November 2008 by Texas Fish & Game

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

ROY NEVES PUBLISHER

DON ZAIDLE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CHESTER

MOORE

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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

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

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

P R O D U C T I O N

JIMMY BORNE ART DIRECTOR

LINDSAY WHITMAN

• GRAPHIC ARTIST

A D V E R T I S I N G

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

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NOVEMBER 2008 • Volume XXIV • NO.7

QUALITY BUCKS IN THE HILL COUNTRY

Hill Country deer hunters should take a cue from Horace Greeley (“Go west... ) and head for some of the counties on the western edges of the Texas Hill Country.

by Cliff Dodson HUNTING MYTHS

Three things likely to emerge from deer camps across Texas this fall: the combined essence of fresh coffee and sizzling bacon, mingled sounds of snoring and cussing hunters, and conversation regarding myths and misconceptions about hunting.

by Bob Hood ON THE COVERS:

AMERICA’S DUCK FACTORY

A pilgrimage to America’s most productive waterfowl breeding grounds, the Missouri Couteau region near Tuttle, North Dakota.

COASTAL: A typically irrepressable Texas angler fishes in the Sabine Lake area, amid storm debris left in Hurricane Ike’s wake.

Photo by Gerald Burleigh

by Chester Moore LATE FALL LUNKERS

Regardless of what your personal definition for a “lunker” largemouth is, we’ll show you where on five top Texas lakes you are most likely to hook a November lunker.

INLAND/NORTH: This monster buck would make the most seasoned hunter’s heart skip a beat.

Photo by Grady Allen

MYTH AND MYTHOS OF THE TEXAS SAWFISH

by Barry St. Clair TWO TIDE, FOUR TIDES

Have you wondered why the Texas coast experienes a high and a low tide on some days, and two highs and two lows on others? Tides are the least understood aspect of coastal fishing. Hopefully this article will clear up some of the mystery.

by Greg Berlocher 4

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THE TEXAS OFFSHORE CHALLENGE AND MUCH MORE...

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NOVEMBER 2008 • Volume XXIV • NO.7

COLUMNS 8 Editor’s Notes Ike, Energy, & Politics

58 Texas Freshwater Fighting the Gas War

by DON ZAIDLE TF&G Editor-in-Chief

22 Commentary

The Truth About the Humane Society

by MATT WILLIAMS TF&G Freshwater Editor

Save the Southern Flounder

59 Texas Saltwater

TF&G SPECIAL REPORT

A Letter to My Son

by KENDAL HEMPHILL TF&G Commentator

24 Chester’s Notes

DEPARTMENTS

by CALIXTO GONZALES TF&G Saltwater Editor

60 Texas Deer Hunting Deer Stands and Rabbit Trails

by CHESTER MOORE TF&G Executive Editor

by PAUL BRADSHAW TF&G Contributing Editor

26 Doggett at Large Advice for the Deer Woods

HURRICANE IKE: THE AFTERMATH

by JOE DOGGETT TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

12 pages of exclusive hurricane coverage from the unique perspective of Texas Fish & Game : how this monster storm will impact fishing and hunting in Texas (plus more coverage in our Almanac Section).

50 TF&G Test Pilot

Cobia 216CC; Desperado 22 Outlaw by JOE DOGGETT TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

52 Texas Bowhunter 62 Open Season

Be Gung-Ho or Just Don’t Go

Rain and Mouse Guts

by TED NUGENT TF&G Bowhunting Editor

by REAVIS WORTHAM TF&G Humor Editor

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TROPHY QUEST TFG ON CAMPUS

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Ike, Energy, & Politics HE ELECTION IS THIS MONTH, AND I originally planned to write about the Hobson’s choice the political parties offered up for presidential candidates. Then Ike came along and change every mouse’s best-laid plans. In this case, it turns out that hurricanes and politics have more in common than creating havoc and destruction: energy. Ike damaged or destroyed at least 49 production platforms in the Gulf, and the Department of Interior has said some will not be rebuilt. Let’s see... Gasoline costs $4 per gallon. OPEC holds the U.S. hostage with the implied threat of cutting off the oil. The government bans drilling offshore and in the rich oil fields of Alaska. And now, producing platforms in the Gulf that Ike damaged or destroyed will not be rebuilt. Yep, that’s our government at work, all right. The Al Gore disciples want the government to fund pie-in-the-sky “alternative energy” solutions, such as all-electric cars. That ain’t going to work. You cannot tow a boat or haul lawn furniture with an electric car. And in Texas, a simple trip to the grocery store is often measured in miles, sometimes tens of miles, not city blocks. The technology simply isn’t there. Here is another newsflash: Current technology limits the feasibly of wind as an immediate major source of power generation, with feasible utilization projected by the U.S. Department of Energy to year 2030 or beyond. It is clear that neither the environmentalist nut-jobs nor congress understand the concept of conservation. Therefore, in hopes of educating maybe one or two in those camps, I offer a simple “what if ” thought experi8

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PHOTO BY COURTESY OF NASA

What is the cost—economically, ecologically, and politically—to keep all those lights burning?

ment. Look closely at the photo above and ponder these questions: What if the U.S. government did something that would make an immediate difference in energy consumption, such as mandate that cities extinguish half of all streetlights (every other light along each street). What if those cities used the resulting energy savings to replace streetlights with highly efficient LED technology. What if the government mandated that the lights in all unoccupied buildings be extinguished after 10 P.M. What if the government mandated that all illuminated billboards go black after 11 P.M. What if the government funded development of vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas (natural gas), which the U.S. has in plenty. How much energy would these measures conserve? How much would pollution from electricity generation be reduced? How F i s h

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much would our dependence on foreign oil be reduced? How much would “light pollution” be reduced? Of course, we must remember we are dealing with a congress that, when gasoline cost $4 per gallon, diesel $5 per gallon, and crude oil more than $130 per barrel, it busied itself investigating steroid use by professional baseball players, cheating in the NFL, and what al-Qaeda is posting on YouTube. And as I write this, said congress is scurrying to bail out all those campaign fund contributors in the financial industry with a few hundred billion of our tax dollars. Yes, let’s remember the kind of people we are dealing with—especially when we step into the voting booth.

E-mail Don Zaidle at editor@fishgame.com

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Hurricane Ike, photographed from the International Space Station. Photo courtesy of NASA

How Hurricane Ike affected your hunting and fishing HOUSANDS OF DEAD REDFISH LINED THE streets of the Cove area in Orange County. From juvenile to oversized, their bronzecolored carcasses created a haunting contrast against the coal black asphalt, while some were stuck in chain link fences. Along with menhaden, croaker, speckled trout, sheepshead, largemouth bass, buffalo, and other species, they are the dramatic result of a massive fish kill brought on by Hurricane Ike. “There were fish kills from Sargent in Matagorda County all the way to the TexasLouisiana line on the Sabine River,” said Winston Denton with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Kills and Spills Team. When Gulf water, which is saltier than that in brackish marshes, stands for a few days, it kills the vegetation, choking out the dissolved oxygen. That in turn wipes out aquatic organisms, and upon draining, kills fish in surrounding waters. Ike’s large storm surge pushed seawater across most of the Upper Coast, and as waters receded, dead fish became an indicator of its massive reach. 10

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

The fishes stuck Texas coast Dead fish lined the streets of Orange County in fences were September 13, it well past the bondary waters of Sabine Lake. pushed inland by the took not only human tide surge and found lives and habitations themselves swimming in residential neigh- but caused serious damage to coastal ecosysborhoods, and fences acted liked like gill- tems and infrastructure crucial to anglers nets, capturing those attempting to swim and hunters. through them. “The large storm surge exposed a lot of people to fish kills because of the unusual The surge that caused the fish kills inunplaces the fish were deposited. It’s an ugly and smelly reminder of the storm,” Denton dated several wildlife management areas (WMA) and national wildlife refuges said. These kills are among the many unfortu- (NWR). These include Murphree, Candy nate results of Hurricane Ike. Hitting the Abshire, Lower Neches, and Hurst

Wildlife & Habitat Damage

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TPWD

WMAs, along with the McFaddin, Texas Point, Anahuac, and Moody NWRs. TPWD officials said it would take a good while to estimate the overall impact, but longtime division staff member and Murphree WMA Superintendent Jim Sutherlin said two days after Ike’s strike that the situation was similar to Hurricane Carla four decades ago. “The Murphree area looks like the Gulf of Mexico,” Sutherlin said. “Wildlife impacts to everything that doesn’t fly will be significant like it was back in the early 1960s with Hurricane Carla. I expect a great

A wrecked shrimp boat and bloated burro along the shores of Trinity Bay show the level of carnage exacted by Ike.

PHOTO BY JIM OLIVE

reduction in reptiles and amphibians, particularly alligators, but also snakes, frogs, all the things that move on the ground in the coastal plains. “We need to assess the full impacts, and that will take some time. It will set plant communities back to very early successional stages, and we’ll see big changes in the landscape for a couple of decades when this water comes off. That’s something we’ll see as our careers mature, and the young people starting careers in wildlife ecology now will follow it as we followed Carla.” A number of erosion control, saltwater barrier, and wetlands enhancement projects received major damage and setbacks, including a long-running program on the Lower Neches WMA in Bridge City, the region’s hardest hit community. An area reclaimed from saltwater intrusion, thick with waterfowl-friendly vegetation, disappeared under 9 feet of seawater. TPWD officials were not sure how long it would take the area to recover or what kind of permanent damage occurred. There are dozens of similar situations along the coast. At the time of this writing, a multi-agency state and federal natural resource damage assessment group was tracking more than 26 contaminant spills in storm-affected areas. Danny Robbins of the Associated Press

Ike announces his impending arrival at the Galveston Sea Wall, pounding the structure with mountainous waves heavy with the sands of what had been miles of beaches.

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PHOTOS COURTESY USGS

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(AP) reported Denbury Onshore LLC of Plano filed with the Texas Railroad Commission that 900 barrels of oil were spilled in one location and 143 barrels in another: “Both spills occurred in Chambers County, one of the areas most affected by Ike when it slammed the coast with top winds of 110 mph last weekend. The spills are two of three that have been reported to the Railroad Commission, which deals with

land-based drilling.” Some of the oil from the two spills coated vegetation, but most dissolved in the floodwater. On the nearby McFaddin NWR in

Jefferson County, a sheen of oil baffled refuge officials, who believe the leaking most likely came from ruptured drilling equipment. Tim Cooper, who heads the refuge, said the leak could have serious impact on

Soon after Hurricane Ike hit, Saurage began surveying Southeast Texas marshes for its impact on wildlife. “Everywhere you go, there are dead and dying alligators,” he said. “These gators need fresh, clean water just like everything else, and right now, there just isn’t any out

there with the seawater from the storm surge in the waterways. On top of that, you have all kinds of chemicals in the water, so that makes the situation even more desperate for these animals.” Saurage and his crew have so far captured 39 alligators, brought them back to

Gator Rescue T’S CATASTROPHIC. CHESTER, YOU WON’T believe what I’m seeing right now. So far driving down 73, I’ve seen at least 150 dead alligators and that is from the vantage point of the road. I can’t imagine what’s out in the marshes and rice fields.” Usually upbeat and enthusiastic, alligator expert Gary Saurage spoke those words via cell phone with a somber, yet determined tone. The co-owner of Gator Country, a reptile attraction west of Beaumont, Saurage is in the business of housing live alligators for commerce. Now he is doing it for conservation. 1122

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Reports of alligators and snakes in yards and even houses were common after the storm, as were free-roaming cattle, which were verified everywhere from the wilds of High Island to downtown Galveston.

aggressive due to consuming saltwater. After Hurricane Rita, there were numerous incidents of cattle charging people and vehicles when they were in this strange saltwater induced aggressive state. The same situation

PHOTOS COURTESY USGS

waterfowl and other migratory bird habitat both at McFaddin and the Anahuac NWR where the oil was flowing. “All we know is wildlife doesn’t respond well to oil,” Cooper told the AP.

These photos (above and opposite), acquired from the U.S. Geological Survey, show the Crystal Beach area on Bolivar Peninsula before and after Hurricane Ike. Yellow arrows mark features that appear in each image. In addition to the loss of houses, the evidence of inundation here includes eroded dune face and sand deposited well inland of the shoreline.

Papco Inc. reported a spill near Sabine Pass, but it was less than two barrels, and at the time of this writing, officials believed it unrelated to the mysterious “sheen” at McFaddin.

These cattle posed a two-fold threat. The greatest was to motorists colliding with unexpected animals on roadways. The second was many of the cattle were unnaturally

Gary Saurage and the crew at Gator Country helped rescue alligators hurt by Ike’s saltwater intrusion.

we could tape up, and that was no fun. And I have the bite marks to prove it,” Saurage said. Taking alligators from the wild requires special permitting, but local officials slashed through the red tape in a concerted effort to aid the dying animals. “State representatives Mike Hamilton and Alan Ritter got the ball rolling,” Saurage said. “After they learned of what was happening, they really came through by setting the wheels in motion for the recovery project. Then Monique Slaughter, who heads Texas Parks & Wildlife alligator program, gave me the green light to save as many as I could. “I also have to give credit to state trooper Droddy and game warden

Gator Country, and are working to rehabilitate them: “We’re putting them into an enclosed one-acre pond and are going to nurse them back to health and release them back into the wild once they and the habitat are ready.” While catching alligators is always tricky, Saurage has it down to an art. Electrical tape is used to hold the jaws shut, since alligators have very little strength opening them. Post-Ike that was problematic. “Most of the gators had oil all over them, so we used sandpaper to get a surface

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exists due to Ike. Even more unusual than saltwaterinduced rage in cattle was a tiger loose on the Bolivar Peninsula. It was an escapee from an exotic animal center, and TPWD game wardens eventually brought it to safety. Its owner, Michael Ray Kujawa, stayed behind to take care of the animals, but retreated to a nearby church for safety when water came into his home. He swam there Robbie Smith for their understanding in an unusual situation during an even more unusual crisis.” Saurage said although exact damage estimates are not in, it is obvious the region’s gator population took a hit, and that he and his partners are ready to help in any way they can. “Alligators are very important to us. We would like to do what we can to help conserve and restore the wild populations, and we are happy to be able to help after Ike,” Saurage said. “Sometimes, even alligators need a helping hand.” —Chester Moore

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with a full-grown African lion that weathered the storm with him.

Infrastructure Impacts As Ike came ashore, there was no doubt it would cause major damage to infrastructure along the coast, but few were prepared for just how much harm it would do to facilities important to outdoorsmen. Two coastal parks, Galveston and Sea Rim, suffered catastrophic damage. Facilities at Sea Rim near Port Arthur appear to be a total loss. At Galveston Island, Ike caused heavy beach erosion and swept away state park facilities. Seven other state parks and the LaPorte regional office suffered significant damage, ranging from downed trees and power lines to storm surge flooding and wind damage to buildings and facilities. The parks include Lake Livingston, Martin Dies, the San Jacinto Battleground/Battleship Texas, Huntsville, Daingerfield, Martin Creek Lake, and Mission Tejas. Four state parks sustained moderate damage: Brazos Bend, Sheldon Lake, Village Creek, and Caddo Lake. Some parks sustained only light damage: Goose Island, Mustang Island, Stephen F. Austin, Fanthorp Inn, Washington on the Brazos, Fairfield Lake, Tyler, and Atlanta. Storm surge flooding and wind, with widespread downed trees and fencing, significantly damaged the San Jacinto Battleground. The park store and Battleship

Texas restrooms were flooded, and the site well house destroyed, among other damage. At Murphree WMA near Port Arthur, the Jefferson County storm levee

Every business, including Anita’s Bait Camp, Tackle and Seafood no longer exists.

The bait and tackle stores at the entrance to the Texas City Dike were swept away by Ike’s storm surge.

Destruction on the Texas City Dike After disappearing under Hurricane Ike’s massive storm surge, the Texas City Dike sustained extensive damage and will be closed indefinitely. A report in the Galveston County Daily news quoted Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle as saying the dike “will not be open for a long, long time.” 14

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The destruction is a devastating loss to anglers without boats, as the dike made bank fishing possible for 5 miles out into Galveston Bay. As the NOAA satellite photos above illustrate, all of the businesses and infrastructure were completely wiped off the dike.

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While taking a near-mortal blow, the structure did serve its primary function, valiantly, keeping the ship channel clear of storm debris.

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held back the storm surge, protecting WMA buildings from flooding. The levee can resist a 14-foot crest, and staff report the area had 11 feet of seawater surge. One Murphree shop building was severely damaged by high winds, but other facilities are in relatively good shape.

The Texas City Dike’s roadway was rendered undriveable and unsafe to even walk.

PHOTOS COURTESY NOAA

Despite early rumors that the Bolivar Point Lighthouse had been destroyed, these before (L) and after (R) satellite images show the structure standing.

shops, and other structures from Freeport to Orange were severe. That which we were able to confirm at press time is as follows:

there was severe damage to the parking lot. Galveston Party Boats, Galveston: The New Buccaneer and Cavalier party boats were moved out of town before the Texas City Dike: (see sidebar below, storm hit, but the offices and freezers susleft) The storm surge completely toppled the tained severe damage. dike and all structures on it, including the Williams Party Boats, Galveston: lighted pier and Anita’s Bait Camp, Both the Capt. John and Texsun II party Tackle, & Seafood were wiped out. boats were moved to Port O’Connor prior Walter Umphrey Pier, Port to the storm. The offices sustained major Arthur: damage, as did the cold storage faciliWalter ty. Galveston Fishing The Lighted Pier at the end Pier, Galveston: of the dike was completely Eighty to ninety perdestroyed. cent of the pier was damaged. 61st Street Pier, Galveston: The pier sustained complete damage during the storm. San Luis Pass Pier, Galveston: Much of the pier was destroyed, with the greatest damage on the southern half.

LEFT: Crumbling slabs remain where facilities once stood at the Noah Welch Boat Ramp.

Severe erosion occurred from San Luis to Sabine Pass, with much of the sand washed away from Galveston Island, the Bolivar Peninsula, and around McFaddin Beach. Damage to piers, bait PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOAA

Seawolf Park, Galveston: (see photos, page 19) The pier was destroyed and much of the park sustained major damage.

Umphrey State Park on SH 82 at Pleasure Island was severely damaged according to Jefferson County officials. The pier and observation platform were wrecked and T E X A S

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Flagship Pier, Galveston: The Flagship Hotel stood despite some major damage, but the popular fishing pier is gone. G a m e ® / N O V E M B E R

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Rollover Pass: The bridge at Rollover was severely damaged and the beach in the area received major erosion. End of Seawall Boulevard: This popular fishing spot was affected, with the road behind the seawall wrecked along with serious erosion. Upper Coast Bait and Tackle Shops: Bait and tackle shops received widespread damage and many were unavailable for contact at press time. All of the facilities in Sabine Pass were destroyed, as were those on Pleasure Island and on the Bolivar Peninsula. On Galveston

Island, shops near the seawall were wiped out, as were the ones in Bridge City area.

Hope for the Future

According to Lance Robinson with TPWD, the Galveston area’s small boat shrimping fleet was devastated, from both boat damage and destruction of docks and icehouses. “The infrastructure of the shrimping industry inshore was hit really hard, which is going to make things challenging for the mom and pop operations,” Robinson said. This in turn will affect anglers wanting to purchase live and dead bait, a staple of Upper Coast fishing.

Make no mistake: The fish kills will hurt the Upper Coast fishery, but anglers should not worry that it will be a death blow. TPWD will likely respond with redfish, speckled trout, and largemouth bass stockings as they did after Hurricane Rita and other storms through the years. “Helping restore fisheries is what we do at Sea Center. We have the capability to respond to such disasters with stocking of red drum and specked trout for the areas we have representative broodstock,” said Shane Bonnot of TPWD’s Sea Center Texas. In addition, nature has a contingency plan. While redfish were hard hit, Ike’s

Marinas and Passes Take a Beating

Hurricane winds destroyed a heavily build shed that covered the 72-foot Akela at Kirby Marina on Oyster Creek.

er Akela was literally ripped to shreds and dropped on the 72-footer. Most of this area was without power and access limited at press time, so accurate reports of all the damage were not yet complete. The shoreline will be changed for sure. Some estimates are that Galveston lost 200 feet of beach, and many channels and passes were affected. Boaters would be wise to watch for debris for some time once they can get back on the water. There are rumors already that the Bolivar Peninsula might be abandoned as far as housing, and as this is written, the

ferry system is down from high water damage to the landings. The bridge from Gilchrist over Rollover Pass is badly damaged. In all the loss and destruction, the storm will probably leave a long-term legacy of better fishing. The flushing action of a tremendous amount of Gulf water rushing in and then back out again will cleanse the inshore waters, open channels and passes that were closed, and create new ones where once there was solid ground. —Mike Holmes

PHOTO BY MIKE HOLMES

URRICANE IKE HAS DEVASTATED THE GULF Coast from the West End of Galveston Island to Sabine Lake. The Bolivar Peninsula has been practically wiped clean, and the Galveston Yacht Basin suffered damage from wind and water, plus a fire during the height of the storm. Payco Marina just off the end of the causeway entering Galveston was practically destroyed, and boats of all sizes were deposited on IH-45. The Freeport area was spared the full force of Ike, but still suffered from a storm surge of at least 6 feet. Surfside was damaged extensively, but the surge appears to have been stopped by the flood levee from entering Freeport, Oyster Creek, and other communities. High water damaged many boats in Bridge Harbor Marina on the ICW, and winds blew apart the big shed where repairs and painting of yachts was conducted. Kirby Marina on Oyster Creek, where many boats go to shelter from storms due to its slightly inland location, suffered damage from wind and a few boats going through the roof of the covered docks. A large and well-built shed covering the luxury sportfish-

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wrath planted seeds for the future. Capt. Kirk Stansel with the Hackberry Rod and Gun Club said since Hurricane Rita hit in 2005, the redfish fishery just across the Louisiana border is better than ever. “That Hurricane helped out fishing a lot over the long haul,” Stansel said. “All of these little freshwater ponds in the marshes and prairie have redfish, and the only way they could’ve gotten there is the storm put them there. We simply have a huge number of reds in the system, and the storm helped.” His observations are backed by science. A study of redfish conducted in Lower Laguna Madre showed that after a storm in 1967 cut channels into the estuaries, redfish numbers increased greatly in following years. Eggs spawned in the near-shore Gulf during

the fall breeding period are brought into the marshes via storm surges like that caused by Ike. There are indications this is happening now. While surveying storm damage, I found a small pool of water full of live brown shrimp, blue crab, and unidentifiable fish fry (first stage juveniles). That might not seem unusual under the circumstances, but that pool was

in the playground at Lion’s Park well within the city limits of Orange. If Ike brought these organisms into the concrete jungle, it also deposited plenty of redfish reserves in areas where they can survive, grow to maturity, and start all over again. Starting over is a task that will be shared by thousands across the region. —Chester Moore PHOTOS COURTESY NOAA

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PHOTO BY JIM OLIVE

These before (L) and after (R) photos of Galveston’s Seawolf Park show the extensive damage to the park’s fishing pier. Only the skeletal frame remains. Below, two of the park’s main attractions, WWII submarine USS Cavalla and destroyer escort USS Stewart—one of only three in the world—were also damaged. Note the starboard list of the Stewart in its berth.

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Ike—in Their Words COTT HICKMAN, HUNTING & FISHING GUIDE, Circle H Outfitters: “We run offshore charter service out of Galveston, duck and goose hunting up and down the coast, and bay fishing. “All the marinas from Freeport to Sabine are gone, no more. Seventy-five percent of the boats are sunk or severely damaged.” Hickman was a first responder with a natural gas company. “They hired me and my airboats to come in here and turn off all the gas lines coming into the island. I was here Saturday evening, running people around, shutting things off. “Galveston was hit by 15-foot surge; Gilchrist was hit by 20-foot storm surge. There are no fishing piers left in Galveston. All of the bait camps...some of them still have roofs, but there is only studs standing. A lot of them are knocked flat. There are a couple of boat ramps; the Yacht Basin will be closed for a year to year-and-a-half. “Marina buildings are wrecked; fuel storage tanks are floating off or gone. It’s going to be a long time before everything is back up and running. “It wasn’t a big wind event but it was a huge water event, a storm surge like a Category Four hurricane. It was a big storm, covered from a Freeport to Sabine line or farther. I have a friend with a ranch with a 1000 head of cattle, all dead. Bolivar Peninsula...there is going to be missing people for years. They are never going to find the bodies. When the houses went, they floated off.” “We had a 160 dove hunters booked to hunt on the Moody Ranch in Galveston. I don’t know why or how, but the majority of

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the whitewings on the island survived. All the goat weed is brown and dead and all the birds flew back in there. We got thousands of whitewing doves; we just can’t get anybody on the island because, of course, they are not letting anybody on the island. “Most of our ranches are in the Rockport area. We do have stuff in the Houston area that will be back to normal as soon as power is restored. We will be back and running in the spring of next year in the Galveston area. “If you are going to run a fishing guide service this next spring, you are going to have to be self-sufficient...your own bait, your own fuel, everything. There is not going to be any infrastructure for a long time to support the anglers. “The fishing will be spectacular after the hurricane; it always is the year after in the bays and offshore. The impact is who can get to them and who is going to be able to withstand the economic hardships of the next few months. “There are going to be guides doing construction work, other things, because there is going to be so much money to be made. Just putting airboats in the water lately, the last week, I made more money than I could ever have made guiding. People will come back to guiding once things get back to normal; people are going to want to go fishing. “A lot of people will be buying new boats. The boating industry has been in the toilet.” “Most of the first row of beach houses on the west end of the island are gone, part of

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the second row is gone, and then the damage becomes sporadic based on the age of the structure. “The beach on the West end of the island is under most of the structures, starts under the structures, and than includes the high rise buildings. The condos actually sit over the waterline. We lost the majority of the beach. “They are finding containers from the port of Galveston 25-30 miles away.”

The fishing will be spectacular after the hurricane. It always is the year after in the bays and offshore.

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Hurricane Ike’s impact, from those who witnessed it

CAPT. FRED GEORGE, BAY BOUND GUIDE SERVICE: “I think the fishing is shut down for awhile.” George lives in League City. He keeps his boat at his house in the garage and it had no damage. “I took some people yesterday down to Jamaica Beach and Sea Isle to look at their houses. There are boats everywhere, upside down. One person who lived on the bay in Jamaica Beach had a 20-foot Boston Whaler upside down on his patio. “There really wasn’t that much floating debris, but there is no telling what’s under the surface. We did see cars in the water in some of the canals. Once you get up where the houses are located there is lots of stuff in the water. “We ran across two fish slicks yesterday, trout or whatever, we didn’t know but they had the smell to them. There was a lot of bait jumping around down on the west end.” “I am guessing the bottom structure has changed quite a bit. It’s going to be a different world once we can get out there, especially over in East Bay where Bolivar washed off into the Intracoastal. The

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TPWD

As guide Scott Hickman reported, Ike killed thousands of livestock. This lucky herd was driven to safety ahead of rising water.

Intracoastal is shut down completely; you can’t get to Bolivar by boat. Popular and well-known marinas, such as Eagle Point and all the bait camps on the Texas City Dike are gone. Boyd’s is still there. The road is still there but that is about all that’s left. CAPTAINS ALAN AND STEVEN PEREYRA, TOP DOG Guide Service: Alan lives in the Cypress area of Houston. “I went and picked up my

boat and brought it out here before the storm hit. I did not receive any damage to my boat. The original place where I had it stored was totaled out, or about 60 percent lost.” He stored his boat in San Leon. “If I can get out there again by March, I will be okay next year. I will probably end up canceling my flounder trips in October through December. I probably won’t get out until next February.

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“As far as I have found out, every marina that I have used over the years has been totaled out: Eagle Point, Top Water Marina, Texas City Dike Marinas, Galveston Bait & Tackle, the Galveston Yacht Basin. On occasion, I have traveled to Bolivar to pick up customers. “Luckily I have a side business, candy machine vending, that will keep me going until next summer. I think by next summer, people will start fishing again. My main concern is not too much the fishing—it’s probably going to rebound—my main concern is what’s in the water, debris.” —Tom Behrens

See More HURRICANE Coverage in the TF&G ALMANAC Section

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The Truth About the Humane Society HEN SOMEONE MENTIONS THE Humane Society, the image that comes to mind is likely one of a cute puppy, once abandoned and neglected, and then rescued and united with a loving family. This is the image the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has worked hard to project of itself. The truth, however, is far different. In a column a few years ago, I lumped HSUS in with other animal rights groups, such as PETA, the Animal Liberation Front, Friends of Animals, and others, all of which promote animal rights above human welfare. Several readers questioned the inclusion of HSUS in this listing. Their comments indicated their perception of HSUS was that it was an organization that sought only to aid mistreated and abandoned animals. The public is almost totally unaware that HSUS, the largest animal rights group in the world, is working hard to outlaw hunting and trapping, ban animal testing of medical products, and brainwash our children. During 2006, the HSUS staff of 438 spent $12 million for fundraising, which must have paid off. Revenue for 2007 topped $120 million. A large part of those funds are funneled to other animal rights groups, through the Humane Society Legislative Fund, for use in lobbying congress on federal legislation and ballot issues. With total assets of $250 million, HSUS is an organization that plays hardball. HSUS was established in 1954, and has absorbed other anti groups through the years to become the powerhouse it is today. The Fund for Animals in 2005 and the Doris Day Animal League in 2006 are the group’s latest acquisitions. But HSUS supports other affiliates and offshoot organizations. Humane Society International (www.hsihsus.org), established in 1991, is supposedly closely associated with the United Nations, the World Trade Organization,

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and other treaty and international agreements. Its purpose is to target industries involved with animals worldwide. Humane Society Legislative Fund (www.fund.org), besides providing lobbying funds for other anti groups, backs HSUS supporters for public office. The Doris Day Animal League (www.ddal.org) is the HSUS lobbying branch, which petitions the president and congress. Fund for Animals (www.fundforanimals.org) is the hatchet squad of the group. Created in 1967, the Fund is seriously concerned with stopping hunting completely, and often supports other like-minded groups, such as Defenders of Wildlife. A similar division is the Wildlife Land Trust (www.wlt.org), which targets private landowners as well as state and federal officials. It offers tax incentives to those who agree to ban hunting, trapping, and fishing on their property. HSUS even has its own self-described “training arm” called Humane Society University (www.humanesocietyu.org). But perhaps the most frightening arm of HSUS is Humane Society Youth (www.humanesociety.org/youth), which uses children to spread the HSUS agenda, and attempts to brainwash America’s next generation against legitimate outdoor pursuits. The HSUS website is rife with propaganda attacking politicians and representatives who support hunting, often exaggerating or misrepresenting the situation. For example, an ongoing protracted campaign against hunting claims certain U.S. politicians support the hunting of endangered species, and calls for restrictions to ban hunters from importing animals taken in other countries if those species are protected in America. The main goal seems to be obfuscation of the facts. A good example of this is the HSUS stand against canned hunts. Granted, canned hunts are ugly, and ethical outdoors

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advocates would never be involved in such activities. But a quick read of some of the propaganda displayed on the HSUS website quickly brings up the fact that the organization’s definition of a “canned hunt” is far removed from reality. A canned hunt, by any logical definition, is a hunt in which the animals involved have no chance to escape the shooter. Sometimes this means the animals are tame, sometimes they are confined in a small space without inadequate cover, or there might be other conditions that render fair chase impossible. The HSUS definition of a canned hunt is one in which the animals are confined inside a fence. The organization makes no distinction as to size of the pasture involved. Without regard to the issue of high fences, the truth is that any wild animal taken in a 1000-acre pasture, especially one with a modicum of trees, brush, and grass, is taken in fair chase, whether there is a fence around the pasture or not. But according to the HSUS definition, the fence makes this a canned hunt. The group also makes erroneous claims as to the number of canned hunt ranches there are in the U.S. One statement on the website says that, “The Humane Society of the Untied States estimates that there are more than 1000 canned hunting ranches in at least 28 states. On these operations— which range in size from one acre to more than 10,000 acres—participants shoot confined animals for a fee.” There is no mention of where the figures were obtained, but only the most gullible would swallow such a statement without proof. Make no mistake, HSUS is out to stop hunting, trapping, and fishing cold. Hidden behind this organization’s warm, fuzzy image is a set of sharp, deadly fangs, dripping with anti-hunting venom.

E-mail Kendal Hemphill at commentary@fishgame.com

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Save the Southern Flounder HUGE FLOUNDER SLID INTO AN ICE CHEST amidst high fives and “atta-boys” one quiet morning on Aransas Bay. Although speckled trout were the goal of the fishing trip, catching the 4-pound beauty was a welcomed bonus for a veteran angler who said he rarely catches flatfish but loves to stuff the big ones with crab meat, douse with butter, and bake to perfection. This event happened a few years back, but I have seen similar scenes play out since then, and in my opinion, they show a serious double standard. At this point, you are probably wondering why keeping a big, fat, juicy flounder to eat is such a big deal. Well, it’s not. However, the angler who caught and ate the flounder described above has been known to verbally berate others who do the same with trophy-sized speckled trout. And over the years, I have seen similar scenes play out with personal friends and acquaintances that have fervor for saving the big specks, but blinders on when it comes to other species. Stuff a flounder for dinner, and you are a hero back at fishing camp. Stuff a speck to hang on the wall, and you risk getting thrown out of your social circle and becoming a target of certain bitter, repressed internet stalkers. Catch and release is cool with me, but if you are serious about it, apply it equally across the board. Even in the worst-case scenarios in Texas, trout are seeing only minimal recruitment declines. However, the southern flounder fishery is poised to slide into obscurity. As noted in my column last April, flounder numbers coast-

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wide are down 56 percent since 1986. Worse yet, there are few signs a full recovery is happening despite decreased by-catch in the shrimping fleet due to the buyback program initiated by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) and backed by the Coastal Conservation Association and Saltwater Conservation Association. Croaker are bouncing back, as are other species, but flounder numbers have not tracked with by-catch reduction in the way we had hoped. There are still huge problems for flounder populations, and now is the time to act on curtailing future declines. How will the new age of self-proclaimed conservationists react? Will they support saving the flounder with the same gusto they have for speckled trout? The push to cut the speckled trout bag limit from 10 to 5 in Lower Laguna Madre is a fine example of angling community activists doing something pro-active for a fishery with some problems. While I am still dead set against the “ban croaker” mantra of some of the people involved in that issue, they all deserve a tip of the hat for getting involved with a species they cared about and doing something about it. The fact is, those of who have worked for flounder conservation could use the help of the thousands who responded to TPWD on trout regs to take action on flounder. After all, this is not a regional issue—it is coastwide. And it could literally involve saving a fishery, not just strengthening one. After all, if someone is bold enough to proclaim protection of super-sized specks, they should give flounder the same support. Conservation is not just a bumper sticker, internet screen name, or mantra shouted at public hearings. It requires action and should not be limited to one Texas species. TPWD coastal fisheries officials are looking at changing flounder regulations, and I am in full support of getting the ball rolling on this. Fervent passions have ignited to protect speckled trout, and over time, it has brought out the best and worst in people along the coast. The same kind of energy needs to go

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into restoring the flounder fishery, and those of us in support of this could use all the help we can get. I, too, have worked for trout conservation with TPWD over the years, helping catch broodstock for Sea Center and taking part in other programs. However, my concern for trout was always about seeing the quality of the fishery decrease, not decline beyond restoration. I wish I could say the same about flounder. We have an opportunity to make a huge difference with these species, but we must act now and form a united front to do what was done with redfish 30 years ago. Any takers?

E-mail Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

Dodge Duck and Deer Dream Drive aturday Nov. 1 I leave for what should be an awesome hunting odyssey, the Dodge Duck and Deer Dream Drive. Taking off in the awesome new Dodge Ram Crew 1500, I will travel throughout East and South Texas and along the coast pursuing ducks and deer every day through Nov. 5. You may be thinking, “Well, Chester it’s just another excuse for you to go hunting”. I will not say the opportunity hurt feelings but the truth is I am excited because not only because of the potential for pintails and whitetails but because I will be doing this in a vehicle truly built for these kinds of activities. Hunting is a lifestyle, not a sport in Texas and Dodge is a rich part of it with their Ram Tough trucks. To keep up with this outdoors quest, visit my blog at fishgame.com. It will be updated daily with stories and photos.

Reference the Dodge ad on the INSIDE FRONT COVER of this issue to see our route and see the beautiful Ram Crew 1500. —CM

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Advice For the Deer Woods HREE THINGS CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU AIM a rifle at a deer and pull the trigger. I base this conclusion on 40 years of hunting in the brush and hills of Texas. First, you can miss—a soul-deadening experience that most long-time hunters have experienced at least once. Come on, probably more than once. Second, you can wound—a devastating

experience on both ends of the rifle, and one that every conscientious hunter dreads. Third, you can kill. It has been said that two out of three ain’t bad. Well, in the big-league pursuit of deer, two out of three ain’t good. The clean kill is the only acceptable result. The white-tailed deer season is our main hunting event, each year drawing several hundred thousand camo-clad participants. The veteran buckslayer needs no advice from me, but the beginner might benefit from a few observations on shooting performance in the clutch. Assuming your over-the-counter rifle is mechanically sound, with all screws checked and tightened, it can be upgraded by adjusting the trigger to a clean, crisp pull of between 3 and 4 pounds. This a functional, safe pull for a hunting trigger on a modern bolt-action rifle in average hands, but many factory triggers are

excessively heavy, perhaps 6 or 8 pounds. Manufacturers often pre-set heavy triggers to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits resulting from “accidental” discharges. The heavy trigger might require deliberate effort, but it can be ruinous to accuracy. You tense and squeeze and nothing happens, then you yank to incite the long-overdue bang! Violent yanks are not conducive to filling deer tags. Maybe there has been some lawsuit reform. Increasing numbers of rifles from major manufacturers are offering externally adjustable triggers. If your rifle has an internal adjustment, take it to a qualified gunsmith. Here’s a tip: The trigger job can be cheaper if you offer some latitude; a specific weight demanding trial-and-error tweaking can add to the tab. It doesn’t have to be precise, just crisp and reasonably light. And the difference between a pull of approximately 4 pounds, and a pull of 7 or 8 pounds is major,

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a huge boost to accurate shooting. The gun fires when your instincts say “Now!” Reducing recoil is another way to tighten groups. The softer kick does nothing to improve the inherent performance of the rifle, but it can do wonders for the shooter intimidated by a hard-hitting caliber. It is true you never feel recoil when shooting at big game, but you surely feel it from the bench rest—and shooting from the bench is mandatory for establishing pre-hunt accuracy. Ported muzzle brakes certainly reduce felt recoil, but they create excessive noise and can look a bit unsightly. They also are expensive. I prefer a butt pad made of high-tech energyabsorbing material. The after-market pad might not be as efficient as a muzzle brake, but it should cut felt recoil by at least 20 percent. By displacing the energy, the pad produces more of a push than a sharp kick. I never have seen the need for a super lightweight rifle for whitetail hunting in Texas; it just isn’t necessary. You spend most of the time sitting in a stand or maybe “high racking” in a vehicle. Either way, you are not even holding the rifle. And, all things equal, an 8-pound rifle absorbs more recoil than a 6-pound rifle. As another consideration, the big rifle is easier to hold steady in nervous hands when that gleaming 6x6 chocolate-horned buck steps

from the frosty brush. This is strictly a personal observation; many fine hunters use lightweight rifles, but be prepared for more kick and potential wobble. Another way to soften the blow of several popular deer calibers is to use low-recoil cartridges loaded with less powder. I have never tried them, but by most reports, they do the job well under normal whitetail hunting circumstances. On the subject of cartridges, an easy way to improve accuracy is to shoot premium factory ammunition. The superior bullets (Nosler, Sierra, Trophy Bonded, etc.) and precise loading tolerances provide superior performance. A premium 20-round box might cost $10 or $15 more than a standard box, but this is the cheapest fix you can get during the course of a season. Larger bores and heavier bullets make sense to me—within reason, of course. Lighter, faster bullets look better on paper, but the increased penetration of a bigger payload can be a huge advantage in the real world of bucks and brush. Keep in mind that not all chances at trophy deer are broadside. Quartering shots are common, and even a slight angle can increase the need for serious penetration. Let’s be honest: If a quartering-away Muy Grande pauses on the open edge of screening

brush, perhaps never to be seen again, you’re going to take a whack. The big bullet carries deeper with more retained energy on quartering game. I learned that in Africa. It also leaves a better blood trail if a mortally hit buck takes two bounds and vanishes amidst mesquite, huisache, and black brush. I learned that in Webb County. Also worth note, remember that the physical size of a white-tailed deer is nowhere as large as the magazine-cover aura it projects. We are not talking about an elk. A mature whitetail at 250 yards can appear awfully small to the naked eye, and the tendency to over-estimate distance can be compelling. The temptation is great to hold high over the shoulder on that shockingly small deer target. Don’t do it. Chances are, the buck is inside 300 yards. Assuming your scoped rifle is sighted in the neighborhood of 1-2 inches high at 100 yards, you are only several inches low out past 250 with most popular bolt-action deer calibers. Here is my final wisdom: Take a good rest and keep shoulder hair in the crosshairs.

E-mail Joe Doggett at doggett@fishgame.com

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Quality bucks on the edge of the Hill Country

ewspaperman Horace Greeley urged nineteenth century America to “Go west and grow old with the country.” Hill Country deer hunters should take a cue from that sound advice and go west to hunt the counties on the edge of that deer-rich region. Doing so would give them a great shot at taking bucks that are allowed to grow old— and to grow trophy racks in the process. The 27 or so counties of the Edwards Plateau have long been known as Texas’ deer factory. During the 200708 hunting season, Central Texas hunters bagged 229,391 deer, 119,395 of them bucks. You can safely bet that the three top counties for total deer kill were Llano, Mason, and Gillespie, smack in the heart of the Hill Country. Those counties and a few surrounding ones annually crank out high deer kill by Cliff Dodson numbers.

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o, what’s wrong with that? Nothing, if you are just looking for venison. But if you are looking for bragging rights or “book” fodder, then you stand a better chance if you put those counties in your pickup’s rear-view mirror. Go west, young buck hunter, and take your favorite deer rifle with you. Consider Crockett, Schleicher, Sutton, and Edwards the epicenter, with the western portions of Menard, Kimble, and Val Verde close behind. And since we are talking about hunting the edge of the Hill Country, I’d even cross the regional division line and include Pecos, the huge county west of Crockett—but don’t pass up any hunt on that edge of the Plateau. One of the major reasons so many Hill Country deer hunters settle in the middle or eastern half of the region is because those happy hunting grounds are much closer to home. That’s especially true if you live in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, or even Austin. Why travel right past perfectly good hunting spots just to shoot some deer farther away? I once asked my father the same thing. “Because where we’re going, the deer are bigger,” he said. It was true then and it is true now. And, yes, I have checked the price of gasoline lately. The facts speak for themselves: There are several advantages to hunting on the edge. Once you take those advantages into consideration, that extra travel time and money are worth it. The counties in the western Hill Country have good to excellent deer populations. They are not so high that ranches become overcrowded with hungry animals, but the deer exist in numbers that clearly keep the hunting interesting. In general, buck-to-doe ratios on the western edge are more even, so when you are seeing deer, the chances of them being bucks are greater. On a recent hunt in Crockett County, I stopped counting 8-pointers at 35, and that was early on the second day of my hunt. Most of those bucks were near the 130-inch typical score—the benchmark for entry into the Texas Big Game Awards program. Land holdings, and thus leases, at the edges usually include more acres. The more acres per hunter, the more deer per hunter. 30

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Deer like this lurk at the edges of cover—and of the Hill Country.

PHOTO BY GERALD BURLEIGH

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Since hunters can spread out over the property, bucks feel less hunting pressure. With plenty of land to explore, most deer chasers feel less pressure as well. They eventually realize there is no need to shoot quickly and ask questions later. With that level of selectivity in play, the bucks gain more age and more antler growth. It is not just the headgear that gets bigger; body weights of mature bucks rise as well. It is not unusual for a healthy buck in the edge areas to outweigh a “normal” Hill Country deer by as much as a third. Shooting a 100pound buck in most Central Texas counties is cause for celebration. Shooting a 150pounder or bigger on the western edge is not all that unusual. Keep that in mind when you decide to shoot; don’t plan on simply flinging the buck over your shoulder and walking out with it. Removing bucks from the field usually is a two-man job, even if you can drive fairly close. Competition for hunting rights can be brutal in some of the more popular areas of the Hill Country. A fellow looking for a hunting spot sometimes feels he had better grab whatever opportunity falls in his lap; he might think if he doesn’t grab it, the next fellow will. What if the place is barely huntable? A bad lease is better than no lease at all, right?

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That’s seldom the case out west. Remember all those fellows you left in your rear-view mirror? Let them squabble over that 100-acre goat pasture. Typically, there are fewer hunters looking for leases the farther the hunting land is located from a major metropolitan area. Plus, since land ownership often includes multiple thousands of acres rather than mere hundreds, one rancher could accommodate several groups of hunters with individual pastures. A “ranch” might even be made up of several pieces of property. I know one rancher who has his home place east of Ozona in Crockett County. That property is divided into two large segments by a paved road, plus he has a totally different ranch west of Ozona. Essentially, from a hunter’s standpoint, this fellow has three ranches to lease, each of which could be subdivided for hunting purposes if he chooses. Most ranchers I have met in the western counties understand that deer populations must be held in check to maintain herd health. Few of them cling to the old “sacred doe” mentality still common in some parts of the Hill Country. So, putting venison in the freezer isn’t a problem. In fact, just shooting a decent buck is no problem at all. All you have to do is exercise a little restraint and

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keep your finger off the trigger for a few days. In fact, it’s a good idea to reserve the first day’s hunt for looking over the bucks rather than filling tags. My standard advice to any “new” hunters on some of the ranches I’ve hunted is, “Don’t shoot the first 8-pointer you see.” Of course, that could backfire if the first 8pointer is the biggest one on the ranch, but that seldom happens. A ranch I hunted for several years in Edwards County was leased to a group of

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hunters who didn’t seem to understand that they were not obligated to shoot the first decent bucks they saw. They regretted it later. After filling their buck tags early and returning to hunt does, they always seemed to bump into a true giant—without buck tags in their pockets. If you hunt the right spot, you might even get a shot at a good mule deer. Hunters in Crockett, Val Verde, and Pecos counties see a few pop up from time to time. Each of those counties has a short mulie rifle season,

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generally running for two weeks beginning around Thanksgiving. Check TPWD regulations for this year’s dates. Last season, John Wallace shot an old mulie in Val Verde County that scored 1664/8 and sported several drop tines on both sides. During the 2006-07 season, bowhunter Robert Kincaid put an arrow into a Crockett County mulie that scored 159-2/8. Gene Perry told me that in the 1950s when he first came to the ranch he now owns near Ozona, there were few deer living there, and the ones he saw were all mule deer. Eventually, the whitetails moved in and most of the mulies either moved on or were bred out of the herd. He said there are many deer on his ranch today that still show the double-fork mule deer influence in their racks. Hunting methods in these western counties are about the same as anywhere else, but with more hunting land comes the freedom to do more than just sit on a stand all day. A hunter can do a little stalking, still-hunting, or mobile rattling without interfering with someone else’s hunt. Although stand hunting is a great way to take a buck, some people just do not like sitting still. Austin hunter Milton Harrell is one of them. Last season, he was hunting with a rancher friend near Eldorado in Schleicher County. They were after a particular buck that day, one they had seen in previous seasons. Finally, the men spotted the deer with some does about 600 yards away. The rancher didn’t have to ask Harrell twice to leave the stand. Together, they crawled through grass, cactus, and sparse mesquites in the relatively open country until they closed the gap on the buck. By that time, the big boy and his does had bedded in the shade under some trees. The hunter and his guide sat waiting 200 yards from the bedded deer for an hour and a half before a doe stood up. When the buck rose, Harrell dropped it with his .300 Magnum. After what Harrell estimated was four hours of stalking—and with cactus thorns in every part of his body—the man had his prize. The buck had a wide rack bearing 19 scoreable points that tallied 157-4/8. That’s the sort of reward you can expect when you take your deer hunting to the edge.

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ILLUSTRATION BY CRHIS ARMSTRONG

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by Bob Hood

he three most likely things to emerge

from deer camps across the state this season are the combined essence of fresh

coffee and sizzling bacon, mingled sounds of snoring and cussing hunters, and tumultuous conversations regarding myths and misconceptions about hunting. T E X A S

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I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a hearty breakfast anytime, and would just as soon listen to the snoring of my hunting companions than to some of the wild hunting theories that I have heard presented as “truisms” around a campfire. Although many myths and misconceptions about hunting tactics and came are voiced by inexperienced hunters, it never ceases to amaze me how many great hunters still hold onto some very common myths. At a hunting camp last year, one veteran hunter swore the key to finding big whitetail bucks was that they always bed down in the thickest cover and no one should ever hunt for them in open territory. Although he was partially right, the word “always” helped create a myth. Some bucks do prefer to bed down in thick cover, but for any hunter to ignore open ridges with thin cover would be a mistake. Many older bucks have learned to rest in places where they have a broad view of their surroundings to watch for predators—including hunters. Other myths and misconceptions about whitetail deer involve scrapes. It still amazes me that many veteran deer hunters have not learned the difference between a buck scrape and a buck rub; and many of those who have believe that the more scrapes one finds in a small area, it is an indication that they were made by a really big buck. In reality, a series of small scrapes located in one area, such as along a tree line or atop a ridge, were made by a young buck. If you find one or two— maybe three—very large scrapes along similar routes, they likely were the work of a mature buck. Then there is the deer age vs. antler size theory. The size of a buck’s antlers, as most of us know, has little to do with its age, even though many will disagree. Age does play a factor in the development of large antlers as well as body size in many bucks, but nutrition and genetics often have spurred the growth of some incredible antlers on 2-1/2and 3-1/2-year-old deer. Also, older bucks in the 6-1/2-year class and older often grow inferior antlers. Another big myth about deer is what triggers the rutting season. Many old-timers believe that cold weather is needed to put the deer in the rut. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If whitetail does waited for a cold front to arrive in most parts of Texas in order for their breeding instincts to kick in, there would be a lot of frustrated bucks out there waiting for the weather to change. If you do not see a lot of heavy rutting

activity, it likely is because it took place prior to the season opening or at another time when you were not in the woods, such as at night. Another reason could be the rutting season is being spread across a longer period. After all, does go into estrus individually. If they are not bred the first time they go into estrus, they will be back in estrus again about 26 days later, regardless of the weather. Photoperiod (ratio of daylight to darkness) is actually the prime mover of rut and many other deer behaviors. Many deer hunters also believe the best time to be hunting is from daybreak until around 10 a.m. and again from about 5 p.m. until dark. They set their feeder timers to go off about 30 minutes after daybreak and again in late evening, thinking they have “patterned” the deer behavior. Actually, in many cases the deer have patterned the hunters and are more active from noon to 3 p.m. because that’s when quiet returns to the woods. As for rattling, some hunters believe it doesn’t work in some states. Some even believe rattling works only in Texas. Not so. Rattling for bucks can be effective anywhere there is a population of deer, and the higher the competition among bucks, the better. This is also true for baiting. Some hunters swear that whitetail deer in some states will not come to corn. Some go even further and say deer in their area won’t come to an electronic feeder, but will come to a pile of corn still on the cob. The fact is, corn is a universal whitetail deer attractant, and once the deer get used to it being offered on a consistent basis, they are going to eat it. Depending upon the availability of other food sources such as food plots, they might not come to a corn feeder as regularly as deer in the Texas Hill Country do, but they will come to and eat it. Some hunters mistakenly believe that the javelina, the little “brush pig” (which is not a pig at all), is vicious and will attack at the slightest provocation. Although a javelina might attack if cornered or approached while wounded, one is far more likely to skedaddle at the first hint of human presence. A “bristled up” javelina might look ferocious, but it is all bluff. Myths and misconceptions also abound among quail hunters, turkey hunters, and other Nimrods. With quail populations at an overall decline across the South, the lower numbers often have been blamed on the intrusion of fire ants on newly-hatched quail, and a higher numbers of avian predators and T E X A S

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ground predators such as raccoons, skunks, and snakes destroying nests. The real culprits are lack of suitable habit and, at times, drought conditions coupled with extremely hot summer temperatures that take a toll on mature and young quail alike. Turkey have not suffered the same problems as quail, but that doesn’t mean there are not some myths about them. I am a devout turkey hunter, but they sometimes are given more credit than they deserve. Indeed, they have good eyesight and hearing, but as I have said in the past, their scenting capabilities are not a factor in the detection of hunters. Myths also abound in the world of waterfowl hunting, but it is mostly confined to hunting techniques. Many duck hunters believe they must call as if they were in a duck calling contest, trying to produce the loudest and longest come-back call anyone ever has heard, to attract ducks to a decoy spread. Personally, I never have heard ducks on pond or lake calling non-stop as some hunters do. This is also true when calling turkey. Patience and a shorter series of calls have killed more turkey and ducks than anything. One species for which continuous, loud calling works is geese. However, many hunters have the misconception that geese on the ground call to attract geese in the air. Actually, feeding geese call to let geese in the air know the feeding area already has been taken. Expert goose hunters have learned the various calls geese make when on the ground, in the water, and in the air, and are able to simulate an event in a natural way to entice birds in the air to join the aggressive ones on the ground—and are not necessarily in a neighborly mood. Another not-so-neighborly form of wildlife is the feral hog. I have been told by several old-time hunters that the eyes of a feral hog do not reflect light, such as from a vehicle headlight or spotlight. In fact, the eyes of feral hogs do reflect light, just as the eyes of deer and other animals do. Anyone who has used a motion-activated trail camera at a feeder or along a trail and captured photos of feral hogs with the camera’s flash can tell you that. These are just a few of the myths and misconceptions that likely will rise around campfires at hunter’s camps across the state this year. Just don’t let the smoke fool you.

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reams do come true, and I got to live one last summer when I traveled with John Ritchey and Tim Soderquist of Ducks Unlimited to the heart of the Missouri Couteau region, North America’s most productive waterfowl breeding grounds, near Tuttle, North Dakota. We went to survey the nesting grounds, the loss of native grasslands to industrial farming, the positive benefits of cattle ranching for ducks, and just to be there. A great deal goes into making a duck season, and what happens on the prairie defines what happens in Texas in the fall.

