March 2014

Digital Edition

www.FishGame.com Fundamentals of

Bass Habitat

March 2014 | VOL. 30 • NO. 11 | $3.95

Amber

Jacked

Tangling with ‘Reef Donkeys’ Not-So-Bad

Invasive Species

The

Hog from Hell

Strange

Bay Tales

Best of Texas’

Top 50 Bass

: Wolves COASTAL COVER

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Digital Edition

www.FishGame.com Fundamentals of

Bass Habitat

March 2014 | VOL. 30 • NO. 11 | $3.95

Texas’

AmberJacked

Biggest Bass Best Fish in the Top 50

Tangling with ‘Reef Donkeys’ Strange Bay

Tales

The Hog from Hell

Not-So-Bad

: Wolves

Invasive Species INLAND COVER

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OVER 50 FRESH & SALTWATER LOCATIONS 2500 GPS Available FISHING Now! SPOTS ORDER NOW www.FishandGameGear.com

NEW 2013-14 EDITION

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

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

roy neves PUBLISHER

chester moore EDITOR in chief

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

Joe Doggett • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Doug Pike • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Ted Nugent • EDITOR AT LARGE Bob Hood • HUNTING EDITOR Matt Williams • FRESHWATER EDITOR Calixto Gonzales • SALTWATER EDITOR Lenny Rudow • BOATING EDITOR Steve LaMascus • FIREARMS EDITOR Lou Marullo • BOWHUNTING EDITOR Kendal Hemphill • POLITICAL COMMENTATOR Will Leschper • CONSERVATION EDITOR Reavis Wortham • HUMOR EDITOR Greg Berlocher • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Paul Bradshaw • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Capt. Mike Holmes • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dustin Ellermann • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dustin Warncke • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Stan Skinner • COPY EDITOR Lisa Moore • CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR John Gisel • STRATEGIC ADVISOR A D V E R T I S I N G ardia neves

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

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Table of

MARCH 2014 Volume 30 • NO. 11

Contents Features

WELCOME INVADERS! COVER: Texas’ Biggest Bass A categorical review of the state’s top fifty largemouth, with some of the biggest, and most interesting, fish from the ShareLunker era in Texas.

Story by Matt Williams Cover Graphic: TF&G

STORY:

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The term “invasive exotic” is being used with greater frequency to describe non-indigenous plants and animals—and usually with negative or alarming connotation. But many such invaders bring great benefits to their new homelands and waters.

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by Chester Moore

STRANGE BAY TALES Bacon-loving sharks, wading with gators, devilish nilgai and other weird tales from the cuts, backwater marshes, and muddy flats of coastal bay areas.

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by Chester Moore

THE HOG FROM HELL If there is a dark side to hunting in the American South, it comes via wild hogs. Take, for example, the “Satan Hog” and other stories of beastly boars.

COVER: Amber Jacked Often compared to winching an anvil up through a football field of water, battling amberjack can challenge just about any angler.

Bring Texas-size tackle when you enter the realm of the “reef donkey.”

Story by John N. Felsher Cover Photo: Bigstock

STORY:

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by Chester Moore

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WOLVES IN TEXAS This installment of our Wild in Texas photo essay series looks at the rich history of wolves in Texas, one that includes both surprises and tragedies.

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by TF&G Staff

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Contents (continued)

Inside Fish&Game

Columns

by Roy & Ardia Neves | TF&G Owners

Editor’s Notes 10

Time to Be a Texan

by CHESTER MOORE

Taking the SHOT

TF&G Editor in Chief

he process of putting this issue to bed in mid-January was interrupted by our annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the 2014 SHOT Show. We go there every year because SHOT—the acrynonomous abreviation of Shooting Hunting and Outdoors Trades—is the place where the “& Game” part of our industry gathers every year to show off the cool new gear you’ll be able to get your hands on a few months from now.

But not yet, which is why it is so cool to hang out there.

As usual, we lugged our video equipment around with us so we could record interviews with the most interesting of the new-gear makers. Chester Moore and Dustin Ellermann talked on camera to several dozen companies about new guns, ammo, camo, optics, scents, crossbows, holsters, packs, cases, clothing, gadgets and other stuff to be unvielled for 2014-15.

This year we also took the cameras to Media Demo Day, where Dustin got to shoot a bunch of the new weapons, including rifles, handguns, shotguns, crossbows and even a modified full-auto AR. The Demo event is held a day before the full SHOT Show begins, and is a literal Field Day for anyone who is interested in hunting or shooting. Dustin talked to the manufacturers in detail about the new guns they were introducing, and then he tested them out for himself on live-fire ranges. And we got it all on tape.

As usual, Dustin and Chester did a tremendous job interviewing all of the company representatives we saw at SHOT, both on the test range and on the show floor. We’ll run the full line-up of our SHOT Show interviews in the April issue. But you can check out many of the videos now, online at FishGame.com.

by JOE DOGGETT

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

T

Another Passing

Sadly, we have lost another member of the Texas Fish & Game family. Hunting editor Bob Hood died on January 9 after fighting a two-year battle with cancer. Bob, along with the late Russell Tinsley, was a part of TF&G from the beginning, so his loss is especially hard on us. We will miss Bob’s friendship, his unmatched writing talent, and his unbridled passion for all things out of doors.

In typical Hood style, Bob worked almost to the very end, which is why you will see his work even in this issue.

Read more about Bob Hood’s passing on page 12.

Doggett at Large 16 Applying for Permit

Pike on the Edge 18 Chasing Rainbows

by Doug Pike

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

TexasWild 20

Texas Ibex GlockOut

by Ted nugent

TF&G Editor At Large

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Commentary 21

With Friends Like These...

by Kendal Hemphill

TF&G Politcal Commentator

Bare Bones Hunting 39 Extra Sensory Hog Hunting

by Lou Marullo

TF&G Hunting Editor

Texas Freshwater 40 March Madness: Get Ready for the Big Bite

by matt Williams

TF&G Freshwater Editor

Texas Saltwater 45

Oh, You Didn’t Know?

by Calixto Gonzales

TF&G Saltwater Editor

Open Season 56 Frenzy

by reavis wortham

TF&G Humor Editor

Departments 8 letters 12 tf&g report 12 big bags

& Catches

36 Texas dept. of defense

42 true Green

Texas Fish & Game is a family-owned business, and the owners welcome your comments and questions. E-mail Roy and Ardia Neves or Ron Ward at contactus@fishgame.com 6 |

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Letters to the Editor Wildlife Must be the Focus

Kyler Jones

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Just read your article “Wildlife must be the focus” in the January issue and I couldn’t agree more. My 16 year old son and I just finished a youth hunt at the Bastrop State Park (first hunt ever for the park). It was the best hunt we ever had and we didn’t kill a thing.

The bonding time was incredible for both of us. My son has hunted since he was 7 or 8 and he told me this was one of the best hunts ever. The park was devastated from the fires of 2011 but there were many deer and other wildlife to observe. We actually got to see a red stag. The staff (J. Hackett and others) were the best. I learned so much from my son about the eco system and how this fire will really help the region and how the plants will now thrive which in turn will produce healthy animals. Can’t wait to go out with him again. Wow what an experience, one I will never forget.

Tommy Jones, June 2002

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Tom Jones McKinney

Second Amendment Rights

Andrew Berger Via Email The “Wild Must be the Focus” column was one of the most poignant articles I have read in a long time. It really made me think about how we have strayed from our original hunting roots. Thank you for standing up and making a statement on behalf of our resources and for making the vital connection to our very important youth.

Sandy Jones Via Email Thank you both for your kind words. I do this because of the wildlife, not the gear (although it’s cool) but the wild creatures. I am glad you have recognized that we have sort of gotten off track a bit and at TF&G we are going to do even more to enhance wildlife education so we can have these amazing resources that we pursue in the woods and on the water for generations to come. —CM 8 |

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And to let you know, I subscribe to a lot of magazines, but you guys are by far the best. A customer for life.

Thanks for supporting our Second Amendment and thanks for this awesome sweepstakes you do because we need a lot more people like you and me if we are going to stand up to Obama and the anti-gunners!

Just keep up the good work.

Ronnie McDaniel Via Email

Two Generations of Fish & Game Photos Guys, I would like to have my grandson’s photo to make it into the book. His father made the issue back when Clay Walker was on the cover.

Kyler Jones, age three, from Princeton, caught his first fish, at his Pa Pa and Gi Gi’s pond in Mckinney.

Thanks so much if you are able to.

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Send your Comments to: Editor, Texas Fish & Game 1745 Greens Rd Houston TX 77032 Email: editor@fishgame.com

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Editor’s Editor’s Notes

by Chester Moore | TF&G Editor in Chief

Time to be a Texan

S

ome 22 years ago, when I graduated high school I considered myself an environmentalist.

I was concerned about the destruction of wildlife habitat, the degradation of certain endangered species and cancer causing chemicals being put in the air, soil and water. In a way, it was weird to think of being anything else. Who could be for drinking water with deadly toxins?

Then I went to college.

There I learned the term environmentalist had little to do with those issues. It was really about “global warming” and “climate change,” which even back then I was skeptical of being manmade. The environmental community did very little to address what I considered to be pressing issues.

Then I started considering myself a conservationist.

Conservation, as I had learned in real-life (not college), was the wise use of resources whereas the more radical end of environmentalism was all about preservation. In other words, the aim was not using resources at all and sending western civilization back to the days of the pioneers all the while ushering in a strange enviro-version of Marxism.

As I addressed in my January column, many in the pro-conservation side of things are so gun-shy of animal rights and radical environmental ideology they push aside anyone who is A. Not willing to kill everything that moves; and B. Even mentions the word “environment”.

While each of these sides have fought their respective battles the real players have been winning the war. Texas is about to be the epicenter over the battle for water as our states faces unprecedented population growth and if you think ducks are going to beat out well-heeled Dallas and Austinresidents who go to the country club with

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your senator you are extremely naïve. The water has been bought and paid for whether the public knows it or not.

Let us consider Lake Fork for a moment.

Three years ago, it reached the lowest levels since it was impounded in the mid 1980s.

Due to drought, it has yet to reach pool level and sitting right on the lake is a pipe nearly big enough to drive a truck through headed right to the DFW-Metroplex.

When the moment comes, do you really think the bass fishing industry is going to be able to stand up to the tycoons and municipalities with the contracts?

I for many years was against the expansion of national wildlife refuges (NWR) because they generally take good hunting land and put hunting access in the middle of nowhere or allow only deer hunting on prime duck land.

I changed my mind a few years ago and wrote about it in a column called “Give Me Reservoirs Not Parking Lots”.

A group was (wisely) pushing to make a big chunk of the Neches River bottoms an NWR whereas others had designs on turning it into a reservoir which would destroy its natural integrity. The bottom line was the government would own it one-way or the other. It would be an NWR or a reservoir controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I opted to support the NWR proposal.

There are numerous reservoirs in the planning stages for East Texas and more pipelines considered for water transfers from areas like the Sabine-Neches corner of the state - my home region. Interestingly, I have found myself in the room on the water rights issue with members of groups known for their hunting membership and those more suited for birdwatchers at the same time.

More of those kinds of partnerships will have to be formed if we have any hope of preserving some of Texas’ natural integrity over the next two decades. I am not suggesting siding with PETA or the Humane Society of the United States. That would be lunacy. However, if the National Wildlife Federation or the Nature Conservancy have F i s h

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the right stand on a habitat or water issue, we would be foolish not to support them.

Only with a concerted, focused effort will we be able to get conservation provisions enacted and keep our representatives on their toes.

Why is it that a public hearing on trout regulations packs the house, yet one on freshwater flows to the bays (a much more far-reaching issue) gets only a handful of attendees?

How come a few years ago the sporting industry (with the exception of TF&G) nearly crucified writer Jim Zumbo for his negative opinion of hunting with ARs but have said virtually nothing about projects like the Trans-Texas Corridor that, if enacted, would wipe out 500,000 plus acres of Texas wildlife habitat without any coinciding development factored in? That is not capitalism. It is government padding their own pockets and those of their campaign donors.

Maybe the real threat isn’t the loony animal rights activists holding signs but entrenched bureaucracy willing to sell us down the river for political gain. While the “environmentalists” have been worshipping at the altar of Al Gore and “global warming” and the “conservationists” have been focused on their pet issues, I wonder how many cancer and birth defect causing agents of slid right by us into our water, soil and air.

I was an environmentalist.

Then I became a conservationist.

Now I just consider myself a Texan, ready - maybe for the first time - to take an honest look at a coming storm and make a stand wherever necessary.

E-mail Chester Moore at cmooreoutdoors@gmail.com.

You can watch him Saturdays on GETV/GETV.org at 10 a.m. on “God’s Outdoors with Chester Moore” and hear him on “Moore Outdoors” Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI.

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The TF&G Report

TEXAS FISH & GAME HUNTING EDITOR AND longtime outdoors writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bob Hood died January 9 at his home at Possum Kingdom Lake.

Hood fought a battle with cancer for two years. He was 69.

According to the Star-Telegram, he was born June 28, 1944, in Fort Worth, to James O. and Ina Louise Hood. He was a fixture at the Star-Telegram well before he joined the staff full time on September 21, 1962 as he had been delivering papers since he was 11.

He started covering the outdoors in 1968 and wrote for dozens of publications and was widely respected for his knowledge of the outdoors as well as

Linda Hewitt of Devers killed this freeranging 35-inch axis buck last Memorial Day weekend on a ranch near Sonora.

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Bob Hood Passes Away

his realistic view of what actually happened in the field.

“I first met Bob about 10 years ago and had the pleasure of going on a number of

dove and hog hunts with him. He was the real deal and the reason his stories were so believable is because he was a legitimate well-rounded outdoorsman,” said TF&G

Big Bags&Catches

Lane Dahse, age 9, of Kyle, shot this turkey at 100 yards while hunting in San Saba County. It has three beards totaling 23-inches.

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This tagged red was a great addition to a limit of slot redfish caught by Raymond Garcia, while wading the South Padre Island Convention Center.

PHOTO CREDIT

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Editor-In-Chief Chester Moore.

“On one hand he could talk in detail about waterfowl conservation and then have the same authority discussing mountain lions, whitetails or turkeys. There are few like him. I will miss him as a person and TF&G will miss him as a creative force.”

Outdoors writer Luke Clayton had the privilege of being one of Hood’s best friends and said he was the type of outdoorsman that made your hunting or fishing trip better.

“If there were a couple of deer stands to hunt and the trail camera on one had evidenced a big buck or better wild hog activity, you would have a tough time convincing him that he was to hunt there on the afternoon hunt,” he said.

“He would insist that you hunt the hotspot and arguing with him was usually a fruitless endeavor.”

In a special tribute penned by Clayton for fishgame.com, he noted the following about Hood’s turkey hunting prowess.

“When it comes to turkey hunting, Bob had no equal. He was there with his trusty old Ithaca single shot .12 gauge back in the sixties when Texas held’s its first-ever spring turkey season and in ensuing years, Bob never missed the thrill of watching multiple gobblers strut within shotgun range of his Ithaca.”

“A few years ago while hunting turkeys with Bob up in Hall County, after a great camp meal of smothered venison steak, rice and gravy, Bob and I were setting on the back porch of the old camp house, relaxing and making plans for the next morning hunt. Bob’s single shot was leaning against the far wall.” “‘Bob, just how many turkeys have you killed with that old shotgun?’ I quizzed.

“In his thoughtful manner, Bob looked at the old shotgun and then at me. “‘Luke, I’ll have to give that a bit of thought, I don’t know exactly but I can come close.’

“After a few minutes of silence, to the best of my memory, Bob said, ‘Somewhere just over 200 gobblers, that’s not just in Texas but other states as well.’”

Bob Hood was a loving husband, father, grandfather and truly great Texan.

column. TF&G bowhunting editor Lou Marullo will expand his column to including practical and affordable tips for all forms of hunting under the new title “Bare Bones Hunting.” We are excited to see what he brings to the table now that he is not limited to archery and are honored to leave a lasting tribute to Bob Hood.)

—Staff Report

Alton Jones Teams Up with Marble Falls for HS Bass

Texas high school students involved in competitive bass fishing will descend on beautiful Lake LBJ March 15.

The Student Angler Federation’s (SAF) Texas State Championship of High School Fishing will see the growing phe-

(Editor’s Note: In honor of Bob, we are not replacing his monthly Hunt Texas

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nomenon of scholastic bass fishing come to a competitive head.

The first publication to feature Texas high school and collegiate anglers on its cover, Texas Fish & Game is once again adding a bonus to the event.

“Last year we partnered with 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion and all around Texas fishing legend Alton Jones to fish with the winners. This year we are happy to offer this again but take it to another level,” said TF&G Editor-In-Chief Chester Moore.

“The top two teams will Alton Jones with last year’s winners, Colton Mitchell and Dallin Bishop.

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get the amazing opportunity to fish with Jones and be featured in TF&G.” Jones said he considers the opportunity to fish with and inspire young anglers as an honor.

“I am so grateful for my

grandfather for teaching me to fish the right way and have a passion for it. It is my hope that I can help develop and that in young people,” Jones said.

Aother new features of the tournament is a Captains Challenge, a chance for all of the students to help their boat captains win.

Proceeds go to the scholarship fund, after prizes are awarded from entry fees.

According to the SAF, the state championship is a two-person team event for students in grades 9-12. Registration for anglers and their “coach,” who will provide the boat they compete in, is online at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The Registration and Angler Celebration is Friday, March 14 at the Lakeside Pavilion in Marble Falls, Texas, at 6 p.m. with the rules meeting to follow dinner.

—Staff Report

Photo: Chester Moore

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Doggett at Large

by Joe Doggett | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Applying for Permit

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eing the nice guy that I am, I insisted that Dave Hayward take the first 30-minute shift on the casting platform of the flats skiff. Of course, the generous gesture was mainly prompted by the fact that the upcoming water looked a bit deep and “froggy” for bonefish.

I figured that by the time Hayward used up his clock we would be on the primo white sand alongside the island up ahead.

Playa Blanca guide Carlos Vasquez and Dave Hayward exult over a permit caught 20 minutes into a six-day Yucatan trip.

Hayward stepped to the bow and stripped coils of eight-weight line from his reel.

“Standard drill?”

“Right.” I glanced at my watch. “Thirty minutes or a fish. Your time starts now.”

We were on the first morning of a six-day trip to Playa Blanca Lodge in the Yucatan.

Guide Carlos Vasquez used a long push pole to glide the skiff slowly and quietly with the breeze. The sparkling thigh-deep water started looking better.

I looked at the Luminox dial. Hayward had 10 minutes remaining.

The skiff stopped. “A permit at 60 feet,” Vasquez said. “Moving left to right. Cast now.”

Hayward made a good cast, dropping the crab imitation fly about six or eight feet ahead of the cruising fish. The black sickle tail stiffened and the surface stirred as the permit raced in decidedly un-permit fashion to eat the fly.

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Twenty minutes into our trip, and Hayward hooked the greatest of flats prizes —a gleaming permit! Naturally, quirky permit being quirky permit, that was the only one we caught during the entire week. We had various shots at sighted permit, even a few follows, but no more takers.

That most-recent expedition pretty well sums up my frustrating record with permit.

I’m convinced that a jinx follows me from tropical tide to tropical tide across the known range of the contrary permit. My history of failure with this single species is appalling.

Let me put this into sobering perspective. I’ve fished primo tropical flats from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas to Cuba and the Yucatan and south into Belize. I’ve caught at least 2,000 bonefish on flies. I’ve caught exactly one permit on a fly.

And it was a small one—the fish, I mean, not the Merkel crab pattern.

The imbalance is ridiculous, given the two species often overlap on the same flats.

I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of casts to sighted permit. Some were dreadful chokes fueled by panic and tension, but others were respectable efforts. And some were excellent—without bragging, Lefty Kreh and Chico Fernandez could not have collaborated for better presentations.

Among all those sweaty yards of weightforward tapers and crafty crab- and shrimpimitation flies, I’ve bent the rod on exactly seven permit. I’m one-for-seven, and that’s another huge dose of bad luck. I’m not a total rookie when it comes to striking and playing fish; the odds of angling should have favored bringing three or four of those fish to hand.

As I said, there’s some bad juju going on somehow. Magic, and I’m not prejudiced as to color, must be involved.

For example, on one particular heartbreaker, the 15-pound mono leader pulled through a faulty gap in the eye of the fly hook.

The eye was not properly crimped shut at the factory and the improved clinch knot came back looking (appropriately) like a tiny hangman’s noose. In my entire fishing career I only recall an eye-pull happening twice (the other on a dry hopper fly on a big brown trout in F i s h

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Montana’s Yellowstone River).

The permit is sort of a supercharged pompano. A small one weighs five pounds, a huge one might top 40. In my experience (mainly watching other anglers), the average fish is in the 10- to 15-pound class.

Incidentally, it’s no great angling achievement to catch a permit on a live crab in deep water, say in a free-running pass or over a near-shore wreck. I’ve caught several while using spinning tackle with jigs and bait.

But the permit fishing that has me hexed is done while sight casting with a fly rod to cruising or tailing fish on the flats. The permit are in the shallows to feed on shellfish and baitfish but they can be remarkably skittish and incredibly indifferent.

But now and then one weirds-out and hits with no reservations—an aggressive crash that would put a jackfish or a barracuda to shame.

I once was fishing with a guy who fell off the casting deck while attempting a frantic cast at a tailing permit. He gathered himself in kneedeep water, splashing and flogging and cursing. He stripped the atrociously delivered fly twice and the permit shot forward and inhaled it. If that fish wasn’t the “village idiot,” it was a relative from the nearest reef.

Another companion slammed a poor cast directly onto the tail of a cruising permit. The fish swirled around and struck with gusto. I watched in disbelief. If I had violated the fish with a similar cast, it would still be fleeing.

That’s permit fishing.

The world of angling has, in the sum, been good to me. A long career as an outdoor writer combined with a free-ranging lifestyle allowed many great trips to far-flung destinations. My tattered fishing passports date back more than 40 years and account for virtually every significant species in freshwater and saltwater.

Maybe I shouldn’t get so overwrought over my woeful lack of success on permit.

They really are not that big of a deal. This, of course, is assuming you can catch them.

Email Joe Doggett at ContactUs@fishgame.com Photo: Joe Doggett

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Pike on the Edge

by Doug Pike | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Chasing Rainbows

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OR MANY WINTERS NOW, THE STATE OF Texas has stocked a few hundred thousand bite-sized rainbow trout in urban and suburban ponds. They’re great for any fisherman, young or old, who needs to feel a tight line and can’t get to the coast or a big reservoir.

Some lakes get more fish than others and I have to confess I don’t know the criteria that determines which ponds get how many trout. Two things I do know: the trout will be small, averaging maybe eight or nine

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inches, and they won’t survive a Texas summer or even a warm spring (which makes it a little easier for conservationists to drop a daily five in a plastic bag and take them home).

What matters more than which lakes gets how many rainbows is the date on which they’re to be stocked. I learned a valuable lesson from that chapter during the troutdumping season of 2013-2014.

Turns out, published delivery dates are not carved in stone. They’re penned, but there is wiggle room, and errors nearly always favor the fishermen. One lake in Houston not only got its delivery two days early, for example, but there also happened to be a couple hundred extra rainbow trout in the truck’s tank when it was emptied.

I’ve heard other stories about early drop-

offs and extra fish, but I’ve never had anyone tell me their favorite lake’s fish didn’t show on time or that the state didn’t deliver as many as promised. That’s probably happened, again being fair to this fine program, but not by such margin against either measure that anyone but a fisheries biologist might notice. By a day or two after tpwd. state.tx.us says the fish are in a lake, they’re in the lake. And weather permitting, I’m going after them.

Which leads us back to the complication thing. Now that my son is six, I eye that trout-delivery schedule more closely. I even have sacrificed dozens of hours of my own time pre-fishing lakes to gauge their productivity – wouldn’t want to take him to a mud hole.

I’ve recruited a second scout, too, my

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writing colleague, Joe Doggett. Despite having fished around the world a couple of times, we’ve embraced the challenge that these little fish present and have become increasingly serious about honing our techniques.

He’s long-ago retired and most days has nothing better to do than fish or think about fishing. He’s logged twice my hours and I’ll concede that he holds an ever-so-slight edge in numbers of trout sent to the skillet.

I, on the other hand, have caught them from more different lakes and by a wider variety of methods.

Together, we usually can figure out the pattern and get busy catching fish quickly. If there were a tournament circuit for TPWD’s stocked rainbows, we’d be tough to beat.

Thanks to my son, I’m as comfortable fishing with bait as with lures. The commercial bite-sized nibbles work well enough, as do small, scent-juiced nightcrawlers threaded just so onto the hook. I’m equally fond of vanilla-soaked corn, especially since it doesn’t stink.

The key with anything from this class is

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to use small (No.8-No.12) hooks, only one or two pieces of bait, and to suspend them several feet beneath a grape-sized bobber.

Heavier gear makes it tough to detect strikes, and I’ve always done better on suspended baits than on anything pinned to the bottom.

Bait that smells is the only solution in offcolor water – such as is present in one lake near my house, where visibility is the same as looking through concrete. Don’t waste time with lures under those circumstances, instead appeal to their noses.

In relatively clear water, and trout are stocked in many beautiful lakes, we’ve had equal success over time on a variety of spoons, in-line spinners and flies. Smaller is always better, even if it means adding split shot up the line to cast into the wind. These fish have mouths the size of nickels and baits too large won’t draw strikes.

Fly gear is fine in clean, protected water, but limited casting distance keeps the long rod in the truck more days than not. When you can throw it, use a slow-sinking insect imitation. If fish are rising, sling a dry. I’ve used flies as small as No. 16 with good suc-

cess in clearer lakes, but the trout will climb all over a soft-landing grasshopper imitation.

A final tip, and a good one: Leave the micro-light rig at home. The delicate outfits won’t sling a lure much beyond your midday shadow and they’re no good at all for muscling a little trout over shoreline moss or reeds. Stay light – it’s only fair to the fish – but don’t get carried away.

Pressure on these fish is surprisingly light, especially on weekdays beginning a week after the dump. Hundreds or a few thousand rainbow trout won’t vanish overnight, even where they’ve been discovered by cormorants.

These rainbows are stocked for our enjoyment and, on the right days, provide plenty of that. Quit whining about having no time to fish in winter. They may be small, but these trout are plentiful, tasty, hungry most days, and right down the street.

Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@fishgame.com

2/6/14 1:54 PM

Ted’s TexasWild

by Ted Nugent | TF&G Editor-at-Large

Texas Ibex GlockOut

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he spectacular view from atop the jagged, silver cliffs of the Greenwood Valley Ranch was spine tingling and breathtaking to say the least. The colorful winter beauty of the eternal Texas Hill country went on forever and titillated the eyeballs, spirit and soul. They don’t call it the Hill Country for nothing and it is truly one of the great wild ground eye candy visions of the world.

Though we could have - and were prepared to - gaze upon the expansive spectacle for an elongated period in hopes of taking it all in for all it was worth, our plans were instantly interrupted when SpiritWild VidCamDude Kris Helms excitedly exclaimed, “Ibex!”

Bill, Mike and I spun around to see a mob of wild Ibex mountain goats scurrying away from our lookout position, quickly disappearing into the thick pucker brush hinterlands of the rocky pinnacle behind us.

Instantly Kris and I bailed out of the pickup, vidcam in hand as we hustled up, over and through the rocky outcropping to get the stiff north wind in our favor. Maybe, just maybe, we could take advantage of the howling wind to cover our sneaky rock scrambling stalk to get within 10mm handgun range of these highly desirable, ultra-elusive stinky ghosts of the highlands.

Ready or not, here we goat!

My bone on bone shattered knees made it borderline impossible to walk very far - much less gallop - after a herd of wild mountain critters in this dangerous terrain. But when the hunt is on and the fresh stink of Ibex fills my nostrils, all bets are off and the chase is on.

