polaris Industries, 2100 Hwy 55, Medina, MN 55340. Phone: 763-542-0500 Web: www.polarisindustries.com

Polaris Ranger XP, Mossy Oak Browning Edition.

• A P R I L

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T E X A S

F i s h

fastest growing market segment in shooting sports. “For personal protection at home or for concealed carry,

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

For Serious Anglers, The Fish Taco Rules If you are a serious fisherman or fisherwoman, you need The Fish Taco. Made of aluminum, which is very durable, The Fish Taco is the best fish measuring device ever. It is available in two sizes the 10” model and the 14” model. Simply place the fish in The Fish Taco, make sure the fish’s mouth is closed and is touching the stopper end of the taco, verify the size, (if the tail of the fish is over the edge of the “taco”, then it’s legal), and easily place the fish in your live well if it meets the limit size. Protect your hands from slime and cuts and saves time from water to live well or cooler. The Fish Taco is easier and better than boards or rulers because you only need one hand to grip and measure. The Fish Taco helps keep you legal and eliminates the sonal touches that make the revolver uniquely her own. With the new .38 Special Pink Lady, Charter meets her demands with reliability and style.” Charter Arms—setting the American standard in affordable personal protection. For more than 40 years, Charter Arms has maintained the tradition of craftsmanship found in Connecticut’s Gun Valley. High quality Americanmade and assembled, Charter Arms revolvers are available from reputable firearms distributors nationwide and carry an unconditional lifetime warranty. For more information contact Charter Arms at 866-769-4867 or on the web at www.charterfirearms.com.

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Quickly measure your catch with minimum hand-to-fish contact with the Fish Taco.

guesswork. Great for gifts! The Fish Taco is the official fish measuring device for these tournament circuits: Big Fish Cliff Tournament, The Ultimate Crappie Challenge and Crappie Anglers of Texas For information please contact: Scott Solis, 682-225-7676 Website: www.onthespotwithscott.com

New Ultra-High Speed Reels from Daiwa Daiwa has added new smaller STT20H and STT30H Ultra-High

Speed models to its popular Saltist conventional reel series, both ideal for use with today’s high-strength braided lines. Featuring rugged “Full Metal Jacket” construction, super strong alloy gearing and smooth, powerful drag systems, Daiwa’s new pint-sized Saltists are ready to take on hard-fighting challengers. Virtually all of the STT20H and STT30H components are made of metal, allowing for maximum durability and reliability. Both models feature rigid, one-piece aluminum frames built to stand up to tackletesting game fish and harsh marine conditions. Inside this rugged exterior housing, four ball bearings (including CRBB bearings) and a roller bearing ensure optimum smoothness and trouble-free operation. Shielded to keep grit and abrasives out, Daiwa’s CRBB bearings last up to 12

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

times longer than ordinary ball bearings in a saltwater environment. Both the STT20H and STT30H boast a blazing fast 6.1:1 gear ratio for rapid lure retrieval and keeping up with saltwater speedsters. The new additions supply plenty of cranking power as well, thanks to oversized gears machined from Daiwa’s exclusive high-strength alloy stock. Anglers will also appreciate the Saltist’s smooth, consistent drag with stainless and greaseimpregnated washers – just the ticket for putting the Daiwa SST20H brakes on big, determined

adversaries. Additional Saltist features include a dual anti-reverse system, a dual- position handle and an aluminum rod clamp. Both the STT20H and STT30H models have an MSRP of $159.99.

G a m e ® / A P R I L

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Carson Adds to High-Def Binocular Line

mission is invaluable during early morning hours and when glassing just before dusk. Their 420 ft. field of view at 1,000yds. rounds out all of the key features. These binoculars are fully multicoated, O-ring sealed, phase coated, waterproof and fog-proof, with a MSRP of $340. Carson brings a level of high-end optical performance, not previously found at these price points. Guides, hunters and birders have come to appreciate and respect Carson as a source of premium optics and a name you can

Put Ole Betsy at Your Fingertips Great Day now offers a universal-mounting, two-gun rack that puts “Ole Betsy” at your fingertips as you cruise your hunting property. The Quick-Draw Gun Rack fits

Quick Draw Gun Rack fits all side-by-side ATVs. I30

• A P R I L

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T E X A S

trust. Carson Optical is known for product innovation, exceptional customer service and value. The people at Carson are marketing specialists, offering outstanding packaging and strong advertising and editorial support. Their line of products was created with the end user in mind. Contact: 1-800-9-OPTICS or visit www.carsonoptical.com. E-mail: info@carsonoptical.com.

all “side-by-side” type utility vehicles (Kawasaki Mule, Polaris Ranger, John Deere Gator, Artic Cat Prowler, all golf cart-style vehicles, etc.). The Quick-Draw mounts in a “stand alone” fashion and can be positioned for quick access and maximum use of passenger space. The Quick-Draw holds two guns (rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader) securely and protected in soft, cushioned clips. Great Day’s unique pull-tabs form and fit the holding cradles to the exact size of the stock or forearm of the gun it is holding—no more loose fits to disturb the delicate sight and scope settings. Another great feature of the QuickDraw is that it can be set at the preferred angle. Look for the Quick-Draw in major catalogues and retailers. Suggested retail for the Quick-Draw is $80.00. For more information, visit www.greatdayinc.com—or call 866-649-1918, Ext 137. Made with pride in the USA!

How to Use It: To attach the lure, simply place the eye of the lure onto the end of the exposed coil adjacent to the shaft and swirl two rotations to the base of the product. To remove and replace the lure, simply reverse the process. Quickswirl on/Quickswirl off.

Connect Lures in an Instant

Texas Troubedour Hits Big with New Record

The Original Quickswirl ™ is specifically designed for easy use and durability. Stress tested to outperform all it’s competitors. Functionality is the focus, with design features that ensure the lure will stay attached and survive the most extreme conditions. F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

Raw Material: The raw material we use is comprised of .026 dia. stainless steel wire and is specifically made for abrasion resistance and protection from sharp teeth. It has been torsion straightened and treated so it is nearly invisible beneath the water, and has a dark coffee colored finish. These specifications ensure the highest quality product every time. For more information about quickswirl and where to buy it, go to www.quickswirl.com or email them info@quickswirl.com or call their offices @ 512-771-0598.

For years George Strait has been known as the “King of Country” and “The Texas Troubadour.” Exemplary titles such as these don’t come easy and with twenty plus years experience under his belt, the country

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Quickswirl makes lure changes quick & easy. superstar continues to break records – including his own. “I Saw God Today” is the highest single debut of George Strait’s illustrious career. This brand new song debuted at #19 on the R&R and Billboard radio charts this week. When contacted with this news, George said, “Wow, let me just say a huge thank you to country radio! I love you guys.” The upcoming CD, appropriately entitled Troubadour, will be released on April 1st. It brings about some notable collaborations including a duet with the great Patty Loveless, and long time songwriting partner, Dean Dillon. Distinguished songwriter Leslie Satcher also lends her songwriting expertise to a good number of the twelve tracks. Since his debut in 1981, Strait has sold more than 62 million records and counting. With 32 different platinum or multi-platinum albums, he’s earned the second most certifications of any artist in any genre, following only Elvis Presley. George Strait has received more than 50 major entertainment industry awards and countless nominations. Strait has 70

Texan George Strait

Country Music Association nominations, was the CMA “Vocalist of the Year” five times and the only artist in history to be so honored in two different decades. He recently took home the CMA Album of the Year award for It Just Comes Natural.

Lansky MultiTool

with snap closure. The sheath also has an internal pocket to hold the included 1/4” socket and bit accessory set. This gutsy tool has the versatility and muscle to power through the job at hand. Protected by Lansky’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. Contact: Lansky Sharpeners, (P) 702.361.7511, (F) 702.896.9511, (E) info@lansky.com, Web: www.lansky.com

Lansky Sharpeners—the world’s most recognized and respected name in sharpening—launches a new product line with the

introduction of their Professional Grade Industrial MultiTool (LMT 100). As the cornerstone product of the company’s new Knife & Tool Division, the Lansky Industrial MultiTool sets the benchmark in offering functional, innovative designs—quality engineered in the Lansky tradition to meet exacting performance standards. Lansky’s Industrial MultiTool delivers 20-tool functionality with the strength and heavy-duty durability of rustproof, 420 HC stainless steel construction. This multi-tool is full-sized and combines utility with substance to manhandle tough jobs. Measuring 6-1/4” open, it folds down to a compact 4-1/8” closed length and weighs in at 9.6 oz. The Lansky MultiTool is engineered to outperform the competition and is distinguished by its detailed fit and finish. The ergonomic design features contoured handles with a matte, bead-blasted finish to assure truly comfortable, no-pinch usage combined with a positive, secure grip and great balance. Pliers deploy with a flick of the wrist, and integrated tools and blades open smoothly from the inboard handle positions and lock in place for safe use. The multi-tool stows into a handsome, hardwearing, reinforced, ballistic nylon sheath A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

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Evinrude Rolls Out 300hp Outboard

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G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

Bass Pro, Tracker Retail Innovator of the Year The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution, named John L. (Johnny) Morris the Retail Innovator of the Year. Johnny Morris, founder and creator of one of the most beloved and recognizable brands in the world, created Bass Pro Shops simply because of his love of bass fishing and the outdoors. After using his own bait and stocking it in his father’s liquor stores, John quickly began to recognize sports fishermen’s need for specialized equipment and grew the idea into what has become a major tourist destina-

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Mossy Oak BioLogic Exec Pens Thriller Novel Bobby Cole, a Mossy Oak BioLogic executive, has written The Dummy Line (Context Publishing Co., 19 February 2008, $24.95), an action-packed suspenseful novel that will keep readers on the edges of their seats and quite possibility out of the woods at night. Jake Crosby, a troubled stockbroker, has planned a weekend escape at his hunting camp with his nine-year-old daughter, Katy. In the middle of the night, a gang of redneck drug dealers attempts to break into the remote camp. The gang’s display of heinous intentions toward Jake and Katy causes Jake to make gut-wrenching decisions. Running for their lives, Jake and Katy take the only escape route available, which leads them deep into Alabama’s Noxubee River swamp. Crazed with blood lust and demanding immediate vengeance for their own, the frenzied gang anticipates Jake’s desperate moves as they stalk them throughout the night. Jake’s choices put into motion a sequence of events that threatens everyone associated with him, and an unwitting young couple who happen to be in the wrong place at the worst possible time. Randall Wallace, New York Times Bestseller and writer-director-producer (“Braveheart,” “Pearl Harbor,” “We Were Soldiers,” “Man in the Iron Mask”) said: “Good novels grow out of a writer’s rich

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Thompson/ Center Icon Rifle

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was quite good at just over an inch. However, further testing revealed a problem. If more than three shots were fired quickly, the rounds began to spread and climb up and to the left. I tried other ammunition and nothing seemed to correct the problem. I finally decided it was a problem with the bedding in the stock. Since the gun has a very hightech aluminum bedding-block, I did not think that the bedding of the action was the culprit. That left the barrel channel. Closer inspection revealed that the channel was off to the left, causing the right side to bind against the barrel. I took the gun out of its stock, drug out my barrel channel rasp, and cleaned out the barrel channel to the point where there was obvious clearance between the barrel and the right side of the channel, and made certain that the barrel did not touch the wood anywhere in the barrel channel. The barrel was then completely free-floating. Back at the bench, the first few shots evidenced the problem was solved. It seemed that wherever the crosshairs were resting on

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the target was exactly where the bullet hit. With my handloads, the average three-shot groups were less than 1 inch, as promised by T/C. It seemed, however, this Icon didn’t like many of the factory loads, but as I shoot mostly handloads, that was not a problem. I shot several factory offerings in the gun and it did not produce top-grade accuracy with any of them. I had hoped it would shoot the Federal Fusion, since I really like that bullet, and it is usually extremely accurate, but it seemed to like that load least of all, spreading them around over a couple of inches. It might simply be a peculiarity of this particular gun, which seems likely in view of T/C’s usual quality and accuracy. All in all, I am very happy with the Icon. It is beautifully finished and has a very nice piece of walnut for the stock. The checkering is clean, crisp, and tastefully done. Mine came with a fancy facetted bolt handle. It looks very nice, but my personal prejudices are for the easy-to-grasp standard large knob. Since the Icon was designed so that the owner could change the bolt handle to something else, I will order one I like and replace it. The tool to make the change comes with the gun, and the change takes about a minute to accomplish. The Icon’s short bolt rise is also a nice design feature. Instead of the 60 to 90 degrees of most bolt actions, the Icon is more like 40 degrees. I have found nothing that tells me what the specifications are, so that is a guess, but I like the feature. The Thompson/Center Icon is a great piece of work. It is a good-looking, goodshooting gun. Now that T/C is introducing a long-action version chambered in .270, .30-06, .25-06, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .300 Winchester Magnum, it seems that it is just about everything the discriminating rifleman could want, and the price is downright reasonable.

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Texas Hunter Takes World Record Gobbler Fortunately for Dry, she had to change her tactics, both about what type of April Fool’s Day prank she might pull and about

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYLNN DRY

by Bob Hood how she would try to bag her first spring gobbler on a family ranch near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas. Soon after the echoes from Dry’s 12-

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYLNN DRY

Cherylnn Dry hoists her world record gobbler.

gauge had faded into silence that spring morning, Dry and her husband/hunting partner Glen Dry were standing over what later would be recognized as the all-time world record Rio Grande turkey, a magnificent bird that sported seven beards and scored 161.4375 points under the National Wild Turkey Federation record scoring system. It beat the former record of 160.7500 points set by Brooks Owens in 1991 with an eight-bearded tom that he took in Mills County, Texas. In addition to having seven beards rang-

ing in length from about 7-1/4 to 11-3/4 inches, Cherylnn’s gobbler weighed 21.9375 pounds. One spur measured 1 inch and the other measured 0.850 inches. Cherylnn also is the only woman on the Top 20 world records list. “I had no idea turkeys sometimes have multiple beards, and I did not realize the significance of [the turkey scoring system] at the time,” Cherylnn said. “We let out a few Aggie whoops to anyone who might have heard the shot. I dialed my dad’s cell phone and hoped my hyperventilation would make him take me seriously. ‘Dad, this ain’t no April Fool’s. Come see the turkey I just shot,’ I told him.” The events surrounding Cherylnn ‘s feat are almost as unusual as the remarkable gobbler she bagged. It certainly was not the normal sit “still, call turkey, shoot it” type of hunt. The day before the season opened, the Drys set a pop-up blind at the edge of a green meadow about 200 yards from a creek where they knew turkeys often roosted, but they didn’t put any chairs in it. In the pre-dawn darkness on opening day, Cherylnn lugged two folding metal chairs to the blind through water and mud brought about by recent rains. The chairs “occasionally banged together as I slid through the mud,” she said. Her husband

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carried the 12-gauge auto-loader, his bag of calls, and two hen decoys including one that he put an 8-inch beard onto when they were set up near the blind. Once inside the blind, the Drys awaited daylight as the chairs began to sink up to 4 inches in the mud. Cherylnn said she began to think more about her planned April’s Fool’s joke on her father. Daylight finally arrived, and with it came silence. The Drys soon began to wonder if they had chosen the right spot. Finally, a tom turkey gobbled from somewhere down the creek. It was followed by the gobbles from anther turkey and then more gobbles from a third tom. Cherylnn said she felt for the first time the intensity such moments bring to virtually all spring turkey hunters. “There were at least three gobblers sounding off,” Dry said. “Glen used a box call at first, and they kept gobbling, but it didn’t seem like they were coming to us. He tried a mouth call for a while, and they continued to gobble, but none were coming closer. I am not the most patient person in the world, so I started thinking that maybe we should move toward the gobbles.” Minutes passed and the Drys decided to make a move toward the gobblers. They left the blind and moved to a tree about 30 yards from it. Glen made a series of clucks with his mouth call and a gobbler answered with five gobbles. Another series of gobbles from the bird indicated he was moving closer. Suddenly, the Drys realized that the gobbler had moved to within about 100 yards. The Drys were 30 yards from the blind and the decoys were 15 yards on the other side of it. Not a good situation. “We decided to make a run back for the blind,” Cherylnn said. “I went first, staying in the trees and keeping low, but running as fast as I could with the 12-gauge.” Cherylnn made it to the blind but her husband didn’t. As his wife headed for the blind, Glen spotted the gobbler farther down the creek. He immediately crouched beside a tree. “A little panic flowed through me as I realized I was going to be on my own,” Cherylnn said. Then she realized they had left the Velcro camo-mesh windows of the pop-up blind shut to keep out mosquitoes. Then she saw the big tom move into the pasture road about 100 yards away, strutting, turning, and strutting some more. Cherylnn

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Turkey the Hard Way Part 2

AST MONTH, I WROTE ABOUT TAKING turkey with a bow, focusing on methods and strategy. This month, I would like to talk about the equipment needed to complete this quest. Much of what you use will be a matter of personal preference, but I have found that by making a few changes to my gear, I have increased my success rate tremendously. There are many different bows on the market. As in all hunting equipment, some are better than others. The bows of today are built to precision standards and most boast about how fast they can get an arrow off the string and to the target. With turkey, however, speed is not your ally. With deer, the desired impact is a full passthrough, which will create maximum hemorrhaging and an adequate blood trail. However, with turkey, it is better for the arrow to remain in the bird after contact. The turkey won’t be able to take flight, making recovery much easier. Many turkey have been lost simply because they flew away after the fatal hit.

By the way, the hogs and coyotes wish to thank you at this time. Delicious, they say! Some hunters prefer to have a bow set up for hunting deer and another one for small game. Of course, you can use your deer-hunting bow and it will work just fine. Try cranking the weight down a few turns for turkey hunting. It will slow the arrow just enough so a pass through will be harder to achieve. Remember to count the number of full turns you do on each limb so that the bow will stay tuned and ready for the next hunt. The sight pins will also change a bit. Practice a little before you hunt with this change and set your pins accordingly. Will the broadheads that you use for deer work just as well for turkeys? The short answer is yes. Again, the arrow should not pass completely through the turkey. On a personal level, I prefer to use mechanical broadheads for turkey and fixed blades for deer. Call it a trial and error thing, if you will. It has been my experience that the fixed blades have a better chance of passing completely through a turkey. I have not had that occurrence while using mechanical heads. I realize that a lot of you reading this will be scratching your heads saying, “That makes no sense.” I used to say that, too, but since I changed to the mechanical broadheads used in conjunction with lighter draw weight, I have had no arrows pass through at all. If you decide that fixed blades work for you, then let me suggest a few adjustments.

There are companies that sell attachments that fit on the shaft of your arrow just behind the broadhead. These can be anything from a metal spring object that grips the meat of the bird upon entry, to a rubber washer that fits tight up against the shaft to slow the arrow on impact. Specialty heads are another option. Check out the Gobbler Guillotine in Ted Nugent’s “Sticking it to Turkey” feature elsewhere in this issue. Texas has a huge population of Rio Grande turkey. As of the last count, it was over 600,000 birds. What makes Texas even more appealing is the fact that along with Rio Grandes, there is also a growing population of eastern turkey in the Pineywoods, as well as a few pockets in the Trans Pecos region. A hunter can take a big chunk of a Grand Slam right here in Texas. No other state offers that. With all of this extra hunting opportunity, there should be plenty of successful bowhunters. Believe me, once you take a bird with a bow, you might never again take a shotgun turkey hunting. On a side note, it would be interesting to have an occasional question-and-answer column. Send your archery questions to me via email at lmarullo@fishgame.com E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

TROPHY FEVER Continued from Page I-36 said she knew she would not be able to pull the Velcro windows open without making noise. Her husband had quit calling and the gobbler continued closing in on the two decoys. The gobbler moved into a grove of elms 20 or 30 yards away and Cherylnn knew that once it cleared them she would have her shot. I38

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Cherylnn said she tried to use one of the chairs as a rest for her shotgun, but it was stuck in the mud. The gobbler stayed in a full strut all the way to the decoys. Cherylnn knelt down, pressed the barrel close to one of the mesh windows, and put the bead on the gobbler’s head. The rest is history and one for the record books. “I’ve been blessed growing up with just about every coveted hunting and fishing

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opportunity in Texas, from whitetails in Webb County to speckled trout under the lights on the Intracoastal Canal,” Cherylnn said. “I’ve got memories to last a lifetime of my family enjoying God’s great outdoors together. The spring gobbler is now a clear part of that memory book, and April 1 will forever be circled on my calendar for more than one reason.”

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DEER—ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

BOAR—DUVAL COUNTY, TEXAS

Caleb Lenard, age 15, and brother Ryan Lenard, age 13, of Rusk, Texas, killed these deer within three minutes of each other during a youth hunt in Anderson County, Texas.

MALLARD—LAKE WACO, TEXAS

ELK—BEDIAS, TEXAS

Max Burmeister, age 17, of Leroy, Texas, shot this banded mallard hen while hunting on Lake Waco. It was his seventh duck ever and was banded in North Dakota.

GOT BUCKS? GOT HOGS? GOT TURKEYS? GOT BANDED DUCKS?