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1. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bases much of its season framework and bag limits on mallard counts, which have fluctuated in recent years. It was amazing see mallards feeding in roadside ditches and pairing up in tiny potholes. Mallards are very important for hunters in North and East Texas, but for those along the coast, gadwall, pintail, teal, shoveler, redhead, and other species make up most of the bag; in this area, “greenheads” are a real trophy.

2. Much of North Dakota was dry over the summer, with seasonal wetlands in short supply. This pintail was on a tiny pond that still had water. The permanent wetlands in the area had water, but small potholes are the most productive for nesting waterfowl. The good news is, drought is a necessary component of waterfowl production, and once water again covers these dried potholes, they become highly productive due to vegetation growth.

3. The difference between Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land and farmed land is striking. CRP pays farmers to leave land in a natural state, which benefits ducks, pheasants, shorebirds, and other wildlife. For example, tilled land planted with corn is very poor nesting habitat for ducks. Some people oppose CRP subsidies, but these payments actually drive the farm market; the whole biofuel debacle is subsidy driven. Government subsidies are inevitable, so conservation groups such as DU advocate programs that benefit both farmers and wildlife—which is exactly what CRP does. This is why you read and hear so much about the importance of CRP.

4. The author glasses a pond full of pintail, gadwall, mallard, teal, and shoveler on DU-managed property in North Dakota. (Photo by Tim Soderquist)

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5. Birds produced from this blue-winged teal nest might show up in coastal marshes and prairies of Texas this season. It was amazing how far from water many nests are; this one was more than 300 yards, and pintails sometimes nest up to a mile away from water. This illustrates the importance of healthy native grasslands as well as wetlands.

6. DU biologist Scott Stephens examines a map showing the areas of highest nesting duck concentrations—where we were standing at that time. DU does much of its conservation work in this crucial area, from permanently protecting grasslands to studying waterfowl feeding habits. Most of these nests produce the gadwall, teal, and shoveler that make their way to Texas.

7. Often called “monuments of the prairies,” these rock piles that dot the landscape in the Dakotas represent the death of native grasslands; in the author’s opinion, they are more properly “tombstones of the prairie.” When land is prepared for large-scale farming, rocks are removed and placed in piles. This pile, albeit small, was dug up just before we arrived on former CRP land. Ducks Unlimited conservation easements offer landowners a one-time payment to insert deed restrictions to protect grasslands and potholes.

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by Barry St. Clair

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t stands to reason that to catch a big bass it is necessary to fish for them where they live. This is especially true for the cantankerous largemouth bass, a fish known to stake out a territory and stay in it year-round, with some seasonal movement as necessary for feeding and spawning. Texas lakes are internationally known for producing large bass, also known as “lunkers.” But what exactly is a lunker? And, if an angler wanted to have a decent shot at catching one in the fall months, where are they most likely to be found? Let’s explore both of those questions and determine the five best lakes in Texas to catch a lunker largemouth bass when autumn changes the landscape and the bass fishing, too. First of all, what constitutes a lunker? Ask 10 fishermen, get 10 different answers. Fishing is a subjective topic and what is big to one angler is not to another. Determining the “lunker” status of a catch is usually directly proportional to the experience of the angler. Young anglers are more satisfied with just catching a fish, and so any fish can be a lunker. Seasoned anglers lean toward a meas-

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urable feature such as length or weight to determine lunker status. For the sake of this discussion, let’s play along with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Budweiser ShareLunker program rules for defining what constitutes a “lunker” bass. ShareLunker is a well-known program initiated in 1986 that encourages anglers who catch a 13-pound or heavier bass during an October to April timeframe, to donate the fish to TPWD for research and possible selective breeding purposes. The idea is to improve opportunities for catching trophy-sized or “lunker” bass in Texas by using wild brood stock for producing hatchery raised fish with genetic characteristics to grow to very large size. The 13-pound stipulation is designed to allow only superior fish into the program that have what it takes to survive and grow to “lunker” size. Using these criteria, it is much easier to select lakes with lunker potential. Amistad may be the best lake in Texas to catch numbers of very large bass, but based on the criteria established above, this giant lake has produced only eight lunker bass over 13pounds, seven of which have been caught since 2000. Adequate in-flows of precipitation the last several years has kept habitat in top shape, and the good forage base and long

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growing season have resulted in high numbers of large fish available to anglers. The sheer size of the reservoir and the irregular shoreline provides many excellent places to fish for bass. Spinnerbaits, topwaters, plastic creature baits, and jigs are excellent lure choices. In the fall, bluegill pattern crankbaits and jigs in black/blue colors fished on main lake points and in the submerged grass beds are proven producers of good fish. California Creek, San Pedro, and Turkey Creek areas are hotspots. The mouth of the Devil’s River is another prime location. Falcon International Reservoir, with nine lunker bass of 13-pounds or more is, next in the lineup. Falcon is well known among serious bass anglers as a premier lake for catching large numbers of big bass—big in the context that fish over 7 pounds are plentiful. When the lake is at or close to full, thousands of acres of prime habitat are available, and it seems as though there are bass under each bush or tree. Plentiful rainfall in the past few seasons has helped the fishery tremendously in this perennially dry region. Spinnerbaits, topwater lures and plastic worms are some of the most productive lures. Fall and winter are the best seasons to fish

PHOTO BY GRADY ALLEN

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Bass, including lunkers, are active in late autumn and ripe for the catching. for largemouth bass on Falcon. The summer is very hot and productive fishing is best at night or early mornings. The lake shoreline is very irregular with lots of timbered points, inlets, and brush-covered flats providing excellent habitat. Rock piles, submerged timber, and flooded man-made structures provide main lake habitat. The lake record is over 15 pounds. The best access is at the public ramp at Zapata or the State Park in the southeastern corner of the lake. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, at approximately 114,000 acres, offers miles of shoreline habitat. Since 1998, this venerable East Texas reservoir has given up 11 lunker bass over 13 pounds and 23 since 1986. Topwaters, jigs, soft plastic lizards, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are effective year-round. Florida strain bass have been heavily stocked into Rayburn for the last 30 years, and the population remains high and healthy. Anglers have the best luck fishing weed beds along creek channels, main lake points, and timbered areas with jigs, spoons, and deepdiving crankbaits. Lipless crankbaits fished

over the top of submerged grass beds along creeks is also a popular technique. When baitfishes move into shallow water in the fall, topwater and shallowrunning crankbait action picks up in the mouths of creeks that have vegetation. Lake Alan Henry, located about an hourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive south of Lubbock, has been in production only since the early 1990s, but what a fabulous lunker-sized bass factory it has become. The lake is only 2900 surface acres in size, yet it has produced 25 largemouth bass of 13 pounds or more. Fishing flooded, brush-lined creek channels and drop-offs are where most bass are caught in Alan Henry. The lake is deep and narrow with ledges, rock piles, and steep drop-offs providing primary main lake cover. Jigs, plastic creature baits, and crankbaits are favorite lures. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fish the brushâ&#x20AC;? is the rule for anglers wanting to tangle with a double-digit lunker. The lake record is 15 pounds and was caught 31 March 2006. Lake Fork is the No. 1 lake in Texas for producing lunker bass. Anglers come from all over the world to sample the bass fishing on this hallowed reservoir. More than half of the 50 largest bass caught in the state came from Fork. These include the former state record, a 17.67-pound fish, and the current 18.18-pound record. Can you guess who caught it? Bass over 10 pounds rarely raise an eyebrow from local anglers, since 239 bass weighing 13 or more pounds have been caught here, 31 of them since 2004. Fall to early spring is the best time of the year to set the hook on a double-digit fish, but they do get caught year-round. When autumn cold fronts chill the water, bass move up into the mouths of coves forming main lake points, following the seasonal migration of baitfishes. Topwaters, crankbaits, and plastic jerkbaits are good producers. Two of these lakes lie south, two east, and one west; it is hard to go wrong. But to play the odds, it is nice to know that these five lakes have a proven record for giving up the big ones. All it takes is being in the right place at the right time...and a little luck.

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LTHOUGH THE IMPACT TO PEOPLE’S LIVES and property was enormous, the aftermath of Hurricane Ike might well prove a boon to the coastal economy as people replace or repair lost boats and fishing equipment. Boat dealerships, tackle dealers, and even boat repair shops stand to see significant gains. According to James Petru, Director of Market Statistics for the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), new boat registrations in Louisiana increased significantly in the months following Hurricane Katrina. Boat manufacturers and dealers expect a similar reaction along the Texas coast as people who lost boats to Hurricane Ike normalize their lives and begin receiving insurance checks. “Houston and Galveston dealers are already telling us [in late September] that they anticipate lots of boats will be replaced in the coming months,” said Pam Parks of Parks Blue Wave Boats.

Massive loss and damage to boats on the upper coast could ignite a regional boom for boat dealers like LMC Marine in Houston and Clear Lake. TOP PHOTO BY TOMMY LOMONTE; BOTTOM PHOT BY ROY NEVES

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Parks also said that some dealers could offer special “scratch and dent sale” discounts on boats that incurred minor damage in the storm. “But if the damage is major and the boat is salvageable, some will seek manufacturer assistance with repairs. If

damage is moderate but repairs needed, some will go to local fiberglass or boat repair shops. If the damage is too severe, the boats will become insurance salvage.” Amy McDonald with Tracker Marine Group said it usually takes people a few

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In This Issue C1

COVER STORY • From Rampage to Recovery: Post-Ike Economic Boom Expected | BY CHESTER MOORE & DON ZAIDLE

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: LOWER COAST • “Y” Not Sheepshead? | BY CALIXTO GONZALES

GEARING UP SECTION

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

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TEXAS TESTED • Lowrance; 2Handee Tackle Company; and more | BY TF&G STAFF

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INDUSTRY INSIDER • Ardent Sponsors Army Bass Anglers | BY TF&G STAFF

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SHOOT THIS • Mossberg Model 464 Lever Action .30-30 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOW-TO SECTION

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

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

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: UPPER COAST • Walloping Winter Trout & Reds | BY CAPT. SKIP JAMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: GALVESTON COMPLEX • Ike Moves More than Water | BY CAPT. MIKE HOLMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: MATAGORDA & MID COAST • Click & Clacks Provoke Attacks | BY BINK GRIMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: ROCKPORT TO PORT ARANSAS • You Gotta Pay to Play | BY CAPT. MAC GABLE

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: CORPUS TO BAFFIN BAYS • Packery Skipjack Bait | BY CAPT. JIM ONDERDONK

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TEXAS BOATING • How Much Fuel Are You Sucking Down? | BY LENNY RUDOW SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Chunk It! | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW TEXAS KAYAKING • Beyond the Breakers | BY GREG BERLOCHER HUNT TEXAS • Turkey Season Roulette | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Reloading the .30-06 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Catfish Tourney Makes Big Splash | BY MATT WILLIAMS AFIELD WITH BARRY • Let There Be Light | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR WOO’S CORNER • Woo’s Fishing Tips | BY WOO DAVES WILDERNESS TRAILS • Words in the Wind | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

ment of those boats makes him “expect to see a huge positive economic impact. It is going to help the boat industry, no doubt.” Christian said in late September that he was already seeing the kind of no-nonsense, can-do attitude that Texans are known for. “The general mood I am seeing is positive.” Danny Thrower of Mt. Houston Marine

LMC Marine’s David Christian says he’s already seeing the kind of no-nonsense can-do attitude Texans are known for.

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE

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TROPHY FEVER • Special Hunting Section | BY TF&G STAFF SPORTING TALES • The Art of Diver Hunting | BY CHESTER MOORE NEWS FROM THE COAST • Louisiana Wetlands Disappearing | BY TF&G STAFF INSIDE CCA TEXAS • CCA Texas Funds Floating Warden Outpost | BY LUKE GILES TEXAS TASTED • After the Hunt | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

said that even though his dealership did not yet have electric power as of press time, they found a way to communicate with customers and immediately began selling boats: “We found an old push-button phone and plugged it in, and it started ringing. Eleven days after the hurricane, we [were] already selling replacement boats.” Thrower confirmed that the anticipated positive economic movement has precedent and extends to things other than boats, citing a conversation with a Shimano tackle

PHOTO BY ROY NEVES

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The Eco-Impact (Economic, Ecological)

rep who said that after Danny Thrower and Carol and Rudy Klein- that, at least in terms of hurricanes Katrina and man of Mt. Houston Marine were selling finances, resulted in Rita, tackle sales in the boats before power was restored to their surviving Alaskans affected areas were dealership, and in the shadow of storm being better off than slow for two months fol- damage to their buildings. before the quake. This lowed by 18 of the was due to government busiest months they loans and grants as well ever had. as aid from private charity groups that Thrower said his dealership will hold a caused a boom in the state’s economy. “scratch and dent” sale of lightly damaged Mainstream media outlets have been boats, and offer special discounts on boats quick to compare Ike with Katrina, but “made” with parts from other damaged other than the fact they both slammed boats. romantic, scenic cities, there are few similarEconomists have shown many areas ities. Government response to Ike has been prospered financially after major hurricanes. swift in comparison to the well-publicized Take Hurricane Andrew, for example. Hit- slow reaction to Katrina. ting the Florida coast as a monster CategoSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison said the ry 5 storm, it ravaged much of the state, Senate is already close to providing $6 bilsparking pundits to theorize parts of the lion in grants for Ike recovery. Additionally, state were done for economically. In the fol- the U.S. Department of Labor has given lowing two years, however, the economy of $15.9 million to the Texas Workforce Comthe Sunshine State outpaced the nation’s mission as part of a National Emergency gross domestic product by three points, with Grant to fund 600 temporary jobs in the 29 the highest overall gains in counties dam- Texas counties impacted by Ike. aged by Andrew. “Thanks to our federal partners, this A 1969 book by Douglas Dacy and funding for temporary jobs will be invaluHoward Kunreuther, The Economics of able to Texans devastated in the wake of Disasters, demonstrated clearly that many Hurricane Ike,” said Governor Rick Perry. areas impacted by disasters prosper in the “Through the Texas Workforce Commiswake. Much of the study involved examining sion, these funds will help hard-working the devastating Alaska earthquake of 1964 Texans continue to support their families as TOP PHOTO BY JIMMY BORNE

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Bill Balboa, Galveston Bay ecosystem leader, Texas Parks & Wildlife Deptment, said, “We are trying to establish a basis for an economic impact—commercial and recreational fishing and the overall ecology of the bay. “It looks like the marshes are okay. Sheens on the water were observed on the surface everywhere, but primarily up around the Sabine Island area. Sheen would be an indication of some type of petroleum-based spill. If you have seen gasoline on the water and it looks like a rainbow, the same thing. “There is no community surrounding Rollover Pass anymore. The bridge is buckled and resembles a drawbridge. There are two houses standing in the Kaplan area; Crystal Beach is a little bit better. That area seems to have been scraped off the island. “Oyster houses have been severely damaged. The marsh projects that we have embarked on in the past look fine. Tidal fringe marshes in general seem to be in good condition. Some of them around Bolivar and Elm Grove are full of debris, but with rising water that happens. “The Chenier Plains up around Sabine, a lot of those are draining. Some of those that were freshwater marshes, constructed as purely freshwater marshes, those will be affected because of the saltwater going in. “LaMarque, north on Galveston Bay, this is just my amateur assessment, but I think everybody pretty much dodged a big old bullet.” “In my experience, what I have seen of the impact of hurricanes on finfish, what will happen at times, the storm will create blowouts on the barrier islands, erosion will incur, and create a wash over, fill up a low spot with water and the high wave action and storm surge deposits fish in those areas and they won’t leave with the falling tides. The fish will be caught in there sometimes, are transported into areas that they normally are not associated with. That sometimes will

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they begin rebuilding their homes and lives.” That spirit of determination also creates a contrast between Katrina and Ike. While tens of thousands of New Orleans residents abandoned their homes and businesses permanently after Katrina, due either to a lack of choices or fear of another storm, Texans started rebuilding the day after Ike. “The people of this area are very resilient, and while most have never faced something of this magnitude, most people are ready to roll up their sleeves, get with the cleanup, and get their lives back,” said Sabine Lake fishing guide Capt. Phillip Samuels. While Samuels expects his guide business to take a hit this fall, what he saw after Hurricane Rita in 2005 was that the following spring, people were ready to do something fun. “Fishing is an integral part of this region,

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and nothing is better therapy than watching the sun rise over the bay and catching specks, reds, and flounder.” —Chester Moore & Don Zaidle

Continued from Page C3 have an impact. “Other than some kind of spill, I haven’t been aware of fish kills of the same magnitude of a red tide or a freeze. There is always the possibility of some issues popping up sometimes, but I personally wouldn’t predict large fish kill incidents. “Freshwater entering the bay will be either rootbeer colored water that is clear, or it’s going to be muddy water. The root beer water is basically tainted with tannins that come from marsh plants decaying, washing off into the bay. Generally, you see that percolating down off wetlands into bays, from some of the bayous. “The Coast Guard is asking people to stay off the bay; recreational fishermen, boaters, and others to stay off the bay for a while because so much has changed. There are lots of boats, possibly and probably, have been sunk out there, creating navigation hazards. Pilings have been knocked down. “If you could fish now, it would be hard to say what kind of results could be expected. It depends on how much rainfall we had along the watersheds, drainages. It doesn’t appear that many of our habitats, wetlands, sea grass areas were really badly affected. “You have storms that wash way up into some of these upland marshes, and when it pulls back, especially on the upper coast, brings back a lot of vegetation. In the old days in a more naturalized scenario, that would have brought in quite a nutrient load. Short term, people may notice possibly that their fishing success is maybe a little bit lower than normal; the contrary could be true. It won’t take very long for the bay to stabilize and return to what it was. “These things bounce back so fast from these natural catastrophes, it’s amazing. “Bays and estuaries are chaotic systems anyway. There is no such thing as the norm. This is just another chaotic event...flood, drought...anything that may occur. These systems are very resilient and they survive these things. —Tom Behrens

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

Chunks for Drum LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Pirates Landing Fishing Pier GPS: N26 4.799 W97 12.402

SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: dead shrimp, crab chunks, sea lice, Gulp! Crab CONTACT: Pier Office, 956-943-7437 TIPS: Cold dreary nights find very few fishermen on the pier, but the ones who are fishing for one of the big black drum that roam the flats between the ICW and the pier. This is surf tackle-type of fishing, with big coffee-grinder reels, 8-10 foot long rods, and dropper rigs. Bait a 3/0 Kahle hook with dead shrimp (good), sea lice (better), or chunks of blue crab (best) and wing a cast toward the ICW. Bring some strong coffee and a lawn chair. You might have to wait for your bites, but it’s more than worth it. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Port Isabel Turning Basin GPS: N26 3.761, W97 9.482 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, live finger mullet CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a colder than average winter, so savvy fishermen should familiarize themselves with deeper water haunts for speckled trout. Trout move to the warmer water in these areas because of the warmer water. Live shrimp or finger mullet can be fished on a split shot rig, or under a popping cork if trout are near the drop-off. Keep a finger on your line, because these trout will be picking up the bait very softly. C6

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LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Holly Beach GPS: N26 6.888, W97 17.839 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, finger mullet, ballyhoo; gold spoons, soft plastics in chartreuse, Firetiger CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Mild days will find redfish up on the warm mud of Holly Beach foraging for a meal. Time your visiting this area with high tides and drift the full length of the flats with bait under a popping cork, or with gold weedless spoons, or soft plastics (which can also be fished under a cork). On clearer days, the redfish are a bit spooky, so long casts are the order of the day. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Drum Boats GPS: N26 10.713, W97 11.107 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live bait; topwaters; soft plastics in red/white, New Penny CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Slot-sized reds will be cruising the deeper hole near what’s left of the drum boats (which were pretty much clobbered by Hurricane Dolly). Start with top waters early, and then move on to soft plastics or live shrimp as the day goes longer. Fish deeper water if the water is cooler. If the day warms up, start watching for redfish in shallower water. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Arroyo Colorado GPS: N26 20.061, W97 26.375 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp; Gulp! Shrimp in Glow CONTACT: Arroyo City Market, 956-7483255 F i s h

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TIPS: Night-fish under lights on mild days, especially during the full moon, when the trout seem to go into overdrive. You’ll see them chasing bait, or you’ll hear the telltale chug! when they hit their hapless prey. Most fishermen stick to the old Number 1, live shrimp under a popping cork, but the 2and 3-inch Gulp! Shrimp have developed a following. Fish them in the same fashion as a live shrimp or on a 1/16-ounce jighead. You’ll have to winnow through plenty of smaller trout, but they’ll still stretch your line. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Bennie’s Shack GPS: N26 28.864, W97 23.246 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork; topwaters; red spinnerbaits; soft plastics in clear/red, red/white, Pearl/red CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Fish the deeper water around the Shack’s island for numbers of speckled trout. Watch for birds working and focus on them. There are plenty of short trout out there, so you may want to fish with soft plastics and Gulp! baits in glow and New Penny (depending on water clarity). Topwaters are always worth a try in shallows on a calm morning. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Three Islands GPS: N26 16.643, W97 15.102 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, crab chunks CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Sight-fish for pods of black drum cruising between the islands and the ICW. Sometimes, they’ll actually be tailing right up near spoil islands and in the grass beds. If you don’t spot any fish, back off and fish the deeper water near the ICW with live or

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fresh shrimp on a free-line. I’ve also had excellent success with a shrimp pinned on a pink bucktail jig (Road Runners are especially effective). LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South of East Cut GPS: N26 32.814, W97 23.089 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in red/white, chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, 956-642-7357 TIPS: Fish south of the platform remains in the deeper water close to the channel. Trout move in and out of the channel to feed, and spread out on warmer days. Norton Bull Minnows are great baits, but the Gulp! Swim Shad and Jerk Shad in New Penny, Limetreuse, and Pearl are also excellent choices. LOCATION: Laguna Madre @ Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Big Oaks GPS: N26 41.468, W97 27.791 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in Limetreuse, pearl; soft plastics in red/white, Firetiger CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Drift the deep grass beds in the area with soft plastics pinned on a 1/4ounce jighead. Most of the fish will be holding closer to shore, but an outgoing tide will push them into deeper water. Watch for trout chasing bait along the grasslines on warmer days.

Baffin Topwater Specks LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Penascal Point GPS: N27 15.582, W97 25.436 SPECIES: speckled trout

BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters early CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart,

361-985-6089, 361-449-7441, www.brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Fish over the rocks early in the morning, or you can anchor just off the rocks. Fish the lower part of the water column with either live shrimp or live pinfish under a Texas Rattling Rig Mini Chatterweight. Fish off of the rocks rather than directly in them, or you’ll be re-tying a whole lot. Between the pinfish’s grunting and the noise of the Chatterweight, you should get a trout’s attention. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Humble Flats GPS: N28 38.996, W97 16.277 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in New Penny, Limetreuse, topwaters CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, www.brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Grasslines are very important in fall. Drift along the grasslines and target breaks and potholes. Most of the trout will lurk along the transitions from grass to sand ambush any bait that happens by. If there is no dead grass floating, then you may want to take a shot with a topwater, especially early in the morning. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Estes Flats GPS: N27 57.058, W97 5.331 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Gulp! Shrimp, live shrimp/float, live mullet, Gulp! Swimming Shad CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: redfish are everywhere during the fall. Look for large pods while you are drifting the flats and cast a live bait or tail in front of them. Chartreuse, New Penny and purple/chartreuse are excellent choices for plastics or scented baits. Live shrimp or baitfish under a popping cork is also a good choice. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Flats GPS: N27 50.654, W97 9.494 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mullet; gold spoons; soft plastics in Avocado/chartreuse, Motor Oil/chartreuse, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: You can anchor and fish with live bait on the bottom, or you can drift with either live bait or artificials. The important part is to look for moving bait, especially when water is moving in and out of Dagger Cut. Where the bait is, the fish usually follow. You don’t need more than a 1/4- to 1/2-ounce sinker when fishing on the bottom. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Shamrock Flats GPS: N27 45.337, W97 8.113 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mullet; gold spoons; soft plastics in Avocado/chartreuse, Motor Oil/chartreuse, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: Look for tailing fish on the flats and near the shorelines. A simple gold spoon works great in this application, but live shrimp, soft plastics, and mullet also work well. Drift with the wind until you locate fish. These fish can be a bit spooky, so keep noise down to a minimum. LOCATION: Rockport/Fulton HOTSPOT: Allyn’s Bight GPS: N27 58.961, W96 59.015 SPECIES: Black drum BEST BAITS: live shrimp, dead shrimp, crab chunks CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: Watch for schools of drum working the flats or near the shore. If you are drift fishing, then use shrimp under a popping cork. If you can’t locate schools, anchor up and fish either shrimp or, better still, chunks of crab on the bottom. You won’t be waiting long.

Cut-Up Trout LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Keith Lake Cut GPS: N29 46.503, W93 56.427

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SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409786-2018, 409-673-2018, fishsabinelake.com TIPS: The key to fishing the Cut area is the tide. Fish the area during an outgoing or incoming tide. Watch for nervous bait or birds working to key you in on where the fish are. Topwaters are always good early in the morning, but switch over to soft plastics or twitch baits later in the day. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Keith Lake GPS: N29 46.150, W93 57.002 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: topwaters early, gold spoons, soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Green Tomato, Strawberry/white CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409786-2018, 409-673-2018, fishsabinelake.com TIPS: While trout are standing guard around the cut to the Lake, redfish are patrolling the flats in the lake itself. Work topwaters early in the morning near the shoreline. Watch for mud boils as hints where the redfish are prowling. Gold spoons and soft plastics are also good later in the day. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Little Hannah Reef GPS: N29 28.783, W94 43.784 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Opening Night, Limetreuse; MirrOlure 51 MR or Catch 2000 in chartreuse, natural (murky water) or orange patterns (clear water) CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Watch for birds working over bait, and drift into them from a distance. Early morning is a good time to fish the area. Use eel-type soft plastics on a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jighead (if there is more current, use the heavier of the two). Focus on more subtle patterns when water is clear, Limetreuse and darker colors in murky water. MirrOlures are great lures for this area. C8

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LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: North Shoreline GPS: N29 33.137, W94 37.199 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Opening Night, Limetreuse; topwaters early CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Fish the pockets of clear water that dot the water along the shoreline. Keep an eye out for jumping bait. The transition points from murky to clear form a sort of ambush point for fish, and it’s best to fish those areas as thoroughly as you can. Topwaters are a good way to locate fish and cover a lot of water in a hurry. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Pasadena Reef GPS: N29 28.200, W94 49.220 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Opening Night, Limetreuse, red patterns CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Middle of the bay still has a great deal of bird activity, even in November. Watch for them working and fish with soft plastics on a 1/8-1/4-ounce jighead. Fish the perimeter or below the main school to locate better fish.

Bass See Red LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Big Tiger GPS: N26 44.326, W99 8.750

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Fish around the hardwoods that line the creek channels. If you locate fish in the hardwoods, then a flipping stick with either plastic worms or fat tubes will do the trick. If bass are active, roll a spinnerbait along channel edges and drop-offs. LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Arroyo Salanillas GPS: N26 35.363, W99 13.186 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Plastic worms in red, red watermelon, grape; spinnerbaits, flipping tubes. CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: You can show up at Falcon in November with a spinnerbait rod and a flipping stick and be fully equipped for a day on the water. Fish spinnerbaits around the edges of brush and along depth breaks. Flipping will find the bigger fish that hole up inside the brush and wait for a hapless crawfish or shad to happen by. Don’t pussyfoot around. Spool your reels with at least 20-pound line. Fifty-pound braid is not uncalled for. LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Zuber Bend GPS: N29 34.538, W101 17.624 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: plastic worms in black, Black Grape; spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white, white CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Most bass are still in shallower water (12-15 feet). Fish both spinners and plastics around channel points to locate bass. Larger fish will be deeper in the water column. Locate concentrations of fish around these points with your depth finder to eliminate unproductive water. LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Devil’s Flats GPS: N29 31.651, W101 59.299 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: DD 22 crankbaits, 9-inch plastic worms on Carolina rigs CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Go deep. As in 25 feet or so. Fish over and around grass with the DD22 in deeper water to find good bass. The DD22

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will clip the top of the grass beds. Fish Carolina rigs as well with a worm or lizard that will float above the grass as the sinker kicks up puffs of debris to grab bass’ attention. Longer leaders (2 feet or longer) are the key.

Aquilla Whites

Secret Weapon Takes Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Apple Orchard to Beaver Creek GPS: N30 52.637, W98 26.717

LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N33 54.533, W97 12.375

Spoon-Fed Bass

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: small white 1/4-ounce Secret Weapon Spinnerbait, Rat-L-Traps, 2 inch Spoiler Shads and small Zara Spooks CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Lower temperatures have driven the bass into the back of creeks. Fishing will be good on 2- to 5-foot deep flats inside of secondary points of pockets and feeder creeks. Larger bass will come from Apple Orchard down lake to Beaver Creek. BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, crappie, largemouth bass, white bass, catfish

Possum Slabs

GPS: N32 52.572, W98 31.723 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: slabs and jigs CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Watch for a rising barometer, around 29.8 to 30.50. You want it rising, which it will be, in advance of a cold front moving in. Watch the birds and fish in areas where they are diving or just sitting on the water. Stripers will be trapping baitfish against the surface and the birds easily spot them. This is the time of year to work Broadway back North to Costello Island and beyond. At the end of the month when the water is too cool to catch baitfish shallow, change to slabs and jigs. BANK ACCESS: Willow Beach RV Park, privately owned, ask for permission to fish, largemouth crappie, striped and white bass. Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com

LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Broadway

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Mustang Creek - Twin Oaks Hump at mouth of creek GPS: N32 50.63, W95 36.46

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: large spoons CONTACT: Rick Carter, 903-765-3474 TIPS: The fish are biting deep and shallow during November. Use a large spoon over humps as you would in a summer pattern. Drop the spoon to the bottom and hop it up to the fish if they are suspended, fluttering it back through them. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket Bait Stand, crappie, largemouth bass A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Walloping Winter Trout & Reds FTER THE HEAT WE ENDURED THIS SUMMER, cool days with a light north wind are always welcome. We have had a great late summer and early fall so it looks like we will have good winter fishing as well. In August, we had black-tipped shark taking our trout at the side of the boat on the very north end. That was a sure sign that the bay is really salty and sets us up for excellent fishing in November. Here are some techniques and tips to try on your next fishing trip to Sabine Lake: Early in the morning, grab those binoculars and look for flocks of diving gulls. Our bird fishing has been heralded as the best on the coast. It is not uncommon to come out of the mouth of West Pass and see at least 10 flocks working over specks and reds. You bet, the specks are school fish, but there are many 17- to 20- inch keepers mixed in with the schoolies. In fact, sometimes we pick up trout to 8 pounds while fishing near the birds. It is best to approach the birds from upwind. As you visually study the feeding

gulls, take the water out of the picture. Try to anticipate which way the school is driving the bait. Lay off the trolling motor and let the fish work to you. These fish are silhouetting targets against the grey sky. They are right on the surface. Make long casts and keep the noise to a minimum. The best bait for the better fish is MirrOlure’s new MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait. MirrOdine has a luminescent inset, “fish calling” rattles, and natural 3-D eyes to enhance its realism. With a twitching retrieve, this shallow runner darts from side to side, mimicking a wounded baitfish. Trout and redfish find MirrOdine irresistible. We fish it on a 15-pound-test braid with a 20-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. To get the distance we use 7-1/2- or 8-foot spinning rods. Plastics will obviously work well, too. Our go-to plastic is an Old’ BaySide 4-inch Speck Grub in chartreuse tail and Glow body. We use a 1/4-ounce leadhead, 10pound-test braid, and a 4-foot, 20-poundtest fluorocarbon leader. Again, spinning

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Walter Humphreys Fishing Pier LOCATION: South end Pleasure Island SPECIES: redfish LURE/BAITS: fresh dead shrimp BEST TIMES: High tides in the morning. rods get the distance. Here is a good tip when fishing the birds: Have two rods rigged and the cooler open (if you are keeping fish). As you land the first fish, just drop it right in the cooler, pick up your other rod, and shoot. Many times, you can land 6-8 keeper specks quickly. Over here, the locals call reds “trash fish” or “croakers on steroids.” Since Hurricane Rita drove in a tremendous amount of spawning reds from the surf, our bay system has been churning with these critters. This is good and bad news. The good news is that people love to eat them; the bad news is that they take a long time to land. A lot of the time, as we slowly approach the birds we can see the reds surfacing, chasing bait. Over the years, we have come up with a great method to get them hooked up and in the box quickly. Use a stiff “pool cue” 7-foot rod and 30-pound braid. Use a 3/8-ounce leadhead with any plastic and tie a double Palomar knot. Just stick that rod in your belly and start cranking on the handle. Seems like the fish loses its will to fight. My favorite time of year to fish flounder on Sabine is two weeks before Thanksgiving. Our bay water purging into the system turns black. This triggers the big females to body up. There are several classic spots on the south end where we have limited out on flatfish from 3 to 5 pounds in a 20-yard stretch. Don’t overlook Sabine flounder. That is enough information to fill your cooler with some tasty fish. Contact: Skip James 409-886-5341, jjames@gt.rr.com.

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Ike Moves More than Water HIS COLUMN WAS ORIGINALLY ABOUT THE effect of tidal current movements and freshwater runoff on fishing, especially in the Galveston area. It was written before Hurricane Ike roared ashore with its massive tidal surge and redefined “moving water.” Hopefully, by the time you read this, rebuilding efforts will be well underway to restore as much of the fishing and boating infrastructure of the area as possible, but many residents returned after their evacuation to find homes and boats in ruins. The beachfront piers were hit hard, marinas bashed, and beachfront washed away. The strong structure of the Texas City Dike was pounded badly and will be a different fishing spot now. Sadly, fishing might be way down the list at these venues for a while. On the other hand, since many (maybe most) of us use fishing as an escape from everyday troubles and worries, bait-cast therapy might be the best thing for those who can break away from rebuilding occasionally. Being on

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the water can provide both a return to a sense of normalcy and a chance to see a new marine environment emerge. While storms like Ike are bad news for humans, the bay will be flushed of the pollutants we have allowed to settle there by the flooding and then receding of the storm surge. New channels will be cut, some old ones filled in. Boaters have to be careful of debris, but in time, a lot of this stuff will become fish-holding structure and new hotspots for a generation of anglers yet to come. The fishing in November should be the best in many years, and this alone will be something to help take our minds off the weeks of living without power—or without sleeping in our own homes. The beachfront should be quite different than before the storm. For one thing, sand

eroded from in front of Galveston’s seawall has to go somewhere, and it does not simply dissolve in the Gulf. There will be newly extended beach and new, broader sandbars to counter the possibly deeper water where beach once beckoned sunbathers along the seawall; and dedicated surf anglers will find it. When the beachfront piers are rebuilt, long rod anglers will likely be casting to deeper water, and the fall bull red run should be exciting to participate in. The sadness that is the destruction of so much property on the Bolivar Peninsula cannot be erased by excellent surf fishing prospects, but again, meeting the waters of the Gulf in a friendlier manner can be a large step toward making peace with nature again.

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THE BANK BITE LOCATION: With all the changes to the surf area, fishing on any beachfront should be excellent. SPECIES: November is bull redfish time; big jack crevalle will also be attacking rafting mullet; and flounder are tracking the tides. BAITS: live or cut mullet for reds and jacks; shrimp, mud minnows & finger mullet for flounder, trout and panfish. With many bait camps out of commission, prepared to catch your own. BEST TIMES: When the water is moving. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Clicks and Clacks Provoke Attacks ARRIVED AT COTTON’S BAYOU JUST AFTER 6 a.m., making my first cast a quarter past the hour. Capt. Bobby Gardner, idling his boat next to mine a few minutes later, agreed to fish side by side with my charter that day, since we knew this piece of terrain had the potential to offer us scores of speckled trout on the incoming tide. Five casts and a dozen shuffles later, the first blow of the morning was felt as one of Gardner’s clients duped a keeper speck on a black/chartreuse MirrOlure She Dog. A blowup here and a blowup there was all we managed the next 100 yards. Then my pink-headed Super Spook Jr. sounded off with a 17-inch trout. Then another pushing 2 pounds, then another

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about the same, then another right at 3 pounds, then another and another. The funny thing was, I was the only one garnering strikes, and there were seven of us lined up almost shoulder to shoulder working the same minnow-infested water. One of Gardner’s clients sarcastically suggested I had soaked my plug in shrimp the night before. Gardner laughed as I continued to string fish. It became comical, really, until Gardner walked another 50 yards and fooled his first trout of the morning. Then the bite really slow for me after several futile casts without even a sniff. Gardner suggested he would walk behind the line of waders and work the deeper water on the edge of a deep gut. It was 9 a.m. now and the wind had kicked up to 10 mph, putting a slight chop on the surface. Gardner made a cast 20 yards off of my left shoulder was met with a vicious strike, then another, and another, and another. A half-dozen casts later had produced a half-limit of hearty specks. Indeed, trout were funneling on the flats via the deep gut; and, everyone was catching fish, except me. As comical as my fish-catching session two hours early had been, it was now comical how I couldn’t draw a bite while all others were getting bit nearly every cast. I knew what had happened, but kept quiet and tested a theory.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: South shoreline of East Matagorda Bay (Hog Island) SPECIES: trout, redfish, flounder BAITS: She Pups, Super Spooks, SkitterWalks, Corkies SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Look for diving birds or shrimp jumping. Gardner was throwing a chartreusebacked, Pearl-bodied, chartreuse-bellied She Pup. The 75MR CHPR is one of my favorites. I have caught more fish on that plug in the last five years than any other. Instead of switching to my go-to bait, I grabbed an Okie Shad Super Spook Jr., which is a chartreuse-backed, pearl-bodied plug. I did it to test my theory that color really does not matter when it comes to topwaters. Ten casts later, I hadn’t received as much as a nudge from a hungry trout, while Gardner and his clients continued to bang fish. “You want one of these baits?” asked Gardner. I had about a dozen She Pups in the boat, but the boat was a tiny dot on the horizon after three hours of wading. Gardner tossed me his extra plug from the brim of his cap. For the next hour, I caught and released another 15 healthy trout. They were nodoubt-about-it strikes and it was the best topwater session I have had in years. Depending how cold the winter becomes, November is the last month before a warm spring affords anglers a consistent topwater bite. The winter doldrums last about four months so make the most of November pack a pair of plugs - a loud one for a chop on the water and a more docile one for tranquil conditions. Contact: Bink Grimes, www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com.

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You Gotta Pay to Play HE PHONE RANG AS A NOVEMBER COLD front hit St. Charles bay. It was a potential client we in the guide community affectionately call a “winter Texan.” The gentleman had shopped other guides and was looking for a price he could afford on an all-day guided fishing trip. I told him my price, and over the next 10 or so minutes, he tried unsuccessfully to get me to cut my rate. I was patient, and after a sermon from him on Texas Guide fees, I explained why my price was what it was. After a long pause, he thanked me for taking the time to explain and said that he was on a fixed income as most retirees were, and needed some justification for shelling out that kind of money. He was coarse and pointed but polite, and something told me to invite him over for coffee. He walked with a slight limp, and we had a great chat. He said honestly he just wanted someone to show him a few spots to fish in his 14-foot flat-bottom boat. I got my Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas and showed him two spots that were no more

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than a stone’s throw from shore (his flat-bottom boat would beat him unmercifully if the November winds picked up), and gave him some pointers on riggings. He thanked me and tried to pay me, but I told him to keep it and just be safe. As he pulled away, I noticed his Purple Heart license plate. He had already paid the price, it seemed, and it was for me and others. ST. CHARLES BAY: Watch the water temp, as this is critical in November. The mouth of McHugh Bayou is the place to be, as cold fronts push in from the North; use mud minnows or cut menhaden on a fish-finder rig. The trick here is to allow the wind to push you into position where the bayou transitions to deeper water. The reds feed along this transition. COPANO BAY: After a mild cold front (no more than 10-degree drop in water temp), Mission Bay Cut will hold reds transitioning to deeper water. A silent approach is key. Use finger mullet on a Carolina rig or Berkley Gulp! Molting Crab under a cork. The east end of Shell Bank Reef will hold trout. Use a tandem jighead rig with white and chartreuse grubs. ARANSAS BAY: With a south wind, wade Black Jack shoreline using a Super Spook in Bone for reds and trout. If no action, switch to a bubble cork and Berkley Gulp! Shrimp. Try the east side of Scotch Tom Reef using a popping cork and shrimp for fast trout

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Rockport Beach Park LOCATION: Rockport SPECIES: black drum, croaker LURES/BAITS: dead shrimp, sea lice action. CARLOS BAY: Drift Spalding Bight for reds using soft plastics in Pumpkinseed/chartreuse and Limetreuse. Hit Poverty Reef for trout using free-lined piggy perch. MESQUITE BAY: This bay can get mean and it’s a long boat ride to the nearest ramp, so keep a watchful eye to the north for changing weather conditions. Work the east and west sides of the mouth of Cedar Bayou for reds using cut mullet and finger mullet on a fishfinder rig. Excellent sheepshead action awaits on east shoreline shell using a popping cork and shrimp on a No. 6 treble hook. AYERS BAY: Deeper water shell piles will hold trout on sunny days. Use free-lined shrimp and piggy perch. Wade the north shoreline for reds, bouncing Kelly shrimp tails in chartreuse tipped in Orange Glow off the bottom. Contact: Capt. Mac Gable, Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: GALVESTON COMPLEX Continued from Page C11 The Gulf when aroused by the force of tropical weather can seem an evil entity, but those who know her best realize this is not the case. These storms are a part of living on the coast, just as tornados, wildfires, floods, and mudslides are a part of living in other areas. I can think of no geographical location that does not get visited by some extreme force of nature at some point. We all knew the Galveston area was “overC14

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due” for a strong storm. We hoped it would never come, but at the same time, knew it had to sooner or later. Ike was not a child of “global warming” or a failure of the current Presidential administration to properly manage the weather. As the first major storm to hit this coast since Alicia in 1983, Ike had an openended ticket to land here, and for all the damage it did, the storm moved through quickly, with little flooding from heavy rain, and winds that were much less than the size of the storm suggested. F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

Ike was bad, there is no doubt of that, but it could have been even worse. The next storm might be worse, and it is coming, someday, as surely as high tide will come tomorrow. As coastal residents and visitors, we can only rebuild, prepare, and wait.

Capt. Mike Holmes runs tarpon, shark, and bluewater trips on a classic 31 Bertram. To book a trip, call 979-4150535. Email him at mholmes@fishgame.com.

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Packery Skipjack Bait HE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IS A WILD ONE down here. We have deer hunting, quail hunting, and some of the greatest coastal waterfowl hunting, all going on at the same time. By the way, duck hunting will be fantastic this year. Duck

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hunters that had hunted with us last year are chomping at the bit. Boating will be down to minimal with all the other seasons in full swing. This will draw lots of folks off the water. November is a month that will definitely test your fishing skills and knowledge. If you are looking for redfish, there will be a few hanging around the Boat Hole. Most of the redfish will be headed out Packery Channel in an attempt to migrate into the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. You should be able to head them off at the Packery Channel Jetty. Make sure you have fresh line on your reels, because you are going to hook onto 40-inch reds here. For bait, use fresh dead shrimp, cut mullet, or cut skipjack (ladyfish). Rig up on a bottom rig with a 5/0 to

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Padre Island HOTSPOT: Packery Channel SPECIES: redfish BAITS: fresh dead shrimp, cut mullet, or cut skipjack BEST TIMES: During tidal movement. 7/0 circle hook. With this style hook, when a fish hits, all you have to do is reel. The circle hook will hang in the corner of the redâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mouth and is fish-friendly. If your eye is on trout, head over to Beacroftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hole, a gut located between Pure

Continued on Page C16

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‘Y’ Not Sheepshead? OVEMBER ON LOWER LAGUNA MADRE IS A quiet time. Most sportsmen have turned their attentions to the deer lease, and many of the rest simply don’t fish in the winter, shifting focus to the NFL and NBA. That does not mean that there isn’t good fishing for the diehard few willing to take advantage of the beautiful, mild days of November. When the water begins to cool after the first substantial cold front of the season, sheepshead, the toothy piling-dweller dressed in prison stripes, begin moving around and congregating in good numbers around any structure that has good water depth nearby. Shorebound anglers, including the Winter Visitors who make the annual pilgrimage from the cold, snowy north, usually focus on the Brazos-Santiago Jetties (N26 4.080, W97 9.280), Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier (N26 4.799, W97 12.402; 956-943-7437), and Dolphin Point (N26 4.044, W97 9.712). All three spots hold excellent numbers of the tasty panfish, with numbers increasing steadily

until March, when the fish are in the middle of their spawn. All three also offer excellent opportunities for a wide variety of other species such as speckled trout, redfish, black drum, sand trout, and whiting. Any fisherman with access to a boat that wants to tangle with larger-than-average sheepshead (20-inch range) will want to turn their attention to the “Y” (N26 2.860, W97 12.430). The Y is the linking point between the Port Isabel Navigation Channel and Brownsville Ship Channel, and derives its name from the Y-shape created by the spoil island that bifurcates the confluence. Both the island and mainland shorelines are good spots to begin fishing. Locate the edges of the drop-offs and fish with live shrimp under a popping cork. Hook choices vary from fisherman to fisherman. A 1/0 short-shank hook such as an octopus can be very effective and hooks in the corner of the jaw, which makes handling fish much easier. When sheepshead are short striking, a No. 2 long or extra-long shank hook might be a better choice. Break the tail portion off the

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Arroyo City GPS: N26 20.061, W97 26.3754 SPECIES: speckled trout LURES/BAITS: Fish Adolph Tomae Park Pier at night with shrimp under a popping cork. shrimp and thread it onto the hook. This is where the popping cork proves its worth. It isn’t used as a noisemaker, as when fishing the flats for trout and redfish. Rather, the float serves as a strike indicator when sheepshead are at their bait-stealing best. When the cork sinks, or moves off to the side, set the hook. Some sharp Winter Texans have brought some of the quill floats they use for trout fishing and adapted them to this application. The quills are much more effective at detecting subtler strikes, and I have seen these old birds catching sheepie after sheepie while other fishermen were just feeding fish and talking to themselves. The bend immediately west of the Y is another excellent spot for sheepshead. The

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: CORPUS TO BAFFIN BAYS Continued from Page C15 Oil Channel and Pita Island. This area is known to the locals as I-10. Beacroft’s water depth average is about 5 feet and it has a muddy bottom. If November proves to be cold, trout will be in the mud. If you can find it, live shrimp under a Texas Rattlin’ Rig Popping Cork will be the ticket for November. If you want to throw plastics, try a B&L Sea Devil, rigged with a 1/16-ounce screw lock jighead. You can try bouncing it off the bottom or rigging it C16

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under a mauler. The King Ranch shoreline will still be holding a few trout. You might have to drift-fish it to find them. Target the deeper sand pockets in the grass lines. Plum color Assassins should work here. Moving on down Baffin way, I love to wade-fish, but in November, I do lots of drift-fishing. The main idea is to try to pattern and locate fish. Once I have located them and water depth allows, I jump out and start wading. The Badlands will be a great place to F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

start. Fish the deeper structure, working your way to East Kleberg Point. Kleberg seems to always hold some good trout this time of year. If there is a north wind, you might have to stay on the north shoreline. If the wind permits, try Center Reef and fish the outside edges. If the wind lays, hit the south shoreline around Black Bluff and key in schooling mullet.

Contact: Capt. Jim “Donk” Onderdonk, 361-774-7710, www.pocolocolodge.com.

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fish hold on the downcurrent side of the bend, where eddies naturally form and make it easier for these fish to suspend in place. Again, the standard shrimp/cork presentation works well, but if the fish are holding deeper in the water column, you might want to remove the cork and free-line your shrimp. This is also an effective way to happen upon some of the big flounder that take up residence around the bend. Keep a finger on your line and wait for the bump that means a sheepshead has picked up your bait. As the fish starts to move off, set the hook. Braided line is very helpful because of the extra sensitivity it provides. November around the Y also means redfish. Fish topwaters and gold spoons along the mangroves that line the shore, and watch for drains where water flows in and out of the flats behind the trees. Keep a sharp eye for tailing redfish, or solitary fish just “resting” by the drain. You can sight-cast to these fish, although they can be a bit spooky on a clear day. Use as much stealth as you can. The shallower water makes using standard LLM redfish techniques prohibitive, but the fish are there for the innovative angler. A Strike King Redfish Magic Spinnerbait is perfect for this situation, and every angler should have a spare rod rigged with one. Fishermen who want to practice their poling and stalking techniques will find this great sport, especially with a fly rod and the standard collection of redfish flies. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, in an attempt to help preserve and enhance the sheepshead fishery, is in the middle of an annual upgrading of minimum size limits for them. This year, sheepshead have to be over 14 inches in length in order to be retained, with no maximum size limit. The latter is a good thing, because four of the last five state records have come from Lower Laguna Madre, including the current record of 15.25 pounds. That’s a big sheepshead, and there is no reason to believe that other members of his flock aren’t out there.

Contact: Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com.

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

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Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008 USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).

T12

T11

T10

TIDE PREDICTIONS are located in the upper white boxes on the Calendar Pages. Use the Correction Table below, which is keyed to 23 other tide stations, to adjust low and high tide times.

T13 T7

T6 T5 T17

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

T15 T16

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

T14 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

PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

T20

PEAK TIMES: When a Solunar Period falls within 30 minutes to an hour of sunrise or sunset, anticipate increased action. A moon rise or moon set during one of these periods will cause even greater action. If a FULL or NEW MOON occurs during a Solunar Period, expect the best action of the season.

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE Add or subtract the time shown at the right of the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

PLACE Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass Jetty Sabine Pass Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass Galveston Bay, S. Jetty Port Bolivar

HIGH -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14

LOW -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH Galveston Channel/Bays T7 Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +3:54 T8 Eagle Point +6:05 T9 Clear Lake +10:21 T10 Morgans Point T11 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39

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

KEY PLACE T12 Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay T13 Gilchrist, East Bay T14 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay T15 Alligator Point, W. Bay T16 Christmas Pt T17 Galveston Pleasure Pier

T22 T23

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

• N O V E M B E R

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HIGH +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -1:06

LOW +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:33 +2:31 -1:06

KEY T18 T19 T20 T21 T22 T23

PLACE San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor Pass Cavallo Aransas Pass Padre Island (So. End) Port Isabel

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

C18

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 a wide variety of wildlife species.

T9 T8

T3 T2 T1

T E X A S

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

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

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

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

N ov 1

Sunrise: 6:24a Moonrise: 5:12a

Set: 5:34p Set: 4:36p

Sunrise: 6:25a Moonrise: 6:09a

Set: 5:33p Set: 5:09p

Sunrise: 6:25a Moonrise: 7:08a

Set: 5:32p Set: 5:45p

Sunrise: 6:26a Moonrise: 8:06a

Set: 5:31p Set: 6:25p

Sunrise: 6:27a Moonrise: 9:02a

Set: 5:30p Set: 7:10p

Sunrise: 6:28a Moonrise: 9:56a

Set: 5:29p Set: 8:00p

AM Minor: 3:08a

PM Minor: 3:29p

AM Minor: 3:50a

PM Minor: 4:12p

AM Minor: 4:35a

PM Minor: 4:59p

AM Minor: 5:25a

PM Minor: 5:50p

AM Minor: 6:18a

PM Minor: 6:44p

AM Minor: 7:14a

PM Minor: 7:39p

AM Minor: 8:09a

PM Minor: 8:34p

AM Major: 9:19a

PM Major: 9:40p

AM Major: 10:01a

PM Major: 10:24p

AM Major: 10:47a

PM Major: 11:11p

AM Major: 11:37a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:06a

PM Major: 12:31p

AM Major: 1:01a

PM Major: 1:26p

AM Major: 1:57a

PM Major: 2:22p

Moon Overhead: 10:57a 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:28p

Moon Overhead: 11:42a

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:17p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:58p

Moon Overhead: 2:07p

12a

12p

Sunrise: 6:28a Set: 5:29p Moonrise: 10:45a Set: 8:53p

12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

12a

Moon Overhead: 3:48p 12a

12p

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 11:19p +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 12:53a

BEST:

10:40AM-1:30PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:32a

BEST:

11:30AM-2:05PM

12:20-3:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:23a +2.0

BEST:

1:20-4:05 PM

2:15-4:50 PM

TIDE LEVELS

9:50AM-1:15PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:42a

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 12:05a

BEST:

9:10AM-12:30PM

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: None

-1.0

+1.0

-1.0 High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:50 am 9:44 am 5:06 pm 10:43 pm

1.48 ft 0.36 ft 1.71 ft 1.29 ft

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

2:57 am 10:13 am 6:03 pm 11:27 pm

1.49 ft 0.22 ft 1.76 ft 1.44 ft

High Tide: 2:58 am 1.53 ft Low Tide: 10:45 am 0.13 ft High Tide: 6:57 pm 1.77 ft

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

12:06 am 2:46 am 11:19 am 7:53 pm

1.54 ft 1.57 ft 0.10 ft 1.76 ft

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

12:33 am 2:06 am 11:56 am 8:55 pm

1.61 ft 1.62 ft 0.11 ft 1.73 ft

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

12:35 am 1:54 am 12:37 pm 10:09 pm

1.66 ft 1.66 ft 0.15 ft 1.70 ft

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

12:31 am 1:12 am 12:22 pm 10:54 pm

1.68 ft 1.69 ft 0.21 ft 1.69 ft

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

12a

BEST:

7:05-9:40 PM

12p

SOLUNAR AC TIVIT Y: 12a

AM/PM Timeline Light Blue: Nighttime

MINOR Feeding Periods (+/- 1.5 Hrs.)

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

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

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

Gold Fish: Best Time Blue Fish: Good Time

AM/PM Timeline

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

12p

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

MOON PHASE SYMBOLS MAJOR Feeding Periods (+/- 2 Hrs.)