Kris is a young, athletic and experienced hunter himself, so I never had to say a word to him as I maneuvered gazelle-like amongst the jagged rockscape dodging thick juniper and cedar tangles in a desperate scramble to get ahead and above the departing herd of twenty

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or so Ibex.

Bone on bone knee wrecks? Funny, I didn’t feel a thing as red hot predator adrenalin pumped wildly through my system. Meniscus?

I don’t need no damn meniscus!

As we rounded a huge cedar clump there they were, forty to fifty yards down slope, goating about, nibbling, grooming and being Ibex without a care in the world, clueless that a gungho goat killer lurked well within Glock 10mm handgun range in full Weaver stance, cocked, locked, Glocked and ready to rock doc!

I whispered to Kris over my shoulder, HD digital recorder rolling, that I would shoot the biggest black-silver billy when it turned broadside. At that instant, a fine golden brown billy stepped into view, fully broadside. I said “brown one” as I settled my Trijicon front sight square on the big boy’s shoulder and let my sub-conscience daily training take over, muscle memory completing the second nature trigger squeeze. The Ted Nugent 180 grain 10mm load erupted, the Glock bucked slightly, and the big red billy leaped and kicked like a mule as the hot lead projectile of death slammed through both shoulders, blowing him off his feet.

The entire mob jumped, leaped and darted momentarily, which now exposed the giant black and silver alpha male. With Kris’s vidcam dead on the trophy Ibex, my second shot in less than two seconds went off with another Barnes bullet punching the big boy hard through the ribcage.

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Now the herd had had enough and they stampeded maniacally almost straight at us, darting past at under fifteen yards.

Instantly, the big red-brown billy was now stumbling over a pile of boulders at twenty-five yards and the Glock spoke again, knocking the gorgeous animal down for the count right there.

Barely out of recoil from this shot, we stepped lively to our right to see the big blacksilver stud trying desperately to stand and walk.

That’s when my next round pummeled him right behind the shoulder, pushing him forward where he crashed into an upturned root system to die in the ultimate photo-op position, never to move again.

Good grief! Are we having wild goat fun yet or what? My and Kris’s big, wild gawking eyeballs met and we knuckled slammed each other with a hearty “YOWZA!” We then commenced the joyous ritual of game recovery, continuing to film the whole glorious thrill for what will surely be one the greatest Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV shows ever on Outdoor Channel.

The whole insanity was a magical moment in time for this old handgun hunter. The timing was nothing short of miraculous. Right time, right place, right wind, right terrain, right sun, right cover, right gun, right ammo, right VidCamDude, right boots, right luck, right attitude, right spirit!

These ultra-wary mountain critters are rarely if ever seen on this enormous 18,000 acre ranch. The original owners had imported these stunning Persian Ibex way back in the 1940s, and over these many years, they had crossbred with wild Spanish goats to create a very special big game species.

To say we were ridiculously fortunate to see them is an understatement, but to actually be able to successfully stalk and handgun kill the two biggest and best old billys in the mob was truly phenomenal.

To pull off this shootemup miracle on video to air and celebrate for tens of millions of Spirit of the Wild viewers is proof positive that a lifetime of training and dedication to handgunning can and will pay off when the chips are down. I got you goat right here!

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Commentary

by Kendal Hemphill | TF&G Political Commentator

With Friends Like These...

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t the Dallas Safari Club’s annual convention in January, a special auction was held to help bring the black rhino back from the brink of extinction. One of the most endangered species on the planet, the black rhino has dwindled from a population of around 70,000 during the 1960s to about 4,000 at present. The DSC auction was expected to raise up to $1 million in much-needed support, to be donated to the Namibian government for conservation of the species.

Far from its intended goal, the auction closed with a winning bid of $350,000.

Not peanuts, mind you, but the result could have been better. And it probably would have been, if not for the negative publicity brought to bear on the DSC because of the item being auctioned – a Namibian black rhino hunt.

It should come as no surprise that the animal rights crowd began making loud, protestor type noises as soon as they learned of the auction. The anti-hunters were incensed that DSC would propose killing a black rhino to save black rhinos. And on the surface, it does sound illogical. Of course, there’s a lot more to the story.

In Africa, as in every other country in the world, taking care of wildlife requires money. Habitat protection, disease control, and game law enforcement, among other wildlife needs, is not cheap. The more money a given government or non-governmental agency has to support the native

game animals in an area, the more it can do for the critters.

Such money has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is from hunters.

Animal rights organizations talk a good game, they wail loud and long about being nice to the animals, but in the end, the only group putting their cash with their conscience is hunters. Without the revenue hunting provides, far more animals would be on the verge of joining the Dodo. Altruism is fine and good in theory, but in practice people don’t actually turn loose of money to save a species they will never see in the wild.

It just doesn’t happen.

So, from that standpoint, auctioning off one black rhino to save the rest seems a little more acceptable to the reasonable nonhunter. Unfortunately we aren’t dealing with reasonable non-hunters. Fortunately, there’s yet more to the story.

Namibia, the African country where the hunt is to take place, is home to about 1,800 of the world’s approximately 4,000 black rhinos. There are few enough of them that wildlife managers are able to keep tabs on them. The hunt auctioned off by DSC was not a pass to shoot just any black rhino that happened along. It was a permit to kill a particular older bull named Ronnie, a bull that is past breeding age and has become aggressive toward the other animals.

That fact never came out in the October 30th story Dan Solomon wrote for Texas Monthly about the auction. Solomon blasted DSC, titling his piece ‘The Dallas Safari Club Is Trying To Preserve The Black Rhino By Killing A Black Rhino.’ Which is true, but it sounds bad when you say it like that. Which is what Solomon intended.

But Solomon’s sentiments, clearly evident in his prose, are representative of those of many who don’t know the whole story.

On the surface it sounds, at best, counterproductive to kill an animal to save the species. Sometimes, however, that’s what is necessary.

Ronnie, the black rhino in question, has become a problem. The typical result of such a situation is to remove the animal from the T e x a S

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herd according to DSC spokesman and former president Steve Wagner. If the hunt had not been donated to DSC by the Namibian government, and auctioned off for the good of the group, wildlife managers would likely have had to kill the rhino anyway. The Convention on International Trade gives Namibia five black rhino permits a year, for the purpose of weeding out those that contribute the least, and pose the worst threat, to the others.

When any African game animal is killed, none of the meat is wasted. It all goes to feed starving villagers in the area and every part of the creature is used for whatever purposes apply. That will be the case with the black rhino, with the added benefit of $350,000 to help the rest of the species. The auction is a win-win.

Still, Hanns-Louis Lamprecht, a safari operator in Namibia, was disappointed in the amount of money raised. “It annoys me to tears,” Lamprecht told the Dallas Morning News. “A million dollars would have lasted years, years in the conservation efforts. The fact is it could have been more.”

Lamprecht referred to the anti-hunters who picketed the event and were thought responsible for affecting the bidding.

If the antis had not gotten involved, Namibia might be taking a million bucks home to help the black rhinos instead of only $350,000. Most of the animal rights activists probably mean well, but they generally end up doing more harm than good.

As Norman Maclean said in his book, “Young Men and Fire,” “It’s hard to imagine how the world has lasted this long with so much volunteer help.”

Email Kendal Hemphill at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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A CATEGORICAL REVIEW OF THE STATE’S TOP FIFTY LARGEMOUTH 22 |

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ShareLunker 487...

AND 522.

by Matt Williams Texas bass lakes have changed immensely over the last 30 or so years.

So have the fish that are finning around out there, the anglers who chase them, and the biological practices that are used to manage one fishery to the next.

Back in 1979, when I was a carefree high school senior with bushy hair and bad habits, T e x a S

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the state record bass in Texas was a 13.50-pounder caught in 1943 from Lake Medina in Central Texas. A 10-pounder grabbed headlines in those days and a seven-pounder was much more likely to wind up under a knife — or at the local taxidermy shop — than it was to get released back into the lake.

It was a time when keeping a limit of fat bass to eat was still cool among the masses…. when pro angler Hank Parker popularized flipping by using a long rod to win the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Texoma…. when slot limits didn’t exist…. and when the first Florida bass smuggled into Texas years earlier by the late Bob Kemp were on the verge of changing the scope of Texas bass fishing forever.

Kemp, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department director of inland fisheries at the time, was a man of vision who saw big things coming from the fast-growing Florida-strain fish released in Texas waters. And he was right, as evidenced by a surge of big bass catches that have since spread so far and

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wide that the list of public waters with lake records upwards of 13-pounds or better now bears the names of more than 60 different impoundments.

To get a solid feel for the impact that the Florida bass have made on Texas bass fishing, one needn’t look any farther than the state’s Top 50 list of largemouths. It’s an impressive list that has been revamped so many times since I graduated high school that H.R. McGee’s long-standing Medina state record doesn’t even make the grade anymore.

Amazingly, neither does the 14.09pound state record Jimmy Kimball caught from Lake Monticello in Feb. 1980, or the 14.3-pound former state record that

John Alexander caught from a private lake called Lake Echo in Jan. 1981. In fact, the only pre-1986 fish that still holds a spot among the Top 50 is the 15.5-pounder that Alexander hauled out of Echo less than a month after he topped Kimball’s mark.

That fish, also a former state record, currently ties as the No. 45 heaviest bass of all-time. Interestingly, it also is the only current Top 50 fish other than Earl Crawford’s 16.9-pound state record caught in 1986 from Lake Pinkston to be reported prior to the inception of the ShareLunker program.

For those who may not be familiar with ShareLunker, it is a highly publicized hatchery program run by TPWD’s inland fisheries division. The program solicits anglers

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Ethel was so popular with visitors that Bass Pro owner Johnny Morris felt compelled to give her a memorial service when she died there at the ripe old age of 19-years. Word is more than 1,000 people showed up for the funeral.

Morris’ appreciation for the big bass extended well beyond the 1994 memorial service.

In 2004, he provided a $650,000 challenge grant to aid in the construction of the $2 million classroom/conservation center at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. He dedicated the contribution in Ethel’s name.

PhotO: Steve Knight

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who catch 13-pound plus bass to donate Mark their fish to the state for spawning and Stevenson with genetics research. Begun in Nov. 1986, Ethel in 1986.

ShareLunker has since accepted more than 550 bass (as of press time) from dozens of public and private impoundments.

Having covered the outdoors for a number newspapers and magazines (including this one) since 1986, I have had the privilege of watching the current Texas Top 50 list unfold before me. I’ve photographed a number of the fish at arm’s reach during ShareLunker pick-ups and interviewed doz- though the fat bass nicknamed “Ethel” ens of the anglers who caught them. Back no longer ranks as the state record, most in Feb. 1986, I even had the opportunity to Texas big bass historians will agree that this cradle the lifeless Crawford bass in my own is arguably the most famous fish in Texas hands before he sent it to the taxidermist for freshwater fishing history.

Caught at Lake Fork in Nov. 1986, the fish a skin mount.

It’s been a cool ride, to say the least. supplanted the Crawford bass as the Texas Here’s a synopsis behind a handful of the record. To this date it ranks as the biggest giants on the Texas Top 50 list, which bass ever caught by a bass angler who was ranges from 18.18 pounds on the top end actually targeting bass with an artificial lure. to 15.38 pounds in the cellar, if you want Ethel was the inaugural ShareLunker entry and immediately drew national attention for to call it that. the program and Texas fishing as she lived Most Popular texas Bass out her life in a huge aquarium at Bass Pro —Mark Stevenson, 17.67 pounds: Even Shops in Springfield, Mo.

Biggest texas Bass—Barry St. Clair, 18.18 pounds: Barry St. Clair of Athens etched his name in bass fishing history when he reeled in the current state record largemouth from Lake Fork. Not only is his the first (and only) Texas bass to crack 18 pounds, it is the heaviest ever reported to be caught by a crappie fisherman. Fishing with a live shiner in about 40-feet of brushy water near the dam, St. Clair caught the fish in Jan. 1992.

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Biggest Summer/Night Bass: Jerry New of Marshall was fishing after dark in Aug. 1990 when he got one of those mysterious bumps in the night that turned out to the fourth heaviest bass ever reported in Texas. At 17.63-pounds, the New bass is certainly the biggest ever caught while working the graveyard shift.

Biggest texas Bank Bass: Lake Fork has produced five fish in the 17-pound-range. The smallest of those hulks, a 17.08-pounder, was caught in Feb. 1991 by Troy Coates of Emory.

Amazingly, Coates was casting a Texasrigged crawworm from the shoreline when he caught the No. 6 heaviest Texas bass of all-time.

Biggest texas Bass Caught and Re-caught: Passive integrat-

ed transponders (PIT Tags) placed in the body cavity of each ShareLunker have helped scientists identify several fish as recaptures over the years, but only one of those

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Sean Swank, same fish, March 2011, Sharelunker 522.

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Biggest Bass by Woman: Big bass hate a live waterdog. Perhaps nobody knows that better than Flo O’Brain of Ft. Worth. In 1999, O’Brain used one of the lively little amphibians to fool a 16.63-pounder that ranks as the No. 12 Texas bass of all-time and the biggest ever caught by a woman.

Keith Burns, Sharelunker 487 in March 2010.

big bass has earned two different spots on the Top 50 list.

The fish originally weighed 16.17 pounds when Keith Burns of Jefferson caught it from Caddo Lake in March 2010, making it the No. 16 bass of all-time. Remarkably, Sean Swank of De Berry caught the same bass in March 2011, when it weighed 16.07-pounds and nailed down the No. 20 spot on the list.

Also, it marks the first time in the history of Photos: TPWD

Biggest texas Kid Bass: Jesse Roberson of Goldthwaite was only nineyears-old when the reeled in a man-size bass from a 40-acre private lake near his home in Mills County. At 15.54-pounds, the Roberson bass ranks as the No. 42 heaviest Texas bass of all-time and is the heaviest bass ever documented by a youth angler.

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ShareLunker that the same fish has won two different anglers the ShareLunker Angler of the Year title.

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Aoudad

Axis Deer

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Photos: Lenny Rudow; TPWD; Canstock

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To Texas Sportsmen, Invasive Species Aren’t Necessarily a Bad Thing by chester moore Nilgai

Florida Strain Largemouth

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“Invasive Exotic.” That term is being used with greater frequency to describe non-indigenous animals and plants that often cause great problems for mankind and native wildlife. In the era of 24-hour news and instant information via Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other forms of social media, many things get blown out of proportion, especially in regards to the complexity of nature.

The truth is there are “invasive exotics” that have benefits, some of which are quite profound.

For starters some of the most important domestic animals are all from foreign lands.

Horses, goats and cattle did not hail from the United States yet no one puts the invasive tag on them. There are no campaigns to eradicate Brahman cattle which originated from Africa’s wild zebu. Nor are there “Wanted!” posters showing quarter horses or Nubian goats, both of which are foreign imports. All of these animals compete with native wildlife, but they have obvious benefits for many, so no one categorizes them as a nuisance.

The nilgai antelope is a unique exotic that is restricted to a few counties in South Texas, mainly on properties of the King and Kennedy Ranches. These monstrous antelope can weigh up to 800 pounds, have some of the finest tasting meat in the animal kingdom, and make for incredible sporting opportunities. While they cause a few problems for ranchers in the region, they are for the most part considered a plus for the area.

They are something that is only huntable in Texas and that gives the southern coastal regions a unique flavor.

Aoudad (Barbary sheep) are another welcome exotic. These were officially released into the Palo Duro Canyon in the Panhandle decades ago and have been stocked on hundreds of exotic ranches in the Hill Country and beyond. Aoudad will tear up deer feeders and could potentially outcompete native desert bighorn for food but they generally do less damage than domestic sheep and goats and they are highly embraced by the hunting community.

“The aoudad is one of the most majestic trophies to be found anywhere and these creatures are super challenging to hunt.

They are definitely one of the top hunting experiences in Texas,” said TF&G EditorAt-Large Ted Nugent.

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Aoudad flourish in the western two-thirds of the state and if an accurate population count could be held, we would probably be shocked by how many are actually out there.

They are an extremely elusive creature.

Axis deer are also flourishing in the Hill Country with tens of thousands free-ranging in counties like Bexar, Medina, Uvalde, Kerr, Edwards and Bandera. These beautiful native Indian deer do indeed compete directly with whitetail but most hunters welcome them. If nilgai are some of the best wild meat out there, then the axis is tops.

They are absolutely fine eating, and in my opinion, an axis buck is one of the most gorgeous trophy mounts a hunter can have in his or her collection.

The striped bass is a welcome exotic of the aquatic kind. These hard-fighting sportfish are native to the ocean and were imported from the East Coast into lakes like Toledo Bend and Lake Texoma.

“Stripers are one of the best sportfish to be found anywhere and I certainly consider them a welcome addition to Lake Texoma,” said longtime guide Bill Carey of Striper Express Guide Service.

“The fishing pressure keeps them in check and they are an important part of the fishing economy up here.”

Although a more subtle exotic, there is no question the Florida-strain largemouth bass has been a welcome addition. Officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) aggressively stocked them into lakes beginning nearly 40 years ago and the results have been astounding. The bass in Texas now are truly Texas-sized (via the Sunshine State), making our state arguably tops in overall quality of the bass fishery.

Speaking of bass, perhaps the ultimate bass habitat comes in the form of an invasive exotic: hydrilla.

TPWD’s Larry Hodge wrote a description of the hydrilla issue for their website that contains some fascinating information: F i s h

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“In my opinion you have to take hydrilla on a case-by-case basis,” says TPWD’s Driscoll (who is Driscoll?).

“I have 15 counties in Southeast Texas, and I only have four or five lakes I wish had no hydrilla. They are all small, shallow, municipal water supply lakes and are 50 to 80 percent covered with hydrilla. We deem 20 to 35 percent coverage as ideal, because if it exceeds that, it provides too much habitat and cover for bass and forage fish.

Access for anglers can become restricted.

Forage fish have so many places to hide that predators such as bass can’t catch them.

Even though forage fish are abundant, bass will be skinny.”

Another interesting fact about hydrilla is that lakes like Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn and many smaller east Texas impoundments have seriously fluctuating water levels. Most native aquatic vegetation cannot tolerate this but hydrilla can, leaving one to ponder what the Texas bass fishery would be like without it.

Mankind has altered the landscape of the Lone Star State in many ways and it seems that invasive exotics have caused some of the most profound changes. There is no question the fire ant has caused irreparable damage and does no good. Nor does common and giant salvinia, which are clogging waterways in East and South Texas, but there are those gray areas to consider.

Feral hogs are not native to the Lone Star State and cause all kinds of damage to agriculture, golf courses, and other resources, but they are an important part of the Texas hunting culture and economy nowadays. At the end of the day, we will never eliminate them and I have a feeling most hunters would not want to if they could.

Such is the complexity of invasive exotics.

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Bring Texas-Sized Tackle When You Enter the Realm of the Reef Donkey story and photos by john n. felsher

Often compared to winching an anvil up through a football field of water, battling amberjack can challenge just about any angler or tackle. When hooked, amberjack don’t display the flash of a king mackerel or speed of a tuna, but they exhibit incredible strength.

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Sometimes dubbed “reef donkeys,” amberjack can grow to more than 150 pounds. John Stout landed the Texas state record, a 121-pounder that measured 65 inches long on August 20, 2005, but Steele Buckholtz speared a 128.75-pounder in July 2009.

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“There are some monsters in the Gulf,” moving up about 30 to 50 feet and work explained Tommy Pellegrin, an avid off- that depth.” shore angler. “Divers tell me they’ve seen Big amberjack don’t always hover near amberjacks in the 120- to 130-pound range the bottom. Sometimes, they rise in the with several hooks hanging out of their water column or may even approach the mouths. Sometimes, we hook something surface to investigate activity. Chumming down deep that we can’t move. We call it can entice amberjack near the top. Chop a UFO — an Unidentified Fishy Object. bait or trash fish into bite-sized morsels and Usually, that’s a big amberjack or grouper.” toss them into the water. Then, rig a drift Amberjack prefer to stay in 70 to 400 line with live bait. Don’t use any weight feet of water around rock piles, shipwrecks, so the fish can swim freely. Drifting a livie, coral reefs and other places where they find anglers might also catch grouper, snapper, cover to ambush prey. Voracious predators, cobia, mackerel or wahoo — perhaps even amberjack feed heavily upon squid, crus- tuna or sailfish. taceans, reef fish or anything else they can Some anglers also troll live bait or diving gulp. Although smaller AJs may congregate plugs around oil platforms and over reefs. in schools, bigger jacks rule their deep and Circle the platforms several times and use dark domain alone — and that’s how most various lures of different colors that dive to other reef species like it! Typically, when big different depths. Around reefs, run amberjack cruise through an area, everything the baits just over the top of else moves out. the structure. To get really “To find amberjack, anglers usually need deep, some anglers attach at least 150 feet of water,” recommended trolling lures to downrigMark Fisher, a Texas Parks & Wildlife gers.

Department biologist in Rockport. “The Protruding from the waters off Port Mansfield, Port Aransas surface and usually well lit and Port Isabel are some of the deepest with lights, waters in the state. Often, offshore anglers can catch amberjack and snapper at the same spot, but amberjack tend to come a bit closer to the surface than snapper.”

To catch big amberjack, most anglers simply drop a hook baited with squid, cigar minnows, fish chunks or Spanish sardines to the bottom. Cut slices into the meat to let enticing juices ooze out. Small, live fish also work very well. For monster AJs, use large baits since a 100-pound bruiser can easily engulf a hefty meal.

Daniel Felsher “We use a lot of live bait, but we’ve is all smiles after had more luck by dropping down jigs winning a pitched battle with this tipped with a squid wing or someamberjack. thing,” advised Capt. Chad Kinney of Bamm Bamm Charters (956-802-2269; bammbammfishing.com) in Port Mansfield.

“We just keep pumping the jigs up and down in the water column. For live bait, we use blue runners or piggy perch. Sometimes, we go out to deeper structures to fish with butterfly jigs. When jigging, we start right on the bottom. If that doesn’t work, we start 34 |

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petroleum production structures provide the most visible places to fish. With structure ranging from top to bottom, oil platforms provide fish three-dimensional cover throughout the water column. In addition, the bottom around a platform usually contains many objects that fell off the rig or junk workers tossed into the water.

While petroleum platforms create the most visible fish attractors, many natural or artificial reefs also offer excellent fishing along the Texas coast. One of the biggest artificial reefs in Texas, the 473-foot long Texas Clipper served as a World War II troopship. It now sits in 132 feet of water about 17 miles northeast of South Padre Island. The top of the ship comes up to within 50 feet of the surface.

“I prefer to fish natural structure,” Kinney said. “We catch bigger fish around deep reefs because they don’t usually have as much entangling structure to break lines. The Port Mansfield area has some rock piles and sunken shrimp boats. We usually start finding amberjack about 30 miles from Port Mansfield in about 150 feet of water. Another good spot is about 45 miles out in about 270 to 380 feet, depending upon the depth of the wrecks and reefs. The best luck I’ve had was in about 300 to 350 feet of water about 50 miles out.”

An artificial reef near Port Mansfield includes three sunk-

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typically like, the area is complex enough that it attracts a lot of different bait species,” said Mark Lingo, a TPWD biologist in Brownsville. “Amberjack go where they can eat — and they eat about anything that swims! Amberjack come into Trolling the reef area to eat the bait.” near oil platforms About 115 miles east of can prove effective for Galveston, the Flower Garden tempting amberjack in Banks sit in about 200 to 400 the Gulf of Mexico. feet of water, but some peaks top out about 65 feet deep.

East Flower Garden Bank sits at about 27.90 degrees North and 93.60 degrees West and measures about 40 square miles. About seven miles west, West Flower Garden Bank covers 46 square miles. Bright Bank sits about 11 miles east of East Flower Garden Bank and rises to within 114 feet of the surface.

Nearly any rig, wreck, or reef in sufficiently deep water off Texas may hold some amberjack. Just bring Texas-sized tackle to handle these beasts of the deep! southeast of the Port Mansfield jetties.

“Although the water around the Port Mansfield Reef is not as deep as amberjack

en World War II Liberty ships sitting about 90 to 100 feet deep. The Port Mansfield Liberty Ship Reef sits about 15 miles east

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Texas Department of Defense Training to Win

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HEN I JOINED THE UVALDE POLICE Department in 1979, it was between classes for the local police academy. One had just been completed and another would not start for at least 4 months, and more likely 6. I was sworn in, given my uniforms, my badge, and my credentials, issued a Smith and Wesson Model 19, a holster, belt, handcuffs, and cartridge slide. I was not asked if I could shoot a handgun; I was not taken to the range to qualify; I was not even asked to demonstrate my knowledge of the working of the revolver. Luckily I had considerable skill with a revolver and knew intimately the working of a Model 19, having been a

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by Steve LaMascus & Dustin Ellermann part is that many of them only shoot their sidearms when they qualify. That is, again, once a year.

The reasons for this can be varied, but generally come down to the fact that they are not required to practice, and are not given ammunition for any extraneous practice.

If they want to practice on their own they are required to purchase the ammunition from their own funds, which in most small departments is a miserly sum. Many departments even forbid the officer from shooting handloads in his duty weapon. The only way to remedy this is to enact state requirements that mandate a monthly practice session, hopefully with real life shooting scenarios rather than the usual stand up and shoot at the target scenarios.

As a retired federal agent I qualify once a year. The course of fire is ridiculously easy and I could do it without practice. But I

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THE COST OF AMMO SEEMS TO only increase and never fall. Those of us who shoot competition, hunt regularly, train for defensive situations or just enjoy shooting feel the hurt the most.

Fortunately there are alternatives to keep cost down and shooting skills up.

I’ve covered the advantages of dryfire training in the past, but here is how you M A R C H

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competitor in combat-type matches for years.

I can only assume that the Chief was aware of this.

I assume that you, as do most citizens, believe that police officers are well trained in the use of their firearms, particularly handguns. What would you say if I told you that I have seen reports that state that police officers average only about 20 percent hits in shooting situations? Up front that doesn’t sound too bad, until you consider that it means they missed with 80 percent of the rounds fired. I don’t know about you, but that scares the pants off me.

A simple fact is that police officers are generally poor shots with their handguns.

Most small police departments and sheriff’s departments are badly underfunded and because of financial considerations, qualify only when mandated by the state. That is, listen now, once a year. The really sad

AR 15 Airgun Training

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The Crosman MAR 177 is an AR15 Upper that allows you to practice precision shooting while using your AR15 lower in order to train with your existing trigger pull.

take it to the next level.

Previously I’ve covered Next Level Training’s Shot Indicating Resetting Trigger (SIRT) training pistol that projects a laser beam when you fire it. Since the success of the SIRT pistol NLT introF I S H

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duced the SIRT AR-Bolt. The laser bolt replaces your existing AR15’s bolt carrier group and with the help of a magnetic plunger that sits on your trigger group the bolt fires a green laser when you Continued on page 38  PHOTO: DUSTIN PHOTO ELLERMANN CREDIT

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Texas Department of Defense promise you I practice a minimum of once a month and generally once a week. I don’t do it so I can pass the qualification, but because I want come out alive should I have to use that sidearm that has been riding under my shirt for all those years.

Practice, however often you decide to do it, is more than just standing on your hind legs, holding the gun in two hands, and putting a few rounds on a target at 10 or 15 yards.

First you should go through a few quick draw drills up close, shooting as quickly as you safely can. Then do some weak hand drills. If you get shot in your strong hand, which happens surprisingly often, you want to be able to keep fighting. This is something that is extremely important and something

that is much too often left out of the practice drills. At one time I could shoot almost as well left handed as I could right.

Another necessary item is practicing from varied and odd positions, using cover.

When firing from a covered position you do not shoot from beside it, you shoot around it, revealing as little of yourself as possible.

This sometimes means shooting with the handgun sideways, but at close range that matters not at all, the bullets will still hit where the sights are looking. Holding the gun sideways allows you to shoot with much less of your head and body revealed than does holding the gun straight up and down.