WHITETAIL DEER—BORDEN COUNTY, TEXAS

PLEASE INCLUDE PHOTO CAPTION: NAME HOMETOWN WHEN & WHERE TAKEN SIZE AND WEIGHT

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.) A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Boat Math

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Simple Math: One of the easiest formulas to remember is also a very useful one, especially in this age of costly fuel. Let’s say you are looking at new boat/motor packages, and wondering how much gasoline that new outboard motor is going to burn. Simple: multiply take the horsepower rating by 0.1. The resulting number (10 percent of the horsepower rating) is the approximate gallon-per-hour fuel burn for the motor at wideopen throttle. Interestingly, this formula—which used to be applied to old-tech two-stroke outboards—also works for modern direct-injection and four-stroke outboards because these new motors still chug fuel when you open them all the way up. What has changed, however, is the relationship between wideopen throttle fuel burn and cruising speed fuel burn. While that 10 percent figure dropped by 30 percent going from wideopen to cruising speed for the old-tech motors, it drops by more like 40 to 50 percent with most modern motors. So, while a 200 hp carbureted two-stroke burned about 20 gph wide-open, and about 13 gph at a brisk cruise, a modern outboard will burn around 20 gph wide-open (many do slightly better than this) and in the neighborhood of 11 gph at cruise. Immersed in Arithmetic: Ever wonder just how much X number of pounds will make your boat sink? If you are all alone, will you be able to run over flats that you would go aground on with a pair of 300pound Bubbas aboard? The simple answer is “yes,” and you will see why once you grasp Pounds-per-inch Immersion. Hold on tight, folks, we are going to do some serious (cringe!) calculations: multiply waterline length by waterline beam, then multiple by 0.76. The result is called the “waterplane area.” Next, multiply the waterplane area by 5.34 to get pounds per inch. This number will tell you how many pounds it takes to sink your boat by one more inch. An example: Your Acme Glitzcraft is 20 feet long at the waterline and 8 feet wide. 20

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x 8 x 0.76 = 212.6, which is your waterplane area. Next, multiply that 212.6 waterplane area by 5.34 to get 650.56. That means that if you put two 300-pound Bubbas aboard plus their 50.56-pound picnic basket, the Glitzcraft’s draft will increase by exactly 1 inch. Plane Numbers: Exactly when does your boat break a plane? That’s simple enough to find out, with a little (ugh!) computation. This one has one of those annoying little “check marks” (the symbol for square root) in it, but it’s still doable: 1.34√waterline length = hull speed When a boat exceeds its hull speed, it’s officially planing. Just in case some folks don’t get it, let’s go back to that Glitzcraft example, but this time, the boat’s waterline length is 25 and we need the square root of the boat’s waterline length, so we will use this nice, easy round number. The square root of 25 is 5, of course, so we multiply 5 by 1.34, to get 6.7. And that’s your planning speed, in mph. As soon as that Glitzcraft exceeds 6.7 mph, it is, to some degree, exceeding its hull length and therefore planning. A Moment of Your Time: Another nifty formula expresses “trimming moment.” A trimming moment is the effect of relocating weight aboard your boat, and essentially describes how it will change the trim of the boat due to the shift, in foot-pounds of pressure. It goes like this: TM = W x D where: TM = trimming moment W = weight D = distance Let’s say there is a 160-pound man in that old Glitzcraft. He is standing in the bow of the boat, and decides to move aft. He stands up, and walks 7.5 feet toward the stern. We can multiply 160 (weight in pounds) by 7.5 (distance in feet) and conclude that he has completed a trimming

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moment of 1200 foot-pounds. Digital Distance: If you are going to add radar to a relatively small boat, this calculation is a must-have. In many cases, people buy radars that are simply too potent for their boat, because a radar’s range is not only limited by power, it’s also limited by the height of the antenna. Here is the formula: 1.22 x √antennae height in feet + 1.22 x √target height in feet. This calculation will give you the radar’s range in nautical miles. If you want it in meters (we can’t imagine why, Frenchie, but if you insist) simply change the 1.22 to 2.21. For an example, let’s pretend your boat has a radome mounted on a hard top that’s 9 feet above the water. Your target is a rock jetty that’s also 9 feet off the water. The square root of 9 is 3, so the calculation is 1.22 x 3 + 1.22 x 3, which equals 3.66 + 3.66, or 7.32. No matter how good that radar unit is—be it a 4-, 6-, or 10-kilowatt machine—you won’t see that rock jetty until your boat is just 7.32 nautical miles away from it. Conductor Computation: Many boaters will, sooner or later, have to replace

a wire or two or run a new one when installing a new piece of electronics. How will you know exactly what size wire to use? It’s simple, with this conductor computation: CM =K x A x L ——————— E where: CM = circular mills (wire size necessary) K = 10.8 A = load in amps L = length of the conductor, in feet E = acceptable maximum voltage drop at unit Let’s say you would like to install a new electric trolling motor, which draws 40 amps at full speed. The wire run from the battery to the motor is 15 feet and the acceptable voltage drop is 0.5. The formula will look like this: 10.8 x 40 x 15 = 12,960 CM ———————————— 0.5

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To get that motor running, you will need to use wire that is at least 12,960 circular mils (which is 8-gauge, 19-strand copper). Now, will this motor provide enough power for your boat? If you are not sure, you might want to try changing thrust into horsepower, a measurement that we are all a little more used to. Luckily, the formula’s simple: multiply amps x volts, to get watts of power. Then multiply by .95, because most quality electric motors are about 95-percent efficient. So, if you have a 24-volt motor using 40 amps, that means you have 960 watts. Account for the inefficiency, and you get 912 watts. Since 750 watts equals one horsepower, we can divide 912 by 750, and know the motor puts out 1.2 horsepower. As a point of reference, electrics this size will usually be rated between 70- and 76pound-thrust motors. I have enjoyed as much of this as I can stand. You will have to excuse me for now. I am about to lose my lunch and if I look at one more number… E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com

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T-Ball Rig

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ShallowWater Spooning

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Shooting Docks for Crappie

PHOTO BY ROY NEVES

start out with my ultralight combo, 6-pound Mr. Crappie Hi-Vis line, and a bunch of marabou Blakemore Road Runners; 1/16or 1/32-ounce work great. Hop into my boat and off to see just how many boat docks I can fish before catching my limit, which is 25 per person and each must be 10 inches long. When you approach a dock that you think could hold crappie under it, look at the dock real close and see which side has the most shade; look for the darkest spot under that dock. Most of our docks in Texas are free standing with piers going down into the bottom of the lake. The piers are mostly made of steel, or if you are lucky, you have

pulled up to a dock that the piers are made of wood or concrete, or maybe a real old dock. I look for docks that have big sun decks built low to the water; that helps provide lots of shade for the crappie, and are hard to get to for most anglers. Docks that have boat lifts or boats will provide even more shade. Of course, the dead giveaway for the perfect dock is a set of rod holders mounted on the handrails, a crappie light hanging down close to the water, and an old minnow bucket still floating from last night out on their dock. Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready to make that first shot under the perfect dock that most people just dream about. I reach down and open my spinning reel with my trigger finger, holding the Mr. Crappie Hi-Vis line tight, and reach out to grab my Road Runner with my thumb and index finger by the lead head of the lure. Make sure when you put the head between your thumb and index finger that the hook is facing outward. Make sure that your lure is between your first guide on your rod and the top of your reel; that allows plenty of room to pull back on the lure to

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Topwater, Cranking, & Carolina Rigging

First, I will work a Bagley’s Bango lure in black and silver around rock points, or along side of the floating docks. If the bass don’t want a prop type bait, then I will go to a popper like the Bagley Pop’N B or the Bass Pro Shops Z Pop. If these are not working, go to an XPS Slim Dog. This is a walk the dog type lure that imitates a wounded shad. I fish all my topwater baits on a Woo Daves’ Extreme 6-foot ML rod and us 14-pound XPS line. A little tip is to coat the first 10 feet of your line with fly line dressing for a lot better action. On most topwater lures, I use a double loop knot that free up the action on the lures. Another good technique this time of year is just to put your MotorGuide on high speed and go down the bank fishing. You will be surprised at the fish you catch on nothing places.

Next, I will fish a shad colored or black silver Bagley’s Small Fry, as this is the best shad imitation lure I have ever used around docks and riprap or shallow drops. I use Woo Daves’ Extreme 6-foot ML rod with 10-pound XPS line. Give the lure a lot of stop and go retrieve and put some action into it. If you can catch current around riprap corners or bridge pilings, this is a deadly lure in June. One thing you definitely want to look for is blue herrings on the bank, if they are there so are the shad. Another tip, if your topwater action slows down, go back over the same area with a Zoom double fluke rig. If you can find shallow humps or shoals, this is also a prime area to fish any of the lures mentioned above.

or lily pads. You can call Wes Cox at 866378-FISH for more information.

The Carolina rig is in its prime right now. I use at least a 3-foot leader and a lot of times 4 feet. I will fish a 3/4-ounce Lindy’s Rattlin’ No-Snagg weight and a Mustad 1/0 wide gap offset hook with a Zoom centipede or Zoom lizard, fluke, or Trick worm. The reason I like the long leader is because the fish are hungry and when they hear the sinker hit the water, they are looking. Once the sinker hits bottom then the lure sinks four feet slowly and they can’t stand it. You need to wait 10 to 15 seconds before moving the lure. Then, you need to be checking on the first move to see if something feels funny. A lot of times the fish is on there right away. Use a 7-foot, 4inch Woo Daves’ Extreme rod with 17pound XPS fluorocarbon test on main line and a 10- to 12-pound XPS leader. I like to use XPS fluorocarbon line because of the feel. Now I want to tell you about a new lure called the Slickfish. This is a topwater lure that can be thrown into the thickest of cover and it will not hang up. The hooks are inside the lure and are triggered on a spring to pop out on the hook-set. This is not a gimmick, but a lure that works great in grass A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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The Wind is Your Friend ...Sort of

PRING WINDS HUFF AND PUFF, FIRST IN ONE direction, then the other, making it difficult to pattern fish with any regularity. The fishing part is actually easy compared to paddling a kayak directly into the teeth of a flag-snapping wind. The trip back to the launch site can be very tiring, even frustrating, with a relentless breeze parting your hair. Spring fishing in Texas bays can be hit or miss. The results depend heavily on finding the warmest water possible and fishing in areas that have a lot of bait activity. Anglers who fish from center consoles often drift, allowing the wind to push their vessels over

long stretches of promising water. This technique was the genesis for the old saying, “The wind is your friend.” There have been several corollaries to that statement, the most accurate being, “The wind is your friend—as long as it is less than 20 miles per hour.” True words, my friends, especially if you paddle a kayak. The wind is the paddler’s friend—kinda— and coastal kayak fishermen should take advantage of the wind rather than fight it whenever possible. Since fish are scattered in the spring, the best strategy is to cover a lot of territory rather than home in on a specific area. Just like their gel-coated brethren, kayaks are good platforms to drift-fish from. I prefer to turn sidesaddle in my sit-on-top and dangle my legs in front of the hull. The wind pushes me along while I make downwind casts. The wind helps maximize casting distance, which is important since the water is extremely clear in the spring. Should the wind push your hull a little too fast for your liking, you can slow its velocity by deploying a sash weight or drift

anchor. Kayak-sized drift socks are about 18-inches long and provide the same braking effect as larger ones deployed from bay boats. Sash weights are used to counterbalance wooden double-hung windows. Unfortunately, those elegant old windows are going the way of carrier pigeons, but you can still find the weights at flea markets and garage sales. The weights drag along the bottom like a mini-anchor, thereby slowing your progress. Slowing your drift rate is advantageous, as it allows you to work the water in front of you thoroughly before you drift through it. This is especially important to hardware slingers, as it allows them to slow the speed of the retrieve. Another way to cheat the wind is to make a one-way trip. One-way trips require a bit of planning before setting off, but are worth the extra effort when the wind velocity ratchets up. Two vehicles are staged along the shoreline a reasonable distance from each other. You launch from one site and take out at the next. Then, all the paddlers can drive back to the original vehicle and sort out gear

MISTER CRAPPIE Continued from Page I-44 load up the rod tip. Then, with one swift motion with your line parallel with the water, release your trigger finger and the Road Runner at the same time. This will propel the lure way back under the dock to that hard to reach dark spot where Mr. Crappie lives. Wherever you point your rod, it is just like a gun; the lure is going in that direction. Once the lure hits the water, close your spinning reel with your free hand and start a slow retrieve back to the boat. All of a sudden, your line pops out straighter than a banjo string, and you feel that awesome thump on your line. Guess what? Mister Crappie has been taken prisoner! A lot of times when I’m shooting these I46

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because if you get that big slab on, you don’t want to lose him. How many times have you tried to lift the fish in the boat, and had to tell that story about the big ‘un that got away? Until your next fishing trip, practice shooting a lure under a board about 2 feet off the ground while sitting in a chair. See how far your can get the lure under the board without touching the ground. It’s an art. Until next time, crappie trails to you. E-mail Wally Marshall at mrcrappie@fishgame.com. Visit his website at www.mrcrappie.com

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there. Before and after cold fronts, southeasterly winds dominate the coast. On many shorelines in Texas bays, a southeast wind will push you, more or less, parallel with the shore. The added benefit here is the lee of the shoreline offers some protection from the wind, and there is usually a thin strip of trout-clear water to be found. If you fish with a group, you can use three vehicles and plan to cover longer distances, which will increase the likelihood of intercepting fish. The extra vehicle staged in the

middle allows you to short-circuit the plan if you find fish loitering sooner than you planed, or if inclement weather hits. River paddlers have been using this shuttle technique for decades. One note about the weather: Spring cold fronts unleash biting winds and frigid rain, but when they will actually push through to the coast is only a weatherman’s prediction. Don’t assume the talking heads on television are reliable. Regardless what the forecast says, keep out a keen eye for threatening conditions.

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Trout and redfish will be scattered for the next several months until summer’s grasp takes hold along the coast. Until that time, you will likely have to cover lots of territory to find fish. Use the wind to your advantage, and not only will you catch more fish, your arms, shoulders, and back will thank you at the end of the day. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com

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Young Gun

August. Entry fees for the season total $55,000. Tack on the high price of fuel and other travel expenses and the price tag for a single season can easily blossom beyond $80,000. Chump change for some; a huge sum of

by Matt Williams er to see action in a major league baseball game that year. Waldrop doesn’t play baseball. He’s is a 19-year old professional bass angler who last fall etched is name into the sport’s history books when he became the youngest angler on record to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series tour. Clyde’s stint in the majors was relatively short lived. His career ended at the young age of 26 because of arm injuries. Pro baseball junkies often reflect on the former Westchester High School sensation as a budding star that fizzled because he was rushed into the big leagues before he was ready. Waldrop’s future in the major leagues will not hinge on his ability to overpower hitters with blazing fastballs. Instead, it will be decided by his ability to fool largemouth and smallmouth bass with artificial lures. A personable pro with thick, wavy red hair, Waldrop thinks he has the talent department covered well enough to be a serious player for years to come. The main question is whether his pockets will be deep enough to make it over the hump. It costs a mint to follow the Elite Series trail, one that will lead him to 11 different lakes in eight states between now and I48

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19-year-old pro bass angler Corey Waldrop. money for a teenager who eats, sleeps, and breathes bass fishing, but has limited sponsors to help fund his habit. His plan? A Legend Boats pro staffer, Waldrop said he hopes to use his age as a marketing tool to attract sponsors. “I am going to try to use it to my advantage,” he said. “My age should give me an approach to getting sponsors than some of the other anglers don’t have. When I do well, it might put me in the spotlight a little more than another angler, because I am so young. It will be a great avenue to generate some great exposure, which is what sponsors are looking for.” In the meantime, Waldrop is beating the bushes trying to drum up as much financial support he can. Elite Series pros are allowed to pay their entry fees in scheduled installments throughout the season. Waldrop

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managed come up with the money ($7000) to cover the first installment due in December. Others will be due soon. “It is going to be like paying on a house mortgage from hell,” Waldrop said. “I’ve been hustling, trying to get it done. I know this is not going to be easy, but I am going to give it my best shot. I may have to sleep in my truck and eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the road. But I am willing to do it if that is what it takes. It will make the fire inside me burn hotter to do good out there. The rewards are worth it.” Waldrop’s upbeat attitude probably won’t come as much of a surprise to those who know him. A top-ranked graduate from All Saints Episcopal School in Ft. Worth, Waldrop chose bass fishing over college after logging one semester at TCU in fall 2006 as a premed student. His said his parents supported his decision to swap his books for a flippin’ stick, based on the understanding that he was going to pursue the dream on his own. “Fishing is my passion — its what I love and do,” Waldrop said. “My parents have my back 100 percent on this, but their feelings are that I should do it on my own so I’ll gain some respect for what I am doing. I completely agree with that.” How does it feel to be the pup in a pit with Van Dam, Reese, Brauer, and the rest of the big dogs? “I’m fishing against the elite anglers in the business, the best of the best,” Waldrop said. “When you look down through the list of competitors you see a lot of household names. I’m really excited about this opportunity. It’s going to be a treat to fish against them. I fished hard all year to be where I am. Now my goal is make the most of it.” The 2008 Elite Series tour got underway last month with two stops in Florida. Waldrop and the rest of the 110-angler field will make back-to-back stops in Texas this month. The first is at Lake Falcon, April 36, then Amistad, April 10-13.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ESPN

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Varmint Cartridges Today

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Old Guns

headed to the barn to milk his cows. As soon as I got dressed, I grabbed the .22 or 20-gauge, went to the barn for a quick visit with my grandfather, and then headed for the pasture. As I grew older, I was able to buy my own rifles and shotguns, including a .22 Western Auto branded single-shot, a .30-06 03-A3 Springfield rifle that I gave $50 for and picked out of a barrel full of surplus military rifles in a Fort Worth department store, and others that I still own. Each of these firearms holds special memories, but there is one particular “oldie’ that today means as much to me about the future as it does of the past—an Ithaca M66 single-shot 12-gauge with a 30-inch full choke barrel.

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PHOTO BY BOB HOOD

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Model numbers might mean little to anyone not familiar with the gun, but the reason the Ithaca means so much to me is because it has become my turkey gun of choice. Sure, everyone has their favorite turkey gun, and there certainly are a lot of really nice gobbler-getters out there that have provided many hunters with great results. Mine, though, has and always will be the Ithaca M-66. The reason I hold the shotgun in such high esteem is simple: my 35-year history of hunting with it, or vice versa, if you choose. Like memories built from hunting behind an old bird dog, it is rewarding to remember the events of 35 years hunting with the old’ M-66, and it also is exciting to think about hunting with it again this spring turkey season. For those not familiar with the Ithaca M66, it looks like a lever-action shotgun, but isn’t. The only function of its lever is to break it open. A single hammer cocks the gun. There is no safety other than the rebounding hammer, or the gun being opened. The Model 66 was introduced by Ithaca in 1963 and was available through 1978. I bought mine in 1966 for predator hunting, not spring turkey hunting, which wasn’t available in Texas until a few years later. The 30-inch full choke barrel loaded with 3-inch No. 2s has done a number on numerous coyotes, foxes, and bobcats, but in the early years of Texas’ spring turkey hunting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the M-66 took a backseat on my first tries for spring turkey. The fact that I chose to go after my first gobblers with a Savage .222/20-gauge over-and-under speaks more for my lack off confidence in calling turkey than it does for the guns themselves. I shot my first gobbler in the Hill Country with the M-66 single-shot in 1973, and I have picked up no other shotgun in all of the spring turkey seasons in Texas, Kentucky, and elsewhere since. The Ithaca M-66, because of its age, can

be considered a relic, but it is a relic that still performs its job well. A gun does not have to be a relic, however, to build special memories for the one who shoots it. Whether you own several old or new firearms or simply own one or two of them, there is a good chance one particular gun has a special meaning to you. I can’t say that I have pampered my old M-66 over the many years it has been with me. The numerous scars on its stock and forearm and its worn finish attest to that.

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I’ve crawled through mud holes and over rock piles with it, swam a couple of flooded creeks with it, used it to pry my way through thick brush, and have let it bounce around in the back of numerous pickup trucks. No, this relic has by no means been pampered, and if I could do it all over again from the beginning, I wouldn’t change a thing. E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

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Warden Games

Warrant Uncovers More Than 100 Stolen Items: February 6, 2008, a Young County game warden received a call from a hog hunter who reported seeing two suspicious looking all-terrain vehicles on the road. When the warden and several Young County deputies arrived on the scene, the suspects fled the scene in their vehicles. A high-speed chase ensued. After an extensive search, the suspects were not located, but the evidence was seized. The investigation determined that both ATVs were stolen. The warden remained in the area until 11:00 p.m., when he observed a vehicle leaving a nearby pasture. Upon receiving backup, a felony vehicle stop was made. Four subjects were arrested without

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incident. After searching the property with warrants, the officers recovered more than 100 stolen items, including: stolen hunting equipment, commercial tools, TVs, and guns. The ongoing investigation has resolved numerous cases in several counties. Felony charges up to $20,000 were filed for possession of drug items, evading arrest, deadly conduct, and stolen property. Eight Deer Heads in a Shed: February 5,2008, a Potter County game warden and a Randall County game warden went to an Amarillo home to investigate a city cleanup crew member’s claim that there were eight deer heads in a shed behind the home. After inspecting the deer heads, the wardens determined them to be fresh, noting that deer season had ended two months ago. The occupant of the home invited the wardens inside and showed them the fresh deer meat that filled his freezer. The occupant said the last deer was brought home two days ago. Soon after, the main suspect arrived at the home and confessed to killing eight mule deer during the last seven to eight months. A hunting rifle that had been stolen 10 years ago was also found in the home. Cases are pending. Get Your Own License: January 19, 2008, a Val Verde County game warden inspected the kills of a hunting camp and found several misdemeanors. The warden found two deer to be tagged with a female’s hunting license, as well as a 6-point buck in violation of the spike and antlerless season. Upon returning to the camp, one hunter said there were no female hunters in the group. Shortly after, another hunter said his wife killed the two does, but left camp to return home. After a short visit with the warden, the hunter said he had used his wife’s tags and that she had not been hunting. Another hunter stepped forward and claimed ownership of the 6-point buck. Appropriate charges were filed on both hunters. Cases and restitution are pending on the three deer.

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Alligators Don’t Make Nice Family Pets: January 18, 2008, two Howard and Dawson County game wardens executed a search warrant for an alligator on a residence in Big Spring. Upon entering the bedroom of the house, the wardens saw a 4foot long alligator in a round tank. The alligator was seized and was subsequently pressed into educational service, as it made an appearance in programs at three local schools. The alligator was released into an alligator-friendly environment January 21. Young Hunters Spotlight WhiteTailed Deer at Night: In January, a Kendall County game warden filed multiple charges against two young hunters, after receiving information about their late night hunting activities. Upon being caught with a freshly killed buck at 2:00 a.m., the hunters said they didn’t know spotlighting and hunting white-tailed deer at night was illegal. Ironically, they said they were aware that shooting deer without a hunting license is illegal. Call it Game Warden’s Intuition: In January, a Lamb County game warden testified before a grand jury concerning a case he filed against a Bailey County man for hunting without landowner consent. During the mule deer season, the warden received a call from a landowner saying a deer had been shot from the road. Upon the warden’s arrival, an adjoining landowner said there had been a misunderstanding and that his hunters had shot the deer, causing it to run across the road and die. Feeling uneasy about the story, the warden began an investigation that proved that the story had been concocted by the hunters who had tagged and reported the deer.

E-mail Wayne Watson at outlaw@fishgame.com.

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ATV Deaths Decline Texas ranks 4th in nation

HE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY Commission (CPSC) recently released a report showing ATV-related deaths declined nationally from 666 to 555 for the reporting period ending 31 December 2005. The same report shows Texas ranking

fourth in overall deaths in the nation for the period 1982 to 2006 with 386 deaths. The Top 10 states are: 1. Pennsylvania, 420 deaths 2. California, 418 3. West Virginia, 398 4. Texas, 386 5. Kentucky, 367 6. Florida, 349 7. Tennessee, 322 8. New York, 303 9. North Carolina, 297 10. Michigan, 296 Criteria used for the study does not include side-by-side or “utility” ATVs. According to the report: “CPSC staff con-

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siders an A TV to be an off-road, motorized vehicle having three or four low pressure tires, a straddle seat, and handlebars. Off-road motor vehicles having bench seats and/or steering wheels (e.g., golf carts, dune buggies, and certain types of utility vehicles) are not categorized as ATVs by CPSC staff. Consequently, fatalities and injuries associated with these types of vehicles are not included in this report.” The report includes data on child deaths and injuries for the 1982-2006 reporting period. Of 8104 deaths, 2342 or 29 percent involved riders under 16 years of age, and 987 or 12 percent under 12 years of age.

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The Lostrider

men live by a simple code. They stroll across the yard with their hats kicked back, twirling a rope, and swaggering in highheeled boots while contemplating their latest dilemma. Then ZIP! in true Will Rogers fashion, they snake a loop on the affair and wrest a solution that will endure any questions. Theirs’ is a code that is so basic that at times it may seem they depend on their horse to aide them in sticking to the trail both literally and figuratively. They know that there will always be at least one four-footed compadre with common sense to listen to their woes; however, if that damn horse quits them, life goes straight to hell.

Montana, the Early Days…

Any man who thinks he is too old, too experienced, or too elite to be tested everyday is a pretentious fool. With that thought in mind, my mettle was under self-scrutiny. A Lazy H Outfitters, in Choteau, Montana, gave me the first riding job that didn’t include a hometown connection or best friend/brother-in-law type alliance. They needed a wrangler and guide that knew his way around a pack mule, and knew something about camping in the Bob

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Marshal Wilderness. Employment began with the summer fly-fishing season in July and ran through the general elk season that ended after Thanksgiving. My concern came with facing realities. The brag amongst cowboys is that a top hand can pick up his saddle and get a job anywhere in cow country. Now, I had been gathering cattle out of the yaupon brush since being a teenager. There was an uncountable herd of ranch colts, racing colts, and various broncs that succumbed to my tutelage, and I spent a number of years taking care of wilderness camps for an outfitter that was my buddy. But this would be the first trial to see if I measured up to the “rider for hire” wandering grub line cowboy ideal, that I idolized in Will James’, Lone Cowboy.

ON & OFF THE ROAD Continued from Page I-55 The ATV Safety Institute has issued the Golden Rules for Safe ATV Operation: 1. Always wear a helmet and other protective gear. 2. Never ride on public roads; another vehicle could hit you. 3. Never ride under the influence of I56

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alcohol or other drugs. 4. Never carry a passenger on a singlerider vehicle. 5. Ride an ATV that’s right for your age. The CPSC age/size guidelines are: Age 6 and older, under 70cc Age 12 and older, 70-90cc Age 16 and older, over 90cc 6. Supervise riders younger than 16; ATVs are not toys. 7. Ride only on designated trails and at

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a safe speed. 8. Take an ATV Rider Course; to enroll call toll free, 800-887-2887. For more information, see the ATV Safety Institute website at www.atvsafety.org.