12a

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

F i s h

= New Moon = First Quarter = Full Moon = L a s t Q u a r te r = B es t Da y

G a m e ® / N O V E M B E R

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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 Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Set: 5:26p Sunrise: 6:31a Sunrise: 6:30a Set: 5:27p Sunrise: 6:31a Moonrise: 12:10p Set: 10:45p Moonrise: 12:45p Set: 11:43p Moonrise: 1:18p

Set: 5:26p Set: None

Sunrise: 6:32a Moonrise: 1:49p

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SUNDAY

Set: 5:25p Sunrise: 6:33a Set: 12:41a Moonrise: 2:19p

Set: 5:24p Set: 1:39a

Sunrise: 6:34a Moonrise: 2:50p

Set: 5:24p Set: 2:37a

AM Minor: 9:04a

PM Minor: 9:29p

AM Minor: 9:57a

PM Minor: 10:20p

AM Minor: 10:46a

PM Minor: 11:09p

AM Minor: 11:32a

PM Minor: 11:54p

AM Minor: ——-

PM Minor: 12:14p

AM Minor: 12:33a

PM Minor: 12:55p

AM Minor: 1:12a

PM Minor: 1:35p

AM Major: 2:52a

PM Major: 3:16p

AM Major: 3:45a

PM Major: 4:08p

AM Major: 4:34a

PM Major: 4:57p

AM Major: 5:21a

PM Major: 5:43p

AM Major: 6:03a

PM Major: 6:25p

AM Major: 6:44a

PM Major: 7:06p

AM Major: 7:23a

PM Major: 7:46p

Moon Overhead: 4:37p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:12p

Moon Overhead: 5:25p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:56p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:25p

Moon Overhead: 7:41p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:11p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:29a Set: 5:28p Moonrise: 11:30a Set: 9:48p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 4:13a +2.0

-1.0

Moon Underfoot: 6:34a

Moon Underfoot: 7:19a

Moon Underfoot: 8:03a

BEST:

3:20-6:50 PM

4:00-7:15 PM

4:45-7:55 PM

5:30-8:00 PM

6:15-8:55 PM

7:00-9:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 8:47a +2.0

BEST:

7:40-10:25 PM

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 5:49a

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 5:02a

Low Tide: 1:11 pm 0.28 ft High Tide: 11:54 pm 1.68 ft

C20

Low Tide: 2:02 pm 0.35 ft High Tide: 11:58 pm 1.65 ft

• N O V E M B E R

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Low Tide: 2:56 pm

T E X A S

0.43 ft

F i s h

High Tide: 12:06 am 1.61 ft Low Tide: 3:52 pm 0.53 ft

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

12:15 am 7:40 am 10:05 am 4:48 pm

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

1.57 ft 1.20 ft 1.22 ft 0.66 ft

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

12:23 am 6:46 am 12:03 pm 5:46 pm

1.51 ft 1.00 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

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

12:30 am 6:53 am 1:27 pm 6:45 pm

1.47 ft 0.72 ft 1.42 ft 0.99 ft

+1.0

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:35a Moonrise: 3:23p

Set: 5:23p Set: 3:39a

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 4:01p

Set: 5:23p Set: 4:45a

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 4:44p

Set: 5:22p Set: 5:55a

Sunrise: 6:37a Moonrise: 5:35p

Set: 5:22p Set: 7:07a

Sunrise: 6:38a Moonrise: 6:35p

Set: 5:21p Set: 8:20a

Sunrise: 6:39a Moonrise: 7:42p

Set: 5:21p Set: 9:27a

Sunrise: 6:40a Moonrise: 8:52p

AM Minor: 1:52a

PM Minor: 2:16p

AM Minor: 2:35a

PM Minor: 3:02p

AM Minor: 3:25a

PM Minor: 3:54p

AM Minor: 4:23a

PM Minor: 4:54p

AM Minor: 5:27a

PM Minor: 6:00p

AM Minor: 6:38a

PM Minor: 7:11p

AM Minor: 7:49a

PM Minor: 8:21p

AM Major: 8:04a

PM Major: 8:28p

AM Major: 8:48a

PM Major: 9:15p

AM Major: 9:39a

PM Major: 10:08p

AM Major: 10:38a

PM Major: 11:09p

AM Major: 11:44a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:21a

PM Major: 12:54p

AM Major: 1:33a

PM Major: 2:05p

Moon Overhead: 10:00p 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:52p

Moon Overhead: 10:53p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: None 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:01a

Moon Overhead: 12:55a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Set: 5:20p Set: 10:27a

Moon Overhead: 3:06a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

WEDNESDAY

12a

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:35a +2.0

BEST:

-1.0

BEST:

9:10-11:05 PM

Moon Underfoot: 12:23p BEST:

10:00-11:55 PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:28p BEST:

4:15-6;05 AM

Moon Underfoot: 2:34p BEST:

12:00-1:55 AM

12:15-2:05 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:38p +2.0

BEST:

1:20-3:15 AM TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 11:22a

TIDE LEVELS

8:20-10:15 PM

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:26a

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

12:36 am 7:19 am 2:39 pm 7:44 pm

1.44 ft 0.41 ft 1.58 ft 1.17 ft

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

12:41 am 7:54 am 3:45 pm 8:42 pm

1.46 ft 0.09 ft 1.74 ft 1.36 ft

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

12:46 am 8:35 am 4:49 pm 9:37 pm

1.52 ft -0.19 ft 1.85 ft 1.52 ft

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

12:52 am 9:21 am 5:55 pm 10:30 pm

1.60 ft -0.40 ft 1.92 ft 1.66 ft

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

1:02 am 10:12 am 7:03 pm 11:22 pm

1.69 ft High Tide: 1:15 am 1.76 ft Low Tide: -0.53 ft Low Tide: 11:06 am -0.56 ft High Tide: 1.92 ft High Tide: 8:15 pm 1.88 ft Low Tide: 1.74 ft High Tide:

12:36 am 1:12 am 12:04 pm 9:23 pm

1.77 ft 1.77 ft -0.50 ft 1.81 ft

+1.0

-1.0

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Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Set: 5:19p Sunrise: 6:43a Set: 5:19p Set: 12:38p Moonrise: 12:14a Set: 1:10p

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:44a Moonrise: 1:13a

Set: 5:18p Set: 1:40p

Sunrise: 6:45a Moonrise: 2:10a

Set: 5:18p Set: 2:09p

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 3:07a

Set: 5:18p Set: 2:39p

AM Minor: 8:58a

PM Minor: 9:27p

AM Minor: 10:00a

PM Minor: 10:27p

AM Minor: 10:55a

PM Minor: 11:20p

AM Minor: 11:43a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Minor: 12:03a

PM Minor: 12:25p

AM Minor: 12:42a

PM Minor: 1:03p

AM Minor: 1:19a

PM Minor: 1:41p

AM Major: 2:43a

PM Major: 3:13p

AM Major: 3:46a

PM Major: 4:14p

AM Major: 4:43a

PM Major: 5:08p

AM Major: 5:31a

PM Major: 5:54p

AM Major: 6:14a

PM Major: 6:36p

AM Major: 6:53a

PM Major: 7:14p

AM Major: 7:30a

PM Major: 7:52p

Moon Overhead: 4:09a 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:58a

Moon Overhead: 5:06a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:46a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:13a

Moon Overhead: 7:30a

12a

12p

12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 5:20p Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 5:19p Sunrise: 6:42a Moonrise: 10:03p Set: 11:18a Moonrise: 11:10p Set: 12:01p Moonrise: None

12a

THURSDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

Moon Overhead: 8:56a 12a

12p

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 4:38p +2.0

BEST:

-1.0

Moon Underfoot: 7:08p

Moon Underfoot: 7:52p

Moon Underfoot: 8:34p

Moon Underfoot: 9:17p +2.0

BEST:

3:40-5:20 AM

4:35-6:15 AM

5:20-6:55 AM

6:05-7:45 AM

6:40-8:25 AM

7:20-9:15 AM TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 6:22p

TIDE LEVELS

2:40-AM

Moon Underfoot: 5:33p

Low Tide: 1:05 pm -0.35 ft Low Tide: 2:10 pm -0.14 ft Low Tide: 3:17 pm 0.12 ft High Tide: 10:18 pm 1.71 ft High Tide: 10:55 pm 1.59 ft High Tide: 11:20 pm 1.48 ft

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

5:59 am 9:30 am 4:28 pm 11:39 pm

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

1.02 ft 1.14 ft 0.39 ft 1.37 ft

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

F i s h

6:21 am 11:36 am 5:42 pm 11:54 pm

0.73 ft 1.15 ft 0.66 ft 1.30 ft

Low Tide: 6:50 am High Tide: 1:19 pm Low Tide: 6:57 pm

0.45 ft 1.24 ft 0.89 ft

G a m e ® / N O V E M B E R

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

12:05 am 7:20 am 2:41 pm 8:11 pm

2 0 0 8

1.26 ft 0.20 ft 1.37 ft 1.08 ft

•

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+1.0

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 4:03a

Set: 5:17p Set: 3:10p

Sunrise: 6:47a Moonrise: 5:01a

Set: 5:17p Set: 3:45p

Sunrise: 6:48a Moonrise: 5:59a

Set: 5:17p Set: 4:23p

Sunrise: 6:49a Moonrise: 6:55a

Set: 5:17p Set: 5:07p

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 7:50a

Set: 5:17p Set: 5:55p

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 8:41a

Set: 5:17p Set: 6:47p

Sunrise: 6:51a Moonrise: 9:27a

Set: 5:17p Set: 7:42p

AM Minor: 1:57a

PM Minor: 2:19p

AM Minor: 2:37a

PM Minor: 3:00p

AM Minor: 3:20a

PM Minor: 3:44p

AM Minor: 4:08a

PM Minor: 4:32p

AM Minor: 4:58a

PM Minor: 5:23p

AM Minor: 5:51a

PM Minor: 6:16p

AM Minor: 6:45a

PM Minor: 7:10p

AM Major: 8:08a

PM Major: 8:30p

AM Major: 8:49a

PM Major: 9:12p

AM Major: 9:32a

PM Major: 9:57p

AM Major: 10:20a

PM Major: 10:45p

AM Major: 11:11a

PM Major: 11:36p

AM Major: ——-

PM Major: 12:04p

AM Major: 12:33a

PM Major: 12:58p

Moon Overhead: 9:39a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:13a

Moon Overhead: 10:25a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:02p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:43p

Moon Overhead: 12:53p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:33p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 10:02p +2.0

Moon Underfoot: None

Moon Underfoot: 12:27a

Moon Underfoot: 1:18a

Moon Underfoot: 2:08a

BEST:

2:10-6:05 PM

2:55-6:40 PM

3:15-6:05 AM

4:00-6:15 AM

4:50-6:45 AM

5:45-6:55 AM

6:30-7:45 AM

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 11:37p

+2.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:49p

-1.0

+1.0

-1.0 High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

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12:14 am 7:51 am 3:47 pm 9:23 pm

1.26 ft 0.01 ft 1.47 ft 1.22 ft

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

• N O V E M B E R

12:18 am 8:22 am 4:41 pm 10:38 pm

1.28 ft High Tide: 12:10 am 1.31 ft Low Tide: 9:27 am -0.13 ft Low Tide: 8:54 am -0.21 ft High Tide: 6:13 pm 1.53 ft High Tide: 5:29 pm 1.55 ft 1.31 ft

2 0 0 8 /

T E X A S

F i s h

-0.25 ft Low Tide: 10:03 am -0.25 ft Low Tide: 10:40 am -0.23 ft High Tide: 12:07 am 1.42 ft 1.54 ft High Tide: 6:58 pm 1.51 ft High Tide: 7:45 pm 1.48 ft Low Tide: 11:18 am -0.19 ft Low Tide: 11:33 pm 1.42 ft High Tide: 8:32 pm 1.44 ft

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

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Lowrance Radio Boaters with limited dash space will be interested in Lowrance’s new LVR-880 VHF Radio. This little box is packed with so many features and functions, it will eliminate the need for several other items at the helm. The first thing it eliminates is your stereo, because this is the first VHF around that comes packing an FM receiver. You could listen to the music through the 2.5-inch integrated speaker, but why do that when you could jam your tunes by wiring external stereo speakers to the two-channel output? Another item your boat can now do without is a loud hailer. The LVR-880 has one of these built-in, too, and with 22 watts of power, you will be heard from the inlet to the back bay. Leave your air horn at home; the hailer has an automatic foghorn sound-signal function, as well. Thanks to DSC selective calling, you can also do away with that cell phone or FRS radio. Like other DSC units, this one will

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broadcast your latitude and when I took a rough ride longitude to the Coast across an open bay and thorGuard if you press the oughly doused the unit, I panic button. didn’t have to worry because Unlike many it is submersible to JIS-7 stanother DSC units, dards. this one also The only downside I found to Lowrance LVR-880 VHF Radio has a “track this unit was price. your buddy” While it isn’t terribly function. Interface it with your Lowrance expensive, it does run close to $200 and you GPS chartplotter, and up to three people can purchase a DSC VHF for a little over (who are also DSC equipped) you communi- half that much these days. Of course, they cate with will show up on your screen. You’ll don’t have FM radios or the other features know their exact locations at all times, and described above. with the LVR-880’s nav-to-waypoint capabilAll the other features I’d expect from a ities, getting to them will be as easy as pushing top-end modern VHF unit were also present a couple of buttons. That means you do not and accounted for: dual-watch and scanning need those alternate means of communication modes, weather at the press of a button and to tell your friend where the hot bite is without NOAA weather alert warnings, NMEA alerting the entire fleet. 0183 and NMEA 2000 compatibility, 25/1 When I tested this unit, a couple of design watt transmit power, and a 3.4-inch diagonal features also proved very useful. The controls LCD display. Plus, the unit can be either binare on both the unit and the microphone, so I nacle or flush mounted. could switch channels and raise the volume Contact: Lowrance, 800-324-1356, without so much as leaning forward. And www.lowrance.com —Lenny Rudow

Tool is Too Handy We all have our favorite multi-tools, and we all wish they had just one more doo-dad, blade, or gizmo. But sometimes, less is more if the tools you have are designed right for the specific job you have in mind, and in this case, that job is fishing. The folks at the 2Handee Tackle Company have just introduced a new multi-tasker that targets just this activity, the 2Handee Utility Tool. Instead of focusing on a large number of tools, the 2Handee is aimed purely at what anglers need: sharp hooks, line and braid cutters, and a blade. The top of the tool is a replaceable sharpening stone with grooves running down the sides for sharpening hooks. Its larger surface is flat for sharpening

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T E X A S

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other blades. And since it’s removable, the stone can be flipped, providing a second sharpening surface. A stainless-steel blade with smooth and serrated sections swings out from under the stone on one side, and on the other, an arm with a jig-eye reamer and a de-hooker. The front of the unit is essentially like a heavy-duty clipper, which can handle braid lines and light wire leaders. I tried chopping through 80pound braid and 20-pound wire, and the clippers handled the chore with no problem. The 2Handee also has a hole in the back end, so you can attach it to a lanyard. Essentially, this tool is a jazzed-up, heavyduty version of clippers with some added perks, and it does in fact come in quite handy on the boat. Contact: 2Handee, 859-223-BASS, www.2handee.com —LR

Positive Rejection Rejection is a good thing, when your boat, ATV, or Jet Ski’s super-slick gel coat is rejecting bug splatters, road grime, and scum lines. But fiberglass gel coat is a porous material,

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and it needs some help if it’s going to stay slick, clean, and shiny. That’s why many boat owners use polymer coatings on their powertoys-and the newest formulation to hit the market is RejeX, a high-gloss finish that’s intended for boats, RV’s, motorcycles, ATVs, and even automotive finishes. Application is similar to waxing without the buffing: After washing the boat down thoroughly, I wiped RejeX on with a microfiber cloth, let it dry to a haze, then wiped away the excess. Since RejeX bonds safely to glass, metal, acrylic, and painted surfaces, I didn’t have to worry about dripping or dabbing other surfaces on the boat by accident, as with some cleaners or polishes. This polymer has an 8- to 12-hour cure time, after which my boat gleamed so brightly it could be seen in the moonlight—from space. You have to be careful, though, because it can’t be applied to a hot surface or in direct sunlight if you want to get that stellar finish. According to the manufacturer, RejeX will last for up to six months and will work when applied over wax, though for a shorter time, but usually it’s best to apply polymers like this to an un-waxed surface.

I tested RejeX by applying it to my 19foot center console the day before I made a six-hour road trip with the boat in tow. Anyone who has ever made a haul like this knows that it usually results in a bug-splattered, tarry, road-goo mess on the boat—and I had plenty of them. I spent the next two days fishing, including two launches and retrievals, so I would also be sure to have scum lines running down the hull sides. Finally, I towed it back home and stepped back to survey the results. At a glance, it did look like the boat was cleaner than it should be, I would guess by maybe 25 percent. Good results, but the boat still needed a thorough clean-up. When I broke out the scrub brushes and soap, the real value of a coat of RejeX became apparent. Instead of needing a thorough scrubbing and wax job to get the boat clean, all it took in most cases was a direct blast from the hose. RejeX is pretty inexpensive considering what you get: $14.95 for a 12-ounce bottle is enough to do a 25-foot boat or three cars. My 19-footer took about half a bottle. Contact: Masthead Marketing and Distribution, 214-651-8627, www.rejex.com —LR

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Ardent Sponsors Army Bass Anglers RDENT, AN AMERICAN-OWNED manufacturer of fishing reels and accessories made exclusively in the USA, is proud to announce the company’s multi-year sponsorship of the Army Bass Anglers. “Since Ardent was founded in 2003, the company has been committed to creating manufacturing jobs in the USA,” said Michael J. Brooks, President and C.E.O. of Ardent. “We are honored to support the men and women of Army Bass Anglers, who defend the freedoms enjoyed by our employees, the customers who purchase our products, and every other American citizen.” As part of Ardent’s sponsorship of Army Bass Anglers, the company will provide team members with premium Ardent bait-casting and spinning reels, and other quality Ardent accessories, all Made in the USA. Ardent’s long-term commitment to the group also includes a reel rebate program for active U.S. servicemen and women. “Joining forces with Ardent has been exciting, not only because of the superior quality of products like Ardent’s XS 1000 bait-casting reel, but also because Ardent’s products are made in the USA by the very people we have sworn to defend and to serve,” said Major Cody Roberson, the Army Bass Anglers team leader. By competing in bass tournaments, Army Bass Anglers are able to support programs like Take a Soldier Fishing, Return Heroes Home, and Fishing for Freedom, while also increasing public awareness of their mission to honor and to aid those who

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have served their country. During the offseason, Army Bass Angler volunteers raise funds and solicit products in further support of Fishing for Freedom tournaments. In recognition of their work on behalf of servicemen and women, BASS/ESPN recently selected the Army Bass Anglers and their boats to serve as honorary launch boats at the 2009 Bassmasters Classic. “Ardent is the only American-owned manufacturer of casting and spinning reels that are exclusively made in the USA, and the only fishing reel manufacturer supporting Army Bass Anglers and military men and women who fish,” said Roberson. “Launching the world’s top bass fishing professionals during each day of the 2009 Bassmasters Classic will be a tremendous honor. Army Bass Anglers are excited to attend the Classic as members of an Ardent team that includes legends of the sport such as Alton Jones, the 2008 Bassmasters Classic champion, who won last year’s Classic while fishing exclusively with Ardent’s XS1000 and XS600 bait-casting reels. Meeting Alton and knowing that both he and Army Bass Anglers are sponsored by the same great company will truly be a dream come true.” Ardent manufactures superior-quality, high-performance fishing reels and accessories that are made in the USA. For more information, visit Ardent’s website at www.ardentoutdoors.com. For more information on the Army Bass Anglers, or to learn more about the Ardent program, visit www.armybassanglers.com. —Staff Report

T E X A S

F i s h

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•••

Polaris 2009 Side-by-Side Utility When the forks slid underneath the log and the grapple snapped closed, a little rush of excitement coursed through my veins. I toggled the joystick with my left hand to lift the 500-pound load, spun the steering wheel with the index finger of my right hand, and simultaneously eased down on the foot throttle to move my chunky prize to the burning pile.

A few minutes later, I am using the frontend loader bucket to move and spread gravel over the muddy area I had just been clearing of brush and logs. By day’s end, the grapple and loader attachments would be sitting on the trailer and the side-by-side UTV I was using to tidy up some property would be transformed into my hunting rig, taking a buddy and me into some prime deer country. Such is the beauty of the 2009 Ranger HD—the latest UTV offering from Polaris. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRUCE SMITH

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The Ranger HD sheds a whole new light on the rapidly growing utility vehicle market because it adapts perfectly to both work and recreation needs. It is also loaded with cool new features.

A New Era As Matt Homan, general manager of Polaris Side-by-Side division, told us when he introduced us to the new offerings, “The 2009 line-up is the most significant and extensive product introduction in Ranger history. “We kept all the features that make a Ranger great— Electronic Fuel Injection, Independent Rear Suspension, Polaris True All-Wheel-Drive—and completely re-engineered the rest to include more rugged styling, improved ergonomics, easier steering, more cab space, and exclusive Adjustable Dual A-Arm front suspension, to create the next generation of Ranger utility vehicles that work even harder and ride even smoother.” Homan’s enthusiasm is well deserved. Polaris’ new Rangers take the side-by-side industry to a whole new level in performance, utility, and comfort. All of the nits we picked in previous models have been addressed, and further innovations we didn’t think of have been added. For example, the Ranger now sports the family looks of the popular RZR with a very aggressive new body styling from the bumpers to the LED taillights. The new models also feature more seat and leg space, a more ergonomically-designed seat with more seatback angle, reoriented gas and brake pedal for improved operator comfort, and a relocated brake lever for operation both inside and outside of the vehicle. Polaris also redesigned the steering wheel for better steering with gloves, added tilt steering with the highest range of adjustment for maximum driver comfort, made the manual steering 50 percent easier, and on the all-new HD (Heavy Duty) model, installed automotive-style variable-assist electric power steering, which helps maneuverability in tight areas such as farm yards or woods and is a godsend driving over rough terrain. They also redesigned the throttle so the power delivery from the 40 hp Polaris 700 EFI four-stroke is ultra-smooth even when you are driving over the roughest terrain. Top speed remains impressive at 50 mph.

Page C29

Hot Suspension Interior refinements and modernized exterior looks are all well and good, but most Texans want more substance. Look no further than the new Ranger suspension. The change to the adjustable front A-arm suspension greatly improves overall ride quality. Now there is a full foot of ground clearance and more than 9 inches of suspension travel. The coolest feature is the self-leveling rear suspension found on the HD model. Rangers can carry 1500 pounds of cargo and passengers, and tow 2000 pounds. With that kind of load, the rear suspension of most side-by-sides will be on the bump stops, greatly affecting ride and handling. Not the 2009 Ranger HD. Its automotive-style self-leveling coil-over shocks automatically stiffen under such loads to bring the suspension back to level while retaining the stock ride and handling. The self-leveling suspension is a great innovation in sideby-sides and is sure to be followed by competitors.

Multi-Tasking Another area Polaris is leading the way in side-by-sides is accessories that allow the Ranger HD to be used for both work and play in a variety of weather conditions. The PURE accessories team at Polaris teamed up with a number of well-know aftermarket manufacturers to design equip-

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

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ment and accessories for the Ranger line. For instance, BOSS is the maker of the quick-attach electric/hydraulic bucket loader and brush fork/grapple attachments. You can switch from one to the other in 30 seconds. Polaris partnered with Bestop to develop not one but three full cabs for the new Rangers: steel, plastic, and cloth. The Bestop Soft-Top Cab System is even constructed with vinyl-coated polyester for convertibility including roll-up soft-glass side and rear windows. Ranger accessories are actually falling right in line with what you find for your truck or SUV, complete with a 4500-pound capacity electric winch, brush guards, winch bumpers, fender flares, driving lights, gun racks, scabbards, and a host of Polaris Lock & Ride cargo-management accessories that take just seconds to add or remove. What all this boils down to is the new Ranger and Ranger HD provide a whole new level of multi-tasking and more trucklike ride and handling for side-by-side buyers. Polaris says it is now the “Hardest Working, Smoothest Riding” utility vehicle on the market. Such a bold statement is going to be very tough to dispute from my most recent seat-of-the-pants experiences. —Bruce W. Smith

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Mossberg Model 464 Lever Action .30-30 INCE WINCHESTER STOPPED MANUFACTURING the Model 94 .30-30, the market price for those guns has soared. Also, that left Marlin pretty much in a bunch all by itself as far as high-quality .30-30 lever actions are concerned. Well, that has changed. Mossberg recently introduced its Model 464 Lever Action in .30-30 caliber. As far as appearance is concerned, it is, at first glance, a ringer for the Model 94 Winchester, but mechanically, it is considerably different. Since most of us do not really care about the mechanical differences, and those who do can find out elsewhere, we will focus on the functionality of the gun. First is the safety. These days, it seems that everything has to have a safety whether it needs it or not. I do not like a safety on a lever action, but I am forced to admit that it does make for a safer firearm. On the Mossberg 464, the safety is in the top tang position where it is easily accessed. This is the best place possible to put a safety on a lever action. Also, the safety is large and obvious,

so you won’t miss it in the heat of battle, or when wearing heavy gloves. I have actually grown rather fond of the thing, much to my dismay. Since this model does not have a half cock, as did the Model 94, the safety is required for carrying a round in the chamber. A secondary safety is built into the lever. The lever must be grasped and pressed up against the rifle’s wrist or the trigger cannot be pulled. On the other hand, if the lever is pressed firmly against the wrist

by Steve LaMascus but the safety is on, when the trigger is pulled, the hammer cannot contact the firing pin. This is a safe and practical gun. The 464 is also an angle eject model. I wanted to mount a scope on the gun, but had not a clue what mounts it took. Neither did any of the people that I asked. To find out, I called Brownells and talked to their tech department, which is what I always do when I run into something weird or differ-

ent. In short order, they sent the appropriate mounts. A No. 403 Weaver Top Mount Base is used for both front and rear. It doesn’t appear to make any difference which way you set the rear base. Even if it is placed so that it extends over the rear of the ejection port, the gun ejects the empties cleanly. I mounted an Alpen Kodiak 1.5x4.5 scope on the gun and headed out to find out how it would shoot. The tubular magazine holds six rounds, so I loaded it up with 150-grain Winchester power points, and levered a round into the chamber. The action was smooth and positive. I had tried the trigger previously and found it quite shootable, with almost no creep—better than usual for a Model 94type lever action. My Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge showed that it broke consistently at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. Shooting tests proved the gun sufficiently accurate for what it was intended—shooting game at ranges up to about 150 yards. Three-shot, 100-yard groups with the Super-X ammunition averaged about 2 inches. That is all anybody should expect from a factory-fresh lever-action .30-30 carbine. The Model 464 is a worthy heir to the kingdom of the Model 94 Winchester. It is a strong, dependable gun. It is nothing fancy, but that is exactly what we want in our “thutty-thutties.” However, expect more from Mossberg. They will shortly offer other chamberings in the Model 464, possibly by the time this is published. E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com.

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Why Hunting Bucks Increases White-Tail Populations A UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA PROFESSOR SAYS America’s native white-tailed deer have some unique ways to compensate for hunting pressure. Hunters most often pursue bucks, both for trophy value and because shooting does in many states is illegal or highly restricted. That might seem to threaten deer popula-

tions because it cuts into the number of males available to mate. But Ron Labisky, a UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation, says his research shows that deer make up for the loss of bucks with a unique response: Does in areas where hunting is allowed give birth to considerably more male fawns than female fawns.

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“We don’t usually give animals due credit for their persistence, especially deer,” said Labisky, who has spent three decades researching white-tailed deer. “With malesonly hunting, it is very, very difficult to deplete a deer population.” Labisky and colleagues examined the reproductive tracts of 380 legally harvested

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever

does from four areas of Florida. The Tosohatchee State Preserve and most of Eglin Air Force Base are off limits to hunting, whereas it is allowed in Camp Blanding Wildlife Management Area and the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area. More than 90 percent of the does in all the areas were pregnant, the research found. Males comprised 56 percent of the fetuses in the hunted areas but just 39 percent in the non-hunted areas, it found. As if that weren’t enough, the researchers also found 38 percent of does on hunted sites carried twins, compared with just 14 percent on non-hunted sites. “Productivity was higher on hunted than non-hunted sites,” wrote Labisky in a summary of the study, which appeared in the Journal of Wildlife Management. Why would deer give birth to more males in areas where bucks are hunted? Labisky said the doe’s reproductive cycle offers one explanation for the adaptation. Does typically go into heat for about 72 hours, he said. In non-hunted areas, they find mates quickly, while they take longer to find mates in hunted areas. The later does

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When buck numbers dwindle due to hunting pressure, does enter a sort of state of “compensatory natality” and give birth to more male than female fawns. breed while they are in heat, the greater the proportion of male fetuses. In a related research project, Labisky found that while does typically wait for bucks to find them, they actually seek out bucks in hunted areas where there are fewer around. From the white-tailed deer’s perspective, the findings are good news. On the other hand, the research likely means the animals will continue to be a nuisance in some states. Labisky said experts believe the population of deer in the United States is about equal to what it was before Europeans arrived, with somewhere between 24 million and 34 million nationwide. That is up from just 350,000 in 1900, when the population crashed largely because of unregulated hunting. Northern states have the biggest problem with overpopulation of deer because their fields provide so much forage at a time when many of the deer’s traditional predators such as wolves and bears no longer pose a threat. Deer in the Midwest also give birth to more fawns, and more of the fawns survive than in the South, Labisky’s research has found. In Florida, by contrast, “our groceries

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aren’t as good,” Labisky said. Unlike states such as Wisconsin, with at least 2 million deer, Florida has about 600,000 deer. The state’s deer population is relatively stable in part because of the deer’s unique compensation to hunting, Labisky said.

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WHITETAIL BUCK—MENARD COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—APPLE SPRINGS, TEXAS

PRONGHORN—CLAYTON, NEW MEXICO

Rachel Nelson, age 12, killed her first whitetail buck on the family ranch near London, Texas, in Menard County. Rachel used her dad’s Ruger M77 in 6mm Rem.

Sonny Johnson of Trinity, Texas, killed this deer at P.O.E.T. Hunting Club, outside of Apple Springs, Texas. It was scored by the Texas Big Game Awards, grossing 160-2/8. The 10-pointer had 6 kickers and weighed 155 pounds.

Fisher Byers, age 7, took his first pronghorn in Clayton, New Mexico. He shot it with a .240 Weatherby at 204 yards, running off of shooting sticks. Fisher is the son of Robby Byers of Texas.

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Improving the Odds

Have a cell phone or two-way radio with you. I have friends that bring their cell phones and put them in their backpacks. What good is that going to do them if they are on the ground injured, and their backpack is still up next to the stand? Secure your phone on your person someplace so it is easy to access if you need it.

Part Two

Learn Good Tracking Skills

AST MONTH, I TOUCHED ON A FEW THINGS hunters can do to help assure a successful season this year. I will continue with that approach and hopefully give you some good ideas—some you might not have thought of before. More importantly, I hope I can remind you of some things that you now take for granted but forget about when the season rolls along.

Be Safe Above all else, if we want to continue to have fun year after year, we need to keep safety first on the list. Refresh your basic first aid knowledge. Hopefully, you might never need it, but remember that most injuries in the bowhunting world are self-inflicted. Chances are you would be alone when a problem arises and you will need to know how to deal with it in a safe, calm matter. I make it a habit to always have a small first aid kit in my backpack whenever I go in the field. Sometimes I think that is the only reason people hunt with me. Check your stand site for dead trees. The tree you are hunting out of might be fine, but what about the trees next to you. Will one of them come down in a strong wind? If you hear the crack of a tree heading your way, you are about to have a very bad day. Now would be a good time to trim any brush near your stand. Keep it as low to the ground as possible to avoid tripping on it in the dark morning hours. Never go up a tree without a safety harness. It is the very first thing I do when I get in my stand. Before you pull any of your gear up, secure yourself to the tree for a safe hunt. C34

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Go with a friend to help track and stay out of the way. You want to stay behind the person who is following the blood trail. Use biodegradable tissue paper and place it on branches near the blood sign. This will give you a good idea the direction the deer is heading. Slow is the way to go. Always keep last blood in sight. You might need to go back to that spot and look harder for any sign. Learn how to read blood sign. What color is the blood? Bright red blood with bubbles could mean a lung shot. A dark, almost brown color could mean a liver shot. Identifying where the blood is from will help determine how long you wait before you start to track. If you find food particles, you are in for a long night. This would tell you that you have a gut shot and should wait 6 to 8 hours before proceeding. Give the deer enough time to expire. You do not want to jump a wounded deer by following the trail too soon. Have a good light with you in case you need it when the sun goes down. Most of all, be persistent. It can be difficult at times to find any blood at all, but the deer did not vanish into thin air. It went someplace and you owe it to the animal you are pursuing to take whatever time is needed to recover it.

Know Your Equipment That new stand you bought might claim to be the easiest one to use on the market, but is it easy to use in the woods? You need to familiarize yourself with your hunting equipment. You do not want to find out at dark-thirty in the morning that you need one wing nut to put your stand together. It is a good thing to practice using your climber a few times to get used to it.

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Make sure your bow is tuned and shooting properly. The rest is up to you and how often you practice. Not all broadheads fly well with all bows. It is a personal preference and one you need to investigate to determine which one works best for your setup.

Scent Control I recently wrote a piece on scent control, but it would be a good idea to touch on some of the important points again. Wash your hunting clothes with a scent-free soap or baking soda and store them in a plastic bin for the off-season. I even go so far as to put a few earth-scent wafers on the inside lid of the bin. It works quite well. Remember to not only spray your clothes with a scent eliminator, but your equipment as well. Too many times, I hear stories of guys that carry a decoy out to their spot, set it up, and then climb in their stands waiting for the magic to happen. If they didn’t wear rubber gloves during the setup process or remember to spray the decoy with a scent eliminator, the only magic they will see is a deer vanishing in the woods. Know your prevailing winds in the area and set up your stand accordingly. Ideally, you should approach your stands with the wind in your face. Of course, you cannot always do that, but you should at least approach it with a crosswind. You need to determine where the deer are at any given time of the day and use that knowledge to approach your tree stand. The knowledge and skills of a bowhunter are vast. Not only must you do the right thing at the right time, but also several things must be done simultaneously with ease. Do not expect to go out your first year and score on a huge whitetail. It can happen, but many hunters more than likely hunt for years before achieving success. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. Good luck this year, and remember to have fun and be safe.

E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

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New Trap Enhances Deer Capture/Study N AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE (ARS) scientist has developed a portable device that allows researchers to humanely trap deer and other wildlife as part of field studies to control ticks and other parasites. The apparatus, developed by ARS

entomologist Mat Pound in Kerrville, Texas, effectively restrains wildlife with minimal trauma to the animal. It will permit wildlife biologists and other researchers to quickly capture and handle deer, other wild exotic animals, and small livestock such as sheep and goats with minimal stress to the animal. Pound works at the ARS Tick

Research Unit, part of the agency’s Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville. Many diseases are transmitted from animals to humans by ectoparasites such as ticks. Deer and other wildlife can harbor large populations of these ectoparasites. Yet monitoring and treating significant numbers of animals—especially wildlife that are not easily captured—to control these ectoparasites remains difficult. The new device would greatly assist in ectoparasite control efforts. It includes an open front that allows an animal to enter, while the rear end includes a door that opens and closes, effectively containing the animal without injuring it. The animal is immobilized when it enters, and

the device is designed to gently lift the animal by its trunk so that its legs are suspended off the ground. While this device is not yet ready for commercial farmers, it is currently being used by personnel with the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program, operated by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to reestablish and maintain eradication of cattle fever ticks and the potentially fatal Texas cattle fever, also known as bovine babesiosis, from U.S. cattle herds. The device was constructed at the Kerrville lab, with the assistance of students from the Boerne, Texas, high school welding class.

A new type of trap invented by Texas A&M makes trapping and handling deer less stressful to the animals (top). Deer trapped by other methods sometimes die within in a few days due to the stress of capture and handling (bottom). PHOTOS COURTESY OF USDA

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LOVE HUNTING DIVERS. REDHEAD, CANVASback, scaup, ringneck, bufflehead, and other open-water loving species fall into this category and offer some of the most exciting wing-shooting action in Texas. There is just something special about setting up decoys on open water and watching distant birds come honor your spread. The secret is to think big on open water, whether on bay or inland reservoir. As noted in my book, Texas Waterfowl, 100plus decoys is a not uncommon for diver hunting. Many hunters set their decoys in a large cove, leave a landing area, and extend one long leg of the spread out into open water to attract cruising ducks. The prime decoy spot is toward the tail of an island, in the soft water between the tail and the main current. Islands generally have enough cover

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that, coupled with a well-camouflaged boat, should work to hide hunters. Usually, the best shooting time comes as the birds cross the bay after their morning feed in the marsh and nearby prairies. The “J-rig” formation is a good pattern to employ. This consists of decoys set up in the shape of a “J” with the hunters set up in

by Chester Moore the middle of the spread. You can camouflage the boat greatly and set up in the middle of the set, or hunt just off the edges on nearby land. With the end tapering off, it looks like a natural landing, inviting more birds to settle down. A popular and effective puddle duck setup that can work great for divers is called

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the “Double-O.” This is a very simple setup made of two round groups of decoys with a gap in the middle for ducks to land. Remember, ducks always land into the wind, so you want to set up so that the birds will quarter toward your blind. When I hunt the rivers north of the bay systems, I go with a couple of dozen decoys and rely on motion instead of mass to attract the birds. I use a similar pattern to the puddle duck setup with the “Double O,” but I use a mechanical decoy in the middle set out about 20 yards, and have a swimming decoy to one side. Mechanicals come in several forms and under a host of names, including Mojo, Roboduck, Roto Duck, and the Mallard Machine. Over the last decade, they have increased dramatically in popularity and are PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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now part of the arsenal of many hunters around the country. On open bays, I have mechanicals quite effective for pintail, redhead, and widgeon. A big part of this type of hunting is drawing the birds’ attention from huge spreads put out by other hunters, and the giant rafts of divers that sit in the open water. By putting out a mechanical in an open shooting lane about 20 yards past the blind, it not only brings in birds but also puts them right where you want to shoot them. In open water, it is a good idea to use a mechanical with turning wings along with one that swims in circles, or one of the feeding ones that vibrates. Since divers actually feed on the open water, it makes sense to have some movement that mimics feeding activity.

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“Always an asset, movement is a near necessity on still days when wary ducks flare from still decoy spreads,” said Buck Gardner. “For years, we have relied on various ‘jerk string’ tactics to liven up our spreads. This consists of a regular decoy with the string running through a pulley on a heavy anchor and back to the blind. Pulling the string pulls the decoy under water, and releasing the string allows it to pop up. Another idea uses the heavy anchor and a bungee cord. One or more decoys may be tied to a string running back to the blind. Pulling the string makes the decoys ‘swim’ toward the blind. Release the string and the bungee cord pulls them back,” he said. If you know the day is going to be free of wind, simply carry a bag of rocks with you.

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When you see ducks, chunk a rock or two in the water to create ripples so it looks like your decoys are moving about. The main thing to keep in mind is how the birds are reacting to a mechanical decoy. If they seem extra leery, even in the least bit, then shut it off. The whole point of using these is to ease birds’ nerves, not to make them question what is going on. Also, avoid too much reflection from the wings. Let your wings sit in the sun for a few days before you hunt to wear out the sheen on the wings. Glare is a dead giveaway to wary birds. Most Texas diver hunting is done along the Middle and Lower Coast, but there is equally good diver hunting on inland reservoirs. Roger Bacon, who guides on Sam Rayburn and B.A. Steinhagen reservoirs,

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said many hunters just do not realize how much quality hunting is on the lakes they fish for bass, crappie, and catfish ever year. “We have some amazing duck hunting at times, and the best part is we have a large population of one of the most prized ducks in the country—canvasbacks,” Bacon said.

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“Between Rayburn and Toledo Bend in particular, we hold a large number of canvasbacks that can give hunters something they might’ve thought they could never get in such large numbers.” While hunting with Bacon in early 2006, I had several instances of more than 50 can-

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vasbacks all locked up and ready to light in the decoys. I am simply a fanatic about these birds, so it was really thrilling for me. A valuable lesson learned on that trip is boat traffic can actually help duck hunters. “As long as the fishermen are not on top of you, they can help out. The divers will raft up in large concentrations, and boats moving around the lake will bust them up and disperse them in your direction if you’re lucky.” Diver hunting took a hit this year with the scaup limit in the Central Flyway getting knocked down to one bird. “The decision is very disheartening, but not all hope is lost,” said Delta Waterfowl President, Rob Olson. Olson said a one-bird scaup bag limit also puts hunters at a disadvantage because under some conditions, it is difficult to identify scaup from other diving duck species. “If, for example, a hunter shoots a drake

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bluebill, he might be forced to forgo the rest of the day in the marsh rather than risk taking another scaup and being in violation of any new regulations,” he said. “Scaup are a coveted waterfowl species for many hunters. We don’t want to see them regulated to the status of a ‘mistake’ bird.” Delta reported that on page 34694 of the Federal Register, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials commenting on its proposed scaup harvest strategy on June 18 made the following entry: “We note that no substantive criticisms suggesting that the proposed approach is not valid have been offered.” “Delta whole-heartedly disagrees with the Service’s comment that no substantive criticisms have been offered,” said Olson, adding that the Service has yet to sufficiently address the concerns and recommendations raised by Delta and other organizations. “We convened an expert scaup panel, some of the most highly respected biologists in waterfowl management, to evaluate the Service’s scaup harvest model, and its conclusions were both substantive and offered to the Service.”

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“Their numbers are still higher than many species we hunt, so there is some concern that down the line we’ll be seeing similar regulations for other species,” Devney said. “Our scientists believe hunting is most likely not a major influence on scaup numbers. Delta has a long history of conservative stances when it comes to waterfowl harvest, but there is no meaningful evidence harvest is what is causing scaup declines.” Diver hunting has sort of a become a lost art in Texas, and with open water species

like scaup, redhead, and canvasback having low bag limits, it could disappear before the new generation of hunters gets to enjoy this unique facet of duck hunting. That would be a true shame, because as thrilling as calling in mallard or having teal locked up and ready to light, watching a big canvasback drake coming in for a crash landing in your spread is an experience all waterfowlers should have.

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Diver hunting took a hit this year with the scaup limit in the Central Flyway getting knocked down to one bird.

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Delta scientists point out that spring breeding population of scaup (which includes both greater and lesser scaup) has declined since the early 1970s. Delta Senior Vice President John Devney said the population reached a record high of almost 8 million birds in 1972 and stood at roughly 7 million in 1984. In 2006, the scaup population reached an all-time low of 3.2 million birds. Last year, the population increased modestly to 3.4 million, but was still well below the long-term average. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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How Much Fuel Are You Sucking Down? ILLING YOUR BOAT’S FUEL TANK? OUCH! THAT CAN cause physical pain and/or nausea these days. The cost of gasoline now represents a massive price increase in boating, and makes many anglers and hunters think twice before they open up the throttles and make epic cruises to far-flung hotspots. But there is a way you can save fuel, and keep track of exactly how much you are burning at any given time. Bonus: If you do plan on making one of those long-distance voyages, prices be damned, this will also help you keep tabs on your range and when you may be pushing it too far. What you need to accomplish these things is a fuel flow meter.

Cool Fuel How can a fuel flow meter help you save cash? Simple: it is what you need to constantly and accurately monitor your fuel burn, and therefore know where to keep the throttles set at the most efficient cruise. If, that is, you have an accurate meter. To find out which works best I installed multiple fuel flow meters on a 19’ Twin Vee powered with a 140 hp Suzuki four-stroke outboard. Why use such a small power plant for this test? To understand why, we first need to understand a bit about flow meters themselves. Most (including all in this test) measure fuel flow via a simple mechanical paddlewheel. The faster the flow of liquid, the faster the paddlewheel turns. The paddlewheel, contained in a transducer of some type, then sends a signal to a monitor mounted in the dash and translates the signal into a gallon per hour (GPH) fuel burn figure. This is an inexpensive, efficient design. Unfortunately, the paddlewheel has to be sized properly for flow; a tiny wheel would be good for low fuel flows C40

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like one GPH, for example, but that same wheel wouldn’t be able to turn fast enough to keep up with a 20 GPH flow—for that you need a larger paddlewheel. And on a boat, fuel flow ranges between idle and wide-open throttle can be a lot wider than this. The solution? Use a mid-sized paddlewheel. Unfortunately, such paddlewheels are notoriously unreliable at low flow rates. While they can handle both the lower and upper ranges, at low flow they may give erratic readings or none at all. Thus, a low-flow motor, like the 140 four-stroke, is the biggest challenge. Of course, no conversation about fuel flow could be complete without mentioning all-electronic fuel flow systems, like Mercury’s SmartCraft, E-Tec’s ICommand, and Caterpillar’s digital fuel flow. As you would expect from going digital, these fuel flow systems are dead-on accurate. Instead of using a paddlewheel to determine the flow rate, they use their computer to calculate how many times per second the injectors fire, what the air temperature and density is, the resulting fuel/air mix, and a zillion other variables to determine exactly how much fuel is passing through the power head. So long as the brain is in good shape, these systems are bound to be far more accurate than a paddlewheel can ever hope to be. But there is one huge drawback to digital: if your boat did not come with a power plant already wired for service, it cannot be retrofitted. So, for those of us looking to improve our boats, digital systems are essentially not an option. Back to the paddlewheels: before attaching any of the meters, I measured fuel flow with a graduated cylinder and a stopwatch, to establish a baseline. The cylinder, divided into tenths of a gallon, was mounted on a base with

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a valve that allowed me to pull fuel from the tanks until a specific RPM range was set, then flip a switch and pull fuel from the cylinder instead of the tank. I used the watch to record how long it took the motor to pull a tenth of a gallon from the cylinder, then did the simple math to get a GPH burn. At each RPM range, I repeated the process at least three times, then averaged the numbers together to be as accurate as possible. Here is the 140 hp outboard’s fuel burn, throughout the RPM range in increments of 500: RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

GPH 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.4 3.1 3.9 5.1 6.8 8.3 9.4 12.8

We should note that these numbers were recorded to create a baseline and compare with other fuel flow devices, and were not recorded to find the specific best cruising speed for the boat. Therefore, speed and miles per gallon (MPG) were not a concern. Remember, however, that MPG will be the key figure you will need to pay attention to when determining your boat’s most efficient cruising speed. To find MPG, simply divide your MPH by your GPH. The first meter I tested out was a Yamaha Fuel Management System, because this is one of the most prevalent flow systems on the market—by virtue of the fact that it is manufactured by Yamaha and installed with the most popular large-horsepower outboards installed on modern boats today. (But, you can order the meter and parts from a Yamaha dealer, including a gauge for the dash, for a little over $500.)

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GPH 0.0 0.0 0.7-1.4 1.8-2.4 3.4 3.9 5.6 6.7 8.6 9.0 12.9

The next contender was a Northstar 210 Fuel Computer, a unit that was previously marketed under the Navman banner. This is an inexpensive paddlewheel unit, which costs about $150 per meter. If you have Northstar electronics at your helm, you will not need a separate gauge but can simply interface the flow transducer with your display units. Northstar states up-front that this unit has a minimum accurate flow rate of 1.3 GPH, honesty that can be appreciated in today’s marketplace. Here are the numbers this unit gathered: RPM GPH 1000 0.7-0.9 1500 0.7-0.9 2000 1.5-1.9 2500 2.4-2.6 3000 3.4 3500 4.3 4000 5.4 4500 7.2 5000 9.3 5500 11.9 6000 13.4

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RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

FloScan 0.3-0.6 0.7-0.8 1.1-1.3 2.0 3.5 4.0 6.2 7.4 8.6 9.7 12.4

Figuring Figures When you look at the numbers, the first thing that jumps out is the fact that at very low flow rates the FloScan wins out. Sure, it did jump around a bit at minimal flows, but not as much as the other units, and it maintained pretty good accuracy. According to FloScan, this superior low-flow performance comes thanks to the use of jeweled bearings, while other manufacturers use lower quality bearings. From 3500 to 5500 rpm, however, the Yamaha had standout accuracy. But when we do the math, one thing becomes clear: all the units agreed that the boat ran most efficiently at 4000 rpm and least efficiently at 3000 rpm—and that means all three systems could help cut fuel bills, in the long run. Some other details about each of these systems can also be gleaned from years of experience testing hundreds of different boats.

When it comes to the Yamaha, for starters, their paddlewheel transducers show very little variability between units. Over time their system has proven reliable and unreliable in the same ways from boat to boat, paddlewheel to paddlewheel, with very few systems acting differently than the one we tested. The FloScans also show similar performance to that of our test unit, from boat to boat and unit to unit, as long as they are properly mounted and calibrated. They do tend to be a bit more temperamental when it comes to sharp bends in the fuel line (which can create turbulence that throws the paddlewheel off pace,) but once dialed in, they generally provide accuracy to within two or three percent. The bottom line? If you are concerned with low-flow accuracy (fishermen who troll for extended periods of time would be a good example) then the FloScan looks like the winner. For cruisers who spend most of the day at high RPM, the Yamaha is a good bet, though it is also an expensive one. If expense is a concern, the Northstar is a winner. Its accuracy at both low and high flow volumes is pretty darn good, and it costs about half as much as the next least expensive option. Whichever of these units you may decide to go with, one thing is for sure: they’ll all save you fuel, in the long run—and that means less pain, every time you visit the pump. E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com.

The third unit, also a paddlewheel, came from FloScan. In the world of fuel flow monitors, FloScan is the often considered the gold standard. They offer a wide range of meters and gauges for both single and twin-engine installations, and specific meters for specific flow ranges. For this test, we used their meter rated for 0-20 GPH, which goes for about $275. FloScan also offers meters for engines burning up to 50 GPH units, which cost a hair over $500. Their TwinScan units, which indicate separate fuel burn figures for port and starboard power plants plus speed, MPG, total burn, and other details, can cost as much as $550. FloScan is also the only company that offers custom-made systems for boats with even larger power plants and fuel burns. Here is what the FloScan told us: A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Chunk It! HUNK IT!” WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT meant throwing something, but here, the term means attracting deep-water yellowfin tuna to the boat. The first step is cutting bonito or small blackfin tuna (preferably fresh) into chunks. Start by making cuts vertically to the bone, about 1 inch apart. On the illustration, notice the angle cuts in the forward section, again to the bone. This produces chunks that sink with a sort of swirling motion. The lengthwise cuts shown on the rear will give the traditional square or cube chunks. The next cut will be from the head to tail in a filleting motion. Carefully make this cut 1-inch below the skin to produce skinned cuts. Now, make another similar cut next to the backbone to get another batch of chunks without skin. Repeat the procedure on the other side of your chunk donor. All of these chunks work well. It is important to name a designated chunker so you don’t break the downcurrent chunk trail. Start by broadcasting a few handfuls, then throw in 6-8 chunks just as the previous batch disappears. A broken chunk trail might have tuna following it to the boat disperse when they come to a gap. They will still be looking for something to eat, but not behind your boat. Handing out a few chunks at a time is critical so you tease them but not overfeed them. Chunking must continue once tuna are seen or if hookups start, or the school might lose interest and go elsewhere. Hooked chunk baits can be fished free-lined or Carolina (fish finder) rigged with the weight needed as dictated by currents and the depth of tuna. Circle hooks are best for chunk baits, as in the illustration, which is shown with a 5/0 to 7/0 Owner Ringed Super Mutu. Other effective hooks are Mustad 39960D in sizes 9/0 and 10/0, Eagle Claw L2004G 6/0

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and 7/0, and Daiichi D94Z size 10/0. Aggressive hooksets will result in a ghost fish. In other words, it won’t be there because the bait and hook have been pulled out of your tuna’s mouth. If your chunk is drifted in the current, let the tuna run a few seconds, put the reel in gear, and the hook should be set as the line comes tight. If the reel is in gear at the take, point your rod tip at the line’s entry into the water, then raise your rod tip as the line comes tight for a proper hookset. Even at night, tuna might be leader-shy. Moonlight, lights on the boat, or oil platforms might make your leader visible to them from the light reflecting off the leader’s surface. Fluorocarbon leaders work, but at a price. A less expensive alternative is what I call “Poor Man’s Fluorocarbon.” It involves putting a crosshatch pattern onto a mono leader’s surface by using a Scotch-Brite pad. The crosshatch surface disturbance breaks up reflected light, making mono close to invisible in the water. Check this magazine’s website (www.fishgame.com/howto), go to Search

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(mid-page on the left), select “Fishing, Saltwater” from the drop-down list, and type in “Patrick Lemire” on the “Criteria “ line. Then click on the “Search” button. Scan down the list of articles until you find: “Poor Man’s Fluorocarbon & Camo Wire.” Either of these stealth leaders is especially effective in bright sunlight near the surface, where your leader has the highest probability of being seen. It is sufficient to say that yellowfin tuna 70 pounds or greater require the use of stand-up gear like 5-1/2-foot tuna sticks, two-speed 50 wides loaded with 100- to 300-pound Spectra, rod belt, and harness. Oh, and don’t forget to bring something to kill the pain because you are going to need it after the smoke clears. Tuna are tough customers, so get out there this winter, “chunk it,” and find out for yourself.