Practice sitting, prone, and lying on your side - both left and right - behind cover.

A vehicle wheel is a great cover and most

Airgun Training

It gives an excellent platform for practicing from a variety of shooting positions and making single shots count. The advantages of this upper is you get to train with the exact same trigger since it uses your existing lower and you actually get ballistic feedback even if it p is on a smaller, closer scale.

The SIRT AR Bolt allows you to dryfire your It comes with a removable rifle with visual confirmation of your shot. sights and picatinny rail so you could place an optic on about 100 pumps you’ll have almost it, but if you give it further thought we 3,000 PSI stored up in the small tank all could use more iron sight practice. and will be ready to fire at least 150 The only disadvantage for the pellet rifle rounds. The rotary magazine holds 10 is that you much to charge it every time pellets and you load each shot by cycling as if it were a single shot, but the cost the AR style charging handle. I was savings, precision, and accuracy training impressed with how incredibly quiet the greatly outweigh this one drawback. pellet rifle was and also with the accuThe SIRT bolt starts at $139 and the racy. The rifle claims a velocity of 600 Crosman MAR177 retails at $650. At FPS and my chronograph clocked it at first this could deter some shooters but an average of 595 FPS with a standard when you consider the potential ammudeviation of only 5; it was surprisingly nition cost savings it could work to your consistent. At 10 yards with the includadvantage. ed open sights I had no problem keeping Find our more at crosman.com and a 0.25” group dead center. for the SIRT bolt use “topshotdustin” for The MAR177 is a great setup for 10 percent off at nextleveltraining.com practicing your precision rifle shooting. It’s quiet enough to fire inside your —Dustin Ellermann house with the proper pellet trap setup.

t Continued from page 38 pull the AR trigger. You can fine-tune the laser to the exact point of impact to match your optic and safely train away.

This setup is perfect for perfecting your trigger control for multiple shots as well as developing muscle memory with your carbine and even point shooting. The laser gives instant feedback to where your shots would have hit. I find this perfect for high speed training that is useful in 3 Gun competitions as well as defensive scenarios.

The only t Continued from page xx disadvantage to the SIRT bolt is that your trigger pull is modified in order to get the reset so you won’t have the exact trigger training.

But in order to train with my beloved Geissele trigger I recently tested out the Crosman MAR177, which is a .177 caliber pre-charged pneumatic airgun upper for any standard AR15 lower. Designed for National Match competition shooters it is the size, weight and feel of a 20” AR15, but of course it shoots plentiful inexpensive .177 caliber pellets. To charge the onboard tank you can hook it up to a 3,000 PSI scuba tank or use a special handpump. Since I don’t have a tank I went the pump route and after

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handguns will not penetrate both sides of a car tire.

As I have said before, you should always, every time you practice, go through a closerange, quick-draw drill where you draw and fire, without aiming, as quickly as possible.

I believe this is the most important skill you can acquire, because it is quite likely to be what you will have to do when the time comes to use your handgun. If you ever have to use your gun in a life and death confrontation, the odds say it will happen at less than 3 yards, in less than 3 seconds, and will require less than 3 shots. I like to play the odds, so that is what I practice the most.

—Steve LaMascus

Photo: Dustin Ellermann

2/6/14 2:17 PM

Bare Bones Hunting

by Lou Marullo | TF&G Hunting Editor

Extra Sensory Hog Hunting

out. I set the transmitter outside and had a friend walk in front of it. In the comfort of my living room, I watched as a red light gave me notice of an intruder in my yard.

Yes! The cool thing about this is that it works great for daytime and nighttime hunting.

If you need to stay after hours to get that big boar, you can know when it arrives and exactly where it is.

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“ Next time you are out shopping, pick up a motion sensor.

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og hunting is not an easy task.

Sure, the younger ones can be easy to bag around corn feeders. But if you shoot a few in an area, they tend to go nocturnal. And while always a bit challenging, the biggest boars can become super tough to bag after that.

Mature boars, like trophy bucks, have the uncanny ability to sneak through the thickest of cover without making a sound. How many times have you been out there hunting and all of a sudden, you turn your head and there he is?

Well, there is a way to help with this and your off-season hog hunting that works just as good for whitetails.

Here is what you can do. The next time you are out shopping, pick up a motion sensor. I use one called the “driveway patrol”. It is one of the smaller ones and it works great.

These motion sensors come in two parts, a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter will pick up any movement and send a signal to the receiver. Usually, these receivers will sound an alarm that can be heard in three counties!

The ones I have used also come with a blinking red light when they receive a signal from the transmitter. For this method, I simply took apart the receiver and, using my vast knowledge of electricity, disconnected the wire that was attached to the speaker of the unit with my wire cutters. Consequently, when the transmitter sent a signal, the alarm was bypassed and only the blinking red light was working on the receiver.

After that, it was time to test this bad boy

The first time I used this trick was for whitetails and I carried it into a thick deer sanctuary. As quietly as I could, I attached the transmitter (at around the height of a deer) to the trunk of one of the small trees and faced it in the direction of a well used deer trail. I then climbed up in my stand, which was located just outside the heavy thicket.

From my overhead perch, I could see any deer that might head in my direction except for those on the deer trail in the thicket. I T e x a S

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set the receiver on a branch near my stand and waited for the action to begin. It took a few hours before I spotted my first whitetail of the afternoon. Afterwards, I saw a few more does come out to feed on their way to the food plot.

Then about 30 minutes before sunset, my eyes caught sight of a red blinking light.

Something was coming to me from the heavy thick brush - this battery operated pair of eyes worked perfectly! I was not sure at this point if it was a buck or doe, but I was convinced it was a deer as my heart was pounding right out of my chest.

The invisible deer only had to travel 50 yards or so before he or she would clear the thicket, but that seemed to take forever.

My eyes were glued to the edge of the thick brush in search of any movement that might give the presence of the elusive deer away.

Finally, she poked her head out. It was not the buck I was looking for. But my gizmo had worked and it has worked numerous times since then.

Speaking of deer - which I do pretty much every day - I want to leave you with a cool trick that sort of symbolizes the kind of things to be covered in this column.

One Halloween, I saw my friend’s spooky display. In that array of Oct. 31st horrors was a dummy he filled with straw and sat in a chair on his front porch. That’s when a light bulb came on in my head.

I went home and started my own Halloween dummy and by the following summer, my masterpiece was ready. I dressed him in camo and took him into the woods to my deer stand. I strapped my new hunting buddy up in the stand and left him there for the deer to see. They soon got used to seeing that dummy. But on opening morning, a different dummy was sitting up there.

Only this one could draw a bow.

Cool, huh?

I hope you will enjoy this new column as much as I will enjoy writing it. Have fun and hunt safe.

Email Lou Marullo at ContactUs@fishgame.com G a m e ®

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Texas Freshwater

by Matt Williams | TF&G Freshwater Editor

March Madness: Get Ready for the Big Bite

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CAA basketball fans aren’t the only ones getting a good dose of March Madness these days. My guess is Texas bass anglers are just as stoked about their chances of making big points with a monster largemouth. Those who aren’t should be.

March marks the arrival of spring in Texas. As a result, armies of heavyweight bass with spawning on their minds are beckoned towards the sun-baked shallows while making themselves more vulnerable to getting caught than at any other time of the year.

More big bass are caught during the month of March on Texas bass lakes than any other month, or at least that is what Toyota ShareLunker records indicate.

Since 1986, some 234 of the program’s 554 entries (as of press time) have been caught during March. February is the only other month that comes remotely close with 128 entries, followed by April with 86.

Ripe as conditions are for catching a big bass in Texas during spring, closing the deal is hardly a slam dunk. For every springtime lunker that is caught, several others are probably lost because something doesn’t go just right out there on the water.

Here are five tips that will help improve your chances of connecting with a career bass and sealing the deal when the big bite comes:

LAKES WITH A REP: To catch a big bass, you have to fish where they live.

Naturally, some lakes have better reputations for producing the big bite more frequently than others.

In Texas, more than 60 public and nearly two dozen private lakes have combined to produce more than 550 ShareLunkers. At last count, Lake Fork was responsible for 40 |

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256 of those fish followed by lakes Alan Henry and O.H. Ivie with 25 each, Sam Rayurn (23) and Falcon (20).

If I had one day to catch an eight-pound bass and my life depended on it, Fork would probably be my first choice...but not by far. Lake Falcon also has rich history of kicking out numbers of big bass. Some other good choices include Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Pinkston, Nacogdoches and Naconiche.

GEARED FOR THE OCCASION: Going fishing for big bass with gear that isn’t sufficient for tackling the job is risky business. Make sure your reel spools are filled with a premium line with a breaking strength of 17-20 pound test. A stronger braided line might be a better choice for muscling large fish out of bushes, brush and other abrasive habitat.

Use stout hooks and a rod with a medium, medium/heavy or heavy action. A rod with too much flex can spell trouble because it could allow a big bass to get the edge, particularly in areas with heavy cover.

STEALTH IS BEST: A big bass is no different than a big whitetail buck. It didn’t get big by making stupid mistakes.

Heavyweight bass are inherently spooky, so it is always a good idea do be as stealthy as possible to avoid alarming them.

Among other things, this means: • Keeping the trolling motor prop out of the mud and brush.

• Avoid banging stuff carelessly about the boat.

• If you are fishing at night, don’t shine lights across the water ahead of the boat in the same direction you are fishing.

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WATER TEMPS and MOON PHASE: Certain areas are prone to attract spawning fish sooner than others. Coves and isolated pockets that are protected from chilly north winds and get plenty of warm sunshine are always a good bet because water temperatures there will warm faster than in unprotected areas.

Shorelines with rock, concrete, or wood can also be good. All three absorb heat and dispense it, which can result in water temps a few degrees warmer than surrounding areas.

Many anglers assume that all the bass in lake will move shallow to spawn at exactly the same time. This is false. Bass spawn in waves, usually after water temperatures stabilize around 60 degrees.

Keep in mind that across Texas, the madness tends to be the wildest in coincidence with full moon phases in February, March and April.

WHEN YOU CAN SEE THEM: Bedding activity often takes place at depths shallow enough that fish can be seen hovering over the spawning nest when water clarity allows. A good pair of polarized sunglasses are a big asset when “sight fishing” for bass because they reduce sun glare and make it much easier to see the fish and how it reacts to a bait.

Sight fishing for spawning bass can be tricky, mainly because they can be extremely spooky. The easiest fish to catch off beds are often those that are unaware of your presence. If you spot a fish that is reluctant to bite, make a mental note of the location and return an hour or so later. Position the boat just close enough that you can reach the sweet spot with a long cast. Be ready to set the hook quickly if the fish takes the bait.

Email Matt Williams at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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2/6/14 1:48 PM

TRUE GREEN

Edited by Will Leschper

Headboats Aid Snapper Study Red snapper issues have been contentious in recent years, especially in 2013 when Texas, Louisiana and other Gulf states pushed back against proposed federal rules, urging that snapper regulation be left up to the discretion of states, citing scientific research supporting the stance.

Gov. Rick Perry and other Gulf state governors even went so far as to send a letter to Congressional leaders, stating that federal management of Gulf red snapper was evidence of a system that was “irretrievably broken.”

NOAA Fisheries later announced an increase in the allowable catch for red snapper, from 8.46 million pounds to 11 million pounds. The recreational quota increased from 4.145 million pounds to 5.39 million pounds and the commercial quota increased from 4.315 million pounds to 5.61 million pounds. That increase was the highest catch 42 |

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level the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council can set without having to decrease the figure in subsequent years, and will remain in effect through 2014.

While the quota went up, the biggest issue facing red snapper fishing is the absence of accurate harvest data. Commercial anglers keep much more detailed records than captains who fish recreationally. However, federal fisheries managers have an eye on improving the scientific side of snapper fishing, implementing a two-year study in January aimed specifically at nailing down just how much snapper is brought overboard. Dubbed the Gulf Headboat Collaborative, the program allows only 20 federally permitted headboat captains to fish for red snapper and gag grouper all year as long as they have not exhausted their allocations for the species. Included in those headboats are fishing operations based out of Port Aransas.

Those captains must adhere to their specific allocations and strict data collection, including reporting their trips electronically before conducting an outing, providing a time of return and then completing a log of their catch through the Headboat Survey online system, which will keep a running tally of landings, estimated in pounds after F i s h

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being formulated for the average fish size in each Gulf area.

One major caveat to the initiative is the quota and how long it takes to reach it. Red snapper landing estimates in Texas waters, those less than nine nautical miles off the coast, are included in the federal estimates and once the overall allotment is landed, even those captains in the Collaborative would be forced to shut down their trips.

Those overall estimates typically are provided by federal officials in August.

This year’s recreational red snapper season will open at 12:01 a.m. June 1 and close at 12:01 a.m. July 11, offering a 40-day season in federal waters. The recreational red snapper bag limit in federal waters is two fish at least 16 inches in length. The bag limit in Texas waters is four fish, at least 15 inches long, with a yearround season.

More than 95 percent of the red snapper landed in Texas come from federal waters, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department figures. Most of that catch – about 80 percent – comes from headboats, also known as “party boats,” which take out numerous paying clients. These boats account for roughly 200,000 angler fishing trips annually, according to TPWD figures.

The length of the federal recreational season in the Gulf is determined by the amount of the quota, the average weight of fish landed and estimated catch rates.

NOAA Fisheries is responsible for ensuring the entire recreational harvest, including harvest in state waters, does not exceed the recreational quota. Therefore, if states establish a longer season or a larger bag limit for state waters than the federal regulations allow in federal waters, the federal season must be adjusted to account for the additional harvest expected in state waters.

The long and short of the program is that it will allow headboats in the Collaborative to catch the same number of fish they would normally catch during the short fishing seasons, but to take anglers fishing anytime during the calendar year.

—Will Leschper «TG Will Leschper’s work has won state and national awards. Contact him at leschperw@yahoo.com

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TRUE GREEN Boundary Waters Could Face Catfish Reg. Change

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conducted follow-up sampling, confirming angler concerns that the restriction was unduly restricting harvest. A joint study

“ The current limit was adopted in 2011.

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The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission have adopted a notice of intent that would alter daily creel limit regulations for channel and blue catfish caught in boundary waters with Texas including Toledo Bend Reservoir, Caddo Lake and the Sabine River. Fisheries biologists from each state recommended the action based on the results of a cooperative biological study and angler input.

The current daily limit of 50 catfish, with a limit of five channel and blue catfish over 20 inches in total length, was adopted in 2011 as part of a coordinated effort with Texas fisheries officials to establish uniform regulations on boundary waters. Biologists

determined the catfish populations in question are healthy and the current regulation was restrictive.

The proposed rule change would maintain the 50 fish daily creel limit, but set a limit of five fish over 30 inches in total length. The action also will maintain standardized regulations in Louisiana-Texas border waters and allow anglers in Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake and the Sabine River to keep a greater amount of channel and blue catfish caught.

Interested persons may submit related comments regarding the proposed rule

by March 10 to Mike Wood, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Office of Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or via email at comment@wlf.la.gov.

—Staff Report «TG

2/6/14 2:27 PM

TRUE GREEN CONTINUED...

Working with private landowners across coastal Texas, Ducks Unlimited completed just over 2,200 acres in Fiscal Year 2014 with another 1,350 acres under contract through the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project (TPWP).

This year, the focus of the cost-share program has been as much on providing water as on the traditional work of constructing managed wetland units. The program is a partnership of DU, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private landowners, and has been delivering the habitat goals of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture since 1991.

TPWP is as impressive for its collabo-

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ration as it is for its habitat delivery, which has provided approximately 64,000 acres of wetland habitats in the 30-county focal area along the Texas Gulf Coast. Today, TPWP is the number one program delivering waterfowl habitat objectives for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture. Private landowner costs are offset by TPWP cost-share, which comes from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Futch Foundation, Trull Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, ConocoPhillips, and North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants. —by Andi Cooper TG

photo: Ducks Unlimited

2,200 Prairie Wetlands Acres Restored

p Private landowners enrolled in the Texas Prairie Wetland Project provide critical waterfowl habitat along the Texas Coast.

2/6/14 2:27 PM

Texas Saltwater

by Calixto Gonzales | TF&G Saltwater Editor

Oh, You Didn’t Know?

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ne really neat thing about moving from teaching high school to middle school is how much the students marvel at the little bits of arcane information I sometimes spring on them. I can pass along some little factoid, such as historians are able to tell the exact date of the first performance of Sophacles’ tragedy Antigone because there was a lunar eclipse on the same day or that the 47 Ronin was actually a play based on historical events as recorded by the Japanese historian Edo (although the original work lacked supernatural creatures and special effects). They get a kick out of learning these bits of trivia. Granted, it’s the sort of information that only drama geeks can appreciate, but it still counts.

Even so, I believe strongly that every student—even middle schoolers—should have a well-rounded, multi-faceted education. I may draw a paycheck as a Theatre Teacher but my kids should be exposed to all the knowledge at my disposal.

Knowledge such as:

There are Some Monstrous Flounder Out There

I was talking to Mark Lingo, the Lower Laguna Madre Coastal Fisheries Leader, about flounder in Lower Laguna Madre when he shared with me the little known fact that some really big ones—upwards of 10 pounds or more—hang around deep rocks in state waters. The same rocks that shelter vast schools of red snapper are also havens for these bathmats with eyes. Lingo said that these big flounder park themselves

around these rocks and spend their days waiting for some hapless small red snapper, grunt, or other morsel to happen by and turn into a meal. It would come as no surprise if someone were to luck into a state record flatty off of one of these rocks while trying to catch a snapper.

I’ve been tempted to get an SS Jig - or similar bucktail - and bounce one on the sand to try for one of these flounder. The only problem would be trying to get my offering past a hungry snapper.

But oh what a happy dilemma!

Tarpon Fight Dirty

Anyone who has ever hooked into a big silver king knows this to be a fact. But until I talked to Larry Dahlberg, host of Larry Dahlberg’s The Hunt for Big Fish, I had no idea how dirty.

One year at ICAST, I recounted to Dahlberg how Larry Haines, a Port Isabel fly shop owner, had almost been killed by heat stroke while fighting a record-class tarpon off the Boca Chica side of the Brazos Jetties. During the course of the eight hour battle, the fish had sounded to the bottom of the Brownsville Ship Channel and a slugfest ensued where Haines gained and lost again the same few short feet of line.

Dahlberg wasn’t surprised and explained what was happening: a big ‘poon will stick his nose in the mud and sand at the bottom of the pass with the current. When you gain line on the fish, all you are doing is turning the fish a bit. When you lose the same amount of line, the fish has turned back into the current and went right back to his nosedown position.

It is an exhausting fight and pretty much a stalemate until either a) your tackle fails or b) you find a way to drastically change the angle of pressure on the tarpon (which is exactly what Haines did, boarding a friend’s boat and managing some vertical pressure on the fish - it didn’t help, though, because the fight lasted another four hours before Haines collapsed).

Tarpon…they can be real jerks!

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Mullet Hurt Personal experience can be a harsh teacher. A bruised cheek and a mouthful of fish slime and scales underscored that for me one June morning. I was wading Community Bar in Port Mansfield and tossing a gold spoon to some very cooperative speckled trout and redfish. I saw some bait working near a crab trap buoy in deeper water and waded into near-chest deep water to make a few casts at the leaping bait. My shuffling must’ve startled a large mullet, because the next thing I knew, a 13-inch long silver missile launched directly in front of me. The problem was that the frightened fish leaped right at me.

The force of the one-pound slimy bullet pegging me right in the face stunned me and sent me staggering backwards (worse yet, I dropped my rod into the ultra-saline Lower Laguna Madre water). I am forever thankful for my Wiley-X sunglasses because they may have saved me from a worse injury than a puffy cheek. Undaunted, I recovered my rod and reel and kept fishing. And I even managed to catch a couple of trout from around that buoy.

But my cheek throbbed for days afterwards and I had to think of an excellent lie to tell my summer school colleagues. Why? Because I doubted they would have believed that I was assaulted by an industrial sized baitfish (or maybe I didn’t want to admit to it).

For the record: Mullet slime does NOT taste like chicken.

Email Calixto Gonzales at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Bacon-Loving Sharks, Wading with Gators, Devilish nilgai, and other Wierd Tales by chester moore “Strange things are done ‘neath the midnight sun.” Had the author of that line, Robert Service, lived in Texas, he might have penned similar words about fishing the bays. Robert Sanchez and party could provide inspiration.

Several years ago, the three waders entered the chilly waters of East Matagorda Bay for a wade. They were spread out 50 to 75-yards apart when a thick sea fog rolled in.

“We didn’t think much about it. It gets foggy a lot in the winter,” Sanchez recalled.

Nonchalance turned to worry when one

of his friends disappeared.

“I look back, and he’s just gone,” Sanchez said. “Then I look back to the other side and my other friend is gone too. The fog had swallowed them.”

Sanchez hollered for the two to come his direction, but they were disoriented and could not find their way out. Within five

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minutes, Sanchez, too, was enclosed in a thick shroud of fog. Worse yet, they had no idea where the boat was.

“We had wandered a good 100 yards from the boat and were out in a flat in the middle of the bay,” Sanchez recalled. “I hollered for everyone to stay put so they wouldn’t wander off and get hurt.”

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Gentle Giant

stalked by Gators Alligators are not such playful creatures.

Unexpected encounters in the bay put quite an edge on a wade-fishing experience, but finding oneself besieged by a whole host of saurians is nightmare stuff even Stephen King would be hard put to dream up.

In 1972, Bill Dearman of Houston was flounder gigging along a shoreline in East Galveston Bay. He had a bunch of flounder on the string and all was going well—or so he thought.

“I had hopped overboard when I reached this one particular area and was going to wade about 50 yards of shoreline,” Dearman recalled. “I had just about decided to turn back when I heard something behind me. I looked back and there were two huge

PHOTO: CANSTOCK

A more humorous - but still strange saltwater fishing story comes from my dad, Chester Moore, Sr. He and a friend were fishing the Intracoastal Canal near the Louisiana border back in the late 1960s. The fishing was slow and the two were getting bored—until, that is, something strange and very large

not exactly vicious, dangerous creatures.”

A correct assessment, for sure. My wife, Lisa, and I went snorkeling with manatees (a.k.a. “sea cows”) in Florida’s Crystal River back in 1998 and found them gentle, playful creatures.

MANATEES: not exactly vicious, dangerous creatures.

materialized next to them.

“This big animal came up that was nearly as long as our 12 foot aluminum boat,” Dad told me. “It came up right beside us and just sat there. It was so big and ugly we got scared, pulled anchor, and left.”

After reporting the sighting to a game warden, they became a little embarrassed.

Turned out the strange creature was a gentle manatee the warden had under observation.

Manatees rarely appear in Texas.

“He told us the manatee had been seen around that area and they were keeping an eye out for it to make sure poachers didn’t’ get it,” Dad said. “We didn’t know what a manatee was, but once he explained to us what they are, we turned a little red. They’re 48 |

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alligators following me. One of them had to be at least 10 feet long.

“I decided to calmly walk to the shoreline, but noticed there was another gator between me and the bank. Then the thing submerged and so did one of the other two. I figured nothing from nothing leaves nothing, so I went ahead and walked toward shore without incident—until I started pulling in my stringer. One of the gators grabbed it.

“I had some nice flounder on there and thought about playing tug of war, but I remembered I still had to get back to my boat and didn’t relish the idea of having to wade through hungry—and maybe angry— alligators to get to it. The gators ate well that night.”

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Jersey Devil Callers to my radio show are a rich source of strange stories about the outdoors.

One caller said his brother-in-law moved from New Jersey to Corpus Christi back in the late 1980s. His neighbor took him fishing down at Port Mansfield.

“This was his first time fishing in Texas and the neighbor dropped him off along this shoreline and told him to not wade out past PHOTO: CANSTOCK

Fortunately, they all listened, but not all was well. On a couple of occasions, they heard boats coming within what sounded like dangerous range.

“We could hear them running and we even felt the wake of one of them,” Sanchez told me. “We just knew they were going to run over one of us. It was a very tense time.”

The fog bank held for more than two hours and it seemed like days to the group.

“I can’t tell you how glad we were when that fog lifted,” Sanchez said with a suppressed shudder. “That was one frightening and strange experience.”

A NILGAI’S horns do have a certain “devilish” quality.

his waist,” the caller related. “He was going to park the boat a couple of hundred yards away and wade another spot. He was only a holler away.”

Nature called and he waded ashore to tend to business. He was doing his duty when rustling in the dry grass caught his attention. He turned around to see a six-foot tall animal with a long neck and devilishlooking horns.

“My brother-in-law is from New Jersey and they have this legend up there called the ‘Jersey Devil’ that’s this weird horse-looking creature with devil horns,” the caller said.

“He said he all he could think of when he saw this thing was the Jersey Devil had done followed him to Texas.”

The man ran from the brush down the shoreline toward his neighbor. By the time he got there, he was out of breath, had fallen down twice, and had left all his fishing tackle back with the Jersey Devil.

When he calmed down enough to explain what he had seen, his neighbor quickly told him he had seen a nilgai antelope, a native of India imported and stocked on many Texas ranches. They are common in the Port Mansfield area and are harmless as whitetails.

“He felt a little foolish, but still isn’t

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sure that wasn’t the Jersey Devil,” the caller concluded.

Shark Sausage

Another caller said he was fishing in San Antonio Bay when he saw a feral hog enter the water on one side of a cut and start swimming to the other side.

“This thing made it about halfway over when all hell broke loose,” the caller said.

“Something pulled that thing under and the water turned red. The hog came up and then got pulled back down again. I wasn’t close enough to see what it was, but it had to be either an alligator or a big shark.

“The pig was about 75 pounds the best I could tell, so whatever it was had to be large.

All I know is before I saw that, I wanted to wade-fish near there. Not anymore.”

Gar-Gantua Another caller said alligator gar routinely attack his stringer when he is wade-fishing Sabine Pass.

“You look over and there’s a big garfish chewing on your stringer. It’s a pretty frightening sight,” he said.

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ARE GARFISH more dangerous than sharks?

Gar may not seem like a danger, but there are historical reports of garfish attacking people in the southern United States.

The 7 May 1884 edition of the Arkansas Gazette reported: “While a boy named Perry was fishing in Shoal Creek, Logan County, a gar fish caught his right leg, which was hanging over the side of the boat in the water, and pulled him overboard. His companions rescued him, but not before the leg was terribly lacerated.”

The New Orleans Times-Picayune on Jan. 22, 1922 reported that gar are more dangerous than sharks, and claimed there were many instances of people killed by this

“vicious fish.”

Half of the strangeness in these stories involves remoteness and isolation. Whether trapped in a fog bank or harassed by three hungry alligators at night, humans do not like to feel detached from the “safe” world of television, air conditioning, and home alarm systems.

Most trips into Texas bays are routine, but sometimes strange things happen. And when they do, they shake up our sense of the “normal.” That’s always frightening—and later, a little bit of fun.

2/10/14 5:07 PM

and Other Beastly Boars

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IF THERE IS A DARK SIDE to hunting in the American South, it comes via wild hogs. No animal from Texas to Florida is more unpredictable, aggressive and, in some circumstances, downright evil.

Take, for example, the “Satan Hog”.

Back in the mid 1990s, I hunted hogs with dogs at Clarkrange Hunting Lodge in Clarkrange, Tenn.

The first morning of the hunt, we jumped up a nice reddish-colored boar with nasty tusks. I decided it was a shooter, so I found a good rest on a tree, squeezed the trigger on the .54 caliber Traditions muzzleloader, and out came the smoke.

All I could see was that something was running toward me and I assumed it was 175 pounds of tusks and rage, so I started up the tree.

Thankfully, it was just one of the dogs realizing the hog was dead and its work was done.

On the way back to the cabin, the dogs jumped up another hog to which the guide said, “I think it’s the Satan hog!”

Well, that got my attention.

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“Could you please explain to me what exactly is the Satan hog?” I asked.