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Fortunately for my sake, the first summer trip went without any major screw-ups. It was established early on that I was the straw boss and with the responsibility came accountability. The only troubling incident was that I had to recommend dismissing another mule packer, and then find a replacement. Again fortunately, I knew where to look and soon Tom Bayne on the payroll. The folks that owned the outfit were retired schoolteachers and didn’t come on the trips. Instead they sent their daughter to cook and trusted me to insure the guest’s safety and satisfaction. They had also warned me that a few of the horses were pure Democrats and resented hard work. Given the chance, several of the fuzzy lamebrains may make a break for home pastures and free grain whenever turned loose to forage. This wasn’t something to which I was accustomed. All the stock I had ever wrangled seemed happier with the tall mountain grass and daily routines than loafing around in a short-grass feedlot on the ranch. Nevertheless, I kept a sharp lookout for equine escape artists. The next three trips were pure joy. We packed over Headquarters Pass into the Sun River Valley, camped on Gates Creek, fly fished all day, and recounted Wild West stories around the nightly campfire. The horses and mules turned their springtime fat into muscle and the entire crew acclimated to mountain living and sleeping under the stars. None of the caballos exhibited any inclinations to mutiny, and we sashayed into our fifth trip that would take us along the Chinese Wall. It was a 10-day jaunt through some of the most scenic and sensitive alpine locales in the lower 48 states. As we neared the wall the temperature dropped and the grass for the livestock became scant. On the fourth day, we slid from our bedrolls early. Tom grazed the stock while I began to break camp and mante pack loads. The grocery boxes, cooking fly, and much of our equipment could be made ready. Once the guests were awake and stuffing breakfast in their face, I could break down the stove, wrap up their tents, and pack the rest of the gear. Then Tom brought in the remuda and we began feeding and saddling. The next exercise was putting the clients on the trail and sending them ahead with the cook. Meanwhile, Tom and I finished organizing and

loading our pack mule strings. The plan was to leave the north fork of the Sun River, follow the Chinese Wall, and then drop down to Indian Point on the west fork of the Sun. The distance from the starting point to the destination is 20 miles. Now, riding single that far is a full day. Tearing down camp, then leading a string of eight mules up the mountain and then back down, and then reconstructing camp is a chore. A pack string averages three miles per hour and grazes three hours at dawn and three hours

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at dusk. Such a day starts well before daylight and ends with frazzled guides drifting up to the campfire in hopes of finding leftovers from supper. The tale of how the Lostrider got his name concludes in the May issue. E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com

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It’s All in the Spots

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hide but you cannot run… or is it run but cannot hide? Oh, it doesn’t matter; put your rod back in the water. “Here we go!” “Baby! Another one? I can’t even get my rod in the water before you’ve got one on the line again.” “Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap, too small!” Fine, so you reds want to play hardball, huh? Let’s load her up and put two shrimp on this time. Come on, Big Daddy! “Uh, David! Here we go!” “Baby, what are you up to now, six?” “Who cares! Look, it is minuscule. A pitiful excuse for a fish! This is starting to tick me off!” “Oh, my! Baby, look at that! I have never seen that!” “What? Seen what?” “Look at this fish’s spots.” Spot… spots. So what? I wanted that big bull red. One that you can take back to the dock and everyone says, “Now, that is a fine fish! You reel that in all by yourself, young lady?” “Holy mackerel! Look at the spots on this fish! I don’t think I have ever seen that many spots on a red before.” “Big deal! Spots, schmotz. David, it might as well be a sardine.” “No, no, I know, but I bet you are one of the few that has caught a redfish with that many spots. Look, it has one, two… eight, no, over 11 spots. I wonder what the record is for catching a redfish with the most spots?” Record? What do those spots mean? Is that a sign of age? Is that a mutation? Possibly a rare fish? “Really? Are they rare? Hard to catch? Not too many of these types around, huh?” “I have never seen that many spots on one fish before. Two, maybe three spots, but not this many. Pretty darn rare if you ask me” “Well, Captain, you sure know how to show a gurl a good time. I guess you know where to find those rare ones.” So, what is the big deal about catching a bull red anyway? All kinds of people have caught those. Nothing special about that, right? Yah, yah that’s… I’m the gurl that catches the rarest, the most peculiar, the weirdest, the oddest, and, yes, the one with the most spots, the one in a million gene pool mutation. When I get back, I am going to tell those

guys on the dock: “What, you’ve never seen a fish like that? Well, I am the gurl that can catch the idiosyncratic fish. What? Idiosyncratic? Too big of a word for you fellas? Whad-ja say? You’ve never seen that many spots on a red before? “It is all in the technique. You must have just the right finesse. Know just where to go. If you really want to catch these rare fish, the peculiar creatures of the sea, you have to load up your bait and then ever so gently flick your wrists back and forth. Not too fast, you

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understand. Those idiosyncratic fish are tricky. They can smell a novice a mile away. One wrong move and they won’t take your bait. “Yep, it takes years of practice and, of course, the patience of Job. “Nope, you can’t rush these things. Just keep at it. “Don’t worry, your day will come.” E-mail Mari Henry at gurlz@fishgame.com.

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Killing a Friend

JUST WENT THROUGH THE HARDEST THING I have ever done. A week ago, the vet said our 11-year-old Labrador retriever had cancer and diabetes and they said we had to put her down pretty quickly. He also used the words “put her to sleep,” but both are just pretty ways to say “kill her.” Dad looked really sad and Sis just started crying and hugging Apache. Her crying made me tear up and I just couldn’t stop them. Dad asked how long she had and the vet said it could be up to a year, but she would soon be in pain. He said we needed to do it pretty quickly. Dad wanted to do it right then, but Sis cried even louder and asked Dad to wait at least until next Saturday morning. He said all right and they helped Apache off the table and

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onto the floor. She grunted, because her hips hurt from arthritis. On the way back home, Dad talked about life experiences and said this is one of the worst things dog owners have to deal with. Sis and I sat in the truck’s back seat and rubbed Apache’s big old head. Then came the worst part: We had to spend the next few days dreading Saturday’s appointment with the vet. The week went too fast, and before long, it was Friday night. Mom made chicken-fried steak for supper, but no one was really hungry. She had never done it before, but she fed Apache scraps off our plates. Her eyes were full of tears while we cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Saturday morning was drizzly and gray. Dad went outside and led Apache around to the truck. She had to stop and pee, because of the diabetes. She usually went two or three times an hour. Sis was really crying when we had to lift Apache back into the truck because she couldn’t jump anymore. Dad looked at Sis and said, “I know.” “We’re going to go kill her,” Sis said, and a lump grew in my throat. I tried to fight it

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down, because I didn’t want anyone to see me cry. “No, she’s dying now,” Dad said. “We’ve made a hard decision to do what’s right. She has lived with the diabetes for quite awhile, and now the cancer has spread all over her body. It’s time for us to show her we love her by not making her go through this any longer.” Sick but excited to be going somewhere, Apache tried to lick my face. I held her by the collar, but Sis put her arms around her and held her while Dad drove to the vet. The folks there knew the score, and were understanding. They put us in a room to be alone. Sis and I sat in the floor and rubbed Apache every time she made a slow loop around the room. The receptionist came in and patted Dad on the arm. She hugged Sis and whispered to her for almost a full minute. I’m glad she didn’t hug me, because I might have started crying if she had. Then she hugged Apache. “They’re waiting breakfast in Heaven this morning Apache,” she said with tears in her eyes. She left and Dad fed Apache a treat the vet kept in a big container behind the examination table. Apache stopped between us and I scratched what Dad calls the Good Place on her hip while Apache rolled her eyes and scratched her own belly with a hind foot. “She looks so happy,” Sis said. “I know,” Dad said. “She’s happy to be with you guys. That’s how good dogs are.” The sad vet came in and explained the process while we soaked tissue after tissue. “Are you ready?” she asked. No one said words. Dad just nodded. “We’ll be right back,” the vet said and led Apache into another room for the first shot. It worked fast, and Apache staggered when they returned to the examining room. Sis and I were crying by then. “Daddy, she can’t walk,” Sis said. “I know,” Dad said in a hoarse voice. “She’s just going to sleep now. Hold her.” ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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porch and listen to geese honk overhead as they came in ahead of a cold front. I’ve never felt so alone in my life as I did that day.” Tears leaked down my face even more to hear his story, but I was glad to know it. I had earlier asked Grandpa if we could bury Apache not far from his house, beside Molly, a little black cocker that had passed away two years ago. He agreed and met us there on the drizzly morning. While Dad and I dug a hole large enough for a full-grown lab, he and Grandpa traded stories of other dogs they had buried. “This is just one more in a long list of graves I’ve dug for good dogs, because all dogs are good,” Dad said. The ground was hard, and an hour and a half later, Dad put down the shovel. “Let’s go get her,” he said. I think Sis and I were numb by then. We followed him to the truck and Dad carried Apache to the spot beside the little branch and lowered her into the hole. No one was crying as hard when her grave was finally filled. We thanked Grandpa and he hugged us both and told us we did a good job. “I know this was tough,” Dad said as we drove home. “But this is the only way to han-

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dle something like this. You just have to meet it head on no matter how hard it is, and know that you’re being responsible. We could have waited for another month or two, but she would have been hurting pretty bad and wouldn’t have understood why.” I looked across the truck and Sis just nodded and finally cried one last time. Dad said, “No parent wants to see their children hurt like this.” He said we’d have more to deal with in our lives, but he’d be there if he could. “You guys did good,” he said again. “Thanks for being there for me, Daddy,” Sis said. “We needed you.” “I know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. Just before we got home, Dad told us his cousin Rod had six-week-old puppies at his house and said we would go play with them tomorrow if we wanted to. When we got home, Dad hugged Mom and said we left another Life Lesson sleeping under the hackberry and elm trees alongside little Molly. Mama cried even harder at that, but I went outside so I couldn’t see anymore and tried to figure out what he was talking about. —Ryan

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How to Worm a Redfish

by Greg Berlocher catch fish that couldn’t be reached with conventional lures. The plastic worm has been hailed as the most effective bass lure ever made. What Crème never imagined is that

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his molded plastic worms are just as effective for catching redfish and speckled trout as for bass. Over the last 20 years, a number of “bass lures” have made the transition from fresh- to saltwater. The list includes broken backs, lip-

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less crankbaits, dog-walking topwaters, and spinnerbaits. Lure manufacturers started churning out saltwater versions that quickly took up residence in salty tackle boxes. “Back in the early 80s, Bingos and MirrOlures were the only plugs used in the bays,” said Captain Chuck Scates (361-727-1200), a Rockport-based light tackle guide. “But none of them were weedless. The only weedless lure we had was a spoon.” Before his move to Rockport, Scates spent many years guiding the shallow waters of Lower Laguna Madre, which consists of several hundred square miles of water ranging in depth from 1 to 3 feet. “Lower Laguna is blanketed with lush beds of seagrass, and when big trout and reds got in there to feed, it was virtually impossible to present a standard lure to them,” Scates said. “Plastic worms allowed us to fish in the thick grass without fouling.” Why would a trout or redfish eat something modeled after the angle worms found in gardens and flowerbeds? It just so happens that “bass worms” have a striking resemblance to shrimp eel, which is a favorite of trout and redfish. Shrimp eel (Ophichthus gomesii) belong to a family known as snake eels, a name that is entirely fitting. Shrimp eels, commonly referred to as sand eels on the Texas coast, are found in all of our bays and spend much of their lives burrowed under a thin layer of sand or mud, with only their heads exposed. In flounder-like fashion, they dine on unsuspecting shrimp and baitfishes that wander too close. My first encounter with a shrimp eel was a memorable one. On my first floundering trip with my dad, we were working the backside of a sandbar, swinging hissing Colemans PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

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and toting hoe-handled gigs. Filled with the excitement of my first nocturnal excursion, I eagerly scoured the bottom with my eyes, intent on gigging my first flattie. Out of the darkness swims a shrimp eel, heading directly for my lantern. The menacing fins on the top and bottom of the eel’s thick cigar body were fully extended, making it look a lot like the deadly sea snakes featured on the Jacques Cousteau special I saw on television the week before. Although the snakes on television are found only in the Pacific islands, my quest for my first flounder took a quick detour to the spoil island nearby. Years later, I discovered that shrimp eels are nocturnal and remain tucked under their silt blankets until the sun goes down. Because they are nocturnal, many coastal anglers have never seen one. Gut studies done by TPWD reveal that redfish readily consume shrimp eels. Since redfish spend a lot of time rooting along the bottom, it isn’t surprising that they spook buried eels and then devour them in a violent rush. Scates and friends discovered that tailing redfish can’t draw the distinction between a shrimp eel and plastic worm. “Tailing redfish are on a mission,” Scates explained. “They are hungry, and if you drop a worm in front of a feeding school, they are going to race to see who gets it first.” Back in the early 1980s, there were not a lot of plastic worms sold on the Texas coast. As such, Scates had to pour his own. At the end of every trip, he would save old worms that were destroyed and put them all— regardless of color—into a common melting pot. “We ended up with some pretty amazing colors,” Scates said with a chuckle. “It didn’t matter what they looked like, though, because they all caught fish.” Just like bass fishermen, coastal anglers must contend with thick aquatic vegetation. The only difference is that many coastal grass beds are in knee-deep water, or less. When fish are holding in the thick stuff, hardware options are limited. Even when you can snake a jig tail back weed-free, the grass might be so thick the fish doesn’t see your offering. Topwaters are certainly an option, but when the grass grows all the way to the surface, dangling trebles foul quickly. Plus, the loud splat! of a topwater belly-flopping in 9 inches of water will set off a panicked exodus more times than not. Floating grass is another maddening

problem, fouling the most weedless lure inches after touchdown. Fishing in a patch of thatch is hard and frustrating. Enter the plastic worm. “Texas-rigged worms are great when fishing in thick grass,” Scates said. “They are completely weedless and can be presented very slowly. Sometimes it takes the fish a while to see your lure in very thick grass.” Scates stressed the importance of getting the worm into the fish’s field of vision: “We make the mistake of looking down into the

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water with polarized glasses and assuming it is as clear as tap water, but it isn’t clear at all. The next time you are fishing what you think is ‘gin clear’ water, put on a pair of goggles and put your face in the water. You will discover that the water isn’t as clear as you think. Bacteria, plankton, and silt cloud the water and limit the distance a fish can see. “The strike zone is really only a foot or two. If you zip a lure or fly through the strike zone too fast, the fish will loose sight of it quickly. But you can drag a worm in close

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and then hop it up and down three or four times, within the strike zone. You can do that with other lures.” Scates’ personal favorites are 7-inch Culprit worms, but noted that size isn’t that important. “I have caught fish on 12-inch worms. When fish are hungry, they are going to eat it,” Scates said. “When the fish see your lure and react, it is important that you continue your retrieve. It isn’t natural for a baitfish to sit still when a large predator is getting ready to eat it.” To maximize casting distance on the flats, Scates uses spinning gear and scales down his line to 8-pound-test. He noted that moving up to 10-pound-test reduces casting distance by 10 feet—a significant reduction on days when fish are wary of your approach. To minimize cut-offs, Scates adds a dozen inches of leader material to the tag end of his line. He noted that some fishermen use bar-

rel swivels to join different sections of line. “The problem with swivels is that they catch grass,” Scates said. “Fish are going to respond to movement, and a hungry fish might attack the grass-covered swivel rather than your worm.” To enhance his casting distance, he threads on a 1/8-ounce bullet-style slip sinker onto his line. If fish are orbiting a little farther out, he will scale up to 1/4- or 3/8-ounce slip sinkers. “You don’t need to worry about wide gap hooks,” said Scates. “Match the hook to the size worm you are using. A 1/0 long shank hook is about as big as I use. The point of the hook should be inserted into the worm where the body begins to narrow down.” Because Scates fishes with light line, he penetrates the worm’s body fully with the hook so there isn’t any resistance during a hook-set. “Big trout like plastic worms, too,”

Scates said. “Trout spook up shrimp eels in shallow water and they will eat plastic worms just like redfish do.” As proof, Scates noted a cover shot of an outdoor magazine published in the 1980s featuring Leroy Summerland with a 12pound trout. “That fish was caught on a plastic worm,” Scates said. Many bass fishermen avoid throwing worms because the action is slow and requires concentration to discern whether a small tick of the line is a strike or the lure bumping over a branch. Saltwater worm fishermen don’t have this problem. Watching a redfish or trout blow a hole in skinny water as they pounce on a worm is every bit as exciting as the explosion that comes on a topwater. Plastic worms are the last major bass food group to make the jump to saltwater. Nick Crème is smiling.

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The Lost Art of Tying Knots

YING KNOTS HAS NEARLY BECOME A LOST art. Except for Boy Scouts, sailors, and fishermen who still need to know several useful versions, the average citizen has a very limited knot repertoire. Stop a minute and think about it. How many knots can you tie? For most of us, knot education ceased after kindergarten where we learned how to tie our shoelaces with a bowknot. About the only knots we tie these days are those that affix the ties we wear around our necks and the ones we get in our stomachs from stressful modern life. What a shame! There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained by having the knowledge necessary for this ancient skill. Knots are a part of our western history as evidenced by the popularity of dispatching bad guys with the infamous hangman’s noose. Television and movie westerns from yesteryear, when good always triumphed over evil, featured close-ups of the knot on a regular basis as a stern reminder to viewers that bad guys would end up at the end of a rope. Technology has done away with the need for a lot of good knots. Used to be that securing cargo required knowing how to tie a trucker’s hitch. Now ratchet winches, and bungee cords have done away with the need to know how to tie one of the best knots ever invented. Velcro, technology’s version of the common cocklebur, has eliminated the need to tie a lot of knots. I am not even sure if knot tying is still part of the curriculum for kindergarten students because of Velcro. Replacing those shoe laces with straps made

from the hook and loop material, has made it much easier to get shoes on the little devils. Those of us who fish are still required to learn how to tie knots and some have taken the process to new levels of complexity. Fly fishermen are probably the most ambitious knot tiers and are constantly inventing new ways to tie the various types of backing, fly line and leader material to each other in complicated ways. Let’s see, they use an arbor knot to tie the backing to the reel spool, a blood knot to attach the backing to the fly line, a nail knot to secure the fly line to the leader and an improved clinch knot to tie on the fly. Those are just some of the various twists and turns they use in their knotty world. Personally, I have managed to survive in the fishing business by remembering how to tie about half-a-dozen of the many knots described in intricate, indecipherable detail, in pocket-guide knot books. Those booklets are designed not for fishermen, but for people who have knot-tying fetishes. The knots I have found to be most useful, listed in order of importance, are the improved clinch, Palomar, blood knot, bowline, halfhitch, and figure eight. These six methods of weaving rope or fishing line will handle just about any basic knot tying need. Here is a neat website that actually shows through animation, how to tie the above mentioned knots and many more. Access it on-line at

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www.animatedknots.com It seems a real shame to lose a good fish to a poorly tied knot and yet I see it all the time among anglers who do not fish a lot. Landing a fish, especially a big one, is tough enough when everything goes correctly. Why handicap such a joyful event by devoting less attention to the weakest link between angler and fish? The tell tale sign of a failed knot is usually evident by examining the end of the line after the big one gets away. There will be a small section of curled line where the knot slipped and left only a memory of what used to be there—a lousy knot and a big fish. There is a certain sense of satisfaction in being able to whip out a bowline or halfhitch knot when the need arises. Humans are fascinated by knot games, puzzles, and other enigmas that appear as magic to the unskilled. I fondly remember certain string games when I was a youngster and the he or she who was a master of the crow’s foot or the seemingly impossible thumb-loop trick, were regarded with a certain amount of awe. Things have changed considerably since then, but knowing how to tie good knots is still the mark of an individual who takes pride in the craftsmanship of a skill that others can only marvel at. E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

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Venison Chili PHOTOS BY JIM OLIVE

HEN FALL ROLLS AROUND EACH YEAR, those of us who take to the field sporting firearms anticipate an early season cool front and a soon-to-be bountiful harvest of succulent venison. Thoughts of sausage, roast, ground meat, and backstrap, prepared by a variety of methods keep our minds occupied until we watch that venison on the hoof show up at the feeder. Now, with your harvest packaged and put up for the winter, some really cold Arctic air shows up. Neighbor, how long has it been since you had a big, thick, steaming bowl of venison chili? Well, that’s too long.

2 lbs. “chili grind” beef chuck roast 1 lb. venison backstrap, cubed in 3/4inch pieces

Seasoning Bag No. 1

(make by placing ingredients in three layers of cheesecloth and tying up into a “bag”) 4 Tbs chili powder (dark ancho) 3 cloves garlic 1 medium white onion 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Seasoning Bag No. 2

3 Tbs Sweet Chipotle Season All 3 Tbs cumin 2 tsp garlic powder 1/16 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp oregano leaf 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped S P O N S O R E D BY:

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Other Ingredients

own juice. Stir continuously while adding both cans of broth, and Bag No. 1. Cook covered at a medium boil for 45 minutes. Uncover and stir every 10 minutes. Add water and beer as needed. Add tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and add Bag No. 2. Add one beef bullion cube. Add 1/2 tsp light brown sugar.

Ready to eat, but better the next day. Bon appetite. Be sure to catch The Texas Gourmet on the Academy Outdoors Show Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Southwest, 8:30 a.m. CST. Contact Bryan Slaven, "The Texas Gourmet," at 888-234-7883, www.thetexasgourmet.com; or by email at texas-tasted@fishgame.com.

Use the following to season to taste: Salt Cayenne Pepper (for hot front taste) White Pepper (for hot front taste) Brown Sugar (for a sweeter taste)

KITCHEN SAFETY TIPS

filled with cold tap water, making sure to change the water every 30 minutes.

packing your cold dish in a cooler or hot dish in an insulated bag to keep it safe and bacteria-free.

Holding Out on Hot Stuff

Rocking the Gravy Boat

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GALVESTON

Evan Swa nso First Redfi n sh Coastal B end Outdoors

PORT ARANSAS

CORPUS CHRISTI tt Steve Sco Striper press Striper Ex e ic rv e S e id u G

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4670, ext. 5579.

TEXAS SALTWATER

ROCKPORT

BAFFIN BAY

GALVESTON

PORT ARANSAS

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Joey Austin 27.5-inch Trout ce Hillman Guide Servi

TEXAS FRESHWATER

Captain David Best um 62-pound Black Dr Caught /Released Best Guide Service

David Cardoshinsky Mahi-Mahi Coastal Bend Outdo ors

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

TEXAS HUNTING

LAKE TEXOMA

LAKE AMISTAD

COLORADO

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4670, ext. 5579.

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DEER—CROCKETT COUNTY, TEXAS

RAINBOW TROUT—CARL BARTON PARK, CONROE

Christopher Wheeless, age 10, of Round Rock, Texas, shot his first whitetail deer while hunting with his dad, Pat, at his grandfather’s ranch in Crockett County. He used a .222 at 80 yards.

DOE—CONCHO COUNTY, TEXAS

DEER—COTULLA, TEXAS

REDFISH—PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS

Benjamin Goff took this 60-pound doe with a .243 at 57 yards while hunting in Concho County on his grandfather’s deer lease. This was Benjamin’s first year to hunt.

Michael Andrews (seen with friends on right, holding deer’s tail) from Crosby, Texas, bagged this spike in Cotulla, Texas, in La Salle County. The deer weighed 120 pounds dressed out.

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO:

TF&G PHOTO ALBUM

1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

Note: All non-digital photos submitted become the property of Texas Fish & Game and will not be returned. TF&G makes no guarantee when or if any submitted photo will be published.