E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com. ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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Spooning OUR LOCAL BASS LAKE JUST GOT VERY quiet. The rest of the state, including myself (don’t get me wrong, I like to fish, but November is deer season), just collectively settled into their ladder stands, box blinds, and climbing stands to chase bucks for a few weeks. If you do not deer hunt, this is a great time to take advantage of the clear water to catch a few bass. Those few hearty anglers who are braving the cold out on the lake are generally fishing deep water; well the smart ones are anyway. Most are fishing soft plastics on a Carolina, Texas, or drop-shot rig trying to coax coldwater bass into biting. This is a good plan. In fact, it is probably the smartest way to fish in winter. However, we often forget that it is not the only way and there are other rigs that can catch these cold-water fish. More commonly associated with striped or white bass, spoons are an ideal way to fish for suspended bass in deep water during the winter but they are typically overlooked due to their simplicity. However, their simplicity might be their most endearing trait. A spoon is just a hunk of metal and a hook. Some have feather teasers, wild paint schemes, or life-like graphics but when you get down to it, it is just a hunk of metal with a hook. When you drop it in the water though, it turns into a dead fluttering shad that any self-respecting bass would eat in a second. Rigging up a jigging spoon can be as simple as tying the line directly to the spoon and dropping it overboard but it you take the time to make a couple of adjustments you’ll get more action out of the spoon and less line twist. Both of which equate to more bites and fewer lost fish. Today, most spoons come with a split ring to tie your line to, however, if you happen to own some that don’t then the first thing you need to do is add split rings. It might be fine to tie the line directly to the spoon, but I do

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not like running my monofilament though a stamped hole in a piece of sheet metal. The hard edges can potentially cut through the line so why take that chance. On your main line, add a barrel swivel, using whatever knot you prefer. To the other side of the barrel swivel, add a short leader, again using whatever knot you prefer. Length of the leader is not vitally important since you will be fishing this vertically rather than casting. The point behind the swivel and leader is to eliminate line twist that can occur as the spoon falls. It also allows the spoon to fall and rotate freely without any restrictions. When tying the leader to the spoon use a loop knot for maximum action. If you do not know how to tie a loop knot then tie what you

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can and the split ring will still allow the spoon to move freely. Jigging a spoon is not overly complicated either. Let the spoon over the side of the boat, free spooling line until it hits the bottom. Reel up any slack line then with the rod tip about a foot off the water lift it a few feet then let it back down to the original position. The key to working a spoon is to try to keep contact with it without restricting its movement. Think of it as keeping a semi-slack line. It can be tricky to master. Vary your jigging by trying sharp snaps of the wrist to make the spoon jump off the bottom, or just slowly lifting the rod tip. Let the fish tell you which they prefer. Hooking a bass on a spoon is not difficult, detecting a bite can be. If you lift the rod tip and it feels like the spoon is being pulled through pudding, set the hook because a lethargic bass has the bait in its mouth. Even if it does not, it never hurts to set the hook. When in doubt, yank! E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

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The strip of surf immediately beyond the breakers is rarely explored or exploited. reds is popular, while the mosquito fleet races off to distant oil platforms or secret bottom formations. Surf-fishermen probe the surf zone with stout, long rods, but the strip of water immediately beyond the breakers is rarely explored or exploited. Kayak fishermen have discovered this treasure chest and coined the acronym BTB (beyond the breakers) for it. T. J. Pilgrim of Hamshire, Texas, can be

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found paddling beyond the breakers on most weekends. Pilgrim, who goes by the name Jolly Roger on a popular kayak fishing internet message board, is a mentor to many. “The great thing about kayak fishing offshore is that it is very social, much like dove hunting,” Pilgrim explained. “We fish in large groups, not only for safety, but for fun. If someone looses a big fish, they get an earful from their friends. Plus, if you loose something, or break a paddle, a friend is close by to lend a hand.” Pilgrim and friends have developed tackle and techniques for catching the big fish that roam the shallow Gulf. Although they fish the entire Texas coast, they spend more time off the beach near High Island. Bull reds and sharks are available just about year-round. Black drum action is hot in March and April, with kingfish, Spanish mackerel, jacks, and tarpon showing up during warmer months. Speckled trout can be found roaming the shallow Gulf as well. The shallow Gulf will hit its zenith this month as apex predators detonate on migrating schools of baitfishes. Fishing beyond the breakers is not for neophytes. Don’t try it without getting some guidance. The best way to get started is to make friends with other kayak fishermen who fish in the Gulf. They can help jump-start your knowledge, and help you with proper technique. The buddy system is always prudent PHOTOS BY TJ PILGRIM

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Even a moderately-sized shark beyond the breakers can give a kayaker a “Nantucket sleigh ride.”

when tangling with big fish in a hostile environment. In the fall, productive areas are just hundreds of yards off the beach and hulls in the 12- to 16-foot range are ideal to reach this water. Since the trip is measured in yards and not miles, I prefer a little wider hull for added stability at the sacrifice of hull efficiency. Big fish require bigger tackle. Wide frame reels capable of spooling several hundred yards of 20- to 40-pound line are the norm. Pilgrim prefers 7-foot rods that can take some abuse. “Big fish will abuse your tackle,” he explained. “Buy moderately priced rods, so when they break—and they will—you won’t loose too much money.” Trout tackle can be pressed into service, but it will be humbled quickly by a stud jackfish or other bad actor. It is hard to catch anything if all of your line is connected to a large fish heading to Cuba. Depending on the species you are after, leaders vary accordingly. Most shark aficionados choose 200-pound mono for leaders, while others go lighter, opting for 40- to 60pound fluorocarbon. You might be thinking: Why not use a steel leader? Some kayak fishermen do. While steel leaders certainly combat cut-offs, they require you to get up close and personal to unhook your catch. Fluorocarbon leader can be cut easily with pliers to release your catch from a safe distance. In the hook department, 12/016/0 circle hooks are popular, as they generally snag the corner if the shark’s mouth, which minimizes contact with teeth. Most BTB fishermen prefer fishing bait, drifting it under a balloon or pinning it to the bottom with a large weight. Popular baits include whole or chunks of mullet, and pieces of jackfish, stingray, or hardhead. Lure fishermen cast large soft plastics and topwaters. Trolling large swimbaits and billed topwaters is great for prospecting large areas of water.

Every fisherman going beyond the breakers should be outfitted with the right type of gear. A good personal flotation device (PFD) is mandatory when fishing in water over your head. Next, you need a knife for rigging and bait preparation, plus a pair of pliers to crimp sleeves on heavy leaders and release fish. Don’t forget to add a string tether to your hand tools; leash them or loose them. Although kayak fishermen have to paddle to the area they will fish, they have the ability to drive up and down the beach looking for good water. Beach conditions are important if you intend to prospect from your truck. Try to drive on the hard packed sand and watch out for boards, as they hide sand; driving over a board can puncture more than one tire, leaving you stranded. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) Always be aware of the tide and park your vehicle far enough from the surf that it won’t be submerged when the tide rolls in. While driving down the beach, look for schools of fish attacking bait on the surface. Crashing gulls and pelicans are the best signs a fisherman can find. “Diving pelicans are more important than gulls,” Pilgrim said. “Gulls will dive around anything, but pelicans typically lead us to bigger fish, such as tarpon and sharks.” Streaks of mud in clear water are great places for baitfishes to hide. Predators will be nearby. “In November, you will find shrimp boats working just off the beach,” said Pilgrim. “The shrimpers are working a particular depth because there is bait and shrimp holding there. Note the distance off the beach the shrimpers are working, as that is where the fish will be.” It is good practice to put your reel in freespool with the clicker on once you set out your bait. A jolting strike could jerk the rod from your hands, or worse, capsize your kayak. Once the fish is on, throw the reel into drive and crank quickly. Remember, don’t jerk a circle hook; instead, reel in the slack line quickly to make a solid hookup. It is common for a big fish to take a paddler on a “Nantucket sleigh ride.” Center console owners rarely get to experience the rush that comes from being towed by a fish nearly as long as your hull. The loose drag and the A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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added friction of the hull will eventually wear down a big fish. Deploying a drift anchor creates added resistance, but the dangling anchor can get tangled in the line when the fish is whipped. Avoid bringing the fish alongside your hull if it is still green, as you might end up with a lap full of angry, thrashing fish. See you beyond the breakers.

Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com.

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Turkey Season Roulette HE OLD ADAGE THAT “IF IT AIN’T BROKE, don’t fix it” could apply to spring turkey-hunting seasons, especially when comparing the 2007 season to the one held in 2008 and the one set for 2009.

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At least that is what I gathered from Cecil Smith of Rockport via his email, as well as from other hunters I have talked to about the changes in hunting dates from one turkey season to the next. Smith and several other South Texas hunters became dissatisfied when the department opened the 2008 turkey season two weeks earlier than it did in 2007, which was the year when two weeks were added to the tail end of the season. The past two South Texas spring turkey season dates were: 2007: March 31-May 13 2008: March 15-April 27

Spring turkey hunting has become a passion of mine, and maybe yours, too. After all, as one hunter once said: “Turkey hunting offers the best of all elements in hunting, including decoying, calling skills, patience, and the potential for a climactic ending.” Anyone who has gone turkey hunting in the spring for the first time and called a tom up close is almost certain to be hooked for life. Although there was no range-wide reproduction of turkeys in 2005 and 2006, there were good spring and summer rains in 2007 along with mild temperatures. That, along

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The department listened to both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference.

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with some sightings of young poults in August 2007, indicated some hens likely made two or three re-nesting efforts that summer. Everything pointed to a great season in 2008—except for the timing of the season dates, many believed. Smith explained his objections this way: “I live in Rockport and spring turkey hunt just north of Beeville. When the TPWD added two weeks in May to the spring season in 2007, I thought it was great, not only because it gave us more time in the field, but at a time when most if not all hens had been bred and were nesting, and the gobblers were still looking.” Smith wrote that he believes the two weeks in May were the best time to be hunting, so when the department took the extra C46

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lots of gobblers during the two weeks in March [2008], but they were all with hens and not interested in coming to a call,” Smith wrote. “So, even though we had more time in the field, it was not a good time to be calling.” Smith also argued a third point: “One of the magical things about spring turkey hunting is enjoying the great Texas outdoors coming alive with all the new greenery, wildflowers, etc. There was not a green leaf or a wildflower to be found on March 15, 2008, when the season opened. Not only did this distract from the enjoyment of hunting, it also made it hard for those of us who like to use the natural brush as a blind to find any cover in which to hunt.” Smith wrote that he voiced his complaints to TPWD and asked it to return the extra two weeks to the end of the season. Some hunters I have spoken with who said they liked the earlier opening argued that once the major breeding activity was over, they had little luck in calling in toms that had become more wary to the presence of hunters. Also, they said hens and gobblers split from their respective flocks earlier in

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portions of South Texas than they do in the North Zone. Apparently, the department listened to both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference. They have set the 2009 South Zone season dates for March 21May 3, which means it will open one week later than it did in 2008 and close one week earlier. The North Zone will have an April 4-May 17 season. With all due respect, it should be remembered that TPWD added two weeks to the spring turkey season statewide in 2007. That gave us 44 days enjoying the pursuit of a beautiful and challenging quarry. Indeed, we have come a long way from the first spring season in 1969 that allowed hunting in a single county, Kerr. TPWD has a difficult task of attempting to satisfy most hunters with season dates and other regulations. It is not likely to ever satisfy 100 percent of us, but the 2009 spring turkey dates show they still are trying.

E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

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biggest deer I have ever taken, up to now, with a .30-06, and one of the longest shots I ever made on a deer was with a .30-06. The truth is that the .30-06 is quite possibly the most useful cartridge made for hunting all North American game. It will very handily take 150-pound white-tailed deer or 1500-pound Alaska moose. It shoots flat with bullets of 150 to 165 grains, and hits hard and penetrates very well with bullets of 180 to 220 grains. It has been used all over the world, on all game, including elephants, and is still one of the most popular light rifles for the African safari. It will even work for giant brown bears in a pinch, though there are certainly better choices for those dangerous bruins. Whenever a discussion arises about the best all-

around caliber, the .30-06 is always at the top of the pile. And, if the truth were known, most of the hunters out there who shoot .300 magnums would be better off with a .30-06. Reloading the .30-06 takes no special tricks or gimmicks. It is a very easy cartridge to load for. The three most popular bullet weights in the .30-06 are 150-, 165-, and 180-grain, and a hunter could get by very

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well with only the 150- and 180-grain. There is very little need for any other weights. I guess if a hunter was going after the biggest brown bear or the heaviest Alaskan moose, a 220-grain slug might be better, but a large number of both those animals have been killed very dead with a 180grain bullet. Neither is anything lighter than the 150-grain bullet necessary. I have known people who hunted deer with 125grain bullets, but the 150-grain is much superior to the lighter bullets for that duty. For varmints, if I was for some reason forced to use an “aught-six” for varmints, as I was as a teenager, I would still prefer the 150grain bullet because it is much superior ballistically to the lighter weight .30-caliber bullets. For deer, my first choice is a good 150grain bullet, but the 165 works equally well. I generally use a standard soft point such as made by Speer, Hornady, and Sierra, depending on which one my rifle shoots C48

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best, but I also love the Nosler AccuBond and Hornady InterBond bullets. For an all-around bullet, it is hard to beat the 165-grain. The 165-grain bullet in something like a Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw is a good choice for just about anything. It shoots flat, hits hard, and penetrates well. For bigger animals, such as elk and moose, however, the 180-grain bullet might be a better choice. For loading the various 150-grain bullets, I have found that relatively fastburning powders generally give better performance. I like IMR 4320, IMR 4064, and IMR 4895. I understand that 4895 was originally manufactured for use in the .30-06 with 150-grain bullets, and it still works very well. Jack O’Connor, in his classic book The Hunting Rifle, said that he had settled on a load of 55 grains of 4320 with a 150grain soft point as the best for his deer hunting use. I have used this load and find it just as good as Jack said. In my gun, that load chronographs about 2970 fps. I suppose that would be my favorite load, but I also like IMR 4064. A charge of 53 grains of IMR 4064 with a 150-grain Hornady InterBond produces the same velocity as 55 grains of IMR 4320. Accuracy with both loads in my current .30-06 is very good. If you prefer the slower burning powders,

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I prefer standard large rifle primers, usually CCI 200 or Federal GM 210 Match. I have found no need for magnum primers with any load I have tried. The .30-06 has a very long neck. This allows the reloader to seat the bullet out a long way in the case and take advantage of all the powder capacity available. Best accuracy is usually attained with the bullet seated a few thousandths of an inch short of contact with the lands. If you don’t have a gadget to tell you all this, just tinker with seating depth, using dummy rounds, until the bullet just contacts the lands, then screw in the seating screw one full turn. That should be about 1/14 of an inch, and is pretty close to perfect. The .30-06 is a classic cartridge. Even though it is now beyond 100 years old, it is still one of the best choices out there for the deer hunter, and will serve for just about anything. It is accurate, easy to load for, there are a ton of good factory loads for it, it doesn’t kick like a mule, and it has the confident character of an old campaigner that has been there and seen it all. Yes sir, I like the “aught-six,” and so do a whole bunch of other gun nuts.

E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com.

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Catfish Tourney Makes Big Splash ESPITE SOARING GASOLINE PRICES AND THE blazing Texas heat, more than 650 anglers representing seven states showed up at Lake Fork on July 1213 to compete in the 5th Annual Sealy Outdoors Big Catfish Splash presented by the Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce. Anglers brought 274 catfish to the scales weighing 1439.28 pounds to claim $60,000 in guaranteed hourly cash and prizes. Brandon Wells of New Boston, Texas, took the top prize of the tournament with an 11.49-pounder he weighed during the 9-10 o’clock hour on the second day. The fat cat earned Wells a fully rigged Triton boat powered by a Mercury outboard. Eddie Milligan of Murchinson, Texas, won a second-place Triton boat and trailer with an 11.30-pounder, while Lewis King of Vernon, Texas, took $2000 for third with an 11.10-pounder. Everett Farley of Elemendorf, Texas, finished fourth with an 11.09-pounder ($1500), and Hunter Payne of Chandler, Texas, took fifth overall with a 10.68-pounder ($1000). While each of the overall winners had a good tale to tell, perhaps the biggest story of the weekend revolved around Earnest Harrison of Yantis. Harrison owns a lakefront home located roughly 300 yards from the official tourna-

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ment headquarters, Minnow Bucket Marina. Interestingly, he fished the entire event without ever leaving the bank. “I fished this tournament from my barge for the last three years in a row and never weighed in a single fish,” Harrison said. “I wasn’t even going to fish the tournament this year, but the folks over at the Minnow Bucket talked me into it. I’m glad I listened.” So is his wife. The 62-year old angler earned checks during 7 of the 16 tournament hours. His cash winnings totaled $2500. Harrison said the main key to his success this year was a serious change in strategy. Rather than fishing from his pontoon boat, he fished from the comfort of a lawn chair on his boat dock, where he routinely cleans crappie and tosses the remains into the water. “I feel pretty sure that had something to do with it,” Harrison said. “The birds and turtles follow me to the dock every time I come off the lake on the barge, because they know it is dinner time. The catfish hang around there a good bit, too.” Harrison steered clear of traditional catfish baits like punch bait, cut bait and night crawlers. His bait of choice this year was live bream. He used a cork to suspend the perch about 18 inches beneath the surface over 78 feet of water. The story gets better. Harrison’s mode of transportation was somewhat unconventional for a fishing tournament. Rather than taking his fish to weigh-in in a boat, he placed them in an ice chest filled with water carried them to the scales on a battery-operated golf cart. “After two days, they got pretty used to seeing my golf cart over there,” Harrison

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chuckled. “Bob Sealy [the tournament director] told me he was going make me take him for a ride in it next year.”

Bass Champs: Trucks for Bass High gas prices and a shaky economy were likely to blame for fewer hooks in the water at the second annual Dodge Mega Bass Big Bass Tournament held July 26-27 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The two-day tournament drew about 1300 anglers, down more than 400 entries from the inaugural event in 2007. Billed as the “world’s richest twoday hourly big bass tournament,” the event awarded a halfton Dodge pickup to the angler who weighed in the heaviest bass of each hour. There were 12 trucks given away during the two-day event, including a grand prize 4X4 Hemi Mega Cab that went to Steve Rutledge of Kountze for catching the biggest bass of the tournament. Rutledge’s bass weighed 11.68 pounds. Other truck winners were Billy Gatwood of Hallisburg, Mississippi; Lonnie Stanley of Huntington, Texas; Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas; David Harvey of Nederland, Texas; Dustin Day of Wimberly, Texas, Jay Bray of Jewett, Texas; Mike Metcalf of Jasper, Texas; Jerry Heintschel of Baytown, Texas; and James Stricklin, Jr. of Jasper, Texas.

Harrison’s mode of transportation was unconventional for a tournament.

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E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com.

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Let There Be Light AST NIGHT, I HAD AN EPIPHANY: Flashlights are the most important technological invention since man first put arrow to bow. I came to this conclusion after running face-first into the half-open bathroom door in the middle of a black, black night. Flashlights are without a doubt the most marvelous tool for keeping the nightmares at bay and showing the way to the little room down the hall. They are also the first things I toss into a travel bag for any outdoor adventure. I am not sure if all kids are inherently afraid of the dark, but I was. My father came from a long line of practical jokers and took great delight in scaring his kids nearly witless with stories of black panthers taking children from the doorsteps of family homes. His boogey-man tales of children being abducted and stuffed into cotton-picking sacks and hauled off into the inky night left me breathless with dread about venturing outside in the dark. Of course, immediately after relating one of those tales, he would remember something he left outside and direct one of his offspring to go fetch it, usually me, as I was the oldest child. The only way—the absolute only possibility—of complying with his directive was if I had a flashlight clutched in my sweaty little hand. Flashlights are mysterious. From an innocuous shaped mass of plastic and metal comes an artificial sunbeam with the mere twist of a dial or push of a button. I remember shining the beam from a flashlight up into the night sky and wondering if someone on the moon could see it. Flashlights are also an enigma because, like most important tools that are taken for granted, they get no respect or care. As a

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result, they seldom work when needed. Even new ones seem to contract some sort of virus and refuse to perform when most needed. One of the most daunting assignments my freshman year high school science teacher (nicknamed “Attila the Hun”) assigned during his rein of terror was to accurately draw a full-length cross-section of a flashlight. This was to be completed in class without bringing in any printed reference material or having a sawed-in-two flashlight to use as an example. By the time

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I finally got it right, I decided I hated flashlights. It was a good many years after that experience before I could look upon one without shuddering at the memory. Reading in bed at night is a pleasure I still enjoy, and I can thank the flashlights of my youth for contributing to the habit. When I was a kid, reading was a passion, a way of escaping the bonds of ordinary life. I would consume sporting magazines and get lost in stories of chasing lions and elephants in Africa while safely in my bed with the covers over my head, inside the little world it created when lit by a flashlight. I am not sure if mom knew about my nocturnal adventures or just tolerated them. She must have known, because I would wake up the next morning and the flashlight switch would be turned off and I could not remember doing it. I am still more or less a flashlight junkie. I give them as presents to my wife, kids, and friends, and have at least a half-dozen tucked away in my car, boat, bedside dresser, and various tackle boxes. It can become a A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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full time job keeping up with them. They have a propensity to not work at critical moments—like the other night on my foray to the little room down the hall in the dark. I had forgotten to replace the batteries in my bedside flashlight and paid for it in stars. Modern flashlight technology has made them much more reliable than they used to be, and the number of different styles and types available is dazzling. The standard flashlight uses dry cell batteries and ranges in size from penlights that use AAA batteries to big bruisers that can handle six or more D cells. They are available in cheap disposable plastic models for only a few dollars, or you can spend $100 for a machined aluminum model that can also be used as a whack stick for encounters with things undesirable. If you go the latter route, get one with a halogen bulb (they are much brighter than regular bulbs) and fill it with alkaline batteries, which far out-last standard batteries. Rechargeable dry cell flashlights are also available, which eliminates the need for battery upkeep. Another option is LED (light emitting diode) flashlights. They give off a reasonable amount of light at short distances, making them popular for small flashlights that can easily be carried in a pocket or attached to a key ring. They are easy on batteries, as they draw a minimum amount of current. Lithium powered flashlights are another possibility. They give off an intensely bright light and most models are compact. Downside is that lithium batteries are expensive and don’t last as long as dry cells. Flashlights are the light sabers of the Baby Boomer generation. And while the world is not quite as dark as it used to be, flashlights still provide a means of keeping the monsters at bay. They comfort us with soft, warm light—and the woods are not so dark and deep, when in my trembling hand, a flashlight I do keep. E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

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of Mexico—more than 975 square miles of low-oxygen water that limits the sustainable fisheries of the region. “This is a multi-billion-dollar problem that affects our entire nation,” said LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. Louisiana’s wetlands help make the state one of the nation’s leader in crude oil production and second in natural gas production, according to America’s Wetland Foundation. These fragile ecosystems also support 25 percent of the nation’s total commercial fishing haul and provide storm protection to five of the country’s largest ports. Wetlands are essential because of their ability to filter the nutrients that contribute to the dead zone before they get carried into

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21.65

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the Gulf. Wetlands are also vital for hurricane protection in storm-sensitive areas like New Orleans. “Louisiana has both the largest amount of wetland loss and the largest dead zone in the country,” said Robert Twilley, associate vice chancellor of research and economic development at LSU, director of the Coastal Systems and Society Agenda, professor of coastal sciences and leader of the Shell Coastal Environmental Modeling Laboratory, or CEML. “We’re working hard to rebuild our wetlands and reduce nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico, but we can’t do it alone.” That’s where OSU comes in. While LSU scientists focus on Louisiana, addressing the issues of dramatic wetland loss and the continuously growing dead zone, OSU researchers are developing wetlands upstream so that nutrient loads in the Mississippi that would increase the size of the dead zone will be dramatically reduced by the time they reach the delta region.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NOAA

Texas has not experienced a significant red tide bloom for some time, but when another one does occur, avoid exposure to the dangerous alga.

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Red Tide Toxins Damage DNA It has been a while since Texas experienced a significant outbreak of red tide, but the next time it does, don’t breathe the air. NOAA scientists recently reported in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives that the algal toxin, commonly inhaled in sea spray, attacks and damages DNA in the lungs of laboratory rats. The findings document how the body’s way of disposing the toxin inadvertently converts it to a molecule that damages DNA. Human inhalation of brevetoxins produced by the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, is an increasing public health concern. The scientists, led by John Ramsdell of NOAA’s Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, South Carolina, determined that brevetoxins react with DNA of lung tissue and attach to the DNA bases that code genetic information. The linkage of chemicals in the environment to DNA is a first step for many cancer-causing agents and can lead to mutations in genes that normally prevent the formation of cancers. The red tide toxin, brevetoxin, has long been recognized as a cause of both neurotoxic poisoning after both consumption of toxic shellfish as well as a respiratory irritation after inhalation of toxic sea spray. Groundbreaking research, leading to this third potential form of poisoning, identified that metabolism produces chemically reac-

tive forms of the toxin. Recognizing the potential of these metabolites to attack DNA, NOAA scientists analyzed the DNA after the toxin was metabolized in the lung. Scientists have not yet determined if brevetoxin-damaged DNA accurately repairs itself or if gene mutations result. Brevetoxin has been measured in air during red tide events and human exposure levels have been reported. However, the long-term health risk associated with inhalation of brevetoxins remains to be defined. Individuals are continually exposed to environmental chemicals capable of damaging DNA, such as carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, and

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air pollution. It is possible that exposure to brevetoxins can add to the cumulative amount of chemically altered DNA in the lungs—an indicator of cancer risk. “This represents a significant breakthrough in defining the metabolic transformation of brevetoxins and the potential longterm health effects of red tides. It should change perceptions of risk and management of inhalation exposure to harmful algal blooms,” said Ramsdell. Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico are common—and often persistent—naturally occurring events that release toxins into sea spray aerosols. These aerosols are a particular problem at beaches, as they can cause respiratory distress to lifeguards and beachgoers. Although these shorter-term effects of the airborne toxin are well characterized, potential longer-term effects remain a concern to health officials and coastal communities. Scientists, in NOAA’s Oceans and Human Health Initiative, are studying long term health consequences of harmful algal blooms, to predict how the condition of the coastal waters affect human health and how to reduce or eliminate health risks.

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Woo’s Fishing Tips LOATING WORMS AND MINNOW SHAPED baits such as the Zoom fluke are real popular lures that you can do a lot with. The glue or toothpick trick will help to keep these lures on your hook also. A lot of times I will dye the head of these lures either red or chartreuse with Spike-it dye. I feel it gives the fish a target. You can use weights inserted in the body to give the lure a faster fall. Different size Bass Pro Shops’ Excel line can also make a difference in the action of these type lures. Don’t be afraid to experiment. One recommendation is to always use a wide gap Mustad Ultra Point hook on these plastic lures. One of the biggest problems I see fisherman make when fishing these types of lures is using only one size hook all the time. Mustad makes a light wire hook and a heavy flipping hook. If I am fishing a soft jerkbait slowly, I will use a light wire hook. If I am fishing it fast, I will use the heavier hook. Just changing hooks can alter the way you work the lure. Always use a J-style hook when fishing these type lures. Some fisherman even wrap lead wire around the hooks to change the fall speed or to work the bait faster.

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One thing you need to learn when fishing your Extreme spinning reels is to always flip your bail manually. Never put your reel in gear by turning the handle, as you are constantly winding loops on your reel and it won’t be long before you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble. The second thing to remember is to raise your rod tip slightly before reeling in your bait, so that you create a little tension on your line. I will stick my index finger straight down so the line hits it, creating a little more tension. Practice flipping the bail manually and raising your rod tip slightly before winding. Drop-shotting is a unique technique that is developed to keep the lure in the strike zone a lot longer. Unlike Carolina rigging and Texas rigging, where you are pulling the lure away from the bass, drop-shotting keeps the lure right in front of the bass and just dares him to bite it. This is really a great technique on finicky bass and on bluebird days. The secret to drop-shotting is to cast the rig out and, once it reaches bottom, tighten up until you feel the weight. Now just let the lure free fall back on a slack line until you feel it has hit the bottom. Then jig it back up

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until you feel the weight, repeating this three to four times. Remember, do not move the weight until you have given the bass ample time to see the lure. Next, move the weight 2-3 feet and repeat the process. As you can see, you are keeping the bait in the strike zone a lot longer and this is what you want with finicky bass. Rigging is very important and I have found the best rod to use is a 6-foot medium action Woo Daves’ Extreme Model spinning rod, Extreme reel, and 8- to 10-pound Bass Pro Shops Excel line. To rig, use a No. 1 Mustad Demon circle hook. This is a light wire hook and it is very important to use a small light wire hook for action. Take about 30 inches of line and tie on with a Palomar hook, then take the tag end and run back through the top eye of the hook. This will make the hook stand upright. On the end of the tag about 26 inches below the hook, attach an XPS drop-shot weight. Use a 1/2-ounce XPS drop-shot weight, as it will hold the bottom the best. Now visualize that you have a weight on the bottom and the hook is 26 to 28 inches above. To this you can attach any Zoom bait of your choice from a finesse, tube, lizard, or fluke to a 10-inch worm. I like the finesse and centipede. Hook whatever lure you choose right through the nose with an open hook. Spray with Jack’s Juice and you are ready to fish. When you get a strike, the exposed Mustad Ultra point hook will catch the fish when you start reeling him in. Remember, you are using light line, so be sure to set your drag properly to play the fish. This rig can be used on drop-offs, points, bridge pilings, and roadbeds. One other neat way to use this rig is around and especially under boat docks. Now you can pitch it under a dock and keep your lure under there as long as you want. This technique works great on largemouth and smallmouth alike.

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CCA Texas Funds Floating Warden Outpost OASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION TEXAS (CCA Texas) recently pledged funding for the construction of an enforcement outpost for use by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game wardens in Lower Laguna Madre. The floating cabin will act as a new front-line for wardens enforcing game and safety laws and providing for public safety along the desolate stretches of water in south Texas. “This cabin will provide wardens with a valuable command center while they are

by Luke Giles protecting not only Texas natural resources, but the outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy them.” said CCA Texas Executive Director Robby Byers. “CCA Texas has a rich history of supporting our wardens and providing them with tools that otherwise might not be available to them. These officers need our support in the difficult and often hazardous jobs they perform. The cabin will make Lower Laguna Madre a better and safer place for us all.” The “anchor site” for the houseboat will be just south of the Land Cut in Kennedy County and provide a central location for wardens to patrol Willacy, Kleberg, and Cameron counties where Lower Laguna Madre is located. Currently, wardens have to travel many miles and use tremendous amounts of fuel to reach remote patrolling areas. “The proposed site is in a very isolated area of Lower Laguna Madre, and patrol duties are hampered by the distance and gasoline required to travel by game wardens in patrol boats,” said Capt. Gary Palmer,

TPWD Region 10 game warden. “By being able to utilize a floating cabin in this location, game wardens will be allowed to spend extended periods of time patrolling, providing public safety, search-and-rescue operations, and will increase the amount of time wardens will have to provide public awareness of their presence in these waters.” The construction of the facility will be executed by TPWD game wardens and mechanics using materials purchased with funds contributed by CCA Texas. The goal is to have the facility operational by April 2009. “This enforcement center has been needed for a long time,” said Mark Ray, chairman of CCA Texas. “Rather than facing a

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long and costly trip over waters that are often dangerous, wardens now will be much closer to the resources and the people they protect.”

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The ‘anchor site’ for the houseboat will be south of the Land Cut in Kennedy County.

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CCA Texas is a non-profit marine conservation organization dedicated to the conservation of Texas marine resources. For more information, please visit www.ccatexas.org.

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ance on new legs. Grandma stepped through the screen door wiping her hands and shuffled to a seat beside her brother. The wooden farmhouse whispered memories creaking and groaning at our movements as if carrying on its own conversation. In the hall were 25 mounted deer heads belonging to a grandfather that I never knew. They murmured stories, to a young boy’s imagining ears, about adventures afield and what a Winchester can accomplish in the hands of an expert. Painted covers hid the holes in the ceiling where once wooden heaters had smoked through the stovepipes while keeping the family warm. The dark blue floral carpeting, in the living room, dining room, and guest room, spoke of ladies in long dresses and the ensuing domino and

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In the hall were 25 deer heads belonging to a grandfather I never knew.

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rook parties. The kitchen smelled like fresh baked cookies and the bedrooms yawned their duties of providing silent solitude after a hard day of following mules in the cotton and cornfields. The television in Grandma’s bedroom hid like a plastic alien and it was easier to visualize the long gone vintage WWII radio scratching its message into a still night’s air. On the high walls were ancient oval black and white photo portraits of the old people. There were mothers and fathers, and a brother that had not returned from The Great War. The spring sun invigorated us despite the full-bellied laziness induced by Grandma’s meal with fresh green beans, potatoes, and grass-fed beef. Daddy still held a glass of tea complete with mint leaves from the garden. A cool breeze kept our shirtsleeves rolled down. Around the perimeter of the yard fence flowerbeds burst bright colorful bulbs and blossoms displaying the woman’s tireless efforts. Across the lawn, the smokehouse squatted and a short loop of chain hung from a nearby oak limb giving testaments to the days of butchering hogs and sharing meat with neighbors via the beef club. My job was to be seen and not heard, and most of the time, that suited me fine. There were no other boys to play with. I stood transfixed with my glasses pushed tight on my nose, sucking wind past crooked teeth, squirming and waiting for the next words of wisdom. The scene became a part of my being. The utterances molded my life-

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long thinking. The words would never leave me. Grandma had no use for Old Lady Roosevelt, and with precise recollections, she discussed a downward spiral of national, state, and local policies. Daddy pointed out the discrepancies in modern economic ideas, and touted the conservative viewpoints that the more the world changes the more personal values needed to remain the same. Then Uncle Munroe muttered several phrases that ingrained themselves in my psyche. “I’m against leasing land for hunting.” His eyes fluttered and he spit a stream of tobacco. Then he went to someplace that I’ve sought to find ever since. “Me, your Grandpa, and our brothers used to go pitch a tent at Kesler’s Lake. We hunted ducks, we hunted deer, and we never had to pay nobody. We shared everything we killed and we took almost anybody along that wanted to go. It didn’t have anything to do with money. The whole experience was about the hunt and about being with each other.” Daddy looked down and fingered his shirt. He was no hunter, and since Grandpa’s death, he had leased some of the pastures to relatives and men from town. It was apparent that he was uncomfortable and Uncle Munroe was voicing his core belief. The problem arising was that it was up to me to decipher the dilemma. Uncle Munroe’s words burned into my formulating opinions. But the places and times that Uncle Munroe cherished had slipped away. His memories were from the same era as prohibition. Grandpa was gone and all the brothers were gone. Daddy did the right thing. Daddy provided the same outdoor opportunities to the following generations of relatives and friends that Uncle Munroe once enjoyed. However, the tobacco-chewing old timer couldn’t realize this concept— and unfortunately, it took years for me to understand. Now, in an ever-urbanizing world there are new words buzzing against and chilling the walls of social judgments. Words such as “green,” “environmentalist,” “global warming,” “organic,” and “politically correct” put the old school country boys on the defensive. Likewise, some of the left-leaning crowd don’t comprehend that the hunting heritage is the main contributor to wildlife conservation. And, a lot of folks have their own list of words that makes them see red. On another

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note, after trailing guests from all over the U.S. through much of the wild country in Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and Mexico, it’s apparent to the common guide that not everyone was inoculated with equal doses of compassion, and that’s true no matter what side of an issue you stand. Not everyone was fortunate enough to hear the lessons that Grandma’s house whispered. Not everyone was fortunate enough to listen to the elders reminisce about childhoods before horses and buggies became

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obsolete. Not everyone grew up cloaked in down home conservatism, and with that said, not everyone would understand why Old Lady Roosevelt aggravated Grandma. But maybe, someday, the old ways and values will be recognized and folks will realize that policies, ideas, and words must be tempered. However, if nobody listens, words just flit away on the wind. E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

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After the Hunt TS BEEN A GOOD HUNTING SEASON, FROM THE warm afternoons in South Texas waiting for the afternoon fly pattern of the mourning dove, to stories shared around a warm campfire after a day of hunting in the Hill Country. “Did you see that bobcat down by the creek stand this morning?” would kickoff a steady chatter of stories shared by friends with many seasons of hunting together. The harvest of backstrap, hams, and trimmings for chili meat and sausage are all part of the reward that complement time well spent in the country hunting with friends. There are many good places you can take your harvest for processing throughout Texas. To assure you of the best yield and quality for your money and time, here are a few tips:

• After harvesting, skinning, and field dressing your deer, when the temperature is in the low 40s or below, hang it high enough to keep it away from animals, at least 3-1/2 to 4 feet or higher overnight or up to 2-3 days. You might want to put a game bag around the meat to protect it from dust or critters. If you have a walk- in cooler, there should be no problem with the thermostat set between 34 and 38 degrees.

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• While quartering your deer, cut away any heavily bloodied areas of meat. Surround the individual cuts of meat with at least 1-1/2 inches of ice. If not adequately cooled before placing the meat in the ice chest, the ice will melt quicker and could increase the possibility of spoilage, especially during lengthy transports. Upon arriving at home, place the cooler where it can be drained of water and add enough finely chopped ice to aid in the bleeding process. • After shooting a deer or other game animal that might have traveled any distance before expiring, the muscles hold hormones that contribute to a wild or “gamey” taste. To remove these hormones and blood from the meat, place the quarters or sections of meat in melting ice in a chest with the plug open, allowing it to drain as it melts, and replenish the ice when necessary to effectively remove or minimize the presence of these unsavory hormones. The water and ice should be clear when the meat is ready for quartering. If you plan to have the meat processed, here are a few helpful tips: • Include the head from the harvested deer along with the filled out tag secured to a hindquarter or shoulder. • Checkout the processor, either by recommendation of trusted friends or by the number of years in business, as well as the cleanliness of the facility. • Choose a variety of products that will be enjoyed by everyone, and be realistic about waiting times for processing (6-8 weeks or longer).

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• Use your processed product before beginning your next hunting season (within 6-9 months for sausage, larger cuts slightly longer). • Have all processed meats vacuumsealed if possible, and then wrapped with butcher paper. This will provide maximum protection from freezer burn and light exposure. If not possible, make sure meat is tightly wrapped in waxed butcher paper. For larger cuts, such as hams, I recommend using a cling style plastic wrap and creating a cocoon effect with several layers until the meat is sealed, with no open areas. Then wrap butcher paper around the ham and properly label it with the date. PHOTO BY JIM OLIVE

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When you are ready to prepare some of your venison, we have supplied you with a couple of recipes from our virtual cookbook at www.thetexasgourmet.com. Feel free to browse the site for additional recipes and cooking tips, as well as a listing of all of our spicy grilling sauces, glazing jellies, and dry rubs. Our products can be ordered online, or check the site for stores that carry them.

around the veggies and cheese. Wrap a slice of bacon around the wrap from one end, stretching the bacon as you wrap. Carefully fold in and seal the ends with a toothpick. Grill over mesquite charcoal or gas fire set to medium high heat. Place the wraps indirectly over the heat. Baste liberally, cook covered for 3-5 minutes per side. Baste when turning.

Backstrap Wraparounds

When bacon is done, place wraps on plate and remove the toothpicks. Rest wrap-

arounds before serving. Serve with Texas Gourmet Quick Dirty Rice and Black Bean Pico de Gallo. Bon appetite!

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

1 loin venison backstrap (venison may be substituted with pork tenderloin or filet mignon) 14-16 slices thin bacon 1 large purple onion, peeled and quartered lengthwise, then halved lengthwise again 6-8 large fresh jalapenos, seeded and quartered lengthwise 1 pound pepper jack cheese, sliced in 1/8x2x1/2 wide slices 1 box round toothpicks (place picks in water) Baste: 1 Tbs sesame seeds 3 Tbs Texas Gourmet Jalapeno Jelly 2 Tbs soy sauce 2 Tbs olive oil 1 Tbs coarse mustard 1 cup Merlot or other dry red wine 2 cloves of garlic 2 Tbs black pepper Heat basting ingredients until well blended and remove from heat. Remove all sheath, membrane, or skin from the backstrap. Cut into 12 or so 3/4-inch thick steaks. Place each steak one at a time on a cutting board. Cover with Saran wrap and lightly tenderize, using the shallow side of the tenderizing mallet. The meat should be 1/4-inch thick after tenderizing. Be careful not to put holes in the steaks. Spray with olive oil or Pam spray, then set aside. Separate the onion into 1- to 2-piece sections. Take one slice of tenderized meat in one hand, and lay one onion slice in the center, inside up. Place a slice of cheese on the onion and lay one jalapeno piece on the cheese, face down. Carefully roll the meat A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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TEXAS SALTWATER

CORPUS CHRISTI

GALVESTON

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY! Stanton Fallow De e Hunting a r nd Anglin g Quality R eview

ROCKPORT

LOWER LAGUNA MADRE

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4678, ext. 5579. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 2. Publication number: 7577-70. 3. Filing Date: 10/01/08. 4. Issue freq: Monthly. 5. No. Issues Annually: 12. 6. Annual subscr. price: $19.00. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Contact Person, Duane Hruzek; Tel, 281-227-3001. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): Same. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher, Roy Neves, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; editor: Don Zaidle, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. managing editor: n/a. 10. Owner: Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co. LLC; Ron & Stephanie Ward; Roy and Ardia Neves. All addresses same as publisher. 11. Known bondholders, Mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages of other securities: none. 12. Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Oct. ‘08. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a. Total number of copies (net press run): Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 97,675; No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 81,556. b. Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions stated on form 3541: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 85,800; single issue nearest filing, 69,281. Paid in-county, 0. Sales through dealers, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,830; single issue nearest filing, 5,793; Other classes mailed, 14. c. Total paid/requested circulation: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 91,630; single issue nearest filing, 75,074. d. Free distribution outside-county, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 382; single issue nearest filing, 348; In-county, 0; Other classes, 0. e. Total free dist, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 395; single issue nearest filing, 415. f. Total dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 92,407; single issue nearest filing, 75,837. g. Copies not dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,268; single issue nearest filing, 5,719. h. Total (sum 15f and g): Avg. preceding 12 mo., 97,675; single issue nearest filing, 81,556. Percent paid: Avg. preceding 12 mo. 99.16%; single issue nearest filing, 92.06% 16. Publication of statement of ownership required. Will be printed in November 2008 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: Roy Neves, publisher, Date 10/01/08

n Jim Brow ckled Trout Spe 6-pound ice uide Serv G n a lm Hil

Newton H ighto Tagged R wer e Redfish C dfish harters

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Marcus Schnur 32-inch Redfish Hillman Guide Servi ce

Jacob Wafer Phyllis Adams and Limit of Reds Redfish Charters

TEXAS FRESHWATER

odward Hugo and Trish Wo 52-inch Black Drum rvice Hugo Ford Guide Se

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

LAKE TEXOMA

LAKE AMISTAD

BAFFIN BAY

TEXAS HUNTING

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

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REDFISH—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

SAILFISH—OFFSHORE, TEXAS

David and Daniel Dorris caught these two 40-inch redfish at night under green lights in Port O’Connor, Texas.

After a 55-minute fight, angler Maynard Buckholt caught and released this 102-inch sailfish about 5 miles offshore, using ribbonfish for bait. The captain was Richard Milles.

CATFISH—LAKE LBJ, TEXAS

WHITE BASS—LAKE CONROE, TEXAS

Eight-year-old Brian Little of Marble Falls, L-R Amber, Braden, and Paige Remington of Texas, caught this 4.2-pound catfish on Lake Houston, Texas, caught these white bass while LBJ. Brian was fishing with minnow on a Zebco fishing on Lake Conroe with guide Debbie Watson. 33.

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TF&G PHOTO ALBUM 1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com

SPECKLED TROUT—BAFFIN BAY, TEXAS Gabriel Judice, age 6, caught this 16-inch speckled trout on his first fishing trip ever with his papa in Baffin Bay. He caught the fish, along with 6 other keeper trout, using Gulp! Shrimp artificial bait under a popping cork.

PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

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

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TROUT—UPPER LAGUNA MADRE, TEXAS

REDFISH—LAKE FAIRFIELD, TEXAS

Pam Davis of Floresville, Texas, caught and Lewis Harrison, a student at Corpus Christi A&M, Eleven-year-old Chris Munoz of Fairfield, Texas, released this 8-pound, 13-ounce bass while fish- caught this 24-inch trout in Upper Laguna Madre caught this 18-pound redfish on Lake Fairfield. ing at Choke Canyon Lake. She was using an 8-inch using topwaters and baby speckled trout spooks. The fish was 38 inches in length. watermelon red flake Senko on a Carolina rig.

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History and Development of the Crossbow HE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CROSSBOW DATES back several millennia, exactly how many is unclear. Historical evidence suggests that Chinese warriors were the first to wield the weapon around 300 BC, although some scholars suggest it was much earlier. Several hundred years later, Heron of Alexandria wrote of a similar weapon in Greece called the “gastraphetes.” By the Middle Ages, crossbows were firmly ensconced at the top of the weaponry pyramid, but the availability of firearms quickly changed that. The crossbow’s importance as a military weapon quickly waned, and they were relegated to hunting and target shooting. In the early 1960s, a Scottish hunter, Bernard Horton, recognized the crossbow’s potential and helped pioneer the development of the modern crossbow.

PHOTO BY DON ZAIDLE

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History Chinese, Greek, Roman, and Viking forces all used crossbows to great effect. Although early crossbows were heavy, crude, and inefficient, they came into widespread use around 1000 AD. William the Conqueror led his Norman forces against the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Crossbows played an important role in the battle, helping William become King of England.

by Greg Berlocher Once enthroned, William created the political system known as Feudalism, which involved the King giving out large tracts of land to certain individuals called “Lords” in exchange for their loyalty and service. Lords were responsible for the defense of their own territories and to quash rebellions. Serfs and peasants served as makeshift militias. During this time, the English longbow was a popular weapon, but it took many years of training to become proficient. Long bowmen could loose 10-12 arrows per A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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minute while the best crossbowmen could loose only 1-2 shots per minute—a significant disadvantage. However, crossbows could be fired effectively by serfs and peasants with very little training. Although medieval crossbows were very inefficient, they could loose bolts (arrows) that could penetrate a knight’s armor. Crossbows and longbows were such effective killing machines that Pope Innocent II in the second Lataran Council in 1139 banned their use by one Christian against another, stating: “We prohibit under anathema that murderous art of crossbowmen and archers, which is hateful to God, to be employed against Christians and Catholics from now on.” It didn’t take long for the English to spot the loophole in the Pope’s decree, carrying their crossbows to the Holy Land to use against the Muslims during the Crusades. In addition to their use in military affairs, crossbows were a favorite weapon of assassins during the Middle Ages, as they were easy to conceal and could deliver deadly results in complete silence.

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In This Issue

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INDUSTRY INSIDER • Ardent Sponsors Army Bass Anglers | BY TF&G STAFF SHOOT THIS • Mossberg Model 464 Lever Action .30-30 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOW-TO SECTION

COVER STORY • The Cross & the Bolt | BY GREG BERLOCHER

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

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

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

GEARING UP SECTION

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TEXAS TESTED • Temple Fork Outfitters; RejeX; and more | BY TF&G STAFF

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OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

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TROPHY FEVER • Special Hunting Section | BY TF&G STAFF HURRICANE COVERAGE • From Rampage to Recovery: Post-Ike Economic Boom Expected | BY CHESTER MOORE & DON ZAIDLE

TEXAS BOATING • How Much Fuel Are You Sucking Down? | BY LENNY RUDOW SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Chunk It! | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW TEXAS KAYAKING • Beyond the Breakers | BY GREG BERLOCHER HUNT TEXAS • Turkey Season Roulette | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Reloading the .30-06 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS WOO’S CORNER • Fishing Tips | BY WOO DAVES AFIELD WITH BARRY • Let There Be Light | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR WILDERNESS TRAILS • Words in the Wind | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

I38 I51 I54 I58 I60 I62

SPORTING TALES • The Art of Diver Hunting | BY CHESTER MOORE TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Catfish Tourney Makes Big Splash | BY MATT WILLIAMS NEWS FROM THE COAST • Louisiana Wetlands Disappearing | BY TF&G STAFF TEXAS TASTED • After the Hunt | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

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Sum of the Parts Medieval crossbows were constructed of different types of wood; yew, poplar, and ash were the most popular. The crossbow stock, called the “tiller” or “stick,” served as the chassis and the different parts were lashed to it with sinew or cord. The bow portion, called the “prod” or “lath,” was a carved piece of wood. Cocking a crossbow is known as “spanning.” Once a medieval bow was spanned, the string was held in place by a circular latch, called a “nut.” Nuts were generally made of carved ivory or antler. To fire the crossbow, a wooden dowel was pushed up from the bottom of the stock, thereby forcing the string up and over the nut. By the fourteenth century, metalworking skills improved throughout Europe and steel laths replaced wooden ones and metal trigger systems were incorporated. Nuts made of cast bronze replaced ivory and antler. Each enhancement improved the crossbow’s performance. Crossbows featuring heavy wooden or steel laths were impossible to span by hand, leading to the devel-

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opment of a multitude of mechanical cocking devices, known as “spanners.” One of the most well known spanners was the

of the rod had two fingers that pulled on the string. After every shot, the bowman would attach the crannequin to the stock, hook the sting with the rod, and then turn the handle until the string was pulled back behind the nut. Once the bow had been spanned, the crannequin was removed. (This very labor intensive and time consuming process was why a skilled longbowman could get more arrows in flight than a crossbowman over the course of one minute by almost 10 to 1.) While the crossbow was being spanned, the bowman was vulnerable to enemy arrows. Shields were developed that bowmen would wear on their backs, providing a modicum of protection while they were spanning their bows. To increase the number of shots a bowman could loose, several serfs were assigned to each crossbow. Each serf was responsible for spanning bows while the bowman concentrated on firing.

Projectiles “crannequin.” The crannequin featured a round gear rotated by a handle on top. The gear meshed with a toothed rod, and the end A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Medieval crossbows hurled large projectiles called “bolts.” They were short, heavy, and often tipped with iron. Due to their large mass, bolts could travel more than 400

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yards and still maintain deadly force. Shots of this length were highly inaccurate, but if enough crossbows were massed together and all loosed at the same time, it would rain down a torrent of bolts on the enemy, thereby effectively thinning their ranks before a battle. Further, a single bolt similarly fired from great distance could strike down some random enemy soldier unexpectedly, giving rise to the phrase, “a bolt from the blue.” Modern crossbows fire both arrows and bolts. Bolts feature a weight-forward section and lack fletching or stabilizing fins. They are used for indoor target shooting. Arrows fired in modern crossbows are equipped with broadheads and tip the scales around 400 grains. Many people, including Don Zaidle, editor-in-chief of Texas Fish & Game (read “Lord”) believe that “bolt” is the proper term for any projectile hurled from a crossbow, while your author (read “serf ”) is fine

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with the term arrow. While we might disagree on projectile nomenclature, we agree that arrows for vertical bows and ones for crossbows are entirely different animals.

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“

Horton’s improved designs and commercial success spawned a number of competitors.

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design. His bows worked well and friends began requesting bows of their own. It wasn’t long before Horton was selling all the crossbows he could make, utilizing imported components from the United States. Demand quickly exceeded supply and Hor-

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ton moved his company, Horton Manufacturing, to Akron, Ohio, to be closer to his key suppliers. Horton’s improved designs and commercial success spawned a number of competitors. Although he didn’t develop every feature utilized in modern crossbows, Horton was a visionary and paved the way for the rest of the modern crossbow industry. Modern crossbows feature synthetic stocks, making them significantly lighter. Skelton stocks provide even more weight savings. Trigger and latch mechanisms have improved dramatically, and all modern crossbows have integrated safety mechanisms, something medieval crossbows lacked. Laminated fiberglass limbs have provid-

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ed the biggest boost in crossbow performance. Modern crossbows are available in both recurve and compound designs, and both utilize laminate limbs. To generate the same energy as a compound bow, recurve bows have longer limbs, which is a disadvantage when hunting in heavily wooded areas or from a cramped blind. As in the conventional archery market, sales of compound crossbows dominate sales figures at roughly 85 percent, with recurve crossbows making up the remainder. Sighting aids are another major improvement in modern crossbows. Today’s bows can be outfitted with peep and pin sights, like those used on vertical bows, low-power telescopic scopes, or red dot scopes. Since most shots are taken within 25 yards, a tele-

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scopic scope doesn’t provide much advantage and sales of red dot scopes have seen a sharp increase.

Conclusion Modern crossbows are easy to use and are effective on all game animals. A quality entry-level crossbow, without any options, can be purchased for a few hundred dollars, while top-of-the-line bows range closer to a thousand. Had it not been for Horton’s vision, it is likely the crossbow would simply be a footnote in archaic military history books.

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

Chunks for Drum LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Pirates Landing Fishing Pier GPS: N26 4.799 W97 12.402

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If you don’t spot any fish, back off and fish the deeper water near the ICW with live or fresh shrimp on a free-line. I’ve also had excellent success with a shrimp pinned on a pink bucktail jig (Road Runners are especially effective). LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: South of East Cut GPS: N26 32.814, W97 23.089 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in red/white, chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442559, 956-642-7357 TIPS: Fish south of the platform remains in the deeper water close to the channel. Trout move in and out of the channel to feed, and spread out on warmer days. Norton Bull Minnows are great baits, but the Gulp! Swim Shad and Jerk Shad in New Penny, Limetreuse, and Pearl are also excellent choices. LOCATION: Laguna Madre @ Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Big Oaks GPS: N26 41.468, W97 27.791 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in Limetreuse, pearl; soft plastics in red/white, Firetiger CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Drift the deep grass beds in the area with soft plastics pinned on a 1/4ounce jighead. Most of the fish will be holding closer to shore, but an outgoing tide will push them into deeper water. Watch for trout chasing bait along the grasslines on warmer days.

Baffin Topwater Specks LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Penascal Point GPS: N27 15.582, W97 25.436 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters early I8

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baitfish under a popping cork is also a good choice.

CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, www.brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Fish over the rocks early in the morning, or you can anchor just off the rocks. Fish the lower part of the water column with either live shrimp or live pinfish under a Texas Rattling Rig Mini Chatterweight. Fish off of the rocks rather than directly in them, or you’ll be re-tying a whole lot. Between the pinfish’s grunting and the noise of the Chatterweight, you should get a trout’s attention. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Humble Flats GPS: N28 38.996, W97 16.277 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in New Penny, Limetreuse, topwaters CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, www.brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Grasslines are very important in fall. Drift along the grasslines and target breaks and potholes. Most of the trout will lurk along the transitions from grass to sand ambush any bait that happens by. If there is no dead grass floating, then you may want to take a shot with a topwater, especially early in the morning. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Estes Flats GPS: N27 57.058, W97 5.331 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Gulp! Shrimp, live shrimp/float, live mullet, Gulp! Swimming Shad CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: redfish are everywhere during the fall. Look for large pods while you are drifting the flats and cast a live bait or tail in front of them. Chartreuse, New Penny and purple/chartreuse are excellent choices for plastics or scented baits. Live shrimp or F i s h

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LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Dagger Flats GPS: N27 50.654, W97 9.494 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mullet; gold spoons; soft plastics in Avocado/chartreuse, Motor Oil/chartreuse, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: You can anchor and fish with live bait on the bottom, or you can drift with either live bait or artificials. The important part is to look for moving bait, especially when water is moving in and out of Dagger Cut. Where the bait is, the fish usually follow. You don’t need more than a 1/4- to 1/2-ounce sinker when fishing on the bottom. LOCATION: Aransas Bay HOTSPOT: Shamrock Flats GPS: N27 45.337, W97 8.113 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mullet; gold spoons; soft plastics in Avocado/chartreuse, Motor Oil/chartreuse, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: Look for tailing fish on the flats and near the shorelines. A simple gold spoon works great in this application, but live shrimp, soft plastics, and mullet also work well. Drift with the wind until you locate fish. These fish can be a bit spooky, so keep noise down to a minimum. LOCATION: Rockport/Fulton HOTSPOT: Allyn’s Bight GPS: N27 58.961, W96 59.015 SPECIES: Black drum BEST BAITS: live shrimp, dead shrimp, crab chunks CONTACT: Captain George Rose, 361727-9227, 361-463-7700 TIPS: Watch for schools of drum working the flats or near the shore. If you are drift fishing, then use shrimp under a popping cork. If you can’t locate schools, anchor up

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and fish either shrimp or, better still, chunks of crab on the bottom. You won’t be waiting long.

Cut-Up Trout LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Keith Lake Cut GPS: N29 46.503, W93 56.427

CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Watch for birds working over bait, and drift into them from a distance. Early morning is a good time to fish the area. Use eel-type soft plastics on a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jighead (if there is more current, use the heavier of the two). Focus on more subtle patterns when water is clear, Limetreuse and darker colors in murky water. MirrOlures are great lures for this area. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: North Shoreline GPS: N29 33.137, W94 37.199 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Opening Night, Limetreuse; topwaters early CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Fish the pockets of clear water that dot the water along the shoreline. Keep an eye out for jumping bait. The transition points from murky to clear form a sort of ambush point for fish, and it’s best to fish those areas as thoroughly as you can. Topwaters are a good way to locate fish and cover a lot of water in a hurry. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Pasadena Reef GPS: N29 28.200, W94 49.220 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Opening Night, Limetreuse, red patterns CONTACT: Captain Shane Chesson, 409284-8616, thedrakeplantation.com TIPS: Middle of the bay still has a great deal of bird activity, even in November. Watch for them working and fish with soft plastics on a 1/8-1/4-ounce jighead. Fish the perimeter or below the main school to locate better fish.

Bass See Red LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Big Tiger GPS: N26 44.326, W99 8.750

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watermelon, grape; spinnerbaits, flipping tubes CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Water has cooled off from summertime highs, and bass are moving around. Some are even in pre-spawn mode already. Fish around the hardwoods that line the creek channels. If you locate fish in the hardwoods, then a flipping stick with either plastic worms or fat tubes will do the trick. If bass are active, roll a spinnerbait along channel edges and drop-offs. LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Arroyo Salanillas GPS: N26 35.363, W99 13.186 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Plastic worms in red, red watermelon, grape; spinnerbaits, flipping tubes. CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: You can show up at Falcon in November with a spinnerbait rod and a flipping stick and be fully equipped for a day on the water. Fish spinnerbaits around the edges of brush and along depth breaks. Flipping will find the bigger fish that hole up inside the brush and wait for a hapless crawfish or shad to happen by. Don’t pussyfoot around. Spool your reels with at least 20-pound line. Fifty-pound braid is not uncalled for. LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Zuber Bend GPS: N29 34.538, W101 17.624 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: plastic worms in black, Black Grape; spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white, white CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Most bass are still in shallower water (12-15 feet). Fish both spinners and plastics around channel points to locate bass. Larger fish will be deeper in the water column. Locate concentrations of fish around these points with your depth finder to eliminate unproductive water. LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Devil’s Flats GPS: N29 31.651, W101 59.299 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: DD 22 crankbaits, 9-inch plastic worms on Carolina rigs CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Go deep. As in 25 feet or so. Fish over and around grass with the DD22 in

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deeper water to find good bass. The DD22 will clip the top of the grass beds. Fish Carolina rigs as well with a worm or lizard that will float above the grass as the sinker kicks up puffs of debris to grab bass’ attention. Longer leaders (2 feet or longer) are the key.

Aquilla Whites LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N33 54.533, W97 12.375

SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: 1-ounce chartreuse slabs CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Triplett Point and the deeper water around Snake Island will produce some nice whites. Look for what appears to be a Christmas tree on your graph. This is a school of whites that are stacked up. Drop slab to bottom, lift, and drop through the school. Bite will come on the fall. BANK ACCESS: Tailrace Fishing Pier, white bass LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: North End of Dam GPS: N30 59.874, W97 28.369 SPECIES: smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: small dark jigs, hair jigs with pork trailer CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-3687 4 1 1 , Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: Fish where the riprap of dam interlocks with the natural shoreline at the north end of the dam. Use sonar to find submerged boulders, depth changes, bottom features, etc. There are a lot of features in a confined area. BANK ACCESS: Temple Lake Park, largemouth, catfish, white bass LOCATION: Lake Fayette County I10

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HOTSPOT: Mud Bank GPS: N29 55.210, W96 43.051 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, shrimp, shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Water is beginning to cool and fish will be shallow and close to timber. In addition to the mud bank, there is timber in the cove that starts next to this bank. Anchor in 5-foot water, close enough to the trees to fish the outside edge. These are cedar trees that love to hang up your tackle, so using a slip cork might save breaking off hooks. It’s okay for the hook to sit on bottom. The cork will bring it upward when you reel in if you don’t have a fish on. Fish different depths along the tree line to find how far the fish are from shore. BANK ACCESS: Junkyard Cove, largemouth bass LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Eagle Point, South Side GPS: N30 37.922, W96 02.792 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, fresh shad, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: There’s a line of trees along the bank here. Fish the outer edge of the trees in 6-8-foot water. There’s a lot of submerged timber out in the lake from the trees. This is an excellent place to chum the fish around the trees. Blue and channel cats feed in the shallows here. If a South wind is blowing use a cork and allow it to drift toward the bank. Jug lines are not allowed, but you can catch large fish by drifting corks on a rod toward the bank just as you would do with a jug. Bigger cats can be expected late evening and early morning. BANK ACCESS: Hwy 175 Bridge East; cast lures for bass, minnows for crappie LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool HOTSPOT: Walnut Creek to Lynn Creek GPS: N32 35.415, W97 04.686 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: drop-shot and Texas-rigged worms, weightless flukes; Chomper Salty Sinkers

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CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-3132878, www.getagripeguide.com TIPS: Fish deep in both creeks with dropshot and Texas-rigged worms. Fish the timber breaklines shallow, with weightless flukes and Chomper Salty Sinkers. Keep a moving bait like a Rat-L-Trap ready for areas with a lot of shad activity. The backs of the bigger coves with timber can really be good this month. All the cuts from Lynn Creek Marina to the dam will start holding larger fish. BANK ACCESS: Crappie Dock, crappie with live minnows LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Dam Island GPS: N33 02.212, W96 27.346 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Texas rig, Carolina rig, medium running crankbaits CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Over the years Lavon’s water level has consistently changed from one year to the next due to drought. Each time it has created a drop off along the shore caused by wave action. Look for these areas in 7 to 10 feet of water. There are also a few shallow humps on the lake that hold good fish during the fall and don’t be surprised when you find several nice sized fish stacked together. BANK ACCESS: Clear Lake Pier, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: East Point at mouth of Saline Bay GPS: N32 08.123, W95 27.132 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina-rigged lizard in Watermelon Red, tail dipped in chartreuse Spike It CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., 903-4782633. www.matternguideservice.fghp.com TIPS: Work the area thoroughly with the lizard, dragging the rig along the gravel in depths of 5 to 18 feet. Some of the real Hog Bass hang around here in November. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Palestine

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HOTSPOT: Hwy 155 Bridge at crossing of main lake GPS: N32 08.543, W95 28.362 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: black/chartreuse jigs and live minnows CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Work your baits in 20 to 25 feet of water under the Hwy 155 bridge where it crosses the main lake. Crappie will be around old brush piles and other bottom structure like dead trees and laydowns. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Point at Dam GPS: N32 03.558, W95 26.052 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Dimple Spoons in both chartreuse and chrome CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: The whites are beginning to bunch up on the points down near the dam and all the way up to Cobb Creek. Fish these points

for best action. Also, don’t forget to watch for the birds. They will be gathering around these points for any shad breaking the surface. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard HOTSPOT: 66 Rock Riprap GPS: N32 55.033, W96 30.112 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse/white spinnerbait, black/blue jig with Gene Larew trailer CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Fish spinnerbait and jugs up, down, and across the riprap. Keep boat reasonable distance from riprap so as not to scare the fish. BANK ACCESS: Bayview marina, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Pond Creek GPS: N31 57.460, W96 20.410 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: jigs, Red Dragon tubes, 4-

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inch Watermelon Pumpkin with chartreuse tail, Paca Craw CONTACT: Steve Schmidt, Cell-682-5188252, www.schmidtsbigbass.com TIPS: Just before going under the bridge at TXI, (Pond Creek), about 50 yards, shut your big motor down and idle in and past the old railroad tracks and stick ups. Head to the discharge, starting at the point prior to the discharge and work the edge. You will be throwing into 2 feet of water, which falls off to around 18-foot depth. Work the jigs in grass and bull rushes. Work the tube lures on the outside edges of the grass. Work past the discharge and then work the riprap along the bank. You should be able to fish this area and have your limit shortly BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish bank on either side of boat ramp; also fish bank of cove to left of boat ramp when facing the lake, largemouth, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Hwy 309 Flats GPS: N31 58.302, W96 08.130 SPECIES: hybrid stripers/white bass

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BEST BAITS: chrome and blue Rat-LTraps, silver or chartreuse Shad Slab CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 903-3894117, www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: The fish are feeding aggressively. The gulls will help you find the large schools of baitfish and fish. Look for fish chasing

shad on the Hwy 309 Flats in the early morning and late afternoon. If they are “busting” the top, a chrome and blue RatL-Trap is hard to beat. If they’re deep, drop a silver or chartreuse Shad Slab to the bottom and then give it a quick retrieve. Keep the drag set loose and hold on when a big

hybrid makes a run. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish bank on either side of boat ramp; also fish bank of cove to left of boat ramp when facing the lake, largemouth, catfish, crappie LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Skinny Point GPS: N30 17.501, W96 35.771 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, fresh shad, shrimp CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: A submerged tire reef runs from 6 to 23 feet deep. Fish along the tires starting shallow and moving out to deeper water until you find the fish biting. Be prepared for possibly hanging into a large catfish here. Blue cats are moving to the deeper water and big yellow cats can also be lying around these tires, as well as hybrid bass. All these species will take fresh shad. Channel cats will take Punch bait. Fish a Carolina Rig on bottom. If a larger fish is hooked, take your time landing him as you are in open water and have little for the fish to hang up on. BANK ACCESS: Big Creek Marina, most species LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir HOTSPOT: Lampasas River Timber GPS: N30 59.874, W97 38.670 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: medium sized shiner minnows CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-3687411, Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.c om TIPS: Keep the shiners fresh and lively. Fish the sparse standing timber on the outside of the river bend. Afternoons and nights are the best time to fish. Use slip bobbers and/or spreader rigs. Proceed carefully upriver as much standing timber cannot be seen below the water line. BANK ACCESS: Stillhouse Park, largemouth, crappie, catfish, smallmouth LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Five Creeks GPS: N33 54.836, W96 42.401

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs and live shad; colors white Glow and chartreuse flake CONTACT: Bill Carey, 877-786-4487, bigfish@striperexpress.com TIPS: The stripers are running in large schools. Pay close attention to the seagulls. They will locate the stripers and ambush large bait balls. The favorite artificials are 4 inch Sassy Shad on a 1-ounce jig head. If the Sassy Shad doesn’t work, try the live shad. You can anchor or drift live shad. BANK ACCESS: Washita Point and Platter Flats, largemouth bass, whites, catfish, stripers LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Mouth of Big Rocky Creek GPS: N31 52.795, W97 23.682 SPECIES: stripped bass BEST BAITS: Wild Eyed Shad and Sassy Shad CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Keep your binoculars handy and watch for working gulls and even gulls just

sitting on the water. Both can point you to baitfish. Where there’s baitfish, there will be stripers. Check the mouth of Big Rocky or any creek mouth. The cooler temperatures are starting to push the bait out of the creeks and the stripers and white bass are waiting in ambush. Make long casts with either the Wild Eyed Shad or Sassy Shad, (swim baits), and use a medium retrieve through the fish, lifting and dropping your rod tip to make the bait rise and fall. BANK ACCESS: Loafer’s Bend Shore, stripers, white bass, largemouth bass

Spoon-Fed Bass LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Mustang Creek - Twin Oaks Hump at mouth of creek

GPS: N32 50.63, W95 36.46 SPECIES: largemouth bass

BEST BAITS: large spoons CONTACT: Rick Carter, 903-765-3474 TIPS: The fish are biting deep and shallow during November. Use a large spoon over humps as you would in a summer pattern. Drop the spoon to the bottom and hop it up to the fish if they are suspended, fluttering it back through them. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket Bait Stand, crappie, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Monticello HOTSPOT: Main Lake Point GPS: N33 05.192, W96 02.976 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse spinnerbaits; RatL-Traps, shallow running crankbaits, jigs with pork trailers CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: By mid-November most of the other anglers have found this little power plant lake and have started putting a lot of pressure on this small body of water. To get best results keep your tactics and techniques small. Main lake points and ledges will be

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

the better areas to find the majority of your fish until December. Bounce the jig off the ledge and let fall. BANK ACCESS: Titus County Park, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn HOTSPOT: Owl Creek GPS: N31 91.857, W94 07.248 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: red or crawfish colored Rattle Shads CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., 903-4782633, www.matternguideservice.fghp.com TIPS: Owl Creek has wood and hydrilla cover. Work the Rattle Shads along the banks and many shallow flats. Really nice bass frequent this area. Don’t fail to cast beside the wood cover, while working the bait just off the bottom. BANK ACCESS: Powell Park Marina Fishing Pier, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, white and striped bass

Secret Weapon Takes Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Apple Orchard to Beaver Creek GPS: N30 52.637, W98 26.717

• N O V E M B E R

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T E X A S

LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Jacob Creek GPS: N29 53.748, W98 12.807 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps and plastic swim baits such as Crème Lure’s Spoiler Shad, Secret Weapon spinnerbait CONTACT” Kandie Candelaria, 210-823-2153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: The fall migration and feeding frenzy is in full swing. Cooler water temperatures are producing better quantities of fish caught. They are now in more shallow water and near the mouths of feeder creeks. If you find a topwater bite early, use a JDC SkipN-Pop or small Zara Spook in white. BANK ACCESS: Comal Park, largemouth bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: North Point GPS: N30 41.738, W97 21.460 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: jigs and minnows CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm TIPS: Crappie will be located in deeper water close to the river channel off North Point, in the main lake. They can be caught on jigs and minnows alike. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows fished straight down off dock. LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: Main Lake Flats GPS: N30 42.248, W97 20.274 SPECIES: blue catfish BEST BAITS: fresh shad CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm TIPS: Blue catfish can be taken on fresh shad drifted across the deep flats, (Main Lake Flats), of the main lake. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows fished straight down off dock. LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Main Lake Point GPS: N30 33.701, W98 21.696 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps, F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

white 1/4-ounce Secret Weapon buzzbaits, Silver/blue spinnerbaits or Watermelon Candy Whacky Sticks on 3/0 Whacky Hook CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Bass are on the move and good catches can be found most anywhere. They are aggressive in 2 to 4 feet of water along boat docks, edges of concrete seawalls, riprap, and laydowns. Main lake points adjacent to stump fields are also productive. BANK ACCESS: Robin Hood Park, catfish, crappie, largemouth bass

Possum Slabs LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Broadway GPS: N32 52.572, W98 31.723

SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: slabs and jigs CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Watch for a rising barometer, around 29.8 to 30.50. You want it rising, which it will be, in advance of a cold front moving in. Watch the birds and fish in areas where they are diving or just sitting on the water. Stripers will be trapping baitfish against the surface and the birds easily spot them. This is the time of year to work Broadway back North to Costello Island and beyond. At the end of the month when the water is too cool to catch baitfish shallow, change to slabs and jigs. BANK ACCESS: Willow Beach RV Park, privately owned, ask for permission to fish, largemouth crappie, striped and white bass. Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com

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Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008 USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).

T12

T11

T10

TIDE PREDICTIONS are located in the upper white boxes on the Calendar Pages. Use the Correction Table below, which is keyed to 23 other tide stations, to adjust low and high tide times.

T13 T7

T6 T5 T17

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

T15 T16

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

T14 T18

T19

PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

T20

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE Add or subtract the time shown at the right of the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

PLACE Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass Jetty Sabine Pass Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass Galveston Bay, S. Jetty Port Bolivar

HIGH -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14

LOW -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH Galveston Channel/Bays T7 Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +3:54 T8 Eagle Point +6:05 T9 Clear Lake +10:21 T10 Morgans Point T11 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39

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

T22 T23

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

www.FishGame.com • N O V E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

KEY PLACE T12 Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay T13 Gilchrist, East Bay T14 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay T15 Alligator Point, W. Bay T16 Christmas Pt T17 Galveston Pleasure Pier

HIGH +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -1:06

LOW +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:33 +2:31 -1:06

KEY T18 T19 T20 T21 T22 T23

PLACE San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor Pass Cavallo Aransas Pass Padre Island (So. End) Port Isabel

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

I16

T9 T8

T3 T2 T1

T E X A S

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

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

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

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

N ov 1

Sunrise: 6:24a Moonrise: 5:12a

Set: 5:34p Set: 4:36p

Sunrise: 6:25a Moonrise: 6:09a

Set: 5:33p Set: 5:09p

Sunrise: 6:25a Moonrise: 7:08a

Set: 5:32p Set: 5:45p

Sunrise: 6:26a Moonrise: 8:06a

Set: 5:31p Set: 6:25p

Sunrise: 6:27a Moonrise: 9:02a

Set: 5:30p Set: 7:10p

Sunrise: 6:28a Moonrise: 9:56a

Set: 5:29p Set: 8:00p

AM Minor: 3:08a

PM Minor: 3:29p

AM Minor: 3:50a

PM Minor: 4:12p

AM Minor: 4:35a

PM Minor: 4:59p

AM Minor: 5:25a

PM Minor: 5:50p

AM Minor: 6:18a

PM Minor: 6:44p

AM Minor: 7:14a

PM Minor: 7:39p

AM Minor: 8:09a

PM Minor: 8:34p

AM Major: 9:19a

PM Major: 9:40p

AM Major: 10:01a

PM Major: 10:24p

AM Major: 10:47a

PM Major: 11:11p

AM Major: 11:37a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:06a

PM Major: 12:31p

AM Major: 1:01a

PM Major: 1:26p

AM Major: 1:57a

PM Major: 2:22p

Moon Overhead: 10:57a 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:28p

Moon Overhead: 11:42a

12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:17p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:58p

Moon Overhead: 2:07p

12a

12p

Sunrise: 6:28a Set: 5:29p Moonrise: 10:45a Set: 8:53p

12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

12a

Moon Overhead: 3:48p 12a

12p

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 11:19p +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 12:53a

BEST:

10:40AM-1:30PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:32a

BEST:

11:30AM-2:05PM

12:20-3:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:23a +2.0

BEST:

1:20-4:05 PM

2:15-4:50 PM

TIDE LEVELS

9:50AM-1:15PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:42a

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 12:05a

BEST:

9:10AM-12:30PM

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: None

-1.0

+1.0

-1.0 High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:50 am 9:44 am 5:06 pm 10:43 pm

1.48 ft 0.36 ft 1.71 ft 1.29 ft

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

2:57 am 10:13 am 6:03 pm 11:27 pm

1.49 ft 0.22 ft 1.76 ft 1.44 ft

High Tide: 2:58 am 1.53 ft Low Tide: 10:45 am 0.13 ft High Tide: 6:57 pm 1.77 ft

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

12:06 am 2:46 am 11:19 am 7:53 pm

1.54 ft 1.57 ft 0.10 ft 1.76 ft

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

12:33 am 2:06 am 11:56 am 8:55 pm

1.61 ft 1.62 ft 0.11 ft 1.73 ft

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

12:35 am 1:54 am 12:37 pm 10:09 pm

1.66 ft 1.66 ft 0.15 ft 1.70 ft

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

12:31 am 1:12 am 12:22 pm 10:54 pm

1.68 ft 1.69 ft 0.21 ft 1.69 ft

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

12a

BEST:

7:05-9:40 PM

12p

SOLUNAR AC TIVIT Y: 12a

AM/PM Timeline Light Blue: Nighttime

MINOR Feeding Periods (+/- 1.5 Hrs.)

AM Minor: 1:20a

PM Minor: 1:45p

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Major: 7:57p

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

Moon Overhead: 8:50a

Gold Fish: Best Time Blue Fish: Good Time

AM/PM Timeline

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

12p

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

MOON PHASE SYMBOLS MAJOR Feeding Periods (+/- 2 Hrs.)

12a

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

F i s h

= New Moon = First Quarter = Full Moon = L a s t Q u a r te r = B es t Da y

G a m e ® / N O V E M B E R

2 0 0 8

•

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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 Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Set: 5:26p Sunrise: 6:31a Sunrise: 6:30a Set: 5:27p Sunrise: 6:31a Moonrise: 12:10p Set: 10:45p Moonrise: 12:45p Set: 11:43p Moonrise: 1:18p

Set: 5:26p Set: None

Sunrise: 6:32a Moonrise: 1:49p

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SUNDAY

Set: 5:25p Sunrise: 6:33a Set: 12:41a Moonrise: 2:19p

Set: 5:24p Set: 1:39a

Sunrise: 6:34a Moonrise: 2:50p

Set: 5:24p Set: 2:37a

AM Minor: 9:04a

PM Minor: 9:29p

AM Minor: 9:57a

PM Minor: 10:20p

AM Minor: 10:46a

PM Minor: 11:09p

AM Minor: 11:32a

PM Minor: 11:54p

AM Minor: ——-

PM Minor: 12:14p

AM Minor: 12:33a

PM Minor: 12:55p

AM Minor: 1:12a

PM Minor: 1:35p

AM Major: 2:52a

PM Major: 3:16p

AM Major: 3:45a

PM Major: 4:08p

AM Major: 4:34a

PM Major: 4:57p

AM Major: 5:21a

PM Major: 5:43p

AM Major: 6:03a

PM Major: 6:25p

AM Major: 6:44a

PM Major: 7:06p

AM Major: 7:23a

PM Major: 7:46p

Moon Overhead: 4:37p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:12p

Moon Overhead: 5:25p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:56p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:25p

Moon Overhead: 7:41p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:11p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:29a Set: 5:28p Moonrise: 11:30a Set: 9:48p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 4:13a +2.0

-1.0

Moon Underfoot: 6:34a

Moon Underfoot: 7:19a

Moon Underfoot: 8:03a

BEST:

3:20-6:50 PM

4:00-7:15 PM

4:45-7:55 PM

5:30-8:00 PM

6:15-8:55 PM

7:00-9:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 8:47a +2.0

BEST:

7:40-10:25 PM

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 5:49a

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 5:02a

Low Tide: 1:11 pm 0.28 ft High Tide: 11:54 pm 1.68 ft

I18

Low Tide: 2:02 pm 0.35 ft High Tide: 11:58 pm 1.65 ft

• N O V E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

Low Tide: 2:56 pm

T E X A S

0.43 ft

F i s h

High Tide: 12:06 am 1.61 ft Low Tide: 3:52 pm 0.53 ft

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

12:15 am 7:40 am 10:05 am 4:48 pm

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

1.57 ft 1.20 ft 1.22 ft 0.66 ft

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

12:23 am 6:46 am 12:03 pm 5:46 pm

1.51 ft 1.00 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

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

12:30 am 6:53 am 1:27 pm 6:45 pm

1.47 ft 0.72 ft 1.42 ft 0.99 ft

+1.0

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:35a Moonrise: 3:23p

Set: 5:23p Set: 3:39a

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 4:01p

Set: 5:23p Set: 4:45a

Sunrise: 6:36a Moonrise: 4:44p

Set: 5:22p Set: 5:55a

Sunrise: 6:37a Moonrise: 5:35p

Set: 5:22p Set: 7:07a

Sunrise: 6:38a Moonrise: 6:35p

Set: 5:21p Set: 8:20a

Sunrise: 6:39a Moonrise: 7:42p

Set: 5:21p Set: 9:27a

Sunrise: 6:40a Moonrise: 8:52p

AM Minor: 1:52a

PM Minor: 2:16p

AM Minor: 2:35a

PM Minor: 3:02p

AM Minor: 3:25a

PM Minor: 3:54p

AM Minor: 4:23a

PM Minor: 4:54p

AM Minor: 5:27a

PM Minor: 6:00p

AM Minor: 6:38a

PM Minor: 7:11p

AM Minor: 7:49a

PM Minor: 8:21p

AM Major: 8:04a

PM Major: 8:28p

AM Major: 8:48a

PM Major: 9:15p

AM Major: 9:39a

PM Major: 10:08p

AM Major: 10:38a

PM Major: 11:09p

AM Major: 11:44a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:21a

PM Major: 12:54p

AM Major: 1:33a

PM Major: 2:05p

Moon Overhead: 10:00p 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:52p

Moon Overhead: 10:53p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: None 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:01a

Moon Overhead: 12:55a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Set: 5:20p Set: 10:27a

Moon Overhead: 3:06a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

WEDNESDAY

12a

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 9:35a +2.0

BEST:

-1.0

BEST:

9:10-11:05 PM

Moon Underfoot: 12:23p BEST:

10:00-11:55 PM

Moon Underfoot: 1:28p BEST:

4:15-6;05 AM

Moon Underfoot: 2:34p BEST:

12:00-1:55 AM

12:15-2:05 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:38p +2.0

BEST:

1:20-3:15 AM TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 11:22a

TIDE LEVELS

8:20-10:15 PM

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:26a

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

12:36 am 7:19 am 2:39 pm 7:44 pm

1.44 ft 0.41 ft 1.58 ft 1.17 ft

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

12:41 am 7:54 am 3:45 pm 8:42 pm

1.46 ft 0.09 ft 1.74 ft 1.36 ft

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

12:46 am 8:35 am 4:49 pm 9:37 pm

1.52 ft -0.19 ft 1.85 ft 1.52 ft

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

12:52 am 9:21 am 5:55 pm 10:30 pm

1.60 ft -0.40 ft 1.92 ft 1.66 ft

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

1:02 am 10:12 am 7:03 pm 11:22 pm

1.69 ft High Tide: 1:15 am 1.76 ft Low Tide: -0.53 ft Low Tide: 11:06 am -0.56 ft High Tide: 1.92 ft High Tide: 8:15 pm 1.88 ft Low Tide: 1.74 ft High Tide:

12:36 am 1:12 am 12:04 pm 9:23 pm

1.77 ft 1.77 ft -0.50 ft 1.81 ft

+1.0

-1.0

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Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Set: 5:19p Sunrise: 6:43a Set: 5:19p Set: 12:38p Moonrise: 12:14a Set: 1:10p

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:44a Moonrise: 1:13a

Set: 5:18p Set: 1:40p

Sunrise: 6:45a Moonrise: 2:10a

Set: 5:18p Set: 2:09p

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 3:07a

Set: 5:18p Set: 2:39p

AM Minor: 8:58a

PM Minor: 9:27p

AM Minor: 10:00a

PM Minor: 10:27p

AM Minor: 10:55a

PM Minor: 11:20p

AM Minor: 11:43a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Minor: 12:03a

PM Minor: 12:25p

AM Minor: 12:42a

PM Minor: 1:03p

AM Minor: 1:19a

PM Minor: 1:41p

AM Major: 2:43a

PM Major: 3:13p

AM Major: 3:46a

PM Major: 4:14p

AM Major: 4:43a

PM Major: 5:08p

AM Major: 5:31a

PM Major: 5:54p

AM Major: 6:14a

PM Major: 6:36p

AM Major: 6:53a

PM Major: 7:14p

AM Major: 7:30a

PM Major: 7:52p

Moon Overhead: 4:09a 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:58a

Moon Overhead: 5:06a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:46a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:13a

Moon Overhead: 7:30a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 8:56a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 5:20p Sunrise: 6:41a Set: 5:19p Sunrise: 6:42a Moonrise: 10:03p Set: 11:18a Moonrise: 11:10p Set: 12:01p Moonrise: None

12a

THURSDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 4:38p +2.0

BEST:

-1.0

Moon Underfoot: 7:08p

Moon Underfoot: 7:52p

Moon Underfoot: 8:34p

Moon Underfoot: 9:17p +2.0

BEST:

3:40-5:20 AM

4:35-6:15 AM

5:20-6:55 AM

6:05-7:45 AM

6:40-8:25 AM

7:20-9:15 AM TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 6:22p

TIDE LEVELS

2:40-AM

Moon Underfoot: 5:33p

Low Tide: 1:05 pm -0.35 ft Low Tide: 2:10 pm -0.14 ft Low Tide: 3:17 pm 0.12 ft High Tide: 10:18 pm 1.71 ft High Tide: 10:55 pm 1.59 ft High Tide: 11:20 pm 1.48 ft

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

5:59 am 9:30 am 4:28 pm 11:39 pm

1.02 ft 1.14 ft 0.39 ft 1.37 ft

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

6:21 am 11:36 am 5:42 pm 11:54 pm

0.73 ft 1.15 ft 0.66 ft 1.30 ft

Low Tide: 6:50 am High Tide: 1:19 pm Low Tide: 6:57 pm

0.45 ft 1.24 ft 0.89 ft

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

12:05 am 7:20 am 2:41 pm 8:11 pm

1.26 ft 0.20 ft 1.37 ft 1.08 ft

+1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION BEST:

= Peak Fishing Period

7:45-9:40 AM

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

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

MONDAY

Tides and Prime Times for NOVEMBER 2008

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r te r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarter = Best Day

SUNDAY

Sunrise: 6:46a Moonrise: 4:03a

Set: 5:17p Set: 3:10p

Sunrise: 6:47a Moonrise: 5:01a

Set: 5:17p Set: 3:45p

Sunrise: 6:48a Moonrise: 5:59a

Set: 5:17p Set: 4:23p

Sunrise: 6:49a Moonrise: 6:55a

Set: 5:17p Set: 5:07p

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 7:50a

Set: 5:17p Set: 5:55p

Sunrise: 6:50a Moonrise: 8:41a

Set: 5:17p Set: 6:47p

Sunrise: 6:51a Moonrise: 9:27a

Set: 5:17p Set: 7:42p

AM Minor: 1:57a

PM Minor: 2:19p

AM Minor: 2:37a

PM Minor: 3:00p

AM Minor: 3:20a

PM Minor: 3:44p

AM Minor: 4:08a

PM Minor: 4:32p

AM Minor: 4:58a

PM Minor: 5:23p

AM Minor: 5:51a

PM Minor: 6:16p

AM Minor: 6:45a

PM Minor: 7:10p

AM Major: 8:08a

PM Major: 8:30p

AM Major: 8:49a

PM Major: 9:12p

AM Major: 9:32a

PM Major: 9:57p

AM Major: 10:20a

PM Major: 10:45p

AM Major: 11:11a

PM Major: 11:36p

AM Major: ——-

PM Major: 12:04p

AM Major: 12:33a

PM Major: 12:58p

Moon Overhead: 9:39a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:13a

Moon Overhead: 10:25a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:02p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 1:43p

Moon Overhead: 12:53p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:33p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 10:02p +2.0

Moon Underfoot: None

Moon Underfoot: 12:27a

Moon Underfoot: 1:18a

Moon Underfoot: 2:08a

BEST:

2:10-6:05 PM

2:55-6:40 PM

3:15-6:05 AM

4:00-6:15 AM

4:50-6:45 AM

5:45-6:55 AM

6:30-7:45 AM

TIDE LEVELS

Moon Underfoot: 11:37p

+2.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

Moon Underfoot: 10:49p

-1.0

+1.0

-1.0 High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

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12:14 am 7:51 am 3:47 pm 9:23 pm

1.26 ft 0.01 ft 1.47 ft 1.22 ft

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

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12:18 am 8:22 am 4:41 pm 10:38 pm

1.28 ft High Tide: 12:10 am 1.31 ft Low Tide: 9:27 am -0.13 ft Low Tide: 8:54 am -0.21 ft High Tide: 6:13 pm 1.53 ft High Tide: 5:29 pm 1.55 ft 1.31 ft

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Temple Fork Outfitters— Affordable Quality Fly Rods I just read an article in one of the national fly-fishing magazines about all the new ultralight fly rods on the market today. It was enlightening and well written. One thing, though, caught my attention: It wasn’t in what was said, but in what was not said. The writer gave a detailed description of about a dozen rods, all of them of high quality. However, he did not mention one of the best, one that is quite modestly priced, casts like a dream, and costs only a fraction of what Big Name fly rods cost. He wrote not one word about the Texas-based outfit of Temple Fork Outfitters. There seems to be a built-in bias in flyfishing. It seems that part of the allure is in the high-dollar, brand name stuff. Good fly rods, you would think from reading all the propaganda in magazines, start at about $400 and go up from there. If you show up on one of the dream streams of Montana with a rod that costs less than your pickup, you will be ridiculed and thought of as a poor country cousin. The truth is that good fly rods are available for a lot less money, and that part of the money you pay for the big name rods is to cover the cost of their free replacement-forlife warranties. I think you can buy a great rod for about $200, get an equally good warranty, and be many dollars ahead. Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) fly rods I24

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start at $99 with their Lefty Kreh Signature Series and end with their big, two-hand, spey rods that retail for about $300. In between those two extremes are some truly great rods that sell for half to a third of what an equally good rod would cost in one of the Big Name brands. I bought my first TFO fly rod a bit reluctantly, I must admit. However, after a couple of fishing trips with it, including one rather lengthy trip all around the mountains of the American West, I have been in love with TFO rods. I have several rods from other rod makers and I do like them, b u t

Temple Fork Fly Rods

they do not cast one bit better than my TFOs, nor are they more durable. Forget the snob appeal. Buy a TFO fly rod (any of them, they are all good) and you will have one of the best of the best. In addition, TFO offers a “no fault lifetime warranty” and “will repair or replace your rod for a reasonable shipping and handling fee for the life of the registered owner.” Contact: Temple Fork Outfitters, 800638-9052, www.templeforkflyrods.com —Steve LaMascus

Rejected—and Loving it Rejection is a good thing, when your boat, ATV, or Jet Ski’s super-slick gel coat

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is rejecting bug splatters, road grime, and scum lines. But fiberglass gel coat is a porous material, and it needs some help if it’s going to stay slick, clean, and shiny. That’s why many boat owners use polymer coatings on their power-toys-and the newest formulation to hit the market is RejeX, a high-gloss finish that’s intended for boats, RV’s, motorcycles, ATVs, and even automotive finishes. Application is similar to waxing without the buffing: After washing the boat down thoroughly, I wiped RejeX on with a microfiber cloth, let it dry to a haze, then wiped away the excess. Since RejeX bonds safely to glass, metal, acrylic, and painted surfaces, I didn’t have to worry about dripping or dabbing other surfaces on the boat by accident, as with some cleaners or polishes. This polymer has an 8- to 12-hour cure time, after which my boat gleamed so brightly it could be seen in the moonlight—from space. You have to be careful, though, because it can’t be applied to a hot surface or in direct sunlight if you want to get that stellar finish. According to the manufacturer, RejeX will last for up to six months and will work when applied over wax, though for a shorter time, but usually it’s best to apply polymers like this to an un-waxed surface. I tested RejeX by applying it to my 19-foot center console the day before I made a six-hour road trip with the boat in tow. Anyone who has ever made a haul like this knows that it usually results in a bugsplattered, tarry, road-goo mess on the boat— Rejex fiberglass coating.

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and I had plenty of them. I spent the next two days fishing, including two launches and retrievals, so I would also be sure to have scum lines running down the hull sides. Finally, I towed it back home and stepped back to survey the results. At a glance, it did look like the boat was cleaner than it should be, I would guess by maybe 25 percent. Good results, but the boat still needed a thorough clean-up. When I broke out the scrub brushes and soap, the real value of a coat of RejeX became apparent. Instead of needing a thorough scrubbing and wax job to get the boat clean, all it took in most cases was a direct blast from the hose. Even in really bad spots, a swipe with the brush (instead of lots of elbow grease) was all it needed to get rid of the grime, and it cut my clean-up time significantly. RejeX is pretty inexpensive considering what you get: $14.95 for a 12-ounce bottle is enough to do a 25-foot boat or three cars. My 19-footer took about half a bottle. Contact: Masthead Marketing and Distribution, 214-651-8627, www.rejex.com —Lenny Rudow

2Handee is Too Handy We all have our favorite multi-tools, and we all wish they had just one more doo-dad, blade, or gizmo. But sometimes, less is more if the tools you have are designed right for the specific job you have in mind, and in this case, that job is fishing. The folks at the 2Handee Tackle Company have just introduced a new multi-tasker that targets just this activity, the 2Handee Utility Tool. Instead of focusing on a large number of tools, the 2Handee is aimed purely at what anglers need: sharp hooks, line and braid cutters, and a blade. The top of the tool is a replaceable sharpening stone with grooves running down the sides for sharpening hooks. Its larger surface is flat for

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sharpening other blades. And since it’s removable, the stone can be flipped, providing a second sharpening surface when the original one wears down. A stainless-steel blade with smooth and serrated sections swings out from under the stone on one side, and on the other, an arm with a jig-eye reamer and a de-hooker. The front of the unit is essentially like a heavyduty clipper, which can handle braid lines and light wire leaders. I tried chopping through 80-pound braid and 20-pound wire, and the clippers handled the chore with no problem. The 2Handee also has a hole in the back end, so you can attach it to a lanyard. Essentially, this tool is a jazzed-up, heavy-duty version of clippers with some added perks, and it does in fact come in quite handy on the boat. I just wish is also had a corkscrew, and a screwdriver, and, well, you know. Contact: 2Handee, 859-223-BASS, www.2handee.com —LR

the hailer has an automatic foghorn soundsignal function, as well. Thanks to DSC selective calling, you can also do away with that cell phone or FRS radio. Like other DSC units, this one will broadcast your exact latitude and longitude to the Coast Guard if you press the panic button. Unlike many other DSC equipped units, this one also has a “track your buddy” function. Interface it with your Lowrance GPS chartplotter, and up to three people (who are also DSC equipped) you communicate with will show up on your screen. You’ll know their exact locations at all times, and with the LVR-880’s nav-to-waypoint capabilities, getting to them will be as easy as pushing a couple of buttons. That means you do not need those alternate means of communication to tell your friend where the hot bite is without alerting the entire fleet. When I tested this unit, a couple of design features also proved very useful. The controls are on both the unit and the microphone, so I could switch channels and raise the volume without so much as leaning forward. And when I took a rough ride across an open bay and thoroughly doused the unit, I didn’t have to worry because it is submersible to JIS-7 standards. Boaters with limited dash space will be The only downside I found to this unit interested in Lowrance’s new LVR-880 was price. While it isn’t terribly expensive, it VHF Radio. This little box is packed with does run close to $200 and you can purso many features and functions, it will elimchase a DSC VHF for a little inate the need for several other items at the over half that much these helm. days. Of course, they don’t The first thing it elimihave FM radios in them, nates is your stereo, nor the other features because this is the first described above. VHF around that All the other feacomes packing an tures I’d expect FM receiver. You from a top-end could listen to the modern VHF unit music through were also present the 2.5-inch and accounted for: integrated dual-watch and speaker, scanning modes, but why Lowrance LVR-880 VHF Radio weather at the press of do that a button and NOAA when you could jam your tunes by wiring weather alert warnings, NMEA 0183 and external stereo speakers to the two-channel NMEA 2000 compatibility, 25/1 watt output? transmit power, and a 3.4-inch diagonal Another item your boat can now do LCD display. Plus, the unit can be either without is a loud hailer. The LVR-880 has binnacle or flush mounted. one of these built-in, too, and with 22 watts Contact: Lowrance, 800-324-1356, of power, you will be heard from the inlet to www.lowrance.com —LR the back bay. Leave your air horn at home;

Lowrance keeps Anglers in Touch

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on the rapidly growing utility vehicle market because it adapts perfectly to both work and recreation needs. It is also loaded with cool new features.

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aftermarket manufacturers to design equipment and accessories for the Ranger line. For instance, BOSS is the maker of the quick-attach electric/hydraulic bucket loader and brush fork/grapple attachments. You can switch from one to the other in 30 seconds. Polaris partnered with Bestop to develop not one but three full cabs for the new Rangers: steel, plastic, and cloth. The Bestop Soft-Top Cab System is even constructed with vinyl-coated polyester for convertibility including roll-up soft-glass side and rear windows. Ranger accessories are actually falling right in line with what you find for your truck or SUV, complete with a 4500-pound capacity electric winch, brush guards, winch bumpers, fender flares, driving lights, gun racks, scabbards, and a host of Polaris Lock & Ride cargo-management accessories that take just seconds to add or remove. What all this boils down to is the new Ranger and Ranger HD provide a whole new level of multi-tasking and more trucklike ride and handling for side-by-side buyers. Polaris says it is now the “Hardest Working, Smoothest Riding” utility vehicle on the market. Such a bold statement is going to be very tough to dispute from my most recent seat-of-the-pants experiences. —Bruce W. Smith

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E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com. I28

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MOSSBERG

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever

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PHOTO COURTESY OF USFWS

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In Florida, by contrast, “our groceries aren’t as good,” Labisky said. Unlike states such as Wisconsin, with at least 2 million deer, Florida has about 600,000 deer. The state’s deer population is relatively stable in part because of the deer’s unique compensation to hunting, Labisky said.

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WHITETAIL BUCK—MENARD COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—APPLE SPRINGS, TEXAS

PRONGHORN—CLAYTON, NEW MEXICO

Rachel Nelson, age 12, killed her first whitetail buck on the family ranch near London, Texas, in Menard County. Rachel used her dad’s Ruger M77 in 6mm Rem.

Sonny Johnson of Trinity, Texas, killed this deer at P.O.E.T. Hunting Club, outside of Apple Springs, Texas. It was rated by the Texas Big Game Awards, grossing 160-2/8. The 10-pointer had 6 kickers and weighed 155 pounds.

Fisher Byers, age 7, took his first pronghorn in Clayton, New Mexico. He shot it with a .240 Weatherby at 204 yards, running off of shooting sticks. Fisher is the son of Robby Byers of Texas.

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Improving the Odds

Part Two

Learn Good Tracking Skills

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E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

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Parks also said that some dealers could offer special “scratch and dent sale” discounts on boats that incurred minor damage in the storm. “But if the damage is major

and the boat is salvageable, some will seek manufacturer assistance with repairs. If damage is moderate but repairs needed, some will go to local fiberglass or boat repair

Massive loss and damage to boats on the upper coast could ignite a regional boom for boat dealers like LMC Marine in Houston and Clear Lake. I34

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PHOTO BY ROY NEVES

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shops. If the damage is too severe, the boats will become insurance salvage.” Amy McDonald with Tracker Marine Group said it usually takes people a few months to assess damage, file claims, and settle with insurance companies, but, “We do expect a rise in sales and expect that it would coincide with the buying season in early 2009.”

LMC Marine’s David Christian says he’s already seeing the kind of no-nonsense can-do attitude Texans are known for.

David Christian of LMC Marine in Houston echoed the manufacturers’ anticipation of rising boat sales, citing a “high level of expectation for rising sales.”

“We have heard unconfirmed reports of up to 10,000 boats destroyed,” Christian said, adding that anticipation of replacement of those boats makes him “expect to see a huge positive economic impact. It is going to help the boat industry, no doubt.” Christian said in late September that he was already seeing the kind of no-nonsense, can-do attitude that Texans are known for.

Hoover Unfazed Ron Hoover Marine of Seabrook sustained little damage during Hurricane Ike. “It was a surprise to all of us considering the widespread damage that occurred in Galveston, Houston, and the surrounding Gulf Coast area,” said James Hampton of Ron Hoover Marine. “Prior to the storm, all of our boats were moved up on the property and clustered together away from the water’s edge of Clear Lake. The movement to higher ground and grouping the boats close together kept them from the rising water and minimized movement against the strong winds. “There was damage to the dock, a tree uprooted near the building, scattered debris, and the Ron Hoover Marine sign was blown down, but no other significant damage. We were very lucky.” PHOTO BY DENISE RONQUILLE

—James Hampton A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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PHOTO BY JIMMY BORNE

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“The general mood I am seeing is positive.” Danny Thrower of Mt. Houston Marine said that even though his dealership did not yet have electric power as of press time, they found a way to communicate with customers and immediately began selling boats: “We found an old push-button phone and plugged it in, and it started ringing. Eleven days after the hurricane, we [were] already selling replacement boats.” Thrower confirmed that the anticipated positive economic movement has precedent and extends to things other than boats, citing a conversation with a Shimano tackle rep who said that after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, tackle sales in the affected areas were slow for two months followed by 18 of the busiest months they ever had. Thrower said his dealership will hold a “scratch and dent” sale of lightly damaged boats, and offer special discounts on boats “made” with parts from other damaged boats. I36

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Danny Thrower and Carol and Rudy Kleinman of Mt. Houston Marine were selling boats before power was restored to their dealership, and in the shadow of storm damage to their buildings. Economists have shown many areas prospered financially after major hurricanes. Take Hurricane Andrew, for example. Hitting the Florida coast as a monster Category 5 storm, it ravaged much of the state, sparking pundits to theorize parts of the state were done for economically. In the following two years, however, the economy of the Sunshine State outpaced the nation’s gross domestic product by three points, with the highest overall gains in counties damaged by Andrew. A 1969 book by Douglas Dacy and Howard Kunreuther, The Economics of Disasters, demonstrated clearly that many areas impacted by disasters prosper in the wake. Much of the study involved examining the devastating Alaska earthquake of 1964

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that, at least in terms of finances, resulted in surviving Alaskans being better off than before the quake. This was due to government loans and grants as well as aid from private charity groups that caused a boom in the state’s economy. Mainstream media outlets have been quick to compare Ike with Katrina, but other than the fact they both slammed romantic, scenic cities, there are few similarities. Government response to Ike has been swift in comparison to the well-publicized slow reaction to Katrina. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said the Senate is already close to providing $6 billion in grants for Ike recovery. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor has given $15.9 million to the Texas Workforce Commission as part of a National Emergency Grant to fund 600 temporary jobs in the 29 Texas counties impacted by Ike. “Thanks to our federal partners, this funding for temporary jobs will be invalu-

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able to Texans devastated in the wake of Hurricane Ike,” said Governor Rick Perry. “Through the Texas Workforce Commission, these funds will help hard-working Texans continue to support their families as they begin rebuilding their homes and lives.” That spirit of determination also creates a contrast between Katrina and Ike. While tens of thousands of New Orleans residents abandoned their homes and businesses permanently after Katrina, due either to a lack of choices or fear of another storm, Texans started rebuilding the day after Ike. “The people of this area are very resilient, and while most have never faced something of this magnitude, most people are ready to roll up their sleeves, get with the

The Eco-Impact (Economic, Ecological) Bill Balboa, Galveston Bay ecosystem leader, Texas Parks & Wildlife Deptment, said, “We are trying to establish a basis for an economic impact—commercial and recreational fishing and the overall ecology of the bay. “It looks like the marshes are okay. Sheens on the water were observed on the surface everywhere, but primarily up around the Sabine Island area. Sheen would be an indication of some type of petroleum-based spill. If you have seen gasoline on the water and it looks like a rainbow, the same thing. “There is no community surrounding Rollover Pass anymore. The bridge is buckled and resembles a drawbridge. There are two houses standing in the Kaplan area; Crystal Beach is a little bit better. That area seems to have been scraped off the island. “Oyster houses have been severely damaged. The marsh projects that we have embarked on in the past look fine. Tidal fringe marshes in general seem to be in good condition. Some of them around Bolivar and Elm Grove are full of debris, but with rising water that happens. “The Chenier Plains up around Sabine, a lot of those are draining. Some of those that were freshwater marshes, constructed as purely

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cleanup, and get their lives back,” said Sabine Lake fishing guide Capt. Phillip Samuels. While Samuels expects his guide business to take a hit this fall, what he saw after Hurricane Rita in 2005 was that the following spring, people were ready to do something fun. “Fishing is an integral part of this region, and nothing is better therapy than watching the sun rise over the bay and catching specks, reds, and flounder.” —Chester Moore & Don Zaidle

freshwater marshes, those will be affected because of the saltwater going in. “LaMarque, north on Galveston Bay, this is just my amateur assessment, but I think everybody pretty much dodged a big old bullet.” “In my experience, what I have seen of the impact of hurricanes on finfish, what will happen at times, the storm will create blowouts on the barrier islands, erosion will incur, and create a wash over, fill up a low spot with water and the high wave action and storm surge deposits fish in those areas and they won’t leave with the falling tides. The fish will be caught in there sometimes, are transported into areas that they normally are not associated with. That sometimes will have an impact. “Other than some kind of spill, I haven’t been aware of fish kills of the same magnitude of a red tide or a freeze. There is always the possibility of some issues popping up sometimes, but I personally wouldn’t predict large fish kill incidents. “Freshwater entering the bay will be either rootbeer colored water that is clear, or it’s going to be muddy water. The root beer water is basically tainted with tannins that come from marsh plants decaying, washing off into the bay. Generally, you see that percolating down off wetlands into bays, from some of the bayous. “The Coast Guard is asking people to stay off the bay; recreational fishermen, boaters, and

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others to stay off the bay for a while because so much has changed. There are lots of boats, possibly and probably, have been sunk out there, creating navigation hazards. Pilings have been knocked down. “If you could fish now, it would be hard to say what kind of results could be expected. It depends on how much rainfall we had along the watersheds, drainages. It doesn’t appear that many of our habitats, wetlands, sea grass areas were really badly affected. “You have storms that wash way up into some of these upland marshes, and when it pulls back, especially on the upper coast, brings back a lot of vegetation. In the old days in a more naturalized scenario, that would have brought in quite a nutrient load. Short term, people may notice possibly that their fishing success is maybe a little bit lower than normal; the contrary could be true. It won’t take very long for the bay to stabilize and return to what it was. “These things bounce back so fast from these natural catastrophes, it’s amazing. “Bays and estuaries are chaotic systems anyway. There is no such thing as the norm. This is just another chaotic event...flood, drought...anything that may occur. These systems are very resilient and they survive these things. —Tom Behrens

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PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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setup that can work great for divers is called the “Double-O.” This is a very simple setup made of two round groups of decoys with a gap in the middle for ducks to land. Remember, ducks always land into the wind, so you want to set up so that the birds will quarter toward your blind. When I hunt the rivers north of the bay systems, I go with a couple of dozen decoys and rely on motion instead of mass to attract the birds. I use a similar pattern to the puddle duck setup with the “Double O,” but I use a mechanical decoy in the middle set out about 20 yards, and have a swimming decoy to one side. Mechanicals come in several forms and under a host of names, including Mojo, Roboduck, Roto Duck, and the Mallard Machine. Over the last decade, they have

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increased dramatically in popularity and are now part of the arsenal of many hunters around the country. On open bays, I have mechanicals quite effective for pintail, redhead, and widgeon. A big part of this type of hunting is drawing the birds’ attention from huge spreads put out by other hunters, and the giant rafts of divers that sit in the open water. By putting out a mechanical in an open shooting lane about 20 yards past the blind, it not only brings in birds but also puts them right

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where you want to shoot them. In open water, it is a good idea to use a mechanical with turning wings along with one that swims in circles, or one of the feeding ones that vibrates. Since divers actually feed on the open water, it makes sense to have some movement that mimics feeding activity. “Always an asset, movement is a near necessity on still days when wary ducks flare from still decoy spreads,” said Buck Gardner. “For years, we have relied on various ‘jerk string’ tactics to liven up our spreads.

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This consists of a regular decoy with the string running through a pulley on a heavy anchor and back to the blind. Pulling the string pulls the decoy under water, and releasing the string allows it to pop up. Another idea uses the heavy anchor and a bungee cord. One or more decoys may be tied to a string running back to the blind. Pulling the string makes the decoys ‘swim’ toward the blind. Release the string and the bungee cord pulls them back,” he said. If you know the day is going to be free of

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wind, simply carry a bag of rocks with you. When you see ducks, chunk a rock or two in the water to create ripples so it looks like your decoys are moving about. The main thing to keep in mind is how the birds are reacting to a mechanical decoy. If they seem extra leery, even in the least bit,

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Most Texas diver hunting is done along the Middle and Lower Coast, but there is equally good diver hunting on inland reservoirs. Roger Bacon, who guides on Sam Rayburn and B.A. Steinhagen reservoirs, said many hunters just do not realize how much quality hunting is on the lakes they fish for bass, crappie, and catfish ever year. “We have some amazing duck hunting at times, and the best part is we have a large population of one of the most prized ducks in the country—canvasbacks,” Bacon said. “Between Rayburn and Toledo Bend in particular, we hold a large number of canvasbacks that can give hunters something they might’ve thought they could never get in such large numbers.” While hunting with Bacon in early 2006, I had several instances of more than 50 canvasbacks all locked up and ready to light in the decoys. I am simply a fanatic about these birds, so it was really thrilling for me.