“It’s this black boar that charges unprovoked and has killed several dogs. It almost got me once and we haven’t been able to kill it,” he said.

For some reason, I thought it might be a good idea to go photograph this hog if the dogs had it bayed up. Bad idea!

As soon as we arrived on the scene, this black hog, which was only around 150-pounds, ran straight at me, forcing me to seek refuge in a tree. I did notice it hooked as it ran by. As soon as the dogs got it again, I jumped back down and started shooting photos and got charged again. Just as I started to think this was a really bad idea, the hog took off and the dogs behind it but they soon returned.

They simply could not hold the beast.

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“Man, that Satan hog is something else,” I said to my guide.

“No, that wasn’t it. I’ve never seen that one before. The Satan hog is a whole lot meaner than that,” he said.

A few years back I put TF&G Bowhunting Editor Lou Marullo on a big hog in the Pineywoods of East Texas. I was in a ground blind filming just under his tripod stand and watched as his arrow went about halfway into the rib cage. I knew the hog would die but it might take awhile, so I called my Dad on the radio and he rode up from camp on a four-wheeler with his .357 Taurus.

Me being possible kin to a bloodhound as I have a natural knack for blood trailing took the gun because I would probably be the first to the wounded boar. Marullo clutched tightly his bow and Dad carried an axe handle. Marullo turned to Dad and asked what the ax handle was for.

“Better than a stick,” he said.

We soon found the hog with the arrow still in it, breathing heavily in a mud puddle.

Adams(??) chose to take it out with a bow, so he drew back, released the arrow and we

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heard a big “Smack!”

The arrow struck bone and the hog that seemed to be on death’s door, jumped and let out a deep, guttural grunt as my hunting party of three soon changed to one. I looked to my right and my Dad, who was 60 at the time, was about 20 yards back running the other direction. I looked to my left and Marullo was nowhere to be seen. He was gone!

So, there I was standing there like Dirty Harry with this huge hog facing me at 15 yards, just knowing it was about to head my direction when it fell to the ground. It took a four-wheeler and a lot of ingenuity to get that beast back to camp and a lot of talking to convince Marullo to hunt hogs with me again.

Hogs have flat out taken over the coastal marsh in just about every section of the Gulf Coast, and waders are encountering them more frequently than ever.

Donnie Warren of San Antonio was wading a stretch of marsh in the Aransas Bay complex when he found himself between a big sow and her piglets.

“I was getting ready to cross over this

little hump toward this pond, and as I was getting up from the water onto the land, here comes this huge blond-colored sow and about 10 piglets. I just stood still, hoping she would not see me, but as luck would have it, the wind was blowing right to her and she caught a whiff of me.”

“When she did, she ran out into the shallow water toward me about five steps, and I just stood still. I knew there would be no point in running. She just stood there grunting at me for a few seconds, and then turned around, joined her piglets, and walked away.

I have encountered plenty of sharks while wading, but never expected to be charged by a pig.”

Just the fact these animals have the potential to rip a person to shreds makes things interesting, but when you add in their intelligence, a propensity for dwelling in hostile environments, and the follies of human hunters, things can turn exciting fast.

2/6/14 2:58 PM

q Did you know Texas once had its own wolf? Canis lupus monstrablis (cool name, huh?) was once abundant in the northern, central and western parts of the state. For a gray wolf in the southern part of its range it was large, but unfortunately, was complete¬ly wiped out of the state due to govrernment predator control programs.

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Opposite: Erin Beard gets to meet a beautiful high content wolf/hybrid pup courtesy of educational outfit Wolf Tejas. Wolves undoubtedly prey on game animals and livestock, but they are a valuable part of the nature balance of things. It is interesting to ponder what the Texas landscape might be like with wolves. Would feral hogs be the problem they are now?

In Europe, wolves help keep their native Eurasian hogs in balance.

q

Opposite: The Mexican gray wolf is the smallest of the many subspecies of the Canis lupus and once roamed the western half of the state. They too were considered extinct in the wild but a captive breed¬ing program has produced releases in New Mexico.

Several unconfirmed reports exist of sightings in far West Texas.

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There was a time in Texas’ history, not so long ago in fact, that one could hear the lonely cry of wolves in the Hill Country, Panhandle, Trans Pecos and Pineywoods. The Lone Star State has a rich and almost never discussed history of wolves that includes some surprises and tragedies.

Photos: Mexican gray wolf, usfws; all others, chester moore

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The coyote is the dominant wild canid in Texas. Able to breed with wolves, it is highly adaptable and able to live in the innermost parts of cities like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio whereas wolves require much more open space.

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The red wolf was once native to the eastern half of Texas. Declared extinct in the wild in 1980 due to hybridizing with coyotes, several hundred animals were captured in southeast Texas and southwest Loui¬siana. Fourteen of these were “pure” red wolves and were made the basis of a captive breeding program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Red wolves have been released in the Carolinas and Tennessee. Today animals that look very much like pure red wolves still roam East Texas.

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Open Season

by Reavis Wortham | TF&G Humor Editor

Frenzy

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he 1950s vintage motor court was the perfect location for dozens of fly casters to gather in camaraderie and tie a few last creations before the Arkansas brown trout season opened at midnight.

Room 5 contained the largest number of fishermen on our side of the courtyard. It was an odd room with two full beds, two twin beds, and an assortment of tables. Strangers ran in and out without obvious need.

“I need a brown heron feather!” someone shouted in Room 5. Despite the frigid weather, each room arranged around the courtyard was open in some way to provide quick communication and to vent the fumes from the fly head cement and solvents used on flies.

Three undercover federal agents rushed into the room to identify the fisherman and see if he was in fact using feathers from an endangered bird.

From the roof vent of Room 6, I watched mysterious feather puffs shoot into the air through their open door and dissipate. I imagine the men in there suddenly began tying with chicken feathers.

Despite the frigid weather, I looked through our door at the forlorn playground equipment covered in a dusting of snow.

Dusk gave the courtyard a misty, vintage appearance.

The Hunting Club members behind me gathered around Youngster’s portable tying bench. “That looks like a sculpin fly with a clown nose,” Doc said.

Urgent whispering began between Youngster and Junior.

“I call it a Sculpin Clown,” Youngster announced.

A fisherman we didn’t recognize ran into our room, examined the new creation, and ran back out again. “Only three more hours until season opens!” he shouted at the occupants of Room 5. “Hey guys, I just shot a picture of this new guy’s fly with my cell

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phone. Let’s tie some.”

“So much for my mystery fly,” Youngster said.

“You stole it from Orvis,” Junior accused.

“Did not!” They tangled, snarling onto the floor in a flurry of scientific wrestling holds and vicious bites.

I looked around our trashed motel room.

Fly fuzz drifted in dust balls across the linoleum floor. The room was awash in discarded fly lines, ragged tippets, fishing rods, boxes of flies, tying tools, spilled drinks, open bags of chips, empty cans of beef stew heated on hot plates, socks, fishing vests, remote controls that worked nothing, spare eyeglasses, Hawaiian shirts, grapefruit rinds, and outdoor magazines.

Doc intently cemented a patch onto waders held together by older patches.

Woodrow disconsolately sat on the bed in his son’s too small thermals and pondered the heavy snow that had begun to fall. “Anyone bring spare woolies?”

Jerry Wayne was on his cell phone screaming a frustrated order for take-out chicken. “I said I want half a chicken!” He held the phone to his mostly deaf ear.

The tinny voice on the other end asked, “Once again, which side do you want?”

“I don’t give a flyin’ flip which side! Right or left, it doesn’t matter!”

“Might have mattered to the chicken,” Doc ventured.

“I think they’re asking what kind of side vegetable you’re wanting,” the Cap’n clarified. Jerry Wayne didn’t hear.

Wrong Willie examined a map of the river, trying to glean from the glossy paper where a big brown might be lurking.

“Fine! Fine! The left side, then!”

Running footsteps outside as someone hurried from room to room to borrow extra cold weather gear. Someone slipped on the ice, falls and a bloody head wound ensued.

Paramedics arrive.

Events accelerate.

Heavier snow outside.

On the crowded table in Room 5, a cigar rolls off an ashtray, contacting flammable cement spilled in a pool of hackles. Things F i s h

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get exciting.

Spark, smoke, fire.

Minor explosion.

People running.

Alarms.

Firemen with axes soon chopped indiscriminately at any motel door.

I sensed something was wrong Smoke inhalation.

EMS responders administered oxygen to elderly fly fishermen. Two hopeful collegeage fishermen lined up politely for a hit of pure oxygen.

Inside, fly rods burst into flame.

Men save waders with sentimental value.

Coolers slide across the icy parking lot.

Die-hards tie frantically before the fire spreads.

Fly boxes brought new meaning to the term as frenzied fishermen heaved them through open doors in an effort to save the contents that might be successful on the river.

Someone shouted the time.

Stampede.

Truck engines roared to life.

Trucks spin out as midnight draws nearer.

Crisis forgotten.

Game wardens balanced sideways on the teeter-totter jotted down notes to check on those later who might not have fishing licenses.

Traffic at the exit jolted to a stop like mice on sticky traps.

Bumpers and fenders crumpled.

Men jumped up and down to unlock bumpers welded together by the impact.

Unscathed vehicles engage four-wheel drive and escaped through the courtyard’s center, scattering game wardens.

Fishermen arrived at the river, looking for best spots on the crowded watercourse.

The heavily insured motel burns to the ground while on the water, at the stroke of midnight, in a heavy snow, the fishing frenzy begins.

Email Reavis Wortham at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Digital Edition

Fundamentals of

Largemouth

Habitat

PHOTO: JACK BISSELL

BY DOUG PIKE

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON TERMS IN BASS FISHING, “structure,” is also among the most misused. By strict definition among those who first used the word, structure refers to changes on the bottom of a water body. Various and sundry things encountered along those structures are more correctly called “breaks.”

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TF&G Almanac Table of Contents GEARING UP SECTION

68 70 73

TEXAS TESTED • Penn, Husky Liners | BY TFG STAFF FISH AND GAME GEAR• Hot New Outdoor Gear | BY TFG STAFF INDUSTRY INSIDER • In-Water Boat Show | BY TFG STAFF

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COVER STORY • Fundamentals of Largemouth Habitat |

BY DOUG PIKE

HOW-TO SECTION

60 64 65 66

TEXAS BOATING • Spring Fling |

BY LENNY RUDOW

TEXAS KAYAKING • Trolling in a Kayak | BY GREG BERLOCHER PAUL’S TIPS • Worm Jigging | BY PAUL BRADSHAW

TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Necessary Gadgets | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: UPPER COAST • Finfish for Big Fish | BY CAPT. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: GALVESTON • March to the Beat of Drum | BY CAPT. MIKE HOLMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: MATAGORDA • Warming Water | BY MIKE

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TF&G PHOTOS • Your Action Photos | BY TFG READERS

PRICE

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: UPPER MID COAST • Speckled Spring | BY CAPT. CHRIS MARTIN

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• Productive Play | BY CAPT. MAC

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: LOWER COAST • March to the Beach | BY

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: ROCKPORT

GABLE

www.FishGame.com

CALIXTO GONZALES

F I S H

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Home is always going to be deep.

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OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

BY TFG STAFF

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BY BRYAN SLAVEN

Home is always going to be deep, too, relative to the water body, because that’s where bass go to insulate themselves from bright light and temperature extremes. It may be a hole, a creek channel, or the base of an old tank dam, but the water in which concentrations of bass spend the majority of their time almost without exception will be deep.

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SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides & Prime Times | BY TFG

BY ROD BOUFFARD

For a simple example, imagine a construction site. The foundation was poured Wednesday while the foreman was out sick and has dried with all sorts of undulations and cracks and ridges and holes in it. Those things make up the structure of the slab.

Feeling better, the boss rolls up bright and early on Thursday. He’s pretty ticked by what he sees and, in a huff, throws a trash can, a couple of hardhats, and some old lumber onto the contorted slab. To a bass fisherman, those things would be breaks in the structure. They would also be good reasons why that concrete-pouring fisherman wouldn’t be going fishing that day. In other words, the humps, channels, points, and riprap on and around a lake floor are structures. Stumps, grass beds, and boat docks are breaks.

Bass relate to structure like you and I relate to highways and city streets. Creatures of habit, largemouths (and their closer cousins) follow predictable routes along lake structures as they go about daily movements between deep-water sanctuary and shallower feeding areas. The places likely to hold fish most consistently are those that provide safe, comfortable routes between the largemouth’s equivalents of home and a favorite restaurant.

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TEXAS HOTSPOTS • Texas’ Hottest Fishing Spots | BY TFG STAFF

TALES • Armed 98 SPORTING Seniors | 100 TEXAS TASTED • Duck Gumbo | CLASSIFIED 101 OUTDOOR DIRECTORY • Guides, Gear and More |

FISHING FORECAST SECTION

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While they are down and content, incidentally, it can be extremely difficult to make bass eat lures. Patient hands in control of a jigging spoon, crankbait, or Carolina-rigged worm might coax the occasional strike, but if those deep fish are the only fish you can find and your life depends on catching a bass, you might want to spring for a dozen fat shiners.

When feeding time comes, bass gener&

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ally leave the holding zone and follow a predictable route along the structure toward shallower water, where most of what they eat lives. They may pause along the way, too, much as you and I might stop on a long trip for a snack or just to rest. Stops typically are alongside or over some sort of break in the structure, such as a submerged stump or grass bed, or some other “thing” to which they can relate and possibly set up an ambush of inattentive prey. Even when they are chasing shad in open water, schools of largemouths usually relate to some sort of bottom anomaly, such as a stand of submerged timber.

Bass are somewhat susceptible at these halfway points, but the majority of their activity--and the best fishing--takes place in prime feeding areas.

The short list of good largemouth attractants includes most types of aquatic vegetation, boat docks, riprap, points, humps, tank dams, timber, road beds, brush piles, and just about any other “thing” that disrupts the lake floor around them. What we can see above the surface represents only a small fraction of what is available to and used by the fish as a reference point for feeding or CONTINUED ON PAGE 60

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Texas Boating

by Lenny Rudow | TF&G Boating Editor

Spring Fling

Ensure your season starts off right by running through this spring season prelaunch check-list.

I. Outboard Engines

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OU DON’T MAKE A ROAD TRIP WITHout first checking out your truck, you don’t go hunting unless you’ve carefully scouted the site, and you don’t run the mower until you’ve first checked the oil. So why do so many boaters yank off the cover at the first hint of spring and expect their boat to be ready for action? I don’t have a clue—maybe it’s spring fever, maybe it’s a lack of spare time, or maybe it’s just a lack of foresight. But for some reason, far too many people launch their boats every spring without first going through a preseason check-up. The result is often a nonstarter at the boat ramp (denied!), getting stranded on the water (help!), or something even worse (yes, you deserved it!)

A. VISUALLY INSPECT the ffluid levels, all linkages and throttle or steering connections, hoses and hose connections, and the battery.

B. HOOK YOUR ENGINE to a water supply and start it up. Once it’s run for a minute or two, check the tell-tale to make sure the cooling system is pushing plenty of water. Remember that large four-strokes have a lot of passages in the power-head and it may take a full two or three minutes before water starts flowing out of the tell-tale.

C. AFTER SHUTTING DOWN the engine, check the fuel-water separator. If water is evident, dose the fuel with a watereating additive. Then drain the separator

and any internal fuel filter(s).

D. IF YOU FOGGED your engine for winter storage, now’s the time to clean or change the plugs as necessary. Note – never do this before that initial start or the remnants of the fogging fluid will junk the plugs right back up and you’ll have to clean them a second time.

E. YOU SHOULD HAVE changed the oil and/or lower unit oil prior to winter storage (always a good move so you know there’s no water sitting in the lower unit over the winter), but if you didn’t, take care of that job right now.

F. HIT ALL THE grease fittings in the steering and tilt systems. As you do so, watch for the old grease to be forced out and look for water at the first ooze. If you see any, keep an eye on that part of the system as it may become a trouble-point down the road.

COVER STORY: Fundamentals of Largemouth Habitat  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58 shelter.

I recall reading results years ago of a test conducted at a commercial fish farm where largemouth bass were sold and transported to private ponds around the state. One afternoon, after watching a group of several dozen bass swim aimlessly around a lightcolored concrete holding tank, somebody laid a foot-wide strip of black tarp across the tank bottom. Within minutes, nearly every bass in that tank settled over the strip of plastic and calmly held their positions almost indefinitely.

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to-day (one of them, anyway) is determining which cover among dozens in any lake is preferred under a given set of weather and water circumstances.

Solving that riddle takes time and experience, but it is a lot more fun learning how to catch bass than it is learning to hit a golf ball.

No matter how much I practice golf, and no matter where I play, the odds against me ever breaking par over 18 holes on a championship course are astronomically high. Every time I go up against the bass in a quality Texas lake, however, Excerpt from Doug there is a reasonable chance Pike’s book, “Freshwathat a well-placed cast might ter Strategies.” Availtempt an enormous fish to eat able at Academy Sports my lure. From a sporting per+ Outdoors and other outdoors spective, bass fishing is a game retailers, or online at that anyone can learn and win.

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FishandGameGear.com.

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Texas Boating G. PULL THE PROP, and visually inspect the following: the hub for deterioration; the shaft for fishing line or other foreign objects; and the blades for any nicks or dings which may be significant enough to affect performance.

II. Water Systems

the barbs to make sure they’re all in good shape and firmly attached.

A. IF YOUR BOAT has a raw-water washdown, it’s almost certainly self-priming.

But check the seacock to make sure it’s open and inspect hose connections and clamps at

B. IF YOUR BOAT has an onboard freshwater system and you live in an area where freeze damage is an issue, you should have flushed the system with anti-freeze.

Now’s the time to flush it clean again. As you do so, make sure to open all outlets starting with the one closest to the tank and working away from it. That’ll ensure no anti-freeze gets trapped in any of the lines.

C. TEST ALL SPRAY nozzles and hose handles. It’s common for these to trap a bit of water and become damaged over the winter, so you should make sure all are in working order before you depend on them.

III. Electrical Systems A. TURN EVERYTHING ON, then off again. If any items don’t work you’ll have to trace down the issue. Expect to find a few bad connections, shorts, or fuses/bulbs in need of replacement – on all but the newest boats, electrical snafus are pretty darn common.

B. VISUALLY INSPECT ALL the connections you can in every inch of the boat. If you find any exposed connections in moist areas—the bilge, inside compartments that gather condensation, etc. —seal them up with a heat-shrink connector or a dab of liquid electric tape. If you spot them in any other areas, give them a spritz of corrosion inhibitor (like CorrosionX or Boeshield T-9) at the very least.

C. NOW HITCH YOUR tow vehicle up to the trailer and run through the same systems-check. Yeah, we all know how often trailer lights fail to work, so let’s identify the issues right now before hitting the road.

Also check the trailer’s brake system, hitch, and winch/winch strap or chain, for wear.

IV. The hull and Structural Areas A. FOR THE HULL itself, a visual inspection for chinks, gouges, and deep 62 |

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chips is in order. If you find any place where the raw fiberglass has been exposed, seal it off. Resin will do the trick for small spots, but if there’s any extreme damage, take the boat to a pro—this is the hull we’re talking about, folks.

B. CHECK THE TRANSOM for stress cracking. Hairlines are to be expected on boats more than a few years old, but if you see any cracks you could fit the edge of a dime into, your boat needs to go to a pro for assessment and in all probability, significant repairs.

C. LOOK AT AREAS where and bulkheads meet the hull and deck. Again, hairline cracks are probably going to be evident, but anything larger needs serious attention.

V. Everything Else: Canvass, Cushions, Railings, Windscreens, and More A. BASICALLY, GIVE ALL the other parts of your boat a once-over. This is also a great time to treat all of the parts of your boat to a little rejuvenation - i.e. when you check the canvas, spray it with a waterproofer; when you look at the vinyl, hit them with Armor-All; and so on.

After you’ve done all of the above, take your boat out for a final shake-down cruise.

This doesn’t mean “plan your first fishing trip,” instead it means dedicating a few hours to launching, running, and retrieving the boat to make sure everything is working at 100-percent. As those of you who have owned boats for a few years can surely attest to, few winters will go by without something on the boat breaking, deteriorating, or otherwise failing. The shake-down cruise is your opportunity to figure out what that something is so you will have the chance to fix it before you really need it.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

Get more boating tips in LENNY RUDOW’s Texas Boating Blog at www.Fishgame.com/blogs

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Texas Kayaking

Trolling in a Kayak Y HULL SLID SILENTLY ACROSS the dappled water, slowing slightly between strokes. The spring afternoon was pleasant and the warm sunshine felt good on my back. The cold front four days prior had blown itself out. The wind was now negligible and the water clarity was good.

The cold front hadn’t stolen all of the water from the flat and there was still a foot left to paddle in. My destination was a large sand pocket and I was still several hundred yards away when I spooked a small pod of redfish. Pausing for a moment, I pondered whether to hop out to pursue the spooked fish. No, I reasoned, it would be better to push on.

A minute or so later, I paddled up on another school, only larger. Had I been paying attention, I would have seen the reds milling about before they bolted in a panicked rush. Another opportunity lost.

The sand pocket yielded a few small trout, but the action was quickly over. I kept dwelling on the redfish I had seen earlier and set off to find them again. An hour later, I was tired and frustrated.

That’s when it dawned on me that I probably could have hooked several of those fish had I been dragging a lure behind me.

The terms “kayak” and “trolling” haven’t been used much together, but I discovered then and there that they are not mutually exclusive.

“Spoons are by far the most popular lure trolled behind a kayak,” explained Rueben Garza, the resident kayakmeister at Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston. “I have a lot of friends that troll when they are paddling.”

When you think about it, trolling a lure behind a kayak makes a lot of sense.

Paddlers average about 3 miles per hour-just the right speed to impart a lively wiggle to an inanimate plug. Most wade-fishermen I know fish all the way out and all the way in. Why shouldn’t kayakers adopt the same strategy?

“You don’t even have to paddle to fish a spoon behind a kayak,” Garza added. “A spoon will flutter in the water behind you if you are drift-fishing. Of course, you need a little deeper water for this, say 2-1/2 to 5 feet. My friends like 1/4-ounce Sprites or Silver Minnows. They fish with one rod and troll a spoon behind their kayak on another as they drift.”

As we talked about the possibilities of trolling to and from fishing spots, Garza rattled off a few more trolling techniques that friends have shown him: “I primarily fish in skinny water (where) it is too shallow to troll a spoon. Weedless soft plastic baits can be pulled through thick seagrass, however, without snagging. Inline spinner baits are also great for trolling - redfish really hammer them.”

Although Garza and I didn’t talk about it, I thought of a few more possibilities after we hung up. Pulling a broken-back behind your kayak would surely elicit a few strikes.

The same with shallow running crankbaits.

Garza did note in our conversation that pinning a small section of Fishbites to the lure you are trolling leaves a scent trail behind that the fish key in on.

Keep in mind that trolling behind a kayak is as effective in freshwater as it is in the salt. Towing a lipless crankbait, such as a Rat-L-Trap, is a great way to prospect along the riprap faces of dams or along creek channels. Large swimming baits, such as a Storm Wild Eye, are tempting targets when towed at the right speed.

White bass are suckers for small spinners and jigs. Tethering a jig trailer to a Little George or slab spoon allows light tackle fishermen to troll a lure through the depths without the hassle of a downrigger. In coves and hydrilla-lined channels, the seductive

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by Greg Berlocher | TF&G Kayaking Editor

side-to-side wobble of a towed Jitterbug can drive largemouth bass nuts.

Don’t forget that the placement of your rod holder is important if you intend to troll in deeper water. An awkward, twisting stab for a bent rod holstered behind the cockpit is likely to leave you swimming instead of fishing. It is much safer to mount rod holders on the side of your cockpit rather than aft.

The next time you paddle down a long shoreline on your way to your favorite fishing hole, consider the fish you might be paddling over. Give trolling a try and you might be surprised by the results.

Greg Berlocher can be reached for question or comment at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

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Paul’s Tips

Worm Jigging for a Reaction Bite

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PERIODS OF THE YEAR FOR TEXAS outdoorsmen: Bird hunters celebrate another season with a million-gun salute on September 1. Deer hunters flock to the woods, mesquite flats, and rolling hills so they can sleep in their box blinds on the first Saturday in November. And bass anglers have the entire month of March to sight-fish for a bucketmouth (no, I’m not talking about your mother-in-law) that will weigh in the double digits.

When most anglers think about early spring sight-fishing, the first image

that pops up is bass on beds. While that is an effective method for a limited time of the year, let’s focus on a technique that can work anytime bass are shallow and cruising for a meal. This technique requires a good pair of polarized glasses, the patience of Job, and a bait rarely utilized.

The bait is actually a combination of two of the most popular artificials ever used by bass fishermen--the jig and plastic worm.

Jigs are used every day around brush and standing timber, or to punch holes in matted vegetation, but those are bulky baits designed to move a lot of water and sit in front of a bass so long that it hits it out of irritation. The jigs used in this technique are T F & G

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small, lightweight, unpainted basic pieces of lead with a weedless hook. Head shape is not crucial, but I prefer to use either a round or darter head that will move through vegetation easily. As with most worm applications, you want to use the lightest weight possible, so don’t use a jighead larger than 1/4 ounce; 1/8 and even 1/16 weights work even better.

The worm half of this bait should be something thin with a long tail that flutters and makes a lot of movement as it is pulled through the water. You want something with considerable action, but a muted natural color - watermelon, pumpkin, and motor oil - is preferred. Rigging the worm on the jig is very basic. Just push the hook through

the nose of the bait, run it a few inches down the length of the body, and push it back out so that the worm lies flat. With too much of the worm body on the bend of the hook, it will cause the lure to spin instead of swim straight.

As far as fishing technique, we are going to steal a page from saltwater anglers who regularly sight-fish for redfish, tarpon, and bonefish. With the proliferation of hydrilla and other vegetation on lakes throughout the state, bass have adapted their feeding habits to match the new cover. Instead of settling in under a log waiting to ambush an unsuspecting minnow or crawfish, many cruise over the top of or beside weed beds looking for a meal just as their salty cousins do. Although not all cruising fish are in a A L M A N A C

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biting mood, most of them can be enticed into a reaction strike.

When a cruising fish is spotted, cast the jig/worm combination in front of the fish along the path you anticipate it will take.

The trick is to cast it far enough ahead that it doesn’t spook the fish, but not so far ahead that the bass will have time to drastically change its course and miss it altogether.

And remember, you want the lightweight jig to settle on top of the grass and not bury down in it.

The next step is where patience comes in. As the bass swims toward the bait, resist the urge to wiggle, jiggle, bounce, hop, or move the bait in any manner until the fish’s nose is right on top of it. Then give it a sharp jerk, pulling it right in front of the bass. The sudden sight of prey trying to get the heck out of Dodge will be too much for the bass to resist, and it will strike even if it isn’t hungry.

Think about it this way: If you are quail

ILLISTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

by Paul Bradshaw | TF&G Contributing Editor

hunting and the dog goes on point, you have time to get in position, jump the birds, and let them get to a respectable distance before pulling the trigger. If the dog never points and you have a bird jump out of the clump of grass at your feet, the natural reaction is to shoulder the gun and hit the bird with a load of lead at roughly 10 yards. The same thing happens with the fish. The sudden, close movement will cause a reaction strike when a slowmoving bait would likely go ignored. When the bait is hit, be ready to quickly reel up the slack and set the hook hard before the fish has time to figure out it has been duped.

Email Paul Bradshaw at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

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Texas Guns

by Steve LaMascus | TF&G Shooting Editor PHOTOS: SURVIVAL STRAPS; CANSTOCK

Necessary Gadgets

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’M NOT A GADGET GUY. I GENERALLY believe that all you need to go hunting or fishing is a gun or rod, bullets or bait, and a knife to clean what you shoot or catch. However, there are certain “gadgets” that are supremely useful, especially in the case of unforeseen events.