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S P O N S O R E D BY:

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LARGEMOUTH BASS—TAYLOR, TEXAS

FLOUNDER—BOLIVAR PENINSULA, TEXAS

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Crowkiller

PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

Knagg pointed out an opening in the canopy above and cranked up the volume on his truck radio. The crows responded and when one flew across the open space backlit by blue sky, I hammered him. The bird fell, the others quickly departed, and I

by Reavis Z. Wortham turned to find my best friend with a smile a mile wide. “You just love this, don’t you?” I asked. “Yep,” he said. “I’d rather hunt crows than to fish.” Now, that statement carried a lot of weight with this boy. The first time I’d witnessed his fixation for crow hunting came during a week long campaign to Florida and Georgia, when he was running for office in our professional organization, which will remain unnamed for reasons you’ll understand later. We stopped for gas along a rural highway somewhere in southern Georgia. As I pumped fuel into the rental car, a number of crows set up a racket across the highway. Knagg instantly went on point like a bird dog, and then responded in a way that A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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should be studied by psychologists. “Caaaaa!” he screeched, performing a pretty good imitation of a Texas crow. The crows immediately silenced and stared downward at us. “You Georgia crows have the stupidest call I’ve ever heard!” he shouted toward the tall pines across the road. Other customers at the pumps quickly completed their business and hurried away. “Caaaa!” Steve called over and over again, finally agitating the crows to the point that several more joined the action. They flew back and forth over the road, resting on highline wires and in the surrounding pine trees. “Wish we had a shotgun,” he said as we drove away from the maddened crows that forgot they’re supposed to be one of the wariest birds in North America. “You’re weird,” I told him. “You should get control of yourself when there are crows around.” “I just love to hunt them,” he answered. “Write about it,” I told him. Steve was a newspaper columnist for the Belo organization at the time. “People would enjoy your views on crow hunting.” That’s one suggestion I should have kept &

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In This Issue N14 N21

NEW PRODUCTS • What’s New From Top Outdoor Manufacturers | BY TF&G STAFF SHOOT THIS • Thompson/Center Icon Rifle | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOW-TO SECTION

COVER STORY • Crowkiller | BY REAVIS Z. WORTHAM

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

TEXAS HOTSPOTS • Texas’ Hottest Fishing Spots | BY CALIXTO GONZALES & JD MOORE

N10

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides, Solunar Table, Best Hunting/Fishing Times | BY TF&G STAFF

GEARING UP SECTION

N12

TEXAS TESTED • Mann’s Bait Co., Texas Trout Killer | BY TF&G STAFF

to myself. He wrote a column about crow hunting and after publication, he found himself in the midst of a storm of threatening letters from anti-hunters across the south. Some called for his dismissal from his job as a public servant because he hunted non-game animals. Some said he was in violation of state and federal laws for hunting crows (he wasn’t), and others simply wanted his head on a platter for admitting that he liked to hunt. After successfully weathering the long, vicious storm, he and I decided that a little research on crow hunting was in order, just in case we found ourselves in the midst of another hunting controversy. The American crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos (I’ve always wanted to write something in Latin), is kin to ravens, magpies, and jays. They are found just about everywhere in the Lone Star State: in open fields, heavily wooded areas, and the open prairie. Unfortunately, they are also found on croplands and in orchards, where large numbers of these omnivorous birds can do considerable damage to cash crops. These birds will eat anything from grains, fruits, berries, and insects, to small mammals, roadkill, snakes, and discarded Big Macs. They are one of the most intelliN2

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N22 N24 N26 N28 N30 N31 N32 N33 N36 N40

TEXAS BOATING • Boat Math | BY LENNY RUDOW

N16 N29 N34

SPECIAL HUNTING SECTION • Trophy Fever | BY TF&G STAFF

N38 N41 N42 N44 N46

MY PLACE OUTDOORS • Killing a Friend | BY RYAN VICK

TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Young Gun | BY MATT WILLIAMS GURLZ PAGE • It’s All in the Spots | BY MARI HENRY

SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • T-Ball Rig | BY PATRICK LEMIRE HUNT TEXAS • Old Guns | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS KAYAKING • The Wind is Your Friend | BY GREG BERLOCHER FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Shallow Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Varmint Cartridges Today | BY STEVE LAMASCUS MISTER CRAPPIE • Shooting Docks for Crappie | BY WALLY MARSHALL WOO’S CORNER • Topwater, Cranking, & Carolina Rigging | BY WOO DAVES WILDERNESS TRAILS • The Lostrider | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE TEXAS OUTDOOR LAW • Warden Games | BY WAYNE C. WATSON

gent of all birds, and with their sharp eyesight and extreme wariness, seem to know exactly when and where to congregate just outside of shotgun range. Several of the angry letters Knagg received in the wake of his hunting column alleged that the birds are protected. That’s untrue. In Texas, crows are classified as unprotected birds and may be controlled without state or federal depredation permits where found committing, or about to commit, depredations on ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or when concentrated in numbers and in a manner that constitutes a health hazard or other nuisance. To me, that means they are pretty much fair game for licensed hunters. One letter suggested that shooting the bird without consuming the meat constituted an immoral act. There are numerous reasons for controlling this destructive bird. In agricultural areas, crows account for extensive damage to young plants. Their penchant for pulling up sprouting wheat and young corn is a nasty habit that costs farmers millions of dollars each year. In large masses, the birds can descend upon cultivated fruits and nuts, resulting in total crop losses. &

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

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AFIELD WITH BARRY • The Lost Art of Knots | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR TEXAS TASTED • Venison Chili | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

In those same large numbers, they also impact waterfowl populations, breaking open and eating the eggs, and by pecking to death and devouring fledglings. Recent years have been good to crows. These intelligent birds have joined other birds and mammals in adapting to urban environments. Crows and grackles (another highly destructive bird) form roosts in beltways and green spaces within city limits, fouling suburban areas with droppings and bringing the risks of disease to areas formerly safe from their contact. Their arrival also impacts local songbird populations and have driven many desirable birds away from their original nesting areas. A crow’s sensitivity to West Nile Virus and their gregarious roosting habits have concerned biologists with the possibility of them carrying this dangerous virus. They have been identified as a carrier and research is now underway to determine whether they can spread the disease due to their migratory nature. With all that said, crows are admired by many hunters due to their wary nature and intelligence, and because they provide an extended hunting season to those who enjoy shotgunning. It also gives youngsters an excellent start to bird hunting and, as men-

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tioned, allowing shotgunners the opportunity to hunt year-round. Crows respond well to calls, both manual and electronic. Crow calling is raucous and annoying to many hunters like me. Knagg uses electronic calls almost exclusively, but he is one of the only people I have known who is successful at simply opening his truck doors and turning up the cassette tape. We have used my Johnny Stewart game calls with much success. Setting up just inside the treeline bordering a wide pasture, the powerful call and varied tapes of crows feeding, fighting, or in danger, always brings them within effective shotgun range, at least until they figure out that they’ve been set up. The tape of a great horned owl acts like a crow magnet. Crows love a good fight, and a murder of crows (that’s the name for a group of crows, a murder, honest; it is

said the name came from their propensity to kill, or murder, a wounded fellow crow) will get together to attack owls or even hawks. One successful technique I learned long ago is to shoot and call at the same time. As soon as a shot is taken and a bird falls, blow a distress call, or keep the caller on. Hearing that a fellow crow needs assistance, and recognizing that something out of the ordinary has happened to a friend, the murder will usually turn back to give him a hand, ensuring even more shooting. This success hinges on complete camouflage. A properly hidden hunter can shoot until his gun runs dry, but if he is seen, the hunt is suddenly over. Blinds for crows can be constructed just like duck blinds. Remember crows are smart, so use native cover to construct the blind. At the same time, camouflage is essential, so don’t show up in jeans and a denim shirt. A great horned owl decoy is always

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effective. Place one in the open and scatter a few black feathers around before beginning your call. Once a sharp-eyed scout sees the simulated carnage, he will call his friends and then they all join in for a good old-fashioned attack on their historical foe. This decoy, coupled with your calling, is sure to provide good shooting for novices and experienced hunters. For best results, use whatever shotgun you normally carry into the field; 12, 20, or 16 gauges all work well in the hands of experienced hunters. Knagg and I prefer 12 gauges loaded with No. 6 shot because of greater range and better knockdown power. This challenging bird provides an outstanding way to extend an all-too-short hunting season, is beneficial to farmers, and improves the marksmanship of any bird hunter.

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by JD Moore, North Zone Fishing Editor & Calixto Gonzales, South Zone Fishing Editor

Humps for Stripes LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Paradise Point GPS: N30 51.303, W98 25.553

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: jigs; 1/4- to 1/2-ounce Silver Pirk Minnow jigging spoons; white or white/chartreuse 1/2-ounce striper jigs; elongated deep-diving crankbaits; Rattlin’ Rogues or Bombers; live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work over the humps along deep creek and main river channel from mouth of the Colorado past Paradise Point to Shaw Island and Garrett Islands. BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, live bait off bottom for stripers LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Black Rock Park GPS: N30 46.777, W98 26.878 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: deep-running Shad Raps; Pirk Minnows, spinnerbaits, Tiny Traps; live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Troll Shad Raps. Jig Pirk Minnows or blade baits and Tiny Traps from Canyon of the Eagles to the first 200 yards inside of Silver or Morgan Creeks and along bluffs between those spots. Work points of coves and pockets from Black Rock to the Lighthouse. BANK ACCESS: Black Rock Park bank; catfish, crappie, bass; live bait best

LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: Wilson Fox Park Cove GPS: N30 41.183, W97 20.668 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: 1/16-ounce marabou jigs, any color CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, crappie1@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish jigs in 1-2 feet of water. Work the entire shoreline of Wilson Fox Park Cove. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock for crappie; small minnows, crappie jigs LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Beaver Island GPS: N30 35.099, W98 24.442 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: weightless Flukes or plastic stickbaits; white/chartreuse spinnerbaits; Brush Hogs, plastic worms CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work the above baits around Beaver Island, along Sunrise Beach, and Highland Haven. BANK ACCESS: Robin Hood Park, catfish, largemouth LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Confluence of Llano and Colorado Rivers GPS: N30 39.030, W98 25.630 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Shad Raps, jigs, Pirk minnows, blade baits, Tiny Traps CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Troll Shad Raps up either river arm until you hit a school of whites, then turn around and start jigging Pirk Minnows or blade baits and Tiny Traps. BANK ACCESS: Sandy Creek, white bass, crappie LOCATION: Lake Fayette County

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JD MOORE

CALIXTO GONZALES

HOTSPOT: Dam Rocks SPECIES: catfish GPS: N29 55.049, W96 44.553 BEST BAITS: stink bait, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: A lot of fish have spawned already. Southerly winds are blowing food onto the flat and south-facing bank of this point. Anchor in about four feet of water and fish toward the shore, but not on the shoreline. Use a tight line with 1-ounce weight and # 4 treble hook. Use stink bait or chum to attract fish. Move 100 yards parallel to the bank either way and keep fishing. BANK ACCESS: Junk Yard Cove, all species LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Grass Beds GPS: N29 56.390, W96 44.620 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: shallow-running crankbaits in brown, orange, gray CONTACT: Bob Green, 281-460-9200, bobgreen@cvtv.net TIPS: Rip the crankbait through the grass, which is around 6 feet below the surface. Don’t worry about getting hung up. Also rip big-bladed spinnerbaits in crawfish colors as above. BANK ACCESS: Oak Thicket Ramp, all species LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: North Park Point GPS: N29 52.330, W98 12.476 SPECIES: smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: Tomato, Green Pumpkin curly tail or spider grubs on jigheads; 1/8-ounce jigs; JDC drop shots; white/gray back suspending crankbaits CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work all the above baits in 8 feet to 22 feet of water. BANK ACCESS: Jacobs Creek Park, large-

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mouth bass on Rat-L-Traps LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Comal Park Island GPS: N29 51.887, W98 14.367 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: jigging spoons, Gizz 4 crankbait, live shad CONTACT: Jim Files, 830-385-9579, jimfiles@moment.net TIPS: Work the jigging spoons. Troll Gizz 4 crankbaits on down riggers. Drift-fish live shad. Work the intersection of Tom’s and Jacob’s Creeks with main river channel and humps between boat ramp No. 1 and the dam. BANK ACCESS: Canyon Park Campground, crappie on live minnows, crappie jigs LOCATION: Lake Richland Chambers HOTSPOT: Fisherman’s Point Marina GPS: N31 56.989, W96 09.281 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: small minnows, jigs CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 469-3715197, royce@gonefishin.biz TIPS: Work the coves and shallows along the shoreline on the southeast side of the lake for spawning crappie. Fish will be in water as shallow as one foot. They will take small

minnows or jigs below a cork. BANK ACCESS: Fisherman’s Point, bass, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Whitney Cove GPS: N31 55.205, W97 20.696 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: Red Fins, Pencil Poppers; cut shad CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970 TIPS: Work shallow on the east shore and throw top water baits early and late. If it’s a clear day, back off after the sun is up good and use cut shad in a little deeper water along the edge that leads up to the shallows. On a good cloud cover day, you can stay on this pattern all day long, as long as you don’t pressure one hole too long. Use this same pattern on other coves and points. BANK ACCESS: Loafers Bend Shore, stripers, whites; shallow cranks, topwaters LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Sand Point GPS: N31 55.236, W97 20.855 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummer, Little George CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970

TIPS: Throw Tail Hummer or Little George up on the point and let bait bounce off bottom, retrieving to deeper water. Note: You can tie a small jig like a Flea Fly above the Tail Hummer and catch two whites at a time. You can also work Loafer’s Bend shoreline. Throw Rat-L-Traps, Tail Hummers, and Little Georges toward shore and use medium retrieve back to the boat. BANK ACCESS: State Park Point, white bass; Little George, Tail Hummer LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Big Creek Park, East Shoreline GPS: N30 19.990, W96 33.881 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, crawfish, stink bait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: Shad are shallow now and that’s where the fish are. Anchor close to shore where casting can almost reach the shore or weed line. The baits of choice are shad and stink bait. Use a # 1 Kahle hook with shad, Carolina rigged with 12- to 14-inch leader. Fishing here will be best when wind is blowing straight into the bank. Fish will stack up in large schools, chasing the shad. BANK ACCESS: Big Creek Marina, all species

Sassy Linesides LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: The Islands GPS: N33 50.087, W96 44.060 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: artificial lures, live shad

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points and creek channels. Live shad will work well anchoring on structure. Drift behind the islands in 10 to 25 feet depths and expect some great striper action. BANK ACCESS: Eisenhower State Park, stripers, catfish, crappie, whites; live bait LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Railroad Trestle GPS: N33 03.286, W96 26.428 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Pepper’s spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse; buzzbait, Scum Frog CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, 800-965-0350 TIPS: Work the Pepper’s spinnerbaits in white on one rod and chartreuse/white on a second rod. Throw the buzzbait early in the morning, first out of the box. Later, use the Scum Frog in white/chartreuse and Pepper’s spinnerbait. BANK ACCESS: Clear Lake Pier, all species LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard HOTSPOT: Trinity River - East Fork, Yankee Creek GPS: N32 50.028, W96 29.878 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse Pepper’s Spinnerbait; black/blue Pepper’s jig tipped with Xcite Baits Craw; Injured Minda; shad pattern or chartreuse Bandit 200 Series crankbait CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, 800-965-0350 TIPS: Work the above baits all along the east fork of the Trinity. That’s where many tournaments are won. There’s an awful lot of riprap on Ray Hubbard; don’t overlook it. BANK ACCESS: Bay View Marina, all species

LOCATION: Cedar Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Star Harbor Point GPS: N32 11.902, W96 04.910 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid striped bass BEST BAITS: 3/4-ounce chrome slabs CONTACT: Chuck Rollins, 903-288-5798, cwler@aol.com TIPS: Whites and hybrids will be loaded up on the main lake wind blown points. The heavier the wind, the more fish will be on that point. Water 8 to 12 feet deep will be best, although at times they will be just below the surface. Work the slabs on 10- to 12pound-test line. Star Harbor Point is the big point between the dam and the Caney Creek arm. Work between the flats and the point. BANK ACCESS: Highway 175 Bridge East, lures for bass, minnows for crappie LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Dale Creek GPS: N32 49.613, W95 35.559 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Mr. Twister Hawg Frog & Comida worms CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-530-

2201, ricky@rickysguideservice.com TIPS: The bass will be in full spawn, so fish all the small out of way pockets and you should find good numbers of fish, along with some trophy sized largemouth. Remember, covering a lot of water in the spring can hurt you when searching for trophy bass, so fish slow and cover the spots. You’ll catch more and larger bass as well. BANK ACCESS: Fork Public Park, bass; spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged worms LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Chaney Creek Point GPS: N32 48.307, W95 33.452 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: small hair jigs, plastic curly tail jigs; minnows with bobber CONTACT: Mike Rogge, 903-383-3406, microg@texascellnet.com TIPS: Crappie will be in the creeks ending their spawn. Work minnows, hair jigs. Curly tails on short line and bobber dropped in brush around the banks will produce. Alligator and School House Creeks in Big Caney will also be a good place to look. BANK ACCESS: Fork Public Park, bass; spin-

LOCATION: Cedar Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Malakoff Bridge, Surrounding Docks off Hwy 198 GPS: N31 12.343, W96 10.503 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: 1/16-ounce jigs, any color CONTACT: Chuck Rollins, 903-288-5798, cwler@aol.com TIPS: Crappie will be spawning. Use a shallow water pattern in water less than 8 feet deep. Shooting under boat docks and bridge pillars will be your best bet. Use 4- to 10-pound-test line. BANK ACCESS: Highway 334 Public Park, cut bait for cats; small floats and crickets or worms for bream in weeds A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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nerbaits, Texas-rigged worms LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool HOTSPOT: Lynn Creek Grass GPS: N32 37.671, W97 02.722 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: double willow-blade spinnerbait in white, white/chartreuse; weightless or 1/16-ounce Texas-rigged Chompers Salty Sinker, flukes CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-3132878, r.maxwell@tx.rr.com TIPS: There will be pre-spawn, present, and past spawn fish to choose from. The Main Lake becomes more of a favorite because the fish are coming in and out of the same areas and staging on main lake points. Look for full and new moons to hit the areas on flats where bass are still spawning, especially on sunny days. Remember, Joe Pool is a backwards-flowing lake. Feeder creeks and rivers mainly flow from north to south. BANK ACCESS: Crappie Dock, crappie, live minnows

the bank spawning. Around Bird and Costello Island are excellent spots to witness this phenomenon. If you see several blue herons working the same spot and fighting for turf, just watch for a minute to figure out which way down the bank the shad are going and elbow in between the herons to throw a cast net to fill your aerated shad minnow tank. Keep the gulls in mind. Depending on the weather, there should be enough gulls working to give many extra sets of eyes. Once achieved, stay on your trolling motor, back away to the first breakline 10 to 20 feet deep, and slip the anchor over. It’s time to fish. BANK ACCESS: Sky Camp, stripers, live bait

The Crappie Mill LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, South HOTSPOT: Mills Creek GPS: N31 11.903, W93 38.387

LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Snake Island GPS: N31 55.215, W97 12.891 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: No. 4 Rat-L-Trap, slabs, Little George CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, 254-582-5970 TIPS: Work around Snake Island, throwing toward the bank and retrieve back to the boat. After the sun rises, move just a little deeper and bounce 3/4th ounce white/chartreuse Slabs off bottom. BANK ACCESS: Tail Race Fishing Pier, white bass; Little George, slabs, Rat-L-Trap

LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Costello Island GPS: N32 54.142, W98 28.068 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: small shad, slabs, Rat-L-Trap CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: This is spawning time for stripers. It is also the most major spawn for shad and their predators. Start the morning by looking for blue herons and turtles congregating where the shad are practically jumping on

LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, South HOTSPOT: Buck Creek GPS: N31 10.078, W93 36.736 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: wacky worm, 1/8-ounce marabou jig CONTACT: Jim Morris, 409-579-3485, cypresscreekmarina@valornet.com TIPS: Work the back of Buck Creek. Go to where the creek “tees” and work the north bank, back and forth on each leg of the “tee.”

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BANK ACCESS: Toledo Bend State Park & Fishing Pier for crappie LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend - North HOTSPOT: Deer Camp Flats GPS: N31 49.419, W93 53.650 SPECIES: largemouth, spotted bass BEST BAITS: jig-n-pig, plastic lizards, jerkbaits, big plastic worms, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Mark Robinson, 936-3682211, Rlodge@eastex.net TIPS: Jig-n-pig pitched or flipped into or around button willows are an old Toledo Bend favorite. Plastic lizards fished slowly, Texas- or Carolina-rigged on top of the flats, ridges, and humps. Jerkbaits worked shallow around grass or bushes, 12-inch worms worked shallow around laydowns and stumps, and spinnerbaits worked almost anywhere shallow. Remember this: The larger the spinnerbait and the slower it’s worked, the bigger the bass it will produce. BANK ACCESS: San Miguel Park and Fishing Pier, bass; shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend, North HOTSPOT: The River Channel GPS: N31 52.156, W93 52.963 SPECIES: white & striped bass BEST BAITS: tailspinners, jigging spoons, small cranks, Rat-L-Trap; live crawfish, minnows CONTACT: Mark Robinson, 936-3682211, Rlodge@eastex.net TIPS: Work the tailspinners, spoons, and live bait vertically over the inside bends of the river channel. Cast crankbaits as far as possible from deep water, on to the points in the river bend, retrieving them from shallow to deep at varying speeds. BANK ACCESS: San Miguel Park and Fishing Pier, white bass; Rat-L-Trap, small cranks LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: R.C. Cove GPS: N30 37.479, W96 03.174 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: stinkbait, worms, shad on Carolina rig with 3/4-ounce sinker and No. 4 treble CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103,

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Weldon-edna@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish are spawning now. Look for them in trees, stumps and around rocks in shallow water. Tie to stump or anchor and cast toward the stumps. Using chum is good in this area. Be sure to work the shoreline in 2 to 4 feet of water. If you use chum, keep fishing the chum area. The fish usually show up within 30 minutes. BANK ACCESS: 250-Foot Fishing Pier, all species on live bait LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Neches River Bend GPS: N32 17.926, W95 26.890 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Texas Spinnerbait 430 Special, 3/8-ounce; Mister Twister Comida Worm in black/blue, Watermelon CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-530220l, 903-561-7299 TIPS: The spawn will still be on. Fishing will be very good in the Neches River and at Old Folks Play Ground, just behind the Hawn Point area. Work the Texas Spinnerbait along the grass lines and near and through any brush along the channels. For those who like to “sight fish” you should concentrate on the south end of the main lake pockets. Here you’ll find brush and weed lines on the South end. Work your bait slowly and cover the area well. BANK ACCESS: Flat Creek Road, all species on live bait LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Kickapoo Creek Slough GPS: N32 11.870 W95 30.734 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: small minnows; crappie jigs in red/white, chartreuse/white, blue/white CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-530220l, 903-561-7299 TIPS: Work water 1 to 10 feet deep with minnows on slip cork, with cork about 6 inches in the 1-foot water. Adjust cork upward as you get in deeper water. White/blue jigs, single rigged will work well around the old bridge. BANK ACCESS: Kickapoo Creek Bridge, catfish on stinkbait; white bass on Rat-L-Trap

Ballyhoo a Speck LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South Bay GPS: N26 1.785, W97 11.011

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo; topwa-

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: topwaters early; soft plastics in

ters early; soft plastics in white/chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, red/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Mild weather rolls in during spring, and the flood tides bring in fresh, warmer water into South Bay. Fish the grass flats for both trout and redfish that have rejuvenated appetites. Look for depth changes, potholes, and oyster clumps, or anything that trout might use as ambush points.

chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Opening Night CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 401-7862018 TIPS: Business really starts picking up when April kicks into gear. Warm water starts circulating through the bayous and cuts on the north end of Sabine, and redfish and speckled trout move in to take advantage of the young-of-year bait. Fish the edges of bayou shorelines with small topwaters early in the morning. Back off and fish slightly deeper water later on with 3- to 4-inch plastics on a 3/16-ounce jighead near the bottom.