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A valuable lesson learned on that trip is boat traffic can actually help duck hunters. “As long as the fishermen are not on top of you, they can help out. The divers will raft up in large concentrations, and boats moving around the lake will bust them up and disperse them in your direction if you’re lucky.” Diver hunting took a hit this year with the scaup limit in the Central Flyway getting knocked down to one bird. “The decision is very disheartening, but not all hope is lost,” said Delta Waterfowl President, Rob Olson. Olson said a one-bird scaup bag limit also puts hunters at a disadvantage because under some conditions, it is difficult to identify scaup from other diving duck species. “If, for example, a hunter shoots a drake bluebill, he might be forced to forgo the rest of the day in the marsh rather than risk taking another scaup and being in violation of any new regulations,” he said. “Scaup are a coveted waterfowl species for many hunters. We don’t want to see them regulated to the status of a ‘mistake’ bird.” Delta reported that on page 34694 of the Federal Register, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials commenting on its proposed scaup harvest strategy on June 18 made the following entry: “We note that no substantive criticisms suggesting that the proposed approach is not valid have been offered.” “Delta whole-heartedly disagrees with the Service’s comment that no substantive criticisms have been offered,” said Olson, adding that the Service has yet to sufficiently address the concerns and recommendations raised by Delta and other organizations. “We convened an expert scaup panel, some of the most highly respected biologists in waterfowl management, to evaluate the Service’s scaup harvest model, and its conclusions were both substantive and offered to the Service.” Delta scientists point out that spring breeding population of scaup (which includes both greater and lesser scaup) has declined since the early 1970s. Delta Senior Vice President John Devney said the population reached a record high of almost 8 million birds in 1972 and stood at roughly 7 million in 1984. In 2006, the scaup population reached an all-time low of 3.2 million birds. Last year, the population increased modest-

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ly to 3.4 million, but was still well below the long-term average. “Their numbers are still higher than many species we hunt, so there is some concern that down the line we’ll be seeing similar regulations for other species,” Devney said. “Our scientists believe hunting is most likely not a major influence on scaup numbers. Delta has a long history of conservative stances when it comes to waterfowl harvest, but there is no meaningful evidence harvest is what is causing scaup declines.”

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Diver hunting has sort of a become a lost art in Texas, and with open water species like scaup, redhead, and canvasback having low bag limits, it could disappear before the new generation of hunters gets to enjoy this unique facet of duck hunting. That would be a true shame, because as thrilling as calling in mallard or having teal locked up and ready to light, watching a big canvasback drake coming in for a crash landing in your spread is an experience all waterfowlers should have.

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How Much Fuel Are You Sucking Down? ILLING YOUR BOAT’S FUEL TANK? OUCH! That can cause physical pain and/or nausea these days. The cost of gasoline now represents a massive price increase in boating, and makes many anglers and hunters think twice before they open up the throttles and make epic cruises to farflung hotspots. But there is a way you can save fuel, and keep track of exactly how much you are burning at any given time. Bonus: If you do plan on making one of those long-distance voyages, prices be damned, this will also help you keep tabs on your range and when you may be pushing it too far. What you need to accomplish these things is a fuel flow meter.

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figure. This is an inexpensive, efficient design. Unfortunately, the paddlewheel has to be sized properly for flow; a tiny wheel would be good for low fuel flows like one GPH, for example, but that same wheel wouldn’t be able to turn fast enough to keep up with a 20 GPH flow—for that you need a larger paddlewheel. And on a boat, fuel flow ranges between idle and wide-open throttle can be a lot wider than this. The solution? Use a mid-sized paddlewheel. Unfortunately, such paddlewheels are notoriously unreliable at low flow rates. While they can handle both the lower and upper ranges, at low flow they may give erratic readings or none at all. Thus, a low-flow motor, like the 140 four-stroke, is the biggest challenge. Of course, no conversation about fuel flow could be complete without mentioning all-electronic fuel flow systems, like Mercury’s SmartCraft, E-Tec’s ICommand, and Caterpillar’s digital fuel flow. As you would expect from going digital, these fuel flow systems are dead-on accurate. Instead of using a paddlewheel to determine the flow rate, they use their computer to calculate how many times per second the injectors fire, what the air temperature and density is, the resulting fuel/air mix, and a zillion other variables to determine exactly how much fuel is passing through the power head. So long as the brain is in good shape, these systems are bound to be far more accurate than a paddlewheel can ever hope to be. But there is one huge drawback to digital: if your boat did not come with a power plant already wired for service, it cannot be retrofitted. So, for those of us looking to improve our boats, digital systems are essentially not an option.

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Back to the paddlewheels: before attaching any of the meters, I measured fuel flow with a graduated cylinder and a stopwatch, to establish a baseline. The cylinder, divided into tenths of a gallon, was mounted on a base with a valve that allowed me to pull fuel from the tanks until a specific RPM range was set, then flip a switch and pull fuel from the cylinder instead of the tank. I used the watch to record how long it took the motor to pull a tenth of a gallon from the cylinder, then did the simple math to get a GPH burn. At each RPM range, I repeated the process at least three times, then averaged the numbers together to be as accurate as possible. Here is the 140 hp outboard’s fuel burn, throughout the RPM range in increments of 500: RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

GPH 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.4 3.1 3.9 5.1 6.8 8.3 9.4 12.8

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manufactured by Yamaha and installed with the most popular large-horsepower outboards installed on modern boats today. (But, you can order the meter and parts from a Yamaha dealer, including a gauge for the dash, for a little over $500.) RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

GPH 0.0 0.0 0.7-1.4 1.8-2.4 3.4 3.9 5.6 6.7 8.6 9.0 12.9

The next contender was a Northstar 210 Fuel Computer, a unit that was previously marketed under the Navman banner. This is an inexpensive paddlewheel unit, which costs about $150 per meter. If you have Northstar electronics at your helm, you will not need a separate gauge but can simply interface the flow transducer with your display units. Northstar states up-front that this unit has a minimum accurate flow rate of 1.3 GPH, honesty that can be appreciated in today’s marketplace. Here are the numbers this unit gathered: RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

GPH 0.7-0.9 0.7-0.9 1.5-1.9 2.4-2.6 3.4 4.3 5.4 7.2 9.3 11.9 13.4

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GPH units, which cost a hair over $500. Their TwinScan units, which indicate separate fuel burn figures for port and starboard power plants plus speed, MPG, total burn, and other details, can cost as much as $550. FloScan is also the only company that offers custom-made systems for boats with even larger power plants and fuel burns. Here is what the FloScan told us: RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

FloScan 0.3-0.6 0.7-0.8 1.1-1.3 2.0 3.5 4.0 6.2 7.4 8.6 9.7 12.4

tems could help cut fuel bills, in the long run. Some other details about each of these systems can also be gleaned from years of experience testing hundreds of different boats. When it comes to the Yamaha, for starters, their paddlewheel transducers show very little variability between units. Over time their system has proven reliable and unreliable in the same ways from boat to boat, paddlewheel to paddlewheel, with very few systems acting differently than the one we tested. The FloScans also show similar performance to that of our test unit, from boat to boat and unit to unit, as long as they are properly mounted and calibrated. They do tend to be a bit more temperamental when it comes to sharp bends in the fuel line (which can create turbulence that throws the paddlewheel off pace,) but once dialed in, they generally provide accuracy to within two or three percent. The bottom line? If you are concerned with low-flow accuracy (fishermen who troll for extended periods of time would be a good example) then the FloScan looks like the winner. For cruisers who spend most of the day at high RPM, the Yamaha is a good bet, though it is also an expensive one. If expense is a concern, the Northstar is a winner. Its accuracy at both low and high flow volumes is pretty darn good, and it costs about half as much as the next least expensive option. Whichever of these units you may decide to go with, one thing is for sure: they’ll all save you fuel, in the long run— and that means less pain, every time you visit the pump.

E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com.

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Chunk It! HUNK IT!” WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT meant throwing something, but here, the term means attracting deep-water yellowfin tuna to the

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boat. The first step is cutting bonito or small blackfin tuna (preferably fresh) into chunks. Start by making cuts vertically to the bone, about 1 inch apart. On the illustration, notice the angle cuts in the forward section, again to the bone. This produces chunks that sink with a sort of swirling motion. The lengthwise cuts shown on the rear will give the traditional square or cube chunks. The next cut will be from the head to tail in a filleting motion. Carefully make this cut 1-inch below the skin to produce skinned cuts. Now, make another similar cut next to the backbone to get another batch of chunks without skin. Repeat the procedure on the other side of your chunk donor. All of these chunks work well. It is important to name a designated chunker so you don’t break the downcurrent chunk trail. Start by broadcasting a few handfuls, then throw in 6-8 chunks just as the previous batch disappears. A broken chunk trail might have tuna following it to the boat disperse when they come to a gap. They will still be looking for something to eat, but not behind your boat. Handing out a few chunks at a time is critical so you tease them but not overfeed them. Chunking must continue once tuna are seen or if hookups start, or the school might lose interest and go elsewhere. Hooked chunk baits can be fished free-lined or Carolina (fish finder) rigged with the weight needed as dictated by currents and the depth of tuna. Circle hooks are best for chunk baits, as in the illustration, which is shown with a 5/0

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to 7/0 Owner Ringed Super Mutu. Other effective hooks are Mustad 39960D in sizes 9/0 and 10/0, Eagle Claw L2004G 6/0 and 7/0, and Daiichi D94Z size 10/0. Aggressive hooksets will result in a ghost fish. In other words, it won’t be there because the bait and hook have been pulled out of your tuna’s mouth. If your chunk is drifted in the current, let the tuna run a few seconds, put the reel in gear, and the hook should be set as the line comes tight. If the reel is in gear at the take, point your rod tip at the line’s entry into the water, then raise your rod tip as the line comes tight for a proper hookset. Even at night, tuna might be leader-shy. Moonlight, lights on the boat, or oil platforms might make your leader visible to them from the light reflecting off the leader’s surface. Fluorocarbon leaders work, but at a price. A less expensive alternative is what I call “Poor Man’s Fluorocarbon.” It involves putting a crosshatch pattern onto a mono leader’s surface by using a Scotch-Brite pad. The crosshatch surface disturbance breaks up reflected light, making mono close to invisible in the water.

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Check this magazine’s website (www.fishgame.com/howto), go to Search (mid-page on the left), select “Fishing, Saltwater” from the drop-down list, and type in “Patrick Lemire” on the “Criteria “ line. Then click on the “Search” button. Scan down the list of articles until you find: “Poor Man’s Fluorocarbon & Camo Wire.” Either of these stealth leaders is especially effective in bright sunlight near the surface, where your leader has the highest probability of being seen. It is sufficient to say that yellowfin tuna 70 pounds or greater require the use of stand-up gear like 5-1/2-foot tuna sticks, two-speed 50 wides loaded with 100- to 300-pound Spectra, rod belt, and harness. Oh, and don’t forget to bring something to kill the pain because you are going to need it after the smoke clears. Tuna are tough customers, so get out there this winter, “chunk it,” and find out for yourself.

E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com. ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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Spooning OUR LOCAL BASS LAKE JUST GOT VERY quiet. The rest of the state, including myself (don’t get me wrong, I like to fish, but November is deer season), just collectively settled into their ladder stands, box blinds, and climbing stands to chase bucks for a few weeks. If you do not deer hunt, this is a great time to take advantage of the clear water to catch a few bass. Those few hearty anglers who are braving the cold out on the lake are generally fishing deep water; well the smart ones are anyway. Most are fishing soft plastics on a Carolina, Texas, or drop-shot rig trying to coax cold-water bass into biting. This is a good plan. In fact, it is probably the smartest way to fish in winter. However, we often forget that it is not the only way and there are other rigs that can catch these cold-water fish. More commonly associated with striped or white bass, spoons are an ideal way to fish for suspended bass in deep water during the winter but they are typically overlooked due to their simplicity. However, their simplicity might be their most endearing trait. A spoon is just a hunk of metal and a hook. Some have feather teasers, wild paint schemes, or life-like graphics but when you get down to it, it is just a hunk of metal with a hook. When you drop it in the water though, it turns into a dead fluttering shad that any self-respecting bass would eat in a second. Rigging up a jigging spoon can be as simple as tying the line directly to the spoon and dropping it overboard but it you take the time to make a couple of adjustments you’ll get more action out of the spoon and less line twist. Both of which equate to more

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bites and fewer lost fish. Today, most spoons come with a split ring to tie your line to, however, if you happen to own some that don’t then the first thing you need to do is add split rings. It might be fine to tie the line directly to the spoon, but I do not like running my monofilament though a stamped hole in a piece of sheet metal. The hard edges can potentially cut through the line so why take that chance. On your main line, add a barrel swivel, using whatever knot you prefer. To the other side of the barrel swivel, add a short leader, again using whatever knot you prefer. Length of the leader is not vitally important since you will be fishing this vertically rather than casting. The point behind the swivel and leader is to eliminate line twist that can occur as the spoon falls. It also allows the spoon to fall and rotate freely without any restrictions. When tying the leader to the spoon use a loop knot for maximum action.

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If you do not know how to tie a loop knot then tie what you can and the split ring will still allow the spoon to move freely. Jigging a spoon is not overly complicated either. Let the spoon over the side of the boat, free spooling line until it hits the bottom. Reel up any slack line then with the rod tip about a foot off the water lift it a few feet then let it back down to the original position. The key to working a spoon is to try to keep contact with it without restricting its movement. Think of it as keeping a semi-slack line. It can be tricky to master. Vary your jigging by trying sharp snaps of the wrist to make the spoon jump off the bottom, or just slowly lifting the rod tip. Let the fish tell you which they prefer. Hooking a bass on a spoon is not difficult, detecting a bite can be. If you lift the rod tip and it feels like the spoon is being pulled through pudding, set the hook because a lethargic bass has the bait in its mouth. Even if it does not, it never hurts to set the hook. When in doubt, yank!

E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

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Beyond the Breakers HE SHALLOW GULF IS ALIVE WITH ACTIVITY during late autumn. All manner of baitfishes migrate through coastal passes into the Gulf to overwinter and spawn. Once clear of the jetties, the baitfishes find themselves naked in the clear Gulf water, quickly forming tight schools to minimize the chance of being attacked. Tarpon, jackfish, sharks, and bull reds congregate to dine on the smorgasbord. On most weekends, a growing number of kayak fishermen are right in the middle of things, tangling with apex predators. If you want to have your string stretched, check out the action beyond the breakers. The shallow Gulf has largely been ignored by fishermen. Wading the suds for trout and reds is popular, while the mosquito fleet races off to distant oil platforms or secret bottom formations. Surf-fishermen probe the surf zone with stout, long rods, but the strip of water immediately beyond the breakers is rarely explored or exploited. Kayak fishermen have discovered this treasure chest and coined the acronym BTB (beyond the breakers) for it. T. J. Pilgrim of Hamshire, Texas, can be found paddling beyond the breakers on most weekends. Pilgrim, who goes by the name Jolly Roger on a popular kayak fishing internet message board, is a mentor to many. “The great thing about kayak fishing offshore is that it is very social, much like dove hunting,” Pilgrim explained. “We fish in large groups, not only for safety, but for fun. If someone looses a big fish, they get an earful from their friends. Plus, if you loose something, or break a paddle, a friend is close by to lend a hand.” Pilgrim and friends have developed tackle

The strip of surf immediately beyond the breakers is rarely explored or exploited.

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and techniques for catching the big fish that roam the shallow Gulf. Although they fish the entire Texas coast, they spend more time off the beach near High Island. Bull reds and sharks are available just about year-round. Black drum action is hot in March and April, with kingfish, Spanish mackerel, jacks, and tarpon showing up during warmer months. Speckled trout can be found roaming the shallow Gulf as well. The shallow Gulf will hit its zenith this month as apex predators detonate on migrating schools of baitfishes. Fishing beyond the breakers is not for neophytes. Don’t try it without getting some guidance. The best way to get started is to make friends with other kayak fishermen who fish in the Gulf. They can help jump-start your knowledge, and help you with proper technique. The buddy system is always prudent when tangling with big fish in a hostile environment. In the fall, productive areas are just hundreds of yards off the beach and hulls in the 12- to 16-foot range are ideal to reach this water. Since the trip is measured in yards and not miles, I prefer a little wider hull for added stability at the sacrifice of hull efficiency. Big fish require bigger tackle. Wide frame reels capable of spooling several hundred yards of 20- to 40-pound line are the

It takes tough tackle to handle what lurks beyond the breakers.

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norm. Pilgrim prefers 7-foot rods that can take some abuse. “Big fish will abuse your tackle,” he explained. “Buy moderately priced rods, so when they break—and they will—you won’t loose too much money.” Trout tackle can be pressed into service, but it will be humbled quickly by a stud jackfish or other bad actor. It is hard to catch anything if all of your line is connected to a large fish heading to Cuba. Depending on the species you are after, leaders vary accordingly. Most shark aficionados choose 200-pound mono for leaders, while others go lighter, opting for 40- to 60pound fluorocarbon. You might be thinking: Why not use a steel leader? Some kayak fishermen do. While steel leaders certainly combat cut-offs, they require you to get up close and personal to unhook your catch. Fluorocarbon leader can be cut easily with pliers to release your catch from a safe distance. In the hook department, 12/0-16/0 circle hooks are popular, as they generally snag the corner if the shark’s mouth, which minimizes contact with teeth. Most BTB fishermen prefer fishing bait, drifting it under a balloon or pinning it to the bottom with a large weight. Popular baits include whole or chunks of mullet, and pieces of jackfish, stingray, or hardhead. Lure fisher-

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Even a moderately-sized shark beyond the breakers can give a kayaker a “Nantucket sleigh ride.”

men cast large soft plastics and topwaters. Trolling large swimbaits and billed topwaters is great for prospecting large areas of water. Every fisherman going beyond the breakers should be outfitted with the right type of gear. A good personal flotation device (PFD) is mandatory when fishing in water over your head. Next, you need a knife for rigging and bait preparation, plus a pair of pliers to crimp sleeves on heavy leaders and release fish. Don’t forget to add a string tether to your hand tools; leash them or loose them. Although kayak fishermen have to paddle to the area they will fish, they have the ability to drive up and down the beach looking for good water. Beach conditions are important if you intend to prospect from your truck. Try to drive on the hard packed sand and watch out for boards, as they hide sand; driving over a board can puncture more than one tire, leaving you stranded. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) Always be aware of the tide and park your vehicle far enough from the surf that it won’t be submerged when the tide rolls in. While driving down the beach, look for schools of fish attacking bait on the surface. Crashing gulls and pelicans are the best signs a fisherman can find. “Diving pelicans are more important than gulls,” Pilgrim said. “Gulls will dive around anything, but pelicans typically lead us to bigger fish, such as tarpon and sharks.” Streaks of mud in clear water are great places for baitfishes to hide. Predators will be nearby. “In November, you will find shrimp boats working just off the beach,” said Pilgrim. “The shrimpers are working a particular depth because there is bait and shrimp holding there. Note the distance off the beach the shrimpers are working, as that is where the fish will be.” It is good practice to put your reel in freespool with the clicker on once you set out your bait. A jolting strike could jerk the rod from your hands, or worse, capsize your kayak. PHOTOS BY TJ PILGRIM

Once the fish is on, throw the reel into drive and crank quickly. Remember, don’t jerk a circle hook; instead, reel in the slack line quickly to make a solid hookup. It is common for a big fish to take a paddler on a “Nantucket sleigh ride.” Center console owners rarely get to experience the rush that comes from being towed by a fish nearly as long as your hull. The loose drag

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and the added friction of the hull will eventually wear down a big fish. Deploying a drift anchor creates added resistance, but the dangling anchor can get tangled in the line when the fish is whipped. Avoid bringing the fish alongside your hull if it is still green, as you might end up with a lap full of angry, thrashing fish. See you beyond the breakers. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com.

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The department listened to both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference.

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we have come a long way from the first spring season in 1969 that allowed hunting in a single county, Kerr. TPWD has a difficult task of attempting to satisfy most hunters with season dates and other regulations. It is not likely to ever satisfy 100 percent of us, but the 2009 spring turkey dates show they still are trying.

E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

PHOTO BY GARY L. MCNUTT

both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference. They have set the 2009 South Zone season dates for March 21May 3, which means it will open one week later than it did in 2008 and close one week earlier. The North Zone will have an April 4-May 17 season. With all due respect, it should be remembered that TPWD added two weeks to the spring turkey season statewide in 2007. That gave us 44 days enjoying the pursuit of a beautiful and challenging quarry. Indeed,

two weeks at the end of the season and moved it to March in 2008, it didn’t make sense to him. Nor did it to many other hunters. The change to an earlier season almost assures that the gobblers are still with hens and therefore less receptive to calls. “I saw lots of gobblers during the two weeks in March [2008], but they were all with hens and not interested in coming to a call,” Smith wrote. “So, even though we had more time in the field, it was not a good time to be calling.” Smith also argued a third point: “One of the magical things about spring turkey hunting is enjoying the great Texas outdoors coming alive with all the new greenery, wildflowers, etc. There was not a green leaf or a wildflower to be found on March 15, 2008, when the season opened. Not only did this distract from the enjoyment of hunting, it also made it hard for those of us who like to use the natural brush as a blind to find any cover in which to hunt.” Smith wrote that he voiced his complaints to TPWD and asked it to return the extra two weeks to the end of the season. Some hunters I have spoken with who said they liked the earlier opening argued that once the major breeding activity was over, they had little luck in calling in toms that had become more wary to the presence of hunters. Also, they said hens and gobblers split from their respective flocks earlier in portions of South Texas than they do in the North Zone. Apparently, the department listened to A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Reloading the .30-06 LOVE THE .30-06. WHICH IS STRANGE, BECAUSE I have actually shot very little game with it over the last 30 years. My entire take of game with a .30-06 is about a halfdozen deer and a couple of dozen coyotes, bobcats, and foxes. Why? I don’t really know. It just seemed that I always had something else I preferred. It had nothing to do with the abilities of the .30-06, it just happened that way. I did, however, shoot the biggest deer I have ever taken, up to now, with a .30-06, and one of the longest shots I ever made on a deer was with a .30-06. The truth is that the .30-06 is quite possibly the most useful cartridge made for hunting all North American game. It will very handily take 150-pound white-tailed deer or 1500-pound Alaska moose. It shoots flat with bullets of 150 to 165 grains, and hits hard and penetrates very well with bullets of 180 to 220 grains. It has been used all over the world, on all game, including elephants, and is still one of the most popular light rifles for the African safari. It will even work for giant brown bears in a pinch, though there are certainly better choices for those dangerous bruins. Whenever a discussion arises about the best allaround caliber, the .30-06 is always at the top of the pile. And, if the truth were known, most of the hunters out there who shoot .300 magnums would be better off with a .30-06. Reloading the .30-06 takes no special tricks or gimmicks. It is a very easy cartridge to load for. The three most popular bullet weights in the .30-06 are 150-, 165-, and 180-grain, and a hunter could get by very well with only the 150- and 180-grain.

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There is very little need for any other weights. I guess if a hunter was going after the biggest brown bear or the heaviest Alaskan moose, a 220-grain slug might be better, but a large number of both those animals have been killed very dead with a 180grain bullet. Neither is anything lighter than the 150-grain bullet necessary. I have known people who hunted deer with 125grain bullets, but the 150-grain is much superior to the lighter bullets for that duty. For varmints, if I was for some reason forced to use an “aught-six” for varmints, as I was as a teenager, I would still prefer the 150grain bullet because it is much superior ballistically to the lighter weight .30-caliber bullets. For deer, my first choice is a good 150grain bullet, but the 165 works equally well. I generally use a standard soft point such as made by Speer, Hornady, and Sierra, depending on which one my rifle shoots best, but I also love the Nosler AccuBond and Hornady InterBond bullets. For an all-around bullet, it is hard to beat the 165-grain. The 165-grain bullet in something like a Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw is a good choice for just about anything. It shoots flat, hits hard, and penetrates well. For bigger animals, such as elk and moose, however, the 180-grain bullet might be a better choice. For loading the various 150-grain bullets, I have found that relatively fast-burning powders generally give better performance. I like IMR 4320, IMR 4064, and IMR 4895. I understand that 4895 was originally manufactured for use in the .30-06 with 150-grain bullets, and it still works very well. Jack O’Connor, in his classic book The Hunting Rifle, said that he had settled on a load of 55 grains of 4320 with a 150-grain soft point as the best for his deer hunting use. I have used this load and find it just as good as Jack said. In my gun, that load chronographs about 2970 fps. I suppose that would be my favorite load, but I also

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like IMR 4064. A charge of 53 grains of IMR 4064 with a 150-grain Hornady InterBond produces the same velocity as 55 grains of IMR 4320. Accuracy with both loads in my current .30-06 is very good. If you prefer the slower burning powders, IMR 4350, Reloader 19, and IMR 4831 are all good. However, in some guns, with 150-grain bullets you might run out of powder space before you reach your desired velocity. This is especially true in rifles with shorter barrels. I usually reserve the slower burning powders for bullets weighing 165 grains or more. With all the powders I use in the .30-06, I prefer standard large rifle primers, usually CCI 200 or Federal GM 210 Match. I have found no need for magnum primers with any load I have tried. The .30-06 has a very long neck. This allows the reloader to seat the bullet out a long way in the case and take advantage of all the powder capacity available. Best accuracy is usually attained with the bullet seated a few thousandths of an inch short of contact with the lands. If you don’t have a gadget to tell you all this, just tinker with seating depth, using dummy rounds, until the bullet just contacts the lands, then screw in the seating screw one full turn. That should be about 1/14 of an inch, and is pretty close to perfect. The .30-06 is a classic cartridge. Even though it is now beyond 100 years old, it is still one of the best choices out there for the deer hunter, and will serve for just about anything. It is accurate, easy to load for, there are a ton of good factory loads for it, it doesn’t kick like a mule, and it has the confident character of an old campaigner that has been there and seen it all. Yes sir, I like the “aught-six,” and so do a whole bunch of other gun nuts.

E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com.

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chuckled. “Bob Sealy [the tournament director] told me he was going make me take him for a ride in it next year.”

Harrison’s mode of transportation was unconventional for a tournament.

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Fishing Tips LOATING WORMS AND MINNOW SHAPED baits such as the Zoom fluke are real popular lures that you can do a lot with. The glue or toothpick trick will help to keep these lures on your hook also. A lot of times I will dye the head of these lures either red or chartreuse with Spike-it dye. I feel it gives the fish a target. You can use weights inserted in the body to give the lure a faster fall. Different size Bass Pro Shops’ Excel line can also make a difference in the action of these type lures. Don’t be afraid to experiment. One recommendation is to always use a wide gap Mustad Ultra Point hook on these plastic lures. One of the biggest problems I see fisherman make when fishing these types of lures is using only one size hook all the time. Mustad makes a light wire hook and a heavy flipping hook. If I am fishing a soft jerkbait

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slowly, I will use a light wire hook. If I am fishing it fast, I will use the heavier hook. Just changing hooks can alter the way you work the lure. Always use a J-style hook when fishing these type lures. Some fisherman even wrap lead wire around the hooks to change the fall speed or to work the bait faster. One thing you need to learn when fishing your Extreme spinning reels is to always flip your bail manually. Never put your reel in gear by turning the handle, as you are constantly winding loops on your reel and it won’t be long before you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble. The second thing to remember is to raise your rod tip slightly before reeling in your bait, so that you create a little tension on your line. I will stick my index finger straight down so the line hits it, creating a little more tension. Practice flipping the bail manually and raising your rod tip slightly before winding. Drop-shotting is a unique technique that is developed to keep the lure in the strike zone a lot longer. Unlike Carolina rigging

and Texas rigging, where you are pulling the lure away from the bass, drop-shotting keeps the lure right in front of the bass and just dares him to bite it. This is really a great technique on finicky bass and on bluebird days. The secret to drop-shotting is to cast the rig out and, once it reaches bottom, tighten up until you feel the weight. Now just let the lure free fall back on a slack line until you feel it has hit the bottom. Then jig it back up until you feel the weight, repeating this three to four times. Remember, do not move the weight until you have given the bass ample time to see the lure. Next, move the weight 2-3 feet and repeat the process. As you can see, you are keeping the bait in the strike zone a lot longer and this is what you want with finicky bass. Rigging is very important and I have found the best rod to use is a 6-foot medium action Woo Daves’ Extreme Model spinning rod, Extreme reel, and 8- to 10-pound Bass Pro Shops Excel line. To rig, use a No. 1 Mustad Demon circle hook. This is a light wire hook and it is very important to use a small light wire hook for action. Take about 30 inches of line and tie on with a Palomar hook, then take the tag end and run back through the top eye of the hook. This will make the hook stand upright. On the end of the tag about 26 inches below the hook, attach an XPS drop-shot weight. Use a 1/2-ounce XPS drop-shot weight, as it will hold the bottom the best. Now visualize that you have a weight on the bottom and the hook is 26 to 28 inches above. To this you can attach any Zoom bait of your choice from a finesse, tube, lizard, or fluke to a 10-inch worm. I like the finesse and centipede. Hook whatever lure you choose right through the nose with an open hook. Spray with Jack’s Juice and you are ready to fish. When you get a strike, the exposed Mustad Ultra point hook will catch the fish when you start reeling him in. Remember, you are

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Flashlights are the light sabers of the Baby Boomer generation.

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accurately draw a full-length cross-section of a flashlight. This was to be completed in class without bringing in any printed reference material or having a sawed-in-two flashlight to use as an example. By the time I finally got it right, I decided I hated flashlights. It was a good many years after that experience before I could look upon one without shuddering at the memory. Reading in bed at night is a pleasure I still enjoy, and I can thank the flashlights of my youth for contributing to the habit. When I was a kid, reading was a passion, a way of escaping the bonds of ordinary life. I would consume sporting magazines and get lost in stories of chasing lions and elephants in Africa while safely in my bed with the covers over my head, inside the little world it created when lit by a flashlight. I am not sure if mom knew about my nocturnal adventures or just tolerated them. She must have known, because I would wake up the next morning and the flashlight switch would be turned off and I could not remember doing it. I am still more or less a flashlight junkie. I give them as presents to my wife, kids, and friends, and have at least a half-dozen tucked away in my car, boat, bedside dresser, and various tackle boxes. It can become a A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Louisiana Wetlands Disappearing OUISIANA’S WETLANDS ARE BEING LOST AT the rate of approximately one football field every 38 minutes. To fight against this rapid destruction, Louisiana State University (LSU) and Ohio State University (OSU) joined forces in 2003, forming an ongoing research partnership with the goal of rebuilding the vanishing coastal wet100 Yards = land ecosystem that makes up 30 percent 50 Yards = of the nation’s total = coastal marsh. Researchers also = aim to reduce the Every flow of nitrogen and other chemicals that = pour into the MissisEvery sippi River each = spring from America’s heartland. This Every causes an overabun= dance of nutrients that rob the water of Every oxygen, creating the = dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico— Every more than 975 = square miles of lowEvery oxygen water that limits the sustainable fisheries of the region. “This is a multi-billion-dollar problem that affects our entire nation,” said LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. Louisiana’s wetlands help make the state one of the nation’s leader in crude oil production and second in natural gas production, according to America’s Wetland Foun-

dation. These fragile ecosystems also support 25 percent of the nation’s total commercial fishing haul and provide storm protection to five of the country’s largest ports. Wetlands are essential because of their ability to filter the nutrients that contribute to the dead zone before they get carried into the Gulf. Wetlands are also vital for hurricane protection in 300 Feet Long storm-sensitive areas like New Orleans. 150 Feet Wide “Louisiana has both 45,000 Square Ft the largest amount of wetland loss and the 1.03 Acres largest dead zone in 38 Minutes the country,” said Robert Twilley, asso1.63 Acres ciate vice chancellor 1 Hour of research and eco39.15 Acres nomic development at LSU, director of 24 Hours the Coastal Systems 1,174 Acres and Society Agenda, professor of 30 Days coastal sciences and 14,289 Acres leader of the Shell Coastal Environ365 Days mental Modeling 21.65 SQ Miles Laboratory, or CEML. “We’re Year working hard to rebuild our wetlands and reduce nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico, but we can’t do it alone.” That’s where OSU comes in. While LSU scientists focus on Louisiana, addressing the issues of dramatic wetland loss and the continuously growing dead zone, OSU researchers are developing

ONE FOOTBALL FIELD...

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wetlands upstream so that nutrient loads in the Mississippi that would increase the size of the dead zone will be dramatically reduced by the time they reach the delta region. —Staff Report

Red Tide Toxins Damage DNA T HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE TEXAS EXPERIENCED a significant outbreak of red tide, but the next time it does, don’t breathe the air. NOAA scientists recently reported in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives that the algal toxin, commonly inhaled in sea spray, attacks and damages DNA in the lungs of laboratory rats. The findings document how the body’s way of disposing the toxin inadvertently converts it to a molecule that damages DNA. Human inhalation of brevetoxins produced by the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, is an increasing public health concern. The scientists, led by John Ramsdell of NOAA’s Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, South Carolina, determined that brevetoxins react with DNA of lung tissue and attach to the DNA bases that code genetic information. The linkage of chemicals in the environment to DNA is a first step for many cancer-causing agents and can lead to mutations in genes that normally prevent the formation of cancers. The red tide toxin, brevetoxin, has long

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NOAA

Texas has not experienced a significant red tide bloom for some time, but when another one does occur, avoid exposure to the dangerous alga.

been recognized as a cause of both neurotoxic poisoning after both consumption of toxic shellfish as well as a respiratory irritation after inhalation of toxic sea spray. Groundbreaking research, leading to this third potential form of poisoning, identified that metabolism produces chemically reactive forms of the toxin. Recognizing the potential of these metabolites to attack DNA, NOAA scientists analyzed the DNA after the toxin was metabolized in the lung. Scientists have not yet determined if brevetoxin-damaged DNA accurately repairs itself or if gene mutations result. Brevetoxin has been measured in air during red tide events and human exposure levels have been reported. However, the long-term

health risk associated with inhalation of brevetoxins remains to be defined. Individuals are continually exposed to environmental chemicals capable of damaging DNA, such as carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, and air pollution. It is possible that exposure to brevetoxins can add to the cumulative amount of chemically altered DNA in the lungs—an indicator of cancer risk. “This represents a significant breakthrough in defining the metabolic transformation of brevetoxins and the potential longterm health effects of red tides. It should change perceptions of risk and management of inhalation exposure to harmful algal blooms,” said Ramsdell. Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico are common—and often persistent—naturally

occurring events that release toxins into sea spray aerosols. These aerosols are a particular problem at beaches, as they can cause respiratory distress to lifeguards and beachgoers. Although these shorter-term effects of the airborne toxin are well characterized, potential longer-term effects remain a concern to health officials and coastal communities. Scientists, in NOAA’s Oceans and Human Health Initiative, are studying long term health consequences of harmful algal blooms, to predict how the condition of the coastal waters affect human health and how to reduce or eliminate health risks. —Staff Report

WOO’S CORNER Continued from Page I-52 using light line, so be sure to set your drag properly to play the fish. This rig can be used on drop-offs, points, bridge pilings,

and roadbeds. One other neat way to use this rig is around and especially under boat docks. Now you can pitch it under a dock and keep your lure under there as long as A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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stretched out her arms and learned to balance on new legs. Grandma stepped through the screen door wiping her hands and shuffled to a seat beside her brother. The wooden farmhouse whispered memories creaking and groaning at our movements as if carrying on its own conversation. In the hall were 25 mounted deer heads belonging to a grandfather that I never knew. They murmured stories, to a young boy’s imagining ears, about adventures afield and what a Winchester can accomplish in the hands of an expert. Painted covers hid the holes in the ceiling where once wooden heaters had smoked through the stovepipes while keeping the family warm. The dark blue floral carpeting, in the living room, dining room, and guest room, spoke of ladies in long dresses and the ensuing domino and rook parties. The kitchen smelled like fresh baked cookies and the bedrooms yawned their duties of providing silent solitude after a hard day of following mules in the cotton and cornfields. The television in Grandma’s bedroom hid like a

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plastic alien and it was easier to visualize the long gone vintage WWII radio scratching its message into a still night’s air. On the high walls were ancient oval black and white photo portraits of the old people. There were mothers and fathers, and a brother that had not returned from The Great War. The spring sun invigorated us despite the full-bellied laziness induced by Grandma’s meal with fresh green beans, potatoes, and grass-fed beef. Daddy still held a glass of tea complete with mint leaves from the garden. A cool breeze kept our shirtsleeves rolled down. Around the perimeter of the yard fence flowerbeds burst bright colorful bulbs and blossoms displaying the woman’s tireless efforts. Across the lawn, the smokehouse squatted and a short loop of chain hung from a nearby oak limb giving testaments to the days of butchering hogs and sharing meat with neighbors via the beef club. My job was to be seen and not heard, and most of the time, that suited me fine. There were no other boys to play with. I

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stood transfixed with my glasses pushed tight on my nose, sucking wind past crooked teeth, squirming and waiting for the next words of wisdom. The scene became a part of my being. The utterances molded my lifelong thinking. The words would never leave me.

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The scene became a part of my being. The utterances molded my life-long thinking. The words would never leave me.

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me to decipher the dilemma. Uncle Munroe’s words burned into my formulating opinions. But the places and times that Uncle Munroe cherished had slipped away. His memories were from the same era as prohibition. Grandpa was gone and all the brothers were gone. Daddy did the right thing. Daddy provided the same outdoor opportunities to the following generations of relatives and friends that Uncle Munroe once enjoyed. However, the tobacco-chewing old timer couldn’t realize this concept— and unfortunately, it took years for me to understand. Now, in an ever-urbanizing world there are new words buzzing against and chilling the walls of social judgments. Words such as “green,” “environmentalist,” “global warming,” “organic,” and “politically correct” put the old school country boys on the defensive. Likewise, some of the left-leaning crowd don’t comprehend that the hunting heritage is the main contributor to wildlife conservation. And, a lot of folks have their own list of words that makes them see red. On another note, after trailing guests from

all over the U.S. through much of the wild country in Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and Mexico, it’s apparent to the common guide that not everyone was inoculated with equal doses of compassion, and that’s true no matter what side of an issue you stand. Not everyone was fortunate enough to hear the lessons that Grandma’s house whispered. Not everyone was fortunate enough to listen to the elders reminisce about childhoods before horses and buggies became obsolete. Not everyone grew up cloaked in down home conservatism, and with that said, not everyone would understand why Old Lady Roosevelt aggravated Grandma. But maybe, someday, the old ways and values will be recognized and folks will realize that policies, ideas, and words must be tempered. However, if nobody listens, words just flit away on the wind.

E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

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Grandma had no use for Old Lady Roosevelt, and with precise recollections, she discussed a downward spiral of national, state, and local policies. Daddy pointed out the discrepancies in modern economic ideas, and touted the conservative viewpoints that the more the world changes the more personal values needed to remain the same. Then Uncle Munroe muttered several phrases that ingrained themselves in my psyche. “I’m against leasing land for hunting.” His eyes fluttered and he spit a stream of tobacco. Then he went to someplace that I’ve sought to find ever since. “Me, your Grandpa, and our brothers used to go pitch a tent at Kesler’s Lake. We hunted ducks, we hunted deer, and we never had to pay nobody. We shared everything we killed and we took almost anybody along that wanted to go. It didn’t have anything to do with money. The whole experience was about the hunt and about being with each other.” Daddy looked down and fingered his shirt. He was no hunter, and since Grandpa’s death, he had leased some of the pastures to relatives and men from town. It was apparent that he was uncomfortable and Uncle Munroe was voicing his core belief. The problem arising was that it was up to A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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S P O N S O R E D BY:

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Backstrap Wraparounds

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of bacon around the wrap from one end, stretching the bacon as you wrap. Carefully fold in and seal the ends with a toothpick. Grill over mesquite charcoal or gas fire set to medium high heat. Place the wraps indirectly over the heat. Baste liberally, cook covered for 3-5 minutes per side. Baste when turning. When bacon is done, place wraps on plate and remove the toothpicks. Rest wrap-

arounds before serving. Serve with Texas Gourmet Quick Dirty Rice and Black Bean Pico de Gallo. Bon appetite!

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

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TEXAS SALTWATER

CORPUS CHRISTI

GALVESTON

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY! Stanton Fallow De e Hunting a r nd Anglin g Quality R eview

ROCKPORT

LOWER LAGUNA MADRE

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4678, ext. 5579. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 2. Publication number: 7577-70. 3. Filing Date: 10/01/08. 4. Issue freq: Monthly. 5. No. Issues Annually: 12. 6. Annual subscr. price: $19.00. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Contact Person, Duane Hruzek; Tel, 281-227-3001. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): Same. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher, Roy Neves, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; editor: Don Zaidle, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. managing editor: n/a; 10. Owner: Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co. LLC; Ron & Stephanie Ward; Roy and Ardia Neves. All addresses same as publisher. 11. Known bondholders, Mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages of other securities: none. 12. Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Oct. ‘08. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a. Total number of copies (net press run): Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 97,675; No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 81,556. b. Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions stated on form 3541: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 85,800; single issue nearest filing, 69,281. Paid in-county, 0. Sales through dealers, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,830; single issue nearest filing, 5,793; Other classes mailed, 14. c. Total paid/requested circulation: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 91,630; single issue nearest filing, 75,074. d. Free distribution outside-county, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 382; single issue nearest filing, 348; In-county, 0; Other classes, 0. e. Total free dist, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 395; single issue nearest filing, 415. f. Total dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 92,407; single issue nearest filing, 75,837. g. Copies not dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,268; single issue nearest filing, 5,719. h. Total (sum 15f and g): Avg. preceding 12 mo., 97,675; single issue nearest filing, 81,556. Percent paid: Avg. preceding 12 mo. 99.16%; single issue nearest filing, 92.06% 16. Publication of statement of ownership required. Will be printed in November 2008 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: Roy Neves, publisher, Date 10/01/08

n Jim Brow ckled Trout Spe 6-pound ice uide Serv G n a lm Hil

Newton H ighto Tagged R wer e Redfish C dfish harters

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Marcus Schnur 32-inch Redfish Hillman Guide Servi ce

Jacob Wafer Phyllis Adams and Limit of Reds Redfish Charters

TEXAS FRESHWATER

odward Hugo and Trish Wo 52-inch Black Drum rvice Hugo Ford Guide Se

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

LAKE TEXOMA

LAKE AMISTAD

BAFFIN BAY

TEXAS HUNTING

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

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REDFISH—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

SAILFISH—OFFSHORE, TEXAS

David and Daniel Dorris caught these two 40-inch redfish at night under green lights in Port O’Connor, Texas.

After a 55-minute fight, angler Maynard Buckholt caught and released this 102-inch sailfish about 5 miles offshore, using ribbonfish for bait. The captain was Richard Milles.

CATFISH—LAKE LBJ, TEXAS

WHITE BASS—LAKE CONROE, TEXAS

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO: I62

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TF&G PHOTO ALBUM 1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com

PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

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

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TROUT—UPPER LAGUNA MADRE, TEXAS

REDFISH—LAKE FAIRFIELD, TEXAS

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PHOTO BY DON ZAIDLE

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In This Issue GEARING UP SECTION

N12 N14 N16

TEXAS TESTED • Temple Fork Outfitters; RejeX; and more | BY TF&G STAFF INDUSTRY INSIDER • Ardent Sponsors Army Bass Anglers | BY TF&G STAFF

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

N17 N21

TROPHY FEVER • Special Hunting Section | BY TF&G STAFF

N24 N35 N36 N39 N42 N44 N46

SPORTING TALES • The Art of Diver Hunting | BY CHESTER MOORE

HURRICANE COVERAGE • From Rampage to Recovery: Post-Ike Economic Boom Expected | BY CHESTER MOORE & DON ZAIDLE

SHOOT THIS • Mossberg Model 464 Lever Action .30-30 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOW-TO SECTION

COVER STORY • The Cross & the Bolt | BY GREG BERLOCHER

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

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

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

• N O V E M B E R

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T E X A S

N26 N28 N30 N31 N32 N34 N38 N40

TEXAS BOATING • How Much Fuel Are You Sucking Down? | BY LENNY RUDOW TEXAS KAYAKING • Beyond the Breakers | BY GREG BERLOCHER SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Chunk It! | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Spooning | BY PAUL BRADSHAW HUNT TEXAS • Turkey Season Roulette | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Reloading the .30-06 | BY STEVE LAMASCUS AFIELD WITH BARRY • Let There Be Light | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR WILDERNESS TRAILS • Words in the Wind | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

nequin featured a round gear rotated by a handle on top. The gear meshed with a toothed rod, and the end of the rod had two fingers that pulled on the string. After every shot, the bowman would attach the crannequin to the stock, hook the sting with the rod, and then turn the handle until the string was pulled back behind the nut. Once the bow had been spanned, the crannequin was removed. (This very labor intensive and time consuming process was why a skilled longbowman could get more arrows in flight than a crossbowman over the course of one minute by almost 10 to 1.) While the crossbow was being spanned, the bowman was vulnerable to enemy arrows. Shields were developed that bowmen would wear on their backs, providing a modicum of protection while they were spanning their bows. To increase the number of shots a bowman could loose, several serfs were assigned to each crossbow. Each serf was responsible for spanning bows while the bowman concentrated on firing.

Projectiles Medieval crossbows hurled large projectiles called “bolts.” They were short, heavy, F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Catfish Tourney Makes Big Splash | BY MATT WILLIAMS NORTH TEXAS NEWS • Threatened Freshwater Fishes | BY TF&G STAFF NEWS FROM THE COAST • Louisiana Wetlands Disappearing | BY TF&G STAFF TEXAS TASTED • After the Hunt | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

and often tipped with iron. Due to their large mass, bolts could travel more than 400 yards and still maintain deadly force. Shots of this length were highly inaccurate, but if enough crossbows were massed together and all loosed at the same time, it would rain down a torrent of bolts on the enemy, thereby effectively thinning their ranks before a battle. Further, a single bolt similarly fired from great distance could strike down some random enemy soldier unexpectedly, giving rise to the phrase, “a bolt from the blue.” Modern crossbows fire both arrows and bolts. Bolts feature a weight-forward section and lack fletching or stabilizing fins. They are used for indoor target shooting. Arrows fired in modern crossbows are equipped with broadheads and tip the scales around 400 grains. Many people, including Don Zaidle, editor-in-chief of Texas Fish & Game (read “Lord”) believe that “bolt” is the proper term for any projectile hurled from a crossbow, while your author (read “serf ”) is fine with the term arrow. While we might disagree on projectile nomenclature, we agree that arrows for vertical bows and ones for crossbows are entirely different animals.

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Modern Crossbows Bernard Horton is regarded as the father of the modern crossbow. As a boy, Horton loved hunting small game in his native Scotland, especially rabbits, but found stalking very difficult with a vertical bow. The local terrain forced Horton to belly-crawl to get within shooting range, and more times than not, the stalked rabbit would flee when he rose to his knees to draw his bow. During the early 1960s, Horton realized that a horizontal bow was the answer to his stalking problems, but existing crossbow designs were bulky and not suited for serious hunting. Horton was already an accomplished gun builder, so he possessed many of the requisite skills to improve the crossbow’s design. His bows worked well and friends began requesting bows of their own. It wasn’t long before Horton was selling all the crossbows he could make, utilizing imported components from the United States. Demand quickly exceeded supply and Horton moved his company, Horton Manufacturing, to Akron, Ohio, to be closer to his key suppliers.

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Horton’s improved designs and commercial success spawned a number of competitors. Although he didn’t develop every feature utilized in modern crossbows, Horton was a visionary and paved the way for the rest of the modern crossbow industry. Modern crossbows feature synthetic stocks, making them significantly lighter. Skelton stocks provide even more weight savings. Trigger and latch mechanisms have improved dramatically, and all modern crossbows have integrated safety mechanisms, something medieval crossbows lacked. Laminated fiberglass limbs have provided the biggest boost in crossbow performance. Modern crossbows are available in both recurve and compound designs, and both utilize laminate limbs. To generate the same energy as a compound bow, recurve bows have longer limbs, which is a disadvantage when hunting in heavily wooded areas or from a cramped blind. As in the conventional archery market, sales of compound crossbows dominate sales figures at roughly 85 percent, with recurve crossbows making up the remainder.

Sighting aids are another major improvement in modern crossbows. Today’s bows can be outfitted with peep and pin sights, like those used on vertical bows, low-power telescopic scopes, or red dot scopes. Since most shots are taken within 25 yards, a telescopic scope doesn’t provide much advantage and sales of red dot scopes have seen a sharp increase.