Here are a few that I think are worthwhile: One of the most important items that a sportsman can own is a good flashlight.

I do not mean one of the $1.99 specials, but a really good flashlight. There are a lot of good lights out there nowadays, but those that I have found best suited for my uses are fewer. First is almost any flashlight made by Surefire. These little lights provide light far beyond their diminutive size. One of their little single-cell lights will provide a beam that is bright enough to shoot by up to a hundred yards or so, this from a flashlight that is about the size of a package of Lifesavers. Their big lights are as bright as one of my old spotlights and about the size of the rechargeable flashlight I carried for years with the Border Patrol. Also handy are headlamps, especially those that offer a red light as part of the package. A red light can be used in a blind before daylight and will not ruin your night vision or scare away the game. Surefire offers a light that can provide red light, blue light, and a bright white light by simply turning the head. I also use a light by Browning called the “High Noon” that is shaped like a handgun. It uses standard C-cell flashlight batteries rather than the more expensive 123A batteries used by many of the other high-powered lights. It will throw a beam to a remarkable distance and

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 Survival Strap

has three settings – high, low, and strobe.

Another handy gadget is the Survival Strap (www.survivalstraps.com). This is a bracelet made of very strong parachute cord. It is worn just like any other bracelet, comes in various colors, and has a U-bolt device for fastening it about the wrist. If in an emergency a strong cord is needed, the bracelet is simply unraveled and used.

The U-bolt can be used as a fastener. I wear one of these anytime I am out hunting, fishing or camping. Along with a couple of space blankets, the cord can be used to erect a comfortable shelter if you are somehow forced to spend a night in the woods. They are as handy as handles on a

 Backup for your GPS unit.

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football and the uses of these straps are practically unlimited. This last summer my family and I took an extended trip across the western United States. I gave a Survival Strap to everyone, just in case. You might wear it ten years and not need it, but if you ever do need it, you will need it very badly.

Compasses are a thing of the past for most people. But I always carry one when I am in strange country.

I may also have a GPS unit, but I am never without my old-fashioned compass.

Why? Because even on a cloudy day when the GPS has gone on the blink, I can find my way back to camp or to the nearest road. Modern GPS units should, I suppose, be included in this list of gadgets. They are wonderful devices that

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will allow you to find your way into a handful of tinaround in the strangest of country. der and dry However, they are electronic and grass, these are prone to all the maladies sparks that electronic devices can have quickly - dead batteries, loose connecmake fire. tions, getting wet, and many I carry both more such problems. A comwhen I am out pass, on the other hand, is in the boonies. I pretty much impervious to have been in need such things. For 30 years of such things in the I have carried a pocket past when I didn’t compass when out in the have anything. That wild. When in the Border will not happen Patrol, a compass kept again - I don’t intend me from being lost to freeze to death. several times and that Last on my list applies even more when of needful stuff is a I was away on hunting signal mirror. Trying  trips to such places as to get someone’s The Old Faithful of Colorado or Wyoming. attention at a half-mile fire starters.

With a good USGS map against the wind when and a good compass (note the you can’t stand up - or tag word “good”), there is never a need to even when you can - simply by waving your be lost. Truth is, a compass has saved me arms is difficult. But with a signal mirror several times from spending a cold night in it is a cinch. A signal mirror is made so the woods. I carry a pocket model rather than the larger and heavier military lensatic type, but either works for the purpose. FYI, I taught my daughters to read a compass before they ever reached their teens.

Fire starters are another necessity for the outdoorsman. I carry a Zippo Lighter everywhere I go when I am away from home on hunting or fishing trips. It has come in very handy a couple of times. I do not carry propane lighters because they are very unpredictable and can and have failed me at inopportune times. Also, in very cold temperatures and very high altitudes they just don’t work, thus the old-fashioned, fluidand-wick Zippo. However, even a Zippo can break. So when you are really in the wild blue, you should have an alternate way to make fire. One of the best is a flint-and-steel kit like those carried by the mountain men of the early 1800s. The entire kit, including flint, steel, char cloth, tinder, and a small magnifying glass, will fit into a small metal or plastic box no bigger than your hand and weighing but a few ounces. A little practice will allow you to start a fire quickly and in very adverse conditions. There are also firemaking devices that consist of a magnesium rod and a steel scraper. When the scraper is rasped along the magnesium rod, the result is a shower of hot sparks. When sprayed T F & G

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that there is a hole in the middle. Looking through the hole from the back side and moving the mirror around will show you a bright dot. That is the sun, or rather that is the reflection of the sun. Just put the bright spot on who or what you want to signal and bingo, you have their attention. I carried such a mirror when I was sign-cutting (tracking). If I needed to get the attention of one of our airplanes (or other agents in vehicles when I was afoot), I put the dot on the plane and told him to look to his left front or wherever. I have signaled airplanes from as far away as 5 miles with no trouble. A signal mirror can truly be a lifesaver.

All the devices I have mentioned here won’t weigh 3 pounds and will fit into a very small fanny pack. If I am going to be away from civilization, I never leave home without them.

Now, where have I heard that before?

Email Steve LaMascus at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

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New Penn Squall Sets the Bar for Trolling Reels WHEN IT COMES TO TROLLING REELS, YOU need a workhorse. Something that can be used for years on end, take constant saltwater abuse, and provide reliability as you let out the lines, bring them in, let them out again, and hopefully, fight a fish or two in-between.

Enter the Squall, a new line from Penn which is designed to be the choice of anglers searching for an over-built trolling machine.

You’ve probably used a Penn GT level-winder in the past, and if so, the Squall should seem fairly familiar.

It’s an updated design and it replaces the GT. So as you’d expect, the Squall is also a level-winder, which simply means you can hand it to a novice with-

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out worrying about line balling up on one part of the reel and you never have to worry about moving the line with your thumb. Trollers will find the spool design containing an interesting perk - it has rings that divide the spool’s capacity into thirds. This will

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allow you to know how much line capacity you have left when setting the spread or while fighting a drag-peeling monster fish. When the first ring becomes exposed you know a third of your line is out, when the second ring is exposed you know two-thirds is out, and so on.

The Squall is constructed with a graphite frame and side plates, a forged machined aluminum spool, a bronze alloy main gear, a stainless steel pinion gear, and Penn’s HT-100 carbon fiber drag washers. Models range from the 15-pound class (which holds 320 yards of 15-pound monofilament or 435 yards of 30-pound braid), to the 50-pound class (which holds 320 yards of 50-pound monofilament or 665 yards of 100-pound braid).

The 20-pound class can be had with a line-counter, and 20- and 30-pound class reels are available for lefties. Models in the 15- and 20-pound class can put out 15-pounds of drag, and larger models can put out 20-pounds of drag; all are set with a standard star drag. All of the models also feature an instant anti-reverse and have bearings on either end of the spindle. Their gear ratios are about as you’d expect for a reel of this type, at 4.9:1 for all models except the 50-class, which is 4.0:1.

So, will the Squall deliver as promised?

These reels feel well-built and sturdy inhand, and the new instant anti-reverse (the old GT had a dog-and-ratchet type) eliminates a lot of those metal-on-metal clunks you used to feel during use. Since the guts of the reel (the bronze alloy main gear and stainless pinion) haven’t changed from the

PHOTO: PENN REELS

Texas Tested

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PHOTO: HUSKY LINERS

GT design, you can expect these new versions to hold up every bit as well over the long haul. Here’s the best part, though: even with the upgrades, the Squall’s price is still kept within reason. The 15 starts at $119 and ranges up to just $149 for the 50. For more information, check out pennreels.com.

—Lenny Rudow

that hold the liners in place. And the heavy rubber material is as rugged as you’ll find in any after-market floor protectors. In fact, Husky warranties them for the life of the vehicle they’re installed in. (Though the warranty does specifically state that if your dog chews them up, they aren’t covered.

Better put a rawhide back there, too).

easier—this is one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve gotten in years. And while I won’t mention this to my wife, I was also a bit surprised at how reasonable the cost was (sorry, honey, I had to look it up for the article!) at $100 a set.

For more information or to find out if Husky makes a set for your specific truck, huskyliners.com visit huskyliners.com.

Husky X-act Contour floor liner

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Husky Protects Pickup Floors

Now, after a day of hunting with the dog, I can just remove the liner, hose it off, and have a clean truck once again. It takes all of 30 seconds and makes life a lot

—Lenny Rudow

I TRAINED MY RETRIEVER TO SLOG THE marsh and get my ducks, but it was impossible to train him to wash himself off afterwards. You know where that leads—to a muddy back seat in the truck. So I trained him to stay off the seat and lie on the floor.

That was better, but it still made for a messy vehicle. The solution? For Christmas, my wife got me a set of Husky X-act Contour floor liners. Sweet!

I was surprised to discover that these were available in the first place. My Tundra is several years old and it’s a crew cab. The X-act Contours, meanwhile, are custom-fit to exact makes and models. In fact, Husky uses laser scanning to make each one fit a particular model exactly, for both the front and back of the vehicle.

They’ve done the legwork to offer quite a comprehensive range of liners for a huge number of makes and models.

Once in place (which is just a matter of sitting them on the floor properly oriented; there’s no mounting necessary) they looked like they were straight from the factory.

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Fish and Game Gear

CRBB) plus roller bearing • Zaion swept star drag All Tatula Reels Feature: • New T-Wing system • Rugged, lightweight aluminum frame and side plate(gear side)

NEW TATULA REELS ARE ENGINEERED TO offer the durability and performance required for professional-level fishing. Precision of the reel is quickly felt with a simple spin of the handle - - super smooth and vibration free, it’s what Daiwa calls “Air Rotation.” It’s what happens when you take Japanese precision gear design and house it in a rocksolid one-piece aluminum frame.

For all-out casting performance, Tatula’s level-wind is unlike anything you’ve seen before, a hybrid design with the durability of a standard levelDaiwa wind and the casting performance of Tatula Daiwa’s T-Wing casting aperture.

Type-R Punch the clutch and again there’s that unmistakable crisp feel of precision as the rotating guide toggles into place. Make a cast and the smooth, easy outflow of line lets you feel the difference right away.

Tatula not only offers many of Daiwa’s most advanced features, they also represent an exceptional value with ultra-fine tuned Type-R models retailing for $199.95 while standard models retail for just $149.95.

Tatula Type-R Special Features: • Super lightweight A7075 aluDaiwa minum spool Tatula • Hyper Speed 8.1 or all-around 6.3:1 gear ratios • 7 ball bearings (incl. 2 70 |

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• Air Rotation • UT Drag (MAX 13.2-lb.)

• Magforce-Z cast control • 5.4:1, 6.3:1 and 7.3:1 gear ratios • 7 ball bearings plus roller bearing • Infinite anti-reverse • Corrosion resistant clutch mechanism For Daiwa’s latest color catalog and/ or information on Daiwa dealers in your area, call Daiwa’s Customer Service Department at 562-375-6800 or e-mail info@daiwa.com.

Also, visit www.daiwa.com.

Streamlight Debuts First High Lumen Headlamp STREAMLIGHT’S NEW PROTAC HL HEADlamp features an aluminum body and delivers 540 lumens.

“The ProTac HL Headlamp uses the latest in high lumen technology to provide maximum illumination of an immediate area, such as an emergency or crime scene, a campsite, plant floor, vehicle engine, or other areas that a user needs to flood with light,” said Streamlight Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Michael F. Dineen. “The headlamp also provides the convenience of hands-free operation and features a sturdy, lightweight body that is extremely comfortable to wear.”

Featuring Streamlight’s TEN-TAP programming, the ProTac HL Headlamp enables users to select among three programs to suit their preference or operating needs: high/medium/low (the factory default setting); high only; or low/medium/ high. In addition to its high lumen light output, the ProTac HL Headlamp provides 7,400 candela peak beam intensity and a run time of one hour and 45 minutes

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PHOTOS: DAIWA

Daiwa Tatula: a New Species of Baitcaster

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PHOTO: STREAMLIGHT

on the high setting. On medium, the light provides 95 lumens and eight hours of run time, and on low, it delivers 36 hours of run time and 18

call 800-523-7488 or visit www.streamlight.com.

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lumens. It uses two three-volt CR123A lithium batteries.

The ProTac HL Headlamp features a C4 LED that is impervious to shock with a 50,000 hour lifetime. The headlamp’s casing is fabricated from 6000 series machined aircraft aluminum with an anodized finish and the light includes a convenient multi-function, push-button switch.

This switch provides easy, one-handed operation of the headlamp’s momentary or variable intensity modes.

The new headlight features an IPX4 rated design for water-resistant operation and is impact-resistance tested to one meter. Available in black, the ProTac HL Headlamp has an MSRP of $99.00 and includes Streamlight’s Limited Lifetime Warranty.

For additional information,

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Streamlight Pro Tac Headlamp

Redfield’s New Reflex Sight is Lightning Fast, Lightweight THE REDFIELD ACCELERATOR REFLEX SIGHT delivers an immediate, crisp sight picture, no matter the firearm. Rugged, lightweight aluminum keeps bulk down, but performance high.

From handguns to rifles to shotguns, the Accelerator provides

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Redfield’s Accelerator has four illumination settings.

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four illumination settings to meet any lighting condition, while an automatic shut-off feature helps preserve battery life. The Mangin lens delivers an extremely wide field of view and superior image quality, which are critical in picking up or transitioning between targets.

Unlimited eye relief and 80 minutes of angle (MOA) for windage and elevation adjustment makes the Accelerator the perfect fit for any firearm, from .22 LR handguns to 12-gauge shotguns to .458 SOCOM AR rifles. The Accelerator is compatible with today’s most popular red dot sight mounts (sold separately), so options are endless.

For handgun competitors, the Accelerator delivers a fast sight picture with a crisp 6-MOA dot. Rifle shooters will appreciate the lightweight, low-profile Accelerator as a primary red dot sight or as a secondary 1X companion to a magnified optic. Shotgunners will enjoy the Accelerator’s wide field of view when tracking a clay or bird with both eyes open.

The Accelerator comes with a crossslot mount, compatible with Picatinny or Weaver-style rails or mounts, a mount adapter plate, a CR2032 battery, and a protective cover.

• Weight – 1 ounce • Height – 0.98 inches • Length – 1.92 inches • Width – 1.15 inches Completely shockproof and waterproof, the Accelerator is covered by Redfield’s electronics warranty.

Visit www.redfield.com or call 877798-9686. Visit Redfield on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RedfieldHunting.

Acquired by Leupold & Stevens, Inc. in 2008, Redfield is now a brand of the Oregon-based company. The Redfield line includes Revolution, Revenge and Battlezone riflescopes; CounterStrike Tactical Red Dot sight; Accelerator reflex sight; Rebel and Battlefield roof prism and Renegade Porro prism binoculars; Rampage spotting scope kits; and Raider rangefinders. The Redfield Gun Sight Company was founded in 1909 by John Hill Redfield. Over the years, Redfield became one of the leading American manufacturers of sports optics, known for the performance, ruggedness and reliability of its products. The new Redfield line upholds that tradition and is sold worldG A M E ®

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Fish and Game Gear wide to hunters, shooters, wildlife observers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Leupold Launches Next-Generation DeltaPoint 2 Red Dot Sight WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE DELTAPoint, Leupold set the standard for red dot sight technology. Now that standard has been raised with the launch of the DeltaPoint 2.

The DeltaPoint 2 retains

Extremely rugged, the DeltaPoint 2 features a lightweight magnesium housing, while the squared aspheric lens delivers the widest field of view and the best image quality ever produced in a red dot sight.

Dot bloom is virtually eliminated thanks to new lens coating, offering shooters a crisp, clean dot for precise and immediate shots on target.

“The DeltaPoint really set the standard for durability and technology,” said Pat Mundy, senior marketing manager for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “The DeltaPoint 2 is easier to use, possesses better clarity and brightness, and generally improves the DeltaPoint across the board.”

From handguns to shotguns to rifles, the unlimited eye relief and generous 60 minute of angle

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Leupold DeltaPoint 2 Red Dot Sight

Leupold’s patented Motion Sensor Technology, which instantly detects any motion, activates the illumination, and adjusts the brightness to the environment, but now also includes a manual brightness adjustment for those who prefer brighter or dimmer dots.

Also added is a master on/off switch, so the unit can be completely powered down to prevent excess battery drain during transportation or storage. Powered by a CR2032 battery, DeltaPoint 2 does not need to be removed to change the battery.

(MOA) adjustments make the DeltaPoint 2 the perfect fit for any firearm. Lightweight, shockproof and waterproof, the DeltaPoint 2 is equally at home on the competition range as it is in the hunting field or the patrol car.

Available in a 3.5-MOA dot or a 7.5MOA Inscribed Delta, the DeltaPoint 2 features DiamondCoat lens coating for scratch resistance and blackened lens edges for optimal clarity.

A cross-slot mount allows the DeltaPoint 2 to be mounted on any Picatinny or

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Weaver-style rail or bases. The complete mount kit includes specific mounting plates for the most popular handguns.

While the performance and ruggedness has been raised for 2014, the price remains untouched, making the DeltaPoint 2 an even greater value than before.

• Weight – 0.9 ounces • Height – 1.2 inches • Length – 1.64 inches • Width – 1.22 inches From .22 LR handguns to .458 SOCOM AR rifles, the DeltaPoint 2 is built to handle the shock of recoil. The DeltaPoint 2 is covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Warranty, with the electronics covered by the Leupold Golden Ring Electronics Warranty.

Find Leupold on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LeupoldOptic www.facebook.com/LeupoldOptics.

Leupold & Stevens, Inc., the preeminent American-owned optics company, employs hundreds of people in its stateof-the-art manufacturing facility near Beaverton, Ore. Family owned and privately operated, Leupold offers products that are sold worldwide to hunters, competitive shooters, American military warfighters, law enforcement personnel and wildlife observers. The product line includes rifle, handgun and spotting scopes; binoculars; rangefinders; mounting systems; and optical tools and accessories.

ONLINE STORE Shop for innovative, new and hardto-find outdoor gear at

www.FishandGameGear.com

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Industry Insider

In-Water Boat Show Returns

Additionally, show-goers can sign up with Discover Boating for one of their hands-on skills training programs designed to add more fun to the boat show experience while taking their boating skills up a notch. There’s something for everyone, from absolute beginners to seasoned skippers. Check out the entire program on the website.

Attendees can learn to dive at the “Be A Diver Pool;” enjoy live music each day; enjoy exciting giveaways; sample the craft beer garden; and enjoy entertainment for the children; all of which will ensure that this is a fun-filled event for the entire family and a great weekend getaway.

Contact: info@southwestintlboatshow.com; www.southwestinternationalboatshow.com

PHOTOS: SOUTWEST INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW

PRESENTED BY GEICO, THE SOUTHWEST’S largest in-water boat show returns to the South Shore Harbour Marina, Bay Area Houston, for the sixth year in March 2014 with over 400 boats in-water and onshore making it the premier Power and Sail Show for Texas.

The show will again feature a huge selection of boats, ranging in size from 10-ft. to 80-ft. plus, including sportfishing boats, motor yachts, power boats, pontoon boats, cruisers, ski boats, bay boats and sail boats with many available for demo at the docks.

This is the largest selection of new and pre-owned boats, both freshwater and saltwater, available anywhere in the South-

west — with pre-season specials and dealer incentive programs available on many models.

In addition, over 200 vendors will offer a variety of services and products for the boating and outdoor lifestyle, including fishing gear, engines, apparel, and outdoor equipment, in addition to a full range of marine electronics, products, and accessories.

Once again a comprehensive seminar program, featuring FREE seminars for Boat Show attendees, will be offered across the four days of the Boat Show. These entertaining and educational seminars, hosted by industry experts, will take place on site at the South Shore Harbour Resort Hotel. The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from weather and fishing to information on how to turn boating dreams into on the water reality.

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Hotspots Focus: Upper Coast

by Capt. Eddie Hernandez | TF&G Contributor

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ARCH HAS ARRIVED AND THAT means angling opportunities are beginning to pop up along the Texas Coast. Although no one really knows what Mother Nature has in store for us this month, you can expect plenty of very fishable days mixed in with some blustery, winter-like conditions.

One thing we can count on though, is these March winds howling from one direction or another for the better part of the month. Regardless, we’re transitioning from another stellar winter fishing season here on Sabine, so expectations are high as we begin to switch gears into early spring.

We can only hope that the next few months will be as good as they were in 2013. I can’t remember a more consistent trout bite for big numbers and big fish than we had in the spring last year and the fact that it’s just around the corner makes me happy.

The big yellow mouths will be on the flats soon and finfish will play a major roll in their diets. My brother caught one last year that measured just over 25-inches. A 25-inch trout, although a very nice fish, was actually pretty common in 2013 as lots of folks were catching them up to 28-inches and even bigger. The thing that made this particular fish worth writing about is that the big knot in it’s belly turned out to be an 11 1/4-inch mullet. That’s just 3/4-inches shy of a legal size speckled trout in Louisiana

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Although Mother Nature sometimes has difficulty deciding what season it is, you can bet there will be some days when everything seems to come together. Light winds, warm temperatures, good tides, and plentiful baitfish in March usually amount to some serious rod bending action on Sabine.

We can only hope that the next few months will be as good as they were in 2013.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Logan Park Marina ( Pleasure Island)

Topwaters, soft plastics, and slow sinkers should all get the job done on the protected shoreline with a good strong incoming tide.

If you find bait or fresh slicks, you should be able to find the fish. It shouldn’t be too hard to find bait either, as big tides and warmer water temperatures tend to jump start the entire food chain. Trout and reds will cruise the shoreline displaying their dominance as they aggressively feed on seemingly helpless mullet, shad, and shrimp. They should be more than willing to accept any offering you have for them.

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PHOTO: EDDIE HERNANDEZ

 The author’s brother with an 11-1/4inch mullet from the belly of a 25-inch speckled trout.

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Finfish Mean Big Trout in March

and the kicker is that it was caught on a big topwater plug.

That’s just one example of how aggressively these fish will feed on mullet, big or small, and other finfish in early spring.

Visible baitfish and numerous fresh slicks are obvious indicators of good places to fish.

The Louisiana shoreline, from Blue Buck Point to Coffee Ground Cove has the potential to come alive this month, especially if we can string a few mild days together.

Water temperatures creeping toward 70 degrees, coupled with big, strong March tides, should bode well for those looking to score big.

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SPECIES: Flounder/Reds BAITS/LURES: Mud Minnows, Glow or Chartreuse Curl Tail Grubs BEST TIMES: Moving Tides

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

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Hotspots Focus: Galveston

by Capt. Mike Holmes | TF&G Contributor

March to the Beat of the Drum(s)

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ATE FEBRUARY AND EARLY MARCH are normally the peak times of year to seek big black drum. Whether they are spawning, extra hungry after the spawn, or just can’t hold their hunger until the warmer months, they do usually begin to prowl and feed about now. And when they do, it is often in large groups of bigger sized fish. They are about the only game in town for those who want to tussle with a large fish inshore at this time of year and the Galveston area is one of the very best places to seek them.

be released and a fish to be released stands a better chance of survival if isn’t stressed to the max.

How heavy? From a boat, a stout “boat rod” and reel combo that will handle 30-pound line is sufficient, although those who use 50-pound line should not be faulted.

From the shore or a pier where longer casts will be necessary, a good surf rod of 10- to 12-feet (with enough backbone to handle

up to ½-pound sinkers and large baits) would be the best choice. Wire leaders are not necessary, although they can help with bait presentation. Since drum are not really “leader shy”, mono leaders of 80-pound test will generally work as well as wire leaders for resistance against rocks, barnacles, and pilings. Circle hooks are good choices for drum, as they are virtually self setting, and in colder weather the angler might not be as attentive as on a warm spring morning.

Drum will take cut mullet or shad – even squid – but quartered blue crab is probably the best bet. Some years, the winter shrimpers get more “sea lice” than shrimp, and these CONTINUED ON PAGE 77

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“ They are about the only game in town for those who want to tussle with a large fish inshore this time of year.

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Black drum are not as noted for their fighting ability as their red cousins, but they can get larger, and any large fish will, as we say, “Put a bend in your rod”. When I first returned to the coast, I used to hear stories of very large drum caught on trout tackle and light line because they “didn’t fight”. In water free from obstructions or from a boat, I can see this happening. From a pier or a jetty however, I’d opt for heavier tackle – especially since most really big drum have to T F & G

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Hotspots Focus: Matagorda

by Mike Price | TF&G Contributor

Warming Waters ALKING ON MATAGORDA BEACH one March, I saw 35 black drum on a line that was pulled tight between two proud fishermen.

Their five buddies were taking pictures of the day’s catch. The fishermen told me that they had caught the fish from the pier at Matagorda Bay Nature Park.

Around mid-March, black drum spawn near passes like the jetties just west of the

pier. Anglers are allowed to keep five black drum from 14- to 30-inches in length. Many of the spawning black drum exceed 30-inches, so they have to be returned to the water.

A hefty rod and reel loaded with at least 20-pound test line and rigged with a sinker and a single Kahle wide gap 5/0 hook will handle a large black drum. Use a pier net to hoist fish up and to release oversized drum back after unhooking them. Cut fish or peeled shrimp work best as black drum bait.

Such bait should work well this month since warming water is a trigger for the black drum run and activity in the bays as well.

In March, menhaden and mullet return to the bays and estuaries after spawning offshore. These fish are favored prey for

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predators in the bays. One of these predators, the flounder, also returns to the bays after wintering offshore. Water temperatures in East and West Matagorda Bays typically start the month at about 60°F and go up into the low seventies by the end of the month.

On March 5th last year, the water temperature was 57°F when I went kayak fishing on the south shore of West Matagorda Bay. Normally with sub-60 degree water, I would select a fishing location with a gut that is at least four-feet deep and fish both the deep area and the shallow water adjacent to the gut. But this location did not have such a deep spot and I only caught one 15-inch redfish on that day. By contrast, another year in early March, the water temperature was 66°F when I was kayak fishing in a cove in West Matagorda Bay that was less than twofeet deep. Drifting across the cove, I caught five redfish and was quite happy to go home with two slot sized reds (20 to 28-inches).

If you get a thrill out of catching very large trout (and who doesn’t?), March is a great time to wade fish the south shoreline of East Matagorda Bay. Use a slow sinking mullet imitation, like Paul Brown’s Original, or a large topwater lure like a Top Dog. Wade fishing, especially when you are slogging through mud and the air temperature is rising, can be physically taxing, so beware of overheating.

In early March the water temperature is usually below 70°F. Algae drop out of the water column when the water is cool, making bay water significantly cleare. You have to be little more patient when you set the hook.

On one March trip, I was swimming a Stanley Wedge Tail Minnow across a clear back lake in West Matagorda Bay. That’s when I saw a redfish that was about 24-inches follow the lure and then hit it. I set the hook when I saw the hit, but because I did not feel the hit, all that I got back was my soft plastic lure pulled away from the jighead. I should have waited until I felt the fish since seeing the strike was a detriment in this situation.

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GALVESTON FOCUS March is wake up time in the bays. The weather and water warms up and flounder and bait fish return from offshore. They are all hungry and in pursuit of aquatic meals that satisfy that hunger. Pick a good day and drop your bait into that mix.

THE BANK BITE EAST MATAGORDA BAY KAYAKING. St Mary’s Bayou, one mile from the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge is good when the wind is from the north, west, or northeast. Vincent’s Cut, next to the water treatment plant, is also good on those winds. If the wind is light from the east or southeast, paddle into East Matagorda Bay and drift fish back. If the wind is strong and the bay is stirred up, Rudacell Bayou is across from a three-story yellow house with a viewing deck on top. You can stay in these back bayous and still find redfish, flounder, and the occasional trout. Rawlings Cut is at the southwest corner of East Matagorda Bay, one hundred yards south of Rawlings Bait Shop.

This is a good launch location if the wind is from the south or southeast.

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 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 75 are also good drum bait.