Deviled Redfish LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Center Reef GPS: N27 16.206, W97 34.362

Yeah Mon Cats LOCATION: Texana HOTSPOT: Lake Texana State Park (shore access)

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Strawberry/black back, Plum/chartreuse, Rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Work the rocks as slowly as you can. Fish use these reefs for cover and ambush points. A Corky Devil in a dark pattern is tough to beat. An underrated technique is to fish a 3/16- to 1/4-ounce jig/plastic under a Mansfield Mauler or Alameda Float. The combination tends to force fishermen to slow down their retrieve, which is just what you need to tempt some of these Baffin bruisers.

GPS: N28 58.278, W96 32.203 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shrimp, cut shad, prepared bait CONTACT: Park Office, 361-782-5718 TIPS: Springtime catfishing picks up along the park shoreline. Cut bait such as fresh shad, or shrimp are popular baits, as are some prepared baits such as Yeah Mon! by Fish Bites. A bobber rig is more a better choice to fish around here because of the sunken timber and branches. The park pier also provides excellent fishing.

Game Fish Eat Young

Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at hotspotssouth@fishgame.com

LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Willow Bayou GPS: N29 52.057, W93 53.010 A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Tides and Solunar Table for APRIL 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

Apr 1 Low Tide: 7:21 am High Tide: 3:24 pm Low Tide: 8:41 pm

Sunrise: 6:28a Moonrise: 3:42a AM Minor: 1:30a PM Minor: 1:54p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

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

6:50 am 12:10 pm 4:08 pm 11:49 pm

1.64 ft 1.10 ft 1.28 ft -0.37 ft

Sunrise: 7:20a Moonrise: 8:03a AM Minor: 7:09a PM Minor: 7:38p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Low Tide: 6:45 am High Tide: 2:38 pm Low Tide: 8:33 pm

0.03 ft 1.37 ft 1.02 ft

Sunrise: 7:12a Moonrise: 3:04p AM Minor: 1:58a PM Minor: 2:22p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot: 6:58 am 12:33 pm 3:15 pm 11:26 pm

1.55 ft 1.23 ft 1.26 ft -0.02 ft

Sunrise: 7:04a Moonrise: 9:47p AM Minor: 6:41a PM Minor: 7:04p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

High Tide: 8:05 am Low Tide: 1:03 pm High Tide: 4:04 pm

7:45am – 9:00am

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

0.26 ft 1.45 ft

Sunrise: 6:57a Moonrise: 2:39a AM Minor: 12:28a PM Minor: 12:52p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

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12:28 am 7:52 am 2:51 pm 8:47 pm

4:10am – 5:30am

High Tide: 7:50 am Low Tide: 1:09 pm High Tide: 2:32 pm

7:10am – 8:40am

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

2 0 0 8 /

5:15 am 1:35 pm 8:10 pm 11:21 pm

1.19 ft 0.21 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

F i s h

2:50pm – 4:00pm

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

1.54 ft 1.32 ft 1.32 ft

4:50am – 6:25am

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

1:10pm – 2:30pm

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

0.35 ft 1.40 ft 1.10 ft 1.14 ft

4:45am – 5:55am

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

12:03 am 8:48 am 1:32 pm 2:00 pm

Sunrise: 7:02a Moonrise: 11:40p AM Minor: 8:23a PM Minor: 8:48p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

10:30am – 11:40am

Low Tide: 6:17 am High Tide: 1:45 pm Low Tide: 7:37 pm

Set: 8:16p Set: 2:19p AM Major: 7:27a PM Major: 7:51p 8:43a 9:06p

1:59 am 8:50 am 3:02 pm 9:07 pm

Sunrise: 7:10a Moonrise: 5:02p AM Minor: 3:21a PM Minor: 3:42p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

1.17 ft 0.15 ft 1.24 ft 0.87 ft

THURSDAY PRIME TIME

2:30pm – 3:45pm

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

Set: 6:59p Set: 3:37p AM Major: 8:26a PM Major: 8:50p 9:53a 10:17p

PRIME TIME 12:42 am 9:28 am 2:15 pm 3:31 pm

Sunrise: 7:18a Moonrise: 9:40a AM Minor: 9:21a PM Minor: 9:52p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:12p Set: 8:02a AM Major: 1:18a PM Major: 1:42p 2:57a 3:21p

12:46 am 8:09 am 3:31 pm 8:39 pm

Sunrise: 6:26a Moonrise: 4:16a AM Minor: 2:13a PM Minor: 2:38p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:07p Set: 4:34a AM Major: 8:53a PM Major: 9:16p 10:38p 10:16a

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 3:13a AM Minor: 1:15a PM Minor: 1:39p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

T E X A S

Set: 8:02p Set: 11:32p AM Major: 1:57a PM Major: 2:28p 4:06p 3:36a

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: 10:45p AM Minor: 7:30a PM Minor: 7:54p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:16p Set: 1:18p AM Major: 6:40a PM Major: 7:04p 7:55a 8:19p

1.67 ft 1.31 ft 1.37 ft

Sunrise: 7:11a Moonrise: 4:05p AM Minor: 2:42a PM Minor: 3:04p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 6:58p Set: 2:33p AM Major: 7:42a PM Major: 8:07p 9:04a 9:29p

Sunrise: 7:19a Moonrise: 8:47a AM Minor: 8:12a PM Minor: 8:43p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:11p Set: 7:25a AM Major: 12:29a PM Major: 12:52p 2:10a 2:33p

Low Tide: 4:14 am High Tide: 1:23 pm

´8

3:30am – 4:50am *

Set: 8:06p Set: 4:02a AM Major: 8:10a PM Major: 8:35p 9:53p 9:30a

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

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:02p Set: 10:18p AM Major: 12:55a PM Major: 1:24p 3:06p 2:37a

N10

0.10 ft 1.28 ft 1.06 ft

WEDNESDAY

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 3:45a AM Minor: 1:59a PM Minor: 2:22p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

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-0.46 ft 1.66 ft 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

5:50am – 7:00am

Set: 8:03p Set: None AM Major: 3:05a PM Major: 3:36p 5:09p 4:37a 1.25 ft 0.41 ft 1.21 ft 0.59 ft

-0.01 ft 1.52 ft 1.38 ft 1.38 ft

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

5:30am – 6:50am

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

10:50am – 12:05pm

Set: 8:17p Set: 3:22p AM Major: 8:11a PM Major: 8:34p 9:29a 9:53p

Set: 6:59p Set: 4:41p AM Major: 9:07a PM Major: 9:31p 10:40a 11:04p

6:10am – 7:25am

Set: 8:04p Set: 12:42a AM Major: 4:14a PM Major: 4:46p 6:13p 5:41a

PRIME TIME 3:14 am 9:41 am 3:12 pm 9:31 pm

Sunrise: 7:09a Moonrise: 5:59p AM Minor: 3:58a PM Minor: 4:18p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

2:15pm – 3:35pm *

PRIME TIME

Sunrise: 7:17a Moonrise: 10:39a AM Minor: 10:30a PM Minor: 11:02p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

1.26 ft 0.26 ft 1.20 ft 0.62 ft

Low Tide: 1:42 am -0.46 ft High Tide: 11:03 am 1.64 ft

1:25pm – 2:50pm

Set: 8:12p Set: 8:43a AM Major: 2:11a PM Major: 2:36p 3:45a 4:10p 0.47 ft 1.34 ft 0.88 ft

Sunrise: 6:25a Moonrise: 4:48a AM Minor: 2:56a PM Minor: 3:19p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:08p Set: 5:03a AM Major: 9:32a PM Major: 9:53p 11:20p 10:59a

PRIME TIME 2:10 am 8:56 am 3:40 pm 9:04 pm

1.33 ft 0.61 ft 1.17 ft 0.38 ft

2:10pm – 3:40pm

Set: 8:08p Set: 5:30a AM Major: 10:08a PM Major: 10:29p None 11:41a

PRIME TIME 12:43 am 9:55 am 1:36 pm 2:18 pm

Sunrise: 7:01a Moonrise: None AM Minor: 9:18a PM Minor: 9:44p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

0.02 ft 1.49 ft 1.43 ft 1.43 ft

6:10am – 7:45am

Set: 8:13p Set: 9:30a AM Major: 3:06a PM Major: 3:31p 4:35a 5:01p

PRIME TIME

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Tides and Solunar Table for APRIL 2008 FRIDAY

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

3:23 am 9:43 am 3:49 pm 9:38 pm

1.37 ft 0.42 ft 1.17 ft 0.34 ft

Sunrise: 6:24a Moonrise: 5:19a AM Minor: 3:38a PM Minor: 4:02p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

1:15am – 2:40am

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

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 2:50 am -0.38 ft High Tide: 12:41 pm 1.61 ft

Sunrise: 7:16a Moonrise: 11:45a AM Minor: 11:37a PM Minor: ----Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

4:18 am 10:28 am 3:20 pm 9:56 pm

6:25am – 7:50am

Set: 8:04p Set: 1:45a AM Major: 5:22a PM Major: 5:53p 7:14p 6:44a

1.41 ft 0.81 ft 1.17 ft 0.21 ft

Sunrise: 7:08a Moonrise: 6:54p AM Minor: 4:35a PM Minor: 4:55p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot: 1:28 am 11:13 am 2:04 pm 2:26 pm

0.08 ft 1.48 ft 1.46 ft 1.46 ft

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 12:31a AM Minor: 10:14a PM Minor: 10:39p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Set: 8:14p Set: 10:21a AM Major: 4:01a PM Major: 4:27p 5:26a 5:51p

NEW MOON

FIRST QTR

-0.26 ft 1.56 ft

5:15 am 11:12 am 3:26 pm 10:24 pm

1.48 ft 0.98 ft 1.18 ft 0.08 ft

1:25am – 2:50am

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

6:45am – 8:10am

1:50pm – 3:15pm

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 1:18a AM Minor: 11:09a PM Minor: 11:34p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Set: 8:14p Set: 11:17a AM Major: 4:56a PM Major: 5:22p 6:17a 6:42p

SYMBOL KEY

FULL MOON

PRIME TIME 5:28 am 2:18 pm 8:56 pm 10:08 pm

-0.12 ft 1.47 ft 1.19 ft 1.20 ft

7:30am – 8:50am

Set: 8:06p Set: 3:24a AM Major: 7:21a PM Major: 7:48p 9:05p 8:39a

PRIME TIME 6:07 am 11:54 am 3:26 pm 10:53 pm

1.53 ft 1.12 ft 1.22 ft 0.01 ft

Sunrise: 7:06a Moonrise: 8:49p AM Minor: 5:55a PM Minor: 6:17p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

3:30am – 4:50am

Set: 8:10p Set: 6:53a AM Major: ----PM Major: 12:06p 1:25a 1:47p

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 3:14 am High Tide: 1:05 pm

0.19 ft 1.48 ft

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 2:01a AM Minor: ----PM Minor: 12:02p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

7:00am – 8:20am

Set: 8:15p Set: 12:17p AM Major: 5:50a PM Major: 6:14p 7:07a 7:31p

PRIME TIME

GOOD DAYS

2:45am – 3:10am *

Set: 7:22p Set: 7:25a AM Major: 6:49a PM Major: 7:15p 9:04p 2:10p

Sunrise: 7:13a Moonrise: 2:00p AM Minor: 1:08a PM Minor: 1:35p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

6:50am – 8:00am *

1.58 ft 0.87 ft 1.20 ft -0.19 ft

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

PRIME TIME

PRIME TIME 5:40 am 11:19 am 4:05 pm 11:00 pm

Sunrise: 7:22a Moonrise: 6:20a AM Minor: * PM Minor: 12:35p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:10p Set: 6:24a AM Major: 11:24a PM Major: 11:45p 12:43a 1:04p

Low Tide: 2:19 am 0.13 ft High Tide: 12:28 pm 1.48 ft

LAST QTR

Set: 8:05p Set: 2:39a AM Major: 6:25a PM Major: 6:54p 8:12p 7:43a

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 7:51p AM Minor: 5:13a PM Minor: 5:34p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:00p Set: 6:53p AM Major: 10:35a PM Major: 11:00p 12:17p None

Sunrise: 7:14a Moonrise: 12:52p AM Minor: 12:16a PM Minor: 12:40p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

2:00pm – 3:30pm

SUNDAY

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 4:07 am High Tide: 1:45 pm

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

6:25am – 7:55am *

1.48 ft 0.63 ft 1.17 ft 0.05 ft

PRIME TIME

4:32 am 10:30 am 3:58 pm 10:17 pm

Sunrise: 6:23a Moonrise: 5:51a AM Minor: 4:23a PM Minor: 4:48p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 8:09p Set: 5:57a AM Major: 10:45a PM Major: 11:05p 12:01a 12:22p

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

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:00p Set: 5:46p AM Major: 9:50a PM Major: 10:14p 11:28a 11:52p

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

SATURDAY

PRIME TIME PRIME TIME

BEST DAYS

A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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TIDE STATION CORRECTION TABLE (Adjust High & Low Tide times listed in the Calendar by the amounts below for each keyed location)

NOT FOR NAVIGATION

PLACE SABINE BANK LIGHTHOUSE (29.47° N, 93.72° W) SABINE PASS JETTY (29.65° N, 93.83° W) SABINE PASS (29.73° N, 93.87°W) MESQUITE PT, SABINE PASS (29.77° N, 93.9° W) GALV. BAY, SO. JETTY (29.34° N, 94.7° W) PORT BOLIVAR (29.36° N, 94.77° W) TX CITY TURNING BASIN (29.38° N, 94.88° W) EAGLE POINT (29.5° N, 94.91° W) CLEAR LAKE (29.56° N, 95.06° W) MORGANS POINT (29.68° N, 94.98° W) ROUND PT, TRINITY BAY (29.71° N, 94.69° W) PT. BARROW, TRIN. BAY (29.74° N, 94.83° W) GILCHRIST, E. BAY (29.52° N, 94.48° W) JAMAICA BCH., W. BAY (29.2° N, 94.98° W) ALLIGATOR PT., W. BAY (29.17° N, 94.13° W) CHRISTMAS PT, CHR. BAY (29.08° N, 94.17° W) GALV. PLEASURE PIER (29.29° N, 94.79° W) SAN LUIS PASS (29.08° N, 95.12° W) FREEPORT HARBOR (28.95° N, 95.31° W) PASS CAVALLO (28.37° N, 96.4° W) ARANSAS PASS (27.84° N, 97.05° W) PADRE ISL.(SO. END) (26.07° N, 97.16° W) PORT ISABEL (26.06° N, 97.22° W)

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HIGH

LOW

-1:46

-1:31

-1:26

-1:31

-1:00

-1:15

-0:04

-0:25

-0:39

-1:05

+0:14

-0:06

+0:33

+0:41

+3:54

+4:15

+6:05

+6:40

+10:21

+5:19

+10:39

+5:15

+5:48

+4:43

+3:16

+4:18

+2:38

+3:31

+2:39

+2:33

+2:32

+2:31

-1:06

-0.09

-0:44

-1:02

0:00

-1:20

-0:03

-1:31

-0:24

-1:45

+1:02

-0:42

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Maxima Ultragreen Line

Livingston Lures Talking Croaker

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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Outcast Popping Cork One of the things we try to do on these pages is to give information that helps anglers who fish from the bank. Not everyone can afford a boat, so bank specific reports and other information is always something we are looking for, which is why I am mentioning the Outcast popping cork from Midcoast Products. I picked up some of these a couple of weeks ago and found their aerodynamic design and unique weight placement allows me to make casts that I never dreamed of with a popping cork. As the ad pitch says, “When the cork is retrieved with an aggressive popping action, the concave top and integrated rattle produce the sounds of feeding predators and fleeing prey, which attracts fish and increases your chance of catching them.” That is what all popping corks are designed to do, and most on the market are effective. This one has some unique properties; the most impressive is casting distance. Someone fishing from the surf, for example, wanting to cast toward schooling specks that are usually out of distance, might be able to make up the difference with this cool cork. Oh, and if you pick some up, make sure to

keep the following in mind for rigging them: “When rigging the Outcast, the main line from your rod, as well as the leader to your hook, are both attached to the same barrel swivel eye on top of the cork. This rigging configuration allows the cork to be cast like a projectile with the bait or lure trailing behind. “As the cork approaches its target, applying slight pressure to the spool of your reel will allow the cork to land first and then the bait land beyond, decreasing the chance of

tangles during splashdown. Using monofilament or fluorocarbon for leader material allows the length to be easily adjusted to meet ever-changing fishing conditions. “It is recommended that no weight be attached between the leader and the cork, allowing your bait to swim freely or your lure to fall slowly. This will create a more realistic presentation and increase the number of fish you catch.” Contact: Midcoast Products, www.midcoastprodcuts.com —CM

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Hunter Edition of Polaris XP No Ranger limited edition line up would be complete without a hunter edition. This machine has all of the features of the Ranger XP with the addition of a Mossy Oak patterned body and Browning Buck Mark accents. The Ranger XP’s Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) coupled with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS), will ensure a great hunt regardless of what Mother Nature throws your way. Features on this limited edition model include: New Mossy Oak New Break Up design (hood, dash, rims, decals); Custom Custom Cut & Sew Browning seat with Buck Mark decal; No-shine wrinkle black paint (cab frame, bumpers, screen); Factory installed 4000 lb. Warn winch; Dual Lock & Ride Mossy Oak Gun Scabbards The MSRP (US) is 12,299, and the MSRP (Canada) is $16,199. Contact: Polaris Industries, 2100 Hwy 55, Medina, MN 55340. Phone: 763-542-0500 Web: www.polarisindustries.com

The Fish Taco Rules If you are a serious fisherman or fisherwoman, you need The Fish Taco. Made of aluminum, which is very durable, The Fish Taco is the best fish measuring device ever. It is available in two sizes the 10” model and the 14” model. Simply place the fish in The Fish Taco, make sure the fish’s mouth is closed and is touching the stopper end of the taco, verify the size, (if the tail of the fish is over the edge of the “taco”, then it’s legal), and easily place the fish in your live well if it meets the limit size. Protect your hands from slime and cuts N14

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and saves time from water to live well or cooler. The Fish Taco is easier and better than boards or rulers because you only need one hand to grip and measure. The Fish Taco helps keep you legal and eliminates the guesswork. Great for gifts! The Fish Taco is the official fish measuring device for these tournament circuits: Big Fish Cliff Tournament, The Ultimate Crappie Challenge and Crappie Anglers of Texas For information please contact: Scott Solis, 682-225-7676 Website: www.onthespotwithscott.com

cranking power as well, thanks to oversized gears machined from Daiwa’s exclusive highstrength alloy stock. Anglers will also appreciate the Saltist’s smooth, consistent drag with stainless and grease-impregnated washers – just the ticket for putting the brakes on big, determined adversaries. Additional Saltist features include a dual anti-reverse system, a dual- position handle and an aluminum rod clamp. Both the STT20H and STT30H models have an MSRP of $159.99. For the more information, please call 562802-9589 or E-mail inquiries to: info@daiwa.com. Website: www.daiwa.com.

New Ultra-High Put Ole Betsy at Daiwa Speed Reels Your Fingertips

Daiwa has added new smaller STT20H and STT30H Ultra-High Speed models to its popular Saltist conventional reel series, both ideal for use with today’s high-strength braided lines. Featuring rugged “Full Metal Jacket” construction, super strong alloy gearing and smooth, powerful drag systems, Daiwa’s new pint-sized Saltists are ready to take on hardfighting challengers. Virtually all of the STT20H and STT30H components are made of metal, allowing for maximum durability and reliability. Both models feature rigid, one-piece aluminum frames built to stand up to tackle-testing game fish and harsh marine conditions. Inside this rugged exterior housing, four ball bearings (including CRBB bearings) and a roller bearing ensure optimum smoothness and trouble-free operation. Shielded to keep grit and abrasives out, Daiwa’s CRBB bearings last up to 12 times longer than ordinary ball bearings in a saltwater environment. Both the STT20H and STT30H boast a blazing fast 6.1:1 gear ratio for rapid lure retrieval and keeping up with saltwater speedsters. The new additions supply plenty of

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Great Day now offers a universal-mounting, two-gun rack that puts “Ole Betsy” at your fingertips as you cruise your hunting property. The Quick-Draw Gun Rack fits all “side-by-side” type utility vehicles (Kawasaki Mule, Polaris Ranger, John Deere Gator, Artic Cat Prowler, all golf cart-style vehicles, etc.). The Quick-Draw mounts in a “stand alone” fashion and can be positioned for quick access and maximum use of passenger space. The Quick-Draw holds two guns (rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader) securely and protected in soft, cushioned clips. Great Day’s unique pull-tabs form and fit the holding cradles to the exact size of the stock or forearm of the gun it is holding—no more loose fits to disturb the delicate sight and scope settings. Another great feature of the Quick-Draw is that it can be set at the preferred angle. Look for the Quick-Draw in major catalogues and retailers. Suggested retail for the Quick-Draw is $80.00. For more information, visit www.greatdayinc.com—or call 866-649-1918, Ext 137. Made with pride in the USA!

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Connect Lures in an Instant The Original Quickswirl ™ is specifically designed for easy use and durability. Stress tested to outperform all it’s competitors. Functionality is the focus, with design features that ensure the lure will stay attached and survive the most extreme conditions. How to Use It: To attach the lure, simply place the eye of the lure onto the end of the exposed coil adjacent to the shaft and swirl two rotations to the base of the product. To remove and replace the lure, simply reverse the process. Quickswirl on/Quickswirl off. Raw Material: The raw material we use is comprised of .026 dia. stainless steel wire and is specifically made for abrasion resistance and protection from sharp teeth. It has been torsion straightened and treated so it is nearly invisible beneath the water, and has a dark coffee colored finish. These specifications ensure the highest quality product every time. For more information about quickswirl and where to buy it, go to www.quickswirl.com or email them info@quickswirl.com or call their offices @ 512-771-0598.

Texas Troubedour Hits Big For years George Strait has been known as the “King of Country” and “The Texas Troubadour.” Exemplary titles such as these don’t come easy and with twenty plus years experience under his belt, the country superstar continues to break records – including his own. “I Saw God Today” is the highest single debut of George Strait’s illustrious career. This brand new song debuted at #19 on the R&R and Billboard radio charts this week. When contacted with this news, George said, “Wow, let me just say a huge thank you to country radio! I love you guys.” The upcoming CD, appropriately entitled Troubadour, will be released on April 1st. It brings about some notable collaborations including a duet with the great Patty Loveless, and long time songwriting partner,

Dean Dillon. Distinguished songwriter Leslie Satcher also lends her songwriting expertise to a good number of the twelve tracks. Since his debut in 1981, Strait has sold more than 62 million records and counting. With 32 different platinum or multi-platinum albums, he’s earned the second most certifications of any artist in any genre, following only Elvis Presley. George Strait has received more than 50 major entertainment industry awards and countless nominations. Strait has 70 Country Music Association nominations, was the CMA “Vocalist of the Year” five times and the only artist in history to be so honored in two different decades. He recently took home the CMA Album of the Year award for It Just Comes Natural.