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Tides and Solunar Table for NOVEMBER 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

SYMBOL KEY

New Moon

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 1:11 pm 0.28 ft High Tide: 11:54 pm 1.68 ft

4:00pm – 6:00pm

Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 5:49p Moonrise: 11:59a Set: 10:08p AM Minor: 9:28a AM Major: 3:16a PM Minor: 9:53p PM Major: 3:40p Moon Overhead: 5:02p Moon Underfoot: 4:38a

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

12:36 am 7:19 am 2:39 pm 7:44 pm

1.44 ft 0.41 ft 1.58 ft 1.17 ft

First Quarter

Full Moon

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 2:02 pm 0.35 ft High Tide: 11:58 pm 1.65 ft

2:35pm – 3:50pm

Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 5:48p Moonrise: 12:39p Set: 11:06p AM Minor: 10:21a AM Major: 4:09a PM Minor: 10:44p PM Major: 4:32p Moon Overhead: 5:50p Moon Underfoot: 5:26a

PRIME TIME

8:00am – 9:25am

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

12:41 am 7:54 am 3:45 pm 8:42 pm

1.46 ft 0.09 ft 1.74 ft 1.36 ft

Last Quarter

Good Day

PRIME TIME

BEST DAYS

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 2:56 pm

0.43 ft

2:50pm – 4:00pm*

Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 5:48p Moonrise: 1:14p Set: None AM Minor: 11:10a AM Major: 4:58a PM Minor: 11:33p PM Major: 5:21p Moon Overhead: 6:36p Moon Underfoot: 6:14a

PRIME TIME

8:20am – 9:45am

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

12:46 am 8:35 am 4:49 pm 9:37 pm

1.52 ft -0.19 ft 1.85 ft 1.52 ft

8:40am – 10:00am

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

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 5:43p Moonrise: 5:04p Set: 6:24a AM Minor: 3:49a AM Major: 10:03a PM Minor: 4:18p PM Major: 10:32p Moon Overhead: None Moon Underfoot: 11:47a

PRIME TIME 2:35 pm – 3:50pm

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 2:10 pm -0.14 ft High Tide: 10:55 pm 1.59 ft

3:00pm – 4:15pm

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 5:40p Moonrise: 10:24p Set: 11:47a AM Minor: 9:22a AM Major: 3:07a PM Minor: 9:51p PM Major: 3:37p Moon Overhead: 4:34a Moon Underfoot: 5:03p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 5:40p Moonrise: 11:33p Set: 12:29p AM Minor: 10:24a AM Major: 4:10a PM Minor: 10:51p PM Major: 4:38p Moon Overhead: 5:31a Moon Underfoot: 5:58p

PRIME TIME

3:10pm – 4:30pm

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

12:14 am 7:51 am 3:47 pm 9:23 pm

1.26 ft 0.01 ft 1.47 ft 1.22 ft

Sunrise: 7:14a Set: 5:37p Moonrise: 4:31a Set: 3:31p AM Minor: 2:21a AM Major: 8:32a PM Minor: 2:43p PM Major: 8:54p Moon Overhead: 10:04a Moon Underfoot: 10:27p

• N O V E M B E R

12:18 am 8:22 am 4:41 pm 10:38 pm

1.28 ft -0.13 ft 1.53 ft 1.31 ft

3:10pm – 4:45pm

High Tide: 12:10 am 1.31 ft Low Tide: 8:54 am -0.21 ft High Tide: 5:29 pm 1.55 ft

T E X A S

F i s h

3:30pm – 4:40pm

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

PRIME TIME 8:10am – 9:25am*

Sunrise: 7:16a Set: 5:37p Moonrise: 6:28a Set: 4:43p AM Minor: 3:44a AM Major: 9:56a PM Minor: 4:08p PM Major: 10:21p Moon Overhead: 11:37a Moon Underfoot: None

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

PRIME TIME 12:52 am 9:21 am 5:55 pm 10:30 pm

1.60 ft -0.40 ft 1.92 ft 1.66 ft

8:50am – 10:10am

Sunrise: 7:04a Set: 5:42p Moonrise: 5:55p Set: 7:38a AM Minor: 4:47a AM Major: 11:02a PM Minor: 5:18p PM Major: 11:33p Moon Overhead: 12:17a Moon Underfoot: 12:48p

PRIME TIME

Sunrise: 7:10a Set: 5:39p Moonrise: None Set: 1:04p AM Minor: 11:19a AM Major: 5:07a PM Minor: 11:44p PM Major: 5:32p Moon Overhead: 6:23a Moon Underfoot: 6:47p

PRIME TIME

Sunrise: 7:15a Set: 5:37p Moonrise: 5:30a Set: 4:05p AM Minor: 3:01a AM Major: 9:13a PM Minor: 3:24p PM Major: 9:36p Moon Overhead: 10:50a Moon Underfoot: 11:13p

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Low Tide: 3:17 pm 0.12 ft High Tide: 11:20 pm 1.48 ft

3:00pm – 4:10pm*

Sunrise: 6:58a Set: 5:47p Moonrise: 1:45p Set: 12:05a AM Minor: 11:56a AM Major: 5:45a PM Minor: ----PM Major: 6:07p Moon Overhead: 7:21p Moon Underfoot: 6:59a

Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 5:43p Moonrise: 4:22p Set: 5:12a AM Minor: 2:59a AM Major: 9:12a PM Minor: 3:26p PM Major: 9:39p Moon Overhead: 11:18p Moon Underfoot: 10:51a

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 12:06 am 1.61 ft Low Tide: 3:52 pm 0.53 ft

PRIME TIME

Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 5:44p Moonrise: 3:46p Set: 4:05a AM Minor: 2:16a AM Major: 8:28a PM Minor: 2:40p PM Major: 8:52p Moon Overhead: 10:25p Moon Underfoot: 10:00a Low Tide: 1:05 pm -0.35 ft High Tide: 10:18 pm 1.71 ft

PRIME TIME 5:59 am 9:30 am 4:28 pm 11:39 pm

1.02 ft 1.14 ft 0.39 ft 1.37 ft

3:35pm – 4:50pm*

Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 5:39p Moonrise: 12:37a Set: 1:36p AM Minor: ----AM Major: 5:55a PM Minor: 12:07p PM Major: 6:18p Moon Overhead: 7:11a Moon Underfoot: 7:33p

Low Tide: 9:27 am High Tide: 6:13 pm

PRIME TIME -0.25 ft 1.54 ft

8:15am – 9:40am

Sunrise: 7:17a Set: 5:37p Moonrise: 7:26a Set: 5:26p AM Minor: 4:32a AM Major: 10:44a PM Minor: 4:56p PM Major: 11:09p Moon Overhead: 12:27p Moon Underfoot: 12:02a

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Tides and Solunar Table for NOVEMBER 2008 FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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

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

12:15 am 7:40 am 10:05 am 4:48 pm

1.57 ft 1.20 ft 1.22 ft 0.66 ft

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

1.69 ft -0.53 ft 1.92 ft 1.74 ft

PRIME TIME

4:00pm – 5:35pm

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

PRIME TIME 12:31 am 1:12 am 12:22 pm 10:54 pm

1.68 ft 1.69 ft 0.21 ft 1.69 ft

4:10pm – 5:50pm

Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 5:50p Moonrise: 11:15a Set: 9:12p AM Minor: 8:33a AM Major: 2:21a PM Minor: 8:58p PM Major: 2:46p Moon Overhead: 4:13p Moon Underfoot: 3:48a

PRIME TIME

3:30pm – 4:50pm

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

7:45am – 9:00am

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

PRIME TIME 1:02 am 10:12 am 7:03 pm 11:22 pm

1.66 ft 1.66 ft 0.15 ft 1.70 ft

Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 5:51p Moonrise: 10:26a Set: 8:19p AM Minor: 7:38a AM Major: 1:25a PM Minor: 8:03p PM Major: 1:50p Moon Overhead: 3:23p Moon Underfoot: 2:57a

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 5:46p Moonrise: 2:15p Set: 1:04a AM Minor: 12:16a AM Major: 6:27a PM Minor: 12:38p PM Major: 6:49p Moon Overhead: 8:05p Moon Underfoot: 7:43a

12:35 am 1:54 am 12:37 pm 10:09 pm

SUNDAY

9:00am – 10:20am

12:23 am 6:46 am 12:03 pm 5:46 pm

1.51 ft 1.00 ft 1.28 ft 0.81 ft

Sunrise: 7:00a Set: 5:45p Moonrise: 2:44p Set: 2:03a AM Minor: 12:57a AM Major: 7:08a PM Minor: 1:19p PM Major: 7:30p Moon Overhead: 8:50p Moon Underfoot: 8:27a

High Tide: 1:15 am 1.76 ft Low Tide: 11:06 am -0.56 ft High Tide: 8:15 pm 1.88 ft

PRIME TIME 12:30 am 6:53 am 1:27 pm 6:45 pm

1.47 ft 0.72 ft 1.42 ft 0.99 ft

7:50am – 9:15am

Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 5:45p Moonrise: 3:14p Set: 3:03a AM Minor: 1:36a AM Major: 7:47a PM Minor: 1:59p PM Major: 8:10p Moon Overhead: 9:35p Moon Underfoot: 9:12a

PRIME TIME

9:10am – 10:30am

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

PRIME TIME 12:36 am 1:12 am 12:04 pm 9:23 pm

1.77 ft 1.77 ft -0.50 ft 1.81 ft

9:25am – 10:45am

Sunrise: 7:05a Set: 5:42p Moonrise: 6:54p Set: 8:50a AM Minor: 5:51a AM Major: ----PM Minor: 6:24p PM Major: 12:08p Moon Overhead: 1:20a Moon Underfoot: 1:53p

Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 5:41p Moonrise: 8:01p Set: 9:58a AM Minor: 7:02a AM Major: 12:45a PM Minor: 7:35p PM Major: 1:18p Moon Overhead: 2:26a Moon Underfoot: 2:59p

Sunrise: 7:07a Set: 5:41p Moonrise: 9:13p Set: 10:57a AM Minor: 8:13a AM Major: 1:57a PM Minor: 8:45p PM Major: 2:29p Moon Overhead: 3:31a Moon Underfoot: 4:03p

PRIME TIME

3:40pm – 5:00pm

Low Tide: 6:50 am High Tide: 1:19 pm Low Tide: 6:57 pm

3:30pm – 4:45pm

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

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

6:21 am 11:36 am 5:42 pm 11:54 pm

0.73 ft 1.15 ft 0.66 ft 1.30 ft

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:38p Moonrise: 1:38a Set: 2:04p AM Minor: 12:27a AM Major: 6:38a PM Minor: 12:49p PM Major: 7:00p Moon Overhead: 7:55a Moon Underfoot: 8:16p

Low Tide: 10:03 am -0.25 ft High Tide: 6:58 pm 1.51 ft

0.45 ft 1.24 ft 0.89 ft

PRIME TIME 12:05 am 7:20 am 2:41 pm 8:11 pm

1.26 ft 0.20 ft 1.37 ft 1.08 ft

3:15pm – 4:30pm

Sunrise: 7:12a Set: 5:38p Moonrise: 2:36a Set: 2:32p AM Minor: 1:06a AM Major: 7:17a PM Minor: 1:27p PM Major: 7:38p Moon Overhead: 8:38a Moon Underfoot: 8:59p

Sunrise: 7:13a Set: 5:38p Moonrise: 3:33a Set: 3:01p AM Minor: 1:43a AM Major: 7:54a PM Minor: 2:05p PM Major: 8:16p Moon Overhead: 9:20a Moon Underfoot: 9:42p

PRIME TIME

8:25am – 9:55am

Low Tide: 10:40 am -0.23 ft High Tide: 7:45 pm 1.48 ft Low Tide: 11:33 pm 1.42 ft

8:40am – 10:10am*

High Tide: 12:07 am 1.42 ft Low Tide: 11:18 am -0.19 ft High Tide: 8:32 pm 1.44 ft

3:40pm – 4:50pm

Sunrise: 7:18a Set: 5:37p Moonrise: 8:20a Set: 6:14p AM Minor: 5:22a AM Major: 11:35a PM Minor: 5:47p PM Major: ----Moon Overhead: 1:17p Moon Underfoot: 12:52a

Sunrise: 7:18a Set: 5:36p Moonrise: 9:11a Set: 7:06p AM Minor: 6:15a AM Major: 12:03a PM Minor: 6:40p PM Major: 12:28p Moon Overhead: 2:08p Moon Underfoot: 1:43a

Sunrise: 7:19a Set: 5:36p Moonrise: 9:57a Set: 8:02p AM Minor: 7:09a AM Major: 12:57a PM Minor: 7:34p PM Major: 1:22p Moon Overhead: 2:58p Moon Underfoot: 2:33a

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

F i s h

TIDE STATION CORRECTION TABLE (Adjust High & Low Tide times listed in the Calendar by the amounts below for each keyed location)

NOT FOR NAVIGATION PLACE SABINE BANK LIGHTHOUSE (29.47° N, 93.72° W) SABINE PASS JETTY (29.65° N, 93.83° W) SABINE PASS (29.73° N, 93.87°W) MESQUITE PT, SABINE PASS (29.77° N, 93.9° W) GALV. BAY, SO. JETTY (29.34° N, 94.7° W) PORT BOLIVAR (29.36° N, 94.77° W) TX CITY TURNING BASIN (29.38° N, 94.88° W) EAGLE POINT (29.5° N, 94.91° W) CLEAR LAKE (29.56° N, 95.06° W) MORGANS POINT (29.68° N, 94.98° W) ROUND PT, TRINITY BAY (29.71° N, 94.69° W) PT. BARROW, TRIN. BAY (29.74° N, 94.83° W) GILCHRIST, E. BAY (29.52° N, 94.48° W) JAMAICA BCH., W. BAY (29.2° N, 94.98° W) ALLIGATOR PT., W. BAY (29.17° N, 94.13° W) CHRISTMAS PT, CHR. BAY (29.08° N, 94.17° W) GALV. PLEASURE PIER (29.29° N, 94.79° W) SAN LUIS PASS (29.08° N, 95.12° W) FREEPORT HARBOR (28.95° N, 95.31° W) PASS CAVALLO (28.37° N, 96.4° W) ARANSAS PASS (27.84° N, 97.05° W) PADRE ISL.(SO. END) (26.07° N, 97.16° W) PORT ISABEL (26.06° N, 97.22° W)

G a m e ® / N O V E M B E R

HIGH

LOW

-1:46

-1:31

-1:26

-1:31

-1:00

-1:15

-0:04

-0:25

-0:39

-1:05

+0:14

-0:06

+0:33

+0:41

+3:54

+4:15

+6:05

+6:40

+10:21

+5:19

+10:39

+5:15

+5:48

+4:43

+3:16

+4:18

+2:38

+3:31

+2:39

+2:33

+2:32

+2:31

-1:06

-0.09

-0:44

-1:02

0:00

-1:20

-0:03

-1:31

-0:24

-1:45

+1:02

-0:42

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•

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

Aquilla Whites LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N33 54.533, W97 12.375

SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: 1-ounce chartreuse slabs CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Triplett Point and the deeper water around Snake Island will produce some nice whites. Look for what appears to be a Christmas tree on your graph. This is a school of whites that are stacked up. Drop slab to bottom, lift, and drop through the school. Bite will come on the fall. BANK ACCESS: Tailrace Fishing Pier, white bass LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: North End of Dam GPS: N30 59.874, W97 28.369 SPECIES: smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: small dark jigs, hair jigs with pork trailer CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-3687411, Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: Fish where the riprap of dam interlocks with the natural shoreline at the north end of the dam. Use sonar to find submerged boulders, depth changes, bottom features, etc. There are a lot of features in a confined area. BANK ACCESS: Temple Lake Park, largemouth, catfish, white bass LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Mud Bank N6

• N O V E M B E R

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CALIXTO GONZALES

GPS: N29 55.210, W96 43.051 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, shrimp, shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Water is beginning to cool and fish will be shallow and close to timber. In addition to the mud bank, there is timber in the cove that starts next to this bank. Anchor in 5-foot water, close enough to the trees to fish the outside edge. These are cedar trees that love to hang up your tackle, so using a slip cork might save breaking off hooks. It’s okay for the hook to sit on bottom. The cork will bring it upward when you reel in if you don’t have a fish on. Fish different depths along the tree line to find how far the fish are from shore. BANK ACCESS: Junkyard Cove, largemouth bass

HOTSPOT: Walnut Creek to Lynn Creek GPS: N32 35.415, W97 04.686 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: drop-shot and Texas-rigged worms, weightless flukes; Chomper Salty Sinkers CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-3132878, www.getagripeguide.com TIPS: Fish deep in both creeks with dropshot and Texas-rigged worms. Fish the timber breaklines shallow, with weightless flukes and Chomper Salty Sinkers. Keep a moving bait like a Rat-L-Trap ready for areas with a lot of shad activity. The backs of the bigger coves with timber can really be good this month. All the cuts from Lynn Creek Marina to the dam will start holding larger fish. BANK ACCESS: Crappie Dock, crappie with live minnows

LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Eagle Point, South Side GPS: N30 37.922, W96 02.792 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, fresh shad, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: There’s a line of trees along the bank here. Fish the outer edge of the trees in 6-8-foot water. There’s a lot of submerged timber out in the lake from the trees. This is an excellent place to chum the fish around the trees. Blue and channel cats feed in the shallows here. If a South wind is blowing use a cork and allow it to drift toward the bank. Jug lines are not allowed, but you can catch large fish by drifting corks on a rod toward the bank just as you would do with a jug. Bigger cats can be expected late evening and early morning. BANK ACCESS: Hwy 175 Bridge East; cast lures for bass, minnows for crappie

LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Dam Island GPS: N33 02.212, W96 27.346 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Texas rig, Carolina rig, medium running crankbaits CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Over the years Lavon’s water level has consistently changed from one year to the next due to drought. Each time it has created a drop off along the shore caused by wave action. Look for these areas in 7 to 10 feet of water. There are also a few shallow humps on the lake that hold good fish during the fall and don’t be surprised when you find several nice sized fish stacked together. BANK ACCESS: Clear Lake Pier, largemouth bass

LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool T E X A S

JD MOORE

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: East Point at mouth of Saline Bay GPS: N32 08.123, W95 27.132 SPECIES: largemouth bass

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

BEST BAITS: Carolina-rigged lizard in Watermelon Red, tail dipped in chartreuse Spike It CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., 903-4782633. www.matternguideservice.fghp.com TIPS: Work the area thoroughly with the lizard, dragging the rig along the gravel in depths of 5 to 18 feet. Some of the real Hog Bass hang around here in November. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Hwy 155 Bridge at crossing of main lake GPS: N32 08.543, W95 28.362 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: black/chartreuse jigs and live minnows CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Work your baits in 20 to 25 feet of water under the Hwy 155 bridge where it crosses the main lake. Crappie will be around old brush piles and other bottom structure like dead trees and laydowns. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Point at Dam GPS: N32 03.558, W95 26.052 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Dimple Spoons in both chartreuse and chrome CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: The whites are beginning to bunch up on the points down near the dam and all the way up to Cobb Creek. Fish these points for best action. Also, don’t forget to watch for the birds. They will be gathering around these points for any shad breaking the surface. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, largemouth bass, crappie, fish pockets and rock wall LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard HOTSPOT: 66 Rock Riprap GPS: N32 55.033, W96 30.112 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse/white spinnerbait, black/blue jig with Gene Larew trailer N8

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CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Fish spinnerbait and jugs up, down, and across the riprap. Keep boat reasonable distance from riprap so as not to scare the fish. BANK ACCESS: Bayview marina, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Pond Creek GPS: N31 57.460, W96 20.410 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: jigs, Red Dragon tubes, 4inch Watermelon Pumpkin with chartreuse tail, Paca Craw CONTACT: Steve Schmidt, Cell-682-5188252, www.schmidtsbigbass.com TIPS: Just before going under the bridge at TXI, (Pond Creek), about 50 yards, shut your big motor down and idle in and past the old railroad tracks and stick ups. Head to the discharge, starting at the point prior to the discharge and work the edge. You will be throwing into 2 feet of water, which falls off to around 18-foot depth. Work the jigs in grass and bull rushes. Work the tube lures on the outside edges of the grass. Work past the discharge and then work the riprap along the bank. You should be able to fish this area and have your limit shortly BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish bank on either side of boat ramp; also fish bank of cove to left of boat ramp when facing the lake, largemouth, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Hwy 309 Flats GPS: N31 58.302, W96 08.130 SPECIES: hybrid stripers/white bass BAITS: chrome and blue Rat-L-Traps, silver or chartreuse Shad Slab CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 903-3894117, www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: The fish are feeding aggressively. The gulls will help you find the large schools of baitfish and fish. Look for fish chasing shad on the Hwy 309 Flats in the early morning and late afternoon. If they are “busting” the top, a chrome and blue RatL-Trap is hard to beat. If they’re deep, drop a silver or chartreuse Shad Slab to the botF i s h

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tom and then give it a quick retrieve. Keep the drag set loose and hold on when a big hybrid makes a run. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish bank on either side of boat ramp; also fish bank of cove to left of boat ramp when facing the lake, largemouth, catfish, crappie LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Skinny Point GPS: N30 17.501, W96 35.771 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: punch bait, fresh shad, shrimp CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: A submerged tire reef runs from 6 to 23 feet deep. Fish along the tires starting shallow and moving out to deeper water until you find the fish biting. Be prepared for possibly hanging into a large catfish here. Blue cats are moving to the deeper water and big yellow cats can also be lying around these tires, as well as hybrid bass. All these species will take fresh shad. Channel cats will take Punch bait. Fish a Carolina Rig on bottom. If a larger fish is hooked, take your time landing him as you are in open water and have little for the fish to hang up on. BANK ACCESS: Big Creek Marina, most species LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir HOTSPOT: Lampasas River Timber GPS: N30 59.874, W97 38.670 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: medium sized shiner minnows CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-3687411, Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.c om TIPS: Keep the shiners fresh and lively. Fish the sparse standing timber on the outside of the river bend. Afternoons and nights are the best time to fish. Use slip bobbers and/or spreader rigs. Proceed carefully upriver as much standing timber cannot be seen below the water line. BANK ACCESS: Stillhouse Park, largemouth, crappie, catfish, smallmouth LOCATION: Lake Texoma

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HOTSPOT: Five Creeks GPS: N33 54.836, W96 42.401 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs and live shad; colors white Glow and chartreuse flake CONTACT: Bill Carey, 877-786-4487, bigfish@striperexpress.com TIPS: The stripers are running in large schools. Pay close attention to the seagulls. They will locate the stripers and ambush large bait balls. The favorite artificials are 4 inch Sassy Shad on a 1-ounce jig head. If the Sassy Shad doesn’t work, try the live shad. You can anchor or drift live shad. BANK ACCESS: Washita Point and Platter Flats, largemouth bass, whites, catfish, stripers

CONTACT: Rick Carter, 903-765-3474 TIPS: The fish are biting deep and shallow during November. Use a large spoon over humps as you would in a summer pattern. Drop the spoon to the bottom and hop it up to the fish if they are suspended, fluttering it back through them. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket Bait Stand, crappie, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Monticello

HOTSPOT: Main Lake Point GPS: N33 05.192, W96 02.976 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: chartreuse spinnerbaits; RatL-Traps, shallow running crankbaits, jigs with pork trailers CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: By mid-November most of the other anglers have found this little power plant lake and have started putting a lot of pressure on this small body of water. To get

LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Mouth of Big Rocky Creek GPS: N31 52.795, W97 23.682 SPECIES: stripped bass BEST BAITS: Wild Eyed Shad and Sassy Shad CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Keep your binoculars handy and watch for working gulls and even gulls just sitting on the water. Both can point you to baitfish. Where there’s baitfish, there will be stripers. Check the mouth of Big Rocky or any creek mouth. The cooler temperatures are starting to push the bait out of the creeks and the stripers and white bass are waiting in ambush. Make long casts with either the Wild Eyed Shad or Sassy Shad, (swim baits), and use a medium retrieve through the fish, lifting and dropping your rod tip to make the bait rise and fall. BANK ACCESS: Loafer’s Bend Shore, stripers, white bass, largemouth bass

Spoon-Fed Bass LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Mustang Creek - Twin Oaks Hump at mouth of creek GPS: N32 50.63, W95 36.46

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: large spoons A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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best results keep your tactics and techniques small. Main lake points and ledges will be the better areas to find the majority of your fish until December. Bounce the jig off the ledge and let fall. BANK ACCESS: Titus County Park, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn HOTSPOT: Owl Creek GPS: N31 91.857, W94 07.248 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: red or crawfish colored Rattle Shads CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., 903-4782633, www.matternguideservice.fghp.com TIPS: Owl Creek has wood and hydrilla cover. Work the Rattle Shads along the banks and many shallow flats. Really nice bass frequent this area. Don’t fail to cast beside the wood cover, while working the bait just off the bottom. BANK ACCESS: Powell Park Marina Fishing Pier, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, white and striped bass

Secret Weapon Takes Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Apple Orchard to Beaver Creek GPS: N30 52.637, W98 26.717

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BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, crappie, largemouth bass, white bass, catfish LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Jacob Creek GPS: N29 53.748, W98 12.807 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps and plastic swim baits such as Crème Lure’s Spoiler Shad, Secret Weapon spinnerbait CONTACT” Kandie Candelaria, 210-823-2153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: The fall migration and feeding frenzy is in full swing. Cooler water temperatures are producing better quantities of fish caught. They are now in more shallow water and near the mouths of feeder creeks. If you find a topwater bite early, use a JDC SkipN-Pop or small Zara Spook in white. BANK ACCESS: Comal Park, largemouth bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: North Point GPS: N30 41.738, W97 21.460 SPECIES: crappie BEST BAITS: jigs and minnows CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm TIPS: Crappie will be located in deeper water close to the river channel off North Point, in the main lake. They can be caught on jigs and minnows alike. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows fished straight down off dock. LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: Main Lake Flats GPS: N30 42.248, W97 20.274 SPECIES: blue catfish BEST BAITS: fresh shad CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm TIPS: Blue catfish can be taken on fresh shad drifted across the deep flats, (Main Lake Flats), of the main lake. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows fished straight down off dock.

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LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Main Lake Point GPS: N30 33.701, W98 21.696 F i s h

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SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps, white 1/4-ounce Secret Weapon buzzbaits, Silver/blue spinnerbaits or Watermelon Candy Whacky Sticks on 3/0 Whacky Hook CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Bass are on the move and good catches can be found most anywhere. They are aggressive in 2 to 4 feet of water along boat docks, edges of concrete seawalls, riprap, and laydowns. Main lake points adjacent to stump fields are also productive. BANK ACCESS: Robin Hood Park, catfish, crappie, largemouth bass

Possum Kingdom Slabs LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Broadway GPS: N32 52.572, W98 31.723

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Bass See Red LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Big Tiger GPS: N26 44.326, W99 8.750

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: plastic worms in red, red watermelon, grape; spinnerbaits, flipping tubes CONTACT: Mike Hawkes, 210-275-1309 TIPS: Water has cooled off from summertime highs, and bass are moving around. Some are even in pre-spawn mode already. Fish around the hardwoods that line the creek channels. If you locate fish in the hardwoods, then a flipping stick with either plastic worms or fat tubes will do the trick. If bass are active, roll a spinnerbait along channel edges and drop-offs.

Chunks for Drum LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Pirates Landing Fishing Pier GPS: N26 4.799 W97 12.402

SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: dead shrimp, crab chunks, sea lice, Gulp! Crab CONTACT: Pier Office, 956-943-7437

For MORE HOTSPOT listings, go to our website and click CURRENT ISSUE ARTICLES

TIPS: Cold dreary nights find very few fishermen on the pier, but the ones who are fishing for one of the big black drum that roam the flats between the ICW and the pier. This is surf tackle-type of fishing, with big coffee-grinder reels, 8-10 foot long rods, and dropper rigs. Bait a 3/0 Kahle hook with dead shrimp (good), sea lice (better), or chunks of blue crab (best) and wing a cast toward the ICW. Bring some strong coffee and a lawn chair. You might have to wait for your bites, but it’s more than worth it.

Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409786-2018, 409-673-2018, fishsabinelake.com TIPS: The key to fishing the Cut area is the tide. Fish the area during an outgoing or incoming tide. Watch for nervous bait or birds working to key you in on where the fish are. Topwaters are always good early in the morning, but switch over to soft plastics or twitch baits later in the day.

Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com

Baffin Topwater Specks

Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com.

LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Penascal Point GPS: N27 15.582, W97 25.436

SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters early CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441, www.brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Fish over the rocks early in the morning, or you can anchor just off the rocks. Fish the lower part of the water column with either live shrimp or live pinfish under a Texas Rattling Rig Mini Chatterweight. Fish off of the rocks rather than directly in them, or you’ll be re-tying a whole lot. Between the pinfish’s grunting and the noise of the Chatterweight, you should get a trout’s attention.

Cut-Up Trout LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Keith Lake Cut GPS: N29 46.503, W93 56.427

SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in chartreuse, A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Temple Fork Fly Rods

Rejected—and Loving It Rejection is a good thing, when your boat, ATV, or Jet Ski’s super-slick gel coat

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the hailer has an automatic foghorn soundsignal function, as well. Thanks to DSC selective calling, you can also do away with that cell phone or FRS radio. Like other DSC units, this one will broadcast your exact latitude and longitude to the Coast Guard if you press the panic button. Unlike many other DSC equipped units, this one also has a “track your buddy” function. Interface it with your Lowrance GPS chartplotter, and up to three people (who are also DSC equipped) you communicate with will show up on your screen. You’ll know their exact locations at all times, and with the LVR-880’s nav-to-waypoint capabilities, getting to them will be as easy as pushing a couple of buttons. That means you do not need those alternate means of communication to tell your friend where the hot bite is without alerting the entire fleet. When I tested this unit, a couple of design features also proved very useful. The controls are on both the unit and the microphone, so I could switch channels and raise the volume without so much as leaning forward. And when I took a rough ride across an open bay and thoroughly doused the unit, I didn’t have to worry because it is submersible to JIS-7 standards. Boaters with limited dash space will be The only downside I found to this unit interested in Lowrance’s new LVR-880 was price. While it isn’t terribly expensive, it VHF Radio. This little box is packed with does run close to $200 and you can purso many features and functions, it will elimchase a DSC VHF for a little inate the need for several other items at the over half that much these helm. days. Of course, they don’t The first thing it elimihave FM radios in them, nates is your stereo, nor the other features because this is the first described above. VHF around that All the other feacomes packing an tures I’d expect FM receiver. You from a top-end could listen to the modern VHF unit music through were also present the 2.5-inch and accounted for: integrated dual-watch and speaker, scanning modes, but why weather at the press of Lowrance LVR-880 VHF Radio do that a button and NOAA when you could jam your tunes by wiring weather alert warnings, NMEA 0183 and external stereo speakers to the two-channel NMEA 2000 compatibility, 25/1 watt output? transmit power, and a 3.4-inch diagonal Another item your boat can now do LCD display. Plus, the unit can be either without is a loud hailer. The LVR-880 has binnacle or flush mounted. one of these built-in, too, and with 22 watts Contact: Lowrance, 800-324-1356, of power, you will be heard from the inlet to www.lowrance.com —LR the back bay. Leave your air horn at home;

Lowrance Keeps Anglers in Touch

2 Handee Multi-tool A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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The Ranger HD sheds a whole new light on the rapidly growing utility vehicle market because it adapts perfectly to both work and recreation needs. It is also loaded with cool new features.

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ber. A secondary safety is built into the lever. The lever must be grasped and pressed up against the rifle’s wrist or the trigger cannot be pulled. On the other hand, if the lever is pressed firmly against the wrist

by Steve LaMascus but the safety is on, when the trigger is pulled, the hammer cannot contact the firing pin. This is a safe and practical gun.

The 464 is also an angle eject model. I wanted to mount a scope on the gun, but had not a clue what mounts it took. Neither did any of the people that I asked. To find out, I called Brownells and talked to their tech department, which is what I always do

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when I run into something weird or different. In short order, they sent the appropriate mounts. A No. 403 Weaver Top Mount Base is used for both front and rear. It doesn’t appear to make any difference which way you set the rear base. Even if it is placed so that it extends over the rear of the ejection port, the gun ejects the empties cleanly. I mounted an Alpen Kodiak 1.5x4.5 scope on the gun and headed out to find out how it would shoot. The tubular magazine holds six rounds, so I loaded it up with 150-grain Winchester power points, and levered a round into the chamber. The action was smooth and positive. I had tried the trigger previously and found it quite shootable, with almost no creep—better than usual for a Model 94type lever action. My Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge showed that it broke consistently at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. Shooting tests proved the gun sufficiently accurate for what it was intended—shooting game at ranges up to about 150 yards. Three-shot, 100yard groups with the SuperX ammunition averaged about 2 inches. That is all anybody should expect from a factory-fresh lever-action .30-30 carbine. The Model 464 is a worthy heir to the kingdom of the Model 94 Winchester. It is a strong, dependable gun. It is nothing fancy, but that is exactly what we want in our “thutty-thutties.” However, expect more from Mossberg. They will shortly offer other chamberings in the Model 464, possibly by the time this is published.

E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com. PHOTO COURTESY OF MOSSBERG

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Why Hunting Bucks Increases White-Tail Populations A

PHOTO COURTESY OF USFWS

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA PROFESSOR SAYS America’s native white-tailed deer have some unique ways to compensate for hunting pressure. Hunters most often pursue bucks, both for trophy value and because shooting does in many states is illegal or highly restricted. That might seem to threaten deer populations because it cuts into the number of males available to mate. But Ron Labisky, a UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation, says his research shows that deer make up for the loss of bucks with a unique response: Does in areas where hunting is allowed give birth to considerably more male fawns than female fawns. “We don’t usually give animals due credit for their persistence, especially deer,” said Labisky, who has spent three decades researching white-tailed deer. “With malesonly hunting, it is very, very difficult to deplete a deer population.” Labisky and colleagues examined the reproductive tracts of 380 legally harvested does from four areas of Florida. The Tosohatchee State Preserve and most of Eglin Air Force Base are off limits to hunting, whereas it is allowed in Camp Blanding Wildlife Management Area and the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area. More than 90 percent of the does in all the areas were pregnant, the research found. Males comprised 56 percent of the fetuses in the hunted areas but just 39 percent in the non-hunted areas, it found. As if that

When buck numbers dwindle due to hunting pressure, does enter a sort of state of “compensatory natality” and give birth to more male than female fawns. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Special Hunting Section

Trophy Fever

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weren’t enough, the researchers also found 38 percent of does on hunted sites carried twins, compared with just 14 percent on non-hunted sites. “Productivity was higher on hunted than non-hunted sites,” wrote Labisky in a summary of the study, which appeared in the Journal of Wildlife Management. Why would deer give birth to more males in areas where bucks are hunted? Labisky said the doe’s reproductive cycle offers one explanation for the adaptation. Does typically go into heat for about 72 hours, he said. In non-hunted areas, they find mates quickly, while they take longer to find mates in hunted areas. The later does breed while they are in heat, the greater the proportion of male fetuses. In a related research project, Labisky found that while does typically wait for bucks to find them, they actually seek out bucks in hunted areas where there are fewer around. From the white-tailed deer’s perspective,

the findings are good news. On the other hand, the research likely means the animals will continue to be a nuisance in some states. Labisky said experts believe the population of deer in the United States is about equal to what it was before Europeans

WHITETAIL BUCK—MENARD COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—APPLE SPRINGS, TEXAS

PRONGHORN—CLAYTON, NEW MEXICO

Rachel Nelson, age 12, killed her first whitetail buck on the family ranch near London, Texas, in Menard County. Rachel used her dad’s Ruger M77 in 6mm Rem.

Fisher Byers, age 7, took his first pronghorn in Clayton, New Mexico. He shot it with a .240 Weatherby at 204 yards, running off of shooting sticks. Fisher is the son of Robby Byers of Texas.

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Experts believe the population of deer in the United States is equal to what it was before Europeans arrived.

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arrived, with somewhere between 24 million and 34 million nationwide. That is up from just 350,000 in 1900, when the population crashed largely because of unregulated hunting. Northern states have the biggest problem with overpopulation of deer because their fields provide so much forage at a time when many of the deer’s traditional predators such as wolves and bears no longer pose a threat. Deer in the Midwest also give birth to more fawns, and more of the fawns survive than in the South, Labisky’s research has found. In Florida, by contrast, “our groceries aren’t as good,” Labisky said. Unlike states such as Wisconsin, with at least 2 million deer, Florida has about 600,000 deer. The state’s deer population is relatively stable in part because of the deer’s unique compensation to hunting, Labisky said.

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Many diseases are transmitted from animals to humans by ectoparasites such as ticks. Deer and other wildlife can harbor large populations of these ectoparasites. Yet monitoring and treating significant numbers of animals—especially wildlife that are not easily captured—to control these ectoparasites remains difficult. The new device would greatly assist in ectoparasite control efforts. It includes an open front that allows an animal to enter, while the rear end includes a door that opens and closes, effectively containing the animal without injuring it. The animal is immobilized when it enters, and the device is designed to gently lift the animal by its trunk so that its legs are suspended off the ground.

While this device is not yet ready for commercial farmers, it is currently being used by personnel with the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program, operated by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to reestablish and maintain eradication of cattle fever ticks and the potentially fatal Texas cattle fever, also known as bovine babesiosis, from U.S. cattle herds. The device was constructed at the Kerrville lab, with the assistance of students from the Boerne, Texas, high school welding class.

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Improving the Odds

Part Two

Learn Good Tracking Skills

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E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

TOP PHOTO BY TOMMY LOMONTE

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Massive loss and damage to boats on the upper coast could ignite a regional boom for boat dealers like LMC Marine in Houston and Clear Lake. BOTTOM PHOTO BY ROY NEVES

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months to assess damage, file claims, and settle with insurance companies, but, “We do expect a rise in sales and expect that it would coincide with the buying season in early 2009.” David Christian of LMC Marine in Houston echoed the manufacturers’ anticipation of rising boat sales, citing a “high level of expectation for rising sales.” “We have heard unconfirmed reports of up to 10,000 boats destroyed,” Christian said, adding that anticipation of replacement of those boats makes him “expect to see a huge positive economic impact. It is going to help the boat industry, no doubt.” Christian said in late September that he BOTTOM PHOTO BY ROY NEVES was already seeing the kind of no-nonsense, can-do attitude that Texans are known for. versation with a Shi- LMC Marine’s David Christian says he’s already cane Andrew, for “The general mood I am seeing is positive.” mano tackle rep who seeing the kind of no-nonsense can-do attitude example. Hitting the Danny Thrower of Mt. Houston Marine said that after hurri- Texans are known for. Florida coast as a said that even though his dealership did not canes Katrina and monster Category 5 yet have electric power as of press time, they Rita, tackle sales in the affected areas were storm, it ravaged much of the state, sparking found a way to communicate with customers slow for two months followed by 18 of the pundits to theorize parts of the state were and immediately began selling boats: “We busiest months they ever had. done for economically. In the following two found an old push-button phone and Thrower said his dealership will hold a years, however, the economy of the Sunplugged it in, and it started ringing. Eleven “scratch and dent” sale of lightly damaged shine State outpaced the nation’s gross days after the hurricane, we [were] already boats, and offer special discounts on boats domestic product by three points, with the selling replacement boats.” “made” with parts from other damaged highest overall gains in counties damaged by Thrower confirmed that the anticipated boats. Andrew. positive economic Economists have A 1969 book by Douglas Dacy and movement has prece- Danny Thrower and Carol and Rudy Kleinman of shown many areas Howard Kunreuther, The Economics of dent and extends to Mt. Houston Marine were selling boats before prospered financially Disasters, demonstrated clearly that many things other than power was restored to their dealership, and in after major hurri- areas impacted by disasters prosper in the boats, citing a con- the shadow of storm damage to their buildings. canes. Take Hurri- wake. Much of the study involved examining the devastating Alaska earthquake of 1964 that, at least in terms of finances, resulted in surviving Alaskans being better off than before the quake. This was due to government loans and grants as well as aid from private charity groups that caused a boom in the state’s economy. Mainstream media outlets have been quick to compare Ike with Katrina, but other than the fact they both slammed romantic, scenic cities, there are few similarities. Government response to Ike has been swift in comparison to the well-publicized slow reaction to Katrina. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said the Senate is already close to providing $6 billion in grants for Ike recovery. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor has given $15.9 million to the Texas Workforce Commission as part of a National Emergency Grant to fund 600 temporary jobs in the 29 Texas counties impacted by Ike. BOTTOM PHOTO BY JIMMY BORNE

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“Thanks to our federal partners, this funding for temporary jobs will be invaluable to Texans devastated in the wake of Hurricane Ike,” said Governor Rick Perry. “Through the Texas Workforce Commission, these funds will help hard-working Texans continue to support their families as they begin rebuilding their homes and lives.” That spirit of determination also creates a contrast between Katrina and Ike. While tens of thousands of New Orleans residents abandoned their homes and businesses permanently after Katrina, due either to a lack of choices or fear of another storm, Texans started rebuilding the day after Ike. “The people of this area are very resilient, and while most have never faced

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something of this magnitude, most people are ready to roll up their sleeves, get with the cleanup, and get their lives back,” said Sabine Lake fishing guide Capt. Phillip Samuels. While Samuels expects his guide business to take a hit this fall, what he saw after Hurricane Rita in 2005 was that the following spring, people were ready to do something fun. “Fishing is an integral part of this region, and nothing is better therapy than watching the sun rise over the bay and catching specks, reds, and flounder.” —Chester Moore & Don Zaidle

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much has changed. There are lots of boats, possibly and probably, have been sunk out there, creating navigation hazards. Pilings have been knocked down. “If you could fish now, it would be hard to say what kind of results could be expected. It depends on how much rainfall we had along the watersheds, drainages. It doesn’t appear that many of our habitats, wetlands, sea grass areas were really badly affected. “You have storms that wash way up into some of these upland marshes, and when it pulls back, especially on the upper coast, brings back a lot of vegetation. In the old days in a more naturalized scenario, that would have brought in quite a nutrient load. Short term, people may notice possibly that their fishing success is maybe a little bit lower than normal; the contrary could be true. It won’t take very long for the bay to stabilize and return to what it was. “These things bounce back so fast from these natural catastrophes, it’s amazing. “Bays and estuaries are chaotic systems anyway. There is no such thing as the norm. This is just another chaotic event...flood, drought...anything that may occur. These systems are very resilient and they survive these things. —Tom Behrens

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one long leg of the spread out into open water to attract cruising ducks. The prime decoy spot is toward the tail of an island, in the soft water between the tail and the main current. Islands generally have enough cover

by Chester Moore that, coupled with a well-camouflaged boat, should work to hide hunters. Usually, the best shooting time comes as the birds cross the bay after their morning feed in the marsh and nearby prairies. The “J-rig” formation is a good pattern

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to employ. This consists of decoys set up in the shape of a “J” with the hunters set up in the middle of the spread. You can camouflage the boat greatly and set up in the middle of the set, or hunt just off the edges on nearby land. With the end tapering off, it looks like a natural landing, inviting more birds to settle down. A popular and effective puddle duck setup that can work great for divers is called the “Double-O.” This is a very simple setup made of two round groups of decoys with a gap in the middle for ducks to land. Remember, ducks always land into the PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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wind, so you want to set up so that the birds will quarter toward your blind. When I hunt the rivers north of the bay systems, I go with a couple of dozen decoys and rely on motion instead of mass to attract the birds. I use a similar pattern to the puddle duck setup with the “Double O,” but I use a mechanical decoy in the middle set out about 20 yards, and have a swimming decoy to one side. Mechanicals come in several forms and under a host of names, including Mojo, Roboduck, Roto Duck, and the Mallard Machine. Over the last decade, they have increased dramatically in popularity and are now part of the arsenal of many hunters around the country. On open bays, I have mechanicals quite effective for pintail, redhead, and widgeon. A big part of this type of hunting is drawing the birds’ attention from huge spreads put out by other hunters, and the giant rafts of divers that sit in the open water. By putting out a mechanical in an open shooting lane about 20 yards past the blind, it not only brings in birds but also puts them right where you want to shoot them. In open water, it is a good idea to use a mechanical with turning wings along with one that swims in circles, or one of the feeding ones that vibrates. Since divers actually feed on the open water, it makes sense to have some movement that mimics feeding activity. “Always an asset, movement is a near necessity on still days when wary ducks flare from still decoy spreads,” said Buck Gardner. “For years, we have relied on various ‘jerk string’ tactics to liven up our spreads. This consists of a regular decoy with the string running through a pulley on a heavy anchor and back to the blind. Pulling the string pulls the decoy under water, and releasing the string allows it to pop up. Another idea uses the heavy anchor and a bungee cord. One or more decoys may be tied to a string running back to the blind. Pulling the string makes the decoys ‘swim’ toward the blind. Release the string and the bungee cord pulls them back,” he said. If you know the day is going to be free of wind, simply carry a bag of rocks with you. When you see ducks, chunk a rock or two in the water to create ripples so it looks like your decoys are moving about. The main thing to keep in mind is how the birds are reacting to a mechanical decoy. If they seem extra leery, even in the least bit,

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then shut it off. The whole point of using these is to ease birds’ nerves, not to make them question what is going on. Also, avoid too much reflection from the wings. Let your wings sit in the sun for a few days before you hunt to wear out the sheen on the wings. Glare is a dead giveaway to wary birds. Most Texas diver hunting is done along the Middle and Lower Coast, but there is equally good diver hunting on inland reservoirs. Roger Bacon, who guides on Sam Rayburn and B.A. Steinhagen reservoirs, said many hunters just do not realize how much quality hunting is on the lakes they fish for bass, crappie, and catfish ever year. “We have some amazing duck hunting at times, and the best part is we have a large population of one of the most prized ducks in the country—canvasbacks,” Bacon said. “Between Rayburn and Toledo Bend in particular, we hold a large number of canvasbacks that can give hunters something they might’ve thought they could never get in such large numbers.” While hunting with Bacon in early 2006, I had several instances of more than 50 canvasbacks all locked up and ready to light in the decoys. I am simply a fanatic about these birds, so it was really thrilling for me. A valuable lesson learned on that trip is boat traffic can actually help duck hunters. “As long as the fishermen are not on top of you, they can help out. The divers will raft up in large concentrations, and boats moving around the lake will bust them up and disperse them in your direction if you’re lucky.” Diver hunting took a hit this year with the scaup limit in the Central Flyway getting knocked down to one bird. “The decision is very disheartening, but not all hope is lost,” said Delta Waterfowl President, Rob Olson. Olson said a one-bird scaup bag limit also puts hunters at a disadvantage because under some conditions, it is difficult to identify scaup from other diving duck species. “If, for example, a hunter shoots a drake bluebill, he might be forced to forgo the rest of the day in the marsh rather than risk taking another scaup and being in violation of any new regulations,” he said. “Scaup are a coveted waterfowl species for many hunters. We don’t want to see them regulated to the status of a ‘mistake’ bird.” Delta reported that on page 34694 of the Federal Register, U.S. Fish and Wildlife A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Service officials commenting on its proposed scaup harvest strategy on June 18 made the following entry: “We note that no substantive criticisms suggesting that the proposed approach is not valid have been offered.” “Delta whole-heartedly disagrees with the Service’s comment that no substantive criticisms have been offered,” said Olson, adding that the Service has yet to sufficiently address the concerns and recommendations raised by Delta and other organizations. “We convened an expert scaup panel, some of the most highly respected biologists in waterfowl management, to evaluate the Service’s scaup harvest model, and its conclusions were both substantive and offered to the Service.” Delta scientists point out that spring breeding population of scaup (which includes both greater and lesser scaup) has declined since the early 1970s. Delta Senior Vice President John Devney said the population reached a record high of almost 8 million birds in 1972 and stood at roughly 7 million in 1984. In 2006, the scaup population reached an all-time low of 3.2 million birds. Last year, the population increased modestly to 3.4 million, but was still well below the long-term average. “Their numbers are still higher than many species we hunt, so there is some concern that down the line we’ll be seeing similar regulations for other species,” Devney said. “Our scientists believe hunting is most likely not a major influence on scaup numbers. Delta has a long history of conservative stances when it comes to waterfowl harvest, but there is no meaningful evidence harvest is what is causing scaup declines.” Diver hunting has sort of a become a lost art in Texas, and with open water species like scaup, redhead, and canvasback having low bag limits, it could disappear before the new generation of hunters gets to enjoy this unique facet of duck hunting. That would be a true shame, because as thrilling as calling in mallard or having teal locked up and ready to light, watching a big canvasback drake coming in for a crash landing in your spread is an experience all waterfowlers should have.

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GPH 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.4 3.1 3.9 5.1 6.8 8.3 9.4 12.8

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GPH 0.0 0.0 0.7-1.4 1.8-2.4 3.4 3.9 5.6 6.7 8.6 9.0 12.9

The next contender was a Northstar 210 Fuel Computer, a unit that was previously marketed under the Navman banner. This is an inexpensive paddlewheel unit, which costs about $150 per meter. If you have Northstar electronics at your helm, you will not need a separate gauge but can simply interface the flow transducer with your display units. Northstar states up-front that this unit has a minimum accurate flow rate of 1.3 GPH, honesty that can be appreciated in today’s marketplace. Here are the numbers this unit gathered: RPM 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000

GPH 0.7-0.9 0.7-0.9 1.5-1.9 2.4-2.6 3.4 4.3 5.4 7.2 9.3 11.9 13.4

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FloScan 0.3-0.6 0.7-0.8 1.1-1.3 2.0 3.5 4.0 6.2 7.4 8.6 9.7 12.4

E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com.

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It takes tough tackle to handle what lurks beyond the breakers.

The strip of surf immediately beyond the breakers is rarely explored or exploited. Pilgrim and friends have developed tackle and techniques for catching the big fish that roam the shallow Gulf. Although they fish the entire Texas coast, they spend more time off the beach near High Island. Bull reds and sharks are available just about year-round. Black drum action is hot in March and April, with kingfish, Spanish mackerel, jacks, and tarpon

showing up during warmer months. Speckled trout can be found roaming the shallow Gulf as well. The shallow Gulf will hit its zenith this month as apex predators detonate on migrating schools of baitfishes. Fishing beyond the breakers is not for neophytes. Don’t try it without getting some guidance. The best way to get started is to make

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Always be aware of the tide and park your vehicle far enough from the surf that it won’t be submerged when the tide rolls in. While driving down the beach, look for schools of fish attacking bait on the surface. Crashing gulls and pelicans are the best signs a fisherman can find. “Diving pelicans are more important than gulls,” Pilgrim said. “Gulls will dive around anything, but pelicans typically lead us to bigger fish, such as tarpon and sharks.”

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Even a moderately-sized shark beyond the breakers can give a kayaker a “Nantucket sleigh ride.” friends with other kayak fishermen who fish in the Gulf. They can help jump-start your knowledge, and help you with proper technique. The buddy system is always prudent when tangling with big fish in a hostile environment. In the fall, productive areas are just hundreds of yards off the beach and hulls in the 12- to 16-foot range are ideal to reach this water. Since the trip is measured in yards and not miles, I prefer a little wider hull for added stability at the sacrifice of hull efficiency. Big fish require bigger tackle. Wide frame reels capable of spooling several hundred yards of 20- to 40-pound line are the norm. Pilgrim prefers 7-foot rods that can take some abuse. “Big fish will abuse your tackle,” he explained. “Buy moderately priced rods, so when they break—and they will—you won’t loose too much money.” Trout tackle can be pressed into service, but it will be humbled quickly by a stud jackfish or other bad actor. It is hard to catch anything if all of your line is connected to a large fish heading to Cuba. Depending on the species you are after, leaders vary accordingly. Most shark aficionados choose 200-pound mono for leaders, while others go lighter, opting for 40- to 60-pound fluorocarbon. You might be thinking: Why not use a steel leader? Some kayak fishermen do. While steel leaders certainly combat cut-offs, they require PHOTOS BY TJ PILGRIM

you to get up close and personal to unhook your catch. Fluorocarbon leader can be cut easily with pliers to release your catch from a safe distance. In the hook department, 12/016/0 circle hooks are popular, as they generally snag the corner if the shark’s mouth, which minimizes contact with teeth. Most BTB fishermen prefer fishing bait, drifting it under a balloon or pinning it to the bottom with a large weight. Popular baits include whole or chunks of mullet, and pieces of jackfish, stingray, or hardhead. Lure fishermen cast large soft plastics and topwaters. Trolling large swimbaits and billed topwaters is great for prospecting large areas of water. Every fisherman going beyond the breakers should be outfitted with the right type of gear. A good personal flotation device (PFD) is mandatory when fishing in water over your head. Next, you need a knife for rigging and bait preparation, plus a pair of pliers to crimp sleeves on heavy leaders and release fish. Don’t forget to add a string tether to your hand tools; leash them or loose them. Although kayak fishermen have to paddle to the area they will fish, they have the ability to drive up and down the beach looking for good water. Beach conditions are important if you intend to prospect from your truck. Try to drive on the hard packed sand and watch out for boards, as they hide sand; driving over a board can puncture more than one tire, leaving you stranded. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Chunk It! HUNK IT!” WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT meant throwing something, but here, the term means attracting deep-water yellowfin tuna to the

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E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com.

ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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get down to it, it is just a hunk of metal with a hook. When you drop it in the water though, it turns into a dead fluttering shad that any selfrespecting bass would eat in a second. Rigging up a jigging spoon can be as simple as tying the line directly to the spoon and dropping it overboard but it you take the time to make a couple of adjustments you’ll get more action out of the spoon and less line twist. Both of which equate to more bites and fewer lost fish. Today, most spoons come with a split ring to tie your line to, however, if you happen to own some that don’t then the first thing you need to do is add split rings. It might be fine to tie the line directly to the spoon, but I do not like running my monofilament though a stamped hole in a piece of sheet metal. The hard edges can potentially cut through the line so why take that chance. On your main line, add a barrel swivel, using whatever knot you prefer. To the other side of the barrel swivel, add a short leader, again using whatever knot you prefer. Length of the leader is not vitally important since you will be fishing this vertically rather than casting. The point behind the swivel

and leader is to eliminate line twist that can occur as the spoon falls. It also allows the spoon to fall and rotate freely without any restrictions. When tying the leader to the spoon use a loop knot for maximum action. If you do not know how to tie a loop knot then tie what you can and the split ring will still allow the spoon to move freely. Jigging a spoon is not overly complicated either. Let the spoon over the side of the boat, free spooling line until it hits the bottom. Reel up any slack line then with the rod tip about a foot off the water lift it a few feet then let it back down to the original position. The key to working a spoon is to try to keep contact with it without restricting its movement. Think of it as keeping a semislack line. It can be tricky to master. Vary your jigging by trying sharp snaps of the wrist to make the spoon jump off the bottom, or just slowly lifting the rod tip. Let the fish tell you which they prefer. Hooking a bass on a spoon is not difficult, detecting a bite can be. If you lift the rod tip and it feels like the spoon is being pulled through pudding, set the hook because a lethargic bass has the bait in its mouth. Even if it does not, it never hurts to set the hook. When in doubt, yank!

E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

TEXAS KAYAKING Continued from Page N29 Streaks of mud in clear water are great places for baitfishes to hide. Predators will be nearby. “In November, you will find shrimp boats working just off the beach,” said Pilgrim. “The shrimpers are working a particular depth because there is bait and shrimp holding there. Note the distance off the beach the shrimpers are working, as that is where the fish will be.” It is good practice to put your reel in freespool with the clicker on once you set out your ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

bait. A jolting strike could jerk the rod from your hands, or worse, capsize your kayak. Once the fish is on, throw the reel into drive and crank quickly. Remember, don’t jerk a circle hook; instead, reel in the slack line quickly to make a solid hookup. It is common for a big fish to take a paddler on a “Nantucket sleigh ride.” Center console owners rarely get to experience the rush that comes from being towed by a fish nearly as long as your hull. The loose drag and the added friction of the hull will eventually wear A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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down a big fish. Deploying a drift anchor creates added resistance, but the dangling anchor can get tangled in the line when the fish is whipped. Avoid bringing the fish alongside your hull if it is still green, as you might end up with a lap full of angry, thrashing fish. See you beyond the breakers. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com.

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Cecil Smith of Rockport via his email, as well as from other hunters I have talked to about the changes in hunting dates from one turkey season to the next. Smith and several other South Texas hunters became dissatisfied when the department opened the 2008 turkey season two weeks earlier than it did in 2007, which was the year when two weeks were added to the tail end of the season. The past two South Texas spring turkey season dates were: 2007: March 31-May 13 2008: March 15-April 27 Spring turkey hunting has become a passion of mine, and maybe yours, too. After

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The department listened to both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference.

all, as one hunter once said: “Turkey hunting offers the best of all elements in hunting, including decoying, calling skills, patience, and the potential for a climactic ending.” Anyone who has gone turkey hunting in the spring for the first time and called a tom up close is almost certain to be hooked for life. Although there was no range-wide reproduction of turkeys in 2005 and 2006, there were good spring and summer rains in 2007 along with mild temperatures. That, along with some sightings of young poults in August 2007, indicated some hens likely made two or three re-nesting efforts that

PHOTO BY GARY L. MCNUTT

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summer. Everything pointed to a great season in 2008—except for the timing of the season dates, many believed. Smith explained his objections this way: “I live in Rockport and spring turkey hunt just north of Beeville. When the TPWD added two weeks in May to the spring season in 2007, I thought it was great, not only because it gave us more time in the field, but at a time when most if not all hens had been bred and were nesting, and the gobblers were still looking.” Smith wrote that he believes the two weeks in May were the best time to be hunting, so when the department took the extra two weeks at the end of the season and moved it to March in 2008, it didn’t make sense to him. Nor did it to many other hunters. The change to an earlier season almost assures that the gobblers are still with hens and therefore less receptive to calls. “I saw lots of gobblers during the two weeks in March [2008], but they were all with hens and not interested in coming to a call,” Smith wrote. “So, even though we had more time in the field, it was not a good time to be calling.” Smith also argued a third point: “One of the magical things about spring turkey hunting is enjoying the great Texas outdoors coming alive with all the new greenery, wildflowers, etc. There was not a green leaf or a wildflower to be

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found on March 15, 2008, when the season opened. Not only did this distract from the enjoyment of hunting, it also made it hard for those of us who like to use the natural brush as a blind to find any cover in which

to hunt.” Smith wrote that he voiced his complaints to TPWD and asked it to return the extra two weeks to the end of the season. Some hunters I have spoken with who said A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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they liked the earlier opening argued that once the major breeding activity was over, they had little luck in calling in toms that had become more wary to the presence of hunters. Also, they said hens and gobblers split from their respective flocks earlier in portions of South Texas than they do in the North Zone. Apparently, the department listened to both sides of the argument and decided to split the difference. They have set the 2009 South Zone season dates for March 21-May 3, which means it will open one week later than it did in 2008 and close one week earlier. The North Zone will have an April 4-May 17 season. With all due respect, it should be remembered that TPWD added two weeks to the spring turkey season statewide in 2007. That gave us 44 days enjoying the pursuit of a beautiful and challenging quarry. Indeed, we have come a long way from the first spring season in 1969 that allowed hunting in a single county, Kerr. TPWD has a difficult task of attempting to satisfy most hunters with season dates and other regulations. It is not likely to ever satisfy 100 percent of us, but the 2009 spring turkey dates show they still are trying. E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

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weights. I guess if a hunter was going after the biggest brown bear or the heaviest Alaskan moose, a 220-grain slug might be better, but a large number of both those animals have been killed very dead with a 180grain bullet. Neither is anything lighter than the 150-grain bullet necessary. I have known people who hunted deer with 125grain bullets, but the 150-grain is much superior to the lighter bullets for that duty. For varmints, if I was for some reason forced to use an “aught-six” for varmints, as I was as a teenager, I would still prefer the 150grain bullet because it is much superior ballistically to the lighter weight .30-caliber bullets. For deer, my first choice is a good 150grain bullet, but the 165 works equally well. I generally use a standard soft point such as made by Speer, Hornady, and Sierra, depending on which one my rifle shoots best, but I also love the Nosler AccuBond and Hornady InterBond bullets. For an all-around bullet, it is hard to beat the 165-grain. The 165-grain bullet in something like a Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw is a good choice for just about anything. It shoots flat, hits hard, and penetrates well. For bigger animals, such as elk and moose, however, the 180-grain bullet might be a better choice. For loading the various 150-grain bullets, I have found that relatively fast-burning powders generally give better performance. I like IMR 4320, IMR 4064, and IMR 4895. I understand that 4895 was originally manufactured for use in the .30-06 with 150-grain bullets, and it still works very well. Jack O’Connor, in his classic book The Hunting Rifle, said that he had settled on a load of 55 grains of 4320 with a 150-grain soft point as the best for his deer hunting use. I have used this load and find it just as good as Jack said. In my gun, that load chronographs about 2970 fps. I suppose that would be my favorite load, but I also like IMR 4064. A charge of 53 grains of IMR 4064 with a 150-grain Hornady

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InterBond produces the same velocity as 55 grains of IMR 4320. Accuracy with both loads in my current .30-06 is very good. If you prefer the slower burning powders, IMR 4350, Reloader 19, and IMR 4831 are all good. However, in some guns, with 150-grain bullets you might run out of powder space before you reach your desired velocity. This is especially true in rifles with shorter barrels. I usually reserve the slower burning powders for bullets weighing 165 grains or more. With all the powders I use in the .30-06, I prefer standard large rifle primers, usually CCI 200 or Federal GM 210 Match. I have found no need for magnum primers with any load I have tried. The .30-06 has a very long neck. This allows the reloader to seat the bullet out a long way in the case and take advantage of all the powder capacity available. Best accuracy is usually attained with the bullet seated a few thousandths of an inch short of contact with the lands. If you don’t have a gadget to tell you all this, just tinker with seating depth, using dummy rounds, until the bullet just contacts the lands, then screw in the seating screw one full turn. That should be about 1/14 of an inch, and is pretty close to perfect. The .30-06 is a classic cartridge. Even though it is now beyond 100 years old, it is still one of the best choices out there for the deer hunter, and will serve for just about anything. It is accurate, easy to load for, there are a ton of good factory loads for it, it doesn’t kick like a mule, and it has the confident character of an old campaigner that has been there and seen it all. Yes sir, I like the “aught-six,” and so do a whole bunch of other gun nuts.