The Texas City Dike has traditionally been one of the area’s top spots for big drum, and although the lighted pier at the very end has produced a whole bunch of big drum, anglers fishing off the dike itself also do well. Sea Wolf Park on Galveston Island is another well-known drum hotspot.

Beachfront piers see “runs” of big drum, as do the rock groins. Boat fishermen can find action at the jetties.

Current regulations allow for one drum of over 52-inches in length to be retained daily, although not many folks want to eat one this size. Otherwise, we are allowed five drum per day, from 14- to 30-inches in length. Those smaller black drum are almost as good on the table as their bronze relatives of the same size.

THE BANK BITE

portions of jetties allow anglers on foot to reach deeper, warmer water. The Texas City Dike is once again a black drum hotspot.

SPECIES: While any inshore species is possible just about any month on the Texas coast, best bets in March are traditionally black drum and pan fish such as croaker.

BEST BAITS: Live bait is not needed for drum – blue crabs and sea lice work best, although cut bait will see it’s share of takers. Small bits of squid vie with dead shrimp as the best pan fish offerings.

BEST TIMES: Since fish are more lethargic in cooler water, tidal movement that “pushes” bait around will be more productive than water with no current. Time of day might be most important as regards the angler’s comfort.

Email Mike Holmes at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

LOCATION: Piers, rock groins, and walk-able

2/12/14 9:55 AM

Hotspots Focus: Upper Mid Coast

by Capt. Chris Martin | TF&G Contributor

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OR MANY COASTAL ANGLERS, MARCH can be somewhat of a challenging time. There are the seemingly endless winds, the ever-changing weather, and cooler air and water temperatures to contend with. All these things restrict the number of options available to the coastal angler this month.

But anglers who work hard to locate active baitfish along a protected shoreline or within a protected back lake can often find success with trout on a fairly regular basis.

Once anglers find fish, a strike should be able to be enticed via any of a myriad of bribes in the form of both natural baits and artificial lures. This should hold true this month and next, all along the middle portion of the Texas coast from West Matagorda Bay all the way southward to Mesquite Bay. To be able to achieve results at catching speckled trout, however, coastal anglers must first learn to target specific areas that tend to attract and hold springtime trout. I have spent a number of years talking with folks about what it is they believe attracts springtime trout. I have discussed this with perfect strangers, as well as with some of the most highly regarded and most respected guides in the industry.

What are the results? It seems as though the consensus is that there is no one particular thing that attracts the trout. Instead, there are four common elements that blend together to invite and to hold the attention of trout at this transition time of the year and those four things are temperature, salinity, food, and structure. Whenever an angler is fortunate enough to be able to piece all four of these things together in one place, then there will likely be some attractive trout

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“ A strike should be enticed via any of a myriad of bribes.

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A Speckled Spring

results rewarded to that angler that day.

Attempting to pull all these things together in one place can be a challenge in itself. But when an angler is able to do so, the strike zone is sometimes discovered to be an area that may be no more than just a few square yards of surface water. Because of that, wading anglers could spend many, many hours of precious fishing time making cast after cast before being able to find that particular “hot spot”. The best thing that can be done in trying to locate springtime trout is to narrow down the search area in the beginning.

When searching for speckled trout in March, coastal anglers should try to key in

on places that are holding zones for trout, places like oyster reefs, sandy flats lined with patches of grass, and guts and drains connecting the shallows of the backcountry to the deeper water of the main bay system.

The next two items of consideration should be salinity and temperature, both of which can change according to whether or not there happens to be an incoming or an outgoing tide. The proper combination of salinity and temperature is important because these are the two water conditions that most often dictate where the mullet and the shrimp will be stationed. And where the mullet and the shrimp are stationed is important for anglers because it is what will cause trout to move from place to place in F I S H

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order to find food.

From a salinity standpoint, try to remember that the farther you are fishing from the Gulf’s water, the lower the salinity will be.

And from a temperature standpoint, the farther you are fishing from the Gulf’s waters, the warmer the water temperature will be.

An exception to this would be sudden freezing conditions that would possibly turn everything extremely cold. If that’s the case, the trout may be found closer to the Gulf’s waters if they were lucky enough to be able to get there before the hard freeze set in.

A tool I use in March when trying to find trout is to pay close attention to the water color. Wherever tide lines occur during changing tides in the bays, there’s a mixture of varying water temperatures and salinities, but there’s usually a difference in the water color, too.

I like to work several casts into the color change in various ways. I’ll first cast into the cloudy water just beyond the color change.

If there are no results, I’ll then cast to the clear water right along the color change and attempt to work my lure back parallel to the cloudy water. If there is still no response, my third option is to cast into the cloudy water and work the bait back in the dirty water. Over the years I’ve caught fish each way, it just depends on the fish. However, you should pay close attention to what worked for you today as you may need to replicate that same scenario in order to catch some of the same springtime trout tomorrow.

March conditions give anglers a lot to take into consideration in regards to the appearance and the disappearance of speckled trout. The fish are going to move until they find a food source and conditions that fit their needs. You can find them if you’re willing to be mobile and if you can remain light on your feet the entire day.

Keep grinding!

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

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Hotspots Focus: Rockport

by Capt. Mac Gable | TF&G Contributor

Productive Playing

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OU KNOW, SOMETIMES I WONDER what’s wrong with my mind. It seems I often have random thoughts that have no rhyme or reason and, yes, they are always about fishing or bowhunting.

My friends and family accuse me of having a one-track mind. Many don’t know that I am a fishing and hunting product tester and while the mass populace is contemplating such things as a new home, new cars or trucks, getting married or divorced, what shirt or dress to wear, or where to go on vacation, I take perfectly good fishing and hunting items and tear them apart. All in an effort to see if I can make them better based on my 58 years of good ole boy ingenuity.

I tear more new stuff up that never gets used than probably even our federal government does. Do you see anything wrong with that picture? Many people believe “Why fix it if it ain’t broke?” Not me, I think “Let’s break it so we can fix it to be better.”

No, I haven t been drinking, so bear with me on this. The cold days of February and March are my R & D (Research and Development) times and if you look at my shop/garage or my kitchen table, you will see brand new reels, lures, props, hooks, nets, and a whole list of bow hunting items that will never see the light of a productive hunting or fishing day. Mostly because they are in a hopeless state of disrepair!

New ideas come to me in some of the oddest ways. Once while taking a shower, I was watching the water go down the drain and an idea popped into my head that resulted in the redesign of the drain on my live well.

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Dr. Bruce what type of lubricant he used, all as I wondered if it would work on the trailer tongue latch of my boat trailer. He laughed and said bend over... it didn’t work. Seems KY Jelly turns into a sticky mess once it gets a few days old and it makes an even bigger mess on your hands than the oil I was using.

Thankfully, I have people who love me and can bounce some of my ideas off of them before making a complete fool of myself. My wife is a brilliant industrial engineer and my son is a gifted wildlife and fisheries biologist, so some educated science is applied to my tinkering. But I have to admit I gravitate towards people who have common sense ideas and that approach things from the standpoint of trial and error. Some people are just down right natural geniuses when it comes to actual application. You can learn all you want from the finest schools in the land, but if you can’t apply what you’ve learned, then what good is it?

I once had a good friend who was one of the most ingenious guys I have ever met.

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He built stuff that most of us cannot fathom, much less build. We would talk for hours about such things. I could bounce ideas off of him and he could pretty much tell me whether it would work or not.

This type of skill seems to be rare these days. Oh we have ideas pouring out like water from the proverbial broken water main, ideas from think tanks to computer simulations, but few come from people like my friend Tom Taylor. He was a hands-on kind of guy who knew what he knew, why he knew it, and how to use it. (Miss you my friend, we could sure use your practical smarts these days!) May the good Lord put your talents to use in heaven.

I know I must sound like a big kid who tears stuff up and leaves it all scattered about, but some of the ideas really worked and it’s those ideas that keep me young. One of my tests was on fishing line, so I took the six most popular brands and a series of lead weights to see if their claims were valid. For example, a 12-pound rating should mean a breaking

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Rockport Focus point of the line at around 12-pounds of weight. What I found might change your brand of fishing line. The ones that held their weight rating were in fact those that seemed to break more fish off in true application.

Those that seemed to break sooner than their rating - but produced more stretch - were less likely to break off with bigger fish.

Of course knot type and fishing skill come into play. Suffice it to say you really need to know what you’re doing to land a fish that weighs as much as your line rating. The fish has the advantage of the weight of the water.

Let me explain. Take a boat anchor, say a #18 Super Hooker, which should weigh around 18- to 20-pounds. Attach it to a 20-pound fishing line and try lifting it off the ground. With good fishing line, you should be able to do this. Now take that same anchor and fishing line and drop it over the side of your boat and let it sink to the bottom (make sure your anchor rope is attached ... hello! ). Now try to lift it through the water.

The line will more than likely break. Add to that the pulling power of the fish and you can see why most of us fish with, say, 12-pound line for a three or four-pound fish.

A pet peeve of mine is a fishing rod that breaks, especially those that claim to bend like a sour dough pretzel. Or one of those infomercials where you see a rod run over by a truck or get beat against a concrete wall, resulting in no damage at all.

Keep in mind that most rod brands are made by a manufacturer and built to their specification with the seller’s name on the rod. Because this is about practical application, I will not get into rod anatomy and terms like fiberglass, graphite IM6, GLX, IMX titanium, modulus, elasticity, power ratings, etc., etc., etc. Having a FEW extra rods around, I decided to see what certain brands were capable of withstanding. Please don’t try this at home, because if your spouse discovers the broken pieces lying around, it could be grounds for divorce. None, and I mean none, were as indestructible as advertised. Upon contacting the manufacturer, I was told the infomercial was a dramatization but was based on actual events. One spokesperson told me “You know, kinda like the movie that is based on actual events but is dramatized for the viewing audience.”

COPANO BAY — Cut menhaden work well on a fish finder rig on the shallow shell

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So, false advertising is illegal but dramatization is okay? Tell me there’s not a snake in the wood pile there. When bent to their limit, most rods I tested broke much sooner than advertised. I did find that adding additional eyes to the last third of the rod helped. The cheaper eyes didn’t hold up to the braided lines that are becoming very popular. I found that a $16 rod fared as well as a $160 rod for day-in and day-out usage. And I found that all the hubbub about cork quality in the handle is likely to never be noticed by most anglers. I was amazed that six rods—all the same weight rating, same model, and identical in every way—did in fact perform vastly different. Their action even felt different in my hands.

Just two or three points here: when buying a rod, pay more attention to the way it feels than the model or manufacturing specs on the handle. Also pay attention to where the eyes are attached to the rod (make sure the foot of the eye is completely sealed with epoxy or glass, otherwise water will surely get at the base of the eye, possibly causing rust and eventually weakening it and breaking it off).

Finally, sight down the rod like you would a gun to ensure that the eyes are perfectly aligned, as this effects castability and rod durability.

The bottom line is that my testing, tinkering, and travels have shown me one inevitable truth in the items we use in our fishing and sporting activities: to get what you want and what you pay for, you need to feel it, to examine it, and to ask a lot of questions. I dare say could this be called “playing.”

• • • YOU’VE HEARD IT SAID MANY TIMES, BUT IT deserves repeating for the month of March: go slow. The bite is often lethargic but there is a bite. Cast slow and be very deliberate in targeting certain areas. I have often cast 15 to 20 times within a 10 yard area and the 15th cast I get hooked up. I think lure color is more important in March than almost any other month. In dirty water think dark color lures in clear water think lighter colored lures.

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close to Bigfoot Reef. The trick here is on high tide throw the bait on top of the reef, on low tide fish the deeper edges close to the mud. Wades on Italian Bend are good for trout using Berkley Gulp salt water eels in silver mud color. Saltwater jerk shad work well here too in nuclear chicken color.

ARANSAS BAY — Mack Reef is good for sheep head and black drum using peeled shrimp on a light Carolina rig. Kale hooks in 1/0 or 2/0 work best. The deep water transition off of Nine Mile Point is good for trout using Berkley gulp shrimp under a popping cork. Mid-day is best as water temperatures rise. Drift slowly or use a trolling motor to get into fish, then anchor off.

ST CHARLES BAY — Black drum bite is still good at the mouth of Devils Bayou using squid or peeled shrimp on a light Carolina rig. Some reds may be found at the mouth of Cavasso Creek using finger mullet or mud minnows free lined.

CARLOS BAY — Carlos Dugout is the place to be. For trout and reds using deep running lures like Rapala Jointed deep Husky’s. Black drum bite is good on the south side of Cedar Reef using a silent cork and peeled shrimp.

MESQUITE BAY — Mid-day Cedar Point is good for reds using free lined finger mullet. Bray Cove is good for trout drifting across the sand / shell/ grass pockets using Jerk shad in new penny and sardine. Beldon Dugout is holding some reds using cut mullet or menhaden on a medium Carolina rig.

AYRES BAY — Ayres Reef is good for trout and reds using live shrimp under a popping cork. The bite is best mid-day.

Some keeper black drum may be found on Ayres Point using peeled shrimp on a light Carolina rig.

THE BANK BITE THE CUT BETWEEN St Charles and Aransas Bay is good for trout using a popping cork and or Berkley Gulp Jerk shads in camo or anchovy colors. You will need to access the Goose Island State Park to get to the cut.

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

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Hotspots Focus: Lower Coast

by Calixto Gonzales | TF&G Saltwater Editor

March Toward the Beach

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ARCH ON THE SOUTH PADRE Island beach usually means Spring Break, which usually translates to a focus on things other than fishing. That’s especially true during Texas Week, when tens of thousands of Texas college students flock to SPI for sun, fun, and trouble.

In spite of month-long parties, South Padre Island was a fishing community first and March is one of best times to begin fishing the surf. Any angler willing to drive far enough north on the sand can find some remarkable surf fishing for some very sought after species such as the Florida Pompano.

The surf offers a great fishing opportunity for the land-bound angler - or even for the boat owner - who wants a change of pace along with saving a few bucks in gas money.

The same vehicle with four-wheel drive that you take to the deer lease is well-suited to negotiate the sand of the beach. Believe it or not, the sand along the high-tide line is packed down enough that some two-wheel drive vehicles can get out to the suds (take a shovel with you, though, just in case you need to dig yourself out of a soft spot).

When you get to the surf, there are a variety of fish that will readily grab a bait presented by even the most inexperienced neophyte angler, many of these fish being excellent table fare.

The most common fish that swims up and down the guts and bars of the Padre Island surf in March and through early spring is the whiting. Actually, there are two types of whiting: the Gulf Whiting and the Southern Whiting (on the Atlantic coast, the latter T F & G

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species is also called a kingfish). The Gulf Whiting is most common in the surf and is silver in color with a sleeker profile. The stouter, squattier Southern Whiting is more common in the bay and around passes where it is a popular species among the party boat crowd. It is also present in the surf, especially around the Brazos-Santiago jetties.

These are strong fish that will give a good hard yank when first hooked, then after a token resistance, will obediently come along when they realize resistance is futile. These guys are plentiful—it doesn’t take long to catch enough of them for even the biggest fish fry—and they are surprisingly large (they average 12-13 inches but it isn’t uncommon to catch a half-dozen bull whiting measuring between 18 and 20 inches during a fishing trip). And what’s more, the clean white fillets fry up beautifully.

A second fish that is worth every surf fisherman’s attention, and is actually a prize catch on any trip, is the afore-mentioned Florida Pompano. These scrappy cousins of the Tyson-esque jackfish and the cosmopolitan permit zoom up and down the surf in search of shrimp and sand fleas to gobble up and will sometimes grab a baited hook. They also average between one and three pounds, but their short, powerful bursts and bulldog determination make for sport on all but the stoutest Hatteras Heaver.

As for their table qualities, a whole pompy baked inside a paper bag with butter, white wine, green onions, and mushrooms is a delicacy worthy of an Iron Chef (although Morimoto-san would probably turn it into ice cream or gelato or some other abomination).

Both the whiting and the pompano are not difficult to catch. A 7 ½ to 9 foot surf rod matched with a 4000-6000 sized spinning reel spooled with 14-20 pound line is ideal.

Most of the fishing is going to be done in the wade gut, or up against the first bar, so pyramid and disc sinkers in the 1-2 ounce range are fine and a box of #2 (not 2/0) Eagle Claw 066N 2X-long shank hooks should cover your needs. Most fishermen get the A L M A N A C

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pre-fabricated double-stage leaders (the kind that you can get at Wal-Mart or at the bait shop) by the dozen for their terminal tackle.

Many wily fishermen know, however, that a hand-made leader made from 30-pound mono is more effective in fooling leader shy pompano.

Once rigged, pin a peeled bit of shrimp on each hook and flip your rig near the bar where the waves are breaking. It normally doesn’t take too long for a whiting to find your rig and give it a yank. Sometimes, a second whiting grabs the other bait while you’re reeling the first one in and the doubleheader is good for a few whoops as you drag it onto the sand.

If you hook into a pompano, then the whoops get even louder.

Many anglers will look with some hesitation at the strong southeasterly winds that are endemic to South Texas during March and the rowdy surf that accompanies the 20 knot gusts. That rough surf, however, can be a boon. The roiling surf can rouse more crustaceans out of their sandy hidey-holes and thus ring the piscine dinner bell.

There is a very good reason this month to rig with heavier line: redfish and jackfish begin to roam the surf in March. Some of these bad boys are still roaming the surf and they’ll grab one of your little whiting/pompano rigs out of pure meanness and spite.

When they do, they can make the drag on your spinning reel sing.

That’s when the whooping gets loudest of all.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Dolphin Cove GPS: N26 4.02, W97 9.42 SPECIES: Black Drum, Sand Trout TECHNIQUES: Fish with shrimp or crab on a bottom rig. Use heavier tackle if you’re after drum.

Email Calixto Gonzales at ContactUs@fishgame.com.

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UPPER GULF COAST

Hail Mary’s for Matagorda Reds

by TOM BEHRENS LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: St. Mary’s GPS: N28 39.621 W95 56.667 (28.66035, -95.944450) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: Countz will be wading grass beds. “On low tides I will key on some of the drainage coming off the peninsula, mainly for redfish.” Tommy Countz

Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Look for scattered shell and soft mud bottoms

GPS COORDINATES are provided in two formats: “Decimal Degrees” (degrees.degrees) and “Degrees and Minutes” sometimes called “GPS Format” (degrees minutes. minutes). Examples (for Downtown Austin): Decimal Degrees: N30.2777, W97.7379; Degrees and Minutes: N30 16.6662, W97 44.2739. Consult your manual for information specific to your GPS device.

heads. Best colors are Morning Glory and plum in off-color water conditions.

CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Pay attention to the moon phase...fish three days prior to a new moon or three days after. “You have the maximum gravitational pull on the earth which allows the tides to stay a little while longer,” Paul Marcaccio

LOCATION: East Galveston HOTSPOT: Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge GPS: N29 33.804 W94 32.3739 (29.5634, -94.539565) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Baby Spook or She Pup topwater baits CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Don’t discount topwater baits, especially toward the end of March. Throw something small and slow, something chrome, something black, or something bone.

LOCATION: East Galveston HOTSPOT: Richard’s Reef GPS: N29 31.40796 W94 44.27598 (29.523466, -94.737933) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics on 1/4 oz. lead heads. Best colors Morning Glory, plum Limetruese, pearl, and Chicken on a Chain CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Because of March winds, best fishing chances should be along the north shoreline of East Bay no matter whether drift fishing or wading.

LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Three Mile GPS: N28 45.042 W95 40.212 (28.7507, -95.670200) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: We do a lot of drifting over scattered shell, the same areas we do year round. If the water temps come up, the winds will dictate whether you are out in the middle, or along the shorelines.

LOCATION: East Galveston HOTSPOT: Smith Point GPS: N29 32.18796 W94 45.72498 (29.536466, -94.762083) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics on 1/4 oz. lead

LOCATION: East Galveston HOTSPOT: Stephenson Point GPS: N29 32.26398 W94 41.14494 (29.537733, -94.685749) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics with 1/4 oz. jig heads in an assortment of colors, depending on water clarity CONTACT:

LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Drull’s Lump GPS: N28 42.285 W95 50.06592 (28.70475, -95.834432) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT:

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LOCATION: East Galveston HOTSPOT: North Shoreline GPS: N29 33.144 W94 37.78494 (29.5524, -94.629749) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics with 1/4 oz. jig heads in an assortment of colors, depending on water clarity CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: When wading, look for drains that empty out into the bay on outgoing tides

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Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: If the water temps come up, the winds will dictate whether you fish in the middle, or along the shorelines...”but if we get some calm winds, March can produce some pretty good fish over mid-bay reefs.” Tommy Countz LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Raymond Shoals GPS: N28 33.02796 W96 18.081 (28.550466, -96.301350) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors used with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: Don’t forget to have some topwater lures in your tackle pack. Once you get into the end of March and the water temperature is moving up, mid to high 60s, the topwater bite will turn on.

LOCATION: Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Little Hodges Reef GPS: N29 39.261 W94 43.07598 (29.65435, -94.717933) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics with 1/4 oz. lead heads CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: The key in finding trout is finding small mullet, any mullet, even just one mullet. Stop and spread your cast out 180 degrees. There is a reason that mullet is nervous.

to hide in where they will reach up into shallower water and grab bait as it comes across.” Paul Marcaccio

TIPS: Countz will be wading grass beds. “On low tides I will key on some of the drainage coming off the peninsula, mainly for Redfish.” Tommy Countz

LOCATION: Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Double Bayou GPS: N29 39.25398 W94 41.74494 (29.654233, -94.695749) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics with 1/4 oz. jig heads in an assortment of colors, depending on water clarity CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “If the water temperature reaches 65 degrees, don’t discount your topwater baits. Throw something small and slow, something chrome, something black, or something bone...Paul Marcaccio

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Greens Bayou GPS: N28 29.73798 W96 13.56498 (28.495633, -96.226083) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors used with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces.

CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: We will still have some fronts coming in.

Early March and late March is pretty much different. “Redfish are usually good all the way through March on either falling or rising tides. For trout, I’m going to move out further into the bay on some of the grass beds, fishing the drops.” Tommy Countz

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Cotton Bayou GPS: N28 31.09398 W96 12.61698 (28.518233, -96.210283) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors used with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Hilbert’s Bayou GPS: N28 29.97696 W96 13.24992 (28.499616, -96.220832) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Black Magic lures in Tequila or Chicken on a Chain colors used with heavier jig heads, 1/4 to 3/8 ounces CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037

LOCATION: Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Spoonbill Reef GPS: N29 31.25796 W94 45.09492 (29.520966, -94.751582) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Soft plastics on 1/4 oz. lead heads. Best colors in clearer water are Limetruese, pearl, and Chicken on a Chain.

CONTACT: Captain Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com TIPS: When wading look for depth changes.

“If you are wading a shoreline and in knee deep water, but it then quickly drops to waist deep, the area between your knees and waist is a drop off.

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Texas Hotspots tcountz@sbcglobal.net TIPS: “We are going to start seeing more bait activity. If you can find good quantities of bait, you are going to be in the right areas to find fish.”

Tommy Countz

MIDDLE GULF COAST

Redfish Wallow on Port A’s Hog Island

by DUSTIN WARNCKE and TOM BEHRENS LOCATION: Port Aransas HOTSPOT: Hog Island GPS: N27 53.75094 W97 6.6789 (27.895849, -97.111315) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Pin perch or mullet CONTACT: Capt. Kevin McCoy 361-775-2027 reelmccoy@cableone.net TIPS: Freelining is Capt. McCoy’s favorite way of fishing, not only in the spring, but all year.

LOCATION: Port Aransas HOTSPOT: Upper Estes Flats GPS: N27 57.05796 W97 5.33094 (27.950966, -97.088849) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Pin perch or mullet CONTACT: Capt. Kevin McCoy 361-775-2027 reelmccoy@cableone.net TIPS: “If fishing live bait of any kind, nine minutes out of ten I will let it sit, and then for one minute I’ll pop it up to make sure it’s not hung up in the grass,” Kevin McCoy

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Morris & Cummings Cut GPS: N27 52.851 W97 6.66096 (27.88085, -97.111016) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Live mud minnows, cut shad, or live or dead shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Marvin Engel 361-658-6674 CaptMarvinEngel@yahoo.com TIPS: Too early for trout, concentrate fishing efforts for redfish or black drum. McCoy likes monofilament line because it has some stretch and he won’t risk pulling the baited hook out of the fish’s mouth on the hookset.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Inside Ransom GPS: N27 52.46796 W97 8.4999 (27.874466, -97.141665) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Mud minnows and live or dead shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Marvin Engel 361-658-6674 CaptMarvinEngel@yahoo.com TIPS: Capt. Engel says he only uses live or dead baits in March. Choice of what bait used is governed by what’s available at the bait camps.

If shrimp is used, thread the shrimp on the hook, cast into the sand holes and then freeline. Fish one sand pocket 10-15 minutes. If you don’t do any good, move on to the next pocket.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Stedman’s Reef GPS: N27 52.98198 W97 7.48296 (27.883033, -97.124716) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Mud minnows, live or dead shrimp, or cut shad CONTACT: Capt. Marvin Engel

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Flats GPS: N27 49.75398 W97 10.60992 (27.829233, -97.176832) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Pin perch or mullet CONTACT: Capt. Kevin McCoy 361-775-2027 reelmccoy@cableone.net TIPS: In March Capt. McCoy will be fishing the sand holes on the flats, shallow water, not more

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than 2 feet deep. A benefit of shallow water: “Even it’s blowing really hard, the flats are normally comfortable and accessible. It’s got to be cranking 30-40 mph to muddy up. Fifteen to 25 you are still good to go.” Kevin McCoy

361-658-6674 CaptMarvinEngel@yahoo.com TIPS: Redfish Bay is a great spot to fish in March, even if it’s a windy day. There are several islands that you can duck behind to get out of the wind.

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LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Stedman’s Reef GPS: N27 52.98198 W97 7.48296 (27.883033, -97.124716) SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: Live shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Kevin McCoy 361-775-2027 reelmccoy@cableone.net TIPS: McCoy is fishing from an anchored boat if fishing for drum. Let the shrimp sit; don’t add any additional movement.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Inside Dagger GPS: N27 51.10398 W97 9.35196 (27.851733, -97.155866) SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Mud minnows CONTACT: Capt. Marvin Engel 361-658-6674 CaptMarvinEngel@yahoo.com TIPS: Rigging the mud minnow: Hook the minnow on the bottom by the anal fin, cast the minnow out to the sand pockets, and freeline the bait.

Let the minnow swim around.

LOWER GULF COAST

Take a Pass at Brazos Sheeps

by CALIXTO GONZALES LOCATION: Brazos-Santiago Pass HOTSPOT: North Jetties, Surf Side GPS: N26 4.06278 W97 8.75208 (26.067713, -97.145868) SPECIES: sheepshead BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, fresh shrimp. Gulp!

Shrimp or shrimp-flavored Fish Bites.

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CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: Come around to the surf side of the newlyrejuvenated jetties on a calm day to fish for some burly sheepshead You can see them hovering around the rocks Dead shrimp is actually more effective than live, but both work Suspend the bait over the rocks with a float and watch closely Much like a crappie taking a minnow, the cork may do little more than lay on its side If it does, set the hook and don’t give any line.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Brownsville Turning Basin GPS: N25 57.12054 W97 24.15762 (25.952009, -97.402627) SPECIES: sheepshead BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, fresh shrimp.

CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: Fish up along the pilings and walls at the back of the ship channel for big sheepshead Live shrimp is tough to beat, but fresh dead shrimp will do in a pinch Most free-line their bait, but a float rig will help you detect the lighter baits that could be a big fish and help you snatch ‘em before they wrap you up on a snag.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Brownsville Ship Channel 2 GPS: N25 58.42278 W97 20.30796 (25.973713, -97.338466) SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, dead shrimp. Fresh crab chunks. Gulp! Shrimp.