Lansky MultiTool Lansky Sharpeners—the world’s most recognized and respected name in sharpening—launches a new product line with the introduction of their Professional Grade Industrial MultiTool (LMT 100). As the cornerstone product of the company’s new Knife & Tool Division, the Lansky Industrial MultiTool sets the benchmark in offering functional, innovative designs—quality engineered in the Lansky tradition to meet exacting performance standards. Lansky’s Industrial MultiTool delivers 20-tool functionality with the strength and heavy-duty durability of rustproof, 420 HC stainless steel construction. This multi-tool is full-sized and combines utility with substance to manhandle tough jobs. Measuring 6-1/4” open, it folds down to a compact 41/8” closed length and weighs in at 9.6 oz. The Lansky MultiTool is engineered to outperform the competition and is distinguished by its detailed fit and finish. The ergonomic design features contoured handles with a matte, bead-blasted finish to assure truly comfortable, no-pinch usage combined with a positive, secure grip and great balance. Pliers deploy with a flick of the wrist, and integrated tools and blades open smoothly from the inboard handle positions and lock in place for safe use. The multi-tool stows into a handsome, hard-wearing, reinforced, ballistic nylon sheath with snap closure. The sheath also has an internal pocket to hold the included 1/4” socket and bit accessory set. This gutsy tool has the versatility and A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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muscle to power through the job at hand. Protected by Lansky’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. Contact: Lansky Sharpeners, (P) 702.361.7511, (F) 702.896.9511, (E) info@lansky.com, Web: www.lansky.com

Charter Arms for the Ladies Charter Arms takes aim at the female market segment with the introduction of the Pink Lady revolver. A variation of Charter’s popular .38 Special Undercover Lite, the Pink Lady offers the same durability, power and lighter weight as its predecessor, but with a unique and attractive pink finish. This departure from the standard stainless-or-black selection is part of Charter’s ongoing effort to serve the fastest growing market segment in shooting sports. “For personal protection at home or for concealed carry, the female shooter demands the same quality engineering as her male counterpart,” says Charles Brown of MKS Supply, the exclusive marketer for Charter Arms. “But there’s more to it. She also appreciates the personal touches that make the revolver uniquely her own. With the new .38 Special Pink Lady, Charter meets her demands with reliability and style.” Charter Arms—setting the American standard in affordable personal protection. For more than 40 years, Charter Arms has maintained the tradition of craftsmanship found in Connecticut’s Gun Valley. High quality American-made and assembled, Charter Arms revolvers are available from reputable firearms distributors nationwide and carry an unconditional lifetime warranty. For more information contact Charter Arms at 866-769-4867 or on the web at www.charterfirearms.com.

High-Def Binocular Line The tremendous acceptance of Carson’s first two models in their XM-HD high definition binocular series, offering ultra-bright images even in low-light conditions, created a

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HEN CHERYLNN DRY OF VICTORIA, Texas, thought about pulling an April Fool’s Day prank on her prankster-prone father last year, she had what she thought would be a perfect chance: She would call him after an April 1 opening day spring turkey hunt with her husband and tell her father she had just shot the biggest gobbler in the world, regardless whether she actually had bagged a gobbler. Fortunately for Dry, she had to change her tactics, both about what type of April Fool’s Day prank she might pull and about how she would try to bag her first spring gobbler on a family ranch near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas. Soon after the echoes from Dry’s 12gauge had faded into silence that spring morning, Dry and her husband/hunting partner Glen Dry were standing over what later would be recognized as the all-time world record Rio Grande turkey, a magnificent bird that sported seven beards and scored 161.4375 points under the National Wild Turkey Federation record scoring system. It beat the former record of 160.7500

Cherylnn Dry hoists her world record gobbler. N16

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHERYLNN DRY

Texas Hunter Takes World Record Gobbler points set by Brooks Owens in 1991 with an eight-bearded tom that he took in Mills County, Texas. In addition to having seven beards ranging in length from about 7-1/4 to 11-3/4 inches, Cherylnn’s gobbler weighed

by Bob Hood 21.9375 pounds. One spur measured 1 inch and the other measured 0.850 inches. Cherylnn also is the only woman on the Top 20 world records list. “I had no idea turkeys sometimes have multiple beards, and I did not realize the significance of [the turkey scoring system] at the time,” Cherylnn said. “We let out a few Aggie whoops to anyone who might have heard the shot. I dialed my dad’s cell phone and hoped my hyperventilation would make him take me seriously. ‘Dad, this ain’t no April Fool’s. Come see the turkey I just shot,’ I told him.” The events surrounding Cherylnn ‘s feat are almost as unusual as the remarkable gobbler she bagged. It certainly was not the normal sit “still, call turkey, shoot it” type of hunt. The day before the season opened, the Drys set a pop-up blind at the edge of a green meadow about 200 yards from a creek where they knew turkeys often roosted, but they didn’t put any chairs in it. In the pre-dawn darkness on opening day, Cherylnn lugged two folding metal chairs to the blind through water and mud brought about by recent rains. The chairs “occasionally banged together as I slid through the mud,” she said. Her husband carried the 12-gauge auto-loader, his bag of

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calls, and two hen decoys including one that he put an 8-inch beard onto when they were set up near the blind. Once inside the blind, the Drys awaited daylight as the chairs began to sink up to 4 inches in the mud. Cherylnn said she began to think more about her planned April’s Fool’s joke on her father. Daylight finally arrived, and with it came silence. The Drys soon began to wonder if they had chosen the right spot. Finally, a tom turkey gobbled from somewhere down the creek. It was followed by the gobbles from anther turkey and then more gobbles from a third tom. Cherylnn said she felt for the first time the intensity such moments bring to virtually all spring turkey hunters. “There were at least three gobblers sounding off,” Dry said. “Glen used a box call at first, and they kept gobbling, but it

The new world record Rio Grande gobbler had seven beards ranging from 7-1/4 to 11-3/4 inches long.

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Trophy Fever

How to Score a Turkey: Under the National Wild Turkey Federation scoring system: 1: Weigh your turkey in pounds and ounces and convert ounces to decimal form. (Conversion chart available at www.nwtf.org.) 2: Measure each spur. Spurs must be measured along the outside center from the point at which the spur protrudes from the scaled leg skin to the tip of the spur. Add both spur measurements and multiply the combined length of the spurs by 10. This is the number of points you receive for the turkey’s spurs. 3: Measure the beard length (a didn’t seem like they were coming to us. He tried a mouth call for a while, and they continued to gobble, but none were coming closer. I am not the most patient person in the world, so I started thinking that maybe we should move toward the gobbles.” Minutes passed and the Drys decided to make a move toward the gobblers. They left

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beard must be measured from the center point of the protrusion of the skin to the tip) and convert it to decimal form using the National Wild Turkey Federation conversion chart. Multiply the beard length figure by two; this is the number of points you receive for the beard length. If you have an atypical bird (multiple beards), measure each beard, convert to a decimal number, add those figures together, and multiply by two. This is the number of points you receive for your turkey’s beards. 4: Add together the weight, points for spurs and beard(s). This is your turkey’s score. the blind and moved to a tree about 30 yards from it. Glen made a series of clucks with his mouth call and a gobbler answered with five gobbles. Another series of gobbles from the bird indicated he was moving closer. Suddenly, the Drys realized that the gobbler had moved to within about 100 yards. The Drys were 30 yards from the blind and

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the decoys were 15 yards on the other side of it. Not a good situation. “We decided to make a run back for the blind,” Cherylnn said. “I went first, staying in the trees and keeping low, but running as fast as I could with the 12-gauge.” Cherylnn made it to the blind but her husband didn’t. As his wife headed for the blind, Glen spotted the gobbler farther down the creek. He immediately crouched beside a tree. “A little panic flowed through me as I realized I was going to be on my own,” Cherylnn said. Then she realized they had left the Velcro camo-mesh windows of the pop-up blind shut to keep out mosquitoes. Then she saw the big tom move into the pasture road about 100 yards away, strutting, turning, and strutting some more. Cherylnn said she knew she would not be able to pull the Velcro windows open without making noise. Her husband had quit calling and the gobbler continued closing in on the two decoys. The gobbler moved into a grove of elms 20 or 30 yards away and Cherylnn knew that once it cleared them she would

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DEER—ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

BOAR—DUVAL COUNTY, TEXAS

Caleb Lenard, age 15, and brother Ryan Lenard, age 13, of Rusk, Texas, killed these deer within three minutes of each other during a youth hunt in Anderson County, Texas.

MALLARD—LAKE WACO, TEXAS

ELK—BEDIAS, TEXAS

Max Burmeister, age 17, of Leroy, Texas, shot this banded mallard hen while hunting on Lake Waco. It was his seventh duck ever and was banded in North Dakota.

GOT BUCKS? GOT HOGS? GOT TURKEYS? GOT BANDED DUCKS?

WHITETAIL DEER—BORDEN COUNTY, TEXAS

PLEASE INCLUDE PHOTO CAPTION: NAME HOMETOWN WHEN & WHERE TAKEN SIZE AND WEIGHT

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.) A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Turkey the Hard Way, Part II

AST MONTH, I WROTE ABOUT TAKING TURKEY with a bow, focusing on methods and strategy. This month, I would like to talk about the equipment needed to complete this quest. Much of what you use will be a matter of personal preference, but I have found that by making a few changes to my gear, I have increased my success rate tremendously. There are many different bows on the market. As in all hunting equipment, some are better than others. The bows of today are built to precision standards and most boast about how fast they can get an arrow off the string and to the target. With turkey, however, speed is not your ally. With deer, the desired impact is a full pass-through, which will create maximum hemorrhaging and an adequate blood trail. However, with turkey, it is better for the arrow to remain in the bird after contact. The turkey won’t be able to take flight, making recovery much easier. Many turkey have been lost simply because they flew away

after the fatal hit. By the way, the hogs and coyotes wish to thank you at this time. Delicious, they say! Some hunters prefer to have a bow set up for hunting deer and another one for small game. Of course, you can use your deerhunting bow and it will work just fine. Try cranking the weight down a few turns for turkey hunting. It will slow the arrow just enough so a pass through will be harder to achieve. Remember to count the number of full turns you do on each limb so that the bow will stay tuned and ready for the next hunt. The sight pins will also change a bit. Practice a little before you hunt with this change and set your pins accordingly. Will the broadheads that you use for deer work just as well for turkeys? The short answer is yes. Again, the arrow should not pass completely through the turkey. On a personal level, I prefer to use mechanical broadheads for turkey and fixed blades for deer. Call it a trial and error thing, if you will. It has been my experience that the fixed blades have a better chance of passing completely through a turkey. I have not had that occurrence while using mechanical heads. I realize that a lot of you reading this will be scratching your heads saying, “That makes no sense.” I used to say that, too, but since I changed to the mechanical broadheads used in conjunction with lighter draw weight, I have had no arrows pass through at all. If you decide that fixed blades work for you, then let me suggest a few adjustments.

There are companies that sell attachments that fit on the shaft of your arrow just behind the broadhead. These can be anything from a metal spring object that grips the meat of the bird upon entry, to a rubber washer that fits tight up against the shaft to slow the arrow on impact. Specialty heads are another option. Check out the Gobbler Guillotine discussed in Ted Nugent’s “Sticking it to Turkey” feature elsewhere in this issue. Texas has a huge population of Rio Grande turkey. As of the last count, it was over 600,000 birds. What makes Texas even more appealing is the fact that along with Rio Grandes, there is also a growing population of eastern turkey in the Pineywoods, as well as a few pockets in the Trans Pecos region. A hunter can take a big chunk of a Grand Slam right here in Texas. No other state offers that. With all of this extra hunting opportunity, there should be plenty of successful bowhunters. Believe me, once you take a bird with a bow, you might never again take a shotgun turkey hunting. On a side note, it would be interesting to have an occasional question-and-answer column. Send your archery questions to me via email at lmarullo@fishgame.com E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

TROPHY FEVER Continued from Page N18 have her shot. Cherylnn said she tried to use one of the chairs as a rest for her shotgun, but it was stuck in the mud. The gobbler stayed in a full strut all the way to the decoys. Cherylnn knelt down, pressed the barrel N20

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close to one of the mesh windows, and put the bead on the gobbler’s head. The rest is history and one for the record books. “I’ve been blessed growing up with just about every coveted hunting and fishing opportunity in Texas, from whitetails in Webb County to speckled trout under the lights on the Intracoastal Canal,”

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Cherylnn said. “I’ve got memories to last a lifetime of my family enjoying God’s great outdoors together. The spring gobbler is now a clear part of that memory book, and April 1 will forever be circled on my calendar for more than one reason.”

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Thompson/ Center Icon Rifle

AST YEAR, THOMPSON/CENTER ARMS introduced their first bolt-action rifle. It was offered in a short-action version for the new .30 T/C cartridge and other short cartridges. It is a wonderfully well-balanced combination with good wood, superb metal work, integral aluminum bedding block, and all the tricks for making it more accurate. I first saw the Icon at the SHOT show last year, but I didn’t get my hands on one for several months. I finally received an Icon in .308 Winchester and began testing. First appearance was favorable, and the first three-shot group was quite good at just over an inch. However, further testing revealed a problem. If more than three shots were fired quickly, the rounds began to spread and climb up and to the left. I tried other ammunition and nothing seemed to correct the problem. I finally decided it was a problem with the bedding in the stock.

Since the gun has a very high-tech aluminum bedding-block, I did not think that the bedding of the action was the culprit. That left the barrel channel. Closer inspection revealed that the channel was off to the left, causing the right side to bind against the barrel. I took the gun out of its stock, drug out my barrel channel rasp, and cleaned out the barrel channel to the point where there was obvious clearance between the barrel and the right side of the channel, and made certain that the barrel did not touch the wood anywhere in the barrel channel. The barrel was then completely free-floating. Back at the bench, the first few shots evidenced the problem was solved. It seemed that wherever the crosshairs were resting on the target was exactly where the bullet hit. With my handloads, the average three-shot groups were less than 1 inch, as promised by T/C. It seemed, however, this Icon didn’t like many of the factory loads, but as I shoot mostly handloads, that was not a problem. I shot several factory offerings in the gun and it did not produce top-grade accuracy with any of them. I had hoped it would shoot the Federal Fusion, since I really like that bullet, and it is usually extremely accurate, but it seemed to like that load least of all, spreading them around over a couple of inches. It might simply be a peculiarity of this particular

gun, which seems likely in view of T/C’s usual quality and accuracy. All in all, I am very happy with the Icon. It is beautifully finished and has a very nice piece of walnut for the stock. The checkering is clean, crisp, and tastefully done. Mine came with a fancy facetted bolt handle. It looks very nice, but my personal prejudices are for the easy-to-grasp standard large knob. Since the Icon was designed so that the owner could change the bolt handle to something else, I will order one I like and replace it. The tool to make the change comes with the gun, and the change takes about a minute to accomplish. The Icon’s short bolt rise is also a nice design feature. Instead of the 60 to 90 degrees of most bolt actions, the Icon is more like 40 degrees. I have found nothing that tells me what the specifications are, so that is a guess, but I like the feature. The Thompson/Center Icon is a great piece of work. It is a good-looking, goodshooting gun. Now that T/C is introducing a long-action version chambered in .270, .30-06, .25-06, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .300 Winchester Magnum, it seems that it is just about everything the discriminating rifleman could want, and the price is downright reasonable.

NEW PRODUCTS Continued from Page N15 demand for a binocular that fits hunters to a “T”. The new XM-832 HD’s weigh in at just 20.6oz and are perfect for a hunter’s days in the field. The 84.7% light transmission is invaluable during early morning hours and when glassing just before dusk. Their 420 ft. field of view at 1,000yds. rounds out all of the key features.

These binoculars are fully multicoated, O-ring sealed, phase coated, waterproof and fog-proof, with a MSRP of $340. Carson brings a level of high-end optical performance, not previously found at these price points. Guides, hunters and birders have come to appreciate and respect Carson as a source of premium optics and a name you can trust. Carson Optical is known for product innovation, exceptional customer service A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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and value. The people at Carson are marketing specialists, offering outstanding packaging and strong advertising and editorial support. Their line of products was created with the end user in mind. Contact: 1-800-9-OPTICS or visit www.carsonoptical.com. E-mail: info@carsonoptical.com.

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Boat Math

around 20 gph wide-open (many do slightly better than this) and in the neighborhood of 11 gph at cruise.

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Alas, even a die-hard mariner must learn to weather the storm of numeric calculations.

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CM =K x A x L ——————— E where: CM = circular mills (wire size necessary) K = 10.8 A = load in amps L = length of the conductor, in feet E = acceptable maximum voltage drop at unit

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I have enjoyed as much of this as I can stand. You will have to excuse me for now. I am about to lose my lunch and if I look at one more number…

E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com

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T-Ball Rig

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loop in its outer end for the snap. The snap’s wire size should be small enough to easily pass through the top eye of the swivel at the top of your double drop vermilion snapper rig. Use the same procedure on the bottom half as used on the top half for the wire, bead, crimping, etc., except this time, with a small bank sinker in the bottom loop, as shown. Some of the flow-through holes in the bottom half are also to be carefully drilled

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out to 1/8-inch to increase flow rate through the ball. Do this drilling with the halves screwed together for easier, safer handling and to greatly reduce chances of bending the tea ball out of shape. Don’t over tighten; a gentle stop and slight back off is perfect. The bottom half ’s numerous holes, along with the current, gravity and rod tip twitches, and the small sinker’s loading and unloading twitches, combine to give the best scent cone drifting down current. The ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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reflected light off the stainless steel will do its part, too. To fish it, fill the T-ball with finely chopped chum, such as squid, sardine, or loosely packed cotton, saturated with the liquid or gel attractant of your choice. Its position above a double drop rig has the chum pieces/scent falling down and away. When the locals follow the scent cone, your baited hooks are near the narrow end of that cone and the next tug on your line could be a couple of fat vermilions. Your 30- to 40-pound mono double-drop rig should be made up so its length, from the

swivel to the top dropper leg, has about 4 inches clearance between it and the bottom of the T-ball. Use light wire circle hooks, such as Daiichi D84Z in size 3/0, baited with small pieces of cut squid that are positioned so as not to block the hook point to shank gap area. A 1- to 3-ounce bank sinker on the bottom of the double drop rig is sufficient in most cases. When fishing circle hooks, wait for the loaded rod to bend down tight and stay there, then wind to assure the hookup. Small bites must be ignored when fishing these hooks.

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While playing this form of T-Ball isn’t part of the child’s game we’re all familiar with, it can add to your fishing fun and success, whether it’s offshore, along the coast, or in the bays. E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com

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Old Guns

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slept in a spare bedroom of their big white house with red awnings that stood at the top of a hill overlooking the pasture. Four hundred acres might not seem like a lot of land to some folks, but it was a lot of real estate to me, and I prowled it from corner to corner and in between ever chance I got; first with a Red Ryder BB gun, later with a Stephens Target .22 rifle that belonged to my grandfather, and even later with his 20-gauge pump shotgun. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, and I bet most hunters remember fondly learning to hunt with a borrowed gun or one of their own. My grandfather kept his .22 rifle and 20-gauge shotgun in his kitchen, propped in a corner next to the refrigerator. He would awake me an hour before daybreak, when he headed to the barn to milk his cows. As soon as I got dressed, I grabbed the .22 or 20-gauge, went to the barn for a quick visit with my grandfather, and then headed for the pasture. As I grew older, I was able to buy my own rifles and shotguns, including a .22 Western Auto branded single-shot, a .3006 03-A3 Springfield rifle that I gave $50 for and picked out of a barrel full of surplus military rifles in a Fort Worth department store, and others that I still own. Each of these firearms holds special memories, but there is one particular “oldie’ that today means as much to me

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PHOTO BY BOB HOOD

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about the future as it does of the past—an Ithaca M-66 single-shot 12-gauge with a 30-inch full choke barrel. Model numbers might mean little to anyone not familiar with the gun, but the reason the Ithaca means so much to me is because it has become my turkey gun of choice. Sure, everyone has their favorite turkey gun, and there certainly are a lot of really nice gobbler-getters out there that have provided many hunters with great results. Mine, though, has and always will be the Ithaca M-66. The reason I hold the shotgun in such high esteem is simple: my 35-year history of hunting with it, or vice versa, if you choose. Like memories built from hunting behind an old bird dog, it is rewarding to remember the events of 35 years hunting with the old’ M-66, and it also is exciting to think about hunting with it again this spring turkey season. For those not familiar with the Ithaca M-66, it looks like a lever-action shotgun, but isn’t. The only function of its lever is to break it open. A single hammer cocks the gun. There is no safety other than the

rebounding hammer, or the gun being opened. The Model 66 was introduced by Ithaca in 1963 and was available through 1978. I bought mine in 1966 for predator hunting, not spring turkey hunting, which wasn’t available in Texas until a few years later. The 30-inch full choke barrel loaded with 3-inch No. 2s has done a number on numerous coyotes, foxes, and bobcats, but in the early years of Texas’ spring turkey hunting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the M-66 took a backseat on my first tries for spring turkey. The fact that I chose to go after my first gobblers with a Savage .222/20-gauge over-and-under speaks more for my lack off confidence in calling turkey than it does for the guns themselves. I shot my first gobbler in the Hill Country with the M-66 single-shot in 1973, and I have picked up no other shotgun in all of the spring turkey seasons in Texas, Kentucky, and elsewhere since. The Ithaca M-66, because of its age, can be considered a relic, but it is a relic that still performs its job well. A gun does

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not have to be a relic, however, to build special memories for the one who shoots it. Whether you own several old or new firearms or simply own one or two of them, there is a good chance one particular gun has a special meaning to you. I can’t say that I have pampered my old M-66 over the many years it has been with me. The numerous scars on its stock and forearm and its worn finish attest to that. I’ve crawled through mud holes and over rock piles with it, swam a couple of flooded creeks with it, used it to pry my way through thick brush, and have let it bounce around in the back of numerous pickup trucks. No, this relic has by no means been pampered, and if I could do it all over again from the beginning, I wouldn’t change a thing. E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

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The Wind is Your Friend …Sort Of

wind is your friend.” There have been several corollaries to that statement, the most accurate being, “The wind is your friend—as long as it is less than 20 miles per hour.” True words, my friends, especially if you paddle a kayak. The wind is the paddler’s friend—kinda—and coastal kayak fishermen should take advantage of the wind rather than fight it whenever possible. Since fish are scattered in the spring, the best strategy is to cover a lot of territory rather than home in on a specific area. Just like their gel-coated brethren, kayaks are good platforms to drift-fish from. I prefer to turn sidesaddle in my sit-on-top and dangle my legs in front of the hull. The wind pushes me along while I make downwind casts. The wind helps maximize casting distance, which is important since the water is extremely clear in the spring. Should the wind push your hull a little too fast for your liking, you can slow its velocity by deploying a sash weight or drift anchor. Kayak-sized drift socks are about 18-inches long and provide the same braking effect as larger ones deployed from bay boats. Sash weights are used to counterbalance wooden double-hung windows. Unfortunately, those elegant old windows are going the way of car-

rier pigeons, but you can still find the weights at flea markets and garage sales. The weights drag along the bottom like a mini-anchor, thereby slowing your progress. Slowing your drift rate is advantageous, as it allows you to work the water in front of you thoroughly before you drift through it. This is especially important to hardware slingers, as it allows them to slow the speed of the retrieve. Another way to cheat the wind is to make a one-way trip. One-way trips require a bit of planning before setting off, but are worth the extra effort when the wind velocity ratchets up. Two vehicles are staged along the shoreline a reasonable distance from each other. You launch from one site and take out at the next. Then, all the paddlers can drive back to the original vehicle and sort out gear there. Before and after cold fronts, southeasterly winds dominate the coast. On many shorelines in Texas bays, a southeast wind will push you, more or less, parallel with the shore. The added benefit here is the lee of the shoreline offers some protection from the wind, and there is usually a thin strip of trout-clear water to be found.