E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com.

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chuckled. “Bob Sealy [the tournament director] told me he was going make me take him for a ride in it next year.”

Harrison’s mode of transportation was unconventional for a tournament.

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Threatened Freshwater Fishes EARLY 40 PERCENT OF FISH SPECIES IN North American streams, rivers, and lakes are now in jeopardy, according to the most detailed evaluation of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years. The 700 fishes now listed represent a staggering 92 percent increase over the 364 listed as “imperiled” in the previous 1989 study published by the American Fisheries Society. Researchers classified each of the 700 fishes listed as vulnerable (230), threatened (190), or endangered (280). In addition, 61 fishes are presumed extinct. Species

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listed “vulnerable” include the Guadalupe bass (the official Texas state fish), paddlefish, and alligator gar. The new report, published in Fisheries, was conducted by a U.S. Geological Survey-led team of scientists from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, who examined the status of continental freshwater and diadromous (those that migrate between rivers and oceans) fishes. “Freshwater fish have continued to decline since the late 1970s, with the primary causes being habitat loss, dwindling range, and introduction of non-native species,” said Mark Myers, director of the USGS. “In addition, climate change may further affect these fish.”

Southeastern United States; and pupfish, livebearers, and goodeids—a large, native fish family in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Nearly half of the carp and minnow family and the Percidae (family of darters, perches, and their relatives) are in jeopardy. Fish families important for sport or commercial fisheries also had many populations at risk. More than 60 percent of the salmon and trout had at least one population or subspecies in trouble, while 22 percent of sunfishes—which includes well-known species such as black bass, bluegill, and rock bass— were listed. Even one of the most popular game species in the United States, striped bass, has populations on the list.

Most Vulnerable Groups

Regions with the Most Troubled Fishes

The groups of fishes most at risk are the highly valuable salmon and trout of the Pacific Coast and western mountain regions; minnows, suckers, and catfishes throughout the continent; darters in the

Appearances notwithstanding, the formidable alligator gar is considered imperiled.

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Regions with especially notable numbers of troubled fishes include the Southeastern United States, the mid-Pacific coast, the lower Rio Grande, and basins in Mexico that do not drain to the sea.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CLINTON & CHARLES ROBERTSON

tion, management, and recovery priorities,” said Stephen Walsh, another lead author and USGS researcher. This is the third compilation of imperiled freshwater and diadromous fishes of North America prepared by the American Fisheries Society’s Endangered Species Committee. Additional information is available at http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/afs/

Guadalupe bass, the official Texas State Fish, is imperiled primarily due to competition and displacement by other species in its limited range. Hotspots of regional biodiversity and greatest levels of endangerment are the Tennessee (58 fishes), Mobile (57), and the southeastern Atlantic Slope river systems (34). The Pacific central valley, western Great Basin, Rio Grande, and rivers of central Mexico also have high diversity and numbers of fishes in peril, according to the report. Many of the troubled fish are restricted to only a single drainage. “Human populations have greatly expanded in many of these watersheds, compounding negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems,” noted Howard Jelks, a USGS researcher and the senior author of the paper.

Degree of Trouble Of fish on the 1989 imperiled list, 89 percent are either still listed with the same conservation status or have become even more at risk. Only 11 percent improved in status or were delisted. The authors emphasized that improved public awareness and proactive management strategies are needed to protect and recover these aquatic treasures. “Fish are not the only aquatic organisms undergoing precipitous declines,” said USGS researcher Noel Burkhead, a lead author on the report and the chair of the AFS Endangered Species Committee. “Freshwater crayfishes, snails, and mussels are exhibiting similar or even greater levels of decline and extinction.” The authors noted that the list was based on the best biological information available. “We believe this report will provide national and international resource managers, scientists, and the conservation community with reliable information to establish conservaA L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Flashlights are the light sabers of the Baby Boomer generation.

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Reading in bed at night is a pleasure I still enjoy, and I can thank the flashlights of my youth for contributing to the habit. When I was a kid, reading was a passion, a way of escaping the bonds of ordinary life. I would consume sporting magazines and get lost in stories of chasing lions and elephants in Africa while safely in my bed with the covers over my head, inside the little world it created when lit by a flashlight. I am not sure if mom knew about my nocturnal adventures or just tolerated them. She must have known, because I would wake up the next morning and the flashlight switch would be turned off and I could not remember doing it. I am still more or less a flashlight junkie. I give them as presents to my wife, kids, and friends, and have at least a half-dozen tucked away in my car, boat, bedside dresser, and various tackle boxes. It can become a

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wetlands upstream so that nutrient loads in the Mississippi that would increase the size of the dead zone will be dramatically reduced by the time they reach the delta region. —Staff Report

ONE FOOTBALL FIELD...

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Words in the Wind HE FOOTSTEPS ECHOED ON GRANDMA’S front porch. Uncle Munroe Kuhn, Grandma’s brother, tramped across the wooden boards and took a seat on the concrete steps. Then he snapped a glance at me, pulled out his Beechnut pouch, cocked his head, and smirked. Mama and Daddy sat on a red rocking bench watching my little sister toddle as she stretched out her arms and learned to balance on new legs. Grandma stepped through the screen door wiping her hands and shuffled to a seat beside her brother. The wooden farmhouse whispered memories creaking and groaning at our movements as if carrying on its own conversation. In the hall were 25 mounted deer heads

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belonging to a grandfather that I never knew. They murmured stories, to a young boy’s imagining ears, about adventures afield and what a Winchester can accomplish in the hands of an expert. Painted covers hid the holes in the ceiling where once wooden heaters had smoked through the stovepipes while keeping the family warm. The dark blue floral carpeting, in the living room, dining room, and guest room, spoke of ladies in long dresses and the ensuing domino and rook parties. The kitchen smelled like fresh baked cookies and the bedrooms yawned their duties of providing silent solitude after a hard day of following mules in the cotton and cornfields. The television in Grandma’s bedroom hid like a plastic alien and it was easier to visualize the long gone vintage WWII radio scratching its message into a still night’s air. On the high walls were ancient oval black and white photo portraits of the old people. There were mothers and fathers, and a brother that had not returned from The Great War. The spring sun invigorated us despite the

full-bellied laziness induced by Grandma’s meal with fresh green beans, potatoes, and grass-fed beef. Daddy still held a glass of tea complete with mint leaves from the garden. A cool breeze kept our shirtsleeves rolled down. Around the perimeter of the yard fence flowerbeds burst bright colorful bulbs and blossoms displaying the woman’s tireless efforts. Across the lawn, the smokehouse squatted and a short loop of chain hung from a nearby oak limb giving testaments to the days of butchering hogs and sharing meat with neighbors via the beef club. My job was to be seen and not heard, and most of the time, that suited me fine. There were no other boys to play with. I stood transfixed with my glasses pushed tight on my nose, sucking wind past crooked teeth, squirming and waiting for the next words of wisdom. The scene became a part of my being. The utterances molded my lifelong thinking. The words would never leave me. Grandma had no use for Old Lady Roo-

NEWS FROM THE COAST Continued from Page N39 mation of cancers. The red tide toxin, brevetoxin, has long been recognized as a cause of both neurotoxic poisoning after both consumption of toxic shellfish as well as a respiratory irritation after inhalation of toxic sea spray. Groundbreaking research, leading to this third potential form of poisoning, identified that metabolism produces chemically reactive forms of the toxin. Recognizing the potential of these metabolites to attack DNA, NOAA scientists analyzed the DNA after the toxin was metabolized in the lung. Scientists have not yet determined if brevetoxin-damaged DNA accurately repairs itself or if gene mutations result. Brevetoxin has been measured in air during red tide events and human exposure N40

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levels have been reported. However, the long-term health risk associated with inhalation of brevetoxins remains to be defined. Individuals are continually exposed to environmental chemicals capable of damaging DNA, such as carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, and air pollution. It is possible that exposure to brevetoxins can add to the cumulative amount of chemically altered DNA in the lungs—an indicator of cancer risk. “This represents a significant breakthrough in defining the metabolic transformation of brevetoxins and the potential long-term health effects of red tides. It should change perceptions of risk and management of inhalation exposure to harmful algal blooms,” said Ramsdell. Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico are common—and often persistent—naturally

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sevelt, and with precise recollections, she discussed a downward spiral of national, state, and local policies. Daddy pointed out the discrepancies in modern economic ideas, and touted the conservative viewpoints that the more the world changes the more personal values needed to remain the same. Then Uncle Munroe muttered several phrases that ingrained themselves in my psyche. “I’m against leasing land for hunting.” His eyes fluttered and he spit a stream of tobacco. Then he went to someplace that I’ve sought to find ever since. “Me, your Grandpa, and our brothers used to go pitch a tent at Kesler’s Lake. We hunted ducks, we hunted deer, and we never had to pay nobody. We shared everything we killed and we took almost anybody along that wanted to go. It didn’t have anything to do with money. The whole experience was about the hunt and about being with each other.” Daddy looked down and fingered his shirt. He was no hunter, and since Grandpa’s death, he had leased some of the pastures to relatives and men from town. It was apparent that he was uncomfortable and Uncle Munroe was voicing his core belief. The problem arising was that it was up to me to decipher the dilemma. Uncle Munroe’s words burned into my formulating opinions. But the places and times that Uncle Munroe cherished had slipped away. His memories were from the same era as prohibition. Grandpa was gone and all the brothers were gone. Daddy did the right thing. Daddy provided the same outdoor opportunities to the following generations of relatives and friends that Uncle Munroe once enjoyed. However, the tobacco-chewing old timer couldn’t realize this concept— and unfortunately, it took years for me to understand. Now, in an ever-urbanizing world there are new words buzzing against and chilling the walls of social judgments. Words such as “green,” “environmentalist,” “global warming,” “organic,” and “politically correct” put the old school country boys on the defensive. Likewise, some of the left-leaning crowd don’t comprehend that the hunting heritage is the main contributor to wildlife conservation. And, a lot of folks have their own list of words that makes them see red. On another note, after trailing guests from all over the U.S. through much of the wild country in Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and

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Mexico, it’s apparent to the common guide that not everyone was inoculated with equal doses of compassion, and that’s true no matter what side of an issue you stand. Not everyone was fortunate enough to hear the lessons that Grandma’s house whispered. Not everyone was fortunate enough to listen to the elders reminisce about childhoods before horses and buggies became obsolete. Not everyone grew up cloaked in down home conservatism, and with that said, not everyone would understand why

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Old Lady Roosevelt aggravated Grandma. But maybe, someday, the old ways and values will be recognized and folks will realize that policies, ideas, and words must be tempered. However, if nobody listens, words just flit away on the wind. E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

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S P O N S O R E D BY:

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Backstrap Wraparounds

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plate and remove the toothpicks. Rest wraparounds before serving. Serve with Texas Gourmet Quick Dirty Rice and Black Bean Pico de Gallo. Bon appetite!

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

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TEXAS SALTWATER

CORPUS CHRISTI

GALVESTON

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY! Stanton Fallow De e Hunting a r nd Anglin g Quality R eview

ROCKPORT

LOWER LAGUNA MADRE

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4678, ext. 5579. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 2. Publication number: 7577-70. 3. Filing Date: 10/01/08. 4. Issue freq: Monthly. 5. No. Issues Annually: 12. 6. Annual subscr. price: $19.00. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Contact Person, Duane Hruzek; Tel, 281-227-3001. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): Same. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher, Roy Neves, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; editor: Don Zaidle, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. managing editor: n/a; 10. Owner: Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co. LLC; Ron & Stephanie Ward; Roy and Ardia Neves. All addresses same as publisher. 11. Known bondholders, Mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages of other securities: none. 12. Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Oct. ‘08. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a. Total number of copies (net press run): Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 97,675; No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 81,556. b. Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions stated on form 3541: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 85,800; single issue nearest filing, 69,281. Paid in-county, 0. Sales through dealers, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,830; single issue nearest filing, 5,793; Other classes mailed, 14. c. Total paid/requested circulation: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 91,630; single issue nearest filing, 75,074. d. Free distribution outside-county, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 382; single issue nearest filing, 348; In-county, 0; Other classes, 0. e. Total free dist, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 395; single issue nearest filing, 415. f. Total dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 92,407; single issue nearest filing, 75,837. g. Copies not dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,268; single issue nearest filing, 5,719. h. Total (sum 15f and g): Avg. preceding 12 mo., 97,675; single issue nearest filing, 81,556. Percent paid: Avg. preceding 12 mo. 99.16%; single issue nearest filing, 92.06% 16. Publication of statement of ownership required. Will be printed in November 2008 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: Roy Neves, publisher, Date 10/01/08

n Jim Brow ckled Trout Spe 6-pound ice uide Serv G n a lm Hil

Newton H ighto Tagged R wer e Redfish C dfish harters

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Marcus Schnur 32-inch Redfish Hillman Guide Servi ce

Jacob Wafer Phyllis Adams and Limit of Reds Redfish Charters

TEXAS FRESHWATER

odward Hugo and Trish Wo 52-inch Black Drum rvice Hugo Ford Guide Se

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

LAKE TEXOMA

LAKE AMISTAD

BAFFIN BAY

TEXAS HUNTING

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

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REDFISH—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

SAILFISH—OFFSHORE, TEXAS

David and Daniel Dorris caught these two 40-inch redfish at night under green lights in Port O’Connor, Texas.

After a 55-minute fight, angler Maynard Buckholt caught and released this 102-inch sailfish about 5 miles offshore, using ribbonfish for bait. The captain was Richard Milles.

CATFISH—LAKE LBJ, TEXAS

WHITE BASS—LAKE CONROE, TEXAS

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TF&G PHOTO ALBUM 1745 Greens Road Houston, Texas 77032 OR BY EMAIL: photos@fishgame.com

PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, HOMETOWN, WHEN & WHERE CAUGHT, SIZE AND WEIGHT

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

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TROUT—UPPER LAGUNA MADRE, TEXAS

REDFISH—LAKE FAIRFIELD, TEXAS

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Trophy Quest:Layout 1

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Birthday Quest OUSTON ANGLER JOE MOORE WANTED TO DO something special for his wife Kathy’s birthday. As he put it, he was “looking for something different to get her.” About this time, he received notification that he was a Trophy Quest winner for a crappiefishing trip on Lake Roberts, if he could make it. This couldn’t have worked out better. Kathy loved fishing as much as he did; he had a great birthday gift for her and it didn’t cost anything. Joe and Kathy Moore spent an enjoyable day on the water fishing with crappie fishing guide Jerry Hancock, who has over 20 years experience on Lake Lavon and Lake Ray Roberts. He is also a professional tournament crappie angler.

by Tom Behrens Kathy said it was just a fantastic birthday gift, one she did not expect: “We have been fishing for crappie for years, but learned a lot of new things we didn’t know. Most of the fishing we did was off the front of the boat. Jerry would position the boat where we had the primo spots. If there were any fish to be caught, we caught them.” “Most of the bites came when we dropped

HOW YOU CAN WIN! TEXAS FISH & GAME HAS GIVEN AWAY OVER 200 TROPHY QUEST TRIPS. TROPHY QUEST is free guided hunting or fishing trips within the state of PHOTO BY JOE MOORE

“Joe caught the biggest crappie. Jerry caught one big crappie,” said Kathy. She added that they had about 10 fish in the cooler when they left Sunday afternoon. Even though the Moores didn’t limit out, they considered the trip a big success. “We learned a lot more about crappie fishing we didn’t know before and got to fish with a professional crappie guide,” said Joe Moore. “Being able to stay Saturday night at the 4 Horsemen Kathy Moore said the Trophy Quest crappie fishing trip on Lake Motor Lodge right there at Roberts was one of the best birthday gifts she has ever received. the lake and a great barbecue dinner Sunday evening at Photo by Joe Moore. Clark’s Outpost Barbecue Restaurant made a memorable trip and a great birthday the jig down and pulled it up real slow, not a gift for Kathy that she was not expecting.” lot of movement,” said Hancock. The jigs were 1/8-ounce white/chartreuse SPECIES: Crappie Rocky Top solid body jigs. The biggest crapLOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts pie caught weighed about a pound. GUIDE: Jerry Hancock, “Jerry was just a perfect guide,” said Joe 214-544-3678,214-514-2421, Moore. “He took us all over the lake, explained what he was doing, and where the jerry@northtexasguideservice.com LODGING: 4 Horsemen Motor Lodge, fish should be at this time of the year. We probably kept a dozen or so. We must have 1301 N. US Hwy 377, Pilot Point, TX. 76258, 940-686-2256 thrown back 50 or more, a ton of little fish.” Kathy caught one crappie and a hybrid. FOOD & DRINK: Clark’s Outpost Barbecue They tried their luck with Little George tail Restaurant, 101 N. Hwy 377, Tioga, TX, spinners over a deep hump that Hancock knew 940-437-2414 sometimes could be a hotspot for hybrid and white bass action. “We caught two fish, but they weren’t there that day,” said Hancock.

Texas. The package includes a guided trip for two people, one night's lodging and all food and beverage (non-alcohol). Winners are responsible for all travel expenses getting to and from the destination point. HERE'S HOW YOU WIN! If you are a TF&G subscriber, your name is automatically entered on our monthly Trophy Quest Trip drawing. If you are a subscriber and would like

your name entered 15 more times in our next monthly drawing, simply send us an email with your name, address and phone number* to trophyquest@fishgame.com. You can still win even if you are NOT a subscriber. Simply email us with your name, address, and phone number* to trophyquest@fishgame.com and you're entered in our next drawing. One winner is chosen at random each

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month. The winner must be available to go on one of two previously scheduled dates. If the winner is unable to attend on either dates scheduled for the TROPHY QUEST TRIP, the winner's name will be returned to the pool for future drawings and another winner will be drawn. *Phone numbers will ONLY be used to contact the winners and will not be used for any other purpose.

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Cobia 216CC MMM, THOSE SNAPPER ARE TASTY, aren’t they? In fact, reef dwellers and rig inhabitants are so fine they create dedicated angling aficiona-

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boat ramp by Mt. Houston Marine, and discovered it’s not only an open-water capable boat, it’s also an efficient one. Fuel prices have you worried? Our test boat got better than four mpg while cruising along in the low-30s, efficiency that any boat in this class will have trouble topping. And since the 216 CC has a 100-gallon fuel tank, that means you will be able to cruise just as far from the

or use the big cooler under the leaning post. Ready for a break? Check out the forward cockpit, with comfortable bolsters all around and a low-profile grab rail. And if nature calls, the center console has an enclosed head. In fact, you can opt for either a portable head or a fully plumbed, fixed head with a pump-out system. Either way, you are bound to discover that the 216 CC does the job for this type of fishing-without leaving comfort back at the dock.

Desperado 22 Outlaw HEN THE TRUCK FROM BERNIE’S Boats and Motors in Victoria, Texas, showed up with a Desperado 22 Outlaw in tow, I could tell at a glance that this was going to be one interesting boat test. The Desperado has a high-tech modified tunnel powercat design unlike any other on the water, period. The chines are double-stepped, the tunnel has a turned-down lip, a pod running down the center that is split fore and aft, and the hulls transition from flat to round to sharp as you move forward along the boat. Techy? You bet. It took Desperado three years to go from the drawing board to the finished 22 Outlaw—and it works to give you ride that’s smooth, dry, and above all else, shallow. That split pod running down the center of the tunnel forces water aerated by the tunnel off to the sides, while a clean supply flows up and out to the prop. This feature allows the propeller to get a full bite in the water when

PHOTO COURTESY OF COBIA

W COBIA 216CC Category: Center Console Length:

21 ft. 6 in.

Hull:

Deep V-bottom

Beam: 8 ft. 6 in.

Max HP: 225 Draft: 14 in. dos-guys who need inlet as you would Capacity: 8 persons/1600 lbs center consoles with like, when you go on website: www.cobiaboats.com enough beef to run the hunt for those through the inlet, snapper. integrated tackle, fish box, and livewell sysOkay, you have made it to the wreck, tems, and gobs of fuel capacity. If their entire rigged up, and are ready to fish. You can family likes to go on fishing excursions, you keep plenty of live baits in the 26-gallon can add an enclosed head and comfy seating livewell under the cushy aft seat, and drop to this list-a list that Cobia’s 216 CC com- your rod into any of the gunwale rodholders, pletes. or the T-top rocket launchers. You have got We ran a 216CC rigged with an F-150 a bite. Bring in the fish and stow it on ice in Yamaha four-stroke outboard, brought to the the integrated 50-gallon insulated fish box,

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DESPERADO 22 OUTLAW Category: Bay/flats boat

the lowest portion of the blade is a mere two inches lower than the boat bottom.

Length:

21 ft. 7 in.

Hull:

Catamaran/tunnel hull

Beam: 8 ft. 6 in.

Max HP:

225

Capacity:

6 people/1000-lbs

website:

www.desperado.com

Draft: 10 in.

Meanwhile, those stepped chines throw spray out and away from the boat while

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the turned-down lip prevents sneezing. And, of course, since it is a powercat, the Desperado 22 Outlaw compresses air in the tunnel, creating a cushion for the boat to ride on and softening the blow whenever it hits a wake. Performance gets a boost from reduced friction with the water, and during our testing we flew past 50 mph and kept on accelerating as the 225-hp Yamaha HPDI outboard growled to wide-open throttle. Adding to this boat’s appeal, construction techniques include all-composite no-wood, all stainless-steel hardware, and an interior laid out for fishing. Perks include eight vertical console rodholders, a huge 42-inch long stowage box in the aft deck, rod lockers, and a forward casting deck that’s large enough for two anglers to tango. Interesting? You bet. If you are a shallow-water angler, you will find it is effective, too.

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Be Gung-ho or Just Don’t Go FELT PRETTY DOG-GONE COCKY AS MY GOLDTIP arrow slammed into another GoldTip arrow in the vitals of my Delta 3D deer target, smashing the white nock into pieces. Over many, many years, I’ve become a pretty decent shot with my bow, and sometimes even a killer shot. As a lifelong bowhunter, it has been my propensity to practice every day, no matter where I might be, that keeps me tuned up so I can always push myself to improve and be at the peak of my arrow game. It is not always easy to find the time for practice, but like a Chesty Puller with a bow, I improvise, adapt, and overcome. And it not only feels good, it pays off in sacred backstraps down the road. Now that’s a reward worth shooting for, isn’t it? There is no better example of my over the top, gung-ho insistence on shooting my bow no matter what than today’s practice session. I was in Zaragoza, Spain, about to assault the stage at the annual Monsters of Rock music festival, but as part of my essential touring gear, the ever present 3D target and a full compliment of bowhunting equipment was right on hand along with guitars, amplifiers, bass, drums, sound equipment, tons of lights, wardrobe cases, and all my full-on quality of life rock-n-roll battle gear. Can’t leave home without it. Knowing my need to always keep my hand-eye coordination at its peak, I don’t dare wait until just before bow season to start tuning up. Constantly tinkering and experimenting with my bows and accessories is not only a passionate fun thing for me, it is also clearly my ethical responsibility to the game I hunt to be the very best bowhunter that I can be, so I keep at it throughout the year, every year. It is not necessarily easy or convenient to haul 52

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Nugent believes in an “all or nothing” approach to bowhunting. —Photo Courtesy of Ted Nugent USA. a double bow case and 3D target all around the world while touring with my band, but the extra effort is more than worth it to me. A real bonus is the positive sensations I get from my archery practice sessions just before I erupt onto the stage that actually makes my guitar playing that much more predator like. And we all know that the best rock-n-roll has a huge, hungry animal element to it. How cool is that? Guiding hundreds of bowhunters each year with my Sunrize Safaris outfit, I have come to realize that most mistakes and blown opportunities in the field are a direct result of insufficient preparation and practice by too many bowhunters. Of all the shooting sports, bowhunting is the most demanding when it comes to memorized spirit, muscle, and handeye coordination. A nanosecond of hesitation or a stumble of any kind at the moment of truth most often spells the difference between backstraps and chicken. And that ain’t pretty. I am convinced that in order to be a dead-

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ly bowhunter, we must shoot thousands of arrows throughout the year so that no thought is necessary when the beast is about to give it to us. The natural, comfortable feel of the bow in our hand, the gentle tension of the string on our fingers or release, the definitive touch of knowing exactly how our release aid clamps onto the string or loop, the sureness of a solidly nocked arrow on the string, the muscle connection to the grace of the draw and natural pointability of our bow and arrow at the vitals of the beast, the smoothness of the draw without undue movement, and the proper, gentle slide of the arrow on the rest should all happen as naturally as blinking our eyes and breathing. It should happen on its own as second nature. With archery, I’m convinced, only inexhaustible repetition will bring it all home for us. The sheer pressure and energy of the presence of the beast is stimulating enough on its own. The last thing we need is a list of things

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to think about right then and there. The ultimate reasoning predator is a totally prepared predator. As I join my hunters each day for the always-enjoyable target practice around camp when we shoot our bows together in between hunts, I all too often see the occasional guy or gal fumble way too much nocking their arrow. They appear uncoordinated because they haven’t done it enough. Another inexcusable problem is the old arrow wobbling off the rest pain in the butt because of bad archery form, again because of inadequate practice. These are sure signs that an archer has not put in anywhere near enough effort to be one with the bow and one with the arrow, as a truly dedicated bowhunter surely should be. There is a certain impressive grace to archery when done correctly, and a conscientious effort must be invested to ascend to this necessary level of proficiency to earn the right to hunt. It is bad enough to blow a shot opportunity, but the horror of a bad hit is often a direct result of a bowhunter alerting the target animal to their presence due to less than graceful shot preparation. Next to a noisy arrow rest and noisy clothing, a fumbling predraw and draw is the worst faux pas a bowhunter can commit. Under most circumstances, it just isn’t necessary. Hardcore practice is the best preventive medicine for this malady. We all enjoy shooting our bows, so make it a point to do it more. I started out chasing deer with my longbows and recurves back in the 1950s, so I spent many a year making these mistakes and paying dearly for them. There were not very many of us around in those early years and nobody really talked about this stuff back then. Even the masters like Fred Bear, Howard Hill, Roy Case, Ben Pearson, and the best of the best were still in the early experimentation mode. But through many years and a few million arrows of trial and error, there is no doubt that the intimate knowledge of our gear and detailed physical relationship with the bow, arrow, string, sights, and overall archery “touch” is crucial for effective game killing. And heap big fun, too. We must wrangle every possible chance we can to shoot our bows, and be sure to invite and prod all our bowhunting buddies to do the same. It can be done and it should be done. By the time my rock-n-roll tour comes to a screeching, bloody, gut pile train wreck conclusion, I have shot so many arrows throughout the summer that I know I am as ready for the hunt as a man can be.

As I swap guitars for stick and string, put the MotorCity Madman to rest and unleash the NugeBeast WhackMaster predator, I could not be more confident that when the mighty backstrapper walks into my chosen ambush zone, the arrow I am about to send on its mission of mercy will fling forth like a well rehearsed death ray into the pump station just like backstage in Spain. I work very, very hard at my bowhunting,

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and the joy I celebrate each fall and winter is a direct result of the practice I put into it all year long. I love this stuff. Be the best bowhunter you can be. If you’re not gung-ho, you just shouldn’t go.

E-mail Ted Nugent at bowhunting@fishgame.com

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Everything you always wanted to know... • by Greg Berlocher

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ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS ARMSTRONG

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ides are the least understood aspect of coastal angling. Tides rise and fall every day, but many anglers do not fully grasp why tides occur or appreciate the dynamics they create in estuarine environments. Have you ever wondered why the Texas coast experiences a high and a low tide on some days, while on other days there will two highs and two lows? Tides have a pronounced effect on when fish feed, and understanding the Texas tidal two-step will help you become a better fisherman. Water World The rise and fall of the seas, known as tides, is caused by the gravitational pull of heavenly objects, primarily the moon and sun. Although tides are associated with oceans and bays, in fact all bodies of water experience tides. Lake Fork has tides, but they are too small to notice by casual observation. Due to the ocean’s massive volume of water, the rhythmic rise and fall of the water level is easily observed. Water on Earth’s surface is affected by the gravitational pull of heavenly bodies. Although the sun and moon are the primary contributors to ocean tides, the planets in our solar system exert some influence as well. Although the moon is much smaller than the sun, it is 390 times closer to Earth, thereby exerting a greater gravitational pull. The sun’s pull on the oceans is about 50 percent that of the moon. Imagine for a moment that all of Earth was covered by an immense ocean of uniform depth. The ocean surface would feature a large bulge directly in line with the moon. Now add Earth’s rotation to the scenario. Earth’s centrifugal motion would cause a second bulge of water on the opposite side of the globe. Our flat ocean of uniform depth has now been transformed into an egg-shaped mass of water that is deeper at either end and shallower on the sides. As the moon rotates around Earth, the two bulges of water appear to track across Earth’s surface. The bulges of water are actually standing still and Earth is moving beneath the water. At its most simplistic, the two bulges of water are high tides, and the areas between them are low tides. The lunar orbit (the time it takes for our moon to travel around Earth) is 24 hours, 56

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Strong tidal movement is crucial to good fishing.

50 minutes. With each orbit of the moon, both bulges of water traverse Earth once, providing two high tides and two low tides, hence, a high tide occurs every 12 hours, 25 minutes. Since Earth rotates around the sun and the moon rotates around Earth, the orientation of all three bodies is constantly changing. Twice a month, the sun and moon are in basic alignment for several days. The combined gravitational forces of these two bodies increase the size of the water bulge, causing higher tides. Two weeks later, the sun and moon are in different orbital positions with the moon pulling on one side of Earth while the sun pulls on another side. Since the sun’s gravitational pull is 50 percent of the moon’s, it draws quite a bit of water toward it, which rounds out the egg-shape discussed earlier. The sun and moon’s gravitational pull partly cancel each other out, minimizing the difference between high and low tides. Earth rotates on an axis tilted at 18 degrees. As Earth rotates around the sun, one hemisphere is closer to the sun (summer) while the other hemisphere is farther away (winter). During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the hemisphere roles reverse and the combined gravitational pull of the sun and moon create the highest tides of the year, which are called “spring tides.” Spring tides have nothing to do with the season. They get their name from the verb “spring” which means to jump up.

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Other Tidal Factors Tides would rise and fall in perfect harmony with the celestial bodies that influence their behavior if every ocean was the same depth and there were no landmasses. Continents and islands add significant complexity to tidal patterns. Tides behave differently around the world, with some coastal areas receiving two tides a day while others receive four tides. A single high tide and a single low tide is said to be diurnal, while two highs and two lows is called semidiurnal. New York harbor experiences two high and two low tides per day; each change occurs 6 hours, 12.5 minutes apart. Tides along the Gulf coast are very different. If you examine the entire coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, you will discover that the Mexican coastline, south of Port Isabel to the top of the Yucatan Peninsula, experiences only diurnal tides. A single high and low tide is also the norm from central Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. The tidal patterns for the eastern Gulf of Mexico, from the Everglades to Pensacola, the Texas coast, and parts of Louisiana are completely different. On some days, there is a single high and low, while on other days there are two highs and two lows. These are called mixed tides. In their excellent book, Shore Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico, Britton and Morton point out: “Because each of the major oceans is of a unique size and defined by unique land boundaries, each basin produces its own special harmonic tidal oscilla-

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tions, which can interact to produce other than semidiurnal tides.” In short, mixed tides. The Gulf of Mexico is basically a large lagoon with a single opening. Cuba sits between the tip of Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula and restricts the water flow into and out of the Gulf. Ingress and egress is limited to the Florida and Yucatan Channels, which are relatively small inlets in comparison to the overall breadth of the Gulf. These choke points limit the amount of water that can come into or out of the Gulf in a given period. When the varying strength of lunar and solar gravitational pull is factored in, an interesting dynamic is created. Britton and Morton explained: “The harmonic oscillations of these semi-restricted basins impose diurnal inequality between the heights of the two daily tides. Sometimes they are ‘in phase’ and seem to produce a single high and single low tide. At other times, they ‘out of phase’ producing two unequal high and low tides each day. This is especially apparent in the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston, and other Texas shores.”

Bays & Estuaries Bays and estuaries further compound tidal complexity. Spoil islands, peninsulas, satellite bays, oyster beds, and shallow flats are just a few factors that affect the surge and fall of tides. Each acts as a barrier, delaying the water’s march to its final zenith. Tidal predictions for bay system take this time lag into account. Areas closer to the Gulf will flood quicker than back shorelines. Tidal Significance Fish are genetically programmed to feed in moving water, especially predators. One of Lefty Kreh’s favorite sayings is: “Baitfish don’t have homes.” Shrimp and small fishes are too small to fight a moving current and are pulled from place to place by a strong tide. Trout, redfish, and other apex predators dash out to grab helpless baitfishes as they sweep by. Trout and reds still eat during periods of slack water, but feeding activity slows dramatically. Not all tides are created equal. In addition to the length of the tides, the height or amount of water moved is significant. A tidal

variation of several inches will not create the current needed to push baitfishes around, while a tide moving a foot of water will. Generally, tides three days either side of the full moon produce the strongest flows of the month, and usually the best fishing opportunity. Wind can increase, decrease, or negate the effects of a tide. A pumping southerly wind fortifying an incoming tide will push extra water into the bays from the Gulf. Likewise, a howling north wind will supercharge a falling tide, leaving the bay system much lower than normal, and buffet incoming tides, thereby lessening their amplitude. In addition to triggering fish to bite, tidal activity is important for healthy bay systems. Good tidal action brings clean Gulf water into the bays, helping regulate high or low salinity levels. In addition, tides bring in fresh nutrients, help regulate water temperatures, improve dissolved oxygen levels, and help remove waste.

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Fighting the Gas War ETAILERS TEASE US WITH A 10-CENT-PERgallon cut one week, then hike the price 20 cents the next. It has been a proverbial rollercoaster ride from hell with no real end in sight. I have seen projections that the average cost for a gallon of unleaded here in the good old US of A will remain above $4 at least until the fourth quarter of 2009. The national average cost of diesel fuel—which averaged $2.88 per gallon one year ago—is expected to be around $4.35 per gallon for the remainder of this year and jump another 13 cents in 2009, according to a short-term energy outlook released in July 2008 by the Energy Information Administration. I don’t know about you, but the rising cost of fuel has caused me to rethink just about every move I make when it comes to traveling from Point A to Point B in my Dodge 3/4ton 4X4. A high percentage of my living as freelance journalist is made on the road, leapfrogging from lake to lake to shoot photos and gather story material from fishing guides and professional anglers. On average, my job entails 20,00030,000 miles of road travel per year. Needless to say, it didn’t take many diesel fill-ups at $4.90 per gallon last spring for me to figure out my overhead was destined to get seriously out of hand, even at 15-17 mpg. The solution? I bought myself a motorcycle, a 2008 Yamaha Raider S 1900. I have

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since equipped the custom cruiser with a sissy bar and luggage rack for toting cameras and a duffel bag large enough to accommodate clothes, baits, and small tackle items I might need on a multi-day trip. Saddlebags are in my future. I have yet to brainstorm a way to carry my rods and reels on the bike, but it hasn’t been a problem as of yet. Most clients are happy to bring along an extra rod or two for me to use in exchange for the exposure. Some will probably call me a fool for choosing to travel on two wheels as opposed to four. My mother and wife certainly did, but in these shaky economic times, you do what have to in order to make ends meet. At 50.5 miles per gallon, my motorcycle is going a long ways toward making that hap-

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pen. Gas prices also have affected the way I operate my bass boat, how I fish, where I fish, and how often I go. And judging from a report released last July by Southwick Associates, plenty of other American anglers are thinking along the same lines. Southwick Associates is a Florida-based company that specializes in compiling economic and business statistics related to fish and wildlife. Gone are the days of zipping down the lake at wide-open throttle just for the heck of it. When I motor from spot to spot, I put the boat on pad and rarely exceed 40 mph. The logic? Like a car and truck engines, outboards are much more fuel-efficient when

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running at mid-range rpm as opposed to wide-open throttle. There are other ways reduce fuel consumption in a fishing boat: • As a rule, a tow vehicle will milk way more miles out of a gallon of gasoline than a 250 horsepower outboard engine will. That is why it is wise to utilize a boat ramp located close to the area of the lake you want to fish. The idea is to spend more time fishing and less time running, ultimately burning less fuel. Tournament anglers often take it a step further when visiting a large lake or long river system. Depending on the circuit, allotted practice sessions might last 3-7 days. Rather than basing out of one location during practice, tournament pros might stay in several different motels as they dissect the water body a section at a time. • Some anglers are switching to shorter boats and smaller engines. I have talked to a couple of guides who are kicking around the idea as well. Lake Fork guide Gary Paris has thought seriously about scaling back to an 18-foot boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. “I have run it past several of my regular clients, and most of them said they wouldn’t mind,” Paris said. “As long as we are catching fish, it doesn’t seem to matter one way or the other.” • Don’t carry more gear than you need, and make sure to store as much weight to the rear of the boat as possible. This will make it easier for the outboard to lift the bow and keep the boat on pad. • Make sure your engine is outfitted with the right propeller and that the prop is sound. Dings and bends on a propeller can hamper performance and hinder fuel economy.

E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com

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A Letter To My Son Dear Calito: THINK I OWE YOU A DEBT OF GRATITUDE. The best time I have had fishing this year was the very moment I put the net under your big redfish. What a fish! Thirty inches on the nose, and I thought you would never be able to fill out your tag because you were so excited. You did though—and in very neat script, I might add—and made that fish legal when we tied it to his blue tail. The moment that bull flopped onto Captain Jimmy’s deck, it occurred to me how much of a privilege it is to take you fishing. After 11 years of watching you grow, of teaching you over and over how to cast without flinging your bait off (or getting Dear Ol’ Dad in the ear with a hook or in the back of the head with a sinker), of scolding you when you get too near the water, of comforting you when you lost a fish, and celebrating when you landed one, I finally get it, finally realize it: fishing with you is a real blast. Did you notice that from the moment the rod came out of the rodholder to the moment we got the red out of the water, I never once, for the first time ever, helped you? I didn’t give you a single word of advice while that fish peeled line on you. (I should have you write a letter to the good folks at U.S. Reel about how much you love that 240 XS of theirs; they would love to know that.) When the redfish ran you around the boat four times in its bid for freedom, I just stood there and marveled at your form—rod tip up, hand on the reel handle at all times, and no slack in the line. It is amazing to see how you have

grown—and a little sad. It is difficult to adjust to the incremental obsolescence I am experiencing watching you, my “Monster Boy,” begin to find your way in the world. There is a bittersweet poignancy to realizing that the same boy (who not too long ago needed my hand to hold the rod tip up when he was reeling in that silly little catfish) just needed me to step back while he was locked in mortal combat with a true piscine beast. It is hard to accept that the same four-year-old that landed a big sheepshead with a Snoopy Pole and more than a little dumb luck just whipped a big redfish with skill and strength. My chest wants to burst with the pride I feel, but it also aches with that bit of hollowness that comes with realizing the threshold the two of us have irrevocably crossed.

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Half an hour later, just as I was about to make a cast, and for no reason at all, you put your rod directly behind me at the precise moment I was going to bring the bait forward. I still haven’t picked out that backlash, and I probably never will. I guess you still have your moments. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that we have reached this point in your fishing career the same year you have started middle school. You are no longer a child with the thoughts and toys of a child; you are a fullfledged, 100 percent concentrated, unrefined and unreconstructed boy. You can walk home from school now, and cross the street without holding your mother’s or my hand. (Although, I don’t think you should spring that on Mom all at once; ease her into it, so she can deal with it better.) Girls no longer have cooties, do they? Who knows, maybe T E X A S

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someday you can even start talking to them and they won’t look at you with that “what smells?” look. You can start reading the masters: Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Capstick, Grey, L’Amour...the places they’ll take you, the things you will see... You still can’t have a GameBoy or Wii or Super NES. I will never get you out of the house, and I think you have discovered that the stuff out there is more fun than any silly little animated game that those technology companies can come up with. I am looking forward to the next several years. There will be more fishing trips, more firsts. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you latch onto your first sailfish or monster ling. I think about the nights when I’ll stay up, rigging rods and sorting tackle while I wait for you to pull in from university in Austin, ready to tell me about the latest five star recruit Coach Applewhite landed, or that Professor Frost does in fact remember me. I can’t wait to tell you to get to bed, that we have an early start in the morning, and I can hear all about our sixth or seventh national title while we drive to Port Isabel or Port Mansfield. Maybe by then I will let you run the boat once in a while. Maybe... You are growing up, boy. You are going to be tall and noble and smart and strong, and it is an honor watching it happen. Thank you for the opportunity. Now, let’s go fishing. Only, keep the rod in front of you, okay? Love, Dad P.S.: You will forgive me, by the way, when you learn upon reading this that I didn’t send your trophy-tag back to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. I have it here in my wallet, the blue ink slightly smudged, and here it will stay. I am never giving it back, either. When your son or daughter catches their first trophy red, you can pocket that tag.

E-mail Calixto Gonzales cgonzales@fishgame.com

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Deer Stands & Rabbit Trails AM GOING TO CHASE A RABBIT HERE, SO STAY with me. As I write this, I am as far away from deer hunting as humanly possible. Right now, I’m sitting next to my wife on the sand of Crystal Beach, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, watching the tide come in and wash away a sandcastle we had built earlier (complete with moat), and listening to my children play tag in the dark with their cousin. To me, it is one of those experiences I will never forget and I hope that when my children look back at this day, it will make their Top 10 list of favorite days ever. After all, how many times do you start a day reeling in a shark at daybreak, and shut it down with hotdogs over a fire, tag in the dark, and fireworks on the beach? We all have those days that we will remember forever. Weddings and the births of our children rank at the top of the list, as they should, but for those of us who spend a considerable amount of time outdoors chasing deer, ducks, and fishes, many of those memories also revolve around sunrises and sunsets that we witnessed while in the field or on the water. Oddly enough, most of mine involve a deer stand, and not always the same one. I still remember the first deer stand I was sitting in when I was actually allowed to carry a rifle into the woods. It wasn’t much of a stand at all, really; more a conglomeration of scrap wood held in place by the limbs of a sweet gum tree, a few nails, and prayer, I think. Nevertheless, Dad and I sat in that first deer stand together, overlooking a creek and a small rise where he had taken a doe the year before. I don’t think we saw even

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one deer that year from the stand. The stand eventually fell apart and the tree was cut down, but I still smile when I walk through that area. The next year, we graduated to a much nicer stand. Calling it a “deer stand” is really an insult since it was larger and nicer than my dorm room in college. It had wall-to-wall carpeting, swivel seats, a heater, windows, tin roof, and a covered front porch. Nowadays, most of these creature comforts come standard, but back then, they were a rarity. More important than the stand was the time spent in it and the lessons that could never be learned in a classroom. I shot my first deer, a doe, from that condominium in the sky. Well, Dad and I counted to three and shot it together since I was a little shaky. I still jumped the gun and pulled the trigger on “two and a half ” instead of “three,” but both bullets hit their marks. The following year, I took my first buck from it as well, all by myself this time. I walked by that old stand the other day and showed it to my

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kids. Even though some of the windows are broken and the door has been blown off, it is still standing strong and would probably yield a few more deer if I took the time to evict the owl living in it. Another favorite deer stand memory involves the first time I chose the stand location myself and actually shot a buck. I had spent a few years in the luxury box blind with Dad and thought it was time to branch out and choose my own location, so I sat in a homemade portable ground blind on the side of a hill where no self-respecting deer should have been walking; but on opening morning, right as I was about to throw in the towel, a lone eight-point buck came ambling by. I am not sure if I was more shocked or happy, but after the shot, I dragged the buck halfway home on an adrenaline high. A deer stand memory from college didn’t even involve and actual stand, just a lone pine tree in the middle of a field. I’m not sure if Dad knew I needed to talk or just wanted to spend a little time hunting together again, but we sat under that tree in a light rain, just talking, banging rattling antlers together occasionally, and spending time together. It was once again a hunt where we didn’t see any deer, but that’s not why we were really there, anyway. Throw in the mix my wife’s first deer, the time I had a doe almost stick her head in the window of a ground blind, or the hunt were I was almost caught in the middle of a buck fight and my list of deer hunting memories is getting pretty long By the time you read this, I hope to have added another deer stand memory to my Top 10 list. If everything goes as planned, my daughter will have carried a rifle into the woods for the first time chasing deer. Whether or not she actually shoots a deer is less important that the fact that she is maturing into a hunter. Hopefully, she’ll remember that first hunt just like I did, and it will mean as much to her as is does to me.

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Reese & Gephardt take Under Armour Championship J EREMY REESE AND TRENT GEPHARDT HAVE HAD some time to let their big win in August at the Under Armour College Bass National Championship soak in. Since the two teammates outlasted four other collegiate fishing teams at the Championship, each Arkansas native has served up the sound bites for sportswriters and reporters from New York to California. It has not been only the media queuing up to hear the story about the mystery lake and the success of these 25-year-old hometown heroes. Fellow students, family, friends and work colleagues have also hounded Reese and Gephardt to search out a handshake, pound out a pat on the back, or just simply say, “Congratulations.” With the last celebrations winding down and late summer’s sobering heat blasting reality back to Little Rock, Reese and Gephardt reflected on their big win with collegebass.com:

Collegebass.com: Now that the tournament is over and life has returned to normal, what are you doing for the remainder of the summer? Jeremy Reese: “I’m in summer classes. I’m a fisheries biology major and trying to get all my other coursework out of the way by December. “I also work part-time at Academy Sports & Outdoors in the hunting and fishing department. I’ve been there for two years.” Trent Gephardt: “Working the rest of the summer. I work at a paint store in Bryant, Arkansas, and will go to school part-time this fall. I’ll be full-time this spring.” CB.com: What did winning the Under Armour College Bass National Championship do to you?

JR: “We got all that publicity in the papers and took a bunch of calls from people who saw it. I didn’t go back to work until the Tuesday after the tournament and I got a lot of congrats. I’m hoping we get more sponsorship dollars for our club and hopefully it will really help us take it to the next level.” TG: “I definitely got more calls from the media. I’ve not changed much as a person but I think it gave me more confidence in my fishing. Breaking the ice in a tournament like that gives me the confidence to fish more. It also works to help get us set up for next year.” CB.com: Was this your first national championship or had you been there before? JR: “I had not. I heard there was something going on last year when it was in Little Rock. We had talked about a club and from that we decided to work together through the fall, handing out flyers and posting information.” TG: “I read about it in the paper.” CB.com: Was the experience anything like you had imagined? JR: “It was about what we had expected. But the quality of the equipment, the anglers, and the amount of sponsors was impressive. I didn’t know so many schools had so many sponsors. Overall, it was more upscale than I had anticipated which is great for the sport.” TG: “Not really—I never imagined winning. But it was awesome, especially on the final day with the BASS guys and the cameras in the boat.” Program Pairs Collegiate Anglers with Local Youth The Under Armour College Bass National Championship, the nation’s most presT E X A S

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tigious collegiate bass fishing tournament, is proud to offer a community-focused initiative. Anglers of Tomorrow, presented by Costa Del Mar, allows local youth the chance to learn from the country’s top young anglers at a free fishing and conservation clinic taught by the collegiate competitors themselves. “The Under Armour College Bass National Championship was created as a way to promote bass fishing at the college level and increase interest in the sport,” said Steve Levi, general manager of fishing properties at Career Sports & Entertainment, the agency that owns the CBNC. “By pairing collegiate anglers with even younger fans of fishing, we have the chance to instill in kids a love for the outdoors at an early age.” Ages seven and up are welcome and all attendees receive a goodie bag and a photo with all participants upon completion of the program. Collegiate anglers are joined by Costa Del Mar pros from the Bassmaster Elite Series when available. In addition, state wildlife departments and associated conservation projects are involved in select markets. Now in its fourth year, the Under Armour College Bass National Championship has become the nation’s most prestigious collegiate tournament for bass fishing. The 2008 event featured 56 teams representing colleges and universities across the United States. Anglers of Tomorrow, presented by Costa Del Mar, made its debut during the 2008 event. For more information on the Under Armour College Bass National Championship and Anglers of Tomorrow, visit www.collegebass.com.

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Rain and Mouse Guts It was a dark and rainy day. TIFF WINDS BLEW HORIZONTAL SHEETS OF rain across the blacktop. Delbert P. Axelrod, who’s empty head whistled as the wind blew through, stepped out of his truck and tried to open an oversized umbrella at the same time. “That’s the biggest umbrella I’ve ever seen,” Doc commented as we watched Delbert’s struggle through the large glass front of Doreen’s 24 HR Eat Gas Now Café. “I think it’s a golfer’s umbrella,” Woodrow said. “Is not,” Wrong Willie argued. “And besides, you wouldn’t know a golfer’s umbrella if it opened up against your head. You’ve never played golf in your life.” “Yeah, well, I’ve never actually set eyes on a real, live Playmate of the Month, either, but I’d recognize one if she was out there in the parking lot.” “Especially if she was there in the rain wearing...” Jerry Wayne began. “Don’t,” the Cap’n warned. We thought about that possibility for a while as Delbert lost the battle with his umbrella and a very annoyed Doreen slammed dishes behind the counter. “We should eat in a quieter place,” one of her other regulars commented. “Those guys just need to get another deer lease and they wouldn’t be underfoot and Doreen wouldn’t be agitated all the time,” another rancher deduced. Youngster ignored the conversation and continued to wrap what looked like a dust bunny in the portable fly tying vise that he had attached to Doreen’s large corner table nearly two years earlier. The presence of the vise and the suspicious stains from gun oil, gun cleaner, fly cement, and other curious liquids on the large corner

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table virtually guaranteed it to be open every time we came into the café. Outside, Delbert finally popped the umbrella open and huddled momentarily behind the flimsy shelter. A strong gust of wind staggered him and the umbrella nearly blew away. “Lordy,” Doc said. “That’s a 9-foot-wide patio umbrella.” “Calamity,” Doc said. “Catastrophe,” Youngster agreed. “Dollar,” I said. Several Hunting Club members produced dollar bills. “What’s the bet?” Jerry Wayne asked. “Dollar says he’ll blow over before he gets inside.” Similar side bets were made, all disastrous in nature. Delbert huddled between the trucks, apparently struck motionless by the strong winds. I turned my attention to Youngster. “None of those look like the flies you usually tie.” “You’re right,” he said. “Last night I realized that no one ties catfish flies. So, then I started thinking about what a catfish eats and what a catfish fly might look like. I experimented for a while and tied up a couple, but they just didn’t seem like they were something I wanted to use. And besides, the wife saw one and it made her nauseas, so I had to quit.” “You’re a purist,” Doc said, not taking his eyes off the parking lot. “Your kind is particular about what they tie on the end of a fly rod.” “Exactly,” Youngster agreed, excited that we understood his motive. “So, I brought last night’s experiments with me, but I wanted something less...base.” “What do you mean?” Doreen asked, bringing her coffee pot to the table for warm-ups. Youngster nodded. “Look for yourself.” Doreen opened a small box like the type engagement rings come in. She squinted at the fly inside. “That looks like a cat’s hairball.” “Catfish will eat anything,” Youngster said. She snapped the box closed and threw it on the table. “Get that nasty thing out of my café!” Exhibiting incredible stupidity for someone with such a squeamish stomach, she opened a second box and made a noise, eeekkk!, and slowly

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crumpled to the floor in a dead faint. From outside, Delbert happened to take that moment to look through the café’s window. Distracted by Doreen’s sudden collapse, his patio umbrella was caught by the wind. Holding what happened to act as a very efficient sail, Delbert found himself pulled across the parking lot. Simultaneously, a very large and empty flat box (bearing the words Bombay Mirror Company) flew from the open bed of an adjacent truck and slapped Delbert sharply on the back. Caught between the two sails, he was lifted off his feet, gaining enough altitude for the Club members to make fireworks noises. “Oooooooo!” Desperate to be free from the pressure, Delbert twisted and fell on the box. The last we saw of him, he was skating down the highway on a thin film of water, shrieking loud enough to be heard from within the café. The box’s owner, a rancher at the other table, looked out the window. “I swear,” he said incredulously. “People will steal anything.” I looked into the open box that had given Doreen the vapors. “That really does look like a dead mouse with the guts hanging out.” “Yeah,” Youngster said. “It’s amazing what you can do with a cat toy and some rubber bands. But the only problem is catfish aren’t really interested in a lifelike appearance, they’re more into taste and smell, so I’ll have to add something to it.” “Strawberry jelly,” Woodrow suggested, and after nudging Doreen under the counter and out of the way, we paid our bets and spent the rest of the rainy afternoon discussing how to add taste and smell to Youngster’s creation.

E-mail Reavis Wortham at humor@fishgame.com ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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