CONTACT: Captain Carlos Garcia 956-433-8094 southtexasredfish@gmail.com TIPS: Fish the points around the Shrimp Outlet canal for puppy drum that are still hanging around along the point and ledges Live shrimp and crab chunks fished on a bottom rig are most effective You can also succeed by bottom-bouncing a Gulp!

Shrimp along the bottom Glow is the most effective color.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Highway 100 Shoreline GPS: N26 4.953 W97 14.41392 (26.08255, -97.240232) SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, live finger mullet.

Soft plastics and suspending baits in red/white, black/gold, Morning Glory (plastics), other dark patterns.

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Captain Jimmy Martinez 956-551-9581 TIPS: Speckled trout use the dropoff along the shoreline as a migration route. When water begins to warm in March, trout begin to move Anglers can intercept them by working the edges with live bait and soft plastics and Gulp! Shrimp Suspending plugs such as the Catch 5 in dark color patterns works well Use live bait on split-shot rigs.

PINEY WOODS

W94 42.06708 (32.87134, -94.701118) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Jigs with soft plastic trailers, plastic worms and lizards, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Sonny Kopech 903-592-8221 SKopech@hotmail.com TIPS: This is the time of the year for the bass to be moving to the series of button willow islands north of the Highway 155 bridge. The fish will be

Harmonize with Livingston Whites

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Livingston HOTSPOT: Harmon Creek GPS: N30 52.45542 W95 24.34674 (30.874257, -95.405779) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs, Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Dave Cox 926-291-9602 dave@palmettoguideservice.com palmettoguideservice.com TIPS: Use chrome and blue Rat-L-Traps or Sassy Shads and cast them into the deep water holes off the sandy points, working them back to the boat with a steady retrieve. Trolling the lures in this area in between the islands and sandy points also can pay off with some great catch.

LOCATION: Caddo HOTSPOT: Jeems Bayou GPS: N32 48.42 W94 1.24926 (32.807, -94.020821) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Senkos, swim baits, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Paul Keith 318-455-3437 caddoguide@att.net caddolake-fishing.com TIPS: Fish the lures around the bases of the cypress trees in one to three feet of water. Also target the pockets in between. The bass are in the spawning mode and are searching for ideal shallow water but won’t be too far from deep water.

LOCATION: Lake O the Pines HOTSPOT: Button Willow Islands GPS: N32 52.2804 A L M A N A C

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Texas Hotspots here for the next two months, feeding from the hideouts of the button willows and moving around the shallow, sandy areas just off the islands for spawning grounds. Fish the button willows tight with jigs and Texas-rigged worms and lizards. If the action slows, try spinnerbaits on the outside edges of the islands. However, most of the bass should be holding tight in the thickest part of the button willows.

LOCATION: Lake O the Pines HOTSPOT: Lily Pad Flats GPS: N32 53.89002 W94 42.51534 (32.898167, -94.708589) SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: Flea Flies, minnows CONTACT: Sonny Kopech 903-592-8221 SKopech@hotmail.com TIPS: Fish the outside edges of the lily pads that are close to the channels and ditches. Fish the jigs or minnows beneath slip corks and dabble them around the lily pads, stumps, beaver dams and any other structures near gradual changes in depths.

LOCATION: Toledo Bend HOTSPOT: Anderson Island GPS: N31 40.122 W93 46.82694 (31.6687, -93.780449) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, stick baits, squarebilled diving lures, soft plastics, jigs, tubes CONTACT: Greg Crafts 936-368-7151 gregcrafts@yahoo.com toledobendguide.com TIPS: Fish the backs of the pockets and coves that are protected from the wind near this island, which also is called Car Body Hole. During the first of the month, fish the mouths of the creeks that are leading to the flats as the bass move in and out of them. If you catch a bass, slow down. There should be other bass in the same area.

PRAIRIES & LAKES

Duck into the Park for Lavon Crappie

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Lavon HOTSPOT: Mallard Park GPS: N33 3.04914 W96 25.50942 (33.050819, -96.425157) SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: Small minnows CONTACT: Billy Kilpatrick 214-232-7847 straightlineguide@yahoo.com TIPS: This is a great time to catch crappie during the late-evening hours and just after dark. The fish are looking for warmer water and will gather around rocks that warm up when they absorb the sunlight. The railroad bed is a good area to fish now. Fish four to 10 feet of water with small minnows. Cold fronts will cause the fish to move but the fish will move back in after a few days of warm temperatures. This is a time to dress warm, use night-lights and stay long.

LOCATION: Aquilla HOTSPOT: Snake Island and Triplet Point GPS: N31 55.04166 W97 12.13146 (31.917361, -97.202191) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Slabs, Little Georges, Rat-LTraps CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com teamredneck.net TIPS: Chartreuse and chrome are the best colors for your lures. Cast Slabs, Little Georges and RatL-Traps towards the points and work them back with slow retrieves. Once you find a speed that draws strikes, stay with it or vary it slightly. Work from the island to the point and back.

LOCATION: Belton HOTSPOT: Slabbing on Lake Belton Channels GPS: N31 6.8052 W97 30.3276

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(31.11342, -97.505460) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: TNT180 slab, 3/4 oz. white CONTACT: Bob Maindelle 254-368-7411 Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: We’re anticipating continued cold water, which translates into deep fish and slow, methodical fishing. Don’t hesitate to search channels and channel edges in 45-55 feet of water. Use pauses and “deadstick” approaches when fishing slabs.

Limit boat movement. GPS: N 31 08.740’, W 97 32.381’ LOCATION: Belton HOTSPOT: Beds and Coves GPS: N31 7.08294 W97 29.3904 (31.118049, -97.489840) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: “C”-Rigged 6-inch Zoom Lizard in Watermelon/Red, Watermelon-colored Wacky Rigged Senko, light-weighted C-Rigged Lizard CONTACT: Henry Niemiec - Sure Strike Guide Service 254-368-0294 surestrikeguideservice@yahoo.com www.surestrikeguideservice.com TIPS: The water has warmed up and the big female bass will be moving up on beds. Look for coves that have been protected from north winds and starting at the points leading into these coves and work your way to the backs of them. At the entrance to the cove and on the points, a light (1/4oz. or less) C-Rigged Lizard will pick up those fish that are ready to move up but haven’t yet.

Once back in the coves look for fish up shallow and on beds. A weightless Wacky Rigged Senko (Watermelon colored) flipped into these beds is deadly. Another great pattern this time of the year on Lake Belton or Stillhouse Hollow here in Central Texas, is to fish the spawning flats. This is an exciting time of the year and provides every angler with an opportunity to catch a big bass but please remember these big females are up to spawn. Handle them with care and release them as quickly as possible so others may experience the joy of her on their line in the years to come.

LOCATION: Cedar Creek HOTSPOT: Twin Creeks GPS: N32 19.81122 W96 5.34114 (32.330187, -96.089019) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits

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CONTACT: Jason Barber 903-603-2047 kingscreekadventures.com TIPS: Target the backs of the creeks and other spawning areas. I prefer a six-foot, six-inch medium to medium-heavy rod with 15 to 20 pound test line. I usually fish about one-third of the way back into the creek all the way to the end with a one-half ounce double-blade spinnerbait.

LOCATION: Cooper HOTSPOT: Main Lake Humps GPS: N33 19.53678 W95 40.71438 (33.325613, -95.678573) SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Punch bait, shrimp, chicken liver CONTACT: Tony Parker 903-348-1619 tawakonifishing@yahoo.com tonyparkerfishing.com TIPS: The Lake’s low water levels have restricted the launching of large boats. If you can get a small boat onto the lake, try drift fishing with punch bait or shrimp over the tops and edges of the main lake humps in 10 to 15 feet of water. Chumming the area with soured maize will help increase your chances of catching fish. The fish usually travel the small ditches and other deep-water areas to and from the humps to feed.

LOCATION: Richland Chambers HOTSPOT: Main Lake Points GPS: N31 58.04094 W96 12.6783 (31.967349, -96.211305) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Slabs, Sassy Shad jigs CONTACT: Bob Holmes 214-228-3310 Bob@texasfishingguides.net texasfishingguides.net TIPS: Look for the white bass off the main lake points like Windsock, Ferguson and off Pelican Island.

side of the old Highway 294 roadbed as well as other trees in the area at daybreak and then move under the new bridge nearby and fish the bridge pilings. Many of them have some brush next to the pilings. Fish vertically and expect a light bite.

Later, move up to Little and Big Cedar Creeks and work the shallow brush along the shorelines. The fish are in the spawning mood.

LOCATION: Richland Chambers HOTSPOT: Ferguson Point GPS: N31 57.92802 W96 9.59538 (31.965467, -96.159923) SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Threadfin shad, gizzard shad, shrimp CONTACT: Bob Holmes 214-728-3310 Bob@texasfishingguides.net texasfishingguides.net TIPS: The blue catfish have moved up onto the shallow areas of the main lake points like Ferguson on the south side of the lake. This point gets some good wind from the east and west.

Cast shad on Carolina rigs up onto the points and use a slight slack in the line to see a strike. Some of the mud flats off the other main lake points also should produce fish.

LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow HOTSPOT: Channels GPS: N31 1.18152 W97 34.0203 (31.019692, -97.567005)

SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: TNT180 slab, 3/4 oz. white CONTACT: Bob Maindelle 254-368-7411 Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: We’re anticipating continued cold water, which translates into deep fish and slow, methodical fishing. Don’t hesitate to search channels and channel edges in 45-55 feet of water. Use pauses and “deadstick” approaches when fishing slabs.

Limit boat movement. GPS: N 31 01.962’, W 97 34.588’ LOCATION: Whitney HOTSPOT: Whitney Hump GPS: N31 54.67194 W97 20.87298 (31.911199, -97.347883) SPECIES: striper BEST BAITS: Wide Eye Shad, live gizzard shad CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com teamredneck.net TIPS: Cast Wide Eyed Shad onto the hump early.

The stripers are moving onto the hump to spawn.

After the sun rises, move out and cast live shad onto the hump on Carolina rigs, letting them free line for long distance battles.

LOCATION: Whitney HOTSPOT: Nolan River GPS: N32 5.31306

LOCATION: Richland Chambers HOTSPOT: Highway 287 Area GPS: N32 0.22812 W96 12.72822 (32.003802, -96.212137) SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: Minnows, small jigs CONTACT: Bob Holmes 214-728-2210 Bob@texasfishingguides.net texasfishingguides.net TIPS: Fish the trees and stumps located on either T F & G

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Texas Hotspots W97 28.04286 (32.088551, -97.467381) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shads, Flea Flies, Tail Hummers CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com teamredneck.net TIPS: The white bass are moving up the Brazos and Nolan Rivers to spawn. You also can find some spawning white bass in the other major creeks on the main lake. Tie Flea Flies 10 inches below chartreuse Sassy Shads or use swim baits and cast to the points and along steeper banks.

PANHANDLE

Henry Bass Seek Refuge Up Creek

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Alan Henry HOTSPOT: Creeks and Coves GPS: N33 1.88238 W101 1.9164 (33.031373, -101.03194) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Clear Water: Bomber Fat Free Shads, and Strike Kings XD5,s and XD6,s in a shad color in dirtier water: chartreuse/red colors CONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services 806-792-9220 nclayton42@sbcglobal.net www.lakealanhenry.com/norman_clayton.htm TIPS: March will find the bass at Lake Alan Henry starting to move up the creeks and in the coves.

A lot of bass can still be caught in deep water, but when the water temperature starts hitting in the low 50-degree range it will be time to really break out the crank baits. The bass will be up Gobbler, Rocky, and both Grape and Little Grape creeks.

Use your temperature gauge to find the warmest water in the lake, and you will find the bass. The best days will be after a few days of sunshine, and the northwest coves will be the best.

W98 24.19698 (32.971066, -98.403283) SPECIES: striper BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs, Rat-L-Traps, 3-inch Mister Twister grubs CONTACT: Dean Heffner 940-329-0036 fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: The fish are moving up the major creeks and main river channel including the Brazos River, Rocky Creek, Caddo Creek and Cedar Creek anticipating the spawn. Live baits will continue to out-produce artificial lures but Sassy Shad jigs, Mister Twister grubs and Rat-L-Traps still will catch a lot of fish, including both striped bass and white bass. Other species also can be found here.

Keep an eye out for runoffs at this time of the year. The runoffs will attract feeding fish.

BIG BEND

Bass Scout Spawn Spots at Amistad

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Lake Amistad HOTSPOT: Evans Creek GPS: N29 32.14098 W101 3.6096 (29.535683, -101.060160) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Baybe E swimbaits, spinnerbaits, Senko worms, topwater lures CONTACT: Stan Gerzsenyl 830-768-3648 stan@amistadbass.com amistadbass.com TIPS: Bass are in the back two-thirds of the creeks looking for spawning areas. This creek produces lots of big fish in March. I prefer slow-rolling a spinnerbait in 10-20 feet of water in shad color.

During a cold front, fish slow with a 1/4-ounce Senko.

LOCATION: Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Rocky Creek GPS: N32 58.26396

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HILL COUNTRY

Appointment with Austin Docks

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Austin HOTSPOT: Docks GPS: N30 21.04746 W97 47.84064 (30.350791, -97.797344) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: 5” swimbaits in shad color, Texas and Carolina-rigged El Grande Lures Jr Gila Monsters in the green pumpkin, green pumpkin candy and watermelon red colors.

CONTACT: Bryan Cotter Texas Hawgs Bass Fishing Guide Service 512-762-0190 texashawgs@gmail.com www.texashawgs.com TIPS: North of 360 bridge, fishing is good using 5” swimbaits in shad color around and under docks in 6-10 feet of water. Fishing is also good along deep river channel edges in 16-22 feet of water. Further north use deep diving crankbaits paralleling the outside edge of docks, bluff walls, and rock piles in 10-20 feet of water. Texas and Carolina-rigged El Grande Lures Jr Gila Monsters are working very well on and around flats and grass lines.

LOCATION: Austin HOTSPOT: Grass Beds and Outside Flats GPS: N30 17.70792 W97 47.09262 (30.295132, -97.784877) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: El Grande Lures Hatch Match Sticks or Shaky Heads with watermelon or green pumpkin colored trick worms, El Grande Lures Boom R Ang’s in Talapia, Baby Bass or Foxy Fred colors.

CONTACT: Bryan Cotter - Texas Hawgs Bass Fishing Guide Service 512-762-0190 texashawgs@gmail.com www.texashawgs.com TIPS: Fish deep diving crankbaits down ledges outside grass flats. Work grass beds with El

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Grande Lures Hatch Match Sticks or Shaky Heads.

LOCATION: Buchanan HOTSPOT: Deep River Channel on Upper Buch GPS: N30 52.29498 W98 26.36328 (30.871583, -98.439388) SPECIES: striper BEST BAITS: Live shad.

CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@yahoo.com www.centraltexasfishing.com TIPS: The lake has risen about 3 feet in the last 3 months so the lake is a little safer than before.

Stripers and White Bass are bunching up in deep water ranging from 40 to 70 feet deep and mostly in the river channel. Early morning is good with live bait at 30 ft. down. All the fish recently caught at the time of this report were full of eggs meaning they are on the move toward the upper end on the lake.

LOCATION: Buchanan HOTSPOT: Mid to Upper Buch GPS: N30 50.22594 W98 23.82948 (30.837099, -98.397158) SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Large cut baits or smaller freshcut shad.

CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@yahoo.com http://www.centraltexasfishing.com/ TIPS: Big Blue Cats are excellent early mid to upper lake on Lake Buchanan. Fish in 10 to 20 ft. of water with rod and reel or use jug-fishing rigs.

LOCATION: Buchanan HOTSPOT: Banks GPS: N30 46.25376 W98 25.15308 (30.770896, -98.419218) SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: Cut bait or fresh cut shad.

CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@yahoo.com www.centraltexasfishing.com TIPS: Big blue cats are being caught in the lake using rod and reel or jug lines in 25 to 30 feet of water. Best catching times are in early morning and late evening. Some of these fish have been ranging from 30 pounds and up!

LOCATION: Buchanan HOTSPOT: Island Action T F & G

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GPS: N30 48.5808 W98 23.64924 (30.80968, -98.394154) SPECIES: all species BEST BAITS: Catfish: Cut shad and perch.

White Bass: Silver slabs. Stripers: Silver slabs and live shad CONTACT: Ken Milam’s Guide Service (325) 379-2051 kmilam@verizon.net www.striperfever.com TIPS: Stripers and Hybrids will be on the upper end of the main body the lake around the Shaw Island area and around Rocky Point. Lake Buchanan is still 30+ feet low so the white bass will not be able to make it up the river as easy as years past but there will still be PLENTY to be had in the Silver Creek and Paradise point areas.

Use silver slabs along the ridges. Troll diving baits along the tree line around Garret Island as well.

Catfish will be best on cut shad and perch along the windy side of the point.

LOCATION: Granger HOTSPOT: San Gabriel River GPS: N30 39.84324 W97 23.36502 (30.664054, -97.389417) SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Jigs, Mr. Twister grubs, in-line spinners CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell 512-365-7761 crappie1@hotmail.com gotcrappie.com TIPS: The white bass are moving up the main channels to spawn and will hit just about anything, especially lures with lots of action or spinners.

Cast up into the shallow waters and bring the lures back on a slow, steady retrieve. Once you have caught white bass, place them on ice as soon as possible. This will help keep them in good eating condition.

LOCATION: Travis HOTSPOT: Arkansas Bend GPS: N30 23.70522 W97 56.9988 (30.395087, -97.949980) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Deep crankbaits and C-rigs with Watermelon Finesse worms and Baby Brush Hogs in Watermelon Candy color.

CONTACT: Bryan Cotter - Texas Hawgs Bass Fishing Guide Service 512-762-0190 texashawgs@gmail.com www.texashawgs.com TIPS: Work the Arkansas Bend area using deep A L M A N A C

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LOCATION: Travis HOTSPOT: Sandy Creek GPS: N30 28.16778, W97 54.56292 (30.469463, -97.909382) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Shallow to medium diving crankbaits and Shaky Heads with craw worms.

CONTACT: Bryan Cotter - Texas Hawgs Bass Fishing Guide Service 512-762-0190 texashawgs@gmail.com www.texashawgs.com TIPS: The Sandy Creek area is producing nice bass in the backs of pockets but be sure to fish this area earlier in the day for the best results.

SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS

Falcon Bass Cross into Texas

by BOB HOOD and DUSTIN WARNCKE LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Upper Rio Grande Tributaries GPS: N27 0.06276 W99 23.61198 (27.001046, -99.393533) SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Jigs, plastic worms, lizards, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Robert Amaya 956-765-1442 robertsfishntackle@gmail.com robertsfishntackle.com TIPS: Fish the numerous coves on the Texas side of the Rio Grande with spinnerbaits early and then switch to jigs and soft plastic worms and target the brush along the rocky banks in three to four feet of water. Fish slowly. There are some very large fish spawning in these coves at this time of the year. Many bass will be holding in the tightest cover available but some will be spawning in the small openings between the brush.

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Sportsman’s Daybook MARCH 2014

Tides and Prime Times

USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).

T12

T4

T11

T10

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 T7

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

T6 T17

T3 T2 T1

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

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on many wildlife species.

T13 T5

T14

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

T18

AM & PM MAJOR phases occur when the moon reaches its highest point overhead as well as when it is “underfoot” or at its highest point on the exact opposite side of the earth from your positoin (or literally under your feet). Most days have two Major Feeding Phases, each lasting about 2 hours.

T19

T20

PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

PEAK TIMES: When a Solunar Period falls within 30 minutes to an hour of sunrise or sunset, anticipate increased action. A moon rise or moon set during one of these periods will cause even greater action. If a FULL or NEW MOON occurs during a Solunar Period, expect the best action of the season.

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

PLACE Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass Jetty Sabine Pass Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass Galveston Bay, S. Jetty Port Bolivar

HIGH -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14

LOW -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH Galveston Channel/Bays T7 Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +3:54 T8 Eagle Point +6:05 T9 Clear Lake +10:21 T10 Morgans Point T11 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39

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

KEY T12 T13 T14 T15 T16 T17

PLACE Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay Gilchrist, East Bay Jamaica Beach, W. Bay Alligator Point, W. Bay Christmas Pt Galveston Pleasure Pier

HIGH +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -1:06

LOW +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:33 +2:31 -1:06

KEY T18 T19 T20 T21 T22 T23

PLACE San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor Pass Cavallo Aransas Pass Padre Island (So. End) Port Isabel

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

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION T22 T23

KEYS TO USING THE TIDE AND SOLUNAR GRAPHS TIDE GRAPH:

Yellow: Daylight

12a

Tab: Peak Fishing Period

6a

12p

6p

12a

Light Blue: Nighttime

BEST:

5:30 — 7:30 AM

Green: Falling Tide

Gold Fish: Best Time

Blue: Rising Tide Red Graph: Fishing Score

Blue Fish: Good Time

MINOR Feeding Periods (+/- 1.5 Hrs.) Time Moon is at its Highest Point in the Sky

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY:

12a

AM/PM Timeline

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AM/PM Timeline

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

Moon Overhead: 8:50a 6a

6p

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

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MAJOR Feeding Periods (+/- 2 Hrs.) Time Moon is Directly Underfoot (at its peak on opposite side of the earth)

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SYMBOL KEY

 = New Moon  = First Quarter  = Full Moon  = Last Quarter  = Good Day  = Best Day SUNDAY

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION = Peak Fishing Period

BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

24

Sunrise: 6:49a Moonrise: 2:37a

Set: 6:15p Set: 1:32p

TUESDAY

25

Sunrise: 6:48a Moonrise: 3:33a

26

Set: 6:15p Set: 2:36p

Sunrise: 6:47a Moonrise: 4:26a

THURSDAY

27 

Set: 6:16p Set: 3:43p

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 5:15a

FRIDAY

28 

Set: 6:17p Set: 4:50p

Sunrise: 6:45a Moonrise: 6:01a

SATURDAY

Mar 1 

Set: 6:17p Set: 5:56p

Sunrise: 6:44a Moonrise: 6:44a

2

Set: 6:18p Set: 7:02p

Sunrise: 6:43a Moonrise: 7:25a

Set: 6:19p Set: 8:06p

AM Minor: 12:28a

PM Minor: 12:58p

AM Minor: 1:22a

PM Minor: 1:52p

AM Minor: 2:15a

PM Minor: 2:44p

AM Minor: 3:07a

PM Minor: 3:35p

AM Minor: 3:59a

PM Minor: 4:27p

AM Minor: 4:53a

PM Minor: 5:20p

AM Minor: 5:48a

PM Minor: 6:15p

AM Major: 6:43a

PM Major: 7:13p

AM Major: 7:37a

PM Major: 8:06p

AM Major: 8:29a

PM Major: 8:58p

AM Major: 9:21a

PM Major: 9:50p

AM Major: 10:13a

PM Major: 10:41p

AM Major: 11:06a

PM Major: 11:33p

AM Major: 11:31a

PM Major: 12:01p

Moon Overhead: 8:04a

12a

WEDNESDAY

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 10:02a

Moon Overhead: 9:04a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 11:00a 12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 12:50p

Moon Overhead: 11:56a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for MARCH 2014

Moon Overhead: 1:43p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 8:34p

+2.0

-1.0

TIDE LEVELS

0

BEST:

1:00 — 3:00 AM

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

5:29 AM 2:16 PM 6:37 PM 9:36 PM

2:00 — 4:00 AM

-0.47ft.

1.06ft.

0.97ft.

0.99ft.

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

6:34 AM 2:50 PM 7:26 PM 11:33 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:31p BEST:

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BEST:

3:00 — 5:00 AM

-0.56ft. Low Tide: 7:32 AM 1.09ft. High Tide: 3:20 PM 0.90ft. Low Tide: 8:06 PM 1.02ft.

Moon Underfoot: 11:28p

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Moon Underfoot: 12:23a

BEST:

4:00 — 6:00 AM

-0.59ft. High Tide: 12:58 AM 1.08ft. Low Tide: 8:26 AM 0.77ft. High Tide: 3:48 PM Low Tide: 8:47 PM

Moon Underfoot: None

BEST:

4:30 — 6:30 AM

1.07ft.

-0.55ft.

1.05ft.

0.59ft.

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

F I S H

Moon Underfoot: 1:16a

2:12 AM 9:17 AM 4:15 PM 9:30 PM

&

1.11ft.

-0.44ft.

1.02ft.

0.39ft.

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

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3:21 AM 10:05 AM 4:42 PM 10:15 PM

1.13ft.

-0.26ft.

0.98ft.

0.20ft.

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+2.0

BEST:

12:00 — 2:00 PM

1:00 — 3:00 PM

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

4:28 AM 10:51 AM 5:08 PM 11:02 PM

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+1.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 9:33p

1.12ft.

-0.04ft.

0.96ft.

0.03ft.

+1.0 0 -1.0

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Sportsman’s Daybook

SYMBOL KEY

 = New Moon  = First Quarter  = Full Moon  = Last Quarter  = Good Day  = Best Day SUNDAY

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION = Peak Fishing Period

BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best 2nd Score Graph Score Best

3

Sunrise: 6:42a Moonrise: 8:07a

4

Set: 6:19p Set: 9:08p

Sunrise: 6:41a Moonrise: 8:49a

WEDNESDAY

5

Set: 6:20p Sunrise: 6:40a Set: 10:09p Moonrise: 9:32a

THURSDAY

6

FRIDAY

7

Set: 6:21p Sunrise: 6:39a Set: 6:21p Set: 11:07p Moonrise: 10:16a Set: None

SATURDAY

8

9 Begin DST

Sunrise: 6:38a Set: 6:22p Sunrise: 6:37a Set: 6:23p Sunrise: 7:35a Moonrise: 11:02a Set: 12:03a Moonrise: 11:49a Set: 12:56a Moonrise: 1:38p

Set: 7:23p Set: 2:45a

AM Minor: 6:45a

PM Minor: 7:11p

AM Minor: 7:43a

PM Minor: 8:09p

AM Minor: 8:40a

PM Minor: 9:06p

AM Minor: 9:36a

PM Minor: 10:01p

AM Minor: 10:30a

PM Minor: 10:55p

AM Minor: 11:20a

PM Minor: 11:45p

AM Minor: 12:44a

PM Minor: 1:08p

AM Major: 12:32a

PM Major: 12:58p

AM Major: 1:30a

PM Major: 1:56p

AM Major: 2:27a

PM Major: 2:53p

AM Major: 3:24a

PM Major: 3:49p

AM Major: 4:17a

PM Major: 4:42p

AM Major: 5:08a

PM Major: 5:33p

AM Major: 6:56a

PM Major: 7:20p

Moon Overhead: 2:35p

12a

TUESDAY

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 4:18p

Moon Overhead: 3:26p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 5:08p 12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 6:47p

Moon Overhead: 5:58p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for MARCH 2014

Moon Overhead: 8:35p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:09a

+2.0

-1.0

TIDE LEVELS

0

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

5:36 AM 11:36 AM 5:35 PM 11:51 PM

ALMANAC Digital.indd 92

Moon Underfoot: 3:52a

BEST:

BEST:

2:30 — 4:30 PM

1.08ft. High Tide: 6:46 AM 0.19ft. Low Tide: 12:19 PM 0.94ft. High Tide: 6:01 PM -0.09ft.

1.03ft.

0.42ft.

0.93ft.

Moon Underfoot: 4:43a BEST:

3:00 — 5:00 PM

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

12:44 AM 8:03 AM 1:03 PM 6:26 PM

-0.15ft.

0.98ft.

0.63ft.

0.92ft.

Moon Underfoot: 5:33a BEST:

4:00 — 6:00 PM

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

1:41 AM 9:31 AM 1:49 PM 6:50 PM

-0.17ft.

0.94ft.

0.79ft.

0.92ft.