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Young Gun

19-year-old pro bass angler Corey Waldrop. breathes bass fishing, but has limited sponsors to help fund his habit. His plan? A Legend Boats pro staffer, Waldrop said he hopes to use his age as a marketing tool to attract sponsors. “I am going to try to use it to my advantage,” he said. “My age should give me an approach to getting sponsors than some of the other anglers don’t have. When I do well, it might put me in the spotlight a little more than another angler, because I am so young. It will be a great avenue to generate some great exposure, which is what sponsors are looking for.” In the meantime, Waldrop is beating the bushes trying to drum up as much financial support he can. Elite Series pros are allowed to pay their entry fees in scheduled installments throughout the season. Waldrop A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Shallow Spooning

look like a minnow swimming through the grass without a care in the world. With a little dressing, it can mimic a frog, crawfish, or even a snake, all of which a bass will readily devour. Rigging a weedless spoon and trailer combination is fairly straightforward, and apparently popular because some lure manufactures produce spoons specifically for this rig. These spoons have a small slot along the shank of the hook so a soft plastic trailer can be threaded on the majority of the hook. If you cannot find one of these spoons, then your basic Johnson’s Silver Minnow or any one of the imitations will work just fine. If all you can find is a jigging spoon, then it can work as well, with a simple modification. Jigging spoons are typically armed with a treble hook. Treble hooks and grass don’t mix, so simply replace the treble with a weedless worm hook. Depending on what you want the spoon to imitate, your choices for trailers are limited only by the amount of soft plastic baits you typically carry with you. If the predominant forage in the lake you fish is crawfish, then tip your spoon with a tube, grub, or creature bait. Push the hook through the nose of the bait, leaving the legs and tentacles dangling off the back. You can swim the spoon around cover or crawl it along the bottom like a jig. If you want to imitate a snake, use a long worm as the trailer, the longer the better. I

have some hand-poured worms just over 12 inches long that I use for this, but smaller worms will work. Thread the worm onto the hook by pushing the point into the nose and then back out about 1/2-inch down the body. The worm should extend straight out from the back of the spoon, and when swam through a lily pad field, looks just like a snake. A bait that has taken off and gained popularity in the past few years is the soft plastic frog, such as the Stanley Ribbit, which also works well when added to a spoon. Just like with a creature bait, you rig the frog by pushing the point of the hook through the nose of the bait. Swim the spoon and frog combination near the surface, over cover occasionally, stopping the retrieve to let the spoon fall, making the frog legs flutter. If you read the promotional information that comes with most spoons, the majority of them advise that their super-secret design is so outstanding that it doesn’t allow the spoon to spin and thus eliminates line twist. Don’t believe it. Any bait designed to flutter back and forth will roll, twisting the line. To eliminate line twist, tie a short leader to the spoon and then connect the leader to the main line with a barrel swivel. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com

TEXAS KAYAKING Continued from Page N28 If you fish with a group, you can use three vehicles and plan to cover longer distances, which will increase the likelihood of intercepting fish. The extra vehicle staged in the middle allows you to short-circuit the plan if you find fish loitering sooner than you planed, or if inclement weather hits. River paddlers have been using this shuttle techN30

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nique for decades. One note about the weather: Spring cold fronts unleash biting winds and frigid rain, but when they will actually push through to the coast is only a weatherman’s prediction. Don’t assume the talking heads on television are reliable. Regardless what the forecast says, keep out a keen eye for threatening conditions. Trout and redfish will be scattered for the

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next several months until summer’s grasp takes hold along the coast. Until that time, you will likely have to cover lots of territory to find fish. Use the wind to your advantage, and not only will you catch more fish, your arms, shoulders, and back will thank you at the end of the day. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

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Varmint Cartridges Today

HEN I WAS A KID, WE HAD ONLY ABOUT three varmint cartridges to choose from: the .22 Hornet, .222 Remington, and .220 Swift. The Swift was beginning to be phased out (or so we thought) and in 1964, Winchester introduced the shortlived .225 Winchester to take its place. The .225 was called a “semi-rimmed” cartridge because it had a rim, but headspaced on the shoulder. However, call it what you want, if that isn’t a rim then I’ve never seen one. Other than that, the .225 was a very good cartridge, producing velocities above 3500 fps with 55-grain bullets. In addition to these factory cartridges, there was a whole slew of wildcats. The best of the lot were probably the .219 Zipper and the .22/250. The .22/250 was so good that Remington eventually adopted it and made it a factory cartridge. In 1964, Remington introduced the .223 Remington, a civilian version of the 5.56x45 NATO round. Remington had also been experimenting with another .22caliber cartridge for the military. It was the very fine .222 Remington Magnum. The .222 Magnum, introduced in 1958, is slightly superior to the .223 ballistically, but the fact that the .223 was the U.S. military round, and all that free, or at least very cheap, military brass was going to be available soon, blew the .222 Magnum out of the race. It is still a very good varmint round, doing very easily what the

.223 has to be pushed hard to accomplish. Today, we have most of the above plus a number of fine factory cartridges in the .22-caliber category. The .22/250 is one of the best and is still one of the most popular, as it deserves to be. It is a real hotrod, and extremely versatile. It can be loaded up to over 3600 fps with a 55grain bullet, or it can be loaded down to levels equal to the .222 and even lower. The new .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum is another hot .22 caliber. It is ballistically about like the .22/250. It has become very popular very quickly and a wide range of factory ammunition is available for it. It is an accurate, powerful round chambered in some fine rifles. I have used it to take hogs and coyotes, and not found it wanting. I don’t think it will do anything the .22/250 won’t do, but if you want a new varmint rifle, it is a good choice. One of the newest is the .204 Ruger. This is the first mainstream centerfire factory entry into the .20-caliber niche. There have been a number of wildcats over the years, but the .20 caliber has never gained the popularity of the .17s. I have used the .204 Ruger on several hunts in several different rifles and found it an impressive little cartridge. At well over 4000 fps, the .204 is the current factory velocity king. Interestingly, the .222 Remington Magnum is the parent case from which the .204 was derived. The .204 Ruger is an up and coming star. It is pleasant to shoot, shoots very flat, bucks wind pretty well, is very accurate, and hits very hard. I have truly enjoyed using it and have been impressed with its performance. I do not think it is as versatile as the .22/250, but for a .20 caliber, it is most impressive, shooting flatter than the .223 and hitting just as hard at ranges up to 300 yards. The old .22 Hornet is still popular and a great cartridge for small varmints A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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out to around 150 yards. It will take coyotes, but the range needs to be short and the shot precisely placed. It is more at home as a fox/raccoon/bobcat rifle, or in a prairie dog town where the shots are kept fairly short. At the other end of the spectrum is the .220 Swift, which seems to be making another comeback. That’s good, because the old Swift is still one of the best varmint cartridges ever designed. With modern bullets and powders, and modern steel, it becomes even better and doesn’t eat barrels for breakfast as it once did. The .223 is by far the most popular of the .22 calibers. It is sufficiently powerful for most varmint hunting applications, and until the need for ammunition for the war in the Middle East took over all the ammunition factories, ammo was plentiful and cheap. Now it is getting hard to find .223 ammo and the price has gone out of sight. Hopefully, this will reverse itself when the war is finally won and the boys come home. The .22/250 is one of the best—if not the best—of the current varmint rounds. It is, however, too powerful for extended periods on a prairie dog town, and wears out barrels a bit faster than the .223. It is at its best as a rifle for long-range varminting for woodchucks or rockchucks, and might be the ultimate choice for predator calling. If I could have only one .22-caliber varmint rifle, it would be a .22/250. The .223 WSSM is the equal of the .22/250, but not much more. It is short and accurate, but feeds rough in all the guns I have tried it in; with its huge diameter and sharp shoulder, it can do nothing else. However, it is an efficient, powerful round and a good choice for the longrange varminter. E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com

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Shooting Docks for Crappie

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PHOTOS BY ROY NEVES

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Topwater, Cranking, & Carolina Rigging

or lily pads. You can call Wes Cox at 866378-FISH for more information.

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It’s All in the Spots

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The Lostrider

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HERMAN BRUNE

Montana, the Early Days… Any man who thinks he is too old, too experienced, or too elite to be tested everyday is a pretentious fool. With that thought in mind, my mettle was under self-scrutiny. A Lazy H Outfitters, in Choteau, Montana, gave me the first riding job that didn’t include a hometown connection or best friend/brother-in-law type alliance. They needed a wrangler and guide that knew his way around a pack mule, and knew something about camping in the Bob Marshal Wilderness. Employment began with the summer fly-fishing season in July

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and ran through the general elk season that ended after Thanksgiving. My concern came with facing realities. The brag amongst cowboys is that a top hand can pick up his saddle and get a job anywhere in cow country. Now, I had been gathering cattle out of the yaupon brush since being a teenager. There was an uncountable herd of ranch colts, racing colts, and various broncs that succumbed to my tutelage, and I spent a number of years taking care of wilderness camps for an outfitter that was my buddy. But this would be the first trial to see if I measured up to the “rider for hire” wandering grub line cowboy ideal, that I idolized in Will James’, Lone Cowboy. Fortunately for my sake, the first summer

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trip went without any major screw-ups. It was established early on that I was the straw boss and with the responsibility came accountability. The only troubling incident was that I had to recommend dismissing another mule packer, and then find a replacement. Again fortunately, I knew where to look and soon Tom Bayne on the payroll. The folks that owned the outfit were retired schoolteachers and didn’t come on the trips. Instead they sent their daughter to cook and trusted me to insure the guest’s safety and satisfaction. They had also warned me that a few of the horses were pure Democrats and resented hard work. Given the chance, several of the fuzzy lamebrains may make a break for home pastures and free grain whenever turned loose to forage. This wasn’t something to which I was accustomed. All the stock I had ever wrangled seemed happier with the tall mountain grass and daily routines than loafing around in a short-grass feedlot on the ranch. Nevertheless, I kept a sharp lookout for equine escape artists. The next three trips were pure joy. We packed over Headquarters Pass into the Sun River Valley, camped on Gates Creek, fly fished all day, and recounted Wild West stories around the nightly campfire. The horses and mules turned their springtime fat into muscle and the entire crew acclimated to mountain living and sleeping under the stars. None of the caballos exhibited any inclinations to mutiny, and we sashayed into our fifth trip that would take us along the Chinese Wall. It was a 10-day jaunt through some of the most scenic and sensitive alpine locales in the lower 48 states. As we neared the wall the temperature dropped and the grass for the livestock became scant. On the fourth day, we slid from our bedrolls early. Tom grazed the stock while I began to break camp and mante pack loads. The grocery boxes, cooking fly, and much of our equipment could be made ready. Once the guests were awake and stuffing breakfast in their face, I could break down the stove, wrap up their tents, and pack the rest of the gear. Then Tom brought in the remuda and we began feeding and saddling. The next exercise was putting the clients on the trail and sending them ahead with the cook. Meanwhile, Tom and I finished organizing and loading our pack mule strings. The plan was

to leave the north fork of the Sun River, follow the Chinese Wall, and then drop down to Indian Point on the west fork of the Sun. The distance from the starting point to the destination is 20 miles. Now, riding single that far is a full day. Tearing down camp, then leading a string of eight mules up the mountain and then back down, and then reconstructing camp is a chore. A pack string averages three miles per hour and grazes three hours at dawn and three hours at dusk. Such a day starts well before day-

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light and ends with frazzled guides drifting up to the campfire in hopes of finding leftovers from supper. The tale of how the Lostrider got his name concludes in the May issue. E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com

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Killing a Friend

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Apache laid her head in Sis’ lap and sighed. Only a minute later she was deeply asleep. The vet and Dad lifted Apache onto the examining table, and while Sis and I rubbed her sweet old head and whispered to her, they gave her the final shot. They left and Dad held us for many minutes while we cried hard. “It hurts, Daddy,” I said when the vet told us she was gone. He blew his nose and his eyes were full of tears. “I know.” We wrapped Apache’s body in a blanket and Dad carried her to the truck. “We can talk, or we can just ride along quietly,” he said. Neither of us said anything, so for a while we drove in silence. After a few minutes, Dad told us about other dogs in his life and how he had dealt with their loss. “It’s never easy,” he said, knowing this was one of the hardest things we had ever had to do. “It’s good we’re together to do this,” Dad said. “Once, when I was in college, I had to bury my dog all alone. I drove him down to my Granddad’s house in the country, but they weren’t home. I dug the grave and buried him by myself. Then I went back up to sit on the porch and listen to geese honk overhead as they came in ahead of a cold front. I’ve never felt so alone in my life as I did that day.” Tears leaked down my face even more to hear his story, but I was glad to know it. I had earlier asked Grandpa if we could bury Apache not far from his house, beside Molly, a little black cocker that had passed away two years ago. He agreed and met us there on the drizzly morning. While Dad and I dug a hole large enough for a full-grown lab, he and Grandpa traded stories of other dogs they had buried. “This is just one more in a long list of graves I’ve dug for good dogs, because all dogs are good,” Dad said. The ground was hard, and an hour and a half later, Dad put down the shovel. “Let’s go get her,” he said. I think Sis and I were numb by then. We followed him to the truck and Dad carried Apache to the spot beside the little branch and lowered her into the hole. No one was crying as hard when her grave was finally filled. We thanked Grandpa and he hugged us both and told us we did a good job. “I know this was tough,” Dad said as we drove home. “But this is the only way to handle something like this. You just have to meet it head on no matter how hard it is, and know that you’re being responsible. We could have

waited for another month or two, but she would have been hurting pretty bad and wouldn’t have understood why.” I looked across the truck and Sis just nodded and finally cried one last time. Dad said, “No parent wants to see their children hurt like this.” He said we’d have more to deal with in our lives, but he’d be there if he could. “You guys did good,” he said again. “Thanks for being there for me, Daddy,” Sis said. “We needed you.” “I know.”

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I swallowed the lump in my throat. Just before we got home, Dad told us his cousin Rod had six-week-old puppies at his house and said we would go play with them tomorrow if we wanted to. When we got home, Dad hugged Mom and said we left another Life Lesson sleeping under the hackberry and elm trees alongside little Molly. Mama cried even harder at that, but I went outside so I couldn’t see anymore and tried to figure out what he was talking about. —Ryan

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Warden Games

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arrested without incident. After searching the property with warrants, the officers recovered more than 100 stolen items, including: stolen hunting equipment, commercial tools, TVs, and guns. The ongoing investigation has resolved numerous cases in several counties. Felony charges up to $20,000 were filed for possession of drug items, evading arrest, deadly conduct, and stolen property. Eight Deer Heads in a Shed: February 5,2008, a Potter County game warden and a Randall County game warden went to an Amarillo home to investigate a city clean-up crew member’s claim that there were eight deer heads in a shed behind the home. After inspecting the deer heads, the wardens determined them to be fresh, noting that deer season had ended two months ago. The occupant of the home invited the wardens inside and showed them the fresh deer meat that filled his freezer. The occupant said the last deer was brought home two days ago. Soon after, the main suspect arrived at the home and confessed to killing eight mule deer during the last seven to eight months. A hunting rifle that had been stolen 10 years ago was also found in the home. Cases are pending. Get Your Own License: January 19, 2008, a Val Verde County game warden inspected the kills of a hunting camp and found several misdemeanors. The warden found two deer to be tagged with a female’s hunting license, as well as a 6-point buck in violation of the spike and antlerless season. Upon returning to the camp, one hunter said there were no female hunters in the group. Shortly after, another hunter said his wife killed the two does, but left camp to return home. After a short visit with the warden, the hunter said he had used his wife’s tags and that she had not been hunting. Another hunter stepped forward and claimed ownership of the 6-point buck. Appropriate charges were filed on both F i s h

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hunters. Cases and restitution are pending on the three deer. Alligators Don’t Make Nice Family Pets: January 18, 2008, two Howard and Dawson County game wardens executed a search warrant for an alligator on a residence in Big Spring. Upon entering the bedroom of the house, the wardens saw a 4-foot long alligator in a round tank. The alligator was seized and was subsequently pressed into educational service, as it made an appearance in programs at three local schools. The alligator was released into an alligator-friendly environment January 21. Young Hunters Spotlight WhiteTailed Deer at Night: In January, a Kendall County game warden filed multiple charges against two young hunters, after receiving information about their late night hunting activities. Upon being caught with a freshly killed buck at 2:00 a.m., the hunters said they didn’t know spotlighting and hunting white-tailed deer at night was illegal. Ironically, they said they were aware that shooting deer without a hunting license is illegal. Call it Game Warden’s Intuition: In January, a Lamb County game warden testified before a grand jury concerning a case he filed against a Bailey County man for hunting without landowner consent. During the mule deer season, the warden received a call from a landowner saying a deer had been shot from the road. Upon the warden’s arrival, an adjoining landowner said there had been a misunderstanding and that his hunters had shot the deer, causing it to run across the road and die. Feeling uneasy about the story, the warden began an investigation that proved that the story had been concocted by the hunters who had tagged and reported the deer. E-mail Wayne Watson at outlaw@fishgame.com.

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The Lost Art of Knots

knots we tie these days are those that affix the ties we wear around our necks and the ones we get in our stomachs from stressful modern life. What a shame! There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained by having the knowledge necessary for this ancient skill. Knots are a part of our western history as evidenced by the popularity of dispatching bad guys with the infamous hangman’s noose. Television and movie westerns from yesteryear, when good always triumphed over evil, featured close-ups of the knot on a regular basis as a stern reminder to viewers that bad guys would end up at the end of a rope. Technology has done away with the need for a lot of good knots. Used to be that securing cargo required knowing how to tie a trucker’s hitch. Now ratchet winches, and bungee

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cords have done away with the need to know how to tie one of the best knots ever invented. Velcro, technology’s version of the common cocklebur, has eliminated the need to tie a lot of knots. I am not even sure if knot tying is still part of the curriculum for kindergarten students because of Velcro. Replacing those shoe laces with straps made from the hook and loop material, has made it much easier to get shoes on the little devils. Those of us who fish are still required to learn how to tie knots and some have taken the process to new levels of complexity. Fly fishermen are probably the most ambitious knot tiers and are constantly inventing new ways to tie the various types of backing, fly line and

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Venison Chili

2 lbs. “chili grind” beef chuck roast 1 lb. venison backstrap, cubed in 3/4inch pieces

Seasoning Bag No. 1

Seasoning Bag No. 2

3 Tbs Sweet Chipotle Season All 3 Tbs cumin 2 tsp garlic powder 1/16 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp oregano leaf 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Other Ingredients

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Swanson Chicken Broth 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Swanson Beef Broth 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes 1 can (8 oz.) Hunts “No Salt Added” tomato sauce 1 Knorr Beef Bullion cube 1 tsp light brown sugar 1 beer, Bock style Add room temperature meat to a hot cast iron skillet, brown until it starts to make it’s own juice. Stir continuously while adding both cans of broth, and Bag No. 1. Cook covered at a medium boil for 45 minutes. Uncover and stir every 10 minutes. Add water and beer as needed. Add tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and add Bag No. 2. Add one beef bullion cube. Add 1/2 tsp light brown sugar. Use the following to season to taste:

AFIELD WITH BARRY Continued from Page N41 leader material to each other in complicated ways. Let’s see, they use an arbor knot to tie the backing to the reel spool, a blood knot to attach the backing to the fly line, a nail knot to secure the fly line to the leader and an improved clinch knot to tie on the fly. Those are just some of the various twists and turns they use in their knotty world. Personally, I have managed to survive in the fishing business by remembering how to tie about half-a-dozen of the many knots described in intricate, indecipherable detail, in pocket-guide knot books. Those booklets are designed not for fishermen, but for people who have knot-tying fetishes. The knots I have found to be most useful, listed in order of importance, are the improved clinch, Palomar, blood knot, bowline, half-hitch, N42

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and figure eight. These six methods of weaving rope or fishing line will handle just about any basic knot tying need. Here is a neat website that actually shows through animation, how to tie the above mentioned knots and many more. Access it on-line at www.animatedknots.com It seems a real shame to lose a good fish to a poorly tied knot and yet I see it all the time among anglers who do not fish a lot. Landing a fish, especially a big one, is tough enough when everything goes correctly. Why handicap such a joyful event by devoting less attention to the weakest link between angler and fish? The tell tale sign of a failed knot is usually evident by examining the end of the line after the big one gets away. There will be a small section of curled line where the knot slipped and left only a memory of what

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used to be there—a lousy knot and a big fish. There is a certain sense of satisfaction in being able to whip out a bowline or halfhitch knot when the need arises. Humans are fascinated by knot games, puzzles, and other enigmas that appear as magic to the unskilled. I fondly remember certain string games when I was a youngster and the he or she who was a master of the crow’s foot or the seemingly impossible thumb-loop trick, were regarded with a certain amount of awe. Things have changed considerably since then, but knowing how to tie good knots is still the mark of an individual who takes pride in the craftsmanship of a skill that others can only marvel at. E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

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PHOTO BY JIM OLIVE

Contact Bryan Slaven, "The Texas Gourmet," at 888-234-7883, www.thetexasgourmet.com; or by email at texas-tasted@fishgame.com. S P O N S O R E D BY:

Salt Cayenne Pepper (for hot front taste) White Pepper (for hot front taste) Brown Sugar (for a sweeter taste) Ready to eat, but better the next day.

Bon appetite. Be sure to catch The Texas Gourmet on the Academy Outdoors Show Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Southwest, 8:30 a.m. CST.

KITCHEN SAFETY TIPS

filled with cold tap water, making sure to change the water every 30 minutes.

or hot dish in an insulated bag to keep it safe and bacteria-free.

Holding Out on Hot Stuff

Rocking the Gravy Boat

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Joey Austin 27.5-inch Trout ce Hillman Guide Servi

TEXAS FRESHWATER

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DEER—CROCKETT COUNTY, TEXAS

RAINBOW TROUT—CARL BARTON PARK, CONROE

Christopher Wheeless, age 10, of Round Rock, Texas, shot his first whitetail deer while hunting with his dad, Pat, at his grandfather’s ranch in Crockett County. He used a .222 at 80 yards.

DOE—CONCHO COUNTY, TEXAS

DEER—COTULLA, TEXAS

REDFISH—PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS

Benjamin Goff took this 60-pound doe with a .243 at 57 yards while hunting in Concho County on his grandfather’s deer lease. This was Benjamin’s first year to hunt.

Michael Andrews (seen with friends on right, holding deer’s tail) from Crosby, Texas, bagged this spike in Cotulla, Texas, in La Salle County. The deer weighed 120 pounds dressed out.

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO:

TF&G PHOTO ALBUM

1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

Note: All non-digital photos submitted become the property of Texas Fish & Game and will not be returned. TF&G makes no guarantee when or if any submitted photo will be published.

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S P O N S O R E D BY:

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LARGEMOUTH BASS—TAYLOR, TEXAS

FLOUNDER—BOLIVAR PENINSULA, TEXAS

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ONNIE HOWARD’S FAVORITE WAY OF FISHing is running a trotline for catfish, but since his crappie Trophy Quest fishing trip with fishing guide Clark Moore, he is now thinking that crappie fishing is a lot of fun, too. Howard and his wife, Lois, who live in Brownfield, were fishing out of Jackson Hill Marina on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. They arrived the night before the trip and stayed at the Jackson Hill Marina Lodge, courtesy of owner Terry Sympson.

by Tom Behrens “We had the chance to meet Clark and Terry over a great brisket dinner with all the trimmings that Terry served up,” said Donnie. In addition to a great meal, Howard and Lois were able to get in a little fishing from the dock at the marina. They knew they were in for some great action next morning when they hooked a 17-inch crappie from under the dock. The Howards and Moore were fishing

HOW YOU CAN WIN! TEXAS FISH & GAME HAS GIVEN AWAY OVER 200 TROPHY QUEST TRIPS. TROPHY QUEST is free guided hunting or fishing trips within the state of

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKSON HILL MARINA

Rayburn Crappie Bonanza Donnie and Lois Howard’s crappie trip on Sam Rayburn with guide Clark Moore resulted in near limits. large brush piles in 20 feet of water 2-3 miles south of the Highway 147 Bridge. “Every spot we hit, we caught four or five 11- to 13-inch crappie, then moving on to the next one,” said Donnie. “The weather was perfect, nice and warm, very little wind.” They used some minnows, but the main bait of choice was small chartreuse or white bucktail jigs. “I don’t anchor,” said Moore. “I use the trolling motor so I can continually stay on the brush pile, stay on top of them for my customers. We use a 6- to 8-pound-test line and 1/16- or 1/32-ounce bucktail jigs. Chartreuse and a white with white and black heads are the best colors. We count them down. The top of the brush piles was about seven feet deep. We put the jigs right on top of them. “The jigging action is kind of like a smoker-he kind of thumps the cigarette, dropping ash. You just kind of pop the jig like that. A

Texas. The package includes a guided trip for two people, one night's lodging and all food and beverage (non-alcohol). Winners are responsible for all travel expenses getting to and from the destination point. HERE'S HOW YOU WIN! If you are a TF&G subscriber, your name is automatically entered on our monthly Trophy Quest Trip drawing. If you are a subscriber and would like

lot of times if I am trying to hide a brush pile I will cast out there and let the jig drift across like a pendulum. That works really well too.” Donnie hooked a 5-pound largemouth bass off of one the brush piles with a jig, adding more excitement to an already good day. The Howards went back to Lubbock with 49 cleaned, bagged, crappie filets. Donnie now mixes catfish and crappie fishing “I’m learning more about crappie fishing,” he said.

SPECIES: Crappie LOCATION: Sam Rayburn Reservoir GUIDE: Clark Moore, 936-554-9404, www.clarkmooresfishingadventures.com FOOD, DRINK, & LODGING: Jackson Hill Marina, 936-872-9266, www.jacksonhill.us

your name entered 15 more times in our next monthly drawing, simply send us an email with your name, address and phone number* to trophyquest@fishgame.com. You can still win even if you are NOT a subscriber. Simply email us with your name, address, and phone number* to trophyquest@fishgame.com and you're entered in our next drawing. One winner is chosen at random each T E X A S

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month. The winner must be available to go on one of two previously scheduled dates. If the winner is unable to attend on either dates scheduled for the TROPHY QUEST TRIP, the winner's name will be returned to the pool for future drawings and another winner will be drawn. *Phone numbers will ONLY be used to contact the winners and will not be used for any other purpose.

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MAIN PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE; DEER INSET BY TF&G:

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QUAIL INSET BY GRADY ALLEN

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he familiar sound of wings cutting the air sounded overhead as two widgeon gracefully fell into our decoy spread. It wasn’t quite shooting time yet, so my father and I had to endure watching duck after duck circle the pond and hit the water like the graceful aeronautic acrobats they are. Just as a swollen, orange sun peaked over the horizon, illuminating dozens of pintail, widgeon and teal, our watches revealed it was shooting time. Another flock of pintail was in the air with wings cupped, ready to join the others. Dad and I fired and two drakes folded and hit the water, signaling to the others it was time to congregate elsewhere. That might sound like a scene taken from a marsh along the coast, but it took place this past January on a large, red dirt-stained pond on the 2000-acre Wildcat Bend Ranch near Abilene. I was there to check out the myriad hunting opportunities it had to offer, and since duck season was still on, I had to indulge. By the end of the morning, my father and I had eight ducks—a near two-man limit—and had passed up shots on several scaup. Our bag consisted of all drake pintail, widgeon, green-winged teal, and ringneck, a nice mixed bag from an area not known for its waterfowling. “We get lots of ducks up here because there’s not as much pressure as other parts of the state,” said ranch manager and talented taxidermist Jim Allen of Clyde. “In particular, on this ranch we get ones that leave a public hunting area few miles away when the shooting starts, so it can offer some good duck hunting, although that is certainly not our number one priority.” Allen said the main priority of the ranch is quail, both bobwhite and scaled (blue), which are becoming increasingly difficult to find in Texas. “Quail have certainly had their ups and 92

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downs, and it is getting hard to find a good quail property,” Allen said. “Much of our management here is directed toward quail, which is to say we maintain them on dry years and do everything in our power to help them proliferate when the conditions are right.” The ranch is intensively managed for quail, beginning with annual strip disking in late winter. This involves breaking the earth’s crust to allow native forbs to prosper. After being exposed, they just need moisture and ventilation to produce. “We also have 21 strategically placed feeders that go year-round to supplement what nature gives during the good years, and allow the birds to survive during the tough ones. This gives us a leg up on Mother

“We get a lot of ducks up here because there’s not as much pressure.”

Nature and the ability to keep birds,” Allen said. There are 140 acres of milo, millet, and peredovik and native sunflowers planted to provide cover and food for the quail, and greatly enhance mourning dove potential. “We have some solid dove hunting here, too,” Allen said. “The thing is, when you manage for one species, you are helping everything else out as well, from the song

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birds to the game birds.” Cover is important for quail, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s official quail management plan: “Northern bobwhite also are dependent upon ‘edges’ where they can move quickly between nesting, watering, and feeding habitats, and escape cover, such that changing from one activity to another constitutes a quick walk or flight of a few seconds duration. Dispersion of essential cover and habitat types need to be within a quarter of a mile of each other. The greater the amount of interspersion of cover and habitat type combinations, the better the habitat is for quail. Survival is reduced in areas that lack heavy cover. Both food and cover must be stable or continuously renewed during the entire year.” Allen agrees with these concepts, and said everything he does in relation to management focuses on all crucial aspects: “It’s not just about food, but it’s also about cover, for not only the quail, but the other game on the ranch as well. We have an all inclusive approach.” Water is an essential part of ranching, especially in such an arid region, and Allen contributes much of the ranch’s success to the availability of water: “We have a strong flowing creek that runs the length of the property, and a number of tanks placed strategically in areas where wildlife could get its maximum benefit. Water is crucial for all wildlife, and it is something we actively pursue.” So are whitetail deer. North Texas is starting to hold its own in terms of big buck production, and that goal of the ranch is coming to fruition. “This is an interesting place in terms of the deer,” Allen said. “The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department did some deer stockings about six miles from here beginning in 1986, because there were basically no deer. Now, the whitetails have really taken off on this ranch, and the surrounding areas are getting near carrying capacity as well.” Since 2003 when Allen took over management of the property, only three deer have PHOTOS BY CHESTER MOORE

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More About Wildcat Bend Ranch

been harvested—two TF&G Hunting Editor Bob Hood took this 150-pound which might be slightly problematic 4.5-year-old bucks, wild hog with a 300-yard shot. from a management and one mature 5.5 year-old. The idea has been to curtail doe standpoint, but is nonetheless a great yearharvest until the land reaches carrying round hunting opportunity. “We do our best to hunt hogs as much as capacity and allow the bucks to reach matuwe can and this area has some absolutely rity. “A key component to deer management is huge hogs on it. We have game cameras on to allow the bucks to reach maturity,” Allen all of our feeders and sometimes it is amazsaid. “They cannot develop to their true ing to see how big the hogs using them are,” potential until they reach a certain age. We Allen said. During our hunt, Texas Fish & Game have protected the does to get the numbers, and we should be able to start harvesting hunting editor Bob Hood took a 150-pound them next year. This is a ground floor model porker with a 300-yard shot from a .30-06. for deer because there has not been that The hog was feeding with a few others in an relentless overharvest, and the deer are just open field that bordered the creek bottom now filling all of the niches in the habitat. that runs the length of the property. “The hogs and a lot of the deer use that We expect some very exciting things to happen with our whitetails over the next few creek bottom because they have plenty of cover and water,” Allen said. “We take a lot years.” The ranch’s deer receive protein supple- of our hogs around the water sources on the ments year-round, and there are food plots ranch, and since we have a good amount of planted in spring and fall. In the winter, they water, we are rarely without some hogs. “It really is amazing what you can do get wheat and oats, and during spring, they get Tecomate Lab-lab, which is a mixture of with a piece of land if you manage it right. a variety of nutritional plants conducive to Two thousand acres is a lot of land, but when you compare it to legendary Texas quality antler growth and fawn survival. “You can’t just feed deer in the winter to tracts like the monstrous King Ranch, it is a bait them up, which is basically what some drop in the bucket. However, for someone ranches do,” Allen said. “They use food looking for a great place for quail and a variplots only to attract deer, which is fine, but ety of other game, the Wildcat Bend Ranch you need to give them the right nutrition. would be hard to beat. Not only have we And for antler growth, it is important to feed taken care of it, but we are setting things up in the spring when they are in need of the for the future that could be very exciting, right ingredients to produce maximum whether you want birds, bucks or a little of both.” growth.” Feral hogs are a bonus on the ranch— 94

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The ranch is home to a stable population of Rio Grande turkey, which have received very little hunting pressure. “I have seen flocks with 60 or 70 birds, but we have taken only five or six since we have had the property under our management,” said ranch manager Jim Allen. The pond in front of the lodge is well stocked with largemouth bass and bluegill. In fact, there have been several bass over 10 pounds caught and released there. Allen said they should “be in the 11-pound class by now.” The tanks also harbor “trophy” bluegill of more than 1 pound. “They are super fun to catch and always put a smile on a kid’s face,” he said. The ranch and surrounding area also sport some excellent predator hunting. In fact, Abilene hosted the first stop on Brian Doty’s annual Xtreme Predator Calling Contest. Contestants brought in foxes, coyotes, and bobcats for weighing. The event was videotaped for the Xtreme Outdoor Adventures TV show featured on the Sportsman Channel. Wildcat Bend Ranch is an outdoorsman’s Mecca in the making. It is already a haven, replete with game, fowl, and fish, and stands to grow better with time.

PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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A Fishing Dream Realized

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NCBFC

CAN REMEMBER 19 YEARS AGO, SITTING ON THE living room floor watching Bassmasters on TNN. It was the 1989 Bassmasters Classic, and my favorite angler at the time, Hank Parker, beat Jim Bitter in one of the most memorable championships of all time. After watching that, I remember telling my dad that I was going to be a pro bass fisherman when I grew up. It was at that point that bass fishing became more than a hobby for me, it became my life. After graduating from high school, professional bass fishing had become more of a dream, and as the sport grew, it looked like that’s all it would ever be for me. In 2005, I graduated top of my class from a small college in Delaware, and I started looking for a job. There were not many fisheries jobs at the time, so I ended up going to Texas A&M to pursue a Master’s degree. Little did I know that drastic move would end up putting me that much closer to my childhood dream. After moving to Texas, I discovered the bass fishing team at A&M. By the end of the second semester, I was the top angler in the club. At the same time, national collegiate bass fishing was beginning to materialize. In 2006, I met an angler, Justin Rackley, who had the same drive and almost as much of an obsession with bass fishing as myself. We both qualified to represent the Aggies at the 2007 BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Lewisville.

by Trevor Knight, graduate student, Texas A&M University After a week of tough fishing conditions and making all the right decisions at the championship, we raised the NCBFC trophy at the end and emotions ran wild. Immediately, the cameras were flashing, handshakes commenced, and doors opened. What we had just accomplished did not sink in until the 4-hour drive back to College Station. Within days of our win, the phones started ringing off the hook. We started doing newspaper interviews, radio shows, and interviews with BassFan and BassZone. It seemed like every other day there was a phone call from a journalist or reporter. Our names were all over the place. The media attention turned us into local celebrities.

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People would come up to me on campus or while I was at work and say, “Hey aren’t you that bass fisher guy from the paper? ” A finance class at A&M actually did a case study on us for being in the Wall Street Journal. A local bass club even asked us to come speak to some of their junior members at one of their monthly meetings. Our sponsors were pleased after hearing the news of our win and the resulting media attention. It felt great to be able to pay them back for all of the support they had given us over the past two years. We were fortunate to gain the attention of new sponsors as well. Even more important than the fame and sponsorships was the fact that winning earned us each a berth in the PAA Toyota

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Bass Classic Qualifier. We were granted PAA Tour level memberships and given the opportunity to fish a pro level event. Some of the nation’s best bass anglers would be fishing the event. What better way to test your skills and see just how good you are then to fish with the big dogs? The hardest part about winning the championship was not being able to celebrate it with my family. They lived 1600 miles away back in Delaware. With increasing gas prices and the scarcity of free time as a grad student, I was unable to see my family until after the semester was over. Finally, in December I was able to fly home and spend winter break with them. I got to relive the excitement of the tournament as I described every moment of it to my parents. Photos from the championship hung all over the walls of the basement along side old trophies and replica fish mounts. Seeing how proud they were felt as good as winning the tournament itself. News of my win had traveled back to Delaware. Several papers had written feature articles about me and people had seen my name in magazines. My dad told me people would ask him frequently if he was related to that kid that won that college tournament. I know it made him happy saying, “Yeah, that’s my son.” The most important thing that has happened to me since winning the NCBFC has been the boost in confidence. Before winning, a career as a professional angler was basically a dream. I was not sure that I would be good enough to make a living fishing. I planned to get a job as a fisheries manager and just fish small tournaments. Winning gave me more confidence in my abilities to make on the water decisions. It made pursuing a career as a pro a reality instead of just a dream. It refueled that desire to be the best and settle for nothing less. This year I will be fishing the Stren Series as a professional with full support from my family. Hopefully, within a few years, I will be competing at the elite level and will have made the dream of that 6-yearold boy sitting in the living room come true. No matter what happens, I can take pride knowing my name will forever be on that bronze bass trophy as 2007 National Collegiate Bass Champion.

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NE NIGHT ON THE GAME SHOW NETWORK (because the Outdoor Channel was airing its umpteenth consecutive show about turkey hunting), I stumbled upon re-runs of something called Greed. It was nearly unwatchable, which explained the show’s brief network life, but the name got me thinking about fishermen. We’re not greedy, really, but I do think many of us have grown weary of taking the high road while other user groups appear to show no regard for resource or regulation. We’re not greedy, really, but we’re tired of managers telling us there aren’t plenty of fish in the sea when it’s hard sometimes to believe they even know how to count. Deep-water anglers continue to endure one new restriction after another. In the name of conservatism, we embraced daily bag limits that seemed unnecessarily short and short-sighted, then watched those limits get choked even tighter, year after year, until they snuffed the life from a few party boat operators. We’ve suffered season closures and area closures and assorted other rules heaped upon us in the name of sound management that often has proved to be anything but. We get fighting mad and point fingers. It’s “their” fault that fisheries ships list as they do. And we want “our share,” by gosh, even if we aren’t entirely sure how many fish that is. Our greedy sides say never mind other people; as sportsmen, as once tireless but now tired defenders of all that’s just and right in the ocean, we’ve earned another fish. Maybe a couple more, if the species isn’t in imminent danger of collapse. That argument might get a little more play, too, at least around boat docks, except for one important hitch: We truly do understand the consequences of straying off a conservative path. The average fishermen would 98

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PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

Greed O

Are catches like this a sign of greed?

attend more meetings and write more letters and maybe even pound a fist on a table now and then in the name of recreational anglers’ rights, but each of us knows at his core that deep-water fisheries are not as they once were. And we know, that as legitimate and respectful stewards, we cannot afford to get greedy now or ever. Once the first couple of limits were placed, it wasn’t long before the establishment of rules on nearly every Gulf species worth catching and eating. We’re at a juncture now where it might not be unwise to put caps on the rest, as well. The reason is greed, a powerful temptress beyond the horizon. Boats are expensive. Fuel is expensive. Time is valuable. Some of us lose sight occasionally of the truth that the reward from recreational fishing isn’t always something on which you can slap a pat of butter and slice of lemon.

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The Gulf owes us nothing, no matter where we fish or what it cost to get there. Every time we crank the engine, we roll the bones. Fishing is recreation. Fishing—not catching—is the return on our investments. So long as none of us is selfish, Gulf fisheries can replenish themselves. Naturally. Annually. Should greed take hold and cloud our judgment, some fisheries potentially could go the way of that game show and, almost as quickly, be gone forever except in old pictures. My soul needs a healthy Gulf full of hardfighting fish. I can’t watch many more turkey hunts or game shows.

E-mail Doug Pike at offshore@fishgame.com

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McFaddin NWR Habitat Rehab

UCKS UNLIMITED HELPED

restore more than 2200 acres of significant freshwater marsh along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. Wetland managers can now regulate water levels, control undesirable vegetation, and promote the growth of wetland plants beneficial to waterfowl and other wildlife. “The Willow Slough project contributes to the long-term health of the Texas Gulf Coast ecosystem and the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge,” said Ducks Unlimited Biologist Eric Lindstrom. Historically, Willow Slough provided wintering and staging habitat for thousands of waterfowl including ring-necked ducks, scaup, gadwall, northern shovelers, and blue-winged teal. Over time, hydrology alteration in the marsh reduced the amount of submerged aquatic vegetation and allowed undesirable plants, such as maiden cane and willow, to dominate the slough. Ducks Unlimited partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 100

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Service and the Jefferson County Drainage District to restore hydrology and increase capabilities to eliminate invasive vegetation. Partners installed a spillway and a water control structure that facilitate water removal and allow additional management activities that improve the marsh value to waterfowl. Two private landowners in East Texas and a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant provided additional funding for this project. In Washington, D.C., DU governmental affairs staff works with Congress in support of annual funding for NAWCA. To date, NAWCA has helped fund 38 wetland projects on over 99,000 acres in Texas. Since 1990, NAWCA funding of $17.1 million stimulated partners including private landowners, corporations and Texas governments to contribute over $36.2 million to conserve wildlife habitat in the state. Hunting opportunities are available on McFaddin NWR.

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Portions of the refuge are open to hunters free of charge while other areas require a use fee. Hunters can access approximately 25,600 acres by foot or by boat. For more information on NAWCA, visit their website at www.ducks.org/nawca.

NWTF Invite to Outdoors Women The National Wild Turkey Federation invites women from all walks of life to learn, laugh, and lighten up as the NWTF’s Women in the Outdoors program celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, South Carolina, September 25-28, 2008. Since 1998, the NWTF’s Women in the Outdoors program has worked to share the outdoor tradition by providing expert instruction and hands-on education through events designed for women. During its inaugural year, Women in the Outdoors hosted 18 events and today the program organizes more than 400 events across the nation. Participants at the 10th anniversary celebration will

have the opportunity to learn about the Women in the Outdoors program, experience fishing, canoeing, camping, Dutch oven cooking, outdoor photography and archery, visit the NWTF’s national headquarters and the state-of-the-art Winchester museum and much more. “This event will be one of the most exciting outdoor gettogethers women have ever experienced,” said Patty Foster, the NWTF’s national coordinator for Women in the Outdoors, southern region. “We’re offering two days of hands-on activities through more than 30 classes, pro staff instructors, guest speakers, music, vendors, a special auction and so much more!” Registration for this national event costs $300, and covers lodging, meals, transportation to and from the airport, and transportation to all weekend activities. All registration forms must be received by August 31, 2008. Those who register by August 1 will be entered in a special early-bird drawing to win a Remington Model 1100 20-gauge semi-automatic shotgun bearing the Women in the Outdoors logo. “Outdoor enthusiast or not,

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any woman can enjoy meeting with other women and learning about a variety of outdoor topics at this unique event,” said Tammy Mowry, Women in the Outdoors national coordinator, northern region. “The energy and level of excitement cannot be explained—it must be experienced.”

is another reason that they are, apparently, harder to kill. Most of us are accustomed to shooting at the middle of birds such as dove and quail. When we have a shot at a goose or a pheasant, we still shoot at its middle. That is just exactly the wrong thing to do. When shooting at a large bird, especially one with a long tail, like a rooster pheasant, focus on its head. If you try to shoot a pheasant in the same way that you would shoot a quail, you end up shooting it in the rear half of its body. All animals have their most vital organs in the front third of their bodies. Therefore, pretend that the head of the pheasant or goose is a quail and try to center the head with the shot pattern. This will place your charge on the front third of the bird, where its vital organs are located, and the kill will be much quicker and cleaner than if you had shot it in the rear.

For more information and a downloadable registration form, visit their website at www.womenintheoutdoors.org. •••

How to Shoot a Big Bird

AVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW MANY BIRDS

like pheasant and geese get away after apparently being hit solidly with a shot charge? Would you like to know why?

PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

Larger birds have larger bones and more flesh for the pellets to penetrate to reach vital organs. This equates to the birds being tougher and harder to bring down, but there

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One Thing Leads To Another

RAHAM KEENE USED HIS RIGHT HAND TO push open the door to Doreen’s 24 HR Eat Gas Now Café, because his left arm was in a fresh cast. The Hunting Club members noticed the cast right off. We’re quick that way. “What happened to your arm? ” Doc asked. Graham settled into the large corner booth with a sigh. “I’m gonna get this out of the way and tell it one time, because the whole story is embarrassing,” he said. “After that, I don’t want to hear one question or one word.” Doreen immediately came over and refilled our coffee cups. She and Trixie then pulled chairs up to the booth and the entire café waited for the story. Graham sighed. “Every now and then during the year, the guys I hunt with like to camp with the wives, especially in the spring. Y’all know that.” We nodded. I’d been out once on a visit. Graham’s group circles their trailers like a wagon train in an open area at the lease. A fire pit in the center is the communal hangout, and when someone gets tired, they simply go “home” and hit the sack. “Well, last weekend we stayed up with the gang until around midnight, talking and visiting until I got tired,” Graham explained. “Linda and I went into the trailer and I decided to take a shower before going to bed. I was standing there, in a stream of nice hot water, when I heard Linda scream from the 102

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living room. She’d seen a snake crawl under the sofa.” Doc immediately shuddered. He hates any kind of snake. “Without even grabbing a towel, and dripping water, I went running in there and she hollered that a snake was under the couch. I didn’t believe her, but I got down on all fours to look.” The rest of us shuddered at the mental image. “Linda’s little Dachshund was passing through about that time and when he saw me on all fours, he coldnosed me

“I wish. I jumped forward and cracked my head against the wooden arm on the couch and passed out for a minute. Linda didn’t see what happened and thought the snake had bitten me and caused me to have a heart attack, so she hurried to the door and called the guys to come help.” It was hard for Graham to continue the story, because we giggled and snickered like teenage girls at a pajama party. “The guys hurried in to take me to the emergency room. They made a stretcher out of a blanket and were carrying a naked Me out the door when out of the corner of his eye, Winston saw the snake poke its head out from between the couch’s cushions. It scared him and he dropped his end as they went out the door. That’s how I broke my arm.”

Snorts and guffaws filled the café. Wiping her eyes, Trixie returned with the coffee pot and refilled our mugs. “Did y’all kill the snake?”

somewhere that we aren’t going to discuss.” We broke up. Graham had to wait until we regained control of ourselves. “What did you do, fall forward and break your arm?” Wrong Willie giggled.

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ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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“You’ve only heard half of it,” Graham said. “While they were gone with me to the hospital, Hubert stayed behind to kill the snake. He looked the trailer over and couldn’t find the stinking thing, so he told Linda it was gone. She was worried sick, so without thinking, she sat down on the couch, and

when one of those little throw pillows fell over, she saw the snake and fainted dead away.” Graham kind of smiled himself on that one. I was afraid some of the guys were going to pass out from laughing so much. “Hubert jumped up and killed the snake,

and then, seeing Linda passed out, he thought she’d had a heart attack and laid her on the couch to start CPR on her. Hubert’s wife walked in right about then to check on Linda, but when she saw them on the floor, him with his mouth on Linda’s, she picked up the stick he’d killed the snake with and laid him out.” We were breathless. “Then Linda woke up with Hubert laid across her chest, bleeding from the scalp. She turned her head and saw the dead snake lying beside her and screamed bloody murder. Hubert’s wife then saw the snake on the floor, heard Linda screaming, and commenced to whapping the snake some more, and in her excitement, missed a few times and accidentally hit Linda once. “About that time, the highway patrol rolled up to check on everyone since they’d heard about what happened at the hospital, and when they heard the commotion in the trailer, they saw Linda screaming on the ground with Hubert laying across her and his wife standing there with a big stick. There was blood everywhere, so they cuffed everyone for the next two hours until they worked out what happened.” Our sides hurt from laughing so much. Graham had to wait until things finally settled down. “So, now you’ve heard the story and I ain’t telling it again.” “What kind of snake was it?” I wheezed. Graham looked embarrassed. “It was a 10-inch grass snake—and by the way, does anyone want to buy a camping trailer with a hole in the floor? One of the cops saw the dead snake and shot it with a shotgun.” He paused. “I’ll sell it cheap.” Doreen shook her head. “I thought it was just your stupid Hunting Club, but I guess all you guys are the same.” “Not the same,” I pointed out with satisfaction. “I’ve never been cold nosed by a dog and my trailer doesn’t have a hole in the floor.” Being right always makes you feel good. E-mail Reavis Wortham at humor@fishgame.com

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