Moon Underfoot: 6:23a BEST:

5:00 — 7:00 PM 7:30 — 9:30 AM

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

2:47 AM 11:19 AM 4:05 PM 7:10 PM

-0.15ft. Low Tide: 4:01 AM 0.95ft. High Tide: 1:25 PM 0.91ft.

0.92ft.

Moon Underfoot: 8:11a

+2.0

BEST:

12:30 — 2:30 AM

-0.13ft. Low Tide: 0.99ft. High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

6:15 AM 3:23 PM 9:00 PM 10:35 PM

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

BEST:

1:30 — 3:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:01a

-0.11ft.

1.02ft.

0.91ft.

0.92ft

+1.0 0 -1.0

2/12/14 9:55 AM

ALMANAC Digital.indd 93

2/12/14 9:55 AM

Sportsman’s Daybook

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

= Peak Fishing Period

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

Fishing Day’s Best 2nd Score Graph Score Best

10

Sunrise: 7:34a Moonrise: 2:28p

Set: 7:24p Set: 3:30a

11

Sunrise: 7:33a Moonrise: 3:19p

WEDNESDAY

12

Set: 7:24p Set: 4:13a

Sunrise: 7:32a Moonrise: 4:11p

THURSDAY

13

Set: 7:25p Set: 4:52a

Sunrise: 7:31a Moonrise: 5:03p

FRIDAY

14 

Set: 7:26p Set: 5:29a

Sunrise: 7:30a Moonrise: 5:56p

SATURDAY

Set: 7:26p Set: 6:04a

15 

Sunrise: 7:29a Moonrise: 6:49p

Set: 7:27p Set: 6:39a

SUNDAY

16 

Sunrise: 7:27a Moonrise: 7:43p

Set: 7:27p Set: 7:13a

AM Minor: 1:29a

PM Minor: 1:52p

AM Minor: 2:11a

PM Minor: 2:34p

AM Minor: 2:52a

PM Minor: 3:14p

AM Minor: 3:32a

PM Minor: 3:54p

AM Minor: 4:11a

PM Minor: 4:33p

AM Minor: 4:52a

PM Minor: 5:13p

AM Minor: 5:34a

PM Minor: 5:56p

AM Major: 7:40a

PM Major: 8:04p

AM Major: 8:23a

PM Major: 8:46p

AM Major: 9:03a

PM Major: 9:26p

AM Major: 9:43a

PM Major: 10:05p

AM Major: 10:22a

PM Major: 10:44p

AM Major: 11:03a

PM Major: 11:24p

AM Major: 11:45a

PM Major: ——-

Moon Overhead: 9:22p

12a

TUESDAY

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 10:52p

Moon Overhead: 10:07p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 11:36p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

Moon Overhead: None 6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 12:20a 12a

6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:04a

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for MARCH 2014

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 8:58a

+2.0

-1.0

TIDE LEVELS

0

Low Tide: 7:20 AM High Tide: 3:44 PM Low Tide: 9:09 PM

ALMANAC Digital.indd 94

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 11:14a

BEST:

10:00A — 12:00P

-0.09ft. High Tide: 12:03 AM 1.02ft. Low Tide: 8:12 AM 0.89ft. High Tide: 3:57 PM Low Tide: 9:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:30a

BEST:

10:30A — 12:30P

0.95ft.

-0.07ft.

1.02ft.

0.85ft.

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

1:12 AM 8:53 AM 4:10 PM 9:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:58a

Moon Underfoot: 12:42p

BEST:

BEST:

11:00P — 12:00A 11:30A — 1:30P

0.99ft.

-0.03ft.

1.01ft.

0.78ft.

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

2:11 AM 9:27 AM 4:24 PM 9:32 PM

1.04ft.

0.02ft.

1.01ft.

0.69ft.

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

3:02 AM 9:58 AM 4:40 PM 9:54 PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:26p

1.09ft.

0.09ft.

1.02ft.

0.59ft.

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

3:52 AM 10:26 AM 4:58 PM 10:21 PM

1.13ft.

0.18ft.

1.03ft.

0.48ft.

+2.0

BEST:

11:30P — 12:30A 12:00 — 2:00AM

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

4:40 AM 10:55 AM 5:16 PM 10:52 PM

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

BEST:

9:00 — 11:00 AM

Moon Underfoot: 9:45a

1.16ft.

0.28ft.

1.03ft.

0.36ft.

+1.0 0 -1.0

2/12/14 9:55 AM

SYMBOL KEY

 = New Moon  = First Quarter  = Full Moon  = Last Quarter  = Good Day  = Best Day SUNDAY

Tides and Prime Times for MARCH 2014

17 

Sunrise: 7:26a Moonrise: 8:39p

Set: 7:28p Set: 7:49a

TUESDAY

18 

Sunrise: 7:25a Moonrise: 9:35p

19

Sunrise: 7:24a Set: 7:29p Moonrise: 10:33p Set: 9:06a

THURSDAY

20

Sunrise: 7:23a Set: 7:30p Moonrise: 11:32p Set: 9:49a

21

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 7:22a Moonrise: None

SATURDAY

22

23 

Set: 7:30p Sunrise: 7:20a Set: 7:31p Sunrise: 7:19a Set: 10:36a Moonrise: 12:32a Set: 11:28a Moonrise: 1:30a

Set: 7:31p Set: 12:24p

AM Minor: 6:19a

PM Minor: 6:42p

AM Minor: 7:08a

PM Minor: 7:32p

AM Minor: 8:01a

PM Minor: 8:25p

AM Minor: 8:57a

PM Minor: 9:22p

AM Minor: 9:55a

PM Minor: 10:22p

AM Minor: 10:55a

PM Minor: 11:23p

AM Minor: 11:54a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 12:08a

PM Major: 12:31p

AM Major: 12:56a

PM Major: 1:20p

AM Major: 1:48a

PM Major: 2:13p

AM Major: 2:44a

PM Major: 3:09p

AM Major: 3:41a

PM Major: 4:08p

AM Major: 4:41a

PM Major: 5:09p

AM Major: 5:40a

PM Major: 6:08p

Moon Overhead: 1:48a

12a

Set: 7:29p Set: 8:26a

WEDNESDAY

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 3:22a

Moon Overhead: 2:34a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 4:13a 12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 6:00a

Moon Overhead: 5:05a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 6:57a 12a

6a

12p

6p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:11p

+2.0

-1.0

TIDE LEVELS

0

BEST:

12:30 — 2:30 AM

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

5:29 AM 11:25 AM 5:33 PM 11:25 PM

ALMANAC Digital.indd 95

BEST:

1:30 — 3:30 AM

1.18ft.

0.40ft.

1.03ft.

0.25ft.

High Tide: 6:22 AM Low Tide: 11:58 AM High Tide: 5:48 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:47p

BEST:

2:00 — 4:00 AM

1.19ft.

0.54ft.

1.03ft.

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

12:03 AM 7:20 AM 12:33 PM 5:58 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:39p

BEST:

3:00 — 5:00 AM

0.14ft.

1.19ft.

0.69ft.

1.05ft.

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

12:45 AM 8:26 AM 1:10 PM 6:02 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:33p

BEST:

4:00 — 6:00 AM

0.04ft.

1.19ft.

0.85ft.

1.07ft.

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

1:33 AM 9:44 AM 1:51 PM 6:02 PM

Moon Underfoot: 6:28p

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

2:29 AM 11:12 AM 2:44 PM 6:01 PM

+2.0

BEST:

5:00 — 7:00 AM

-0.04ft.

1.19ft.

0.99ft.

1.12ft.

Moon Underfoot: 7:25p 12:00 — 2:00 AM

-0.09ft.

1.22ft.

1.11ft.

1.16ft.

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

3:34 AM 12:37 PM 4:22 PM 5:50 PM

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 2:58p

-0.13ft.

1.25ft.

1.18ft.

1.18ft.

+1.0 0 -1.0

2/12/14 9:55 AM

Sportsman’s Daybook

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION = Peak Fishing Period

BEST:

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

24

Sunrise: 7:18a Moonrise: 2:26a

TUESDAY

25

Set: 7:32p Set: 1:24p

Sunrise: 7:17a Moonrise: 3:18a

26

Set: 7:33p Set: 2:28p

Sunrise: 7:16a Moonrise: 4:07a

THURSDAY

27

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

Sunrise: 7:14a Moonrise: 4:53a

FRIDAY

28

Set: 7:34p Set: 4:38p

Sunrise: 7:13a Moonrise: 5:36a

SATURDAY

Set: 7:34p Set: 5:42p

29 

Sunrise: 7:12a Moonrise: 6:17a

SUNDAY

30 

Set: 7:35p Set: 6:46p

Sunrise: 7:11a Moonrise: 6:58a

Set: 7:35p Set: 7:49p

AM Minor: 12:23a

PM Minor: 12:52p

AM Minor: 1:18a

PM Minor: 1:46p

AM Minor: 2:10a

PM Minor: 2:38p

AM Minor: 2:59a

PM Minor: 3:26p

AM Minor: 3:47a

PM Minor: 4:14p

AM Minor: 4:35a

PM Minor: 5:01p

AM Minor: 5:25a

PM Minor: 5:51p

AM Major: 6:37a

PM Major: 7:06p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 8:00p

AM Major: 8:24a

PM Major: 8:52p

AM Major: 9:13a

PM Major: 9:40p

AM Major: 10:00a

PM Major: 10:27p

AM Major: 10:48a

PM Major: 11:14p

AM Major: 11:38a

PM Major: 12:04p

Moon Overhead: 7:54a

12a

WEDNESDAY

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 9:48a

Moon Overhead: 8:51a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:43a

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 12:29p

Moon Overhead: 11:36a 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for MARCH 2014

Moon Overhead: 1:21p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 8:23p

+2.0 TIDE LEVELS

0

BEST:

-1.0

BEST:

12:00 — 2:00 AM

-0.14ft. Low Tide: 1.28ft. High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

31 

Sunrise: 7:10a Moonrise: 7:40a

Apr 1  Sunrise: 7:09a Moonrise: 8:23a

2

Set: 7:36p Set: 9:51p

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 9:07a

3

1.17ft.

-0.03ft.

1.22ft.

0.68ft.

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

THURSDAY

Set: 7:37p Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 10:50p Moonrise: 9:53a

4

Moon Underfoot: 12:55a

BEST:

4:30 — 6:30 AM

-0.10ft. High Tide: 1:11 AM 1.25ft. Low Tide: 8:18 AM 0.88ft. High Tide: 3:22 PM Low Tide: 8:52 PM

WEDNESDAY

Moon Underfoot: 12:03a

BEST:

3:30 — 5:30 AM

-0.14ft. Low Tide: 7:15 AM 1.28ft. High Tide: 2:55 PM 1.04ft. Low Tide: 8:18 PM 1.11ft.

TUESDAY

Set: 7:36p Set: 8:51p

BEST:

3:00 — 5:00 AM

6:04 AM 2:23 PM 7:57 PM 11:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: None

2:30 AM 9:15 AM 3:48 PM 9:30 PM

1.25ft.

0.09ft.

1.18ft.

0.46ft.

FRIDAY

Set: 7:38p Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 7:38p Set: 11:45p Moonrise: 10:41a Set: None

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

3:41 AM 10:07 AM 4:13 PM 10:10 PM

1.33ft.

0.25ft.

1.16ft.

0.25ft.

5

12:30 — 2:30 PM

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

SATURDAY

4:46 AM 10:56 AM 4:37 PM 10:51 PM

6

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 7:39p Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 7:39p Moonrise: 11:30a Set: 12:37a Moonrise: 12:20p Set: 1:25a

AM Minor: 7:13a

PM Minor: 7:39p

AM Minor: 8:10a

PM Minor: 8:36p

AM Minor: 9:07a

PM Minor: 9:33p

AM Minor: 10:04a

PM Minor: 10:29p

AM Minor: 10:58a

PM Minor: 11:22p

AM Minor: 11:49a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 12:05a

PM Major: 12:31p

AM Major: 1:00a

PM Major: 1:26p

AM Major: 1:57a

PM Major: 2:23p

AM Major: 2:54a

PM Major: 3:20p

AM Major: 3:51a

PM Major: 4:16p

AM Major: 4:45a

PM Major: 5:10p

AM Major: 5:37a

PM Major: 6:01p

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 3:57p

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 4:48p

6p

12a

6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:28p

Moon Overhead: 5:39p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

12p

6p

Moon Overhead: 7:16p 12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

FEET

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 1:47a

+2.0

-1.0

BEST:

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

5:49 AM 11:42 AM 5:02 PM 11:34 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:31a

BEST:

1:00 — 3:00 PM

TIDE LEVELS

0

Moon Underfoot: 2:39a

BEST:

2:00 — 4:00 PM

1.41ft. High Tide: 6:50 AM 0.62ft. Low Tide: 12:28 PM 1.15ft. High Tide: 5:26 PM -0.04ft.

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY

1.41ft.

0.80ft.

1.16ft.

Moon Underfoot: 4:23a BEST:

2:30 — 4:30 PM

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

PLACE

12:18 AM 7:53 AM 1:13 PM 5:49 PM

-0.09ft.

1.38ft.

0.94ft.

1.16ft.

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

1:04 AM 9:00 AM 2:02 PM 6:08 PM

HIGH

LOW

KEY

Sabine Bank Lighthouse -1:46

-1:31

Galveston Channel/Bays

PLACE

T2

Sabine Pass Jetty

-1:26

-1:31

T7

T3

Sabine Pass

-1:00

-1:15

T4

Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass -0:04

-0:25

T5

Galveston Bay, S. Jetty -0:39

T6

Port Bolivar

-0.08ft.

1.34ft.

1.06ft.

1.16ft.

HIGH

LOW

Moon Underfoot: 6:03a

BEST:

3:30 — 5:30 PM

T1

+0:14

Moon Underfoot: 5:14a

BEST:

1:54 AM 10:13 AM 3:18 PM 6:06 PM

12:00 — 2:00 AM

-0.02ft. Low Tide: 2:50 AM 1.29ft. High Tide: 11:32 AM 1.14ft.

1.15ft.

0.07ft.

1.26ft.

Low Tide: 3:54 AM High Tide: 12:49 PM

KEY

PLACE

HIGH

LOW

KEY

PLACE

HIGH

T12

Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay +5:48

+4:43

T18

San Luis Pass

-0.09

-0.09

Texas City Turning Basin+0:33 +0:41

T13

Gilchrist, East Bay

+4:18

T19

Freeport Harbor

-0:44

-1:02

T8

Eagle Point

+3:54

+4:15

T14

Jamaica Beach, W. Bay +2:38

+3:31

T20

Pass Cavallo

0:00

-1:20

T9

Clear Lake

+6:05

+6:40

T15

Alligator Point, W. Bay +2:39

+2:33

T21

Aransas Pass

-0:03

-1:31

-1:05

T10

Morgans Point

+10:21 +5:19

T16

Christmas Pt

+2:32

+2:31

T22

Padre Island (So. End) -0:24

-1:45

-0:06

T11

Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39 +5:15

T17

Galveston Pleasure Pier -1:06

-1:06

T23

Port Isabel

-0:42

+3:16

+2.0

BEST:

9:30 — 11:30 PM 5:30 — 7:30 AM

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

Moon Underfoot: 6:52a

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

0

SUNDAY

PM Minor: 6:44p

Moon Overhead: 3:05p

+1.0

-1.0

1.39ft.

0.44ft.

1.15ft.

0.08ft.

AM Minor: 6:18a

Moon Overhead: 2:13p

+2.0

BEST:

12:00 — 2:00 PM

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

MONDAY

Moon Underfoot: 11:10p

BEST:

1:00 — 3:00 AM

Low Tide: 4:48 AM High Tide: 1:40 PM

12a

Moon Underfoot: 10:15p

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 9:20p

+1:02

0.17ft.

1.25ft

+1.0 0 -1.0

LOW

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION 96 |

M A R C H

ALMANAC Digital.indd 96

2 0 1 4

T E X A S

F I S H

&

G A M E ®

T F & G

A L M A N A C

2/12/14 9:55 AM

ALMANAC Digital.indd 97

2/12/14 9:55 AM

PHOTO: © BILDERSTOECKCHEN - FOTOLIA.COM

Sporting Tales

Armed Seniors

Senior Citizens are taking up arms in record numbers. Are they adequately trained?

BY ROD BOUFFARD SENIOR CITIZENS ARE BUYING FIREARMS AT A RATE EQUAL TO— or exceeding—the general purchase rate of the population. The question is: are we capable of using the firearms we purchase?

The assumption is that when you purchase a firearm, you either know how to use it, or are going to seek training in its use. The fact is that many neither know

how to use the firearm or seek training. In some cases, these individuals get a friend or family member to show them how to load and shoot a few rounds in a firearm. But

98 |

F I S H

M A R C H

ALMANAC Digital.indd 98

2 0 1 4

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is this really training, and from this “training,” could they utilize the firearm on their own? Better yet could they defend themselves with their firearm?

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In Texas, it is very popular to get a Concealed Handgun License (CHL).

When you get the license, you are supposed to be at least basically proficient in the use of a handgun. But frequently, this is not the case. I know of many folks who have CHLs who could not demonstrate today that they have an even basic proficiency with a handgun. They may have passed the test to get a license, but if you have taken the test, you know it’s pretty easy. Even if you were proficient when you took the test, proficiency must be maintained with practice. If a certain percentage of folks with CHLs are not proficient with a handgun, what does that say about all handgun owners in general?

Proficiency with a handgun, or other firearm for a senior citizen, can even be more complicated than for other folks. Our vision may not be as good. Our reaction time is slower. Our grip may be affected by arthritis or any number of other bodily infirmities.

So, if we couple the lack of proficiency with firearms along with the possible bodily infirmities of a certain percentage of senior citizens, you get a potential for some undesirable outcomes.

I have a friend, a senior citizen who will go unnamed, who thought that with the hype about crime and second amendment challenges that it would be a good idea to have a handgun (common thinking among senior citizens). I took him to the range to try my handgun. He liked it and immediately went and bought his own handgun.

He then went to the range to shoot it without further training. When he fired his first shot, the slide came back and pinched his hand, injuring him because of improper grip. He has not fired the handgun since, yet he keeps it loaded at home.

Another friend, who has arthritis in his hands, wanted a handgun for the same reasons as most. He went to a gun store to purchase a handgun. The sales clerk, not knowing his fragilities, sold him a very nice short barrel .45 automatic. He can no more handle that gun than the man in the moon. One shot and he is done.

Anna M. Tinsley, in her Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article of Sept. 13, 2013, writes: “As the number of concealed handgun licenses continues to increase in Texas, the top age group seeking concealed handgun licenses in the past five years T F & G

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has been over 50” and “Last year, more 57-year-old Texans sought a CHL than any other age.”

At the end of 2012, it was estimated that there were 313.9 million people in the United States. Approximately 13-percent of this population was 65 years of age or older, or approximately 40.8 million were senior citizens.

There have been a number of recent reports on aging baby boomers which indicate that in 2011, baby boomers began turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day, a rate which will continue for at least 10 years. The result is that between 2020 and 2030, the number of senior citizens will double to over 80 million, resulting in one in five Americans being over 65.

The 2012 population estimate for Texas is 26.1 million people. The percent of that population over 65 is slightly lower than the national rate, sitting at 10.5-percent and resulting in approximately 2.7 million senior citizens in Texas. However, the rate of growth is expected to increase somewhat as senior citizens continue to move to warmer states.

Using the same data rate (of U.S. calculations) for increases in the Texas population turning 65, there will be approximately 5.4 million people over 65 in Texas between 2020 and 2030. In Texas baby boomers will turn 65 at a rate of approximately 830 a day for the next 10 years.

While there are a number of estimates on the number of guns in the U.S., nobody knows exactly how many. Most projections are in excess of 300 million with about one-third of those being handguns. This would equate to a firearm for every person in the U.S. However, not everyone owns a firearm while some own multiple firearms.

At the end of 2011, Gallup, Inc. estimated Texas gun ownership by individuals at 36-percent.

The problem is that this data is a little dated. Gun sales soared in 2013 and continue to rise. The other difficult problem here is that no one really knows how many guns are in the possession of senior citizens. We know that they are there in large numbers and that purchases have increased significantly, but just how many is hard to put an actual number on.

However, if we believe there will be at least 5.4 million Texans over 65 in the next few years, and we assume gun ownerA L M A N A C

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ship and purchases equate to the overall average, we get approximately 1.9 million Texans who will own firearms. If we take a conservative estimate and say 25-percent are not proficient in the use of their firearms, we get about a half-million senior citizens with firearms they are not capable of using. This does not even address the general population of gun owners and I find this troubling.

The question is what do we do? I am a firm believer in the second amendment.

I also believe more regulation would be ineffective. Who is to say what makes one proficient?

The answer lies with those of us who are knowledgeable firearms advocates, dealers, trainers, and regular users. When we sell a gun, we can tell a person’s skill level.

When we talk to folks about guns, we can determine their skill level. And when we observe their actions, we can observe their skill level. It is our responsibility to do our best to convince the folks we see that are not proficient with firearms to get training and to practice.

So, I implore you to stress firearms competence. It is not enough to sell a firearm or just offer training. We must make it our responsibility to ensure that those we come in contact with who have firearms are capable of safely using them.

When you have identified someone who needs training, seriously talk to them about available training, and talk to them about their need to get training. Give them publications about training options. Give them business cards. Introduce them to trainers or anything else you can do to convince them to get adequately trained.

I am a senior citizen. I love shooting and I would never give up my firearms.

But the truth of the matter is that an inadequately trained shooter is a danger to us all.

Rod Bouffard is one of the organizers of the Seniors Gun Association. For more information, visit the website, SeniorsGunAssociation.com

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Texas Tasted

by Bryan Slaven | The Texas Gourmet

Duck and Sausage Gumbo

D

UCK HUNTING IN TEXAS IS A LONG standing tradition. Many people are hesitant to eat duck, but if it is properly taken care of it’s a delicacy.

We do a lot of our duck hunting out of the Saltwater Lodge just out of Port O’Connor, Texas. Saltwater Lodge is 2,400-square feet of sheer enjoyment. The well-appointed great room features plush, overstuffed couches, a 70-inch TV with surround sound, a versatile game table, and a relaxing reading area with an excellent view of the natural landscape and two-acre fishing pond.

The main lodge building houses the manager’s office and two bedrooms plus a complete commercial kitchen, which enables us to feed very large groups on request. The WiFiequipped dining area has seating for up to 16. A large picture window invites diners to feast their eyes on the beautiful scenery while enjoying their meal. The casual, welcoming

atmosphere of the lodge makes it an ideal setting for a variety of activities: dining, table games, watching a movie or sporting event, or just kicking back and relaxing.

There are two cabins on the property for the exclusive use of two- or three-person fishing/hunting parties. Each cabin has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting area, and an outdoor covered deck.

Give Scott Weiler a call to set up your next duck hunt, fishing trip or relaxing weekend at 832-335-0266 or check out the site at www.saltwaterlodgetx.com.

Ingredients 6 to 8 duck breasts, with breast bone 4 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups small diced onion 3/4 cup small diced celery 3/4 cup small diced green, red and/or yellow bell peppers 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 (12-ounce) bottle of stout beer (recommended: Shiner Bock Beer, or your local favorite) 6 cups chicken stock, or water 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves ½ teaspoon black peppercorns 5 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage (or other smoked sausage), cut into 1/2-inch rounds Steamed white rice, for serving 1 cup chopped green onions 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves

Directions Rinse the duck breasts under cold running water both inside and out. Remove the breasts filets from the breast bone. Place the bones into a large stock pot and add eight cups of water, two chopped stalks of celery, ½ chopped onion, two bay leaves, thyme, and four cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium heat and allow to cook for 1 ½ hours. Strain the mixture and 100 |

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set aside. .

Place the breast filets in a large bowl of cold water (approximately six to eight cups), add three tablespoons of salt and stir well.

Add two cups of ice and mash the breasts lightly with the back of a wooden spoon to release any blood and carefully remove any shot. Change the water out after 30 minutes and repeat, this will allow the duck to taste its best. Remove the breasts from the water, pat dry, then season with The Texas Gourmet’s Sidewinder Searing Spice on both sides.

Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat for two minutes, or until hot. Place the seasoned breasts in the pan and sear until golden brown, about three to four minutes.

Turn and sear on the second side as well for an additional three to four minutes. Remove the breasts from the pan and place on a platter while you make the roux. Once cooled, dice the breasts into small bite sized squares.

Add the vegetable oil to the Dutch oven as well as the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir the roux continuously over medium heat until the color of dark chocolate, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the onions, celery, peppers, and garlic to the roux and stir gently until the vegetables are slightly wilted, about four to five minutes. Pour the beer over the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Add the stock to the pan with the thyme, bay leaves, Sidewinder Searing Spice, cayenne pepper, and the remaining two teaspoons of salt. Add the sausage, then stir the pot well to ensure that the roux and the stock are well blended.

Raise the heat to medium-high, bring the gumbo to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the diced duck breasts to the gumbo, stir, and cover. Cook for another 30 to 45 minutes, then it is ready to serve.

To serve the gumbo, ladle one cup into a heated soup bowl with 1/4 cup white rice.

Garnish with the green onions and chopped parsley.

Serves 12 Email Bryan Slaven, “The Texas Gourmet,” at bryan@thetexasgourmet.com A L M A N A C

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WHITETAIL Uvalde County Sara Wright, 13, of Sugarland shot her first deer ever on her first hunt ever with her uncle Michael Pettigrew and cousin Brett Carter in Uvalde county.

FLOUNDER Sabine Pass Madelynn Salvaggio, age 6, caught her firstever fish, a 24-inch, six pound flounder, while fishing with her Dad, Mom and sister Emma.

She caught it on a Gulp! Shrimp.

CATFISH Lake Travis Eight-year-old J.T. Hawthorne of Houston caught and released this catfish from his family’s boat dock on Lake Travis New Year’s Day. It was his biggest catch in five years.

FLOUNDER Matagorda Josè Aleman caught this 20-inch flounder while fishing near Matagorda, using Gulp! New Penny Shrimp.

SPECKLED TROUT Port Aransas Dr. Keith Burnett of Port Aransas, caught this monster “gator” 31-inch, 10.28 pound, speckled trout off the South Jetty on a silver spoon. He reported that “the big one got away!”

VERMILION SNAPPER Offshore Seven-year-old Luke Pool from Kyle caught a vermilion snapper on his first offshore trip. He and his family were fishing out of Port Aransas.

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MAIL TO: TFG PHOTOS 1745 Greens Rd, Houston TX 77032 NOTE: Print photos can not be returned.

EMAIL: photos@FishGame.com

For best results, send MED to HIGH quality JPEG digital files only, please.

No guarantee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

BASS Jasper Joseph Ramey caught this nice largemouth while in the Jasper City park. He gave it the CPR treatment— Catch, Photograph, Release—to be caught another day.

REDFSIH Galveston Bay

SPECKLED TROUT

Six-year-old Blake Lance caught this 17-inch redfish while fishing in Galveston Bay. Blake’s mom, Amanda Lance, says Blake is an avid young fisherman who loves and respects the outdoors.

Laguna Madre Samantha Barnett caught this 27.5-inch trout while fishing in the Laguna Madre.

REDFISH Laguna Madre Jaime Quiroga caught this monstrous 30-inch redfish while drifting into Peyton’s Bay out of the Lower Laguna Madre. An artificial, Saltwater Assassin was the enticing bait he used to land this beauty.

NILGAI Encino Mark Loredo of Rio Hondo shot this nilgai while hunting in Encino with friends.

BOBCAT Graham Brent Miklos, 16, shot this bobcat while deer hunting with his father, Troy, north of Graham on New Year’s Day. The cat was creeping up on a feeder where squirrels had been eating.

WHITETAIL Llano Daniel Roberts got this nine-point buck with a bow while hunting at the Johnson Ranch in Llano.

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ROOSTERFISH Costa Rica Debbie Otis of Houston caught this roosterfish near Jaco, Costa Rica. The fish was successfully released.

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